Page 129 - Vogue - India (January 2020)

“I’M HOPEFUL FOR THE
FUTURE THANKS TO THE
NEXT GENERATION”
million people, but they said that our
ratings were ridiculously low. Those
were the days of Ramayana
and Mahabharata, which had a view-
ing audience of 100 million—but we
kept going!
AC: How do you keep going?
BS: I think about quitting every
month. I can’t convince my country of
simple things, like worshipping the
Ganga and not polluting it at the
same time. But you know, you don’t
really lose until you give up. I’m
angry because we went and replaced
British colonisation with this intergen-
—BITTU SAHGAL
erational environmental colonisation.
Our children do not have safe water,
soil, climate or even social circum-
stances—their world isn’t safe. So I
cannot stop, I have to keep at it.
AC: And how do you cope with
the bleakness of the current
environmental situation?
BS: The dark thoughts come, but like
other people, I have a belief in whom-
ever you call God. In my case it’s
quasi-religious. You could call me a
pantheist. I believe that the world will
stop us from doing more damage than
we can. Nature will push back, even if
it is in a harsh way.
AC: Do you see development
and saving the environment
as mutually exclusive?
BS: Actually, they are the same thing.
If development means ‘perpetual
growth’, then it is not development.
That’s why economists have the wrong
end of the stick. Development is doing
well, and being able to do well till the
end of your days—not buying three
cars, four air conditioners, fi ve private
jets and eight holiday homes. Gandhi
once said that there is enough on Earth
for everyone’s need but not for every-
one’s greed. The planet has fi nite re-
sources. Our objective should be to live
in a way that allows them to be used to
spread the greatest amount of security
and happiness.
AC: For those of us who are not
environment activists, what can
we do to help?
BS: Do what you do naturally. If
you’re an artist, use your art. If you’re
an engineer, use your skill. If you’re a
businessman, use your infl uence. Eve-
rybody using their talents in different
ways is how biodiversity works. Learn
from the forest. Squirrels, sloths, mon-
keys and tigers aren’t sitting together
and saying, “We’ve got to save this for-
est!” They coexist, and their lifestyles
work together seamlessly to create
the biosphere.
AC: Our lifestyles have done most
of the damage. What are some
basic changes to start with?
BS: Consume less. I tell children:
“When you brush your teeth, you
should not be able to hear the tap.
When you drink water, don’t pour it
up to the top. Pour only as much as
you need.” Live carefully and make
sure you reduce your impact.
AC: What about our food habits?
BS: I see no option for the world
but to go vegetarian. It’s a
simple safety issue. Fac-
tory farming aside, our
seafood is polluted
with mercury, pesti-
cides and antibiotics
are used to keep
farms and cattle
disease-free. At this
time, vegetarianism
is simply the health-
ier option.
AC: Are you hopeful
for the future?
BS: While I am pessimistic
about my generation and its ability
to improve or adapt, I’m hopeful for
the future thanks to the next genera-
tion, and because Earth has a way of
healing itself. ■
www.vogue.in VOGUE INDIAJANUARY 129