In this murky air, sing a song of resilience
New Indian ExpressThrough the swathe of smog, I was looking for life. Growing up has often meant the giving up of landscape features we held dear—the wetland behind the school which became apartments, the park you played cricket with a plastic bat in, which became a parking lot; the big banyan tree that was axed for a road, with a few potted bougainvillea erected as compensation. Your parents might have their own sets of solastalgia—that was a generation that was physically immersed in Nature—swimming rivers and streams, tasting fruit from forests, knowing which season was right for which kind of forest forage. Over the years, concrete has replaced greens, blues have become greys, and densification of buildings and a combination of structures has been equated with a better quality of life. We feel now that this quality of life needs ecological perspectives too—cities need green and blue spaces perhaps more than any other place, and children need greenery to run in before they can turn to screens.
History of this topic
How solastalgia and environmental loss affect mental health
Live MintDiscover Related
)
