Dark night

While visiting United Nations building in NewYork I was truly happy to be one amongst few who could answer the question relating to "Earth Hour" posed by my guide. It is an hour when most of the global warming conscious countries plunge into darkness for a time of one hour by shutting off their power consumption. While I was answering my question I was mocking myself for answering that question so diligently since I come from a country where there are numerous earth hours a day.

It is truly an amazing experience to watch the down towns of New york or Chicago in the night either from sea or mighty Michigan lake. It is a feast to the eye to watch their skyscrappers lavishly illuminated,with mighty business houses who hardly work after 5 0' P.M. flood lit throughout night, may be to help a janitor to clean the office . A.C never shuts down, doors never fail to open, lifts never stop due to power failure, things don't get rot for lack of power supply in the refrigerator. Vending machines, gas stations, subways, they are never tired of continuous operations. Grand illuminations accentuate the architectural splendour of their monuments. Life of a commoner is not put to test by power failures. The productivity is not crippled by power crunch. What a great thinking and planning it takes to make your countrymen life so comfortable?

I read about South Delhi's resident's vows due to power failure for couple of nights. Children inconsolably crying, students with closed books on their laps, newly wed sitting holding hand in hand close to each other, old and sick sighing and gasping for a breath. It is not a new story. It is being played off and on all over the country 365 days an year. Life limps without power. Things get postponed till everything gets back to normalcy. Industries get unwanted power holidays and fail to produce. Critical operation in the hospitals are postponed to power supply hours. Interestingly V.I.P colonies don't get power cuts.

We are not too much concerned with global warming. Still we contribute substantially towards it's mitigation. A big question arises in my mind. We desperately need to meet our power demands. We have to improve our power situation. There is no second opinion on this. Ironically imagine a world where countries like India and others completely meeting their power demands, it is like unleashing a wild catastrophe to sink the world further.Hitherto we saved this world from food shortage by eating less. May be we are saving this planet by taking the sufferings silently. Thanks to the underdevelopment.Most likely we should be missing the bus forever.