For economic development, we are rapidly exploiting our environment though development is also necessary. Mankind’s quest for economic development has taken its toll on environment. Rapid industrialization, increase in population, urbanization and host of other developments have impacted Mother Nature.

Some environment conscious, vibrant youths came up with a striking idea; a Flash Mob event dedicated towards the Environment Day. These youths are part of a group called Transforming India. An account is running in Facebook on the same name, wherein issues concerned with nation are highlighted and deliberated. The event was scheduled for June 10, 2012; venue was In Orbit Shopping Mall, Hitech City, Hyderabad. Jai Ho and Chak De India songs were selected as the dance numbers.   

Though every aspect was meticulously structured, last minute hurdles by In Orbit dampened the preparations. my spirit, was very optimistic to receive permission to perform at the ground floor. Even for a noble cause, they were blocking the path. For corporate companies, they always have space, and will generate money. As we were booking for a social cause, they hardly showed any interest. But then, we too were determined. 

On the decided day, as many as 35 like-minded youngsters converged for the noble cause. We commenced our march from Madhapur. Participants chanted slogans dedicated for the conservation of nature like plant trees, save water, and be environment friendly.

A pledge taking ceremony took place at a place adjacent to In Orbit Shopping Mall; we lit up candles and took pledge: “I Surya (name of the participant) today on June 10, 2012 take pledge to play a role in conserving the incredible environment. I will plant trees, save water and foster sustainable development.” Hundreds of people standing on the balcony of the shopping mall, and plying on roads watched the noble cause, and showered praise. Some took photograph and did video recording too.      

Those who took part in the noble cause included Anurag Jain, Rajkumar Mehra, Krishna Gupta, Suman Roy, Vinay Gupta, Jyoti Sharma, Surya, Devashish, Anay, Dileep Choudhary, Bhagirath, Vikrant Shah, Chinmay, Amit,  Arun Chauhan, Bappan, Piyush, Rajiv Setia, Shashank Gupta, Brahma Nanduri, Santhosh and Shahid.

The whole experience was amazing; we successfully did what we strived for. One of the participants, Shashank working with an IT organization was full of praise about the whole event, he expressed: “We should carry out similar sorts of marches to create awareness about the nature; this shouldn’t be our only march. I am always with such initiatives.”

We can’t blindly pursue economic development. Let’s foster sustainable development. This is our nation, let’s stand up and start playing our role in conserving the incredible environment enveloping us.

Would like to end this article on a positive note, sharing a wonderful thought penned by Mary Kay Ash, “There are three types of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened.” We are proud to say that we are from the first league, not preaching like many others, playing are bit in bringing turnaround. Be the change you wish to see.