Today is life — the only life
you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake
yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you.
Live today with gusto – Dale Carnegie
LIGHTS OF PASSION
Photo credit: Aishwarya Sridhar
Thank you for your support of my
first piece. A special mention to Dr Anjali Chhabria and all those who further expanded my
understanding of mind: the citadel of thoughts, beliefs, memories and memoirs. It is really heart-warming to see how spoken words get priority over the
face it is coming from. More importantly, through this continuous interaction,
hopefully, many will get some answers to the questions that could have been
haunting them. Gratitude.
Hope you all will keep our little adda
alive!!And get some more magpies to mull!!😉
Talking of magpies, trees can’t be
left behind considering that we have just crossed another World Environment Day
(WED, June 5). Though I feel, every day should be worshipped as the WED considering
the way people keep mauling the greens, and soon enough, if it continues
unabated, we will see red!! Thanks to Pandemic and its consequent repeated long
lockdowns -less pollution, clearer air, cleaner water and greener surrounding
which again go a long way in keeping all those happiness chemicals,
especially Oxytocin(love hormone) and Serotonin (mood stabilizer) filling up
our minds. But surely, this is not the way to keep the streams ebullient and/or our
minds agile. I mean, lockdown might show the way, but cannot be the way.
So, to keep the mind positive and
the air pure, we need to embrace sustainable living. I feel the lifestyle you
choose has a great say on the mind you harvest or vice-versa. Do you agree? Mull and
muse, but please comment.
Meanwhile, let us see what our
young eco-warriors think of a Nature-Mind interaction. After
all, they are like conjoined twins, what with nature and second nature being intrinsic
parts of your mindset.
Losing our
environment is not like losing an election. It means losing our entire future.
No amount of money can buy that. It is very important that we preserve whatever
we have left of our green and blue planet before it is too late and that is why
Aishwarya Sridhar, a Women icon awardee does what she does. This is the introduction to Aishwarya Sridhar’s debut documentary Panje- The Last Wetland. It was telecast on
Doordarshan (National) in 2018. It was also screened at various environmental
film festivals. The film, Sridhar, 24, maintains, has helped stoppage of
landfills in the last remaining wetland of Uran in Maharashtra, India. “Currently, we
are fighting it out in the court to declare the land as wetland so that we can
turn it into a bird sanctuary”, she observes. A resident of Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, Sridhar is a graduate of mass media,
a poet, activist, wildlife photographer, TEDx Speaker and documentary
film-maker. She is committed to educating and empowering the youths to speak up
for environmental protection.
Circa 2020. Aishwarya Sridhar’s mesmerising photograph of fireflies
dancing in the night skies, titled ‘Lights of Passion’ won the ‘Highly
Commended Award in Behaviour Invertebrate Category’ at the Natural History
Museum’s virtual show. This was held in London on the occasion of the 56th
Wildlife Photographer of the Year event and she was the first Indian woman to
win.
The photograph captures a unique phenomenon seen in India, only for two weeks during pre-monsoon every year. Male fireflies synchronised their bioluminescent
frenzy to attract females for breeding.
She was just 22, when she
ventured out and it was closer to midnight when she finally canned the shot. It was a cool summer evening in June, when she set out for the trek, deep in the forest,
frequented by the wild and venomous animals and beset with thorny bushes, poisonous plants et
al. She was all charged up, but terrified too as the forest was frequented by
leopards. However, she was determined. Lo and behold! She finally got her subject:
Thousands of sparkling tiny yellow orbs flashing intermittently around a tree under a star-lit indigo sky. "I felt like stepping into a magical world like Narnia. I was
mesmerised, but never dazed. Hence, I could click with a focus", Sridhar reminisces.
This really calls for a strong mind. Tempted, I had to interview her.
Eco-warrior Aishwarya Sridhar
Q &A with Aishwarya Sridhar
What is the best nutrition for a tough mind
and why?
A tough mind for me is one without fear and
self-doubt. Today mental health is very important. While we do cardio for
physical fitness, meditation and staying positive can be great for mental
fitness. A fit mind can also be the foundation of a tough mind. I devote one
hour for my meditation and exercise daily, no matter how busy I am during the
day.
I
developed a tough mind also because my parents encouraged me to take my own
decisions since childhood. When I was four, i,e, in 2001, we came to
Panvel (about 35 kms from Mumbai) in Maharashtra, India, which was then like a
village, enveloped in nature. Children have a fearless disposition, as their minds
do not have pre-conceived notions. Since I grew up in the countryside, I
never feared the wilderness. That to me was my best friend. Unlike city
dwelling kids, I spent my free time running after everything that
moved-animals, birds, insects. This shaped me into who I am. Since a decade
now, Panvel has become one more bustling city with unfortunately lesser tree count.
In terms of nutrition for a tough mind, I
believe in eating healthy, home cooked foods. Lot of green vegetables and
fruits are my diet. Another ‘food’ according to me that can help you develop a
strong mind and will power is a passion to know more about a topic. Learning
is a great way to challenge your brain. It jogs your mind.
Who do you think is the influencer here
– mind over behaviour or vice versa and why?
Human affinity to nature is quite ingrained
in our genetics and also has its roots in our evolution. To me, the mind is a
better and stronger influencer over behaviour as what I think interests me or
captures my attention, thus results in me wanting to perform the task and hence
my resultant behaviour. So mentally, if I
decide that I want to know more about a species, I decide to go ahead and make
a plan to visit its habitat and photograph it or else go out and see what I can
do to protect its habitat and ensure its survival. Hence, for me, my behaviour is
very much influenced by my mental thoughts and desires.
How important is self-control in achieving
your target? Kindly explain vis-a-vis the following example: You witnessed an
array of emotions while wading deep into the forest. How did you combat your
fear and remain placid when you got what you desired and perhaps even more. In
this case, the iconic shot. Also, if possible, share your techniques of
self-control.
I feel self-control is important to achieve
your goals in life. For me, self-control involves a strong will power,
discipline, focused set of goals and a good determination to achieve those
goals. My earliest practice of self-control was having to not watch TV during
exam time. The first time, was very difficult but as it became a practice each
year, it seemed super easy. And this taught me to focus on what I felt was
important.
When I first decided to go to Bhandardara village in Maharashtra to click the
fireflies, I was determined that no matter what I will try my best to capture
them in my camera. So, with my mind made up, I landed at the forest, just outside the village. Since I have
visited jungles from a young age, I have no fear of forests or animals as I
personally feel the safest when I am in the midst of mother nature and her creatures.
No animal will ever harm you if you give it space and respect its need for
distance. So as I walked the jungle trails that evening, my mind was so relaxed
as I heard the forest symphony - sounds of crickets..birds chirping …leaves rustling in the breeze…I of course just wanted to spot the fireflies as they dazzled with all
glory. And this passion of mine to see them and photograph them was so strong
that the trek seemed very easy to do. I have been clicking since I was eight. I used to be very excited as a kid and
that has messed up many shots when it came to photographing animal behaviour.
That taught me to be composed on the field. With a clear mind, you can think.
When you are hyper, even the simplest problem would look massive. Maintaining a
cool mind and seeing through the situation is what I try doing.
I do have a strong will power and I have been disciplined
and focused since childhood. Even during my school and college days, I had a
set timetable which I adhered to as I used to juggle wildlife photography with
my studies. I knew if I had to achieve good grades and great images, discipline
would be needed. My timetable included study and free time and I used to set
goals to complete my syllabus. And this has helped me a long way in being fit
mentally and physically. I never compare myself with anyone and I firmly
believe that if the flame of your passion is fuelled by a constant thirst for
knowledge coupled with a strong determination, then any goal can be achieved.
So, self-control to me is all about never letting my mind go astray.
When you were out in the forest at night
to take that luminous picture, how often did you think of yourself as a young
woman? Here, kindly explain, what matters to your mind then – being
gender-neutral or sex-specific and why? Is it important for you to be
gender-neutral and age fluid at times? Yes/no, why?
I have never felt that gender limits your
ambitions or dreams. My family never once told me that I could not do something
because I was a girl. They treated me as a person and not as a ‘girl’. Even
when I was at the forest clicking the fireflies, all I thought was how well I
could photograph them in the darkness of night and what camera setting would
best help me in that. Never once did I think of my gender. I usually never let my age or gender come
between my dreams. I think it is important to be gender-neutral and age fluid
at times as then only can we work towards achieving our goals without any hindrance.
Do you believe nature has a great role in
influencing our mind and vice-versa? Yes/no, please enumerate with some
age fluid activities that bring us closer to nature.
Yes, I do believe that nature influences our mind
big time. Nature to me is the best doctor and teacher ever. Being amidst
nature, or observing the beauty of nature, reduces negative emotions and stress
and increases positive emotions and pleasant feelings within us. But apart from
this, nature also teaches you many lessons. Here I have mentioned two to exemplify my point.
Resilience- The river you see flowing across
rocks has at one point cuts through mountains to chart its course and meets the
sea. If the river had given up and felt that cutting through the mountain was
very difficult, it would never have become a river in the first place.
Altruism - Nature teaches you selflessness as well. Look at a
tree. It continues to give shade to even the person who brings an axe to chop
down its branches. There is no revenge or anger in Nature. Being in nature’s
lap not only makes you feel better emotionally, it contributes
to your physical well being by
reducing blood pressure and the production of stress hormones.
Be it a swim in the sea or a walk on the sand, Nature
fills you with happiness wherever you stand.
To my mind, age fluid activities are also great detoxifiers and are actually easily accessible. For example, when you watch a documentary film on wildlife/nature, scroll down on your Facebook account and get engrossed into a Dodo feature, tending to your terrace garden or even some indoor plants/herbs like Tulsi and Hibiscus at your drawing room or simply staring out in the open at the early hours, all make up for keeping your mind positively stimulated. I also find a walk in the woods or just sitting by a river and soaking in the
sounds of nature very age fluid activities. To me and my next-door aunt, the
best music can be heard in the silence of the woods or beside the brook. For city dwellers, even going for a nature walk in the local park, holidaying in a nature lodge are activities that can turn even our silver citizens into a bunch of curious teenagers!!
Nature has always been without boundaries or barriers. Age, Sex, Caste etc
doesn’t exist in the forest. Everyone is welcome there. That is precisely why, it is so easy to become one with nature.
