Paper bags are cool.

Of the many things I realized on my recent trip to the 2 hill stations, Dalhousie and Dharamshala, in Himachal Pradesh recently was that paper bags are cool. For everyone. Shopkeepers, environmentalists, consumers and most importantly nature.

They make paper bags out of, well, paper. And they make paper out of wood which makes it bio degradable. Which supposedly means it will mix with nature in some time and cause no harm to the environment. And not to forget, it’s easier to recycle. So more preferred over polythene bags. And recycling means we don’t have to cut down any more trees any longer (see that keeps the environment cool; literally).

Well the following events made me realise how cool paper bags actually are.

So, I was at a general store purchasing chocolates and biscuits and chocolate biscuits when I saw a girl holding on to a colorful paper bag. It didn’t have a handle like a plastic bag. She was holding on to it like she would hold a baby. I thought that was good because that would actually increase the awareness about the packet she was holding, and at some sub conscious level, not let her take her shopping for granted. And the packet was, as I already mentioned, colorful.

It is good for shopkeepers and manufacturers.

I asked the shopkeeper for a traditional polythene bag. His response to my request wasn’t the politest. He sort of ‘warned’ me to not ask for a polythene bag again. The tone of his voice really frightened me. I started believing either he’d find out if I asked for a polythene and then he’d come and beat me up or the other person who I ask for a polythene bag would beat me up. It puts them all in an unwritten team. They’re all a part of a team that wants to use paper bags. United we stand.

For the manufacturers it offers a great opportunity to advertise themselves. You see, when somebody walks by me with a polythene bag in their hand I don’t care to look down at what’s written on it. But when they’re holding a paper bag close to themselves like a baby (I’m talking about the paper bags without those shoelace kind of handles or cut outs in them so they can be held like a polythene bag; that takes the fun out). So these paper bags which people hold like babies, are a great way of advertising. You see because I don’t look down all the way to their knee level which is where the bag is probably hanging. If you walk by me holding the bag up high I’ll take notice of the brand name on the bag.

And we all know how it helps the environmentalists. It gives them peace of mind.

So it makes the consumers feel good about the stuff they buy, unites the small time shopkeepers, good advertising opportunity for the manufacturers, and peace of mind for the environmentalists and everyone else. And a blessing for Mother Nature.

What more can we ask for?

So governments of various nations, please pass laws that get your people to use paper bags instead of polythene bags.

God save these kids.

Here it goes, something that has been very close to my heart for a very long time. No, the IIT classes haven’t been close to my heart. But the kids who study there have been close to my heart. Well they’re sent there at 15; to live away from their parents. I’m not blaming anybody here; society did that to the kids and everyone who wanted the kids to go and “make their lives worth living”. And the problem starts there.

It gives everyone a high. A make believe situation where the kid suddenly starts to think he/she is meant to be an engineer of the highest order when he/she is selected for one of the so called “prestigious” study centers.

Innocence is lost. Competition begins. Real life – so to say- begins. And that’s when everyone starts believing there isn’t enough for everyone. Even the children who are in their respective homes(I was) and attend coaching classes for their responsible future are made to believe there isn’t enough room for everyone. Because in the end, the kids are ranked.

At 15, we chose what we will supposedly do our entire lives. Once you start on the path of one lifestyle, it’s hard to come out they say. Not for the strong ones. But the weak ones, those who have been brainwashed to an extent they refuse to believe anything besides the fact that they will one day become great engineers and then MBA graduates and earn a lot of money; IT’S BAD. How do we expect 15 year olds to take responsibility? You don’t let them vote, you don’t let them drive, and you don’t let them drink.

What makes you think they are old enough to decide a path for their life?

This will get them a job. They will be working for 40 years in their life. They’ll go to their offices every day, continuously for 40 years. And if they don’t like it and don’t even know they don’t like it, the money in their bank accounts will not make them happy.

OK; all of the above said and done, this isn’t my BIG concern. Well it is, but these kids get to be kids till they’re 15.

What concerns me even more is a newspaper article I read quite some time back. The coaching centers want kids to join them in the 6^th standard itself. So now they want to take 10 year olds and ruin their lives. Congratulations! Add to that a country full of parents who want their kids to be IIT and IIM graduates. And besides that, till you’re 10, you’re never expected to be able to decide what you want from life. In any country at all, in any civilization for that matter. At 10, I didn’t know what the difference between an IIT or an NIT or NIIT is!

You’re a kid. You’ve just reached double digits In terms of existence on the planet. You still cry when u bruise your knee. You don’t even understand why you have a headache, you don’t know what pressure and competition and stress are. You don’t know how studying in school and trying to top in class is ever going to help you in your life. You just live life. You hardly ever think about it. I just hope and pray all the 10 year olds in the country have intelligent parents who understand that.

So now the kids don’t get to decide what they want from life AND they don’t get to live life. Well, fine.As much as I love being an atheist, I’d like to say “God save these kids”.