BENGALURU : The signs are there for all to see. Lakes are frothing like giant advertisement for Gillette. Our capital city is polluted to dystopian levels. Reports say Mumbai will be submerged by 2050. Gigantic glaciers that existed for thousands of years look like ice cream tubs that you forgot to put in the fridge. I am not a particularly optimistic person, so I’d probably give the earth another 30-40 years before alarm bells start ringing.
It is ironic that as the life expectancy of people keeps rising, the life-expectancy of the planet is dipping. As a Commerce student, I do not possess much knowledge of animal behaviour and psychology, but sometimes wonder if other animals are judging us. Dogs, who befriended us thousands of years ago, probably regretting the decision, having to spend their days with us in our polluted air.
Monkeys – who did not contribute in any way to pollution, except, of course, occasionally rummaging through your bag and throwing things around – must they not be judging us? Or buffaloes, who unlike their bovine counterparts, were not even involved with politics. They just strolled around the earth, chewed grass and gave us milk. Do you think they are disappointed in us?
How did we reach this stage? I suspect we didn’t take the issue seriously due to all the Hollywood movies. The large-budget films where the world is ending, but is ultimately saved by a white guy. The hero is abled by a friend of colour, with a brown engineer behind the scenes on a computer. Perhaps in the back of our mind, we believe it will somehow all be okay.
If the world is going to end in another 30 years, one assumes there is no point to saving up money. No point in investing in fixed deposits and mutual funds. We are aware that mutualfundsaresubjecttomarketrisks but there’s no point even if we readtheofferdocumentcarefullybeforeinvesting. If the world is ending, money suddenly begins to look less important.
A lot of people believe that science and technology will reach an apex, and we will be safely moved to another planet. While that might sound great for a science-fiction novel, the prospect of moving to another planet doesn’t seem too bright. Are all of us going, or is the selection made on some criteria? If health and fitness are the criteria, I’m definitely staying back.
Also, how are power structures and hierarchies established on a new planet? Does one go by skills, or do we carry-forward our status from earth to Mars, like carrying punya into the next life? Moreover, what jobs do we do on Mars? I assume Indians will be employed in an interplanetary KPO process to carefully transfer all knowledge acquired by humans from Earth to Mars. Unfortunately, days and nights on Mars are pretty similar to earth. Which means the concept of weeks and weekends will remain the same. So, we might be on a different planet, but will deal with the same issues. Even up there, a person will call us to a cubicle and ask – “Two days off for Solar Eclipse? Who on Mars do you think you are?”
The author is a writer and a comedian.