On the occasion of International Earth day on the 22nd of April, the question we asked ourselves is that whether it would be correct if we just sit and see another Earth Day just go by or stand up and do something. As usual the unanimous response in Ayudh was to do something and be counted. And so we set in motion the plans to bring about a change first in ourselves and then in the society, the change that will make our planet a better place to live in.

Ayudh-Delhi celebrated Earth day by putting up installations at two of the major centers in Delhi. One was the Select City Mall Saket, one of the biggest and poshest malls in Delhi. The other was the Rajiv Chowk Metro Station, the busiest metro station in Delhi.

The concept was that the people had to liven up the Earth – depicted by a dry tree on the verge of death with the leaves of their ideas, ideas of how they can make a change to the environment and our Earth. We would give them leaf shaped paper – on which they could write how they could bring about a difference and then put it up on this leafless tree.

The response at both centers had to be seen to be believed. In the Metro station the tree filled up with leaves in about 20 minutes! Then we had to put overlapping leaves up on the tree. People from all walks of life…rich and poor, old and young thronged the installation to pin up their ideas to the tree. Those who came first, then brought their friends and relatives along. The children had a gala time participating in the quiz contest organised for them. People were seen looking at what other people had written, certainly in order to know more of what they can do, in addition to what they had thought of. People pledged to follow what they were writing.

The success of our effort is in the fact that we were able to change the attitude of people towards our planet – While many spoke passionately about how bad they felt at the situation the earth is in and how helpless they felt in dealing with it. However they also said that our installation has helped them realise that there are many people out there sharing their concern and if each one is to do their part well, we could still save the Earth. Their despair had turned into hope and that they would be more cautious of what they do in future.

Another success was the publicity that Ayudh got. Many of the youngsters came to us to know more about Ayudh. The Ayudh members were seen giving them a detailed picture of Ayudh and the causes with which we concern ourselves. In the end we had many new joinees, willing to spend time towards the activities carried out by us. Moreover the authorities at both the venues were highly impressed with the dedication and commitment with which the Ayudh members went about their work. They were surprised at the how organised everything was, giving least bit of concern to them. As a parting gift, the authorities at both places said, that they would look forward to more such events being organised by Ayudh and that they would be given a chance to be a part of it.

It was a team effort from Ayudh-Delhi, a small drop in the ocean of effort that needs to be put up to bring the change. Everyone in the team enjoyed doing their part. The enthusiasm with which each member did their job was there for all to see. In the end the sense of achievement in the hearts of every participant was very palpable.

To conclude, inspite of the work that was done, there is still a lot more that needs to be done. With the grace of Amma, Ayudh-Delhi would always be up for all the activities, it can carry out.

AYUDH Delhi