Holi: Instead of saying 'Save water' let's say 'Donate water'

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The festival of Holi has begun and it is celebrated by colours. Colour signifies love for others and creates positive energy. Earlier, the festival was celebrated with the use of natural colours which were made at home. Turmeric for yellow, henna for green, hibiscus for red and so on and so forth.

But today, the situation has changed. Markets are flooded with colours which not only harm the skin but also the environment. We talk to an environmentalist, Chinu Kwatra, who gives us his take on the same.

How are you going to ensure that Holi is safe for children and for others who celebrate it?

I believe in eco-friendly Holi and have been doing that for the past two years. It is important that we say no to chemical colours and make our own colours at home using turmeric, henna etc.

Otherwise, we should buy eco-friendly colours which are available in the market but it is important that we conduct proper research on it because there are a number of brands which are fake. Eco-friendly colours are very light and can be easily removed with water.

One more thing that needs to be touched upon is the safety of animals. Colours are very harmful to dogs and so is plastic. Hence, I don't encourage the use of any water balloons as well.

There has to be aggressive social media awareness. It is important that we teach everyone that pets don't understand what Holi and Diwali are.

Yes. People put themselves before the environment in a lot of situations. We are here because of the environment, so we need to take care of the environment first and then ourselves. The skin can be cured by a dermatologist but the environment cannot be cured by anybody.

If we are born as humans, we should behave like one too and take care of the environment first.

Do you know of any societies or groups which are taking active steps to play an environment-friendly Holi?

The Holi fever has not taken over yet so there is nothing yet. But as far as my NGO 'Roti-Ghar' is concerned, we believe in the concept of instead of telling people to save water, let's donate water to slum areas where water is scarce. Last year, we donated around 500 litres of water for household chores because people in slums have to travel for kilometres to get water.

What about issues like wastage of water? How do you deal with that?

Wastage of water is a strict no-no. Holi is about spreading happiness, not wasting water.
Last year I tried my best to avoid wastage but some of the children at Roti Ghar fetched water from a nearby pond where Ganpati Visarjan takes place. This is still acceptable rather than wasting tap water of BMC water.

What do you think is the ideal way of playing Holi? Can you suggest some tips?

The ideal way is to celebrate with your loved ones by using eco-friendly colours and without wasting any water.

I always tell people to behave like humans because there is a lot of scope in that only. Secondly, the more we celebrate our festivals with humanity, the more love will dwell. All our festivals celebrate love and so we should too.

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