May Day. Workers. Labour. Working hours.
Can we meditate, reflect? Can we be in silence, value silence? Amidst silence, can we have conversations, lots of them? Everyday. While on bed, while sitting, standing, walking, and so on. Can we stay in nature, stay connected with nature? Can we live with lenses of nature? Sunrises, sunsets, starry nights, moon lights, full moons, birds, trees, plants, flowers, greenness, still water, lakes, flowing water, streams, rivers, seas, rains, clouds, winds, hills, mountains, ecologies, rural geographies, indigenous habitations, people. Macro life processes. Micro-lives, nano, pico-lives. Relations. Can we be kind and generous, with time, energy, resources – maybe to a fault? Intense engagements. Can we pursue 7R? Can we enjoy little things? Can we carry relationships, friendships, partnerships, networks forward, for long, to their logical conclusion? Can we keep smiling?
Can we keep fasting, on and off? Fasting reduces weight; manages blood sugar, blood pressure; reduces inflammation; improves cardiovascular health; repairs cells; increases longevity; boosts brain performance; reduces risk of cancer. Maybe skipping a meal, once or twice a week; 24-36 hour stretches weekly/fortnightly; 7-15 days no day food, or no night food, or only fruits, only water, etc.
We see: India’s annual mean temperature has risen by about 0.9°C in the last 125 years. 2024 was the hottest on record. More warmer nights per summer. Night temperatures are also hot. It appears 2026 might be heading to surpass that. Our bodies are not recovering from the day’s heat in the night. The risk of heat stroke has increased. Urban centres are warming more, maybe twice the rural. Estimates say we may lose some 4 Crore jobs in a year due to heat stress. Some 5% GDP. To cope with the heat, we turn to Air conditioners and air coolers. 40%+ electricity demand surge in summer. We seem to consume 250GW of electricity at peak, and may go to 270GW. It may not be easy to meet the everyday peaks. We need battery storage, shift work and work from homes in a big way. Household electricity bill also goes up by not less than 100-300% in summers. Overall, electricity increases fossil fuel consumption, and green house gases emission in a big way. In addition to increasing the heat in the environment outside. This vicious cycle may become stronger, more exponential year after year. How do we go forward? Can this be reversed?
NFFS architecture, network(s). Farm and Farmworker Families, Farms; Lead Farmers, hand-holders, neighbourhood troubleshooters; Women SHGs and their federations, producer organizations, collectives; best practitioner resource persons, modellers/exemplars, champions, volunteers, master trainers; Farmer scientists, researchers, mentors, research and learning facilitators; Digital facilitators; bio-resource centres; local enterprises, entrepreneurs, aggregators; Rythu Seva Kendrams; Anganwadis, schools; support organizations; Gram Panchayats. Department(s) of agriculture, agri marketing, horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries; Special purpose vehicles, RySS et al; State Rural Livelihoods Missions/SERPs. Academies, IGGAARL, Training centres, KVKs, Universities. Research and Learning forums, organizations. Inspirers, influencers, evangelists, mobilizers, award givers, philanthropists, donors, CSRs. Digital platforms. Traceability, certification, marketing organizations. MoA&FW, NRLM, NITI. High-end higher learning institute(s).
In our public and office spaces, can we keep some of our details, personal lives private? Can we be away from gossip? Can we avoid criticizing colleagues? Rather, can we have habits to make an effort, try the unknown, seize the opportunities calculatedly, take risks?
Yes, we can. If we coexist, flowing. Slipping into flows. In N? aachaarayoga for 7L.