CHENNAI: There may be no Captain Planet here to conserve resources, but this World Earth Day Chennai does have some of its very own ‘planeteers’ to make a difference. Using everyday waste items, several city youngsters have created eco-revolutionary art to give back to Mother Earth. This is part of a waste art competition organised by PaperMan (recycling movement) and Gallery Art & Soul, to increase awareness about our environment and waste through art. Twenty-three-year-old Pooja Balu was on Facebook last week when she learnt that April 22 was Earth Day. She recounts, “Later I was watching a music video by ‘Walk off the Earth’ and I got inspired because every piece of furniture in the video was made from boxes.” And that’s when she decided to make something of her own. Turns out her ‘choco-box guitar’, made with an abandoned Cadbury’s carton and complete with strings, an old guitar neck and tuning section, can actually be used to play the Beatles’ Hey Jude!The inspiration for these eco-conscious projects comes from just about everywhere -- paper cups in the wastepaper basket, dried leaves on the school playground or disposable cutlery from a restaurant. Amarnath Visu, who works for an electronics company, found his in the company’s pile of waste parts. With the assistance of a friend and several how-to searches on Google, Visu turned unusable scrap into a miniature of his dream Harley Davidson. He reveals, “It was difficult and we took about three hours to make it.” Though too small for anyone to ride, perhaps some day the world’s most expensive bike-maker might take a cue from it for an eco-friendly vehicle.The message of ‘reduce, recycle, reuse’ goes well beyond a one-off project for a large section of the city’s youth. College goer Sumanya Raman recently introduced the concept of garbage segregation (biodegradable and non-biodegradable) in her apartment complex, and took charge of making the building’s own garbage compost. She admits, “It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it.” We could all learn a thing or two from nine-year-old Nidhi George. The fifth standard student, who loves craft, recently created a semblance of herself and her pet dog April using discarded cloth, spoons and old containers. “I am always looking for ways to reduce what goes into the dustbin,” she says. And then quickly makes it clear that “not wasting” is very important -- craft project or not. She wags her little finger, “I get very angry if anyone leaves the tap open!” Now there’s a planeteer you don’t want to mess with!
Comments
0 comment