Page 3 - Seniorstoday September 2022 Issue
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Publisher’s Note
Time to pause, and smell the roses!
Technological advances and scientific inventions What we should be doing instead is turning to
make us believe that we have conquered nature. nature.
Our ability to go the moon or to the depths of the What can be more relaxing than hearing the
earth has made us smug and irresponsible. Covid sound of the birds, a faraway peacock calling out to
suddenly put an end to all this arrogance and the its mate or the dove, the barbet or the bulbul flitting
world stopped. Well, almost. We then woke up from one branch to the other. The smell of earth
to the importance of not fiddling with the earth’s after it rains, the fragrance of the mogra, jasmine
delicate ecosystem and climate change became an and roses. The steam rising from a cup of tea. All
international issue of concern. simple things that soothen our senses. A view of
We break into the mountains, build roads, we the lake, the forest or beautiful mountains. This is
build dams to tame the rivers. The mountains the majesty of nature. It is the simplest, cheapest
collapse, the dams break. As I write, there have and most accessible treatment that one can get.
been huge floods, tsunamis, earthquakes and Nature is about balance and harmony which we
volcanic eruptions in various part of the world. lack when we leave in the deep pits of urbanised
All at once. It is scary to see a mudslide coming cities. Dr Sujeet Rajan, one of India’s best known
down the mountains. The ferocity of flood waters pulmonologists, took a trip to Kailash Mansarovar
that sweep everything in its way dams, bridges, and writes a log of his trip. It is something that will
highways and houses in which humans live. remain with the doctor all his life. It’s an account
Everything that we throw in the river, the river that helps us re-establish our link with nature.
throws back at us. We forget that the complexity The beautiful landscapes of India are incredibly
of nature is way beyond our ability to understand rich and diverse and these our true natural wealth
how it works. which we unfortunately often forget.
In this era of absolute chaos and noise, it has So, the next time you are planning a vacation,
become imperative now more than ever before to consider checking out the outdoors.
pause from this crazy pace of life and find silence
and peace in this hyper-competitive and strenuous
world. We go to doctors for depression, insomnia Vickram Sethi
and anxiety. We ask for prescriptions and pills. Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #39 | SEPTEMBER 2022 3
