Once there lived 3 water bottles. All three were sisters – the younger one of 250 ml, the middle one of 500 ml and the eldest of 1000 ml. All the three were very proud to be providing drinkable water to the thirsty throats. But all the three had something to talk about their personality and all the three were very proud of what they were and what they possess.
It is also very rare to find siblings not hating each other for some reasons or the others, and these water bottles were no different.
The youngest one had this pride in being carried by millions of people in their bags while travelling to schools, offices, distances etc. She would always tease the other two siblings of being deprived of such privilege. Being small and handy, she is loved by almost everyone who carries her.
The middle sibling of 500 ml has always been facing dilemma. Some keep her inside the bag and some inside the car doors. She does fit in at lot of places but has always this fear of being replaced either by the younger sibling or the eldest sibling. Yet, she enjoys the confusion of people who struggle to make decision of which water bottle to buy.
The eldest sibling of 1000 ml is mature and sensible. She knows she is a family bottle and she is destined to quench the thirst of more than one person. She knows, she has a set place in people’s heart and shelves. People travelling with family will always carry her as she is able to provide more drinkable water. She is proud that she is double the capacity of her younger sibling and four times the youngest.
But, all the three share one common thing at the end of the day. Irrespective of the different capacities of water they have, people using them leave some water at the end of the day. Perhaps humans understand the value of water only when they have limited water available. Even if a child knows that he has only 250 ml of drinkable water for the entire day and he won’t get another bottle easily, he would save some water for emergency. This is common for all people using 500 ml or even 1000 ml of water bottles.
No one wants to finish the water if they know the water with them, as an individual, is limited.
The logic is in collective thinking and individual perception. The time we know that as an individual I have limited resource, I tend to save. But the time I know that collectively we have limited resource, we take that privilege of being lenient and tend to waste it.
The three siblings – 250, 500 and 1000 ml – decided to sign a dying wish.
The wish said – “We, the plastic bottle, that carry water for thirsty throats, will continue to be recycled, but the drinkable water inside will reduce in quantity with the passing years. Let there be an era when people would work more on recycling of water and conservation of water, rather than concentrating on how to recycle its carriers.”
“Manthan”, an initiative by Hindustan Zinc, is a series of stories to bring awareness about various concerns like air pollution, water pollution, plastic pollution, noise pollution, climate change, road safety and wildlife protection.
(Pavan Kaushik is the Head – Corporate Communication at Hindustan Zinc)
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