Shalini Sharma received a mail this morning in her inbox. The e-mail address was quite weird. And when she opened it, this is what she found: it was a letter addressed to her from another version of herself who lives several light years away from her on a planet that was called Earth once upon a time.
Dearest S,
Hope this letter finds you in good health. I assume it would be June 5 on Earth when the letter reaches you and, therefore, you would be looking for environmental stories for the day. How I miss doing all that. You must be wondering who am I and how do I know all this about you? Well, I am what you are but just a few light years ahead of you. If you can shut down your laptop for a while, I have something to tell you, something worth listening to.
Phone calls, messages—this is how my day started on any given date in a week. But that day was different. I woke up because I felt I had slept too long. Fearing I would be late for work, I jumped out of my bed. It was 10 am already. I switched on the television to catch up with the latest news and I saw headlines flashing on the TV screen—the meteorological department declared today that it is the end of the world.
Everyone had talked about what the end of the world would look like but few had imagined they would live to see it happen. The speculation was now a reality. There was no sun outside and the rain poured down relentlessly. The glaciers in the Arctic Circle were melting fast and no one could predict what will happen after the rains. Was everyone going to die?
The editorial meetings in the morning were always a pain to attend just as it is to you now. But I didn’t know what I would do now without them. The low-lying areas were submerged under water, including my office. For kilometers, silence loomed large everywhere. Imagine, living in a place where one is as vulnerable as an ant. It was like living on streets. The only difference being—the whole world was one big, callous street now.
Five days later, I prepared myself to encounter the new world or whatever it was. Trees stood like bare-bodied sculptures with big hoops. There wasn’t a leaf anywhere. No grass and butterflies. A few birds had survived the catastrophe but that was it. The ratio of hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen had changed in the atmosphere and therefore, only those survived who could acclimatize themselves to the new environment. The world had turned into a big, dark hole.
The human civilization had fallen apart. European Union, Washington D.C, New Delhi, United Nations, human rights, civil wars or God—nothing existed anymore. There was nothing I could talk about. The communication system that we had put together after years of research had fallen apart. As I was gazing into the darkness, trying to sort my thoughts out, I felt the blood rushing into my head like a waterfall trying to burst out of a little hole. The veins in my head swelled up along with my lungs. I felt I was dead and closed my eyes—that was the first time the oxygen level had decreased dramatically. Now it is extinct. We live on Boron in this world now.
Few have survived the disaster and the place that we inhabit now is just a grotesque shadow of the one that you inhabit. I wanted you to know because I wanted you to tell the world what lies ahead. The world environment day is not just a day to remind the world of its responsibilities towards the planet it inhabits, but it is also to remind that it might be the last opportunity to do something to save the environment.
Love,
S
Author Profile
- India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) is an emerging think tank and a media-publishing company focused on international affairs & the India Story. Centre for Global India Insights is the research arm of India Writes Network. To subscribe to India and the World, write to editor@indiawrites.org. A venture of TGII Media Private Limited, a leading media, publishing and consultancy company, IWN has carved a niche for balanced and exhaustive reporting and analysis of international affairs. Eminent personalities, politicians, diplomats, authors, strategy gurus and news-makers have contributed to India Writes Network, as also “India and the World,” a magazine focused on global affairs.
Latest entries
India and the WorldNovember 19, 2024G20 launches Global Alliance against Poverty, Modi champions Global South- India and the WorldNovember 18, 2024Modi visit: India, Nigeria bolster strategic, economic ties
- India and the WorldNovember 15, 2024Ahead of G20 summit, Brazil’s ambassador stresses on action on UNSC reforms
- Green & CleanNovember 13, 2024Turning the Transition Towards Justice and Equity : UN Chief’s Call to Action at COP29
