I want to document this trek we had also having a social cause behind it.

Nagari is a the Chittore District, about 100 km WNW of Chennai. The mountain range we chose for this trek has a Shiva temple on the top and frequently visited by pilgrimages. Now you know why we need to add this social cause to this. With pilgrimage, unattended forest area, comes the menace of open dump yard.

We were shocked to see the place. In few spots, the garbage had even changed the flow of the river. We took things in our own hands (With gloves 😉 ) Murali took on the duty of documenting with his lens.

We were prepared to clean-up the place. We took with us the garbage bags and gloves. We set on a mission to leave the place clean for people who come after us. People who came before us did not have it in their agenda.

We did our best to clean-up the area. It was too huge a task for us. The garbage was mostly food packaging, styrofoam plates, cloths, footwear.

We were just trekkers. We went to have fun. Why should we have to pick up garbage left over by others. We will even be fools in the eyes of others. We are not turned down by those who call it their privileged to use anywhere and everywhere as their dumping ground.

If I took all the effort on earth to bring food and plates to eat, I should be human enough to take back just the food package and the plates I got with me. That is the least. If each one can carry back their own trash, we need not be doing all this. Everyone can escape in to the wild and enjoy nature as it is. If we can only complain that the place is not clean, it is you and me who is responsible for it. If we do not start now we will never be a mature society who can be self disciplined to be able to take care of our needs.

It is my very humble request to carry back your trash if you are not able to drop it in a place where it will be attended to.

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Photo credits: Murali Sugumaran

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