From wearing a spider plant necklace and carrying saplings as gifts, to urging people to plant trees in his inimitable style, Jackie Shroff has become the poster boy for green warriors. He doesn’t mince words. So, when he says- ‘Ped lagao bhidu. Sabka kaam hai ped lagana. Nahi lagana to maro jal ke’- you believe it. In between watering plants and ahead of World Environment Day, Jackie, who’s being called Captain Planet on social media, speaks to us about his unique gifts, taking care of the environment and more. Excerpts:
‘Akal ka daant thoda late aya’
A video of Jackie from about three years ago started doing the rounds a while ago. In the video, the actor can be seen interacting with media at a tree plantation drive. “Jhaad laga ke koi upkar nahi kiya,” he tells them. Ask him what prompted him to be so vocal about planting trees and he replies, “Jo cheez humko zinda rakhti hai, usko humein zinda rakhna hai. Par ye akal ka daant mereko thoda late aya. Earlier, we would save the seeds of the fruits we ate. Even while travelling across the world, if we found something good, we’d feel like growing it ourselves. As kids we would grow plants in school – mirchi, methi lagate the aur ek hafte baad usko badha hua dekh ke achha lagta tha. So, that education was there since beginning. It’s just that sometimes we drift away from it. Being involved in farming, planting trees and spreading the message gives me pleasure. Standing barefoot in nature, watering my plants; that’s my way of connecting with nature.”
‘Apne bachhe aur unke baccho ke liye karna hai sab’
Jackie shares that along with schools, it is also the responsibility of family to impart knowledge about the environment in youngsters. “When I visit schools I encourage kids to plant at least one tree on their birthdays. Education about this should also be given at home. It’s the job of a family to speak about plants and the environment. Apna responsibility hai ki jab tak zinda hai aisi achhi baatein karte raho. So many people speak about going green and climate change but very few implement positive changes. We should be aware of these things so our future generations don’t suffer. Apne ko apne bachhe aur unke bachhe ke liye ye karna hai. The world is our family and we should treat it as a beautiful garden,” he says.
‘Akal ka daant thoda late aya’
A video of Jackie from about three years ago started doing the rounds a while ago. In the video, the actor can be seen interacting with media at a tree plantation drive. “Jhaad laga ke koi upkar nahi kiya,” he tells them. Ask him what prompted him to be so vocal about planting trees and he replies, “Jo cheez humko zinda rakhti hai, usko humein zinda rakhna hai. Par ye akal ka daant mereko thoda late aya. Earlier, we would save the seeds of the fruits we ate. Even while travelling across the world, if we found something good, we’d feel like growing it ourselves. As kids we would grow plants in school – mirchi, methi lagate the aur ek hafte baad usko badha hua dekh ke achha lagta tha. So, that education was there since beginning. It’s just that sometimes we drift away from it. Being involved in farming, planting trees and spreading the message gives me pleasure. Standing barefoot in nature, watering my plants; that’s my way of connecting with nature.”
‘Apne bachhe aur unke baccho ke liye karna hai sab’
Jackie shares that along with schools, it is also the responsibility of family to impart knowledge about the environment in youngsters. “When I visit schools I encourage kids to plant at least one tree on their birthdays. Education about this should also be given at home. It’s the job of a family to speak about plants and the environment. Apna responsibility hai ki jab tak zinda hai aisi achhi baatein karte raho. So many people speak about going green and climate change but very few implement positive changes. We should be aware of these things so our future generations don’t suffer. Apne ko apne bachhe aur unke bachhe ke liye ye karna hai. The world is our family and we should treat it as a beautiful garden,” he says.
