Sonam Wangchuk at MYTRAH talks organised recently at Symbiosis Institute of International Business. (Express photo) Sonam Wangchuk at MYTRAH talks organised recently at Symbiosis Institute of International Business. (Express photo) “I always say please live a simple life in the city so that we can lead a simple life in the mountains,” said 2018 Ramon Magsaysay award winner Sonam Wangchuk, who was addressing students at MYTRAH talks organised at Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Pune. “I expect nothing from the government but I expect everything from people. There is a need to update ourselves, our values and lifestyle. We should choose simple ways of living… to live in harmony with nature by adopting simpler technologies and using natural resources innovatively,” said Wangchuk. He said there was a need to put a full stop to “our desires” as they keep on growing and never end. According to Wangchuk, the crisis and challenges that we face on the planet today are deafening silence and inaction. Inaction of two kinds — few who know too much about it and are hopeless and therefore inactive and many who know too little and are inactive. “Human beings are very creative and innovative. Whenever we have serious challenges, we come up with serious solutions as well,” he said. “There was a time when there was a lot of violence among humans. Violence was the way to solve the problems. ‘Might is right’ was the culture long ago. But some wise people came up with the innovation of god. A concept that is mightier than any of the mightiest wild person in the community. Fear of that concept made them behave in a proper manner. This is a perfect example of simple but innovative solution for that time. The concepts of god and religion have worked so well that they have served their purpose and… ,” he said. Speaking about the present situation, Wangchuk said the form of violence has changed. The weapons we use for this new form of violence are not guns and daggers. They are stylish cars and other luxuries that are becoming weapons of destruction. “Life expectancy in the cities is going down. Air pollution alone kills nine million people in a year but we don’t see that as violence. In 42 years, 52 per cent of wildlife has been wiped out as per the report of World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Roughly half of the forests are gone in the last 50 years and we don’t see violence in that,” Wangchuk said. “There is no need of using high technology to make lives easier and comfortable. We should learn from the innovation of the ancestors and solution to the problem… In winters, when people didn’t have much to do, they celebrated that time with festivities and stories, while they worked in summer and used to complete the work for the whole year and telling stories in summer was considered as sin. This was the simple solution of our ancestors who lived in Trans-Himalaya region. Solutions and technology can be very different and this is no less effective than modern technology,” he said. Wangchuk said it is very important for young people to make thoughtful choices about their lives early on, so that at least we are on the solution side of the line rather than problem side, causing the problem and becoming the villain in the story of the planet. “We need to explore our own deserts and land, which need to be healed and managed on the planet itself. It is not the time to use and throw this planet and we need to explore deep within more than without. Space exploration should be used to quench human thirst,” he said answering a question asked by a student. When asked about the problems faced at the social level, he said that problems come with people most of the time at the early stages when they don’t understand or are confused or their beliefs are shaken, but with time they start to understand. For all the latest Pune News, download Indian Express App

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