Delhi’s air pollution arrives with a paradox—as the smog reduces visibility, what becomes clear is the gap between the rich and the poor. Being a student living in Delhi, we have three breaks during our school session—the summer break, the winter break, and the holidays due to the rising pollution level that we Delhiites call our pollution break. As students, we see these holidays as something fun, as a timepass. Even after so many years of these breaks, we fail to realise the gravity of the situation. The main cause for this is our privilege and the rising political ignorance.With air filters installed …
All about cracking the climate code with the Annual Climate Change Quiz in the Carnival’24. ******************* Young climate warriors from different parts of the country battled it out for the coveted title of the ultimate Climate Champions in The Bout — Green School’s Programme (GSP) annual climate quiz for schools. Organised as a signature event of the Green Schools Programme Carnival & Awards Ceremony at the India Habitat Centre on 30 January 2024, the second edition of The Bout was double the fun and double the adrenaline! Over 35 school teams, consisting students from Grades 6 to 10, participated …
Sharing fond memories from 25 years back—of ice creams, rookies, cow dung, and some cool environment stuff for kids. ************************************ In the summer of 1992, late at night in the basement of the then rented office space of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the editorial team of the Down To Earth (DTE) magazine had a very long hot and tiring day putting together their very first issue. Anil Agarwal, the founder editor,...
In spite of all the brickbats and rebukes, a tabloid matures into a magazine as it finds its 'beginners' audience and speaks through quirky cartoons. ********************************************************************************* Gobar Times (GT) already had a successful 10-year run before I got on-board. It was always resplendent in a spectacular tabloid avatar, grabbing eyeballs everywhere. But as if this was not intimidating enough, here we were staging the arrival of a new GT. It’s looks? A standard news magazine format. Were we taking a risk?...
Narrating the tale and trajectory of Gobar Times—of how it evolved into a new avatar and gained new characters. ************************************* My association with the Gobar Times will be incomplete without Piu & Pom. We were once working on a comic strip for the magazine. Piu is the name of my daughter so it was easy to decide the name of one of the characters. But for Pom, there’s an interesting story.
A thoughtful reflection on the value of Gobar Times with an understanding of what it is about, why so, how...and a little bit more.
Many of us love pets, especially dogs. But do you know that over the last five years, they have killed more than 300 people, mostly poor and rural children? Over 20,000 rabies deaths have been caused by homeless dogs and more than 30 endangered species have been hunted by them in the wild. The human-animal conflict between people and stray dogs in India has reached an alarming level. So, the next time you venture outdoors, please take care of yourself!
Dusting off our archives to showcase some of the best stuff we’d published so far.
Classroom experiments for fostering a healthy learning environment—based on ‘community comments,’ cooperative lesson plans, and a ‘mystery person.’ ********************************************************************** I believe that the most important aspect in a positive learning environment is the rapport between a teacher and her students. When the students are convinced that their teacher cares for them and wants them to do well, they feel relaxed to open up and ask questions. They no longer hesitate in making mistakes and taking risks. In order to build such healthy relationships, the …
A ground-level report from the GSP Annual Climate Quiz for Schools—The Bout hosted on 21 February 2023 at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. ******************************* Young people are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change but they are also playing a significant role in climate action. The youth is increasingly aware of the dangers that climate change poses in today’s time and are actively fighting it with their resilience and stewardship...
An update from the GSP Renewable Energy Fair for Schools—The Big Idea, hosted on 21 February 2023 at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. ****************************************** The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi conducted an enthusiastic renewable energy fair for schools, as part of its Green School’s Carnival 2023. It was held on February 21, 2023 at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The exhibits showcased some brilliant ideas...
A glimpse from the Gobar Times Design Studio, a designing contest organized as part of the Green Schools Carnival 2023, to allow our talented readers to express their vision and version of the Gobar Times by curating two-pages of the magazine—showing what they would like to read and how.