Needed more Viveks

Popular Tamil comedian Vivek is not your run of the mill stand up performer who reels off jokes by the seconds. He cracks jokes but does it with a progressive tinge. Quite a thing to do, actually. Vivek has another, little-known side to his character: he is a diehard follower of the former President APJ Abdul Kalam’s visionary ideas and writings.

Recently when Abdul Kalam asked Vivek to campaign against global warming by planting green saplings all over the state, the popular actor who is a Padmashree awardee, jumped at the idea.

Kalam emphasised the importance of planting a billion trees on an urgent basis to combat global warming and its wide ranging ill effects. “It is important to safeguard future generations,’’ he counseled sagely. And that is how Project Green Kalam was launched. According to details, ten lakh saplings will be planted all over Tamil Nadu.

Exnora international, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has joined hands with Vivek in this ambitious project. The entertainer inaugurated this programme at Valasaravakkam in Chennai to a good response. While planting saplings, Vivek wants to spread the good word about environment protection and in doing so, he has several advantages. Like a number of big actors in south India, Vivek uses his fan clubs across Tamil Nadu for mobilising opinion, in his case in favour of environment and ecology.

Vivek more than professes his open admiration for the former ‘peoples’ president. “He has shown me the light. To prevent the calamities of global warming. We need to plant 100 crore saplings in India. With the help of several NGOs we are planning to plant 10 lakh saplings in Tamil Nadu. They will be planted at parks, colleges and residential colonies. This project is supposed to end on December 31, 2011. Of the proposed ten lakh saplings, the last one will be planted by Abdul Kalam at Cuddalore. In Chennai alone we have decided to embed 10,000 saplings.”

When a project is being launched on this scale, can Vivek’s fan clubs be far behind? Says Cell Murugan, general secretary of the Vivek Fan club, “Over 10,000 members from the Vivek fan club will participate. Later, it will be their responsibility to take care of the mission. Even if a non-member wants to plant saplings, they are welcome.”

NGO Exonaro International, involved in urban development activities, is part of this Green Kalam project. Says Exnora’s international president Abdul Kani, “Global warming is a threat to mankind and nature. Ensuring a green cover on earth is the only way to prevent temperatures from rising. Vivek is willing to travel across the state for this campaign and his popularity will help. We have decided not to accept any donation, we just plant saplings of shady trees. It is very important to continuously water and take care of the saplings for them to grow safely.’’

The NGO is concentrated in schools, colleges and residential community areas. According to Kani, they get saplings from individuals and the state forest department. Besides, you need space to plant saplings. “So when some one offers an area to plant them, we combine both,’’ he says.

Tamil Nadu is among India’s most rapidly urbanising states, yet it is also fast losing its green cover and organisers justifiably say: more Viveks are needed. In fact the country needs more green cover which is by all accounts dwindling. After all, losing it will be no joke, particularly for the generations that are going to follow.