All breast milk are not same!

Last year it was Nirbhaya that deeply shook me. I spent nights in loud cry and tears, in the Pooja room where no one could spot me. When I let the pressure off, I returned to bed, only to see my little angel sleeping in complete ignorance and innocence on what was happening around her. Then I wept in silence – “how am I going to safe guard myself and her from the cruel world around” was a big unanswered question.

Nirbhaya’s loss rattled the conscience of our nation. Every citizen came forward like never before. Ever hungry media for sensational news made the most of it. Men and women who are used to witnessing the rally or protests from their balcony came down to the roads… Candlelight vigils, slogans, placards and what not! For all the pain that life had gone through, there was some purpose to it, I consoled myself.

Last year, it was a rape victim whose journey was stopped midway. From that single incident, awareness about women safety was born, laws were made stringent. [Is somebody asking me if the crime rate has come down? I would give that question a pass!]. This year, a man who tried to protect a woman from being raped, who tried to chase the rapists out died – now will the rapists not continue to plunder this woman who is nurturing all lives in our land? Why did he go midway? Whom did he trust for the unfinished job! Will someone come to protect that woman? Will Nammaazhvar Ayya’s death shake our conscience?

I know I am not talking sense at all. Why would anyone’s conscience be questioned for a natural death of an old man?!

In short he made me realize, “All breast milk are not same!”

I delivered my daughter in 2007. I had a few elders around me to help and support my child and me. I am very grateful to them for those first moments in my life. Breast milk is the elixir of her life – a single cure for any diseases my child might have contracted from outside.

It is a natural hormonal process. Once the life is out from my belly, lactation happened automatically (nay, I didn’t give credit to creator’s brilliance then). However in this nature’s process, elders tried to interfere saying ‘Don’t eat that. Don’t eat this’ I was confounded at that time. All breast milk would have the same stuff – same nutrients – vitamins, minerals, calcium and life nourishing contents. Whatever I eat, my body could still produce the same milk. So was every mother’s milk I thought. But soon I was disproved. What I eat, my body digests, becomes blood, blood becomes milk. So, what you eat matters.

What you sow, you reap – applies to lactation process!

Do you know, our land, mother Earth (we unabatedly do our lip service) is the producer of elixir of our lives? She continues to lactate so that our lives could be nourished. If she has to produce quality milk, she needs to be given proper food. If you make her smoke plastic, industry waste, garbage, chemicals in the name of pesticides, do you think she can continue to produce same breast milk like earlier? We have made her diseased and still expect her to nourish us, our children and their children!

Older generation got diabetes at age 60, now our generation is taking master health check up as we stylishly call so at age 30. One in 3 adults in India is diagnosed of diabetes. No, please don’t translate that to "We are the sweetest nation!" One can argue “Life style” has changed; but life is still the same. We still breathe in oxygen and let out carbon-di-oxide. Unfortunately no change to that process to suit our current life style. We eat crops, fruits, vegetables from a diseased mother (earth). Hence we are diseased!

Nammaazhvar came as a God in disguise for the raped land. He fought for organic farming. The pesticides and other chemicals which are being used for better crop, faster harvest is killing her slowly. Genetically modified seeds and crops left her molested and impotent that she can’t generate milk anymore for anybody. Vast area of lands were subjected to this pain. Scores and scores of farmers committed suicide because she stopped lactation. She became sterile!

He educated farmers, taught them how to preserve their soil. He exposed them to variety of farming methods for good yield and money, but without raping the land. He restored the lives of several thousand farmers. Many inspired people from IT joined him as a full time / part time volunteers/ business partners. He appeared in social media, continues to impact lives like me.

Will his death make history? Will we celebrate his life (he still lives in the trees he planted, seeds he sowed) by paying tributes to him? If so, what is a fitting tribute?

Please ask for Organic foods. Let’s increase the demand for organic food items. Say no to pesticides, say no to genetically modified crops (they are jus chemicals and no life is present), reduce the use of plastics! Be sensible and gentle to carry a cloth bag when you go out shopping... Let us be the change agent in our society and leave a sustainable mother to our children!

Let there be sense and purpose to the life Nammaazhvar has lived!