Beauty and The Beast

The beast being trash! There are many beautiful things we have run into during this trip and we have seen some efforts at preserving the environment. While birding we have often been in “plastic free zones” but it’s just a sign posted and doesn’t seem to be a national interest. Other times birding by the side of the road or near water, I have tried to discreetly photograph the unfortunate utter disregard for Mother Earth with trash strewn everywhere. One day up in Latpanchar, I had some trash in a cloth bag from the breakfast the hotel sent with us. We were going to hike back down a big hill to a hide and I didn’t want to carry it. I was either going to put it in the car (which wasn’t nearby) or Mahendra offered to carry it. The local guide from that area indicated he should just throw it right into the huge pile already there. Mahendra knew I had a problem with this but he said in the long run that’s where it will end up and they just burn it. I cringed and closed my eyes and let him do it. But of course I did not photograph that heap because I feel it would not be polite or possibly embarrass them. But honestly if they were embarrassed by the mess, I guess there would be more effort to change? These little photos of trash are nothing at all in comparison to what we saw everywhere.