Sharda Lal
Shri M L Raina is a septagenarian resident of Amit Nagar, Muthi with passion for greenary. He is heartily devoted to enrich greenary, in and around his place of residence. Originally from the remote village Mujemarg, in Zainapora of Shopian district, Kashmir division, that is famous for the ancient pilgrimage centre of Kapal Mochan and the delicious, aromatic and traditional Ambri apples, Shri Raina shifted for some time to Sathu Barbarshah in Srinagar city.
Shopian had become an active hot bed of militant activities much earlier, but then in the later 1980s, Srinagar too toed the line. Shri M L Raina and his family migrated and found shelter in Jammu in 1990-91 with memories of his childhood and the youthful years spent in Kashmir. Perhaps his earlier grooming in the green and blue vales of Kashmir, and the longing of his family for the environs of their native place are responsible for the Raina's devotion to adding greenery to their second – rather third – shelter at Jammu and to the surroundings.
Like the children of most of the Kashmiri Hindu families, the children of Smt. and Shri Raina also are away from their home at Jammu, in pursuit of jobs to and to make a comfortable living for themselves. Most importantly however, they haven't forgotten that service to the humanity is the essence of their Sanatan creed.
Shri M L Raina says, “A couple of years ago, his daughter had brought home some fruits of religiously important Bael from Kolkata. From their size and other qualities, these looked unique. After consuming the fruit, we collected the seed and sowed these about an inch deep in well manured soil, stuffed into the used plastic bottles, old containers and cans lying waste at home.” Exhibiting awareness that the plastic shouldn't be thrown away, but reused and recycled to create wealth from waste, Shri Raina says, “I didn't purchase polybags from the market, but the waste and reused bottles of edible oil, cold drinks, etc were used for raising a small nursery of Bael and also some other kinds of plants like Neem, Tulsi, Aloe vera, Hibiscus, Lemongrass, Aprajita etc at home. Thus, in a way, I don't make any additional spending on raising the plants. Then I transplant the grown up saplings at vacant places around temples and shrines, along canals and roadsides and in parks. Even I gift these to trustworthy people who are in my opinion, environment friendly.”
Shri M L Raina attributes his motivation and lifestyle for environment to his revered parents Smt Rajrani and Shri C P Raina. The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has further boosted his morale for such a kind of lifestyle through his Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), he says.
Only last month on Janamashtami day, Shri M L Raina gifted me 20 saplings of these much sought after Bael saplings, plus a few other kinds of plants. We transplanted these along with around 108 others under the guidance of Shri Ajay Khajuria, President, Samiksha NGO, at JDA Park, Muthi, and at the Gaushala farms of Shri Champa Mata and Shri Dwarka Nath Shastri Ji Ashram, Sohanjna village of Jammu district, in collaboration with members of Bharat Vikas Parishad, Taushi Shakha, NGO Samiksha and Sharda Lal Educational and Cultural Trust and at the farms of Mata Champa Devi during the plantation drive of rainy season 2024.
Shri Gangadhar Shastri Ji blessed the event and Shri Ajit Kumar Sharma steered the programme at Sohanjana.
Not to forget here, that whenever Shri Raina is on a plantation campaign, he carries with him the necessary equipments like garden hoes, knife, etc in a cloth bag. He is strictly against irrational use and erratic disposal of plastic and polythene.
While we people from the Paryavaran Sanrakshan Gatividhi (Environment Conservation Activities) are emboldened by the dedication of such self motivated volunteers, we are on a lookout for more such devoted environmentalists who are silently, but consistently spreading the message: ‘Plant Trees! Reduce Plastic!! Conserve Water!!!'.
