BANGALORE: On a regular day, Brikesh Singh cycles from his home in Byappanahalli to work in Richmond Town. On a not-so regular day, he climbs trees, 260-foot-high smokestacks and even the roof of the British Parliament in his attempt to 'Change politics and save the climate', along with like-minded Greenpeace activists who aim to bust environmental crimes.
Kindled with the spirit of making this world livable for animals and people dependent on forests, Brikesh joined Greenpeace as a volunteer and stayed on to become the public engagement manager of its operations in India.
As an activist based in Bangalore, Brikesh inspired many commoners to raise their voice against tree felling. He made a statement last year by sitting on top of a tree near Sankey Tank for 24 hours and, in return, garnered the support of over 3,000 green crusaders.
"When an ordinary person like me pushes the envelope to fight for a green world and people read about it over coffee in the morning, it drives them in diverse ways to support the cause. Last year, many Bangaloreans signed up online petitions , while others turned up to express solidarity. All this happened in just 24 hours," he says.
"I am a trained climber and find it easy to scale 300-feet monuments. But that night, while I sat on the tiny set suspended to the tree I wanted to save, the bats were awake, the city was asleep and I waited for sunrise. At dawn, I enjoyed the beautiful sunrise and also felt sad. For, I didn't know whether I'd be able to save that tree," he says.
SET ON A NEW VENTURE
At present, Brikesh is busy building a tree house in Chandrapur, Maharashtra, for the Junglistan campaign, starting September. This initiative comes at a time when India is set to host the Convention on Biodiversity, the largest international forum for biodiversity, in October.
"I am building this tree house in the tiger corridor where I can crash for a month. I'm equipping it with a solar charger and laptop to supply constant observation of the world I see around. While I perch there, celebrities and the media can visit to experience what I will be out there," says Brikesh.
The Junglistan initiative aspires to draw focus to the plight of those dependent on forests for livelihood. "Greenpeace will organize events across the country to get support of citizens. In Bangalore and elsewhere, non-violent activists will at some point climb trees for the cause," says Brikesh.
For, there's hope yet, says this ardent crusader whose beliefs were born again after his three-day imprisonment in a Kolkata jail. "Along with five activists, I climbed a 260-foot-high smokestack of a thermal power plant in Kolaghat and painted the slogan, 'Smoking kills', on the chimney. We were arrested for the 'crime' of raising alarm against climate change. While in prison, we were treated like royalty by other prisoners, which is unlike what happens to new inmates. When I asked why they were treating us so well, they said: 'Aap hamare liye bhagwan jaise ho (You are like god to us). You've been arrested for striving to protect the future of our kids'," says Brikesh.
