This Is Not LinkedIn-appropriate

Those close to me know I'm governed largely by three emotions: debilitating sadness, seething rage, and crippling anxiety. Bangalore's water crisis has left me feeling all three feelings at the same time: sad that we let a once beautiful city get to this; angry because there's still so much water being wasted every day; anxious because it feels like the apocalypse is not that far into the future anymore.

So after many literal sleepless nights, I decided to do the only thing I know how to do - I wrote some ads. I then reached out to some brands to ask them if they'd put some media money behind it, fully expecting them to laugh in my face. Surprisingly, both brands said yes; one set (attached) actually saw the light of day.

Now I know writing a few ads is not enough. But this is not about doing enough. It's about doing something. Here's a small list of a few some things you can do, good enough or not:

• Buy a bucket. It's ugly. It's middle class. It's not as romantic as standing under a shower and letting that endless stream of water wash away your dirt and grime and stress. But it saves a shit tonne of water. Available on most quick commerce apps, so you can get one in 10 minutes before your next shower.
• Add aerators to your taps. Ask your offices to add them too. Costs next to nothing; takes under a minute to install. Buy here.
• Store that RO reject water. Don't have the space to mount a reject water tank? Buy a makeshift one. Use it to rinse dishes, mop, etc - you know the drill. For a nation known for its jugaad, it's funny we're being outsmarted by our excuses.
• Over-communicate the problem. Put up posters in your building. Make spec ads*. Annoy your family. Quiet that voice that says, "Am I going to sound like a patronising nag?" and write on LinkedIn anyway. It's easy to forget we're in the middle of a crisis with water continuing to flow out of our taps. So it needs to be stated and restated ad nauseam. A really well-written piece by Praveen Gopal Krishnan in The Ken about how Cape Town did this (and more). Read here. *Aside: I interview so many juniors who whine to me about how their seniors or orgs or clients don't "let" them do good work. Well, here's your chance to solve a real problem with real solutions. Donate your time and skills. Build your book. Win an award if you must. You don't have to be selfless to do some good.
• Donate money to orgs doing something about this problem. Here's one I found - SayTrees
• Don't do anything. I know that water saved at the individual + community level is not as much as what can and should be saved by government policies and large cos. I know that they have failed us. But I also know that when the time comes, they won't blink twice before saying, "Let them drink beer." So if you don't think small changes can make a difference, I get it. But here's the thing - the best thing saving even the littlest amount of water can do is buy us more time; the worst it can do is not make things worse. So even if you're cynical of the impact of switching to a bucket bath or of sacrificing your Holi celebrations, keep it to yourself. Just please don't comment, "The government needs to..." and deter someone else from making a change.

PS: Water scarcity and water inequality are not a Bangalore problem; they're global problems. But the good news is, so are the solutions.

PPS: Thanks to Sundar Kondur for not laughing when I reached out with an ugly mock of the first ad; and to Meghna P Deepak for making it release-worthy.