Mission ‘Vasudha’- The Eternal Mission

“Vasudha”, this is a term which literally means ‘the producer of wealth’, ‘wealth’, is a term that is often misunderstood as money, luxury and glamour, but the wealth we truly cease to understand is the wealth that’s perhaps the true one! As we all may be already aware of that the produce of the ‘true wealth’ is faltering due to our infatuation for ‘apparent wealth’, recent studies suggest it well that our planet Earth is undergoing a major problem of climate change and global warming and this is not something new, we have heard this term long ago since 2015 and even before, but who has the time and capacity to take it seriously. We all give speeches, write poems, shayaris, essays, articles and innumerable arguments supporting the fact that it is a major problem and it should be encountered, but our dilemma is we just speak from the comfort of our couch when our “Vasundhara” is bleeding. It is easy to speak or argue a few lines about the ‘Mother Earth’ or to draw beautiful pictures depicting the same, but it is really tough and overwhelming to actually follow the ideals of it and that’s what I want to give the message from this article…

I know, I am not excluded from the list of those who just persuade others to act while they remain in their comfort zones, perhaps that’s the fallacy of every human being, we depend on others when shall anyone lead but cease to realize that the world needs ME, the “Vasudha” needs me… Now, many of you might be motivated and inspired and maybe thoughts are already striking your mind of building an NGO and then hiring green workers and organizing massive campaigns, but let me tell you the reality of your ambitions, these are just a safety valve for your inability to act, we already know the proverb, “charity begins at home” and this works the best here, establishing an NGO or large scale organization requires another exploitation of natural resources and I bet opening it isn’t so easy as it seems. If we truly want to contribute, we won’t have the need to become the Renowned Environmentalist so as to preserve the planet, but we will start it with a simple act. Now, the most simple yet the most ignored one, practical example, I wish to put forward is that when we eat something on the way (example, bus, train or any other public transport) and just a second after completion of our delicacy, we throw the wrapper/waste materials out of the window, on the street without knowing even whether it is biodegradable or not, it explicitly portrays our negligence towards cause for our “Vasudha”. Next time, if you truly want to be a part of the “Misson Vasudha”, throw the wrapper in the dustbin or use a safe alternative for the same.

The Soil Beneath Our Feet

The Mission ‘Vasudha’ we haven’t discussed yet is nothing, I’m not giving you any such strict timelines as others give, no rules, no regulations and no such flattery words to please the reader. Just, I want you to be aware, aware that the Earth is your only home where you can live. I admit, many critics might argue back that humanity has found that life is possible on moon, and of course, that’s true, and I am not backfiring it with any jealousy, but think twice, will you get the greenery, the serenity, the tranquility and the experience of our planet “Earth” and is it necessary that if we have found a new home to reside, we have to destroy the old one, especially if the old one was so caring, so nurturing and so resilient. I don’t stop you, go to space, go to moon, go to stars, rise in the ‘aasman’ (sky), but don’t forget that your feet (“Charan”) is tied to the soil of “Prithvi”, our own Vasundhara.

In this Mission Vasudha, we will not organize mass campaigns to facilitate any such cause, that’s another mass exploitation of resources of our planet but we shall pledge that every time we breathe the tranquil air of it, every time we drink the water of it and that every time we go to visit the hill stations and natural retreats in our vacations, may we not just indulge in luxury and glamour and be ensnared in the false wealth of the world, but realize that these are debts, debts which we owe, a debt that cannot be paid back by money or commodity but only by your actions not only your intellect, perhaps your intellect and determination do matter, but may that reflect in your actions.

The Fractured Roof of Our Common House

We shall once again not forget that the “Earth is One Family” and that we are morally, ethically and undeniably obliged to take care of our only house, the house which is the most beautiful one, the most elegant, the most nurturing and the most resilient. Today, the house is under danger, its roof is getting weak, its pillars and beams, the climate and the environment is plagued by global warming and it is not false or inaccurate to say that the house is under fire and if we do not act wisely to extinguish it, it will burn slowly, yet steadily, so steady that I fear that it shall be too late until we realize that the house was important.

A house does not provide us merely financial security, the most important thing it provides is the roof, the mere roof that protects us from the harsh realities of the outside world, the storm, but once the roof is fractured, there is no one to protect us and mark my words, the roof is getting weaker day by day. But the difference in the ‘house’ I am describing and the literal house is just that in the house of “Prakriti”, the Earth, the residents as destroying the house themselves or they are merely watching getting their house turn into wrecks. The ‘House’ is absolutely resilient and it is not going to fall in a day, in a month or even in years, but all that the house wants from the residents is that they stay united and help the house withstand the storm together, the ‘house’ isn’t telling you to weep for her, perhaps she has many to do so, she is asking you to just hold one of its pillars and the rest ‘she’ is capable enough to handle, she isn’t weak, O foolish human! She just needs your support even if that’s a tiny one.

An Eternal Mission for Global Harmony

When we discuss about the completion of this mission, I regret to tell you that this mission has no completion, this is an eternal mission, this has to continue, maybe in coming years, the youth of our country, will be awakened and maybe we shall be able to counter this problem of global warming and let’s hope one day, our planet is again green, but this does not mean, the mission stops, “the grass can always be made much more greener” is what I truly value for this mission, but this cannot be done without the collaboration of the entire humanity that is all the people of our “Vasundhara” that is Earth.

To conclude, I would not like to say those overly ambitious dreams of future, yet my favorite quote, “The future belongs to those who prepare for it today” works in this scenario very well. Think about it yourself, if you are dreaming about that someone in future will save our planet from this crisis and I will be a mere spectator to it, then I am heartbroken to say that you are just waiting for a king when you have the throne just beside you, you are waiting for the passer-by to extinguish the fire inside your house, that’s truly pitiful but that’s what is the dark reality of present. I cannot challenge the thoughts of those with my small battalion of words when they have already built a fortress of their mindset of procrastination, but I would like to just give the message to those inside the fortress that even a fortress needs windows to survive. What if one day, the window ceases to open and you are trapped inside it to suffocate? That time is when you realize that the “Kutumba” was indeed a paradise yet you failed to preserve it, that time we shall truly realize that we were waiting for the moon to save us, when we were capable of becoming stars , yet the misery that traps us is that the moon doesn’t help in the darkest night of “Amavasya”, only the stars do. The “Amavasya” is not far, let’s pledge to save it, to become the stars of the sky, the one with pure light, that guides the passer by rather than to expect something from her/him. The Mission Vasudha is indeed an eternal mission, but the Amavasya isn’t far, O the residents of Vasundhara! My family!

Who will dare to join me in this Mission Vasudha, the eternal mission?

For the “World is One Family” …

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.

WriteToWin Summer 2026

Official publication archive for the WriteToWin National Climate Literacy Competition – Summer 2026 Season. Showcasing top shortlisted essays and real-world environmental actions by young leaders across India.