Quite a few Coimbatoreans are turning towards a sustainable life style. Sangeetha Subash of G.V.Residency tops the list. She has made her residence nontoxic and the home landscape is filled with edible stuff !
Quite a few Coimbatoreans are turning towards a sustainable life style. Sangeetha Subash of G.V.Residency tops the list. She has made her residence nontoxic and the home landscape is filled with edible stuff !
Meet the green citizen Sangeetha, the lady who wields the green magic wand. While husband Subash is busy with textile machinery trading, the wife Sangeetha spends her ' shopping time ' for making nontoxic cum pocket friendly cleansers for the household. The wonderwoman was born to Vimala and Narayanaswamy in Coimbatore. She began her education at Alvernia School and went on to do her B.Sc in Computer Technology at P.S.G.Tech. Marriage to Subash ( 1998 ) was followed with a Post Graduate Diploma in Fashion Design from the Avinashilingam University. The household of this eco conscious lady consists of her dynamic mother in law Sarojini Thirumalaiswamy, her husband Subash, daughter Srishtii, son Saharsh and herself. They have been living in G.V.Residency for a year now and this utilitarian home was designed by Karthik of Turya.
" We wanted our house to exude good things. The copper and brick dome with a glass opening was designed for the purpose of generating positive energy. The windchime is from Auroville and you can hear the ' Om ' when a breeze touches it. We wanted to continue with the old practices and therefore use an adjustable dining table with ' palagais ' ( planks for squatting ) in the place of chairs. Our household is free from toxic material. Do you know that we use about 62 harmful chemicals everyday. Unfortunately, our cleaning activity poisons the Earth, " said Sangeetha while serving a cup of healthy green tea from New Zealand.
Sangeetha was introduced to natural cleansing elements by Poornima and she started to try it out gradually. She had begun with the toilet.
" I used gram flour ( kadalai maavu ) for cleaning the place with the aid of a coconut shrub. It gave results. Slowly and steadily I added bio enzymes, made soap nut solution for our home use and now my house is free from toxins. Today I use home made stuff for toilet cleaning, vessel cleaning, clothes washing, floor mopping, bathing, hand wash, cleaning my teeth, hair wash etc., We segregate our waste at home, our house has a rain water storage tank, rain water harvesting facility, 5 Kw Solar plant, solar water heaters and our chemical free water goes into soak pits in our compound. Even our dog which was adopted recently has a bath with home made stuff, " went on the lady. It is truly amazing. She has been volunteering with Siruthuli for the last 8 years. Sangeetha and the other committed Apex Body members conduct the ' Sittukaludan Siruthuli ', an awareness programme for school children every Friday. Her household does not have plastic containers, save the one used to store bio enzymes. She buys her stuff like the tooth powder from the Zero Waste Store - Seeragam in Bharathi Colony. Gowri, the green shop keeper has been nourishing the venture.
The household uses a ' mannu dosa kallu ' for making chappatis. The kadai is made of cast iron and they hardly use a micro wave in the house. Stone cookery ware from the north east rules the roost in this household which has never seen non stick cookery ware. The Kalchatti looks good in the kitchen. The walls of the kitchen are made with natural plastering material. Sangeetha runs a furniture design company called ' Design Infinity ' and she experiments with natural polishes in her venture.
" I began for the sake of my kids. They used to say allergies were caused of pollution. Then, I connected with people working with nature. This brought me close to nature. Once you connect with nature, you will be hooked to it for life, " smiled Sangeetha while demonstrating her home made cleansers. She collaborates with her neighbours and friends regularly. Chithra Raveendran of G.V.Residency gets a lot of lemons from the temples for making bio enzymes and she sends them to Sangeetha if required. Nowadays, Sangeetha has been trying to spread the good word by helping schools and institutions to make the natural cleansers in house. Yellow Train is one of the schools.
" In house manufacture will help us to create a circular economy. We will make and use things ourselves. Will this not reduce our carbon print ? " stated the green soldier who wants us to query ourselves. She has been using native rice for dosa bhatter and she adds by saying that ' Mappillai Samba ' gives crispy dosas. She advises people who wish to pursue a green path to have a peer group because the rest of the world may be in a different wave length. The green lady furthers the cause by stating that we will gain energy by practicing what we preach.
" We have been at this for the last many years and we get a special vibration while doing all this. Its a great experience. Lot of people want me to sell these cleansers in the market. But I want children and institutions to change first. Another Siruthulian Shanthini Balu has helped me with the edible landscape and we use our home grown stuff for 4 days a week for cooking. The furniture wood waste is used for heating water and the ash is used for washing dishes.
We use Peerkangai Naru ( ridge gourd fibre ) for cleaning vessels. A chemical free Diwali Gift Hamper would do wonders. Self Help Groups could also be part of such initiatives, " added the resolute green home maker.
She had been inspired by her father ( Narayanaswamy ) and father in law ( Thirumalaiswamy ). They had been go getters. The household does not buy bottle water anywhere. Sangeetha Subash was happy to share a few of her green recipes.
" For making bio enzymes, mix three parts of fruit peel ( preferably citric - lime or oranges or sweet lime ) with one part of brown sugar and ten parts of water. Store in an air tight plastic container for about two or three months. ( Use plastic for glass may burst due to release of gases at the time of fermentation ). In two months you will have a multi purpose liquid cleanser.
It has a long shelf life and can be stored at room temperature. However it has to be away from sunlight., " stated the preacher cum practitioner.
A few other methods :
Laundry Liquid : Soak 2 handfuls of soapnut in 2 to 3 litres of water overnight. Boil for 5 minutes. Allow it to cool, squeeze out the pulp from the soapnut, discard the seeds and filter the liquid. Mix it with bio enzymes ( ratio 2:1 ). It can be stored for a week. Refrigerate if required for longer durations.
Dish Wash : Plain wood ash works well for non greasy dishes. For greasier ones, mix the wood ash with shikakai powder/ dosa bhatter/ bio enzymes. Use a combination of gram flour with laundry liquid or bio enzymes for cleaning up ceramic or glass items.
A lot of fragrance emanates while Sangeetha demonstrates her work to the visitors. A green and fragrant home will be the outcome of such habits which are the need of the hour. The work of Sangeetha can be compared to the work of the people who had been connected to the ' Servants of India Society '. Such people will be the harbingers of ' Swachh Bharat '. Hope every patriotic Indian joins the ilk of Sangeetha in order to make our India toxin free.