Sohrabji was a man of many parts.
He was a great admirer of the arts.
Throughout his life he was always on the go
One word he didn’t understand was slow.
Sometimes within the span of just one day.
He was in Madras, Calcutta and Bombay.
The day for him was rather short on hours
But since he had some superhuman powers
He was often working late into the night
Or rushing somewhere on the red-eye flight.
This kind of schedule would cause me to weep.
When did he ever find the time to sleep?
We all recall when he sometimes sinks
His head and calmly takes his forty winks.
But if he was asked to answer, he could rise
And to the audience’s great surprise,
He could say something à propos!
But how he did it, I will never know.
It’s hard to find a place he hasn’t been.
All of the seven continents, he’s seen
And if you talk of the remotest isle,
You find that he’s been there for a while.
With your permission I will now salute
His love of nature which was absolute.
And whether he was saving the wilderness
Or planting trees in our urban mess,
Sohrabji was prepared to work and fight
So we could get to see that wondrous sight
Of a tiger prowling in his habitat.
A zoo’s no place for this majestic cat.
This love of nature was conveyed to all our family.
Way back then he could clearly see
The environment was under stress
Neglect he knew would be a mess.
Our creek side land was then reserved
The mangroves there were well preserved.
And from my office I gaze out there,
A Mumbai view that's very rare
With greenery all the way
Until you sight New Bombay.
And now and then, with friends I float
On a gently moving boat,
With pink Flamingos in full flight,
To my mind a splendid sight.
In saving tigers he played a role.
The environment was a major goal.
In WWF he played a major part.
He was involved right from the start.
Alas! We didn’t pay him sufficient heed.
Development seemed to be a greater need.
It is no longer Climate Change
Within a tolerable range.
A crisis is what it’s about
With fires, floods as well as drought.
Every week a constant blast
Far worse than seen in the past.
In the Godrej Group it is seen
That our goals of Good and Green
Though ambitious will be done
Sustainability can be won.
And so without partiality
Our goal for all's neutrality.
Whether water, carbon or solid waste
By 2030 we’ll make haste
To make our net emissions zero.
Will that make the group a hero?
In 2010 the goal looked tall
But we took a reasoned call
Technology would save the day.
So far it has turned out that way.
As technology takes a leap
Green energy gets very cheap.
Keen observers quickly saw
That Solar also tracks Moore's law.
Whether groundnut shell or bagasse
Our India's full of biomass.
And bamboo now is on the way
It can truly save the day.
There are many paths that we can see
For achieving Carbon neutrality.
But the cheapest way is certainly
Through energy efficiency.
Real interest rates are rather low
And high returns quickly flow
From any energy saving device.
For business this is very nice.
In India mandated CSR
Can help us go very far.
Of our profits, two percent
Is required to be spent!
Multiple benefits is what one sees
With water projects or growing trees.
Good livelihoods are created
Our carbon emissions are abated.
Trees planted at a river’s source
Maintain the flow throughout its course.
So many benefits we can see:
The preservation of biodiversity,
Different species can be tried.
Useful products can be supplied
Like biomass or edible fruits
And yet the trunk and the roots
Can sequester carbon, clean the air,
So while we decarbonise
Why not also monetise.
Now biodiversity is rapidly lost.
All this will be a heavy cost.
It may already be too late
To avoid a disastrous fate.
But if solutions are quickly found
The outcome could still be sound.
To avoid the planet going to zero
Let us salute every hero.
And every year we will applaud
The winner of the Sohrab Godrej award.
We still have a chance to save
Our planet, if we’re smart and brave.
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