City Pulse

Imagine throwing a stone at your neighbour’s house; quite scandalising isn’t it? Well, that’s what 23-year-old Akhila Joseph Antony does. But here’s the catch, she does it for an extremely relevant and important cause. Akhila wraps pebbles or stones in small colourful papers that have pertinent messages written on them, persuading her neighbours to have more plants in their empty terraces and balconies. Not only that she also makes colourful paper rockets with similar messages and ensures that they fall in her neighbour’s house! And, interestingly, she goes about her business without telling anyone about her small activity.

 

“I was born and raised in Kollam, Kerala. My house is surrounded by trees, and we have the beach nearby. Therefore, I was always in the lap of nature. This sudden move to Bengaluru made me realise how much I missed that greenery. I also realised that whatever green cover was available is slowly but steadily depleting. On the other hand, I found that many of the houses in my neighbourhood had terraces and balconies that were completely empty. Just having some plants in those empty spaces would make so much of difference,” says the Koramangala resident. 

 

Akhila then devised a plan of writing messages such as, ‘give back to the earth’, ‘do your share’ ‘every tree counts’ among various other quotes. “I call it stone bombing! Sometimes I wrap these stones in colourful papers carrying the messages, or I tie them to the pebbles and throw it. It is imperative to use colourful paper otherwise, it won't catch attention,” she adds.

 

Interestingly, Akhila was pursuing her Masters’ in Social Work from Christ University, where she was supposed to do an internship with a well-recognised NGO. As part of her internship, she had to do a socially beneficial project. “I thought since I already have this plan, why not incorporate the same as part of my project,” she says. Akhila adds that her out of the box thinking got her many accolades from her NGO. 

 

There has been a positive impact too, she adds. “Houses that did not have plants soon started keeping plants; not a lot, but a couple of them. I would like to believe it is because of my endeavour that this change began. Many houses, I threw stones at, started getting potted plants. Sometimes I would throw the stones when I am walking down the 7th Block, Koramangala. But, mostly I would throw stones from my terrace where the view is better! I know this may sound insane, but it is important to initiate activities that will bring back some of the lost green cover. Let’s not forget how hot this summer was. It will only get worse than this,” she adds. 

 

Akhila points out that she has never revealed to her neighbours that she is the one throwing those pebbles. “I usually throw it when they are out for work after 11 am or so. First, I look around to see if anyone is watching me. Once I feel there’s no one around me I start throwing the pebbles at my neighbourhood terraces and balconies. I have told my plan to some of my friends, and I hope they are doing the same in their neighbourhoods! It is important we do something to bring back the greenery that Bengaluru used to once enjoy. Afterall, every step no matter how small helps make a difference,” says this changemaker who is studying for her studying for Civil Services.