I’ve been passionate about environmental issues since as long as I remember. My father took me out for walks in the wilderness, and sometimes, he would point out the names of the more colourful birds. Later, I made our home in New Delhi a sanctuary for all manners of creatures. We planted trees where we could, and cared for lost dogs and ailing birds. I read about the great, ferocious fights to protect the planet’s beautiful forests and trees-always awestruck by the magnificence of the natural world.

None of this prepared me for the world I eventually wanted to bat for. As a person of privilege, I grew up reading how harshly the poor were forced to bear the double brunt of inequity and pollution, but I saw it only fleetingly. Finally, as I learnt to independently navigate Delhi – the city I love and call home-as a young person, I began to put some pieces together. I loved the beautiful wilderness but I decided to act on the newer environmental challenges India faced. As a young woman, I was particularly moved by how starkly marginalized women and children were. The ruin of our cities was compelling. Chintan is best known for its work on waste and air pollution, with people at the centre. We began with waste. One of the reasons is that before Chintan, I was curious about all those people who walked around with sacks on their backs, picking up our recyclable waste. I spent a year tracking them, their networks and deep diving into their world. It wasn’t enough. I am still finding mutually fruitful ways to stay engaged with India’s wastepickers and recyclers.

I have a Masters in Modern Indian History from Delhi University and a Masters in International Public Policy from SAIS, Johns Hopkins University. What I value about both is the way each of these have trained me to think. History tells me how change happens, and why the subaltern shapes our world today. Public Policy taught me to argue from data, and also, where the role of data inevitably ends, and ethical decision making remains the only tool.

The key reason I set up Chintan was because I couldn't find a job that would let me work on the issues that bothered me the most. So, without realizing it, I traded peace of mind for freedom of thought and action. Chintan began work in 2002: I was the only volunteer. That Chintan even exists is a small miracle, because for about 8 of these years, I have lived half the time in Delhi and half the time in the USA, Poland or Pakistan.

These years on, I am not sure that a formal NGO model of impacting the wrong in the world is still a wise one, because of the sheer pressure of administering and running an organization. Speaking to my younger self, I would say, use your best skill to make impact in things you care about. Educate yourself, do what is practical for you (and no more), and skill yourself to do it better and better, even if it is only an hour a week. And be shameless about convincing others to join you, because just one isn’t enough. It’s OK to hear no. It’s OK to be a bit obsessive. If there are just a few things everyone should do, they are: to have less. Less clothes, less electronic devices, less trinkets and less things in general. There is no shame in guzzling less resources. I’d also say walk around your neighbourhood. See where the trees are, where the pavements are and where the trash is dumped. Build alliances with your neighbours to better look after the trees, the park and make your colony more walkable. Talk to neighbourhood schools about reducing the impact of air pollution on children. Learn how on our home page. Most important, educate yourself about who is who in the municipality and state government so you know whom to speak to for what.

Fortunately, I’ve taken some of my own advice. I am often laying out my arguments in the public realm. I write a weekly column Greenpiece, for the Hindustan Times, and contribute to Scroll.in, India Today and Dainik Jagran, amongst others. I keep my connect with the wilderness by birding as often as I can. And I nurture my love for the visual arts by seeing, reading and thinking about it. Coupled with my rewarding everyday life at Chintan, all of this makes my life fun to live.