Giving a new spin to April 1 is city-based software professional Manish Varma, who has inspired many individuals as well as organisations to celebrate an ‘April Cool’ Day instead of April Fools’ Day! A WhatsApp forward that encouraged people around to plant trees on this day has been doing the rounds for quite a while now, and many have even taken up the project, hoping to prevent the summers to from being even hotter. Manish, the creator of this project, who composed the forward and sent it out to 120 groups and other contacts on his phone 10 days ago, is overwhelmed at how well it was received.
“It was just a thought that came to my mind and I implemented it by planting five trees in my house. But as that is not enough, I wanted more people to do the same. So I sent a message to groups and all my contacts. The need of the hour is to save our planet. We can all start here. The response has been great. A lot of people told me that they took up the challenge and planted trees. I’ve also asked them to plant fruit bearing trees on the sidewalks so the poor and homeless can pluck them and eat. Organisations that I didn’t even know exist have taken this up, such as Smiles, an old age home. The residents planted a few saplings in their premises and I’m eager to meet them and donate even more plants.”
Apparao Gamini, President of Vasavi Club, Secunderabad branch is another such good Samaritan. “I got this forward on the group and I responded that my wife and I will do it. Since the past three days, we have been planting around 35 plants at home. Last year we had a water problem and we need to take such steps to combat it. On the same day, I got this message on half a dozen other groups!”
