Hari Batti--Agony Uncle: Green Book Giving Advice

Dear Mr. Batti,

I have a lot of books in not-bad-at-all condition that I would like to give away. It would be a shame to recycle them, but as it is they are just taking up room in my small flat. Where do you suggest I give them?

Ms. P 
Delhi

Dear Ms. P,

I love to hear from book lovers like yourself.  I often hang on to books longer than I should, but space is always a concern, and the more times a book is read, the better, from a green point of view! Still, your question is more difficult than it appears, which is why it took me so long to answer it.  Books are a little bit like sweets.  Just as some people love jalebi but are allergic to barfi, some readers love history but cannot tolerate mysteries, even good ones!  And some will recycle anything you give them anyway!  Of course the opposite is also true in many cases; there is simply no accounting for taste. 

Books are, however, superior to sweets in two important respects; they are not bad for your health, and they have a much longer shelf life!  This is why I have been known to give poetry at Diwali.  I reason that even if the gift does not find a reader right away, it may someday.  And it won’t give anyone gas or contribute to heart problems.

I am not suggesting you give away your used books at Diwali, although now that I think of it, that might actually work if your friends are book lovers and you choose your gifts well.  Wrap them up in some recycled paper, make cards to go with them, and you’ve got some super green gifts, suitable for any occasion!

You could also hold an informal book swap.  Invite a dozen book lovers over for food and refreshments.  Ask them to bring anywhere between one and six good used books to trade.  (What makes a book good depends on who is reading it, of course.  But for the purposes of a book swap, good books do not include your friend’s uncle’s volume of self-published poetry or your friend’s father’s self-published business memoirs. It certainly does not include manuals for decade-old software. If you have to, give those books away to someone you don’t like at Diwali. Or give them to the kabadi wallah; he’ll put them to good use!) 

In a book swap, everyone puts their books on a table and can take away as many books as they bring. The point of a book swap is to get books into the hands of people who want to read them.  If you are hosting the swap, you should make sure you contribute a few really good books; if people have enough fun, someone might offer to host the next one.

Friends of Books, a Delhi-based book rental agency, held two book swaps earlier this year in Delhi, and both were a lot of fun.  I’m not sure if they’ll do another one, but it wouldn’t hurt to get on their mailing list, just in case.  And while you are at it, why not check out their service?  Though free public libraries are best, it's almost always better to rent than to buy new from a green perspective.  Friends of Books also sells books, by the way, and I have heard they do a good job of that, as well.

Speaking of selling books, you could try selling yours to a used book dealer.  There are used book sellers in Lajpat Nagar, Saket, and of course there’s the big market in Daryagang.  Used book markets are great because, from a green point of view, the more people that read a book, the better, and there's no harm in making a bit of money out of the deal!

If you have children’s books, it is tempting to want to give them to needy children. But used book are not like used clothes, because it is much more difficult to find the right fit when it comes to books. First, and most obvious, there is language. It makes little sense to give books to children who cannot read them. Even if language is not a problem, it is difficult for students who have no experience reading outside of what is required in school to pick up a book and read for the joy of it. 

One solution is to find a school, an NGO or a family that already values reading and give the books to them. This is not always as easy to do as you might think.  Even elite schools in Delhi often pay only lip service to reading for pleasure.  The same is true for most schools that serve working class and poor children.  Many schools will take your books, but won’t know what to do with them, since they haven't taught children how to read from anything except a text book.

If you have time to give and experience reading aloud to children, there are a lot of NGO’s out there who would welcome volunteers who like to read aloud to young people.  Or you could set up an informal reading hour (start with 30 minutes!) with the children in your own colony.  Once children learn to love hearing stories, it is much easier to convince them to read themselves.  Do this, and you’ll have no problem finding a home—either temporary or permanent—for your old story books, because you’ll have created readers—and readers crave good books!  This is a good thing to do, but don't do it out of charity.  Reading improves many things, including thinking.  And we will need a lot more good thinkers if we are ever going to solve the problems we’ve all collectively created!

Well, Ms. P, that's a long answer for a short question.  I do hope some of it helps.  And if anyone else out there has a question for the dhaba regarding green stuff, why not send it our way?

Hari Batti--Agony Uncle: Free advice at the Dhaba today!

Dear Mr. Batti,

Since I lost my husband a decade ago, I have continued to share the family home with my husband's brother's family. What used to be one flat has been divided into two, although there is only one electrical meter and one water meter. We have always paid equal shares of all utility bills and repairs.

I am not concerned about water bill as it is not very large. But the electricity bill is another matter.  I use very little, especially now that my daughter is married.  In fact, I spend several nights a week at my parents' home.  Even so, I have to pay as much as Rs. 4000 per month during the summer, as they are running the AC day and night!

There are issues around the title of the house which make it difficult to have an official meter installed.  My electrician suggested we install a private meter to monitor who uses what electricity, but my brother-in-law said this would be too expensive.  What should I do?

Mrs. K.

Saket

Dear Mrs. K,

First, please feel free to call me Hari!  Second, I need to be clear: I am neither an electrician nor a lawyer, so you will get no reliable technical advice from me.  And as far as family politics go, I'll assume you've already tried to find a reasonable and respected relative to intervene, and that for some reason that has not solved the problem.

Let's see, now. I'm all for sharing. And a little bit of flexibility goes a long way in life. But you are being taken advantage of, plain and simple.Your situation reminds me of my friend who's flat mates, both of whom had AC's in their rooms, expected her to pay one third of the very large electricity bill, even though she relied on a fan only.  Or of the fellow in the group who makes a habit of drinking glass after glass of imported whiskey, and then tosses down 150 rupees and slips out before the bill arrives saying, "Here's my share...sorry, I've got to be run!"  Makes you want to scream.

Expecting people who consume much less to subsidize people who consume much more is a bad idea when it comes to most things in life--including electricity and alcohol.  Not only that, forcing you to pay half of the bill when you use much less than half the electricity violates an environmental principal that applies in most any situation, including both international and intra-family negotiations: the polluter must pay!

So you know you are right, but what should you do?  That's more complex.  Your brother-in-law is not resisting the meter because it's too expensive; he knows it will mean he has to pay more. Your approach depends on his attitude and how hard you are willing to fight.

If it were me, I would start by trying something simple.  Say something like, "I do not spend much time at home, as you know, and I use the AC very little.  I feel my share of the bill should be rupees 1250 per month.  Do you agree to that?"  If you have an old bill from a time when you stayed alone in the house (perhaps they went out of town), you could use this as the basis for coming up with a figure that reflects your actual usage.  Another option is to divide the bill on a per person basis (there is only one of you, so your share should be less).  This approach is straightforward, but it would not reflect the time you spend at your parents' house.

In any case, the most important thing is to come up with a proposal that is simple (for the sake of your brother-in-law) and reasonably fair (for your own sake).  Then propose it to your brother-in-law and his wife.  Make sure you ask this question: "Do you agree to this?"  This approach, by the way, worked for my friend and her AC using flatmates, who turned out to be reasonable, after all; sometimes we just need to ask for what is fair. 

If you do not get the desired response, then you have a choice.  You can live with an unfair situation; we all have to do that at times.  Or you can say, "I am disappointed. I no longer want to over-pay  for electricity.  I will look into having a meter installed and if it is possible, then I will have the work done. I hope you will be fair and help me pay for any necessary electrical work, but I plan to have it done, regardless."

Then you must do the needful: have a meter installed, if possible, and then pay only what it says you owe. Things may be tense for a time.  But you are already tense, now, aren't you?

Good luck!

HB

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If you've got a question you need some green advice on, send it our way!  We might even answer it.  And for all you readers out there who like to procrastinate, it's not too late to turn in your Children's Day homework!  Just write a letter to a child telling what you will do for climate change. Send it to me at haribatti123@gmail.com, and I'll publish it--or put it on your blog and I'll link to it next week.  Send me a picture or two and I'll make it look nice.  Details at the bottom of this post.

Now I'd like to believe that some of you are just being bashful, that you've already done the work, but you are too shy to turn it in for extra credit.  And there will be no sore knuckles, no squatting or grabbing of ears, no tight slaps of any kind hear at the Dhaba!  In fact, we won't even rely on guilt or shame--though it is tempting, I'll admit!  But do consider turning in a letter, pretty please!