Tim has had a good day's sleep and he has just woken up. Its 7.30 PM. He gets out of his bedroom, which is at under ground level and climbs up the stairs, to reach the second level, where he will have some water to take a bath, and a vacuumed water less toilet to relieve himself. His famous grandfather Taimur Ali Khan had opened his eyes in the same building, they lived in a beautiful apartment some floors above. There was a garden where he used to play and a balcony, where he had a swing. When Tim Jr., as he is called, was born, they had shifted in an under ground apartment, because carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere was so much that it was impossible to live in a house above the ground. During his great grand father Saif Ali Khan's days, this phenomenon was called global warming. The apartment that he lives in, is two small rooms, and is oxygen conditioned. It is impossible to live without Oxygen Conditioners these days, which is fixed on underground apartment vents, takes in the carbon-dioxide from the air, in, converts it into the oxygen, and throws it into the room. His great grand father used to park his car, where his apartment is located today. In those days, parking was underground and people lived in the floors above.
Due to global warming, the temperatures started rising, during his great grand father's time. The extent of ultra-violet rays is so much, that it is impossible to come out during the day. That is the reason all the activities required for life, happen during the night. After his dinner, which is the first meal of the day, Tim will go to his office. He is the head of a production house that his great grand father had established. He will be shooting for the whole night. His movie is based on the real story of a poor woman, who had a sick daughter, suffering from flu, needed to be taken to a doctor, had got out of the home, without an anti-ultraviolet attire, and as a result, suffered from skin cancer. Due to microbial resistance, flues are sometimes fatal in nature for the kids, there are no effective medicines. Tim Jr, creates socially responsible cinema.
Tim walks out of his house, to get to his studio. People use solar battery driven cars, which are very small in number. Cars or bicycles are used to commute in Mumbai. There was a time when there was heavy traffic in the city. But due to a major water crisis, that happened during his father's time, many people moved out of Mumbai City. As a result of a drought, there was no water to drink in Mumbai. Now-a-days, people do rain water harvesting, and use the upper floors in the buildings for water storage. Rains are scanty, and everyone has to carry his own drinking water everywhere. There have been major fights among the workers because of water.
During Tim's grand father's time farmers used chemical fertilizers. As a result the ocean waters in many places like Mumbai, have become toxic, because of high level of phosphorus and nitrogen flowing into the oceans. Fishes and other animals have died. There are no fishes in Mumbai now, which used to be a staple diet at one point of time. The bottom of the sea is also full of plastic and polythene. Fruits, vegetables and grains are also in short supply. Although, plants can handle UV better, but agriculture has come down. As Tim walks, he wonders... Why did the generation of my grand father cut so many trees, when they could not plant as many? Why did they not think of me and my generation? If trees were there, my life would have been much more easier. He takes a sigh, and enters his office.
The heroine of TIM's film is five feet and three inches tall, who is his great grand uncle Ranbir Kapoor's grand daughter. It has been very difficult to find a hero for her, who matches her height. She is very very tall. The average height of males is about five feet and those of the women is about 4.7 feet. Many young people came for an audition and finally they could cast a hero, who was about five feet and two inches. Whenever, Tim has looked at the family photographs, he marvels at the fact that everyone in her family had been so good-looking. People in those days used to be tall and handsome. His great grand uncle Ranbir Kapoor had been about six feet tall. The population of the world is just one third of what it was hundred years ago
TIM's great grand father was wise enough to buy his grand father an apartment in Switzerland, in the woods. There are very few areas in the world, left, where there is fresh air and water. How much TIM dreams of that tiny, little house, that he had gone to when he was a kid. It was a long journey through the sea, after many days of travel they had reached there. People no more travel by air these days. The oil reserves of the world have almost died down. Whatever has been remaining has been conserved by most countries for defense purposes. The mode of transportation is solar operated ships.
This is 2118. Tim is a twenty year old young boy. Hundred years ago, people used to say, Save the earth - when they should have said, save your grand children. Tim sometimes wonders, why the generation of his great grand father could not have been a little less selfish, a little less stupid. Why?
Disclaimer - The thoughts expressed in this post are that of the author, and all references of those dead and alive are purely incidental. These dismal thoughts came after reading this article -
