आपल्या समाजामध्ये एखाद्या दिवसाचे/ आठवड्यांचे/ महिन्यांचे औचित्य साधून त्या विषयाबाबत साजरा करण्याचे/ पाळण्याचे प्रमाण दिवसेंदिवस वाढत आहे उदाहरणार्थ Valentine Day, Giving Week, Sexual Assault Awareness Month. नक्कीच असे दिवस/ सप्ताह/महिना पाळण्या बाबत कोणाचा विरोध असू नये. निदान त्या काळापुरते तरी त्या विषयाबाबत लोकांमध्ये जागृती होऊन त्या समस्येची तीव्रता कमी करणे किंवा अपेक्षित परिणाम साध्य करणे शक्य होते. परंतु त्या विषयाचे महत्त्व दिवस/ सप्ताह/महिना दिवसा पुरते मर्यादित नसावे.

Out of all pets, the dog has a special place for man. Known as man’s best friend, the dog certainly lives up to the description, by his loyalty, love and attachment he shares with his owner. There are stories bordering on legends featuring the unique relationship between man and his dog. I remember reading a true story about a dog – Hachiko in Japan in the early twentieth century who went to the railway station each day, waiting for his master to return (who had unfortunately suffered a fatal stroke at the university he travelled to each day). He did this for almost ten years till he finally died of old age. As a result of this news published in a newspaper in Japan, the city of Shibayu built a statue of the dog outside the ShibayumRailway Station and immortalized the story of Hachiko.

'Breathing Here is Injurious to your Health' falls short of turning into some bleak futuristic movie, where humans have ruined all they could on this earth, governments complicit, citizens irresponsibly unaware and still continuing to live like nothing happened, creating new ghastly normals with every decade passing by. The writer however chooses to keep the narrative human and hopeful, and the story has turned out to be equal measures of shock, denial, acceptance, struggle and small victories in the air quality scenario of New Delhi.

In India, around 50% of pedestrian fatalities in the worst-performing states in road safety viz., West Bengal, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Karnataka are due to private vehicles which are termed as ‘crime vehicles’ in the Road Accidents in India - 2019 report by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.