Roadside kadak chai stalls are always the center of attention in bustling cities, on railway platforms or close to offices. People relish road side tea during breaks to feel fresh. Not only roadside, tea has been part of our life since ages. Once it was used as a medicinal drink, although now it is popular as a recreational drink. The ritual of drinking tea has transcends boundaries, and roadsides are dotted with chai wallahs who serve the tea boiled up with spices, sugar and milk. But whatever we are savouring at these road side stalls, at home or even at cafes might slowly be poisoning us.
Many tea sellers and hawkers have confessed that they use adulterants like soap, acid, starch, table sugar and chemicals like formalin to prepare tea rather than using Milk. 68% of the milk in India is found to be adulterate as found in study conducted by Food and Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Unscrupulous milkman, dairies, or agents have taken to adulterating milk.
What are the adulterants?
Adulteration of milk reduces the quality of milk and makes it hazardous for consumption. Adulterants like soap, acid, starch, table sugar and chemicals like formalin or fevicryl are added to the milk. They increase the shelf life and volume of the milk.
Table sugar: Lactose is a common sugar present in milk. Table sugar like sucrose is added to increase the carbohydrate content. This helps increase the density.
Starch: Starch is another component that is added since milk contains large amounts of fat and addition of carbohydrates increases the solid content.
Soap: Soap is added to increase foaming and make the milk thick.
Acids: Acids are used as preservatives in food industry. It is added to increase the shelf life of milk.
Why is adulterated milk dangerous?
Adulterants like Benzoic acid and Salicylic acid are linked to asthma problems and increased level of hyperactivity in children.
It also causes Gastro-intestinal and kidney complications.
It overburdens the kidneys and can even cause kidney failure.
It causes liver damage as it is highly toxic
It can cause irritation in the gastrointestinal tract causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
How can these adulterants be identified?
Table sugar: The presence of table sugar in milk can be detected by adding ketose sugar. Ketose reacts with the resorcinol to give a red coloured precipitate, indicating the presence of table sugar.
Starch: Iodine solution can be used to detect starch. Adding iodine solution to milk turns the solution to a blue black colour due to the formation of starch-iodine complex.
Soap: Soap can be detected by adding a phenolphthalein indicator. The acidity of the milk neutralises the alkaline nature of the phenolphthalein solution and leaves behind a pink coloured solution.
Acids: The presence of acids can be detected by adding concentrated sulphuric acid and ferric (iron) chloride which reacts with benzoic acid and salicylic acid, and leaves behind buff and violet colored reaction products.
Even at 76, Pradip Burman, the zestful chairman of Mobius Foundation radiates a contagious enthusiasm when he is talking about sustainability. The environmental crusader, better known to many as the great-grandson of Dabur founder Dr S.K.Burman, has devoted substantial attention towards promoting the concept of sustainability in all aspects of life. He refuses to conform to the convenience and comfort in today’s world which ultimately adds on to the adverse effects of climate change.
Talking to The Logical Indian, Burman emphasised why sustainability as a concept is indispensable for us. “We ought to be aware of what lies ahead of us. Soon we will finish the oil, iron, tin, and coal, and our next generations will be left with nothing. Recycling, banning plastics, stop felling trees for paper… This should become a part of everyone’s lifestyle,” he urges.
Mr Burman watering a sapling at the tree plantation drive organised by his non-profit Mobius Foundation
Traditional wisdom and modern research
A mechanical engineer from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, Burman had always nurtured a keen interest in helping the society, as evident from his graduation project of designing a sonic aid for the visually challenged, which detected obstacles in the way using ultrasonic wave signals.
As an executive for the nature-centric company Dabur, Burman has always opted for natural alternatives to solve his everyday problems like taking Ayurvedic medicine to cure his Arthritis. He later launched the veterinary wing for Dabur – Ayurvet – which provides nature-friendly solutions for animal health care.
A patron of the ancient scientific wisdom of India, Burman always hailed the confluence of “traditional knowledge and modern research”, which he advocated as the Ayurvet motto.
Ayurvet is one of the best ventures by Mr Burman
As part of the CSR initiative of Dabur, Pradip Burman founded SUNDESH (Sustainable Development Society) which has been tirelessly working for last 25 years in remote villages for uplifting the rural communities in an environmentally sustainable way.
An advocate of sustainability
Burman believes that sustainability is the indispensable mantra for the world at present. Due to uncontrolled utilisation of the planet’s resources by human beings, the world today stands at a juncture of destabilisation. Today the human race has reached the pinnacle of progress but the advancement is happening in a very unsustainable manner.
Through energy-efficient use of everyday essentials like transport, communication, altered habits of diet, clothing and daily living, some crusaders of sustainability try to reduce their carbon footprint. Pradip Burman’s Mobius Foundation is one of the forerunners toward sustainability goals.
Mobius Foundation aims to change the sustainability dynamics
In 2015, Burman paved the way for the start of Mobius Foundation, focused on sustainability. Named after 18th-century German mathematician August Ferdinand Mobius, the famous Mobius strip has an important philosophical significance. The extraordinary shape symbolises balance and union.
Similar is the essence of Mobius Foundation which wishes to enhance the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” principle to a widespread basis in India, helping generations to come.
Founder Pradip Burman wishes to achieve notable development in education, population stabilisation and renewable energy projects.
A dream school in the making
At Coorg, Pradip Burman’s Mobius Foundation is constructing the World Environment School, Coorg (WESc) where the curriculum will surpass the boundaries of books and classrooms, with a special focus on hands-on learning in close collaboration with the environment. Amidst the pristine natural beauty of Coorg, the school will nurture young minds to grow up into future green leaders. As of now, the school will be open to teenagers, welcoming students from standards 6 to 12.
World Environment School hopes to shape future green leaders (Representational Image, Credits – elfederal.com.ar)
Needless to say, World Environment School will be the first-of-its-kind not only in India but also in entire South Asia. The school is expected to start from March 2020.
The school promises to nurture the responsible behaviour of citizens of our future.
The Sustainability Conference of 2019
In 2019, the Mobius Foundation has planned an international conference, on the lines of the celebrated earth summits over the past decade. The 2019 International Conference on Sustainability Education (ICSE 2019) aims to bring together environmental activists, practitioners of sustainable development as well as climate change experts to help develop a sustainability-focused curriculum.
It is surmised that the conference will give a platform to innovative concepts of Sustainability Education including an essential change in the existing education system ensuring a wholesome personal development for a student.
Mr. Pradip Burman delivering a speech at Jagan Institute Of Management Studies
The Sustainability crusader
The Mobius founder strongly believes that it is high time to sprout sustainability awareness among a society drowning in consumerism and unknowingly doing irreparable harm to the planet, every second. The best way to achieve this goal is through education which is available to all. At present, the education system is predominantly career-oriented, making the learners a victim of materialism, and thus, their dreams are also outlined in those colours.
Living beyond the limits
When asked about his wish to attain the age of hundred, he strongly asserts that more than becoming a centurion, he wishes his life and work continue to better the society even in his absence. “I have lived my life. I wish that whatever I start before I go, will continue – for the betterment of my country,” says Mr Pradip Burman.
He is also a trustee of the Climate Reality Project – India (affiliated to Mr. Al Gore of the Climate Reality Project Foundation, USA). Climate Reality Project, India, has been actively engaged igniting the spark and spreading the message of climate change amongst educators, policy makers and civil society. The India branch looks after more than 500 trained Climate Leaders, and more than 900 volunteers spread all over the country.
In his journey, Pradip Burman has been a beacon of hope for millions, motivating many to join the movement for sustainability. We wish he continues his tireless efforts for promoting sustainability awareness and inspire generations to come.
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