New Delhi (India), Sept 27 : "We have to raise our thoughts, not the sea levels," was the hard-hitting message echoing the parliament street adjoining Jantar Mantar here on Friday when dozens of children skipped school to draw everyone's attention to today's urgency - climate change!
Coming from different backgrounds, cultures and schools, these kids were here to reverberate a common idea that climate change is real and "there's no Earth B." The event was called 'Climategiri'.
Inspired by the 16-year old teenage Swedish climate activist, Greta Thunberg, this army of Delhi's enthusiasts conveyed their messages through different creative mediums - nukkad natak (street play), flash mob, dance, circus art, skit, beatboxing and what not!

Brother Steve Rocha, National Convener of Nine is Mine, who organised the event said, "It's about 'every child for every region for everyone'. This platform is meant to be for young people. These slogans, street plays, dances are all about a very crucial thing - to save our mother Earth. They realise that they only have ten years."
"While some will turn 25, some will still be somewhere around 20 when they won't be getting this chance to change the situation," Rocha said.
Changes don't happen overnight and so tackling climate change isn't a momentary thing. The organiser explained that it is the government that should treat it like a crisis, design policies, laws around the same.
"Ask our corporate people to back off when it comes to destroying the earth. We might have to close some mines, stop plastic, and plenty more industries to deal with the issues," he added.
The event witnessed students boycotting their exams because they knew that these are "testing times".
"We have been coming here since March and children are here to fight for their rights because no one is thinking about climate change," explained Shilpa Singh, a teacher at Seth Anandram Jaipuria School who accompanied the children.
After presenting their message through a street play, Parth, a student from the group said, "World is witnessing such drastic changes in the overall temperatures. Winters are now 0.6 degrees less cold and so we are worried about our climate."

If a street play wasn't enough, the students of Loreto Convent School opted to resonate climate urgency with a song -"What do we want? Climate Justice. When? Now."
The young minds with placards in their hands might have come to tell the world about the gravity of the issue, but they are even more conscious at their homes when it comes to pointing out even minute lifestyle changes.
"At home, I always keep in mind and encourage my parents too to turn off the lights whenever we step out and close the taps properly. With these small steps we can play our part in saving the climate," said Shirish, a member of the street-play group.
A student who came from Arunachal Pradesh explained how the soaring mercury has affected their lives.
"We have been experiencing uneven rainfalls because and we are usually dependent on it for farming. And at times, there is so much erosion of soil due to heavy rainfalls," she expressed.
According to the United Nations (UN), the last four years were the hottest on record, and winter temperatures in the Arctic have risen by 3degC since 1990.
It is time for damage control and giving these children a healthier planet!