World Environment Day special| Rasha Thadani: There shouldn’t be just one day dedicated to environment

She’s all of 20, yet realises the power her voice holds as she steps into the public figure zone. Rasha Thadani, posing for HT City on the occasion of World Environment Day, appeals for more awareness throughout the year and not just this one day.

“I was born in a house which had more animals than humans. As a child, I was surrounded by them, I saw my mom (actor Raveena Tandon) have so much passion for the environment. In school, it would be a very small subject, we would be told to for example, go home and a plant a tree. But even that stirred something within me,” she says.

Rasha, as she grew up, adopted certain habits, “Even when I am out with friends, and someone throws a tissue on the road, I stop the car and ask them to pick it up before we continue. They are scared to do anything around me! I also carpool as much as possible, either my friends travel with me in my car, or I, in theirs. I try to put my plans in other people’s minds, for instance, when I wanted to go to the salon the other day!”

Even at home, her family follows environment-friendly methods. Rasha elaborates, “In every room of our house, there is a normal dustbin, and a separate dustbin to throw things which can be recycled, such as paper or cardboard boxes. Plastic bottles in our house are a complete no-no. There are small things that you can do for the environment, we have only one Earth.”