A few weeks ago, I met Minjamma, a woman in her 50s, in Kariganur neighborhood of Hospet town in southern India's Karnataka. And it was a terrible experience.
It was late afternoon and Minjamma was getting ready to cook dinner. She brought out an iron cookstove, placed that in the lane next to her home and lit it.
Within minutes, a big column of thick, brown, foul-smelling smoke rose and engulfed the whole lane. My eyes, nose and throat began to burn and water and I found myself nauseated and struggling to breathe. Before I could black out, I ran - to the end of the lane, about 500 meters from Minjamma's house. But from there, I could still see her bent over the stove, poking it and coughing loudly.
I was wondering when it would the smoke clear up, so I could return to Minjamma's home. However, soon women from every house in the neighborhood began to light their stoves. The smoke grew thicker, uglier and the air became so smelly, I clutched my chest trying hard to breathe and hoping I wouldn't just drop dead.
A few teenage girls came out of their homes and sat beside me, asking if I was ok and offered me water. Once I was able to breathe easy, my first question was what was this horrible thing burning in every cookstove. The answer came as a shock: they were burning coal.
Real coal.
It was late afternoon and Minjamma was getting ready to cook dinner. She brought out an iron cookstove, placed that in the lane next to her home and lit it.
Within minutes, a big column of thick, brown, foul-smelling smoke rose and engulfed the whole lane. My eyes, nose and throat began to burn and water and I found myself nauseated and struggling to breathe. Before I could black out, I ran - to the end of the lane, about 500 meters from Minjamma's house. But from there, I could still see her bent over the stove, poking it and coughing loudly.
I was wondering when it would the smoke clear up, so I could return to Minjamma's home. However, soon women from every house in the neighborhood began to light their stoves. The smoke grew thicker, uglier and the air became so smelly, I clutched my chest trying hard to breathe and hoping I wouldn't just drop dead.
A few teenage girls came out of their homes and sat beside me, asking if I was ok and offered me water. Once I was able to breathe easy, my first question was what was this horrible thing burning in every cookstove. The answer came as a shock: they were burning coal.
Real coal.
