Sometimes, sustainability is not about big policies or global agreements. Sometimes it is about the quiet journey of an everyday object in our lives. Let me tell you about a guitar.

A few years ago, some friends who were leaving the country entrusted their guitar to us. They didn’t want to part with it, and we were happy to keep it. It felt like the perfect arrangement! The instrument got a second life with us. Though a few years old, it was still in good condition, and we loved the evenings of music and singing. In many ways, it was an example of reuse, or perhaps borrowing across time. Years passed, and we occasionally got the strings changed when it was time. Then there was a year when we barely played it, and unfortunately, the strings tightened around the bridge and bent it badly. The strings ended up sitting far above the fretboard, making it painful to play. Every time you tried to play it, your fingers would hurt. Slowly, the guitar that once invited music began to discourage it.

Finally, we decided to get it repaired. We took it to a music shop that also did instrument repairs. The repairer examined it carefully and then delivered the disappointing verdict: it was beyond repair. The metal rod inside the neck (called the truss rod) had probably bent, and there was no practical way to fix it. So we had to confront the final step: disposal.

But what does it mean to throw away a guitar?

A guitar is made of wood, plastic, and metal. If we simply tossed it out, it would likely end up in a landfill. Instead, Ashwin spent nearly three hours carefully dismantling the instrument piece by piece. By the end of it, the materials were separated: metal here, wood there. The metal parts were collected and sent for recycling. The wooden panels had to be discarded, though we like to think that wood is at least less harmful than many other materials that end up buried in landfills. The plastic linings found their way into the plastic-recycling bag of our house.

And so ended the journey of a much-loved guitar.

It makes me wonder about all the things we buy and own. Every object has a life story. From production to consumption, from use to neglect, from repair to reuse, and eventually to disposal. How many of our belongings do we refuse, reuse, repair, refurbish, regift, or recycle?

This guitar once again made me realise how many of the things around us are designed to be disposable. Whether it’s an expensive computer or a cheap backpack, repair often seems impossible. We end up discarding items and buying new ones because it’s cheaper and easier.

But still, you try whenever you can. I guess that is the motto. Perhaps these small efforts matter, and maybe mindfulness in little choices is what sustainability really is.

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