But all this is a part of a campaign, by this socially conscious star, against pollution and the effects of global warming. Addressing the press and guests last night, who had gathered at Rain Tree, an eco-friendly hotel in Chennai, Maddy asked “When was the last time you actually saw a sparrow in your home?” Looking meaningfully at the audience, he added, “Or heard a frog croak in the monsoon? Or a bird chirp – not cough – in the morning?” He continued, “I grew up to the sound of sparrows. As a boy, in summer, my job was to ensure that they didn’t make nests above the fan. My kid doesn’t know what a sparrow looks like. And he’s three years old.” He attributed this to lack of worms in the soil, which have succumbed to pollution from petroleum exhausts.

He then went on to give an elaborate lecture on the causes and reasons behind global warming, complete with charts, graphs, statistics and maps. It was an enlightening lecture from the star and the audiences were thrown into a tizzy seeing all this happen to the world around them. He even sent a chill down their spines when he said “There’s no more winter in Chennai, the rain is unpredictable, there’s no water… soon we will be able to make dosas on the road. Omelets also. The only question is: Will we be around to eat those things? And all this is because of us.”

He came out with some easy tips on energy conservation like turning off air conditioners during the rainy season, using trains instead of cars for transportation and also to try out car pools. Another noteworthy suggestion, he made, was to take a walk to places nearby rather than use a car. According to him, this would prevent us from ending up in hospitals in the future as a result of Asthma and wheezing as cases of this disease is already on the rise due to pollution.

All this was a part of a global campaign by popular ayurvedic brand Pankajakasthuri, which is used as an anti-asthmatic.