Unfortunately, I am a resident of one of the cities in India which will have zero water level in 2020, i.e., another 6 months.
My memory goes back to my childhood days when my city was called the green city, full of big trees. I could see greenery everywhere and would be very happy to see so many trees around me. The trees used to be so huge that, not a single drop of rain water would fall on me when I walked miles together under those trees to catch a bus back home from school. This, I am talking happened 34 years back.
When we shifted to our new house in the outskirts of the city, we could hear the singing of different types of birds. There were lot of sparrows which had made a part of our home as theirs. They had built a beautiful nest and come summer, we would be watching the mommy and daddy sparrows flying in and out of their nest feeding their hungry babies and some times we had even rescued those babies which had fallen from their nest searching for their parents. There were the crows, sparrows, pigeons, parrots, wood pecker, barbet, mynas, nightingales and many different birds all around which would wake us up in the morning with their melodious voices. Come evening, when it was time for them to settle down in their dwellings, again they would be busy making so much of noise, that it would be a pleasant thing to hear. Like this, we spent our childhood, surrounded by greenery everywhere, clean air with very less vehicles plying on the roads, plenty of water-there was no scarcity, and nutritious food with no insecticide and pesticide in the fruits and vegetables.
As we grew up, things started changing. All those huge trees which housed many of the different birds gave way to concrete buildings. We enjoyed monsoon like anything during our childhood. Come June, it would start raining automatically without any invitation. So, we would carry raincoats and umbrellas while going out anywhere. All the fruits and vegetables were available at throw-away price.
Now, the scenario has changed totally. All the green trees have been replaced by colorful buildings. Fresh air has been replaced by dusty and polluted air. Pure drinking water has been decorated with industrial and residential waste. All those cute little birds which would sing early in the morning to wake us up are no longer there. Sparrows are missing. Crows are dwindling in numbers. Wood peckers, mynas and parrots are again missing in action. What is existing is the polluted city. We are woken up by the shrill horns of vehicles in the morning. There is heavy traffic at any part of the day or night. As we, humans are not getting enough oxygen-rich air, we are getting contracted with different types of diseases along with weakness. Our children are the most unfortunate fellows. They are able to see the beautiful birds only on TV or the internet. They don’t know the sound a sparrow or myna makes.
We have become so selfish that we want to grab as much land as possible. Everyone wants to have as much concrete forest as possible. Nobody is bothered about the helpless trees that are slaughtered in the name of development. Everyone is running after money, artificial air purifiers are installed to purify the air and natural air purifiers are removed. Everybody has money power, so they can buy anything. We can see lot of companies advertising for air purifiers. When we were children, we never purchased water in bottles. Now water is being sold in bottles and packets. Same way, air also will be sold in cylinders if we destroy the natural resources. There is no proper planning to collect rain water and use it. Probably, we are paying for our greed and misdeeds. The unfortunate souls are our children as they have no access to anything good that we had, at least for a part of our life. We are not as fortunate as our fathers and fore fathers as they enjoyed their lives the most, though technologically they were not as advanced as any of us, they enjoyed their lives in their own way. Very few of them fell sick, whereas now very few of us are healthy. Everyone has one or the other health issue and the doctor will be surprised and shocked if any of us is not sick. That is the state of affairs.
If we destroy all the natural resources at the same pace, no wonder, human beings will suffer and die a miserable death as most of the animals and birds are becoming extinct and with the fast dwindling green cover, rain becomes absent and water becomes a thing of the past. Like this, the chain reaction goes on and ultimately, we all will pay for what we have done.
As the proverb says “Better late than never” at least now if we realize the blunders we have committed and stop committing the atrocities on nature, then we all can live a healthy life and give better future for our children, the next generation. This is a collective effort and not an individual effort. So, all of us should join hands and work towards restoring the glory that has been lost.
garuda's passion 