My balcony gives me a view of a small , in fact a mini lake. Beyond the lake there is a school ground. This lake is dotted with small bushes and fallen tree branches and tall wild grass. Occasionally black ducks fly into the lake and would be mostly accompanied by cranes. The flow, the level of water and its color changes based on each season.
This stream used to flow towards a bigger lake some 100 m away. For some reason, this flow was cut by the people. So during monsoon, our 'mini' lake overflows. But, the presence of a water body near my home, made me happy. Also, it was the bustling place for many living creatures.
My kitchen windows too opens to this lake and gave me the pleasure of watching various types of birds, ducks, flowers on the wild grass, water shining in the sun's rays etc;
It was on such one afternoon I found out that, it is also becoming a dump yard for the people who passes by this lake. I saw a swanky SUV stopping on its way and the gentleman who was inside dumping some plastic bag into it. The other day, it was the workers at the school ground who dumped waste into this lake.
Gradually the lake started stinking and I had to close my windows. During monsoon, this water got into the roads and it became a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Even cattle and dogs were reluctant to have the water. People hated the sight of this lake and avoided walking by the side. I even thought of shifting from that flat. But, nobody took any initiative to clean that messy lake.
Time went by, seasons changed, windows remained closed, birds flew away, flowers withered, grass dried. But no one responded. It was then various contagious diseases started gripping the city. Corporation workers arrived and started cleaning the water. The lake started recovering from the damages made by us. Birds came in and life sprouted there again.
This whole event made me think that why I shut my windows against this lake, just like me running away from issues around me. I enjoyed its beauty and the chirruping of birds, but couldn't extend my help to it. When we were school kids, we were more close to nature, at least in classrooms we used to study about science, reason behind rain, effects of pollution,etc; This made us think then, that we should do something good for the world when we grow up. But, when we grow up and is capable of doing something good, we tend to forget all those. We remembers more of our expected salary figures, tax cuts, etc;
Are we not the same school kids who yearned to grow up and independent so that we can help our country and nature? Yes , we are . So friends let us not shut our windows against issues. Let's be those small kids again and accomplish what we wanted to do then.
Let the nature flourish in every corner and let's inspire our next generation.
