A Virtual World

“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, "This is what it is to be happy.” ― Sylvia Plath

The early morning  walks in the man-made forest have been the most satiating ones for me. It has never bored me as there are numerous paths to tread, giving a newness each day. The hilltop is breezy with the ghats visible till the horizon, the varying tints of the sky at sunrise keeps one spellbound. While returning back there are two paths to reach the main gate. One of the paths is a large course, while the other pathway curves as a paved alleyway with the lawn and playground on one side, and a fenced wall encompasses the lake on the other side. The lake is actually carved hilly rocks which have been chisled to fill water, and with time the rocks have dissipated. The lake has widened naturally and now has a mountainous wall on one side with numerous birds like the pigeons living in the small fissures and whittles. The other side of the lake has plenty of trees that have been planted, and the grass covers the barren earth making it lush and Eco friendly. The fenced part also has been lined by trees like Cassia, Acacia silver oaks and  fruiting trees like the Mango, Black berries and Guavas. As we reach the far end there is a clearing that gives a magnificent view of the lake. There are swans that move about in the most orderly manner reminding us of the school going kids. The water is green now and it is being filled in artificially to keep its splendour alive. People say it is the water that needs to be recycled at the Municipal Recycling Plant located very close to this forest. One gets lost in the tranquility, the stillness of the water draws one into a state of peacefulness. No one talks here, but the silence here speaks volumes. The hot summer has dried and receded the water level, revealing the barren rocks.

We had lived in a house very close to the lake. During the rainy season, the lake would get filled with water, the water would seep below the houses and trickle out on the steep road and follow to the plains. The houses are built on the rocky surface with no scope to dig a bore well. We lived in House No 3 which was right on the peak. Water had to be pumped from the tank situated on the slope, every house had motored to grab the supply. We had two motor pumps with great power to pull water. One was to suck the water and drop it into the underground tank and the second one would pump the collected water into the overhead tank. The motor pump that sucked water had to be sometimes coaxed by filling a little water as it often sucked air obstructing the flow of water. We would look at the pipe lying on the grass attached to the sucking motor anxiously day in and out to rejoice the arrival of water. 
One fine day we understood there would be no water coming up as the houses situated on the lower plains were unable to get sufficient water and so they could never spare any water for others. The House  No 1  had a huge tank and a tanker filled with water came to fill it. House No 2 was locked as the owner  had lost his wife and wished to live in Mumbai. We consulted our house owner who was magnanimous enough to build a tank.  After three days of expertise and the use of technological tools a shallow tank was ready. Thereafter, we lived on the water supplied by the tankers. Sometimes I would see water flowing through the pipe in the backyard, my joy would know no bounds, I would fill the buckets, the tank and talk earnestly about it as the arrival of a cherished one.  I would go to the extent of reaching late to my work place as these incidents were rare indeed. We also left some water every day in a bowl for the sparrows, hummingbirds and crows. 

I remember the year we went to Kerala and the water problem had crept to my husband’s ancestral home making me feel terribly unhappy. The day I reached there I went searching for the remains of the huge pond in the yard. The pond had been a large one filled with water and had steps leading to the bottom. It was called ‘Phondu’ in Konkani. During the month of May when it used to rain relentlessly, I would love to walk near its banks. The bank of the pond had a huge Cashew nut tree, Indian Black berry and Nutmeg trees and many small creepers and shrubs. There were fishes and water snakes that lived in the pond. There was a quail of birds that perched on the banks.  The ducks walked along the path from the neighbour's yard. The yard here was huge and resembled no less than an island of Maldives. As a young bride, the pond and the large expanse of greenery won my heart. I had enjoyed spending the summer vacation  in the place, but this trip was ghastly with no pond. My father in law said he had to purchase many lorries of sand to fill the pond. He told me that the little children in the family did not know the boundaries of the pond and during the rains when water flows into the yard people could fail to demarcate the boundary and step into the pond and drown. I could only nod.  As the kids began growing, boundaries began to be set.  The open sit out was the next one to be caged. I disliked sitting in it after that. I would drag a chair under the almond tree, but during the rains, I could never play in the rain as before as I had to now jut out my hand through the grilled bars in the verandah. A roof top tank and the low levels of water in the well with the closure of the pond were a few signs of urbanisation. The Municipal water that remained for twenty four hours a day ceased coming regularly giving me the most painful moments. A motor was fixed to pump water to the overhead tank from the well.

 I  now understood that  there was hardly any difference in Pune and God’s own country as nature’s bounties had ceased and the pests were greater at home. A large number of trees were cleared to build a garage, a porch and so on. My son’s growing years kept me busy, and overlook the painful change, but I recalled my father describing his childhood, the bounties of nature where no man went hungry or thirsty, no man felt tired as the coconut water quenched thirst and hunger, the jackfruit trees had fruits all over, cashew nuts and pineapples grew near the hedges, guavas and pomegranates, mangoes and sour berries were all over, the place was resplendent with tapiocas. With urbanisation we trailed to globalisation, we traded and encroached land and water, we live in beautiful homes yet we watch the splendour of nature only during a paid holiday trip or in the virtual world.

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature -- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” ― Rachel Carson