Nurungukal……

                The tractor carrying two large tanks of water, collected from a nearby river was shuttling from morning till late evening. I have been noticing this since last summer. It is very clear that many wells in the area have gone dry and locals are forced to depend on this source. One can very well imagine the intensity of an impending disastrous draught. This apprehension has induced me to offer my land to dig a pond sponsored by the Block Panchayat. Now the work is progressing in top gear as they have to finish it before the end of the financial year. When I heard about the cost, running into a few lakh rupees, I wondered how much would have been spent to dig a temple pond a few thousand years ago, considering their size, which in some case extend up to more than an acre. Such huge infrastructures would have been designed with the sole intention of harvesting rain water, because a small pond would have met the demand, considering the population of those days. What a foresight our fathers had, which the present rulers lack. There are plenty of such man made eco systems, scattered though out the length and breadth of Kerala. Many sacred groves and nearby ponds are even today maintained on certain believes and rituals which help conservation of water and biodiversity. Where as many laws of recent times lay dormant with out efficacy.

       Last year I had an occasion to visit the well known Sree Rama temple at Thiruvangad. Apart from the majesty of the temple complex, what attracted me most was the enormity and perfection of the adjacent pond.  It is a fabulous piece of engineering and human effort. Another piece of architecture is the pond of Peralassery. The vastness of Panniyur  Varahamurthy Temple pond near to Anakkara fills your mind with divinity and peace. As I was enjoying the serenity of the crystal clear water column of Thiruvangad pond, my thoughts for a while wandered into a distant past. Splashing of children, gasping to reach the shore, in a similar pond [chira ] in my native place Ponnani.  And about the fun we used to enjoy in a pond attached to our ancestral home in the company of a gang of boys and girls, often competing to touch the other bank first or embark on an errand to fetch a blossomed water lilly like the legendary Bheema. I seldom witness such frolics in our social life now, instead encounter lonely souls immersed in meddling with a gadget incessantly for hours.  

         It is a sure sign that we are wandering into an alien culture abandoning one which had values attune with nature and sustainable living. The so called developments have made much in roads into our modest and time tested standard of living. Unaware of the dangers we have lost the way. Let us jointly under stand the mistakes and thrive to come out for the sake of the survival of our future generations.

 Nurungukal……

                The tractor carrying two large tanks of water, collected from a nearby river was shuttling from morning till late evening. I have been noticing this since last summer. It is very clear that many wells in the area have gone dry and locals are forced to depend on this source. One can very well imagine the intensity of an impending disasterous draught. This apprehension has induced me to offer my land to dig a pond sponsored by the Block Panchayat. Now the work is progressing in top gear as they have to finish it before the end of the financial year. When I heard about the cost, running into a few lakh rupees, I wondered how much would have been spent to dig a temple pond a few thousand years ago, considering their size, which in some case extend upto more than an acre. Such huge infrastructures would have been designed with the sole intention of harvesting rain water, because a small pond would have met the demand, considering the population of those days. What a foresight our fathers had, which the present rulers lack. There are plenty of such man made eco systems, scatered though out the length and breadth of Kerala. Many sacred groves and nearby ponds are even today maintained on certain believes and rituals which help conservation of water and biodiversity. Where as many laws of recent times lay dormant with out efficacy.

       Last year I had an occasion to visit the well known Sree Rama temple at Thiruvangad. Apart from the majesty of the temple complex, what attracted me most was the enormity and perfection of the adjascent pond.  It is a fabulous piece of engeneering and human effort. Another piece of architechure is the pond of Peralassery. The vastness of Panniyur  Varahamurthy Temple pond near to Anakkara fills your mind with divinity and peace. As I was enjoying the serenity of the crystal clear water column of Thiruvangad pond, my thoughts for a while wandered into a distant past. Splashing of children, gasping to reach the shore, in a similar pond [chira ] in my native place Ponnani.  And about the fun we used to enjoy in a pond atatched to our ancestral home in the company of a gang of boys and girls, often competing to touch the other bank first or embark on an errand to fetch a blossomed water lilly like the legendary Bheema. I seldom witness such frolicks in our social life now, instead encounter lonely souls immersed in medeling with a gadget incessantly for hours.  

         It is a sure sign that we are wandering into an alien culture abandoning one which had values attune with nature and sustainable living. The so called developments have made much in roads into our modest and time tested standard of living. Unaware of the dangers we have lost the way. Let us jointly under stand the mistakes and thrive to come out for the sake of the survival of our future generations.

      Nurungukal……

                The tractor carrying two large tanks of water, collected from a nearby river was shuttling from morning till late evening. I have been noticing this since last summer. It is very clear that many wells in the area have gone dry and locals are forced to depend on this source. One can very well imagine the intensity of an impending disasterous draught. This apprehension has induced me to offer my land to dig a pond sponsored by the Block Panchayat. Now the work is progressing in top gear as they have to finish it before the end of the financial year. When I heard about the cost, running into a few lakh rupees, I wondered how much would have been spent to dig a temple pond a few thousand years ago, considering their size, which in some case extend upto more than an acre. Such huge infrastructures would have been designed with the sole intention of harvesting rain water, because a small pond would have met the demand, considering the population of those days. What a foresight our fathers had, which the present rulers lack. There are plenty of such man made eco systems, scatered though out the length and breadth of Kerala. Many sacred groves and nearby ponds are even today maintained on certain believes and rituals which help conservation of water and biodiversity. Where as many laws of recent times lay dormant with out efficacy.

       Last year I had an occasion to visit the well known Sree Rama temple at Thiruvangad. Apart from the majesty of the temple complex, what attracted me most was the enormity and perfection of the adjascent pond.  It is a fabulous piece of engeneering and human effort. Another piece of architechure is the pond of Peralassery. The vastness of Panniyur  Varahamurthy Temple pond near to Anakkara fills your mind with divinity and peace. As I was enjoying the serenity of the crystal clear water column of Thiruvangad pond, my thoughts for a while wandered into a distant past. Splashing of children, gasping to reach the shore, in a similar pond [chira ] in my native place Ponnani.  And about the fun we used to enjoy in a pond atatched to our ancestral home in the company of a gang of boys and girls, often competing to touch the other bank first or embark on an errand to fetch a blossomed water lilly like the legendary Bheema. I seldom witness such frolicks in our social life now, instead encounter lonely souls immersed in medeling with a gadget incessantly for hours.  

         It is a sure sign that we are wandering into an alien culture abandoning one which had values attune with nature and sustainable living. The so called developments have made much in roads into our modest and time tested standard of living. Unaware of the dangers we have lost the way. Let us jointly under stand the mistakes and thrive to come out for the sake of the survival of our future generations.