Water Woes
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Be careful what you wish for,'Cause you just might get it all.
`Chris Daughtry
I should have thought about it about a month ago when I was praying "Rain Rain Go Away".I got exactly what I wished for. And unfortunately, that is where the trouble begins. Rain's gone, our lakes half full and we don't have enough water for the year ahead until the next replenishing period(The Monsoons).Basically we've got very limited amount of water to last us all year long.So what should anybody with a finite amount of resource do?Recycle what they got?Well those 3 R's (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) that the environmentalists and lovers of mother nature(me included) keep talking about are methods for the rich nations to adopt and for the poorer ones to watch in awe. The most we(developing lot) can do is to reduce wastage and ration whatever we got until the next showers.And rationing the water resource they(city officials) are, much to the liking and comfort of the common man like me.
How exactly do we ration something like water in a reservoir/lake?The answer: Provide water to people only for a limited period during a day(Morning and Evening). As for the usage during the rest of the day, we just have to store water in personal storage tanks, buckets,etc and if we are lucky we would have enough to last for the day.And when we realise we may not have enough, we take the opportunity for a family eat out.No cooking => no washing dishes => less usage of scarce water.I know people who get water to their homes only in the wee hours of the morning or late at night. I have seen my neighbours fight over water and heard of people taking their water woes to the police.(Wonder what the Police can do to help though). I wake up every morning and the first thing I check is the tap. When I flip the newspapers, I first look for any news about water cuts before reading the cover story. All this sure has been an 'exciting' experience for me because we have been quite lucky so far to have managed pretty well for most days.For most of the people in India this is just a part of their life. But what about all those millions in other parts of the world who are in much much much worse conditions than us.Did you ever wonder how they survive? I do now.
For all you kids from countries where the taps provide water like the atmosphere provides us oxygen(that is-24 hours x 7days, all year long) and for those from the Little Red Dot(Singapore) which is not only able to buy water from the neighbours but can even turn sh*t used water into "New" Water, the next time you turn your tap think about the kids in Africa who have to walk for hours to get their water for the day.
Hope you choose not to waste what you've got as a privilege.
And Hope I think twice before I wish for something in future...
9:56 PM Back to top
There's a new Bee in town
Monday, September 14, 2009
A few weeks ago I had this sudden urge to play Frisbee. For anyone reading this who doesn't know what Frisbee is: Frisbee is an awesome sport that most people instantly fall in love with because of its simple yet exciting game play that they can pick up very fast.I missed it so much that I decided to stop felling sorry for not being able to play it and to look out for opportunities where I can play this sport. Although, I knew that it is rare that any sport gets recognition in this country where Cricket is almost a religion(&Cricketers are almost demi-Gods) and anything other than Cricket is unpopular, I kept hoping that there would be some peeps who have picked up this sport from somewhere and play it in Mumbai.
So I did the first thing that anyone looking for something does-- Googled it..and I wasn't disappointed.After a bit of search I came to know about this professional Frisbee team from Mumbai who call themselves "Storm Chasers". I called them up and the guy on the other end was kind enough to let me know more about their training schedules and even invited me to join them for one of the practice sessions.I planned to go check out this team on Saturday as I was packed with lessons till Friday.
I was really happy that day. I was so happy that I made plans of getting back into shape (upgrade my stamina, sharpen my flicking skills,etc). I woke up early next day to run, which not many people do around here. I could hardly see anyone around on the streets or in the park when I was out running. I saw a couple of old folks walking around and being the only one running through the deserted park in the early hours seemed quite weird.And just after I had made all the plans to go play Frisbee that Saturday, I got to know that we would have regular classes Tuesday through Saturday that week. I thought it was just that week because we missed a few lessons due to the Swine flu scare. But, next week too, same story-lessons all week long. And week after that and the week after that....Weeks passed and I am still longing to feel that awesome disc in my hand.I want to chase it, grab it, flick it and score-the ULTIMATE way.
PS: I miss you Frisbee and can't wait to lay my hands on you once again.
Labels: Frisbee
6:13 PM Back to top
Profile
All about me
14 years in India : Montfort School, Orissa4.5 AWESOME years in Singapore : St Joseph's Institution; Catholic Junior College; Outdoor Adventure Club; 102-C ; Frisk and Romp
Now: Back In India, Navi Mumbai to be exact.
Future: Wanna be an AWESOME Computer Engineer who builds cool,intelligent robots which can follow me on my expeditions to the farthest corners on this planet.
Interests: Mountains; Nature; Frisbee; Soccer; Running.