A tale of two rivers

The importance of rivers goes back to the origin of civilizations. In other words, we humans owe our existence to the rivers. All the major civilizations were geographically located on banks of rivers. The Mesopotamian civilization, which came up with the world's earliest cities, was built up on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Similarly, the Egyptian Civilization depended on the Nile and the Chinese on the Yellow and Yangtse rivers. The first civilization of India, also known as the Indus Valley Civilization, was banked on the Indus river and the Ganges. The Indo-Gangetic Plain is still amongst the world's most fertile lands. Encompassing part of Pakistan, Northern India and almost all of Bangladesh, it supports one of the most populous areas on Earth, being home to one billion or nearly one-seventh of the world's population. Ganges and its most important tributary, Yamuna, are of paramount importance to the agricultural economy of India. Also, they are the two most venerated rivers on the planet. Ironically,and sadly, they top the charts in terms of pollution too! Well, this comes as a surprise. How can a river, which is considered as a Goddess by millions, be polluted, and that too alarmingly? Something is definitely wrong.

Let us start with Yamuna. Originating from the Yamnotri Glacier in the Himalayas, it meets Ganges at Allahabad also known as Prayag. The river has a glorious past. An ornament of Delhi, the capital city of the Mughals under Shahjahan, it was worth a spectacle. The wonderful Tajmahal built on the banks of the river in Agra added to the beauty of the river. But now things are not the same. The first big blow comes at Delhi itself where the discharge of waste water through several drains between Wazirabad barrage and Okhla barrage renders the river severely polluted. The water which was once blue and pure, is now black with sewage and other industrial waste. Unfortunately, the river, which is considered to neutralize all sins, is itself becoming a 'sewage drain' and is almost on the verge of dying.

Ganges, on the other hand, originates from Gangotri Glacier, also in the Himalayas and meets the Sunderbans Delta in Bay of Bengal. It traverses a much greater path than Yamuna and enters Bangladesh in its final course where it is known as river Padma. It has its place as holiest of all rivers in Hinduism. As compared to Yamuna, Ganges is still in a better position in terms of pollution, though the situation is still far from good. Ganges enters the plains at Haridwar. The Kumbh Mela is held once every twelve years at Haridwar and Allahabad, and it witnesses one of the biggest gatherings of devotees all over the nation. The evening prayer, Aarti, at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar is a breathtaking spectacle which cannot be put into words per se. Though, almost clean at Haridwar, it is also abused as huge amounts of sewage and industrial waste is dumped into it. The river gets more polluted with each passing city in its course. Raj Kapoor's 1985 film, Ram Teri Ganga Maili, is the perfect allegory for the life of the river. The film depicts an innocent girl named Ganga, a resident of Gangotri in Himalayas, who goes in search of her husband love, all the way to Calcutta and is, in turn, abused by people she meets in the way.

The main reason behind the increasing pollution is improper management of the industrial waste and sewage. Though some initiatives have been taken by the government of India in the form of Ganga Action Plan and Yamuna Action Plan, the situation is still worse. The tanneries at Kanpur are one of the major sources of pollution of Ganges. Its a pity that despite the Sewage Treatment Plants, the Sewage goes into the river untreated just because there is a cut in the power much needed to run the plants. The pollution has increased to levels so high, that even the flora and fauna sustained by the river water have started to collapse.

I think the message is loud and clear. We need to hit the panic button right now. People must be educated about the severe consequences that will result if we do not mend our ways at the earliest. Education Institutes in general, and Schools in particular should take the initiative. Otherwise, it is highly likely that our future generations will be reading about these rivers only in history books under the apt title, "a tale of two rivers".

"mixed feelings"

Whenever I visit Delhi, there is one thing that always make me feel very proud about my country. That is "The Delhi Metro". It symbolizes development. To tell you, the Metro is very well laid, a rare luxury for all those who want to reach their destinations in time and is devoid of any traffic jams. It has reached such crowded places, one can only dream of. Chandni Chowk is one of them.
On one such visits, I was waiting for a train to Chandni Chowk. As usual I was in that feel good mood. One will always feel good while travelling in the metro train. Its an involuntary feeling. At least for me. Just then a young man approached me from nowhere. "Is this train going to Chawri Bazaar?"-he asked. I, rather than giving a straight answer in a 'yes', replied with sarcasm - "Yes, Can't you see the board there?". He replied humbly - "Bhaiyya, I can't read". I was shocked. I certainly didn't expect this reply. I didn't know what to say. I gathered myself and said "sorry". That was all I could think of. I felt ashamed. I was brought back, from that "utopia" where everything seemed perfect, to reality. And the reality was bitter. For rest of the journey those words kept echoing in my mind and suddenly the metro train didn't seem luxurious anymore.

"The University Library"

My first visit to the library, apart from getting the 'Rental Text Books' issued, was not very pleasant. I was asked by a professor to get some books on 'Transducers'. As I was new to the place I knew almost nothing about the place. I did not know that there was a different section for Technology. Besides, I knew very little about Transducers. So the search began! It started by looking up of the meaning of Transducers in the Physics Dictionary. I wasted two three hours in that. With a severe headache, I returned empty handed. Pledges were taken never to visit the dreadful place again. Though in my four years of stay I never got anything technical issued, I accidentally discovered a new Section on English Fiction. It was going to become my only reason to visit the library. The section gave me many lovely books to read. In the process I learnt that unknown books can also be very interesting. Books which were not very famous, in fact which were unheard of.
For a long time I was searching for a novel titled "To Kill A Mockingbird". A friend of mine got it for me from the library. I started reading. To my dismay, I found that some of the last pages were missing. I was shattered. Later, I completed it from an ebook.
Some of the books which I read from the library are - "Delhi- a novel" by Khushwant Singh. It was a beautifully written piece and Khushwant Singh needs no introduction. He is among my all time favorites. Others include "Sons and Lovers" by D.H.Lawrence, "Keep the Aspidistra Flying" -Orwell, and many more.
I cherish those days when I had the luxury of reading good novels and books and there was a place I could look for them - The University Library.

"the tale of a loser"

Have you ever felt like a loser? A complete failure? Well, if your answer is no, then I really salute you for the indomitable spirit you have. OK, I am rephrasing myself. Have you ever lost something?

When you lose something, it does not always mean that you will feel bad. How intense that feeling is,generally varies. One thing that governs the bad feeling is "expectation". This is, according to me, a very major factor in deciding how you will respond to the outcome.

There are times when you expect something to happen. You really want that to happen. With bated breath you watch and you watch, just to see in the end that you have lost. You feel bad. Definitely, I feel bad. Even worse, you are just about to win and suddenly you lose. The world around you start shrinking, the sounds of life start fading. Alas, how helpless you are.

Now why am I writing this super depressing stuff? You must have guessed. I am the one who has just lost something which I did not intend to. I am helpless.

But the world does not end here. So, definitely, there is a sequel to the above movie.

I start thinking. I have not heard of anyone who has not lost on anything in life. What do those people do? Do they quit? Definitely not. They 'move on'. Ah! what a lovely word. It is magical. Suddenly, I do not want to be helpless any more. I don't want to look weak. I want to overcome this feeling which is wearing me out. I want to come out.Come out strong,like never before. Will that happen?

Well the answer is 'yes'. I will definitely overcome this state of mind. In fact it has started. I am getting better. The depressing state is changing to a new state. A state full of hope. Hope to do better next time. I start making promises to myself again. A new leash of life has taken over.I feel a sense of pride over this new found victory. Victory over the "loser" state of mind.

I start humming a song. Slowly, the hum takes the form of a motivated voice. I feel motivated. Motivated enough to start a new mission, a new mission in 'life'.