Everything I am is thanks to a river.
Indus Valley Civilization.
Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati.
My grandmother's stories.
The holy dips.
The picnics.
The films and even the shows on TV.
India's national anthem has them listed.
Rivers are mothers of civilizations.
Our mothers?
Really?
You call these polluted, dirty, shrinking trickles of stinking water my mother?
Are you out of your mind?
*****
#Rally for Rivers was an initiative started in India last year to nurture and replenish the rivers who've nurtured and replenished us for ever and ever.
Sharing pictures of plenty today,
of the bounty of
these mothers of human civilizations.
First stop: Umngot River, Dawki, Meghalaya
(November 2017)
You'll find far better pictures of Umngot river if you google. When the time of the year is right and the light is good and you're good at taking pictures, you can end up with:
Photo courtesy: Google Imgaes
Yes, that's how transparent the river gets.
But ooing and aahing at photos is not the point of today's post.
Are we paying attention? Is the question.
Are we?
Sungudi Sarees drying on the parched River Vaigai, Madurai
(August 2017)
So full of colour, so full of sarees and yet this scene made me sad.
Greed at all levels: corporate, individual, community and country coupled with irresponsible consumption and lack of planning is making sure more and more of these rivers are assigned to the realms of legend.
We may talk about them, write about them, dream about them,
wish they were flowing among us
when we face droughts and dry spells,
but it may be (or will be) too late by then.
I understand that the planet has its cycles like everything else.
Yes, rivers have changed courses all through human history.
Some like the Saraswati ended up underground even before humans built factories.
And today she flows only in myths and the Mahabharatha:
(Sepetember 2015, Mana Village)
But, when did the rivers of this planet ask to be turned into dumping grounds?
When did our mother ask us to defile her?
The Sun sets on the mighty Brahmaputra
(November 2017)