The Sun came out apologetically
after taking a hiding for the last few days. The people wading in knee deep
waters were egging him on, what do they care if the cognoscenti believe that we
are in the eye of a storm! Biscuit and yours truly had a leisurely walk in
quite some time now. He could not help growling at his canine friends and got a
cold stare from me for being rude to the less fortunate.
Before the National media turned
its attention to the tragedy that was playing out in Chennai, I got to squeeze
in a run in the rain. Just when the waters of the sea after scaring the living
daylights of the people decide to go back to its peace time station. What I
noticed about the rain in Chennai is that it was business like (a la Dravid
like!) not flashy and theatrical like aka Sehwag. If it wanted to discipline
the greedy land grabbers it did it quietly. I have run through a much more
extravagant Light and Sound show in my morning runs in Hubli! When nature
decided to reclaim what was stolen from it surreptiously, it did so politely
but firmly!
The next two days were revealing
as horror unfolded on National television. The stories of pollution in the
national capital and rains in Chennai keeping kids from school was a lesson,
which their elders failed to teach them, but, the one they would never forget
in their lives. It does not require eminent people gathering in Paris to teach
us the lesson of the costs the Climate change is wreaking on us!
It is not only that the Hubli
passenger missed its morning run the last two days, the Railways too had to
suspend many trains and the airport closed the skies to make us feel truly
marooned. The people of Chennai used this calamity to truly bond. The last two
days of commuting to office and back first on the MTC bus and today on foot in
knee deep water really brought out the character of the people. The strength of
the people sure came out when they were put to test. The tales of humanity
makes all the divisive stories which hog the limelight in the National media
otherwise truly irrelevant!
The Aavin (state owned dairy
plant in the suburb) and the Hindu (the Chennai’s favorite newspaper) press
having been brought to their knees by the incessant rains meant the Chennai’ite
woke to a morning without his cuppa of filter coffee and the HINDU newspaper.
The message is loud and clear, let us not mess with nature!
While the bigger questions of
town planning have to left to the big people. Each of us if we make an honest
effort to live sustainably we would have been the Change that we want to see!
I sincerely hope that I am able
to run tomorrow and maybe then the train service and the Airport authority
would take a leaf out of the Hubli Passenger’s book! Stay strong Chennai’ites,
maybe, the weather gods have relented and believe that we have learnt our
lesson.
No comments:
Post a Comment