Birds chirp in the freshness of the morn. It seems as though they are mocking at the whole of mankind. I walk on, my strides unsure . I pass the graves, and the tombstones stare at me. Buried here are all that those things which time has left behind , beliefs which once were Gospel truth commanding almost blind faith , systems that once created civilization and even sustained it . They are all here, or rather their remains are, fluttering under a stony silence which speaks volumes .
Here begins sustainability. We are left with all the lessons not be done. Our resources can sustain only when we produce more and use less. The present situation in many Indian villages is that they can’t make up their needs without external help. Many of our villages are now deserts. All its resources were once used up and our biosphere is also helpless. But what is lost is not forever.
Our civilization is improving and we are urbanizing. The world has changed. There is now a refined approach to things. Man has progressed and shaped a new world order. Man has come to terms with the fluctuations of time. Man has collided with certain naked truths; the bitterness of truth is receding. The mission of creating a sustainable city is critical especially in a country like India which takes pride in its rich and varied heritage and its vast stretch of greeneries at the earliest of its civilization.
We hold as unquestionable practices which appears to have passed on from a point in time that dates back to centuries ago. Fetishes have not dissolved, and fanaticism still exists. They exist, unfortunately for us in every individual of our society and find expression in our daily lives. I am reminded of the words of John F Keneddy – “We must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words , but to live by it .“ But we are contrasting to these views . Man as an individual is divine but wretched as a social being.
It was not to be so, but it is . Civilization was for our betterment, but it led to wide complexities . Our fear is of a melee. Nevertheless it is a fear, a fear that explains our preference to remain in chains . If not , why should our present education system , a legacy which has been forced down into our throats , and stay?
Let’s take a canvas of the world. The nuclear disaster, the cold war, a depleting ozone layer, the glaring economic disparities , population growth ,inefficient leaders , corruption….where are they leading us to ? Cannot man come to his senses? How many cities are lost? How many trees are chopped off? How many are scientists born? How much resources are depleted? How many children are educated ? How many of us vote in the elections? How many women are safe in the society ? How many youths are jobless? How many farmers are there in our country ? How many of us strictly respect our national anthem ? Laugh ye birds ! you have all the reasons enough , man’s follies don’t seem to recede but seems to abound .