Since the monsoon has intensified during the last ten days, our garden has become quiet with only occasional bird calls. Otherwise from early as 4 am the birdsongs from different places in the garden made us feel sung to. As our cottage is in the valley, we could tuen into bird calls from all around.
The only birds, I sighted are these two that too only after a diligent search. Most of the trees where the birds perch give deserted look!
What is a tree without its inhabitants during the night and during the flight movements!
Hundreds of people are devastated by the recent rain and flooding. The animals and birds too suffer intensely.
In our conversations, while recalling the terrible experiences that people go through, one question surfaces and remains unanswered. Why there is a recurrence of this flood year after year! The government has about one months to prepare for the monsoon, but we do not seem to get our acts together to prevent disasters!
We seem to live in the valley of deprivation loss for several months every year only to be affected again during the next monsoon season.
We lost one tea tree during this monsoon as a against several of them last year. On the advice of the gardener we got all the trees trimmed and secured the ground from water logging by creating good surface water drainage ! We got the banana plants supported by erect poles. So only a few young banana plants have got uprooted in the storm.
I watch the rain water drainage in our village getting desisted now after the water stagnation! Should it not have been done before the monsoon!
One good thins is that health workers come to check if there are any waterloos which can cause the mosquitoes to breed!
I wish our mind set would get revised: there are many preventive steps we can take to prevent disaster. An incremental planning is the way forward!
People suffer and live reduced lives. The response to alleviate their suffering is not proportionate to the colossal needs they live with!
The refreshing news in the midst of a despairing situation is that several 'Good Samaritans' who go out of their way to be mindful of others. A businessman in north Kerala, unloaded all the stock of clothes from his shop in a shelter for those displaced in the flood!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
No comments:
Post a Comment