Himalaya
Parvat breaks silence
There is in the northern direction, the
supreme Lord (Adhirajah) of mountains, possessed of a divine nature (devatatma)
by name Himalaya…
(opening verse of Kalidasa’s
Kumarasambhavam)
*
(Kabir)
*
Hi,
I am Himalaya Parvat- “Adhirajah of mountains” and “divine”. Long and wide is
my reach and sweep extending from the northeast to the northwest. High and tall
I stand like a formidable sentinel keeping watch. And I am a sight to behold
when grandma Nature weaves a tapestry of silvery mane with generous showers of
snow over me. Doesn’t Mother India look majestic and resplendent with my snow-laden
peaks that look like a tiara over her brow?
A
vast diversity of trees and plants swing and sway merrily over my vast bosom. I
am home to many a wondrous animal and bird. With pride and glee, I watch the
majestic tiger take a leisurely walk, the deer waltz and play, peacocks dance
and larks sing. I am the abode of lord Shiva. Rishis and Munis have meditated
in the solitude of my lap. Nature-lovers often come visiting to appreciate my
mystique and wonder and return recharged by my healing touch and pristine
beauty. Intrepid mountaineers undertake daring climbs over my forbiddingly
steep heights and savour their moments of glory for their awe-inspiring feats.
I wash Mother India with many rivers and streams emanating from the huge sheets
of ice I own - the glaciers as you call
them. My vaults of natural resources provide you food and fodder, fruit and
flower, minerals and materials. I
protect you from extreme vagaries of weather by holding forth against the
Nature’s wrath and fury. Thus the wheel of life happily rolls on.
But,
let me not dwell on self-adulation. Today, breaching my dharma by breaking the
unimpeachable silence gods have bestowed on me, with a heavy heart, I want to
ask you all, am I not your protector; well-wisher; your benefactor? Why then,
pray, have you been so recklessly ravaging me with such insane greed and
rapacious hunger? You have pummelled my verdant slopes with dynamite, run your
monstrous, ghastly, yellow-jawed machines to flatten my lovely green hills and
valleys. Worse, you have bored miles-long massive holes right through my
breast. Turning my big rocks into rubble you have brazenly dumped tons and tons
of muck to choke my sprightly daughters - the rivers - leaving them gasping for
breath, and angry. You have brutally felled my saintly deodars, sprightly pines,
gentle firs and leafy oaks by the thousands to turn me into a famished, sickly
old hag stripped nude and barren. From a beaming, proud, caring,
life-sustaining guardian you have rendered me almost a weeping, bleeding,
wounded cripple begging for life and mercy.
Therefore,
having endured enough and borne your atrocities with a grin so far, my patience
and forbearance have caved in. In fact, things have spun out of my control. I
am sad and shocked at this sorry spectacle of destruction this monsoon. Loss of
lives, your fancy homes, your big and wide 4-laned roads, fertile lands and
inundations inflicting unspeakable misery saddens me too. But you didn’t heed
my gentle warnings earlier, did you? … Remember Kabir’s gentle admonishment to
‘Kumhaar’? Unmindfully, you went on this suicidal path with your insatiable
hubris that you are notorious for. Therefore, this is your own doing, your own
karma, ‘man’.
All
is still not lost. I will do all that is in my power to tame and pacify enraged
Nature through my agency. But then guys, ball is ultimately in your court. For
heaven’s sake desist from your reckless rampaging ways, rein in your
untrammelled greed and learn to live and grow in harmony with me and Nature. Do
build roads, homes, airports, whatever, but temper your ‘building’ frenzy with
discretion and care. Don’t commit ecocide (read: mass suicide).
Bye-bye.
Khuda hafiz. Jai Siya-Ram.
***
The author has very nicely painted a good picture of qualities of the Great Himalaya n mother nature along with warnings for future. Good piece indeed. Good luck🤞.
ReplyDelete