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Honey bee publish details |
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Shodhyatra-28 |
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| Title |
For just a drop of water: Sanskar of sanitation and conservation (Part - I)
28th shodhyatra, January 9-14, 2012, Sailam to Melriat, Aizawl District, Mizoram |
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| Abstract |
The recent 28th shodhyatra in Mizoram has been quite cathartic for me personally. I* had been aware of the need to conserve water and proper practices we should follow in our daily life. But I must confess when I washed my hands with soap in the morning, the tap used to remain open while scrubbing soap. It is difficult to do so now. I want to share the experience, which has made me feel embarrassed about my own behaviour and has transformed me from just a feeling of guilt to an ability to correct myself. |
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| Details |
While walking in Mizoram from Sailam to Melriat, in the second week of January, we came across an extraordinary spirit of water conservation. Every single house in smaller villages had a roof top water conservation mechanism. The streets were extremely clean. There were dustbins every 50 or 100 yards. Even in the evening, one could not see any sign of trash on the roads. The drains were clean too. There were urinals for men and women at every turn or corner. When was the last time I saw urinals in villages? In my own village in UP, we don’t have these. Having walked thousands of kilometres in the last decade and half, we have not seen such a collective discipline in smaller villages; big villages and towns were not very different though they were not as bad either.
But while absorbing all this cleanliness and conservation spirit, we came across an interesting sight. There was a tap from which a few drops were dripping. In most places, this is common sight and one would not be surprised to find a water pool below or around the water point. Here was an inspiring sight. There was a small channel put below the tap (see figure) which drained the dripping water into a canister. There was no water wastage around at all. The Shodhyatris were impressed by the sight. “Could a culture be so frugal and miserly in using water?” they wondered.
In the next village, one of us went to a tap to have a cup of water in the morning to take herbal medicine. There was already a bucket being filled by kitchen volunteers. When they saw him, they closed the tap and pulled the bucket away. Someone took the cup from his hand, opened the tap, filled the cup, closed the tap, and gave the cup back to him. Then he moved the bucket under the tap and opened the tap to fill the remaining bucket.
“What would I have done?” he asked himself and then critically added, “Ï would have pulled the bucket away, filled the cup, and moved the bucket back. In this process, if some water would have flown waste, I might have ignored it. I can’t ignore it anymore.”
We are, of course, very conscious about the fact that water wastage is very rampant in our society. What is more agonising is that even some of us who are aware, conscious and feel responsible have habits, which are not benchmarked with the most exalted values and cultures. Can something be done about it? We have to ask ourselves.
Let us revisit a Zen story, which we have mentioned many times before. About 2000 years ago, a teacher asked a disciple to bring a glass of water. The disciple obediently brought the water. The teacher drank it and gave the glass back to the disciple. “Take the glass back to the kitchen,” he told the disciple. The disciple followed the order and returned. “Recount all the steps you followed,” the teacher demanded. The disciple traced all the steps he had followed, beginning with the call from the teacher for a glass of water, his going to the kitchen to bring the glass, and then going back to return the empty glass. The teacher asked him once more. The disciple repeated the same sequence. The teacher was not happy. He asked a bit furiously once again to retrace all the steps. This time a bell rang. The disciple recalled that while going back to the kitchen, he had thrown away just a drop of water still in the glass. The moment he said, “just....a drop of water...” he is said to have attained his ZEN.
Why did Buddha have to invent this story at a time when there was no shortage of water, and there was no likelihood of such a shortage to arise for the next 1500 or 2000 years or so? Why do good teachers think in such long term? Why has this story not become part of our collective societal DNA?
How did Mizoram do it? After 1971, the insurgency ended and the presiding Chief Minister at the time vacated the seat for the leader of Mizo National Front (MNF). Most of the villages were moved to the road side and at higher altitude along the mountains. In a span of 30-40 years, the villagers had moved from a situation of abundant water in the valleys to a situation of scarcity. The culture of water conservation thus became so ingrained among children and adults alike that nobody had to be told about it. There were no slogans on the walls, no hoardings at all, no warning of punishment, just complete virtual silence.
Could we make Mizoram the water harvesting capital of India? Could people from Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan and other places visit
these villages and get inspired? Will the leaders and adults listen or should children just break from the tradition of indifference towards these values? Will the water resource ministry organise the national consultation on water conservation and sanitation say in Sailam or Champai? Why not?
Why should we not have national centres of excellence in places, which have achieved distinction in that domain, rather than having all headquarters in Delhi or Mumbai or Kolkata? India is young and young people don’t like to be sermonised. Slogans would not help to conserve water, but walking small steps, practicing a few things daily, and auditing one’s own behaviour will make us more responsive to the inner call. Once the call for conservation and hygiene emanates from within, perhaps change will follow inevitably. The inner call will generate authentic appeal and Mizos can help us.
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee 22(4) & 23(1) 5-7, 2012 |
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