I Am Water – Part 5
By Dr. Rajendra Singh*
(Translated from Hindi by Deepak Parvatiyar, Member, World Water Council)
Also read:
Feeding The Nature
Earth’s belly is getting depleted and that is the greatest challenge today. When I am completely taken out of the belly of the earth then it is only because of me in the form of rains, that human beings, other creatures, and vegetation somewhat survive. Else Sun’s dry heat burns everything and that causes holocaust. Then I again gradually bring the atmospheric temperature down and join hands with air to make soil. Then joining hands with soil, I create vegetation and even human beings.
I am the creator and I am the destroyer too. The vegetation that I create gets a place in the skies. The Sun provides energy to sustain it.
Because of my variable nature, I keep creating and destroying the whole universe. To do all these things, I have to keep changing myself. But I don’t change my basic character or my basic form but I only change my behaviour. Variability always keeps me busy in new creations. Because of this I have become eternal.
Now everyone in this world has conceded that there is no life possible without water. Hence, everyone must use me carefully and skilfully otherwise no life will remain on this earth. That is why now water purification, water treatment and reuse have started. Those who have deep knowledge about environment and nature now unanimously agree that I alone am capable of saving and reviving nature and this planet from greedy man’s model of development that only causes deformation and destruction.
I alone am the protector and promoter of all but when man forgets this truth and pollutes and exploits me then as a consequence of these he falls sick and creates problems for all creatures who exist on this planet. Then all water bodies become dry. Today this is the prevailing situation.
Once upon a time I used to ensure with water-structures that no region of India faced water shortage and that every person got water. But because of his misdeeds, the same man today is now facing acute water shortage. Without water, he has become helpless, jobless and sick. That is why now he has been forced to leave his home, village and town. First a few people got displaced. Then villages got desolated. Now everybody is getting displaced from every corner of the world. This displacement of people will cause the third world war. This third world war will be fought only because of the greedy and market-driven man’s lack of understanding of me (water).
Waterman Rajendra Singh has witnessed these on going water-wars with his own eyes in different parts of the world. Syria faced acute water crisis after Turkey created big dams on the upstream of Euphrates river that stopped the flow of the water downstream. This created water scarcity in Syria and this country got devastated. Because of water shortage, Syrian people started migrating to European countries where people have judiciously conserved me in aquifers.
In those countries which have exhausted their aquifer, not only the people, villages, cities and states, but the entire nation have got devastated. The people started migrating from these countries in search of me. Only those who can conserve me can live happily and prosper. Nothing can happen without me and no body can live without me, anywhere. That is why people conserve me.
In good old days whenever I rained, they used to use trees that would catch me and send me to earth’s belly to prevent me from escaping into the atmosphere. Now trees are diminishing, greenery is shrinking. When greenery shrinks, when no decentralised water structures are constructed for my conservation, then earth gets fever and the climate loses its temper. Only I can control climate’s temper.
In earlier times, people used to conserve me in different water bodies such as ponds, lakes etc. Water structures on land are like the moist towels which are kept on forehead of a person to bring down fever. Because of my moisture the earth becomes green and consumes poisonous gases and releases life-giving fresh air. That is the reason why tree and earth are respectively called the father and mother of water.
A man can remain healthy only by protecting water, jungle and soil. It is very important to protect me in order to protect man and nature. Without protecting me, no body can remain healthy. My health is nature’s health and nature’s health is man’s health. It is the right and responsibility of man to protect me and keep everybody healthy. Whoever does this remains healthy, happy, wealthy and blessed throughout his life.
When I am protected, nature becomes favourable and this creates the balance. A balanced life alone is the solution to issues concerning one’s security. Without a balanced life, one can never be secured. I alone provide security to life by protecting it.
The basis of Indian sanaatantaa lies in my protection. That is why in India I was protected with dignity. To protect me with dignity ensures that I am not wasted. I get respect by a life style which is free of exploitation, pollution and encroachment. Those who led such lifestyle were known in India as rishis.
To continue…
*Dr. Rajendra Singh is an internationally acclaimed water conservationist and is also known as the Waterman of India. The views expressed are personal.
