Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram
Architects of a miracle ...
RANNA A. SIDDIQUI
THINK OF Rajasthan, and images of deserts, men and women carrying pots, waiting to draw water in a serpentine queue, flash across your eyes. Hold on! That is almost an eyewash now. A community effort in the State has resulted in an abundance of water. This miracle has happened with virtually no help from the Government. And Delhiites had a glimpse of it through two films on water harvesting screened at India Habitat Centre recently in the Vatavaran Documentary Film Festival. "The Water Trail - Rajasthan" by Sanjay and Anuradha Maharishi, a husband-wife team, explores references to water and its harvesting through the ages, taking historical, economic and socio-cultural influences into consideration. It contains minute details on how feudal lords and kings of Rajasthan in 500 A.D. relied solely on rain water and so reserved their right to its use, and how frugality, an inherent part of the people's life, led some concerned persons like Santosh Puri to harvest water, effectuating a `bawri' with 12 years of persistent effort. The film traces the water harvesting methods of these kings that later became a model for villagers to come out with structures. Today these exemplary reserves serve as a model for countries with water scarcity.
Anand Syal's film, `Ab Nahin Roothenge Badal'is a marvellous show of strength, courage and faith of people in Alwar who, led by the experience and foresightedness of its senior citizens, have transformed this `Dark Zone' into a green belt. It focuses on the `Water Man', Magsaysay awardee Rajendra Singh, who quit his Government job 20 years ago to work with Mange Ram, an illiterate old villager, whose guidance led him to transform barren stretches into oases. The making of wells, ponds and
dams needed no hydrologists but only willing hands. This determination led countless NGOs to join hands with them and help them cross successfully all hurdles of redtape. Ironically, two years ago when Rashtrapati Bhavan faced an acute water crisis, the President called upon Tarun Bharat Sangh, an NGO working actively in Rajasthan, to solve the problem! So, now you see, the grass on the other side is really greener!
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram
|
