On the night of Wednesday, 25th September, 2019, I was on FaceBook for my customary ten minutes post dinner. I saw an update from a student saying that water levels were rising rapidly in her compound and she was desperately seeking help, as it looked like they would need to evacuate their houses...I immediately messaged a very dear friend who lives almost next door to this particular housing complex asking her about the flash flood situation and helpfully telling her to park both her cars in our bungalow compound, a five minute walk from her house and slightly further from the canal which was rapidly spewing out water after incessant rains and had transformed itself into a massive river. Little did I know what was in store for our housing society too. The time was 11:30 pm in India and all hell was to break loose shortly...
Our area was one of the many areas that were to be affected that night and by the time I woke up the next morning , I saw a message from our immediate neighbour asking me to call him when I woke up. I knew immediately that water must have entered our compound, but it was much worse...Water had flooded my parents' home, my car and my two wheeler had been completely submerged and thus began a frantic coordination operation to get a locked house clean again, from across the Arabian Sea...By the grace of God, my classroom which is even closer to the canal turned river, escaped by the skin of its teeth and water lapped at the top most step...Many lives were lost in Pune that fearsome night and tons of garbage adorned the streets, walls and gates, like wreaths left by the river to commiserate with a city in mourning...
A Plunderer, A Marauder, An Unwanted, Intrusive Invader
A plunderer, a marauder, an unwanted, intrusive invader,
Almost unseen, almost unheard, the whys unknown,
Sneaked in while we were busy on the phone...
Furniture floated and then bloated,
Electronic goods sizzled and snarled,
Cars were by the waters hurled,
The river's fury completely unfurled.
And yet we dared to ask ourselves why,
WHY was the river making us cry?
"Seen the plastic, seen the filth?
Doesn't it make one flinch?
When your garbage chokes my throat,
I'm going to get your goat!"
In our cozy homes were we ensconced,
Expensive cars our parking adorned...
Our houses were always neat as a pin,
We never learnt polluting the river was a sin...
And then we realized how helpless we are,
No power, no water nor internet won't take us far...
And all the while the ceaseless, relentless rain beat down,
To the river's destruction, it added an additional crown...
Instead of roads we now have gaping holes,
Instead of power we have twisted poles...
Our cars are heaps of rusty junk,
The water even swept away Granny's old trunk...
Oh how badly we have are fingers burnt,
Have we then our lesson learnt?
Global warming is a reality,
First hand views are not pretty...
Let's reduce that carbon footprint,
In operation Clean Up let's do a stint...
And face harsh reality that in my city,
The damage hasn't been itty -bitty...
So let's recycle, reduce, reuse, refuse,
And let need, not want, let you choose...
Let's all come together and do our bit,
Already our dear planet has been deemed unfit...
A solution is needed quick and fast,
Let's find it before we breathe our last....
A plunderer, marauder, an unwanted , intrusive intruder,
Befits Man, not the poor, polluted river!
Op Clean Up began in my parents' dining room
Into the kitchen too...
The road to my classroom became a river that night...
Garbage trapped at our bungalow's little gate
Five minutes walk from the house...
Sad Sights....
Our area was one of the many areas that were to be affected that night and by the time I woke up the next morning , I saw a message from our immediate neighbour asking me to call him when I woke up. I knew immediately that water must have entered our compound, but it was much worse...Water had flooded my parents' home, my car and my two wheeler had been completely submerged and thus began a frantic coordination operation to get a locked house clean again, from across the Arabian Sea...By the grace of God, my classroom which is even closer to the canal turned river, escaped by the skin of its teeth and water lapped at the top most step...Many lives were lost in Pune that fearsome night and tons of garbage adorned the streets, walls and gates, like wreaths left by the river to commiserate with a city in mourning...
A Plunderer, A Marauder, An Unwanted, Intrusive Invader
A plunderer, a marauder, an unwanted, intrusive invader,
Almost unseen, almost unheard, the whys unknown,
Sneaked in while we were busy on the phone...
Furniture floated and then bloated,
Electronic goods sizzled and snarled,
Cars were by the waters hurled,
The river's fury completely unfurled.
And yet we dared to ask ourselves why,
WHY was the river making us cry?
"Seen the plastic, seen the filth?
Doesn't it make one flinch?
When your garbage chokes my throat,
I'm going to get your goat!"
In our cozy homes were we ensconced,
Expensive cars our parking adorned...
Our houses were always neat as a pin,
We never learnt polluting the river was a sin...
And then we realized how helpless we are,
No power, no water nor internet won't take us far...
And all the while the ceaseless, relentless rain beat down,
To the river's destruction, it added an additional crown...
Instead of roads we now have gaping holes,
Instead of power we have twisted poles...
Our cars are heaps of rusty junk,
The water even swept away Granny's old trunk...
Oh how badly we have are fingers burnt,
Have we then our lesson learnt?
Global warming is a reality,
First hand views are not pretty...
Let's reduce that carbon footprint,
In operation Clean Up let's do a stint...
And face harsh reality that in my city,
The damage hasn't been itty -bitty...
So let's recycle, reduce, reuse, refuse,
And let need, not want, let you choose...
Let's all come together and do our bit,
Already our dear planet has been deemed unfit...
A solution is needed quick and fast,
Let's find it before we breathe our last....
A plunderer, marauder, an unwanted , intrusive intruder,
Befits Man, not the poor, polluted river!
Op Clean Up began in my parents' dining room
Thank u mam for writing on this.....🙏
ReplyDeleteYes. All this is so sad. Never thought a disaster of this magnitude will strike a city like Pune. A traumatic experience for all the affected people.
DeleteThank you for reading.
DeleteThank you M mami!
ReplyDelete