Jaya's Green by Dr.Jaya Kurhekar

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Jaya's Green by Dr.Jaya Kurhekar June 03, 2020 1 Comments

TSUNAMI!!!

Today, on the context of the just departed "Nisarga" cyclone, I can't help but remember the one day in my life, which was sooo unique and nightmarish, like a bad dream!

I put down here, before you, my nightmare on a day, when I witnessed a natural calamity, one of its type, probably and hopefully the only one in my lifetime, for your quiet introspection! I was lucky to have escaped it, unscathed, happy to be alive and overjoyed to be able to come back home! Many were not so lucky! It was in 2004, 16 years back, but still the memories are very vivid and clear!

As I think retrospectively, once again, I am appalled at the way we have played with nature, manipulated it and taken it for granted! Now, it is manipulating us! And you cant blame it at all! Sharing my experience, hoping that you will realize the gravity!

It was a star- spangled night in December 2004! After a fortnight of vigorous planning, we were on our way to Kanya Kumari, the southernmost tip of India! We were about to join a parasailing camp, organized by a private sea-sports group, a few kilometers away from Kanya Kumari. It was a dream, about to come true! Excited about the adventures in store for us, we boarded the train, which shot through the dark, cold night, cutting into the darkness, crossing all the dark tunnels. With the rhythmic movement of the train, we all succumbed to the tranquility of deep sleep.

After a day in the train, the smell of the sea, the clear skies, the crisp, cold wind, indicated our ensuing joy! We were nearing our destination, the holy Kanya Kumari! The scenes passing by reminded me of all the beautiful landscapes, in oil and paint, which I had only seen on canvas, till today! We were silent, each one of us absorbing the environment, the beauty and the tranquility around us! Where else could heaven be? Spontaneously, we bowed to Mother Nature, our salutations splurging right from the bottom of our hearts! We had arrived at our destination. Before joining the camp, we had one whole day at our disposal. With elated spirits, very silently, we were off to the world famous spot, stories of Swami Vivekananda, the meditation centre, the temple, revolving in our minds!

We started off to the sea shore, close to our residential place and flopped down on the sparkling white sands. The endless sea lay in front of us. The waves came softly towards us. Moon light bathed the sea. The sea seemed meditative and tranquil! It was purely magic! Words eluded us. We were drinking in, the magic of the moment! The memories are still etched in my mind!

We had decided to run into the sea water but it looked so sacred that none of us felt like disturbing the tranquillity surrounding us!

The next day, the temples, the museum in the city, were a feast to our eyes and cameras. The time had now come to visit the famous temple. We had to sail in small boats to reach the temple, some miles off the sea shore. It was a clear sky and we set off singing merrily. Mesmerized by the surroundings, we reached our destination. The meditation centre was the pinnacle. After about two hours, we were standing at the southernmost tip of the Indian continent. We could see the inter mingling of the waters, colored differently. I had heard a lot about this place. Three oceans embraced each other at this point, a sight beyond imagination. I was capturing all the images in my mind and my handicam. I decided, after reaching the shores of Kanya Kumari, I would capture the temple from different angles. Getting inside a small boat, we started our journey back. The winds had changed direction. We could feel a slight change in the weather too! We reached the shore and I trotted off to capture the pictures of the temple from different angles, for the dear ones, at home.

I was walking towards the sea and to my horror; I could see a very, very, very big wave, over the statue of Swami Vivekanand. It had engulfed the statue and washed over it. I thought, it was a visual trick, this couldn’t be true! I had just left the site! With total concentration, I watched in awe! The huge wave was followed by another wave and another and another! This was not normal! The natives started gathering. Slowly, all turned into chaos. My friends were calling me back, our sacks drenched in the waves. I couldn’t believe, all was so peaceful here, some minutes back! The waves were all around us. We ran back, carrying whatever we could, with us! Our bags were wet and heavy. We went to the terrace of our residential hotel and what we saw was beyond imagination! Huge waves were all around the shore. They were rapidly encroaching the land! Small houses, visible some time back, had disappeared beneath the devilish waves! Water had reached the lower levels of the city. Not knowing what to do, we just locked ourselves in the hotel room, hoping everything would come back to normalcy! When we woke up the next day, there was worst possible devastation around us. We were lost, without lights, electricity, milk, tap water and newspapers! It was the morning of 27^th December, 2004! We didn't know, what truly guided us, but through all chaos around us, not paying attention to our tummies crying out for food, we walked heavily towards the railway station and caught the first train back, which would take us to our “home, sweet home”! We had forgotten why we had come to Kanya Kumari. We wanted to get away, as fast as possible! Loads of people surrounded us, boarding and alighting. They belonged to all ages, castes, creeds and colors! They had lost their homes; some had lost their near and dear ones, some had lost all their belongings while some had lost everything. But they had saved their own lives and they had hope in their eyes! We watched helplessly. Their problems were huge and beyond repair.

After a few stations, we got to see the newspapers and reality stuck! WE WERE THE FIRST HAND WITNESSES OF THE TSUNAMI WAVES! We had seen them coming, we had captured them in memories and cameras. Tsunami waves had engulfed a large portion of mankind. The stories were all over the news papers. My skin tingled with goose flesh. I couldn’t and wouldn’t believe that we were there, when the calamity struck! We couldn’t imagine that we had had such a close encounter with NATURE”S WRATH and we had escaped by God’s grace. We couldn’t attend the camp but I had witnessed the most stunning event, in the history of mankind! The memories are my most prized treasures! We were back home, safe and sound!

It is truly said, “If you are alive, you can capture a hundred forts!”

I am glad to be alive today, although I mourn all those innocent lives, lost in the Tsunami waves. Somewhere deep in my heart, I can’t help but think if, we humans are responsible for such calamities. If these could really be called natural or are they man made?? It’s high time we introspect!!!

Green Blogger
Dr Mrs Jaya Vikas Kurhekar

Jaya's Green by Dr.Jaya Kurhekar June 03, 2020 0 Comments

वारसा

वारसा द्यायचा, कुणी? कुणाला? कशाचा?
संपूर्णपणे उलथापालथ झालेल्या पर्यावरणाचा?
की ओढून, ओरबाडून, गलितगात्र झालेल्या धरतीचा?
की विविध रसायनं पाजून तर्रर्र झालेल्या मळ्यांचा ?
की जनुकीय अभियांत्रिकीने, मानवी हस्तक्षेपाने,

जन्म घेण्यास आणि जगण्यास लायक ठरलेल्या जनुकांचा ?

भोगतो आहोत आपण आपल्या मस्तीची फळे,

कधी जीवाणू, कधी विषाणू, कधी विषारी भाज्या, न कळे!

आपणच उठलोय का आपल्या जातीच्या जीवावर, हे गूढ ह्याचा न काही मेळ,

मानवी प्रक्रियांचा हा जीवघेणा पसारा, महत्वाकांक्षी खेळ!

वारसा कशाचा? वजाबाकीची सगळी, सगळी गणितं मांडून,
काय शिल्लक उरतंय त्या क्रेडिट आणि डेबिटचा?
की आपण वापरल्यावर काय आणि कसं कसं उरलंय,
त्याची गुणवत्ता, त्याचा कस किती शिल्लक राहिला, ह्याचा?
पुढच्या पिढ्यांना जगायला लागणाऱ्या गोष्टी किमान,
काळजी घेऊन, ठेवल्यात का जपून, राखून ईमान?
हाती आहे थोडाच काळ आत्मपरिक्षणाचा,
नाही तर व्यर्थ आहे हट्ट वंशवृध्दीचा!
थोडंसं ज्ञान, थोडं आत्मभान, थोडा विचार जनांचा,
थोडा विचार, थोडी काटकसर, थोडा सहभाग सर्वांचा,
थोडीशी सद्सद्विवेक बुद्धी नक्कीच सावरु शकेल,
डोलारा डळमळणा़ऱ्या पर्यावरणाचा !
वारसा चालवायला पुढची पिढी हुशार आणि सक्षम आहे,
उत्तम गुणांचा उत्तम पर्यावरणाचा वारसा आहेच, पण जपा़यला हवा आहे !!

डॉ. सौ. जया कुऱ्हेकर

Dr Jaya Kurhekar

Green Blogger

Sunday, May 3, 2020

Jaya's Green by Dr.Jaya Kurhekar May 03, 2020 0 Comments

CAN WE DREAM TOO?
THE FOREST MAN OF INDIA – A TRUE HERO!

In today's context, when we are facing a severe lockdown and we really don't know whether its going to work or not or when we wonder we are in total darkness, there are some rays of hope around us! The Corona Virus is a modified form of SARS virus, which has strengthened itself through mutations and has become tough! Why are these viruses emerging so frequently now? Whats wrong NOW, that was not so, previously? Its time to wonder!
There are theories which point towards the ecological and environmental imbalance, which has led to all these calamities that human beings are facing and one of them is destruction of forests! Here is one man who has single handedly raised a forest and his story fascinates and motivates us! What can a single individual do? That too in such modest circumstances?

This is a story of a “Forest man” who transformed a leafless, treeless, barren wasteland island to a blooming forest, by continuously planting trees, for thirty consecutive years. The title of “The Forest Man of India” was conferred upon him by the then president, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Very recently, Padmabhushan Awards, the highest honour in India, were distributed at the hands of the President of India and one unknown recipient was Jadav “Molai” Payeng!

Jadav “Molai” Payeng , aged fifty six, has dedicated his life, since 1979, to the sole duty of planting trees and covering Mother Earth with greenery. His dedication and focus has been so great that he has succeeded in planting each tree with his own hand and erected a jungle called “Molai Kathoni” on a huge, two hundred and fifty acres of wasteland, a barren island, in the basin of river Brahmaputra. “Molai” is his nick name and “kathoni” designates “jungle”!

His jungle is full of one hundred and ten types of useful medicinal trees like Bambu, Saag, Kate Sawar, Subabhul, Kadamba, Ain, Arjun, Kapok and Shewari. Hippopotamus and Rhinos from the nearby Kaziranga sanctuary, elephants from Arunachal, come to stay here for three to four months. Bear, deer, rhinos, striped Royal Bengal Tigers are seen in these jungles. Molai Kathoni has been a home for birds like sparrows to vultures and eagles.

No one was aware of this person, till about five years back. Today Jadav “Molai” Payeng has a new identity as “The Forest Man of India”.

It took thirty years for this Jadav Payeng’s “World of forests on barren island”, to be known to the outside world. Very much coincidently, the information about Jadav Payeng’s island world came into lime light, because of a Jeetu Kalita, a news reporter and an amateur photographer. Jadav Payeng resides in a typical bamboo house, in Kokilamukh area, about twenty five kilometres from Jorhat, the cultural capital of Assam. The road leading to the house is very bad. Very silently flowing Brahmaputra River bifurcates very close by and then unites again, as it flows further.

Jadav Payeng’s surprising and miraculous journey was initiated by a question, “Nature bestows us all resources with both the hands but what do we give, in return”? He had seen the disastrous Brahmaputra floods, in childhood, which did not allow a single tree to be left on the island! Hundreds of snakes died in the scorching heat, because there was neither any shadow nor any burrow to hide! At a young age of sixteen to seventeen years, Jadav Payeng became restless with a worry that even human beings will face this situation, one day, if there were no trees left. Elderly people made fun of him and advised him to plant trees. They also gave him a few Bamboo trees. Taking the advice very much to heart, he started planting trees singlehandedly and his work continues, even today!

For the last thirty years, he has been slogging like a mad person. Getting up at three thirty in the morning, crossing the river in his own boat, he goes to the island, collecting small plants and seeds and planting them after digging trenches. He takes a follow up every day and takes care that the plants grow, despite adverse conditions of rains, heat and winds!

It takes about half an hour, to cross the river by a boat, to Molai Kathoni, followed by island Aruna Sapori after which we reach the cow shed of Jadav Payeng, after about a walk of five to seven kilometres. Tending pigs and about fifty to sixty cows, helps him in getting daily bread. Next to the shed, is a small fencing, inside which, vegetables have been planted. Everything grown here, right from cow milk to rice and vegetables, is organic, free of any chemical poison.

Every tree in the Molai Kathoni forest has its own story.

In the initial stages, the elephants that came to the jungles destroyed the village and the houses in the village. Disturbed villagers came to hit Payeng and cut down the trees in the forest. Payeng took a stance that they would have to first cut him down, before cutting the trees. This pacified them. He had just a simple thought that the elephants should get what they like, from the jungles, so that they would stay in the jungles.

Jadav did not waste even a single plant, during the initial period of erection of the jungle. About ten years back, a small plant came floating to the island with a wooden plank, which he saved delicately and planted it here. Today it is transformed into a great, huge tree supporting life.

Jadav is continuously thinking of just one thought, about planting trees, which will take root early and grow quickly. The island has one tree which protects animals and birds during floods. He had brought big, red ants and left them near the roots of the tree, so that they would eat up the white ants, eating up the tree. This idea worked and the ants now have a huge ant hill, in the huge stem of the tree which protects many important components of the ecosystem during floods.

A complete, self-sustaining ecosystem is visible in Molai Kathoni. Jadav hates human interference in this eco-system. In the initial period, hunters killed rhinos, the fossils and remains of which are still visible in the jungles. Jadav firmly believes that the greatest danger Mother Earth faces is from human beings. He shows the visitors, all those places which are visited by tigers and elephants. Tigers have killed his sixty to seventy cows till today but he doesn’t complain about them.

He doesn’t take the credit of planting the jungle alone on the one thousand, two hundred and fifty acres of Wasteland Island. According to him, birds, winds and every component of nature is equally responsible.

He suggests that if we wish to protect Mother Earth from the drastic weather changes, we should plant trees. He is confident that the younger generation will preserve and protect, what we have planted. He insists that the lessons of environment protection should be included in all school syllabi. He believes that if each student plants just two trees and takes care of them, the Mother Earth will be greener.

Crossing one more stream of Brahmaputra, Jadav has discovered another island “mekahi” beyond Muloi kathoni. He has already started his favourite job of planting trees on the two thousand acres land of Mekahi, since last four years. He has decided that he will grow a jungle on Mekahi, the barren sand island, in the forthcoming years.

Many people visit Molai Kathoni, to see Jadav’s work and take inspiration from it. He is happy and satisfied that at least after thirty years, his work has reached people and it is being acclaimed worldwide!

He is being internationally known as “The Forest Man of India”. He is being felicitated and awarded by many states and country. But he believes that planting trees is a more important job.

We feel very small when he says that his house is one thousand, two hundred and fifty acres big. The forest man is striving towards establishing real jungles on sand islands and on the other hand, human beings are cutting down trees to erect cement jungles. Jadav Payeng stands out in the crowd, which selfishly thinks only about own family, while he is worried about the birds, animals and Mother Earth. He is our great hero because he dreams of and strives towards carrying forward and gifting the next generation with a safer, healthier, greener, lush Mother Earth!
CAN WE DREAM TOO?

Dr Jaya Kurhekar

Green Blogger

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Jaya's Green by Dr.Jaya Kurhekar April 23, 2020 0 Comments

जागतिक वसुंधरा दिन !!

२२ एप्रिल, जागतिक वसुंधरा दिन! आजच्या करोना च्या महामारीच्या पार्श्वभूमीवर हा विचार मनात आल्याशिवाय रहात नाही, कि आपण खरंच हा दिवस का साजरा करतोय? आपलं काही चुकतंय का?

आत्मपरीक्षण केल्यावर लक्षात येतंय कि मुळात वसुंधरेचा सन्मान असा कधी आपण केलाच नाही, नुसताच हा दिवस साजरा करून काय उपयोग? आपण किती क्षुल्लक आहोत, निसर्गाच्या हातातलं बाहुलं आहोत ही हतबलता ही जाणवते! अशाच एका विमनस्क क्षणी ह्या ओळी मला सुचल्या!

वसुंधरा

वसुंधरा माझी माय, माझी धरा,
तिचे उपकार जन्मभर न विसरा!
मानव खरं तर तिच्यावर उपरा,

त्याचे अस्तित्व, तिचा छोटासा कोपरा!

तशी ती कनवाळू,
मन तिचे मायाळू,
सर्वाना पदराखाली सांभाळू,
भरवी घास अळूमाळू!

नका तिला ओरबाडू,
निसर्ग तिचा ओसाडू,
पाणी तिचे व्यर्थ सांडू,
हिरवळ, झाडे फुका तोडू!

हे तिचे अवयव सारे,
पर्यावरणाचे चंद्र तारे,
सर्व सृष्टीचे घट्ट आधारे,
सारा समतोल राखणारे!

मानवाचा चोहिकडे हस्तक्षेप,
अंतराळ काबीज करण्या उत्तुंग झेप,
नद्या, समुद्राच्या मर्यादेत आक्षेप,
बेभान दौड, नीती साक्षेप!

पण कधीतरी लवंडतात मापं,
ओलांडतात शंभर पापं,
वसुंधरेचाच लागतो शाप,
सृष्टी मग पावते कंप!

तिला मानहानी जेव्हा न झेपली,
अवचित अपमानित ती कोपली,
तिचा संयम संपला,
आणि मानव तेंव्हा हादरला!

करोना सारखा नगण्य विषाणू,
आवळतो मानवाचे अणूरेणू,
एखादा अदृश्य राक्षस जणू,
विना आवाजा ठणठणू!

प्रलय येता जीव थरकापे,
मानव हताश संतापे,
वेळी तिचा सन्मान जर जपे,
न उतली असती पापे!

करुया तिचा सन्मान,
राखून जैव विविधतेची शान,
तिच्या सजण्यातच आपली जान,
नको करुया तिचा अनमान!

वसुंधरेची ही माया,

लाभण्या रे सखया,

हो उतराई, पड पाया,

हो वचनबद्ध, न वसा टाकाया!

Dr. Jaya Kurhekar,
Green Blogger

Friday, April 10, 2020

Jaya's Green by Dr.Jaya Kurhekar April 10, 2020 5 Comments

CORONA CORONA!!

The most modern danger to mankind is Corona, you know?

Once it embraces you, you definitely have no go!

COVID 19 - its common name, is the causative agent,

Its common portal of entry is your nose, as a pathogen potent!

Corona Virus Disease 19 is its full form,

Beware; it is absolutely different from the usual norm!

It is totally secular, knows no caste, creed, color, language or country,

It needs no visa, neither passport, for its entry!

It catches you unaware, puts you in wild despair,

Be careful what you touch, where you go, what you do,

Your actions unwittingly, your defenses may undo!

Hugs can be poisonous; handshakes can be a curse,

The virus may tiptoe in and use your body, too dangerous!

It enters when your immunity is low,

You can then do nothing, except in front of it, just bow!

Drink a lot of hot water and tea,

Citrus juices, curcumin and vitamins, is a remedy!

Revert back to nature, get good sleep,

Good home cooked food and meditation deep!

Sunshine is good, so is hygiene and cleanliness,

Its good time to pray and energy to harness!

It pulls down your resistance, makes you susceptible to other conditions,

The best thing is to keep away, keep all others and contacts at bay!

If you are careless, you wouldn't know what is happening,

Why you are feeling miserable, your whole world is crumbling?

It gives extreme pain and may dampen you gradually, a lot you will have to endure,

So please beware, as "PREVENTION IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN CURE!"

Dr. Jaya Kurhekar,

Green Blogger

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Jaya's Green by Dr.Jaya Kurhekar March 25, 2020 3 Comments

Dear Corona!

Respected Dear Corona,

Greetings!

You will be surprised about the way I addressed you, respected Corona!

Matter of fact, I truly respect you! You made your appearance on the global scene, sometime in January, that too in China, the country which aims at becoming a super power! You tiptoed your way into the life s of the Chinese and literally swept a large number off their feet, sending them to the hospital beds. You collapsed their health system but as human beings are inherently strong and brilliant, they have come out of your sweep today!

You love travelling, don't you? You roamed around from there through human vectors, to various countries, enjoying the airports and the flights and the air conditioned lounges and get together s and took pleasure in residing in various human hosts. Of course, those who were poorly immune, succumbed to you and you created a panic! You are truly a secular, non believer individual, making anyone's body, "A HOME SWEET HOME", irrespective of color, caste, creed and country! Of course, you give them a breathing time of 11 to 14 days and then ravage their bodies, as if it were a boxing ring!

I respect you also because you have taught a lesson to us human beings, which no one else could do till today! We think we are too great, we know everything, no one can beat us and our brains but you have defied all of us! At least today, you are the super power! We are scared, we are at our homes, we are helpless and we have self quarantined ourselves! You are a winner!

And lo behold, you are just a nano particle, measured in nano meters, lifeless outside human body but strong once you enter our cells! You are a believer who becomes one with us, when you unite with us, just like a believer becomes one with god, once he meditates.

You have so many virtues dear corona, except for the fact that you have presently defeated us, made us helpless! See how you have, in a way, united the whole world, in their fight against you! This is global unity, right? All are busy finding an antidote for the infection caused by you, all want to help the infected, in one way or the other!

All have, at present, kept the political, financial, caste and creed based issues aside and are praying for your victims. You have shaken the humanity from the core!

In a way, thank you dear corona but it's enough now! You have made your point, you have won! You have made us introspective, we have realized that we have upset the nature's balance. We have been very greedy and we have tried to snatch everything from the natural resources, unthinkingly! We haven't even cared for our next generations.

We need to rethink and recuperate! I promise you, we will do whatever best we can! Please spare us today! We will take care of our environment and bring back the balance! We have observed how, in the last few weeks, the humans are hiding behind their doors and how all birds and animals are breathing freely! We wish to bring back the harmony!

Will you please listen to my plea?

Take some nice rest dear Corona,

Let us breathe freely, with the flora and fauna,

We promise to really behave ourselves,

To care for others and precious resources,

We will take care of the beautiful surroundings,

Will care for coming generations and other living beings!

Kindly spare us now, dear Corona,

Excuse our sins, Hume maaf karon na?

Always yours,

A desperate citizen of the world!

Dr Jaya Kurhekar,

Green Blogger

Friday, March 13, 2020

Jaya's Green by Dr.Jaya Kurhekar March 13, 2020 1 Comments

ENVIRONMENT AND MINIMALISM

Environment goes very much hand in hand with Minimalism! Minimalism is living with minimum requirements. This concept is not new, neither is it unused. There are individuals on this planet who believe in living life, using minimum possible things and live it well!

Flying high becomes difficult, if we are loaded with unwanted things or in other words, garbage! Many a times, we accumulate things, thoughts which are not important for life! We tend to lose our freedom, protecting and preserving things, which we think are ours! This snatches our real happiness! If we really wonder what our minimum requirements are, we realize that we are possessing much more than what we need!

As Socrates rightly said, “The secret of happiness is not found in seeking more but in developing the capacity to enjoy less”. It’s our attitude of collecting things, may be wanted or unwanted, thinking that it may be needed sooner or later, that leads us to accumulating trash, in a way, making our “Home Sweet Home” a place of storage! If we get too much involved in non-living things and think of them, spend time for them, spend energy in preserving them, we may lose our time, which we may have otherwise spent for our happiness! We see so many examples regarding this, which will immediately appeal to all of us. We acquire so many clothes, shoes, accessories, which we then rarely use or rather their turn comes after a long time. And moreover, we tend to preserve the older things too, increasing the loads on our wardrobes, shoe racks and cupboards. We build huge houses, few rooms in which are always closed or maintained for those, who rarely turn up! We have three four sets of things like TVs, pen drives, laptops, other gadgets, which we do not use at all. We have more vehicles in the house, than the number of residents. When we spend time to keep the house neat and tidy, we have trouble keeping these things in order. Sometimes, they may clutter the house. Their maintenance becomes costly, as we are paying the maids for cleanliness, paying for electricity bills, petrol, diesel or whatever is required! We are definitely adding a load in the environment! Whenever we get an urge to buy something, we should think twice, thrice, four times, before buying, as to whether it is required or not!

A thing which has not been used for a long time must be considered as a thing unwanted! It may be more required by someone else! In such a situation, it must be given away to someone who needs it more and will be of help to that person! While leading our life, we need only about a hundred things, which are of dire significance. Otherwise these things are truly useless stuff. The lesser the useless stuff we possess, the more will be the freedom we experience!

We will be freer, have more time for our loved ones and for our health, for our hobbies and have a better environment around!

If you talk to a person who is an expert in science of architecture, one who advises about how to keep your house peaceful and holy, he will also advise you to keep it clutter less! So let us pledge to be a minimalist!

We can change our habits and behavior in such a way that we can use minimum, want less, utilize less, hence save more!!! This will be an environment friendly behavior, where one needs less and saves resources!

Best wishes!

Green Blogger

Dr. Jaya Kurhekar