We went on a kind of Dam-safari the other day. And had a damn good time. The weather was perfect and the drive took us past a flowing river, streams, little water falls, dense green hills and fields drenched in more water. All very scenic and pleasing to eyes that are sore from fumes and sights of the urban jungle.
We could hear the subdued roar of water as we approached the first dam, indicating that some of the gates had been opened. And sure enough, there it was, swirling over the rocks and boulders as it made its way to the gutter-river that runs through the city. (The only water we see flowing is from our taps that we watch with an eagle eye to make sure it doesn’t overflow.) To see gallons of it, gushing forth like this was, again, a sight to soothe our eyes. There were some brave souls who were casting nets in an attempt to catch fish but we were content to stand on the bridge and just watch.
We proceeded on our dam-darshan as we followed the bends and curves of the river, past villages and fields till we approached the second dam. Here too we could make out that the gates were open as we saw around us larger streams of water rushing down to join the river. The newspaper headline “Rainfall in the catchment areas” made a whole lot more sense now.
The approach to this dam was closed so we contented ourselves with visiting the backwaters and marvelling at the beauty of the misty cloud-covered hills that framed them. And wandered along the different paths, all the time listening to gurgling streams and chirping birds.
The most imposing sight was the third dam- the biggest of them all. Once again, the approach was closed but we managed a look from a vantage point by peering through leafy branches and around trees. The dam was full to the brim with water, any more and it would have overflowed. It was an awe-inspiring sight. We drove around to the other side of the dam from where we could see just the walls and one of the opened gates from which a huge sheet of water fell in an unending stream. Apart from the sound of the water, it was eerily silent, just those walls holding back an enormous amount of water that would supply the city for the next 10 months. And us, tiny people in our tiny vehicle.
Now, I’m aware that dams cause ecological destruction, reduce rivers to a trickle, engulf large areas of forest and farm land. The pros and cons are a subject of endless debate.
But I strongly feel that more and more city people need to compulsorily do a ‘dam-darshan’ so that we can actually see and understand where the water in our taps comes from. Maybe then we’ll realise how precious, how valuable it is. And that rivers, streams and lakes are not places to congregate at in noisy hordes and take selfies, have a camel ride (Yes! We saw the camel among the chattering crowd) chow down a ‘bhutta’, throw the remains at the water’s edge and head home to waste some more of it.
butterfliesonmymindblog 