Window Seat | Mrinal
Chatterjee
Where have the small villages gone?
Political
commentator Mohan Guruswamy has recently written what we have been witnessing
in Odisha for a long time now: small villages are fast disappearing.
“Data
from the Census of India show between 2001 and 2011, villages with population
of less than 1,000 have sharply declined across all states. People have moved
to larger villages, pretty much as urban people move to more connected colonies
in search of better jobs and education opportunities.
The number of uninhabited villages in India was 45,000 in the 2001
Census. That number has risen, though the 2011 Census does not provide precise
numbers. It instead shows that of the nearly 640,000 villages it had counted,
over 13 per cent or 82,000, had a population size of less than 200 each. Less
than one per cent of the rural population lives in these villages and many of
them are likely to fall off the inhabited map by the time the next census comes
around”.
Why is
this happening? Major reasons are: livelihood issues, more opportunity to earn,
better living condition, opportunity for education for children, and medical
facilities.
As small
villages are deserted, big villages are not necessarily getting bigger, as
there is migration from those villages to nearby towns and from towns to big
cities. The infrastructure of big cities is unable to cope with the migrating
population leading to several problems.
Steps
must be taken to a. stem the migration, b. improve the infrastructure of big
cities and c. create new cities with proper planning for future expansion.
Save Wetlands
Wetlands are essential for
humans to live and prosper. They provide freshwater and ensure our food supply.
They help sustain the wide variety of life on our planet, protect our
coastlines, provide natural sponges against river flooding, and store carbon
dioxide to regulate climate change.
But unfortunately we are
destroying our wetlands in the name of development. And we are reaping the
consequences. Look at Bhubaneswar. With its hilly terrain with natural drainage
system, there should not be any water logging. But because of blocking of the
natural drainage system and filling of wetlands- the city is experiencing heavy
water logging in the rainy season and water crisis, with receding ground water
level in the summer. This has happened and is happening in several cities big
and small across India. The recent unprecedented flood in Chennai and almost
regular flooding of Mumbai could be partially blamed on this.
We need to save our
wetlands before it is too late. With this objective 2 Feb is observed as World Wetlands Day. This day
marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February
1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Since
1997, the Ramsar Secretariat provides outreach materials to help raise public
awareness about the importance and value of wetlands.
The Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention on
Wetlands have decided the theme of 2019 Wetlands Day: Wetlands and Climate
Change. Theme for 2020 is: Wetlands and Biodiversity. .
Book Fair
More and more book fairs are being organised
in different parts of Odisha. Bhuaneswar has more than five book fairs a year
now. Almost all towns are now having book fairs. As per a conservative estimate
over 70 book fairs are now organised across the state.
But when it comes to the sales of books,
things are not very encouraging. In the fairs the bestselling book categories
are: religious books, children’s books and how to books. So much so that some
book fairs have been organised only with this category of books. Books related
to literature and other subjects gradually are losing ground so far sales is
concerned.
Many of the book fairs are now turning to
kind of mela with umpteen numbers of food stalls and stalls selling
stationeries and knickknacks including feng sui articles. The literary and
intellectual discussions generally organised at the book fairs are losing
attraction. The organisers collectively need to think something out of the box
to revive the attraction of the Book Fair.
Tailpiece 1: 40
years of marriage
A married couple in their early 60s was
celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in a quiet, romantic little
restaurant. Suddenly, a tiny yet
beautiful fairy appeared on their table.
She said, 'For being such an exemplary married
couple and for being loving to each other for all this time, I will grant you
each a wish.
The wife answered, 'Oh, I want to travel
around the world with my darling husband.
The fairy waved her magic wand and - poof! -
two tickets for the Queen Mary II appeared in her hands.
The husband thought for a moment: 'Well, this
is all very romantic, but an opportunity like this will never come again. I'm
sorry my love, but my wish is to have a wife 30 years younger than me.
The wife,
and the fairy, was deeply disappointed, but a wish is a wish. So the fairy
waved her magic wand and poof...the husband became 92 years old.
Moral: Men
who are ungrateful should remember fairies are female.
(Courtesy:
An anonymous Email forward)
Tailpiece 2: Pyar ka Panchnama
Mera pyaar
Rafale jaisa hai…. Tumhein iski keemat kabhi pata nahi chalegi. (My love is
like the price of Rafale Jet. You won’t never know its real price.)
(Courtesy:
Social Media Forward)
***
Journalist
turned media academician Mrinal Chatterjee lives in Central Odisha town
Dhenkanal. An anthology of his weekly column Window Seat has been compiled
ibnto a book. For a free e-copy of the book, write a mail to him.
| 24.2.19
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