I grew up in a traditional Chennai Suburb, during a time when every house had a well in the back and a front yard to put kolam (Rangoli). Before the times when motor used to pump water to the tank in the terrace or water tankers or municipal water supply. Water crisis in Chennai meant the water table has gone down to 40 feet. Paalaru Thanni was a distant dream my dad used to have.
My mother's idea of training (or torture) us was to make us cup water with our bare hands from the back yard, cross the entire house and take it to the front of the house and give it to the tulsi plant. You are judged based on how much water you actually managed to take to the front. For every droplet that fell on the way, you will get a taunt
"ஓட்டை கை " - ottai kai - hand with holes
"பணம் தண்ணியா போகும்டி " - panam thanniyai pogum di - money will go away like water
Honestly that was torture, she would have made a good military commander. But those statements ingrained in my brain for good.
Today as I observe around me, I see the truth in my mother's wise statements. How one spends the water does predict how the money is going to be spent, on useful things or wasteful expenditure. In fact, I have seen that even if one is not into extravagance, expenses have a way of creeping in.
Today water get supplied to our houses, water flows from taps and rain showers, at full force. We have forgotten where this water comes from, its value and spend it as if there is no tomorrow. Its a sign of affluence. Any suggestion of water saving or usage restrictions meet with great resistance.
We have dug a 1000 feet to get to any water that we can, even fossilized ones, and finished those too, that too in Bangalore. With damaged environment, encroached lake beds, destroyed catchment basins, climate change, we see unpredictable weather. When monsoon is in full swing, one area is flooded and other gets no rain, both places have no water for consumption. Water has become money.
Now let me ask you "How do you spend your water (/money)?"
My mother's idea of training (or torture) us was to make us cup water with our bare hands from the back yard, cross the entire house and take it to the front of the house and give it to the tulsi plant. You are judged based on how much water you actually managed to take to the front. For every droplet that fell on the way, you will get a taunt
"ஓட்டை கை " - ottai kai - hand with holes
"பணம் தண்ணியா போகும்டி " - panam thanniyai pogum di - money will go away like water
Honestly that was torture, she would have made a good military commander. But those statements ingrained in my brain for good.
Today as I observe around me, I see the truth in my mother's wise statements. How one spends the water does predict how the money is going to be spent, on useful things or wasteful expenditure. In fact, I have seen that even if one is not into extravagance, expenses have a way of creeping in.
Today water get supplied to our houses, water flows from taps and rain showers, at full force. We have forgotten where this water comes from, its value and spend it as if there is no tomorrow. Its a sign of affluence. Any suggestion of water saving or usage restrictions meet with great resistance.
We have dug a 1000 feet to get to any water that we can, even fossilized ones, and finished those too, that too in Bangalore. With damaged environment, encroached lake beds, destroyed catchment basins, climate change, we see unpredictable weather. When monsoon is in full swing, one area is flooded and other gets no rain, both places have no water for consumption. Water has become money.
Now let me ask you "How do you spend your water (/money)?"
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