[ Nani Kojin ]
I have always been a late riser due to my profession, waiting for phone calls from my news section/room for consultation or discussion till late at night. This became a routine since I entered the field of journalism.
Very interestingly and to my pleasant surprise, for the last couple of days, some kind of blessing has been showered upon me, making me wake up early in the morning, once at around 3 AM and next at 5 AM,every day. I pondered on this new occurrence and concluded that something good must be happening to me. So I decided to go for morning walks.
So, one day I got up at 5 AM, finished my morning routine and, to the surprise of some of my friends who know me for being a late riser, I headed out for a walk by daring to face the foul smell of waste products heaped up on the roadside and smoke emanating from burning of such waste.
The moment I entered D Sector, Naharlagun, just after crossing the Hathi Matha point, I heard a loud cry, seemingly of a woman. I took it casually, assuming that it might be ‘subha subha’ argument in someone’s house.
For few days, whenever I entered this area in DSector, I was greeted with the same clear and loud cry every time.
Of course, I am not supposed to interfere in someone else’s personal affairs, but then I thought that I should at least go and check for myself. As I went towards the source of the sound, I reached a park called Polo Park in Naharlagun, which was once a very beautifully managed park. I was welcomed with the stench of garbage.
Overlooking the stench, I proceeded. But I could not find the source of the sound coming from any of the nearby houses. Interestingly, the sound was coming from Polo Park itself. I thought some miscreants were misbehaving with lady visitors. So I decided to go and check what was happening, because if someone was actually misbehaving with a lady, I could not overlook it.
I made up my mind that whatever may be, I should see and if situation demands, I shall help her. So I entered the park. To my utter surprise, it was a beautiful young lady who was crying sitting alone, whom I had met several times many years ago. I was dumbfounded. I could not understand why she was crying alone in such desperation.
There were many people, men and women, old and young, who were jogging, walking, running, exercising, playing football, cricket, doing yoga, etc. It seemeddisplay-none of them had taken notice of her sorrow.
As I approached her, she noticed me and somehow controlled herself for a moment and welcomed me to the park. I asked, “Why are you crying beautiful lady? Please stop crying. If I can do anything to help you, I will be very pleased.”
Somehow, she controlled herself and asked me if I could spare some time and lend her a patient hearing, as she had a few problems to share. I agreed and asked her to please go ahead. She wiped her tears and confided in me that once upon a time she used to be a very beautiful and charming lady, adored by every visitor.
She said, “In those days, many visitors used to visit us and they loved and appreciated us for our beauty and charm. Unlike now, I wasn’t alone in those days and had many beautiful companions by my side like deer, bears, colourful birds, varieties of monkeys and snakes, and many others. Once those loving friends were shifted to their better sweet home called the Zoological Park in Itanagar, I was left out here all alone. I thought I would be looked after well for a long time. But I was ignored and uncared for.
“Instead of taking care of me, I was attacked. They cut me on the head, neck, arms and no part of my body was spared. My entire body was covered with wounds and cut marks. It felt like the sky had befallen upon me. Thus, I looked like a rugged old woman surrounded by littered waste materials of all sorts thrown everywhere around me.
“Some years back, people from Itanagar Smart City Development Corporation Ltd, along with forest officials visited me and saw my condition. They had mercy on me. They washed, cleaned and gave me good treatment. Thus, I survived. But one thing that bothers me is the uneven high rise RCC stairs and footpath laid in RCC and tiles which is not senior citizen friendly. In some places, it bends towards left and in some towards right. However, I am happy that the Smart City Development Corporation people came and put ‘lal tikka’ on me that you people refer to as ‘synthetic EPDM rubber’ footpath. It is very senior citizen and child friendly. Also, I was very happy because they constructed retaining wall around my body to secure me from dangerous local invaders.”
Then I said to her, “Now that so many things have changed and you are taken care of, you should be very happy and content. But why are you still sad and crying in agony?”
She lamented, “Uncle, you may not be aware of the fact that I have been attacked several times in the past by local invaders. And it is very likely to happen again. So I keep crying out loud in hopes that someone like you would hear my cries and help me pass on my message to Smart City, Itanagar. A few months back, rain came and washed away a portion of my feet because the authority concerned did not complete the construction of retaining wall. I am worried that very soon the local invaders will be encroaching in my area, initially by constructing a pig sty or kutcha ghar, gradually turning them into a concrete jungle.”
She continued, “Once, I heard a group of people talking. Some of them were neatly dressed in suits and some were roughly dressed. They were discussing something. One gentleman dressed in suit and tie sitting on a bench said that he grew up in a village in the jungle. He said that he had enough of the jungle life and wanted to come out of it. He proudly said that now he lives in Itanagar and he does not care about conservation of trees. He cut down many trees, sold them, cleared jungles, occupied the land and constructed huge RCC buildings. Now, I am living in concrete jungle!
“Then another roughly dressed gentleman, who was standing facing towards the well dressed people sitting on the bench, added, ‘While we don’t have money like you, we also cut down the beautiful and every fruit-bearing tree and cleared the plot, occupied it and thereafter we sold it to people like you. We have sold many such plots to earn money to sustain ourselves. Butdisplay-none of our friends became rich like you.’
“Hearing such nonsense gossip, I felt very irritated. I thought to myself, how difficult it is to maintain the ecological balance? People with such mentality will never spare any part of my body. The thought itself agonised and horrified me. So, I have been thinking about it day and night, and that is the reason I have been crying all along.
“So uncle, I sincerely request you to please help my voice reach the Itanagar Smart City Development Corporation Ltd or the Forest Department for my protection.”
I assured her that even if I am not able to do anything, but for sure I will help to get across her feeling of agony and fear to the authorities concerned. But we have to wait for the right time and approach them during the working season. If we do it in any other time, they will say that working season is over.
Thereafter, she breathed a sigh of relief and with a grateful heart bid me farewell, and disappeared into thin air.
Recently, I went for another morning walk at 5 AM to Polo Park and was surprised to see that the stench of garbage which I witnessed earlier was cleared and the park looked very fresh and beautiful. Here, I again met the charming and beautiful lady who looked at peace and was happy. She greeted me with a smile and said, “It seems that you have passed on the message to the Smart City people. Now they have started the work of constructing the retaining wall, a part of which was washed by the rain earlier and I was crying because of that. I am really grateful that I met you that day and you were kind enough to hear me out and pass on my plea to the concerned authority.”
I believe that to maintain the ecological balance, we have to be very careful to preserve the green surroundings around us. We all have seen the impact of global warming and how it is affecting the people across the world. We all need modernity and urbanisation, but not at the cost of cutting down trees and putting garbage all across the city. Cleanliness is next to godliness.
She said, “Uncle, we need active listeners like you to save this lone greenery across Naharlagun, which is the lungs of the city. Trees and plants in urban environments improve the air quality by absorbing pollutants. Thus the phrase ‘greenery is the lungs of the city’ is a metaphor that highlights the vital role of trees and other vegetations in improving air quality and overall urban health. Green spaces help filter pollutants, release oxygen, and regulate temperature, making them essential for a healthy and liveable urban environment.”
I hope that you keep coming to visit me in the morning in the future so that I can share and update you of the happenings around me.”
I was really happy that finally she was not crying and was smiling and I also heaved a sigh of relief that her sorrows would be lessened from now on and she would be taken care of. I bid her adieu with the promise of meeting her on my morning walks in the coming days. (The contributor is Editor, Arunachal Front)
