A View To Remember.....and to Preserve

With mid-terms and Valhalla (contrasting emotions of dread and expectation) around the corner, I decided I needed a stress buster. And thankfully it was served to me on a platter.

It has been a hectic roller-coaster as body clocks have been destroyed and assignments have taken a toll on our nascent knowledge of the subjects thrown at us and XLRI was becoming a mixed bag.

So, it was with a great degree of both pleasure and guilt that I decided to go for the Lake Cleaning Drive organized by EFI (Environmental Foundation of India) and our own beloved XLANC, the nature and adventure loving freaks of our campus.

Pleasure came from the fact that I could actually contribute back a little to something that has given me so much and guilt stemmed from the fact that this was my first time getting involved in such an activity. I have been frivolous with my own disposal of waste as well as my use of water.

As most will know, waking up before 7 am is a herculean task at XL (unless you decide to stay awake all though the night), especially if you go to sleep at 5-6 am. Still, I somehow managed to get ready by 6:30 am and made my way downstairs, where I was greeted with many familiar faces and some new ones.

All of us, alongwith seniors and XLANC made our way to Dimna Lake, most on bus and others on bikes. We were greeted by a beautiful sight that would be too difficult for my words to describe.

A short note on Dimna Lake. It is actually an artificial lake constructed by Tata Steel and located at the foothills of the Dalma Range – serving as both a water reservoir for the steel plant and more importantly, a major source of drinking water in the city of Jamshedpur.

It was a sad sight as we moved from the lofty heights of beauty to the dismal ground reality – people bathing and washing and doing all sort of things they shouldn’t be doing there.

The representative from EFI provided us with gloves and buckets and we divided into teams to cover the maximum part of the bank area. There were wheel barrows to collect all the garbage and a truck, kindly provided by JUSCO, which would take it to a safe disposable location.

It was a grueling task, with most of the trash like clothes and bottle parts embedded within the soil and under plants, forcing us to uproot those – hopefully with no more impediments, they will recover fast. Another major source of garbage were the shampoo sachets. While we did try to find out which brand was available the most there, it was basically black humour given we found so many – in which some had not even been used.

After 2 and a half hours of picking and pulling (some also pushing) peppered by a short break to get our wind back, the truck was full and we had to go. Looking back, I saw more people coming to take baths and wash clothes. It’s a decades-transcending cycle and Mother Nature cannot cope up with the destruction we humans are capable of.

I know that my effort is but a blink in the ravages of time but god help me, I tried. And hopefully, I can try again tomorrow. And maybe, if you haven’t already, you can join me.

To XLANC and EFI, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute back a little to something I have personally taken so much from. To my fellow cleaners, thanks for being so self-sacrificing and inspiring that even the harsh sun couldn’t stop our efforts. And to everyone else, help in your own little way – cause a lot of littles make a large.