We were on our way to Nagbhid, a small village almost a 150 kms away from Nagpur city. Unlike every journey that we had undertaken, about this particular journey, its not the destination we are excited about but its the journey that matters right now. We are travelling by a train but not just any train its the last Narrow Gauge train that this Central India is ever going to have. The Government of India has taken the initiative to convert all narrow gauge tracks to broad gauge. It pains me to say this but the biggest narrow gauge track in Southern Asia is now dismantled forever. Development as we call it is now taking place in the Country in the forms of Track Conversions and Heavy Deforestation. We humans have now decided that in order to develop, dismantling is required. That in order to change we have get rid of either what is old or what is not required. To change, doesn’t only mean is to renew but change also means alignment. In this case the alignment of civil development with nature. Its just a thought, why do architects think in order to construct a 4 lane express highway land and trees have to be cleared, why not build roads that divide a small section of the road in such a manner that the travelers pass by the tree. And why not keep a small track of narrow gauge up and running so that our future generations get to experience the rich History of India. Frankly, its not entirely our fault. The Education system in India has been constructed in a format that restricts innovation and creativity and tell us to stick to the book. I do not raise questions anymore but try to look for answers. I look at how others do it, not at how I would have done it. I do what has been told instead of doing what I want to do. Why? Because I have been told that there is a competitive world out there and I need to survive. I think that is too much of digressing for one topic. My point is that whatever has been done… is done. But then what is left should be preserved and respectfully protected. This is me voicing my concerns for my Country’s Heritage. Isn’t it kind of interesting or rather confusing I should say , How matters connect each other. How can current developments be a piece of our values and principles that we carry? or How can the actions taken now affect our pasts?. I ll discuss about the topic in my next blog…
Persis Rtanparj
Lemon Blogger
