I learnt the importance of water, the hard way.
I spent my childhood in Alwar, a city on the eastern border of Rajasthan.
In my early years there, water was always scarce.
The daily water supply was for just 1 to 2 hours in the morning and about half an hour in the evening, if at all.
During peak summers, the evening supply was discontinued and the morning one reduced to only 1 hour.
And then there were days when the municipality did not supply water at all. We used to wait for hours, staring the tap connected to the local pipeline, with not a drop of water in sight.
Those days, everyone in the family (ours was a big joint family) used to carry empty buckets to a hand pump about 300 meters away, fill the buckets, one in each hand and get them back to fill up the tanks.
Water used to be a very precious commodity. Very rare and very precious.
The water was used very carefully – in fact it was rationed to everyone at home for bath, clothes, cooking, drinking, etc. Yes, sometimes it was fought over too.
The whole experience of living with such a shortage of water ingrained in us life long habits.
Simple example. Even today, when I go to a restaurant, I stop the waiter from pouring any more water in my glass than I would need.
Today, I can easily manage a bath in half a bucket (less than 10 litres) of water. I have heard that showers lead to more loss of water. But in my opinion, used well, they can actually save water.
I don’t leave any water tap open if I am not using it – not while I brush or shave.
Well, this is not some self-goal I am trying to score. I am sure you get the gist of what I am trying to say. Frankly, this is not any deviation from money and investing.
The maths is simple. You save water now and you will save a lot of money in future buying water, which is probably going to be costliest commodity in the world. Countries fought over Gold, then Oil. The next is Water.
Here is a powerful and hard hitting video to show us the future that we are heading to.
What can I do to save water?
Not for me to tell you.
There are a lot of good people sharing lot of ideas. Can you adopt some?
Mahatma Gandhi said it aptly, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
Let me hear from you – what do you plan to change in yourself so as to contribute to a future where water is not a crisis.
It is saving you cannot do without.
This is a wonderful post. Thank you!
I recall my parents’ insistence to economize usage of water. They called for a continually prudent manner of usage, and are of the belief that those who are efficient, and responsible, in using water are adept at managing their finances, and their lives consequently!
As a child, i felt disdain for that belief
Now, i’m increasingly inclined to believe that maxim. I reckon it couldn’t have been more right
Thank you Rakesh for reminding that that the basic tenets of life still hold us strong.