A Road to the River
Varna Sri Raman
A Journey for the Mind
Until very recently, one of the things that I was very proud of was my firm resolve about things. I could make a decision and stand by it, come what may. This was until recently. This firm belief in my capacities arose perhaps from being able to come through trying times fairly unscathed.
It is not so anymore.
My capacity to stick by what I think is right and to act upon it by itself remains unchanged -- if anything, it has only grown in strength. It has, though, seen resolves far greater than itself, and the feeling of being small in comparison is perhaps what has widened the many avenues I now see.
Twelve days is a short time in a city. It is even shorter in the Narmada Valley. Northwest India is not entirely new to me.
English: Sardar Sarrovar Dam in Gujarat, partially...
English: Largest Lined Irrigation Canal - Sardar S...
English: Plan of Water Resources schemes in the na...But then again, I didn't go to northwest India. I went to the people. I have always found myself getting lost in labyrinths of thought. My visit to Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat didn't quite give me enough time to start walking down unexplored paths of unasked and unanswered philosophies of life. Now would be a very good time to tell you about where I went and why I went where I went. I had set out on a journey to see a contemporary people's struggle.
It so happened that this place was the Narmada Valley. Narmada's waters are meant to alleviate the suffering of people in drought-prone regions of Kutch and Saurashtra through 3,000 dams, small and big. A very noble thought from any angle and as the wife of the CM of Gujarat said, "The affected people MUST sacrifice to bring about development and...