Building Developments (a poem and some reality!!)

Building Developments

Munching pieces of sky
swallowing land from deep
it grows and grows
into symbols of development
of prosperity.

Evicting a fondness
scratching some memories,
exposed to alien sights, new sounds,
a cry muffles itself
desperately seeking solace
and cling
in my thought
in stray recollections
and stranger I get
stranger I get…

I would be the last person to be against development and prosperity. A prosperous society gives people more comfort. But I really am very confused about what really ‘development’ means. I always had dislike for big buildings but I guess lack of space will lead to vertical growth, multistoried buildings/flats are inevitable. However the mindset that dominates the designs of these buildings is appalling, if not unethical. The glasshouses will suck more electricity, heat the surroundings and eventually burdens society, wonder why the government has not come with any building guidelines (or is it part of ‘freedom of expression’ or keep the govt out (you know the groovy world of self regulation: the latest fad?!). These buildings are sickening sight. At a level it smacks of arrogance in rejecting traditional wisdom. Implanting designs from Las Vegas or Dubai is not my idea of smartness. The problem here is that the foolishness of these people has started to affect us common people, more significantly the very existence of our planet. So when they talk of ‘energy security’ they need to focus on consumption pattern also, rather than only production increase.

These buildings are also responsible for quarrying for sand, causing untold miseries to the vulnerable local population as also leading to environmental catastrophe in and around these areas of ‘development’. It is shocking they are able to innovate buildings to take care of all needs, comfort and luxury but the basic ingredients still remains sand, gravel….that are obtained by plundering surrounding. Why are there no technological substitution for these?. Isn’t it time some brilliant guys invent a substitute for sand and mass produce it? For the astounding constructions happening in metros, sand mining is done in outskirts, from ponds and river beds (even soil is used as substitute). There is an environmental catastrophe unfolding here. Some excerpts from Net:

Sand mining is a disaster happening on colossal scale. With Many rivers are vanishing because of sand mining. Ground water tables plummet, resulting in scarcity of drinking water. Water scarcity is more severe in rural areas as illegal mining creates ecological imbalance. Every year, thousands of cubic metres of sand is removed from the riverbeds. Due to endless sand mining, the depth of the rivers enhances and the mud walls on either side collapse posing a major threat to nearby houses and farms. Trees on the banks are also uprooted. The absence of sand on the riverbed affects the velocity of the water flow, making it violent during monsoons. Saline water also enters the river easily, especially in summer. Lowering of water table has accelerated the intrusion of saline seawater into the main river. Uncontrolled sand mining has damaged the river's ecosystem as well, destroying the habitats of organisms living on the riverbed. Fish breeding and migration - the fish move between marine and freshwater habitats during spawning - have been affected because of sand mining and the check dams constructed on the river. The river is also a source of food for many bird species such as egrets, storks, terns and sandpipers. Sand mining has put a question mark over their very survival. Worse still, species seen in the sea are moving up, and this indicates more saline water in the river. (Inputs from indiatogether.com)

Further, is opening of huge buildings housing jewellery shops or retail shops (bigger and uglier) really development as we see in many of small towns ??. Hopefully there will be concrete/sustainable development in terms of meaningful, gainful employment. So that youngsters don’t have to migrate to different cities and live in appalling and alienating surroundings.

At personal level I haven’t seen the kind of growth in multistoried (and demolishing of old building) building that has been happening for last 5-6years, it is astonishing. Change is inevitable but when certain places ensconce so many fond memories there is also certain wariness, a pain that cannot really be quantified. There is a sense of loss. Mind looks out for reference point/ familiarity, which is what memories provides this loss breaks that bond.

So where really is your home??

The sage says: Your home is where your mind is.
And what happens when the mind start to loose, the links…?
The answer:….(silence)
Aha !!!. Now I get it. Did you hear that snap of fingers?!!.

Alternative scene (practical): Game of chess (apologies to Ingmar Bergman!!. He was brilliant wasn’t he??)

Asks Death: what’s your next move
Human: (doesn’t answer, is wistful, not apprehensive)
Death: You know you can’t win this game.
Human: (finally he can smile)
Death (taken aback): That is unfair you know the end (screams and vanishes)

Human triumphs !!.