By RK Lakhi Kant
Out for an early afternoon walk
I saw the man who operates
a septic tank cleaning vehicle;
his chin resting on his hand,
dejected, as the tanker
emptied at the roadside gutter.
Is there a less punishing
method to handle household
garbage and sewers?
They remain known to us
only for this need, when
we can`™t manage by ourselves.
The farmhouse fad `“ a nice
way to live; but why do
they run short of farmlands
for the common people.
Land for agriculture and
a home to live life by
nature`™s plan is a modest
askable need.
Manageable toilets
conveniently placed away
from the main building;
the simpler the better for
anyone in the family
to handle the localized
sewer within the farm complex;
and garbage taken care
by a fire lit in the
garbage dump; a source
for manure too.
No hiring of help for
menial works: the helpers
being free to take up
a vocation of their choice.
With a few cows and bulls
milk, grains and vegetables
can be produced;
fruit gardens only for
seasonal fruits with no
worries for off season
storage and sales is possible,
without a greed for more
as is happening with
genetically modified products.
Flourishing green lands
instead of scary houses
with high fences `“ seclusion.
The rich nations have more,
but every place has
magical moments and also
display stark animalism
like the A-bombing of Japan.
Be careful what you take
from them `™cause their
hearts respond not to
sincerity but only to recovering
the money you take from them.
Housing lots are climbing up
vertically instead of
spreading out proportionately
on the ground.
Its not safe too; avoid
the lifts and escalators;
we should need to climb
to a height reachable by
a common bamboo ladder,
nothing more.
Sizeable farmlands can provide
for us everything.
Electricity is a small
problem; we fear what
will happen if the
lights go out `“ cook
early, eat early before
dusk and sleep early
to wake up very early
the next morning `“
can`™t get healthier than this.
Candles or material for
wooden torches is
available in the villages
for odd jobs after dark.
Otherwise sunlight is there
long enough to finish any work.
The natural clock ticks by
without causing any anxiety.
Honey from the honeycombs
in the garden and the bright
sunshine is much healthier
than life otherwise.
Water too managed by digging
wells and reservoirs for
drinking and bathing
under an open sky.
Young people in their twenties
hair graying, with weak
eyesight, and blood lazy
and frozen without any
warmth in it`™s tracks.
In nature`™s system hardly
an eyesight problem and
graying only late in life.
You don`™t have to! Really!
There`™s no need to ascribe
to ways and values in the west.
There is more love and care
in the simplicity grandfather
lived in the previous age.
Aspire for less of matter, so
that less is also more than
sufficient for unshackling
a common man from the
blatant errors economists
and decision-makers
make at their ease.