My grandma had built a log hut on a treetop. This was her favorite resting place. Come summer, the day temperature would zoom up to 45 degrees Celsius. The fans in her regular home, built by bricks and mortar, would emit hot wind. As children, we had the luxury of sleeping bare-chest on the coir mat under the fan. But such a luxury only the male members of our large family could enjoy – not the women and girls.
Grandma’s log hut was not only well ventilated but also covered from all sides by a thick canopy of leaves. Though I never measured the temperature inside the log hut, I knew it was much cooler because I never sweated there. The log hut fell into the hands of the children after grandma crossed 80 and could not climb up the tree. Over a dozen children would occupy the hut in the summer. They would play all kinds of board games – ludo, chess, carom.
I pity at the city children who cannot enjoy the luxury of playing on a treetop. They do play board games, and of course, video games, in the confines of the air-conditioned comforts of their apartment. But I can say for sure they would never get the thrill which we enjoyed in our childhood in my grandma’s log hut.
You can argue, “Your grandma could build the log hut on tree top because she lived in a village. How can you create a similar environment in a city?”
True.
However, I have also seen some city dwellings, which make optimum use of the nature by letting in free flow of wind and sunrays. Classic examples of such buildings are those built by the British in the ‘Civil Lines’ or ‘Cantonment’ areas. These ‘Colonial’ bungalows had high ceilings, large windows and were surrounded by leafy trees.
Again, you may like to argue, “Where is the space to build such huge bungalows?”
True.
However, I must point out here that the latest trend in fast growing cities is to live away from the downtown crowded commercial centre and build houses on land on which crops were cultivated by farmers. Much effort goes into landscaping and growing a green cover on these plots before even laying the foundation of the bungalow.
Past few years, my favorite summer sojourn is my village where my father has built a cluster of eco-friendly houses for a residential institute of which he is the director. The entire campus meets its energy needs from solar power and biogas. For some inexplicable reasons the rice, daal and sabji cooked in the solar cooker tastes yummier than that cooked on a gas stove and pressure cooker.
The use of solar power for heating water is very popular in Cyprus, the island nation in the Mediterranean. There are solar panels atop almost all the houses in Cyprus.
With so much of sun available round the year, I wonder why we in India are not harnessing solar energy to meet our daily needs?
Nachiketa Desai - Journalist, humour and short story writer
Some food for thought
http://www.forbes.com/energy/2005/08/17/energy-solar-taxes-cz_ae_0817beltway.html
http://www.palash.javdekars.com/eco-features.html
3 comments:
Such picture perfect words woven together to create nostalgia .. it compelled me to walk down memory lane and remember a simpler and sweeter time .
A well-written story. Brought a smile to my face. Reminded me of my childhood days that were spent more on roof-tops and guava trees than in classroom. Nachiketa has done a wonderful job of pointing out the relevance of enjoying and relishing simple things in life.
its a beautiful story written in simple words. Made me remember my childhood sweet days spent mostly on guava and trees and collecting jambul. no worries, no tensions, no pollution, no stress.
Kids today do not have this luxury of stressfree life.
Post a Comment