This post is a response to my previous post named Fox in the city. It first appeared on this blog as a comment from Avik Noronha. I felt it was too good to be left back in the comments section. So, with Avik’s permission, here goes:

This is so weird!
The place I stay in Biren Roy Rd (W), Behala had foxes in the area too. We had shifted there in 1991, that’s a good 16 years ago. Then all we had were two building- ours and another one behind us, 3-4 bus routes plying, a whole lot of wide wide wide green fields and many many many ponds. This resulted in lots of snakes in and around our area, dogs (who still calmly exist with us) and foxes or jackals (not sure though coz i’ve never seen one).

Every night from 11pm onwards, we could hear howls in and around our building. And not to forget the hooting of owls. In fact we used to see a white owl sitting in a tree just outside my window. What a magnificent sight that was.

As children we had a fantastic time there. Our building was still being completed so that meant a lot sand being dumped in the main play area. For us that meant a whole lot of sand castles.We were forbidden from playing after dark because of snakes coming out in the open, for it was their time to play. And dacoits, but I think that’s a story that our parents cooked up for us.I also remember people coming over to our house every sunday to watch cable, as ours was the only family to have one. I still remember an elderly neighbour who said “This is all a “tamasha”, Doordarshan will rule for ages to come”.And then it all started to change.

Construction began, trees were felled, the owl went away, the foxes stopped howling and all we were left with was concrete.Today we have a LIC Training Center, Auto stands, Taxi stands, 10-12 bus routes, a college, a football club, a swimming pool, 2 luxury apartments which combined will have around 5000 flats and “billions” of people with another billion to come.But everything else has gone.

Out of the 6-10 ponds, now we have only two, slowly they too are dying away.Where are we heading with this? How long are we going to rape Mother Earth in the name of progress….where will progress end? What legacy will we leave our children? Will they ever know what it means to play in a lush green field?

I miss my days in the green…I urge you all to look back at your days as kid and remember that breath of fresh air….its time people did something.And by something I do not mean a WHOLE lot. Just small gestures.

To start with go to www.climatecrisis.net and educate yourself. Also do watch An Inconvenient Truth. Spend time, not energy.Thanks Anindita for this great platform and a wonderful post. This got me thinking and I just remembered my school days!

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