Summer vacations are going to expire very soon. All children are busy in completing their home works before the schools open. Of course, they are not as lucky as other children of the rich people who spend their summer holidays at mountainous terrains. Prior to this year, I used to visit the mountains in every summer vacations and have seen the beauty of Greater Himalayas and have had so many unique experiences which sometimes are still haunting me – What is Nature, Who created it, How is it healing, what can it have its impact on one’s inner and outer life, whether god and nature are the same and if so, who created god? All these questions coupled with strange and unique experiences are unsolved and are still unanswered in spite thousand and thousand years after human creation.
All of a sudden, when I was taking a class of the children for the purpose of getting their homework completed, I asked one question from one student, named Ravi- what is nature? There was a pin drop silence and every child was looking at one another’s face. Ravi who was a student in 6th standard was looking down at earth with his face and eyes blank as if he knew nothing. After a few seconds, I took the lead and just to ease out the atmosphere, I asked another question- what are trees, mountains, clouds, wind, rain, stars, sun, moon, etc. Still, there was silence. Though I had asked a very basic question these children were unable to answer. The question was why? It appeared to me that they were so ignorant that they could not resemble themselves with nature. Then to break the silence, I told them these are Nature. Nature is like our mother, that cures our miseries and paves the way for our growth. I was just talking about the goodness and motherly traits of nature, in the meantime, Rakhi, a girl child, spoke extempore
“Agar Prakriti hamari mata hai, toh bhookamp kyon atta hai aur hamare ghar gir jate hain aur bahut log maare jatein hain”
(If nature is our mother, why earthquake comes and pulls down our houses and many people are killed).
I was shocked to hear such a response from such a small child. I called her near to me and asked very politely as to why she thought so. Her mother had told her that an earthquake had come recently in the region of Nepal and its surrounding parts of India and many of her relatives were killed. I had no answer except hugging that girl. In front of my eyes, I had my good memories which I had lived with nature during my several trips and on the other hand what the girl child had spoken with such anger against nature.
Children are always true as they do not adopt dual standard while putting forth whatever is in their inside. It is true, Nature may be furious but the question is why? I am still haunting to find the answer and reply to that child!
Anubhuti Jain
Ek Koshish one attempt
