pani

I took this shot near the Mulund area of the city. I was waiting at the signal as I saw this pump in the middle of the street (on the divider, to be specific) which was letting water flow out and there was no stopping.

This sight reminded me of Shekhar Kapur wanting to make his most ambitious project, Paani, which dealt with the fact of how serious a problem water would become in the near future! "We have forgotten to worship water" says Shekhar Kapur in his notes for the film...and how very true is that! We've forgotten how important this fluid is...how aimlessly and carelessly we're wasting it all over.

I like what Shekhar Kapur has written in another note of his -

"Every year, over 500,000 children in India never reach the age of 5 because of water-related diseases like diarrhea, gastroenteritis, hepatitis. Over 300 million Indians have no access to toilets. Already, 224 million Indians live in water stress. About 70% of irrigation needs and 80% of municipal water supplies come from groundwater sources. However, depleted aquifers and lowered groundwater tables mean that this is no longer sustainable. It has been estimated that by as early as 2020, India’s demand for water will exceed ALL sources of supply.

Can we make a difference?"

Can we?

For paani, that we need to begin respecting...