How clean was my lake, my Kukkanahalli Lake...
Shyamala Aunty's house was very close to the Kukkanahalli Lake. Some beautiful vistas unfolded from the backside of the Lake too, especially views of the sunset. It was not uncommon to see lovers holding hands all along the Lake's grass.
This was during my childhood. Birds roosted without a care on the low branches dipping into the placid waters. All this was a part of the languorous life that we Mysoreans typically lived, in our simple world of Brindavan Gardens and the Mysore Palace.
But oh! Time passed, the greed of mankind started to eat up the clean air, muddy up the rivers, so how could my Lake be left behind? Last year, during our visit to my dear parents' home, my hubby and I decided to spend the mornings walking around the Kukkanahalli Lake. The water had reduced, silt was choking it, the cormorants, storks and ibises still nested, perhaps sensing that all good things would come to an end?
The worst shock was when I spotted nomads happily erecting tents and boating in the waters, answerable to presumably nobody... What happened to the conscience of law-makers? Perhaps those nomads were driven by hunger and poverty, but surely they could go elsewhere without harming the beauty of the Lake?
The local newspaper Star of Mysore had splashed some news about senior Mysoreans protesting against the Lake being developed for tourists. They do have a point, given that people throw rubbish, scare and tease the birds and abuse their habitat.
Have you spent precious moments by this lucid Lake? Do send in your experiences and pictures, they shall be published in your name!
This was during my childhood. Birds roosted without a care on the low branches dipping into the placid waters. All this was a part of the languorous life that we Mysoreans typically lived, in our simple world of Brindavan Gardens and the Mysore Palace.
But oh! Time passed, the greed of mankind started to eat up the clean air, muddy up the rivers, so how could my Lake be left behind? Last year, during our visit to my dear parents' home, my hubby and I decided to spend the mornings walking around the Kukkanahalli Lake. The water had reduced, silt was choking it, the cormorants, storks and ibises still nested, perhaps sensing that all good things would come to an end?
 |
Weep not, Oh lonely bird... |
 |
| Around the lake in the misty mornings |
The worst shock was when I spotted nomads happily erecting tents and boating in the waters, answerable to presumably nobody... What happened to the conscience of law-makers? Perhaps those nomads were driven by hunger and poverty, but surely they could go elsewhere without harming the beauty of the Lake?
The local newspaper Star of Mysore had splashed some news about senior Mysoreans protesting against the Lake being developed for tourists. They do have a point, given that people throw rubbish, scare and tease the birds and abuse their habitat.
Have you spent precious moments by this lucid Lake? Do send in your experiences and pictures, they shall be published in your name!
So well written Priya, I enjoyed reading it 😀. The beautiful birds, like that Painted Stork in your photo, have declined, just like all other birds and wildlife everywhere. We humans keep cutting or poisoning their habitat. What else can we expect?
ReplyDeleteI just finished watching an excellent episode of a BBC programme about the river Ganges. It is the same there. People are still bathing in that heavily polluted Holy river to purify themselves, where open, untreated sewage is dumped near the ghats!
If the lake is developed for tourists, at least there will be some attempt at maintaining it, some cleaning around it.
Perhaps us humans will learn to value our environment before it is too late!
Thanks for writing in ! I even saw petitions signed to safeguard the lake and its fauna, have no updates though! So close to my old home in Mysore!
DeleteWell written. Nostalgia, least to say. My friends and I went past the lake every day all through my school and college days. Never felt someone would needed to takecare for it would take care of itself as the human intervention was less. Have read about the foamy lakes of Bangalore... hope kukkralli kere doesn’t turn into a dump pit or backdrop of pricey apartment complex
ReplyDeleteThanks Kiran for reading and remembering it! Lets hope its still alive for our children and theirs!
Delete