NATURE’S DUAL SYMPHONY : HER GRACE AND WRATH
DR. SUPRIYA SHUKLA
Nature is God's art ! The myriad hues and shades of His exquisitely painted flaura and fauna are extraordinarily unique. Nature creates , restores, revives and refurbishes ,nurturing and fostering Her creations .
To hit the nail on the head as the title suggests is that this awe- inspiring magnificence simultaneously has unsurpassed potential of destruction thus manifesting Her sublime and alarming attributes.
Mother Nature can be as formidable as she can be nurturing.
The majestic and mystical beauty of the hills , the lofty peaks and the snow capped mountains never fail to mesmerise !! The heart yearns to be amidst them , in these idyllic surroundings , and especially when clouds descend dancing over the hills and enveloping them ...the sight is enchanting !!
The tall pine and Deodar trees that dot the hills in clusters so much so that they become dense forests are a delightful sight . Even the deciduous trees make hay while the sun shines !
Poets and bards, delirious with joy at Nature's beauty and bounty have sung praises, and their fraternity continues and their future generations shall continue to eulogize this boon granted to humankind .
The beauties of nature are a treat for the eyes resulting in everlasting happiness. Keats rightly pointed out :
“ A thing of beauty is a joy forever .”
Robert Frost in his popular poem ‘Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening’ delineates the conflicting sentiments between man and his allurement of nature …the snowy woods .The speaker is irresistibly drawn to the woods :
“ The woods are lovely ,dark and deep…” and look spectacular when “ the woods fill up with snow ..” Wordsworth is mesmerised by nature's splendour and believed :
“ Nature never did betray the heart that loved her” as it was a perennial source of pleasure which gives an insight into his philosophy of emotion recollected in tranquility
Our nation is famed for the highest mountain peaks .Year after year enthusiastic mountaineers try to scale them with the aim to reach the apex. Mount Everest and The Kanche njunga have been scaled several times ...after all, who is not familiar with the names of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay ? This was in the year 1953 and their historic ascent to Mt. Everest was a significant milestone in mountaineering history !
The 39,032 ft high and considered to be the
tallest point on Earth has since then been conquered many a times .
According to the Himalayan database Mt Everest has been climbed successfully over 12,884 times by 7269 different individuals.
Women climbers braving the challenge have made 962 summits ! These statistics are as per 2024 .
Likewise Mt. Kanchenjunga despite it's perilous route has been scaled more than 300 times , the first being in 1955 by a British expedition .
Apart from the searing ambition, the aspiration and dream to conquer these towering peaks, what indubitably must have intrigued these courageous men and women certainly was the exotic and captivating splendour of the lofty , snow capped peaks as their grace and beauty cast a spell on mankind !
Nature's blissful beauty is euphoric for human eyes that dance in glee at her Glory and Splendour! They are so besotted that several city dwellers resolve to stay in such hilly areas at some point in their life either post retirement or
even before it . The serenity of the mountains is so magnetically alluring !
However , the clouds descending on the hills, the tranquility of the mountains, their magical beauty that excite humans can nevertheless create havoc . Torrential rains , cloud bursts , landslides , avalanches with the ensuing floods spell disaster and doom. How inhabitants of such places ie the lucky ones survive and run for their lives trying to escape nature's fury by climbing on the rooftops of their humble abodes or by mass exodus is a miracle. Several go missing or are just swept away or buried under the debris , and all this takes only some seconds to happen .
Every year Nature as a Destroyer plays her part .
The 2013 Kedarnath catastrophe is one of the glimpses of Nature's frenzied rage.
The Himalayan region is most prone to such calamities. The beautiful terrain of Uttarkashi bears the brunt of Nature's wrath every year with landslides and flash floods that devastate .
8th of August 2025 recently created fresh history. The massive cloud burst and the ensuing floods wrecked havoc ! Dharali , a hamlet near Gangotri with a population just over 500 was prey to Nature's wrath. However,disaster isn't an exception here as every time the Kheer Gad , a river that runs through the village roars and rises, the locals climb on their roof tops not for rescue but to wait and watch what is left behind . This village and the villagers are aware of such happenings and it's aftermath as the river swells indicating devastation. 2010, 2012, 2018 have witnessed nature's uncontrollable fury. On 8th August , 2025 it took barely 20 seconds for a wall of water to crash into Dharali , the epicenter of that day's flash floods in which more than 173 perished and those who survived had to struggle for existence without food ,electricty and proper shelter.
Human vulnerability and helplessness
exposed.
The Himalayas are spread across 13 states and Union Territories and even though they have distinct cultures , the risk they face is similar due to their interconnected ecosystem. The ever increasing frequency and severity of disasters like Dharali are clearly indicative of an ecosystem under stress. Our mountains are crying and pleading for better protection.
Ecological imbalance , climatic change ,lack of proper planning and unfortunately government apathy all contribute to these annual hazards. The American poetess , Annette Bromley in her poem ‘ Nature's Wrath’, reflecting on the destructive force of nature writes :
“ When Nature shows her indignation
towards the callous ways of man
And blows her hot and angry breath
Breathes thunderbolts across the land ….”
It is a pity that despite the accelerated advancement in every field we are still unable to handle such crises. It is this apathetic neglect that causes , as Annette Bromley explicitly writes :
“ Comes then tornado with flash flooding
And humanity is her prey …”
Can we not retain Nature's fascinating beauty in all its magnificence ?
Or is Nature endeavoring to repeatedly give us warnings to mends our ways , minimise encroachments and take serious steps to deal with climate change ?
Ecological restoration and the creation of natural buffers will have to be kept in mind in all developmental projects.Strict enforcement of environmental regulations and thorough impact assessment of large infra projects is imperative.
Nature is ready to give abundantly and nourish earnestly provided we stop encroaching into her territory .
No comments:
Post a Comment