Preparing For The Monsoon Outings – Post Lockdown

Cyclones are becoming more intense and devastating, COVID-19 is still on and due to which lockdowns are getting extended, we all have gone through and going through harsh situations, rough phases, tensions and sorrows. ‘What could be worse than this!’ is the feeling everywhere. Everyone wants to come out of it.

Sooner or later the things will dilute, come to normal, lockdowns will be over. In effect, the first thing that will happen is everyone would like to go somewhere for an outing – close to the nature, in the woods, on the forts. Why? Monsoon is arriving, everyone wants change, everyone is now searching for calmness and happiness.

Even though we would not have reminded about this, this is the first thing that is going to happen – for sure.

This article is aiming to tell – How to prepare for the same. Will this article talk about how to choose the destinations? How to pack your bags? What to carry and what not to? How to take care of yourself?

…NO! The goal of this article is different. It is to remind ourselves about what we are observing during lockdown period? What changes are seen? What changes we should make in our behavior?

Nature flourished like never before at least as compared to last few decades. Animals, birds and insects are wandering freely. Bird sounds, even in the city areas, are clearly audible. Birds whose sighting was rare otherwise are seen perching on the roofs, in the balconies. Air pollution is so less that the ice-covered mountains in hundreds of kilometers range are visible. The level of sound pollution has dropped drastically. ‘Sacred’ rivers like Ganga are looking cleaner and less polluted for the first time. The areas that usually get polluted every year due to litter, plastic, garbage got some breathing space for the first time.

We all saw the evidences in the form of videos, images and we were surprised. But how come this happen? This happened because there was no human activity or no human intervention for a long time!

Someone has correctly said, “We never accept that something bad will happen to us until it has happened”. Let us learn few important things from this, from the Cyclones, from COVID-19 and from the Nature’s behavior – We are not the only species on Planet Earth moreover we are not the VIP species on the Planet Earth. When we are locked in the home, all the nature’s cycles are well operating, in fact, they started operating efficiently and effectively again. Each living and non-living thing on this planet has a role to play in the nature’s cycles. But we have forgotten this fact. When we behave uncontrollably, the harms and imbalances caused by us are coming back on to us in different forms like increasing cyclones, diseases and other calamities.

What is our role and responsibility now?

The image in this article, shows a beautiful route to a serene jungle. When we will walk on such routes in coming days, when we will enter the serene jungles, can we at least ensure that when we will come back, the routes and the jungles will remain as they were when we had entered inside?

Can we learn to feel, to respect the jungle than let the whole jungle and the living and non-living things in it feel us?

Here are some tips to enjoy the nature, to be part of the nature, to get camouflaged in it…

• Let us get acquainted to the place: Let us understand the place, the nature there, the flora and fauna in the area. Feel it, enjoy it.
• Let us be watchful under our feet: Monsoon is the season for every species to do different activities – collecting materials to build homes, collecting food for their newly born kids and much more. Just do not walk carelessly killing everything coming under your feet.
• Let us not harm the trees: Just for our momentary happiness or to show someone how great I am, let us not cut the trees or harm the trees en route.
• Let us not pluck flowers: Flowers are the nature’s way to prepare the next generation. Just do not pluck them for your depraved happiness.
• Let us not feed animals and insects: The animals and insects must survive naturally. They get enough food in their habitat to feed themselves and their young ones. Do not make hem dependent on you for your own entertainment of few minutes or hours.
• Let us not tease animals and insects: Teasing animals and insects can be harmful to you as well as to them. Learn to respect them, to respect their activity and behavior.
• Let us not touch but only observe: If you see something different do not run to touch it. Observe from a safe distance. Touching can disturb or break something which is very delicate or can be harmful to you as well.
• Let us remember to keep places clean: Do not litter, throw plastic, garbage. If we keep doing it, soon we will run out of places to enjoy, to experience calmness, to experience and admire the beauty.
• Do not smoke: Nature is not the place to inhale Carbon Dioxide and other poisonous gases. Our cities are well equipped to provide that. Nature is the place to inhale pure Oxygen, not the smoke, that is required for our life, to keep us energetic and calm.
• Earth has music for those who listen: Let us learn to “Listen to the silence” as well. It gives immense pleasure. Why do we need tape-recorders, speakers, music players while walking in the jungles, while climbing the forts? Let us no shout loudly and chat continuously while walking. Nature has ample music far different than we listen to every day. Let us learn to enjoy it.
• Let us not write names: Writing names on the trees, on the rocks does nothing other than making the place ugly. The one who writes the names only gets curses from the nature, from other visitors. Still, who prefers to do it are probably not fit in the category of the Homo sapiens – wise men.
• What can be learnt from trees, birds, animals and insects? Discipline, Obedience, Unity, Cleanliness, Calmness, Helpfulness, Selflessness.
• Can we do something beyond above don’ts? Yes, for sure. Before going to the place that we plan to visit, let us try to find what type of plants (flora) are/were naturally growing there. We can carry non genetically modified seeds of only those variety of local tree/shrub, herbs species or carry their saplings with us. If you cannot do the study yourself, ask the experts, ask the local people living in that area. Disburse the seeds in the areas where we know the deforestation has happened. Plant saplings there. Take help of local people for the same. Let us show some responsibility towards nature.

Wherever we go, let us carry some ‘sense’ with us and bring back some ‘essence’ of life.