It was 8 a.m. Away from the humdrum of the village, I was sitting by the sacred waters of the Ganges, lost in thought. The usual dilemma had engulfed me, what is the next step? Where should I head to? Will I ever be able to find the answers?
Hours passed by, but the questions remained unresolved. Already being on the dole, sitting at home vainly, and doing domestic drudgery was the only viable option for me, but my heart refused to comply with it.
Suddenly, my chain of thoughts was broken by the sudden roar of the Ganges. The immense expanse of the river lay forth, but the growls of the stream contrasted tranquility it usually boar. It seemed as if the holy river was beckoning me to do something. It was then I noticed an enormous amount of floral waste was being dumped into the river.
That night I had a vivid dream. It was about the incident I had witnessed that morning. All I could see was the destruction caused by the inconsiderate actions of humans. The damage was the one hitherto undreamt of. The world had turned into a landfill and rivers seemed no less than drains.
I woke up in cold sweat. All that seemed so convincing. The nights and days thereafter went in a daze. The innermost feelings had metamorphosed into a medley, where one thought led to another weaving a fabric of their own. But somewhere inside I felt that the answers to my questions were there. Soon, I could see a clear picture as to what needs to be done. I felt a spark of hope in me.
Leaves keep falling; trees are sorrowful for the loss, but the hope is spring.
Each day went by with the rising level of muddled emotions inside me. There was a sense of bitterness that had taken birth inside my mind. The first doubt had been elucidated as to what I wanted to do with my future. But its place had been taken up by another uncertainty. The question this time was “how?”.
Then one day when I had taken up my place beside the Ganges, the solution dawned upon me. My deepest yearning had found away from my thoughts into reality. The solution to one of the problems of humanity had been born.
I knew I have to help save humankind from the obliteration they had paved for themselves. it was time to reverse the consequences of destructive actions led by humans. Being approached by the exultant faces of this endeavor was by far the greatest occurrence in my life.
With a zeal to save the environment and make this world a better place to live for the forthcoming generations, a revolution emerged, one that would impact lives today and thereafter. The much-awaited step in the journey of progress had begun.
What the world threw away thoughtlessly, we used them with utmost meticulousness.
To some, what we aim to do must be a matter of no dire consequence. But we, the ones working with this spectacular project, have found a way of living; an inference as to what joy it involves in giving back to the world where we all found our ways.
it has given a new shape, a new rationale to my life by motivating me to be self-reliant and content in whatever the Earth has to offer. Flowers are something that tends to lose their value in the minds of many after they are off the very plants that produced them. But it must be realised that these timid creatures are much more than what we think. What comes from nature goes back to it in one form or the other, And that had been my inspiration.
This is my story and I am proud to work for this cause.
We chose to work with Project Arpan because it was a call from nature.
It has been rightly said; We are defined by our choices, great and small
-Hemakshi Kohli