Dr. Deben Sapcota
There once was a beautiful village
Where trees seemed to touch the sky
Green leaves rustled and swayed with the wind
Colourful flowers bloomed
Rainbow like butterflies flapped their wings
Busy bees hummed as they collected nectar
Myriad birds chirped on the branches
Happy animals played hide-and-seek.
The river sparkled along with the stars
The sky was blue
The air was unblended
The soil was fertile under viridescent grasses.
But the villagers were blinded by the lure of development
Forgetting the natural beauty,
Started demanding…
‘Our village needs development…
Our village needs growth.’
And then…
At that very moment
A serpentine road entered the village
As if a python opening its mouth wide
Everyone was amazed…
‘Lo, development has finally arrived
Let’s celebrate and enjoy!’
And from the very next day
The tree started disappearing
So did the birds, the butterflies,
Bees, river and animals.
The sky turned dark
The air polluted
Land became barren.
The villagers remained inebriated in the illusion of development
Eons passed by
The villages woke up one fine day
And began to lament…
‘Where has our beautiful village gone?
Where has our lovely village disappeared?
(Dr. Deben Sapcota is a Professor at Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara Campus, Guwahati, India.)
