A few kilometers from my home lies this beautiful lake which we have seen since childhood. It has remained an integral part of our growing up days. I vividly remember that winters meant cleaning up the lake. Winter snow would decrease the supply of water and that would throw twofold opportunity to us locals: a) desilting the lake by local administration and b) cleaning the lake and its surroundings by local public. The silt would come up every year and so would the plastic waste lying in and around the lake but we never gave up. It had become sort of a tradition to organize these cleanup drives.
Today a flight of migratory birds, that arrive here every winters, led me to the lake after many many years. If my memory serves me right, the last time I stopped by the lake was in 2022. And then it struck me in the face that how easily one tends to ignore little joys of life.
The lakeside had changed quite a bit. Paved blocks had now replaced the old bitumenous road. There was less plastic waste along the sidewalks probably because the administration had removed them fast food stalls.
But two things had not changed at all: 1) young couples in love sitting by the lakeside and (probably) looking for their future in the silent watery reflection of the lake and b) migratory birds arriving here every winters.
Recently, a new road has come up here which bypasses the traffic around the lake and all the outbound traffic actually misses out on catching a glimpse of this beautiful little jewel. Though that has helped in not only reducing the city bound traffic but also keeping a check on cleanliness of lakeside.
Hope it stays the same way for times to come. I would surely want to relive many old winters here.
Those little dots in water are migratory birds that arrive here every winters.
This equipment has always fascinated me for it reminds me of a pirate ship. For years I always wanted to be the Captain of this ship and take it upstream northwards towards the high Himalayas. Then one day I got to know that this is called a dredger which sucks silt (and other waste) out of water and throws it outside the lake.
Essentially, a waste carrier. Who would want to be the Captain of a waste carrier?
Well, I would. I still aspire to be its Captain. Hopefully, they will allow me to Commandeer this ship someday.