Water
Definitely not a section taken out from a primary school science book or a Chemistry text book. I realized last month and today how much I had taken WATER and its availability for granted.
One fine morning when I opened the tap there was no water.. According to me, this was a simple problem.. In my mind I ran the various reasons ( of course, I am an engineer whose thinking is tuned to think of the probable reasons for a problem and I hate probability as a subject in Maths) for the probable water strike in my house - Could be the tank was empty - Could be the municipal water supply was cut - could be a billing issue - could be a power problem...
When I finally got some sense of the real problem - THAT WE HAVE NOT A SINGLE DROP OF WATER in a household which includes the two of us, two old people and a new born - I reacted.. Phone has always been my best companion in India.. So I dialled a few numbers and finally got the Emergency Number for Water related issues. After all the automated voices I was told that the main inlet pipe from the desalination plant that supplies water to most part of the city had a major breakage and that they didn't have a resolution date.. and they had a probable date too.. which was three days after then.
The reality sank in slowly and then we had many practical problems to deal with in the house.. With minimal water we managed those five days time..
Resolved never to waste water and from then on been using water frugally as much as possible. From last evening until this minute there is no water again.. and this is the same pipe I am told...
Experience makes a man perfect.. The problem doesn't seem major this time as we are still waiting for the water supply to be set right...but can't help thinking of the simple town life that I chanced to have in my life where I never had to struggle for water ever.. Never realized the value of water at all back home.. :) Never realized the value of water in Indian farms, Town's bore wells, Village's wells... Rivers, Lakes and Ponds.....
One fine morning when I opened the tap there was no water.. According to me, this was a simple problem.. In my mind I ran the various reasons ( of course, I am an engineer whose thinking is tuned to think of the probable reasons for a problem and I hate probability as a subject in Maths) for the probable water strike in my house - Could be the tank was empty - Could be the municipal water supply was cut - could be a billing issue - could be a power problem...
When I finally got some sense of the real problem - THAT WE HAVE NOT A SINGLE DROP OF WATER in a household which includes the two of us, two old people and a new born - I reacted.. Phone has always been my best companion in India.. So I dialled a few numbers and finally got the Emergency Number for Water related issues. After all the automated voices I was told that the main inlet pipe from the desalination plant that supplies water to most part of the city had a major breakage and that they didn't have a resolution date.. and they had a probable date too.. which was three days after then.
The reality sank in slowly and then we had many practical problems to deal with in the house.. With minimal water we managed those five days time..
Resolved never to waste water and from then on been using water frugally as much as possible. From last evening until this minute there is no water again.. and this is the same pipe I am told...
Experience makes a man perfect.. The problem doesn't seem major this time as we are still waiting for the water supply to be set right...but can't help thinking of the simple town life that I chanced to have in my life where I never had to struggle for water ever.. Never realized the value of water at all back home.. :) Never realized the value of water in Indian farms, Town's bore wells, Village's wells... Rivers, Lakes and Ponds.....
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