Saturday Story from Siva (43): The Story of two villages, Kharkali in Rajasthan and Palve in Maharashtra and How They Fought Water Shortage

Hi,
Good morning! Hope it has been a great week for you. Here in Hyderabad, summer has already set in and the temperatures are rising and the water table is falling by every passing day. And the shortage of water is felt everywhere. No wonder that water becomes an issue of contest and conflict not only in Hyderabad and down south, but also in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and everywhere. Thought I would share with you this week the story of two villages in India and how they fought the issue of drought and scarcity of water.
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The Story of two villages, Kharkali in Rajasthan and Palve in Maharashtra and How They Fought Water Shortage
Sources: (1) http://www.goodnewsindia.com/Pages/content/conservation/drought.htm (2) http://www.unicef.org/india/state_profiles_2832.htm
Kharkali is a village in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan. Houses in this drought prone village used to be found to be locked during the summer season. People would migrate to other villages from March to June every year, since they had no water to drink during these months. It is located in a hilly terrain. But there is no more migration now. With the help of the active NGO, Tarun Bharat Sangh, the villagers have learnt to store water by constructing small tanks around their dwellings and fields. Stored water in these tanks is now sufficient for villagers as well as their animals in the summer months, in some cases up to June. The people of Kharkali don’t have to leave their homes and their village any more during summer months.
In the village of Palve in the district of Ahmednagar, women used to spend hours fetching water from a community well. That also dries up in summers. Then they used to depend on a water tanker that was hardly regular. The villagers then turned to rainwater harvesting, which helped them recharge the aquifer and the percolation tank in the village. That, along with some investment in pumps and pipes, ensured them a regular supply of water into their homes. Notable thing is that the villagers set rules for conserving and using the conserved water and agreed to follow them. The young girls could now go to schools as they are now spared from the everyday hardship of fetching water, which their mothers and grandmothers suffered for years.
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Water is life. The greatest gift of God! And a miracle by itself! A combination of one atom of Oxygen and two atoms of Hydrogen gases becomes liquid called water. Its properties are so uniquely designed by God so that life on earth could be supported. Potable water is becoming alarmingly scarce. Bottled water has become the order of the day. Could each one of us also give a thought and do something to preserve and conserve this precious gift of God? “Every drop counts.”
The Best for you always!
With love and regards,
Siva

Saturday Story from Siva (42): Story of an Ant and a Bird and their Acts of Symbiosis

Hi,
A very good Saturday morning to you. Are there times when we said, “I would do it all alone, and I don’t need anyone’s help.” Perhaps, one did succeed doing it all by oneself. But how much and how often is the question. To be dependent or independent or interdependent or all of them?? Please read on…
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Saturday Story from Siva (42): Story of an Ant and a Bird and their Acts of Symbiosis
An Excerpt of a story from Aesop’s Fables
Once upon a time, there was an ant, which lived on the banks of a pond. One day, while trying to quench its thirst, it fell into the pond and found itself drowning. Noticing the danger that the ant was going through, a bird sitting on the tree above snapped a leaf and dropped it into the pond below so that the ant could climb up on to it and rescue itself. The ant took advantage of the floating leaf and reached to its safety.
A few days later, a bird hunter came to the same tree where the ant and the bird lived. He aimed at the bird and was about to shoot an arrow to kill the bird. Noticing the danger for the bird, the ant stung the hunter on his heel, which disturbed him and also the direction of his arrow. The bird flew off to safety.
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Wav! That’s a great example of interdependence demonstrated by the little creatures. No one is all by himself that he would never need anybody’s help. There are times that one would certainly need help of somebody or the other to survive and move forward. No one could ever make it great by being either totally dependent or totally independent. More liberal and generous acts and expressions of interdependence lead to opportunities for greater survival, success, and happiness. And, that could be at our own home… or the communities we live in… or the offices we work at.
The Best for you always.
With love and regards,
Siva

Saturday Story from Siva (41): The story of Fly and the Need for Doing It Differently

Hi,
A very good Saturday morning to YOU! Hope you are doing great. We are all in pursuit of something or the other. We put in our best efforts in order to achieve what we want in our life. Certain of our goals require not only hard but also persistent efforts. Are there times that even the hard work and persistence didn’t help? What might have been the reasons? Please read this week’s Saturday Story...The Story of a Fly...
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The Fly Story— doing it differently

by Price Pritchett Ph.D.
There's a small fly burning out the last of its short life's energies in a futile attempt to fly through the glass of the windowpane. The whining wings tell the poignant story of the fly's strategy— try harder. But it's not working.
It is impossible for the fly to try hard enough to succeed at breaking through the glass. Nevertheless, this little insect has staked its life on reaching its goal through raw effort and determination. However hard the fly may try to break through the window pane, it will not be able to succeed. This fly is doomed. It will die there on the windowsill very soon.
Across the room, ten steps away, the door is open. Ten seconds of flying time and this small creature could have reached the outside world. With only a fraction of the effort now being wasted, it could have been free of this self-imposed trap. But its idea of doing it ‘the way it has done all along’ and ‘more of it’ is not necessarily the solution.
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Great observation Dr Pritchett! Well, it is important to be persistent until one succeeds. But it is also worth looking at the way that is adopted for achieving a chosen goal. Doing it the way it has been done all along, one could expect the same result that one has been getting. There are many things in our life that we attempt achieving with added effort and that too repeatedly in the same way. Is there a different way that it could be tried so that the breakthrough could be achieved sooner and faster? Someone said, “Successful people don’t do different things, but they do things differently.”
Please read the complete story,” The Fly Story— doing it differently by Price Pritchett” at the link given below:
http://www.dailypaul.com/107003/the-fly-story-doing-it-differently-by-price-pritchett-phd
The Best for you always!
With love and regards,
Siva

Saturday Story from Siva (40): The Story of Amazing Giant Amazon Water Lily

Hi,
Good morning! Hope you are doing great. I am in the lovely locales of Mahabaleshwar today. Will be working here during the day with a team of people facilitating some interactive sessions that could help them sharpen their selling skills. Keen to contribute to the growth of the organization they are working for and in the process the people itself. After all, growth is not just a sign of life but also a means by which life perpetuates. I would like to share with you this week the story and perhaps the mystery of life and perpetuation of the amazing Amazon Lily....
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The Story of Amazing Amazon Water Lily
Source: http://www.squidoo.com/Amazonwaterlily
The Giant Amazon Water Lily, Victoria amazonica, is found growing naturally in the Amazon River. The leaves of this plant can grow to more than seven feet in diameter and the stems can reach as much as eighteen feet and can even grow longer with the rising waters. Plants sprout from seeds and the stems start growing rapidly to keep up with water level that can rise as rapidly as six or seven inches per day. The plants are armed, everywhere except the top surface of the pads with thorns. The undersides of the leaves are a marvel of structural engineering, creating buoyancy and supporting the massive leaf pad surfaces.
It had always been a mystery how these Giant Water Lilies survived the dry season. The seeds that were deposited on the parched floodplain surfaces during the hottest weather would dry out and die and seeds that fell in the river were eaten by fish. Then, how were the seeds surviving? During low water, among the vast grassland marshes filled with spongy muck become the main lily seed beds with the moisture from fresh underground pools. These isolated ponds, hidden and protected from the main river and impossible to traverse through the miles of swamps, had no fish in them to eat the seeds. This combination of circumstances holds the secret to the fragile survival of the Giant Amazon Water Lily. The wondrous giant thus survives the nature’s toughest tests and lives on continuing to add to the beauty and magic of the mighty Amazon River.
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Where there is a will there is a way. Appears to be true even for the plants!! The will to survive leads plants and animals take to different paths, just as the giant lily does from modification of its leaf structure to the enormous rate of its stem growth, to attracting pollinating beetles, and to ultimately finding a safe haven for its seeds. The nature’s mantra to all living beings is perhaps to grow and perpetuate. May each one of us do our best to grow and branch out such that the human race continues to race on!
The best for you always!
With love and regards,
Siva

Saturday Story from Siva (39): The Story of Roger Bannister and His Amazing Feat in Athletics

Hi,
Good morning! Yesterday was a great day for cricket in Indian subcontinent! India and Sri Lanka played the World Cup finals. I know everyone was glued to their TVs, and you and I were not an exception. It was a great match, with Sri Lanka setting a stiff target of 275 runs, and India chasing it with some early hiccups but comfortably at the end. India won the match and the World Cup. There could be many reasons for this Champion Indian team for its win yesterday that made the nation of a more than billion people proud. But one important factor that I would like to attribute for their SUCCESS is their SELF-BELIEF. Let me share with you a story that depicts the power of belief on this occasion.
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The Story of Roger Bannister and His Amazing Feat in Athletics
On August 7, 1954, Roger Bannister from England created a world record by running a 1 mile distance under 4 minutes. People had been trying to achieve it since the days of ancient Greeks. But, nothing they tried worked. So people believed it was impossible for a person to run a mile in four minutes. For over a thousand years every one believed it. People thought that the human bone structure and leg muscles were not strong enough or the wind resistance was too great or the lung power was inadequate, etc. There were abundant reasons.
However, in 1954, when Roger Bannister broke the four minute mile myth, it was a miracle. From that day till today, more than twenty thousand people ran the 1 mile under 4 minutes including some high school children. What made the difference? How come people suddenly became good enough to achieve the so called impossible? There were no great breakthroughs in physical training. No one discovered how to control wind resistance. Human bone structure, lung power and physiology didn’t improve suddenly. The only difference that could be seen is people’s BELIEF,” if Roger could do it, why not I?” And for reinforcing that “power of belief” in human excellence, Roger Bannister’s feat of 1954 was rated #1 among the most outstanding individual athletic achievements of the last 100 years.
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If you can believe it, you can do it. True champions like Roger proved it correct time and again that made them the trend setters and the path breakers, creating a sense of belief in others too. Belief in oneself and one’s own abilities creates the power required to accomplish the desired. Indian cricket team proved yesterday how valuable it is to believe in oneself once again. They did it. Yes they did it. If they could do it, why can’t we in our own area of interest? As we still savour the taste of yesterday’s victory, and before the feeling of being on top of the world cricket sinks in, let us start believing in what you want. BELIEF makes impossible possible.
The Best for you always!
With love and regards,
Siva