MY PERSONAL RESPONSE: MY WATER STORY
Isn’t water a blessing in disguise, yet a horror of its own. This was something that I realised when I travelled around 11,000 kilometers over a 20-hour journey by air, from my landlocked city of Gurgaon, India to the land of the Coast Salish peoples in BC, Canada. It was a journey meant for education as I started my university life, but one that turned into much more, giving me a sense of depth on how I was just a miniscule part of everything around me.
When we observe water as just a resource that comes from the taps of our homes, it makes us forget how it surrounds us completely, and that life would never be the same without it; as it goes down the drain when we cleanse ourselves, or as we drink it to quench our thirsts, we don’t seem to realise that it is one of our life supports and the power that it has is unfathomable.
I was the same; the only time I’d witnessed a glimpse of its power was when the monsoons would arrive and the clouds would pour down, displacing thousands. However, its reality became more evident as I started my journey to YVR over the Pacific Ocean. The whole experience of being airborne was something new to me, but it gave me some perspective towards the water I saw as just a resourceful commodity. I observed an expanse of water below me that covered all sides of the horizon. It was something that completely blew me away; it was beautiful yet scary, and even though I was so far above it in altitude, I could still feel its immense aura having its mesmerizing effect on me. We flew higher to escape the tormenting weather caused by the ocean as it showcased its strength, in a way taunting me for thinking that it was just a mere resource that we had harnessed for daily use. A last bit of turbulence rocked the plane as we passed the clouds, reminding me that water had its presence and power everywhere around me. While I sat in my seat thinking about this, the flight attendant gave us a routine reminder to keep ourselves sanitized. This then got me to marvel at the fact that I could just go and wash my face with some running tap water in the lavatory, a stream of water flowing way more tamely, contrary to the vast wild body of water I had just witnessed.