Country for sale

I spent a relaxing month with my mother here in Germany, we travelled a little, did some sightseeing, but most enjoyable times were spent taking walks in the countryside. The countryside I talk about isn't particularly made up of stunning landscapes, or snow clad peaks – this is good old plain countryside – farmlands and meadows, with little streams flowing in between. There are patches of scrub and forest land that belongs to nobody, where one comes across an occasional cottage with a modest façade and an apple tree in the backyard. Fruits on the trees are available for all to eat, and nobody will complain if you pick a few raspberries from the bushes along the path. The streams and rivers are clean, and ducks paddle up and down. Now and then one sees families riding bicycles, or dogs playing fetch bounding across a field – simple pleasures that suddenly seem like impossible luxuries.

Forests and meadows

Like I have mentioned before, I grew up in NCL colony, in a beautiful big house with the slopes of the hill behind blending naturally into our backyard. We couldn’t see the neighbour’s house – as the foliage in between was too dense! Family outings were on bicycles, cycling down to NDA or towards Balewadi – the sports stadium that was built for the 1994 National games, located on the Pune bypass. Even beyond, was Nature Trails camp, run by Leela and Ashok Broome – this is the place I went to for my first ever nature camp, its a farm that was considered to be located far outside the city. The closest village from this farm that had more than 10 homes was called Hinjewadi, and we had to remember the name so we could ask for the way in case we were lost on our bicycle route. There were many ways to get there, but one of the easier routes was to go down Pashan-Sus road, hit the highway, go past Balewadi, and turn at Wakad. Then on, it was a single lane road, and it was nicer to pedal on the side of the road on the mud track than in the middle which was semi laid and very bumpy. The whole route was pure and simple countryside, with very little plastic strewn around, where birds of all colours and sizes could be seen on trees and electric lines along the road, where we could feel lucky to see a snake wriggling across the road. In the monsoon, these places would be covered with little waterfalls, and the electric green could make spirits soar.

The good old days

The countryside in Germany reminds me often of those days, where the outdoors was simple, open for all to enjoy, and belonged to nobody.

My parents home is now in an apartment complex on the same Pashan-Sus road. This was one of the first apartment complexes to come there, and now the road is bustling with cars, apartments, banks, supermarkets – you name it! 

A couple of years ago I caught a watchman killing a snake in the apartment, unfortunately it was already too late, as the snake had very little life left in it by then. In response to my outrage and fury, he explained that there were children in the area and it was unsafe to have a snake around. One look at the snake told me it was a wolf snake – completely harmless, and possibly the last one left in the area thanks to the ruthless development that has taken place. Not many years ago, the number of snakes on this road would have far outnumbered the humans.

A wolf snake in happier times

The roads we once went cycling on, now lead to an enormous IT park – Hinjewadi is well known in Pune, with its wide roads, well lit software complexes, high end security and endless facility. The roads are famous for accidents and carjacking incidents. Today, cycling on these roads would probably equal suicide. Every other road around Pune suffers a similar fate. The open fields, patches of scrub jungle and beautiful hill slopes are now replaced by buildings and exposed rock where great excavations are in progress, to make it more suitable for a cutting edge software park or luxury apartment complex. There remains no place where one could take a peaceful walk, taking in the countryside, without worrying about trespassing on private property. Everything is now private property, all the countryside we grew up in now suddenly belongs to somebody. Who sold this land? Who ever owned it – there never were fences in these places! The whole landscape seems to be getting divided into neat little plots, and you need to buy it to enjoy it! Those who have the money to buy it, immediately surround themselves with a high wall, a watchman, flatten the ground out and build themselves a garish house where they can enjoy every urban luxury without having to step out of the door. Of course – this is only a weekend getaway, and the place remains locked up all week long. 

Wonderful countrysides of once-upon-a-time

I like to believe that the wonderful nature that we are blessed to have in our country is tough to equal. It is frustratingly difficult to understand how our educated middle class can throw all this away in their race for affluence. Where is the country that I belong to, where I can feel free to roam and breathe in the fresh air? Where did it disappear?