It is the same Water!

IT was a little over a year or so after the India-Pakistan war in 1965. They were difficult days for the entire population in India as the country was recovering from the effects of the war. There were famines in some parts of the country to torment the large population, in addition to poverty and unemployment problems.  The common questions asked in written tests and interviews for selection of candidates for various jobs then were about poverty eradication, solving population explosion, solutions to unemployment problem and providing health services support to the people. They were also the popular topics for essay writing for students in examinations.

We were in the advanced stage of schooling. We had a session on "Rivers of India" and the teacher was explaining the difference between the terms "Jeeva Nadi", "Maha Nadi" and "Upa Nadi". We were told that "Jeevanadi" is one in which there is water flow throughout the year with english equivalent being "Perennial River". "Mahanadi" is a river that ultimately joins the ocean.  An "Upanadi" is one that joins a Mahanadi at which point its identity gets dissolved. Most Mahanadi are usually Jeevanadi but only some Upanadi are Jeevanadi and so on.

The teacher himself raised a question as to why we have given the status of Mahanadi to Yamuna and Saraswati when we invoke the confluence of the seven rivers in the small pot of water we use for rituals (Gangecha Yamunechaiva). They may not qualify to be included here by the mere definition of a Mahanadi, but they are no smaller by means of their length, spread and service to mankind that live on their banks. Saraswati may not be visible today, but it has existed for long and even now is latent and hence considered here. Therefore, one may call them "Special Invitees" to the august company. Then the question as to why river Krishna is not included, because it is a Mahanadi itself and qualifies by all standards. The answer was that you cannot list all Mahanadi in the country as there are so many. Looks logical, but one cannot help thinking that Krishna should have been there.

They all have the same water. Life giving and life saving water. 

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In the next session on "Water Cycle" one important question came up. While the entire water in the seas is salty, how does rain water remain saltless? The answer was that it is similar to distillation where the solute (dissolved substance) is left behind and only the solvent evaporates and condenses later on and hence rain water is not salty. The teacher was himself a Vedic scholar and further informed that our Vedic literature clearly mentions that the Wind God "Marut" (from which the word Maruti is derived) by his special powers separates water from different rivers that has merged in the sea water and sends them to respective river beds! It is one of the big secrets of nature and creation of the universe, he said. 

The "Dabbawalas" system in Mumbai is legendary. Lunch prepared in the homes of millions are collected by Dabbawalas before noon, transported to the table of the office worker by cycles and local trains by lunch time, and the empty lunch boxes are returned to the respective homes in the evening. It is said that not a box gets missed or mixed up despite the system handling millions of such lunch boxes. They use a combination of colours and numbered codes to ensure the system works without any hitches. The system used by the wind god must be similar so that water from the rivers reaches the sea by flowing on the land, but returns via the sky. In a way, this is better than the Dabbawala system as on both sides of the journey it is full, unlike Dabbas that are empty on the return journey!

The water coming as rain is the same water that went into the seas from the same rivers.

***** 

All the students and teachers would go home during lunch except some who came from nearby villages and the houses were a bit far from the school. The school got a newspaper in the morning which was delivered to the Head Masters house. He would bring it to school and leave it in the teachers room. Since I used to stay back in lunch time, one of the illiterate peons would bring it to me to read it over to him. He was more interested in sensational news like accidents or murders, but i used to read the full paper in the 45 minutes time allotted for lunch, When these sessions were going in the class, the newspaper carried a fantastic headline one day. Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare made a speech somewhere and mentioned in the speech that "the coffee you drank today might have been made from the water in which queen Draupadi bathed in Dwapara Yuga"!

Dr Sripati Chandrashekhar was a noted international demographer, sociologist, economist and scholar at that time. He was born in Rajahmundry in present AP, studied high school in Vellore and graduated from Presidency College in Madras (now Chennai). He went to Columbia University and New York University for higher studies. After obtaining a Ph D from New York University he worked as a Professor in many universities. He married Ann Downes, who came from a Quaker family in New Jersey, just before India got independence from British rule. He returned to India to accept the post of Professor and Chair in Economics at Annamalai University. He traveled extensively and delivered lectures in many universities and international gatherings about population control and allied issues. 

He was elected to the Rajya Sabha (upper house of parliament) from ruling Congress party in 1964. His enthusiasm for population control impressed the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and she took him in her cabinet as Minister for Health and Family Planning (name changed as Health and Family Welfare during the Janata Government in 1978) to put his ideas into practice. He tried his best to spread the ideas of birth control, sterilisation and other birth control methods like IUD. The average birth rate in India came down from six to three per family during these years, and much credit is given to Dr Chandrashekhar for this.

Some of his statements and acts were controversial especially in a country where such ideas were not readily accepted at that time. "Coffee made from Draupadi's bath water" was one of many such statements made by him at that time.

Anyway, the message was clear. It is the same water.

*****

Morarji Desai (1896-1995) was a cabinet colleague of Dr Sripati Chandrashekar, but much senior and had a long innings in politics and public service. Morarji Ranchodji Desai was Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister in the Indira Gandhi cabinet when Chandrashekar was Minister for Health and Family Planning. A noted freedom fighter and statesman, Morarji Desai was chief minister of the undivided Bombay state, minister in various cabinets and ultimately became Prime Minister when Janata Party came to power in 1977, after Indira Gandhi was defeated in elections consequent to Emergency and its aftermath. Born on 29th February, Morarji celebrated only 24 birthdays even though he lived just ten month short of 100 years. He was a freedom fighter, Gandhian, congress stalwart and able administrator.

Morarji Desai was a practitioner of "Urine Therapy" that centred on drinking one's own urine every morning. It was even joked during his tenure as Prime Minister that the most discussed topic under his leadership was urine therapy. He attributed his long living to this therapy. 

It was the same water.

*****

Indian origin American astronaut Sunita Williams and fellow US astronaut Barry Eugene Wilmore are now stranded in space due to technical issues relating to their Boeing Starliner. While everyone on earth are praying for their safe return, the two astronauts are continuing with their duties in outer space. They have placed their confidence in the technical team to sort out the issues and get them back to earth.

While staying in International Space Station (ISS), we are told that astronauts drink water that has been recycled from their own sweat and urine using the Environment Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) placed in the ISS. One article even says that it is a refreshing filtered blend of shower water and pee. 

Our generation may not be able to see it, but in the next few decades there could be regular travel between Earth, Moon and Mars. The lucky travellers will also have the same refreshing filtered blend of water to drink.

Again, it is the same water!