Haria is trying his best to convince Santa to buy a plot of land he owns.
“Santa Bhai, this is a golden opportunity!”
“Prime land, right next to the Baramasi Dhara!”
“Fertile as butter!”
“And for you, special price!”
“Build a house here, and you’ll live like a king, fresh water bubbling at your feet!”
Santa’s eyes gleam.
“Fresh water at my feet!”
“Fertile land!”
“Low price!”
“Banta, what do you think?”
“This sounds too good to be true!”
Banta, who knows the area well, takes a pinch of soil, observes the slope, and looks up towards the old landslide scar from which the spring emerges. He has a mischievous glint in his eye.
“Well, Santa, sometimes when things sound too good to be true, our ancestors would say the land itself might be giving you a knowing wink, a silent warning.”
“A warning?”
“But it looks so peaceful, so inviting!” Santa exclaims.
“Inviting for growing ‘aloo-gobi’, certainly!” Banta agrees.
“This land, blessed by the spring, owes its fertility to the great landslide that happened up there ages ago.”
“That landslide, like a generous but somewhat untidy host, spread out its welcome mat of rich debris.”
“So, it’s good land!” Santa insists.
“Good for farming, yes,” Banta continues.
“But our ancestors, Santa, they were a clever lot.”
“They’d happily till this land, draw water from its spring, thank the mountain for its bounty.”
“But when it came to building their homes, their ‘pakka thikana’, they’d often look a little higher, a little further, for ground that hadn’t taken such a dramatic tumble in its youth.”
He lowers his voice conspiratorially, “They knew that land born from a landslide, even an old one, can sometimes have a ‘memory’ of movement.”
“It can be like a sleeping old dog – peaceful most of the time, but you don’t want to build your main house right on its tail, lest it twitches in its sleep during a heavy rain or an earth tremor!”
Santa chuckles, despite himself.
“So, Haria’s ‘bargain plot’ might come with a ‘free earth-twitch’ feature?”
“It might just have a higher subscription to such features!” Banta winks.
“Our forefathers preferred to pay a slightly higher ‘rent’ in terms of daily effort – walking further for water or to their fields – in exchange for a ‘zero-twitch’ guarantee for their homes.”
“They understood that the most valuable ‘property feature’ is peace of mind, knowing your house rests on truly undisturbed, ‘original company’ ground.”
“They were wary of land that had a ‘history of dramatic breakups’!”
Santa bursts out laughing.
“A history of dramatic breakups!”
“Banta, you make even dirt sound like a village drama!”
“But I see your point.”
“Cheap and convenient isn’t always safe and sound.”
“Perhaps I should thank Haria for his ‘fertile offer’ and then politely look for a plot with a less ‘eventful’ past for my house, just like our wise ancestors did.”
Banta pats him on the back.
“A decision your house, and your nerves, will thank you for in the long run, Santa!”
“Our ancestors knew that the best view from a house is not just of the scenery, but of a stable future.”
संता – बंता की इस जुगलबन्दी से आज हमने क्या सीखा:-
- पुराने भू-स्खलन क्षेत्र के पास की जमीन निश्चित ही अपेक्षाकृत अधिक उर्वर होगी और वहाँ पानी भी प्रचुरता में उपलब्ध होगा, परन्तु इन स्थानों पर निर्माण कार्य करना जोखिम को निमंत्रण देने के समतुल्य है / Land on or immediately adjacent to old landslide deposits, while often fertile and water-rich, may carry inherent geotechnical risks for construction due to its unconsolidated and heterogeneous nature.
- परम्पपरागत रूप से पुराने भू-स्खलन क्षेत्र के पास की जमीन को निवास के लिए उपयोग में नहीं लाया जाता था, इन स्थानों पर सिर्फ और सिर्फ खेती – बाड़ी की जाती थी और निवास ऊपर सुरक्षित व स्थिर स्थानों पर / Traditional wisdom often involved avoiding such areas for primary settlements, even if they were used for agriculture, opting for more stable ground.
- बसने के लिये सस्ते व सुविधाजनक विकल्पों का चयन करते समय हमें संभावित दूरगामी जोखिमों को सदैव ही संज्ञान में लेते हुवे विशेषज्ञों से अवश्य ही परामर्श करना चाहिये / The lure of “cheap” or conveniently located land in such zones should be weighed against potential long-term risks and the need for thorough site investigation.
- परम्परागत ज्ञान के अन्तर्गत हमेशा ही सुविधा की अपेक्षा सुरक्षा को प्राथमिकता दी जाती थी / Ancestral choices reflect a deep understanding of landscape history and a prioritisation of safety for their homes.
संता – बंता की यह जुगलबन्दी आपको कैसी लगी, कृपया हमें जरुर बताये
व
इस जुगलबन्दी को बेहतर बनाने के लिये अपने सुझाव अवश्य दें।
हमें हमेशा की तरह आपके सुझावों, प्रतिक्रियाओं व कटाक्षो का बेसब्री से इंतजार रहता हैं और सच मानिये इसी के आधार पर हम अपने आप में, अपनी सोच व रचनात्मकता में सुधार करने को प्रेरित होते हैं।
सो अच्छा – बुरा जैसा आपको महसूस हुवा हो, कमेंट जरुर करते रहें।
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