Santa is proudly watching masons rapidly build a stone boundary wall around his newly acquired plot. The foundation trench was dug, stones were laid, and construction started all within a few dry, sunny weeks.
“Look, Banta!” Santa calls out.
“Quick work, eh?”
“My wall will be ready before the rains start properly.”
“No delays!”
Banta observes the fresh masonry.
“The wall is coming up fast, Santa.”
“The stones look good too.”
“But tell me, did you give the ‘zameen’ in the foundation trench enough time to settle and ‘saans lena?”
Santa looks puzzled.
“Settle?”
“Saans lena?”
“Banta, it’s a foundation, not a patient!”
“We dug it, filled it with stones and some compacting, and started building.”
“That’s how it’s done quickly these days.”
“No time to waste letting trenches just sit empty.”
“Our grandfathers, Santa, often had a different view about ‘wasting time’ when it came to foundations,” Banta says gently.
“For important structures, or even boundary walls in certain types of soil, they would sometimes dig the foundation trenches and then deliberately leave them open for a period, often through one entire rainy season, or even two if the soil was particularly kacchi.”
“Leave them open?”
“Through the rains?”
“But wouldn’t they fill with water and mud?” Santa exclaims.
“Exactly,” Banta nods.
“That was part of the process.”
“The rainwater would help saturate the disturbed soil in the trench and the surrounding area.”
“The natural weight of the wet earth, followed by periods of drying and shrinking, would cause the ground to compact and settle naturally, finding its own stable level.”
“Any weak spots or areas prone to excessive settlement would reveal themselves before the actual wall was built on top.”
He continues, “By allowing the earth to go through these cycles of wetting and drying, of natural compaction, they were essentially letting nature do the heavy work of settling the foundation bed.”
This ‘dhairya bhari neenv’ would then be much less likely to develop those unsightly ‘baithne wali daraar’ or settlement cracks in the wall later on, cracks that we so often see in modern constructions built in a hurry.”
Santa looks at his newly built wall, a slight unease creeping in.
“So, by rushing, I might actually be inviting future cracks because the earth underneath hasn’t finished its own ‘setting’ process?”
“It’s a possibility, especially if the soil was recently disturbed or is of a type that compacts a lot,” Banta affirms.
“Our ancestors understood that the earth has its own pace.”
“They showed patience, allowing the ground to achieve its natural stability before entrusting it with the load of their structures.”
“This ‘waiting game’ with the foundation was an investment in the longevity and integrity of what they built.”
“They knew that a foundation hurried is often a foundation worried.”
Santa rubs his chin thoughtfully.
“Patience with the earth… allowing it to settle…”
“It sounds slow, but perhaps it makes the structure strong for much longer.”
“Maybe our old ways of giving time for everything, even for the earth to prepare itself, had a deep wisdom that our modern speed often overlooks.”
संता – बंता की इस जुगलबन्दी से आज हमने क्या सीखा:-
- भूमि का प्राकृतिक रूप से धंसाव सुनिश्चित करने व मिट्टी के ठोस होने के लिये परम्परागत रूप से बुनियाद को बरसात में खुला छोड़ दिया जाता था / Traditional builders sometimes left foundation trenches open through rainy seasons to allow natural settlement and compaction of the soil.
- इससे संरचना में बाद में धंसाव के कारण दरारें नहीं पड़ती थी और संरचना स्थिर व दीर्घजीवी होती थी / This practice helped prevent future settlement cracks in masonry, contributing to the structure’s longevity and stability.
- इससे पता चलता है कि लोगो को मिट्टी के भौतिक गुणों की समझ थी और वह स्थिर बुनियाद तैयार करने की कला जानते थे / It demonstrates an understanding of soil mechanics and the importance of preparing a stable foundation bed.
- वर्तमान में हो रहे निर्माण में समय की महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका होती है और समय बचाने के लिये भूमि के प्राकृतिक धंसाव की प्रवत्ति को अनदेखा कर दिया जाता है जिसके संरचनात्मक दुष्परिणाम होते है / Modern construction, often focused on speed, can sometimes bypass these natural settling processes, potentially leading to structural issues.
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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