A gentle breeze rustled the pine trees outside their cottage in Mussoorie.
Santa, in a cheerful mood, was tending to his small vegetable patch, humming a catchy, old Garhwali folk tune. The melody was sweet and memorable, filled with the lilt of the mountains. Banta, reading a book on the porch, smiled.
“That’s a lovely tune you’re humming, Santa,” Banta called out.
“It’s been a long time since I heard it.”
“Do you remember where you first heard it?”
Santa paused, leaning on his spade.
“I don’t know, Banta.”
“It’s just… always been there.”
“I think I saw it in a film … don’t really remember where I saw it … but then I was a boy.”
“It’s about the mountains, our beautiful Dandi Kaanthi.”
Banta’s smile grew wider, tinged with nostalgia.
“Yes, it is about our Dandi Kaanthi.”
“But it was more than just a film, my friend.”
“You are humming a masterpiece of disaster education.”
“That song was from Dandi Kaanthi ki God Ma, a film produced by the old DMMC, the Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre.”
Santa’s jaw dropped.
“What?”
“That beautiful song was a Sarkari message?”
“Impossible!”
“Sarkari messages are boring, full of difficult words that no one understands.”
“Exactly!” Banta exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.
“And that was the genius of that golden era.”
“The leaders then, their hearts seared by the tragedies of Malpa and Chamoli, understood a profound truth: compliance follows conviction.”
“You cannot force safety down people’s throats.”
“You have to make them embrace it.”
“So, they didn’t issue scary warnings.”
“They created beautiful films with songs that became part of our culture.”
“While you were enjoying the melody, the film was teaching your subconscious how to react during an earthquake, what ‘Drop, Cover, Hold’ meant, and why a house built the right way stands tall.”
He continued, his voice filled with passion.
“They didn’t just make films.”
“They trained thousands of local masons, our mistris, in earthquake-safe construction using simple, illustrated booklets in our own language.”
“They created a real Suraksha Fauj of community volunteers.”
“They believed in empowering the people, not just ordering them around.”
“That song you are humming, Santa, is a relic from a time when we were pioneers, when disaster management had a soul.”
संता – बंता की इस जुगलबन्दी से आज हमने क्या सीखा:-
- खोज / Discover: आरम्भ के वर्षो में उत्तराखण्ड की आपदा प्रबन्धन रणनीति के अन्तर्गत जन जागरूकता के लिये मुख्यतः लोक संस्कृति, गीत, संगीत व फिल्मो का उपयोग किया जाता था / In its early years, Uttarakhand’s disaster management strategy used popular culture, like films and songs, for mass awareness.
- विज्ञान / Science: अनुपालन का आधार आस्था है और लोगो द्वारा सुरक्षा उपायों के अनुपालन के लिये जन जागरूकता संदेशो में लोक संस्कृति की प्रतिध्वनि का होना जरूरी है / The principle of “compliance follows conviction” suggests that people are more likely to adopt safety measures if the message is delivered in an accessible, culturally resonant, and non-threatening way.
- विवेचना / Reflect: सरकारी संवाद की प्रभाविकता के लिये उसका लोक भाषा में और मनोरंजक होना जरूरी हैं / Government communication can be highly effective when it moves beyond jargon and bureaucracy and speaks the language of the people, using entertainment as a vehicle for education.
- उत्तरदायित्व / Responsibility: हमें विगत के समुदाय केन्द्रित प्रयोगो से सीख कर केवल लोगो को सूचना या चेतावनी देने की जगह उनको साथ ले कर उनके सशक्तीकरण के प्रयास करने चाहिये / We have a responsibility to learn from these innovative, people-centric approaches of the past and demand communication that empowers and engages, rather than just informs or warns.
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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