Saturday, April 5, 2014

The vanishing clay By Sudhir Mishra/Bolangir.5thApril, 2014;Save the Soil; Save mother Earth.

The vanishing clay
By
Sudhir Mishra/Bolangir
(A women selecting an earthen pot on saturday evening-The villager havebrought it in advance to sellit on weekly marketwhich held on Sunday here.)

5thApril, 2014
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Getting the right earth/clay for earthen pot “a difficult “task.
Save the Soil; Save mother Earth.
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Bolangir ;Even as, planners and policy makers of our nation claims that we    has taken strides on various sectors like communication both road communication, irrigation space ,science and technology and Agriculture, the overlooked one crucial area the rapid soil degradation due to interference by human being on mother earth to ensure  “development”.    
Worse in such a time we used to get the constant cliché –that ismittise sugandha ati hai—which is nothing but a rhetoric and ignoring the real soil degradation  has taken in the  meanwhile.
First we interfere and pollute the earth irrespective of activities we take-be it agriculture, irrigation, or setting up industry .In the past people used to worship mother earth and were using various eco friendly items to produce, consume and live on the earth. Even villagers used mud to wash their untidy hair. That type of mud was having lot of cleansing power and villagers had knowledge where that type of clay was available
With industrialization, green revolution, the soil first bore the brunt of attack and it was damaged beyond recover. One can regenerate forest partially if not “completely” but once the soil is degraded it is lost and lost forever .It takes hundreds of years of natural process to get an inch of soil formation
The rapid deforestation and environmental degradation, soil erosion has been rampant and these soil are being deposited in river bed and delta area causing floods in plain area and reservoir was also facing the problem of siltation reducing their water storage capacity and reducing their lifespan
Our earlier society was based on traditional caste pattern and skill work where in a particular community people were performing /making a particular product.
The Kumbhar caste people preparing earthen pot .These people would collect “a suitable earth and make necessary wet and prepare the dough and after burning the earthen pot  (Mataka) is ready.
We are finding it difficult to get right type of soil- to prepare the earthen pot. The earth (clay) should be neither too tight nor sandy and the soil condition should be at appropriate having equal portion tightness /sandy in the earth.
We are not getting these types of earth and we are bringing it from a particular place3kmaway from our village Bahulbuka. After brining it we make preparation and we to burn it .However we are facing problem in getting shrubs, small sticks like plant to burn the earth which was earlier available in the forest, says a rural porter who had brought it to sold it in the local market
One can regenerate forest partially if not “completely” and get the shrubs required for burning but what about the soil?
Once the spot from which potter are getting the clay/earth finished a grim future awaits us
Save soil –Save mother Earth
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