Friday, June 09, 2006

A quick tale 139

Contrition

It's probably nothing. Well, that's what you tell yourself. You see, this morning when you came into the kitchen, you found that the tap had been left running. A steady trickle of water had been flowing down the sink all night. About 10 or 15 litres of water gone waste, you reckon. Enough supply for a small family in drought-stricken Africa to survive on for atleast a couple of days. With prudence, it could have even lasted them a week. But now, all that has gone down the drain. You sigh and tell yourself that it's just water. One strong spell of showers and the deficit would even out. You even put out a bucket out in the garden hoping to catch a few drops in the next drizzle.

Still, you can't seem to shake the image of water-starved children out of your head. Why me, you wonder. What about all those idiots who are using up water to wash their cars and shampoo their dogs and sprinkle their lawns? And who could forget that moron who left his tap running for days in the name of art? How come none of them ever seem to worry about dying Sudanese children? And yet, that evening, when they mention Darfur in the news, you switch channels and look away.

12 comments:

tris said...

man - you are brilliant.

Anonymous said...

yes the "why me" i have asked myself so many times
about the last time i don't remember what i exactly do
so many days since i watched tv...

and i second tilo

fire eater

Anonymous said...

oops thats "last line" and not
"last time"

D LordLabak said...

soober!

Sat said...

Err ...sorry but I'd rather wash my car, water my lawns and most imporantly shampoo my pet...than have a muddy brown, almost unidetifiable vehicle, a lawn do dry n dead that a slightest spark could trigger off another great London fire and a dog that would stink the whole neighbourhood and bring home an epidemic to wipe out the entire neighbourhood...Exaggeration??...well u started it! :P
Can't quite agree with your view there...wastage is a sin; but abstinence is foolishness...at least in this context!

Hellboy said...

you are brilliant and i know that for a long time

B o o said...

Awesome! Too close to home too! :(
BTW, the profile photo is absolutely beautiful! Its doing something to me whenever I look at it. Something senti and mushy! Really beautiful! :)

ggop said...

You feel guilty because you have a conscience.. :-)
Loved the quick tale.
gg

Anonymous said...

If the water saved by NOT watering lawns/gardens here could actually be transported to drought-stricken people in Africa, that would be the perfect solution. As always, your post strikes a bit too close home...

Dadoji said...

I agree with Shyam but I guess in light of the water shortage in Suffolk it makes sense just the same.

apu said...

Hmmm - great as thoughtful content, but doesnt work as writing - atleast not for me.

Anonymous said...

water has beautifully been used as a metaphor to bring out a very important point ... gud one !