Modern minds dreamt of a better world or a setting that will provide more amenities to spoil the choices of inhabitants. Urbanisation was meant to design a city with modern dwellings and roads for better connectivity.
It was a novel dream to sever the ties with countryside life or carve out a different plan, contrary to the simplicity of nature. Everyone, in the dream of a better life and employment, rushed to the urban cocoon to live a dream life.
Skyscrapers, sleek roads, modern markets selling the latest amenities are enough to lure many to a city life. Slowly, the idea of urbanization took off, and many projects and modifications later, we are staring at haphazard buildings kissing each other; concrete and asphalt roads cutting across frantically like an endless maze, like a trail left behind by a lost child.
Less of engineering marvels compared to the failures and greed to build more. We are applying concrete on the huge facade to stifle the breathing.
Plans on paper do not materialize and impromptu sanctioned plans, according to the sudden impulses are executed. Every progress made fills the crevices of depressions and anguish that the landscape feels.
Pushing nature away, uprooting natural growth to pave the way for modern ideas has been the achievement of humanity. More ambitious projects are touching the skies and even aspire to go beyond them; tunnels are running underground, throughout the city, like mystical labyrinths.
Somewhere, the efforts of urbanization have veered away from the original idea and dream. Instead of giving a quality life, we are stifled and having doubts too late, about adopting such plans. Now we are staring a mesh of interconnected problems.
Lack of proper urban planning is affecting the ground water level and the quality of existing lakes and rivers. Water is being contaminated by the enormous amount of effluents.
We have stayed away from nature and as the cities encroached the remaining landscapes, they are threatened to soon fall prey to our modern dreams. We want to accommodate more dwellers and build the epitome of luxury, as we have imagined.
We still dream and yearn to be amongst nature, for we are nature’s being. The irony is we burn an enormous amount of fossil fuels to travel to the deeper outskirts of the cities to be with nature.
The travesty of a plan and we are waking up to view concrete buildings and have paced our lifestyle according to the limits of the cities. Green is the color that is losing eminence and grey is the new color in fashion.
Amitav Chowdhury 