"Pita ji, Dadu, Tau!" Teekam shouted at the top of his voice. "Come quickly, come 🦂look. The River has vanished🐠!"
His panicked voice echoed all around as he neare🌜d his h𝓰ome in the mountain village.
The river, which had flowed seamlessly through the village for ages, was the lifeblood of the entire village. A traditional watermill (gharat), where Teekam,21, a class 10th pass-out, had visited each morning as part of his routine, had stopped flowing and had almost disappeared. The wheel of the watermill had come to a halt. The dramatic change had ♍happened overnight.
Teekam had run back home in shock to inform vill🔯agers of what he had seen as he reached the gharat.
Everyone, shocked by the news, hurried to the riverban🌄k to verify Teekam's unbelievable claim. The villagers trekked several miles up the mountain to trace the cause of the mysterious development overnight.
To their dismay, the villagers discovered that a private developer had diverted the river’s flow to set up a hydro-power project. As a result, the river had almost completely disap🌺pear♔ed.
They sensed a conspiracy of a powerful lobby, including t🌌hose in power, to deprive the villagers of their livelihoods by taking away the s👍hared sources.
This left the villagers with no option but to wage a fierce battle against the company and struggle for survival against a powerful lobby using vital community re🌸sour꧃ces.
This is a poignant 🦂tale that highlights the impact of hydroelectric projects on rural communities and the environment. The story—‘Nadi Gayad Hai’, written by S R Harnot, an acclaimed Shimla-based writer, was included in the curriculum of at Dr. ไBabasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, Maharashtra.
Harnot has passionately t﷽ried to raise the concerns of the mountain people over reckless exploitation of rivers. Climate changes and the impact of global warming have 🍎left the Himalayan region highly vulnerable.
This was not Harnot’s first such story being adopted in a curriculum of any university in India. “Billiyan Batiyati Hai🦩n” (Cats talk), which has been widely translated in several Indian languages and English, is already part of the curriculum at Mumbai University.
This story haﷺs also been translated into English by Prof. Meenakshi F. Pauﷺl and is part of Harnot's English story collection "Cats Talk", published by Cambridge Publishing, London. The story has also been widely performed on stage by various theatre groups.
“Bhagadevi Ka Chaighar” is included in the curriculum of Kolkata University and “Aabhi” at Guru Kashi University, Punjab. Kerala University last week included his story "Aabhi" in its curriculum for a four-year undergraduate progr♑amme.
“Aabhi” is the story of a small bird which keeps ancient Serolജsar Lake, located at a height of 11,500 feet near Jalori Pass in Kullu district, clean. The lake has banks covered with fallen leaves of the forest trees around it, but not a leaf could be found floating in the lake.
It is believed that “Aabhi” keeps the lake clean. As soon as any leaf or twig falls into the clean water, this little bird removes the waste from the lake. Harnote ,in his story, tried to draw a comparison between dedication of ‘Aaꩲbhi’ and the forest mafia plundering the forests and disturbing the ecological balance, and tourists leaving garbage behind in the hill stations.
“I have painstak🐎ingly yet sarcastically advised the forest fellers to learn some lessons from the small bird,” Harnot says.
The short story ‘Aabhi’ was initially published in a Hindi Literature magazine Pahal in 2014. It was highly appreciated by readers, writers and critics. Later it was included in Harnot’s most popular and valued story book ‘Lytton Block Gir Raha Hai’ published by Aadhar Prakashan♔ Pvt. Ltd, he further added.
Additionally, his story “Maa Padh♋ti Hai” has been included in the NCERT’s mother-centric book “Rishton Ki Khidkiyan.” It's the story of a lonely mother whose son wins accolades in the city but does not share his literary success with his illiterate mothe🔯r back in the village. But, the mother keeps reading his every literary work.
Harnot’s stories are also part of the curriculum at several prestigious 🍸institutions like Central University of Punjab, Central University of Dharamshala, Gautam Buddha University, Noida, Jain University, Bengaluru and Bengaluru City University
His acclaimed story “Jeenakathi”, again a story of cas𝐆te disparities in rural Himachal was included in the M.A. program at Himachal Universꦿity last year, while the English translations of “Aabhi” and “Laal Hota Darakht” are taught in B.A. courses.
Harnot never shies away from highlighting caste discrimination, powerful p🍸ortrayal of mountain women, and their everyday struggle🌞 with life in families.
"Harnot is a Dalit writer, but does not take an extreme stand. There is no war between upper and lower class in his works. He takes up the cudgels for weaker sections. He is not only aware and sensitive to soc෴ial vices and human depravities, but also speaks about them without fear," says Jagdish Bali, a young writer.
Most of his stories and writings are connected with prevailing social evils, ancienꩵt traditions and beliefs of hill people, and clash of modern day lifestyles with age-old practices. Administrative corruption and human relationships also form central themes of his books and short-sto✨ries.
Harnot has more than💫 📖26 books to his credit , 18 PhDs (completed and ongoing) on his literary works of diverse topics ranging from deep-rooted caste system prevalent in the hills. Urban migration abandoning of aged parents, who were barely visited or never-visited, are some of his acclaimed works.
“Cats Talk”, “The Twenty-Foot Bapu Ji”, “Ma Reads” (mother Reads) and “” narrate the experiences of aging individuals, w𒊎ho live by themselves𒉰 in homes where their children seldom or never return.
