🌟"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 neared his home 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 villagers of what he had seen as he reached the gharat.
🐈Everyone, shocked by the news, hurried to the riverbank 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 disappeared.
🍒They sensed a conspiracy of a powerful lobby, including those in power, to deprive the villagers of their livelihoods by taking away the shared 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 resources.
൩This 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. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, Maharashtra.
⛦Harnot has passionately tried 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 Hain” (Cats talk), which has been widely translated in several Indian languages and English, is already part of the curriculum at Mumbai University.
ꦕThis story has also been translated into English by Prof. Meenakshi F. Paul 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 programme.
🌊“Aabhi” is the story of a small bird which keeps ancient Serolsar 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.
ಌIt 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 ‘Aabhi’ and the forest mafia plundering the forests and disturbing the ecological balance, and tourists leaving garbage behind in the hill stations.
♕“I have painstakingly yet sarcastically advised the forest fellers to learn some lessons from the small bird,” Harnot says.
𒅌The 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.
ꦬAdditionally, his story “Maa Padhti 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 mother 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 caste disparities in rural Himachal was included in the M.A. program at Himachal University 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 portrayal 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 social 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, ancient 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-stories.
꧋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, who live by themselves in homes where their children seldom or never return.
