The old man and the green hills

14/12/1998

The old man and the green hills Ever since the well-known environmentalist P R Mishra stepped into Sukhomairi to transform its barren landscape in the early 70s, Jethu Ram has been thinking of water and trees. He was among the few villagers who first volunteered to work for soil and water conservation after being convinced by Mishra.

Other Gujjar villagers in Sukhomajri have also long since realised the real value of water which is the source of everything that the village needs. The 2,000 litres of milk that the villagers sell everyday and the grass and fodder worth lakhs of rupees they harvest are simply by-products of water for Jethu Ram. After monsoon, It is his daily routine to check how much water has collected in the check dams the villagers have built. "If dams are full of water, the villagers' stomachs are also full for years" Jethu Ram says. When Anil Agarwal, Editor of Down To Earth was visiting Sukhomajri, Jethu Ram pointed to water in the tank the villagers built for harvesting rainwater and said, "This is not water It is milk."

"After giving my shram the naked hills became my naked children. Giving them green clothes; became my duty", he says. Villagers say that Jethu Ram has been part of every voluntary effort that they have put in to green their village. He has a mystic relationship with the trees in the village, He can look at a tree, or even feel its bark with his hands and tell when it was planted. They are all his children. "All trees are like different children of the same father. Some grow more in less time and some grow less in more time. A father cannot discriminate. He has to be generous to all."

Ram cannot be faulted for lack of generosity. When the common forest of Sukhomajri and Dhamala was divided, he did not speak against anybody. In the gram sabha meeting, he asked, "Nange pahad, nange log". Do you want that again?' As the conflict for fodder now shows signs of worsening, he is worried. "I am too old and my thinking power has gone down. I also do not want to see the villagers fighting over what they collectively made possible," he Says with a sigh. Ram is not only the village philosopher but also the guide. Though he can hardly walk, the weight of 85 years bearing on him, he makes it a point to take visitors to see the four dams the villagers constructed and helped change the barren landscape. Says village leader Hari Kishan, "Jethu Ram commands respect because, like Mishra, he also practises what he says.'

Ram's house to which the green hills form a breathtaking backdrop is the place where villagers prefer to gather for discussions. Ram however feels that not many listen to him anymore. Yet he never misses a chance to protect the prosperity of the village. "The new Sukhomajri took birth after 25 years of pain. How can you let it go to ruin?" he asks.

His question is pertinent. If the villagers lose motivation now it might be an impossible task for Jethu Ram to convince them once again to stick to their task of protecting their forest. But there is still hope. For many years after he helped usher in the people's management scheme, Jethu Ram remains the living link between the old and new Sukhomajri.

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