Disappearing Farms

There used to be a  time when friends and I did not have to travel too far from urban Bangalore to get a feel of the country side. Within an hour’s drive, you would leave behind the urban jungle and start breathing fresh unpolluted air. Being a late immigrant to the city, I have many a times heard old time Bangaloreans talk about how today’s posh residential areas like BTM, Banerghatta etc were once the outskirts of the city. Today’s four lane to BIAL is actually cutting across what was once Hebbal lake. It is no secret that the city is expanding and eating into lands that have the potential to feed more people than they can sustain if developed into houses.

This is a photograph that I took at Hoskote in 2014. In a few years, this place may also give way to a high rise. Now is a good time to reflect on the proverb, “When the last tree is cut, when the last river has been poisoned, when the last fish has been caught, then we will find out that we can’t eat money.”