The most distressing problem during summer is that of water. One is the drying up of water sources in the earth leading to water scarcity. The other is the decrease of water content in the body leading to dehydration. Both are serious matters. Water scarcity is a collective level problem, while dehydration is a personal level problem. In places where there is water scarcity, the problem of dehydration is usually present as well.
It is not that there is no water on earth. There is plenty of water. But it is not in the required form in the places where it should be available. Looking at the entire globe, water covers three-fourths of the sphere. More than about 70% is just ocean. Only the remaining part belongs to the continents. The ocean covers an area of 36.2 crore square kilometers of the earth. Out of the total water mass of the earth, 97% is in the ocean itself. Only the remaining 3% is held by glaciers, rivers, and lakes. Thus, despite having so much water on earth in name, the problem of drinking water availability is growing large. It is difficult for countries with large populations to convert saline ocean water into drinking water and supply it to everyone. That is a massive techno-economic challenge.
In ancient times, people used to settle near water sources and flows, relying on them. The hinterlands and hills used to be forests. Agriculture took place in the plains. Now, there is no discretion regarding where a town should be built. The ancient practice of constructing villages, towns, and cities only in ‘suitable’ places by wisely considering environmental factors—such as wind, rain, rivers, water springs, earthquakes, weather, availability of agricultural land, soil fertility, forests, vegetation wealth, availability of fodder, and groundwater availability—has long vanished. Villages and cities have grown everywhere. This is an era of imprudence and great foolishness where crores of people live hundreds of kilometers away from water sources. Consequently, it is very difficult to provide water to everyone (especially in years when there is not much rain).
When there is abundant forest in any large area, good rainfall can be expected. In the era without the scourge of concrete, the collection of rainwater was natural. The groundwater level was high. One could take water from a well by hand without a rope (like taking it from a tank). Since there were lakes and bunds near every major village, there was an abundance of reservoirs. Because there was chemical-free natural farming, organic matter and moisture were stored beautifully in the soil. Due to a lifestyle that nourished nature, did not exploit the environment, and was pollution-free, a vibrant life-force was common. Long ago, a ‘drought’ situation would arise only if it did not rain for the entire year or for years. Now, a hue and cry for water starts even if there is no rain for weeks. Let alone the count of weeks, now if the electricity connection stops for even a matter of hours, great cities tremble as water cannot be pumped.
It is not that there was no ‘drought’ in the past. Decentralized systems of collecting water made the problem of ‘drought’ a local issue instead of taking it to a universal level. One must not forget that the wisdom of the traditional way of life—that ‘there must be a small reservoir in every village’—protected people and civilization for thousands of years. Having ‘only one massive reservoir for the entire country or the entire state’ is not great scientific or technical progress. It is an imprudent downfall. One must not forget that all centralized systems face security concerns and management challenges. Yes, even in the past, anomalies in the long-term balance of the environment occurred rarely. Thus, people had to face severe ‘drought’ once in a generation or two. But then, the extent of the drought-affected area was not vast but limited. People would tell stories of drought to their grandchildren, describing their hardships and losses during the famine. What does that mean? It means: drought was a rare phenomenon rather than a daily misery. There were generations in the past that had never seen a drought. Now, there is no house that does not know the difficulty of water.
Due to the sin of forgetting nature after industrialization, and due to the foolishness of losing wisdom, the burden on the earth has become excessive. Inland forests have disappeared. Water sources are drying up. Everywhere, cities filled with concrete buildings are rising. The ‘skyscraper’ craze has become extreme. Exploitation of the environment is happening incessantly. The pollution of soil, water, and air has become excessive. Without natural farming, the soil is losing its organic matter and moisture, becoming lifeless. Without groundwater in proper proportions in any town, the land is becoming barren. Acid rain is falling due to pollution. Plastic poison is spreading everywhere. There is an inevitability of bringing drinking water from very far away through bad pipes. Even at ‘that distant water source,’ one has to struggle without water. It has become common for those living near that water source to raise objections, saying, “We ourselves don’t have water; why provide it to such a distance?” Interstate river disputes have also become common. Similarly, inter-district and inter-taluk disputes may arise. This is an era of buying water and air with money, and fighting in courts and on the streets for river water and atmospheric air. These are all defects of the centralized system. They have closed many lakes in villages to build bus stands. This is what we call ‘development’ and ‘new civilization.’ While talking about ancient times, we say, “That was all a very backward time. An era that had not progressed as much as us!”
Ours is a civilization that doesn’t even have a proper glass of water to drink! Everywhere is just dry land. No matter how much you dig, there is no sign of water. Desertification is haunting us. There are no rivers near cities and towns. The existing rivers do not have proper water. Small rivers have dried up. Sewage water has been let into some.
At such a time, the big problem ‘civilized’ people face is ‘dehydration.’ Some do not even realize that dehydration is occurring to them. The common sense to understand the natural signals of the body is decreasing as people become more ‘educated.’ Some boredom, exhaustion, lack of interest in anything, an upset stomach, a desire to irritate everyone, a mind that lashes out at whoever speaks, a slight headache, apathy, weakness, a slight burning sensation in the eyes—even though most people experience these repeatedly, they do not know what it indicates. That itself is dehydration.
For the elderly, children, those with various health problems, and those in air-conditioned rooms, it is not known at the right time that ‘the body needs water now.’ By the time the body gives proper signals and they experience thirst, the dehydration process has already started. Even for healthy people under the pressure of work, some dehydration might have occurred by the time they realize the signal of thirst. If the water content in the body decreases, many types of problems arise. But people do not know that this trouble is caused to them due to a lack of water.
Generally, in summer, the curse of the sun’s heat! Scorching sun, dry air, a bath of sweat, thirst, dryness of the throat, exhaustion, burning of the skin, burning in the eyes, dizziness, darkness before the eyes—thus various types of experiences. These are symptoms of dehydration. Initially, dehydration starts with a feeling of reluctance to get up and walk for those who are seated, and the mind not being inclined toward any activity.
Dehydration means the water content inside the body becoming very low. Even if full dehydration has not occurred, its initial symptoms keep appearing frequently in most people, especially in people who move around in the sun and children who play in the sun. Now, regardless of regional differences, the intensity of summer and the temperature are high everywhere. Thus, the problem of dehydration is also high.
When enough water is not drunk, due to excessive sweating, if vomiting or diarrhea has occurred, by consuming certain medicines, by excessive consumption of coffee-tea, by drinking cold colas containing caffeine and carbon, during cholera, when there is a stomach infection (gastroenteritis), during excessive worry or excitement, when the lack of nutrients in food affects excessively, due to excessive fasting, when too much salt is eaten, if the amount of water drunk after consuming food is insufficient, not drinking water during long hours in an AC room as thirst is not felt—thus in many situations, the water content in the body decreases. When this happens, the salt contents of the body (electrolytes) become very low. Especially, sodium becomes very low. If this is left as is, exhaustion in the body increases, and eventually, it can be life-threatening.
Yet our ‘new-civilized’ people do not drink water! To avoid thirst, they drink coffee, tea, and cola! In reality, these increase the problem of dehydration further. Not drinking enough water is a common cause for dehydration to occur. Drinking enough water ‘only’ is the easy solution for this. Remember: there is no ‘alternative’ or ‘substitute’ for pure water. Water is matchless to water! One must wake up at the initial stage itself when “Full dehydration has not yet occurred, but the water content of the body might be decreasing.” Even if thirst is not felt, it is inevitable to keep drinking water continuously at the rate of a certain amount per hour. One should drink after ensuring that the water is pure.
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