POWER

‘Power troubles’, my guest took a pause to sip hot cold drink at ambient temperature of forty five degree Celsius inside the hall of my flat. ‘Be it political power, money power, muscle power & of course electrical power’ everybody gathered for the party laughed, being host I too cracked my lips to show my yellowing teeth piteously. I’d called them the relatives & family friends for the party that summer evening. Even that evening power went compelling us to go for candle-lit dinner, off despite having vanished during its regular load shedding hours.

I decided to look into the problem of power right from the grass root level, got buried myself into the books & net. ‘Dad, its simple’, my fourteen year old daughter tried to sooth me since my patience might have lasted longer than before. As, every time I stumble at something I try to know more about it. say stray dogs, on pathetically running before them & having saved myself while my maiden endeavor on jogging at the newly built jogging track. Clogging drainage, on finding whole flat drenched in water spilling over the basin as the tap was left open by my baby late evening. Pushing sulky broke down car, on exploring about the causes of car braking down during night while driver is alone inside, …. ‘Look’ she applied break on my thought process, ‘power generation is very simple, you burn fuel to get steam. Direct the steam on turbines to make them revolve & the mechanical energy gets converted to the electrical energy. This runs through the wires, cables to us, so simple.’ She chuckled in the chicks, looking perfect winner. And I, like a fool was trying to find out reasons why this power could not be generated if it is so simple.

I folded the book put it back on the shelf, opened another rather familiar book the cheque book to write a cheque in the name of power suppler. As I’ve target to pay them before due date since they are so prompt in cutting of the connection which otherwise too rather reluctant in flowing power to run our fans, TVs, ACs, fridges, lights & geysers & so on. But you see how can you sense & feel importance of something if it doesn’t troubles you when you need it the most. Say otherwise half kick starting scooter, ever yielding & friendly clerk at the teller, otherwise non demanding daughter, obedient maid.

What is the fun if power doesn’t vanish just when you are ready to leave for party & searching for the door keys; boss has called to be party for the foreign delegates early in the morning & just then it goes off compelling you to take bath in bone chilling winter; to enjoy your favorite TV show for which you’ve already made all the arrangements like bribed son & daughter with chocklets, diplomatically kept wife busy in the kitchen or sent her for shopping & just at the end of title song TV automatically switches off reducing to a light spot in the centre putting full stop to your mirth & waiting & leaving your heart filled in shame with sense of fooling ignorant wife.

But you see many a time I thank the power cut from the bottom of my happily overflowing heart. Like, it makes us leave early as the machines are stalled due to want of power, mobile phone gets dead as could not be charged leaving me beaming as I’m saved of the sin of putting it off to save myself from answering it anytime & yes anywhere. Sometimes, power cut comes as blessings since my family then plans camp fire in our flat & take happy candle-lit dinner. Kids then slip with utter joy having saved off from the torturous homework with greatest reason on earth for not doing so.

However, how can one live deprived of all that once used too? I wrote to our local corporator on the power cut who promptly answered me that by next week all will be fine. I heard his home was wired with special three phase connection his home alone looks finely lit among our hundreds of flats filled in darkness. I then wrote to local MLA who too wrote me back two A4 type papers neatly typed citing reasons on how to save power & pay the bills in time with not a single word on cut offs & measures to avoid them. Despite wife holding me back I wrote to MP who called me on & offered a cup of coffee. He discussed at length on power crises & assured me on finding solution during his forthcoming four nation study tour to US, Brazil, China & Switzerland. Later I came to know that his son had to get admission in Okalahoma University, later he flew to Switzerland in search of some bank. I still persisted, wrote to Chief Minister, Cabinet Minister for Power & Prime Minister. Yet to receive any communication from them.

To save myself & be an ideal to others, I fitted my flat with inverter but the next day I realized it needed to be charged on the same power which is scanty. As I was not going to give up easily, I decided to go for solar panel to light up my thousand two hundred square feet flat in summer, to keep it lighted even in winter I’ll go for wind mill, in rainy season I’m going to use the might of torrential rains with technology just they use in hydroelectric power plants. My baby daughter is tutoring me on. I’m hopeful!

By

Vijay Yelmelwar