I can spot two water bodies from my living balcony. The first picture shows a lake on the right side. Although it is named after a village, I hardly see people visiting it. There are no benches, no stone bund, nothing else to attract visitors.

The second picture shows a puddle on the left. I have been tracking its evolution for almost six months now. It swells up a little during rains and sparkles beautifully in sunlight. Although there is human habitation a little away from it, this puddle is blissfully tucked away in a safe spot in North Bangalore with only a few buffaloes meandering around the edges.

A quick thought on World Habitat Day with “Cities and Climate Change” being the theme of the year: is it the best way to preserve lakes – just keep them off human beings? Can we Bangaloreans think of saving its few surviving lakes, our lifeline?

(Pics: SH)