The Secret Sculptures of Nandi Hills

Erosion occurs when the soil has nothing to hold on to, no rock and no roots from grasses and old ancient trees.

Periodic clearing of the land to replant crops makes it easier for the wind and the water to scrape off layers of land, each strata revealing a period in time for scientists and researchers to read.

Today, soil erosion is one of the most serious environmental problems, leading to loss of land for agriculture, pasture for animals and a sponge to soak up rain water as the soil becomes less porous.

Even the Dalai Lama, the great Buddhist spiritual leader, has this to say about soil erosion. “The threat of nuclear weapons and man’s ability to destroy the environment are really alarming.

And yet there are other almost imperceptible changes — I am thinking of the exhaustion of our natural resources, and especially of soil erosion — and these are perhaps more dangerous still, because once we begin to feel their repercussions, it will be too late.” (Pg 144: The Dalai Lama’s Little Book of Inner Peace: 2002, Element Books, London).

In the case of the mini Hell’s Kitchen, hidden in the green maze of sugar fields, there’s little that can be done to rehabilitate it. It’s a local “natural wonder”. It’s better to be conserved than wasted away to sand harvesters.

One of the most famous examples of an eroded landscape is the stunning Grand Canyon in the USA, carved by the Colorado River, with walls running 4,000 to 6,000 feet at its deepest, 15 miles at its widest and 277 miles long.

Though our local eroded valley is miniscule in comparison, it’s something for the tourism officials to look into.

rupi.mangat@yahoo.com