Kole wetland system in the village of Muriyad in Thrissur District, State of Kerala (southern India), is the heart of the largest wetland system in the region. Kole forms a natural drainage system for the township of Thrissur and encompasses part of the Central Asian Flyway for migratory birds. Kole is also one of the most endangered wetlands in India due to the careless encroachment of industry, commerce and settlements.
I have visited Muriyad on numerous occasions over the years. I always return to a small corner of a deserted field to marvel at the silence which emanates from the land, a silence that like an invisible blanket, spreads as far as the eye can see and the ear can hear. There is a mystical stillness in the land which I have often experienced, trancelike, listening to the birdsongs and wind driven blades of swaying grass.
My reverie is broken by the passenger shouts of a passing automobile, and the ghastly sights of the man-made objects that spot the area, reminding me that I am neither alone, nor powerful enough to stop the onslaught of humanity.
