River of Change​The River Varna, once the lifeblood of Neelpur, was dying. For decades, the villagers had treated it as an endless garbage disposal: plastic waste piled up on the banks, industrial grease filmed the surface near the defunct textile mill, and the sweet, earthy smell of flowing water was replaced by a sour, chemical stench. The children no longer swam, the fishing boats lay dry-docked, and the old-timers muttered that the river spirit had abandoned them.​Then there was Leela. At fifteen, she possessed the quiet tenacity of a growing root. She refused to accept the Varna’s slow death. Her