happiness and food

I was close to Bangalore’s Indoor Stadium today when I saw this. What is wonder is why would someone do this? One – this is not a good impression of such a famous area in Bangalore and Two – we are taking away that little space that belonged to this budding tree. Why do you think NaMo had to light the bulb of “Swachh Bharat”? Why do you think the garbage bins in India read “Use Me”? Why do you think the walls on some streets read, “Yahan *** karna mana hai” ? I think that is because we Indians need to be told what is the right thing to do and with a probability of 1/2, we will not follow what is told. It’s not that we don’t want to follow the rules but it’s about why should I follow one no one else does. Right?

I have seen many cities in India and the one thing that is common every where is habits that people have. Trash is thrown around a garbage bin but hardly inside it. People want to keep their house clean and are not ashamed of making someone else’s dirty. Once my next door neighbour decided to clean her house late at night. When we woke up the next morning, our place was horribly shabby cos what she let out of her house had seeped into mine over the night.

Walk in a residential area and someone may just throw a banana peel on you from their balcony. Look up and you won’t realize who did it cos the speed with which something falls on your head is less that the speed with which the person who throws disappears. Anything can land on your head – the seeds of dates, the orange peel or even some dirty water. Walking may be good for health but certainly not good for hygiene if you choose an area like that.

Mornings when I step out to walk, I see dirty diapers thrown all over and fail to understand what will you teach your child if you can’t even manage how to dispose dirty diapers? Today while in Cubbon Park, GNK told me that over weekend when children come for picnics, Cubbon Park turns in to a litter park. No child is born with an understanding on the little lessons on cleanliness and keeping surroundings clean. Adults need to set an example and I think as adults we fail that this one important job.Every public place if not managed by a private company is a big litter box. Sometimes we ignore and sometimes we blame the authorities in not keeping it clean.

The world is my urinal concept never failed to attract men. They water plants and sometimes the high walls of schools and even if there is “Sulabh Shauchalaya” nearby, why go? Let’s do it here. Right here, right now! People on road trips munch chocolates and chips and do not hesitate when they let the pack fly in the air far away.  Why should they? All cos the world should see I eat dairy milk and I love cream onion potato chips.

Sometimes I wonder what it would take for Indians to keep the country clean. A law, some policing, or may be a campaign like The Great Indian Litterbug. Bangalore is known as the Garden City but no wonder it is now also known as the Garbage City. I don’t want to be a Litterbug who wants to change my beautiful city into a Garbage City but do you?

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New Year, New Possibilities! Thank you Readers for making 2014 such a great year and encouraging me to blog. Your comments, likes, shares and tweets keep me going. I promise to write better!