I live in Mumbai, and as it happens every year, the city has flooded again! Everyone is busy cursing the BMC and the authorities. And I do agree that a large part of it is due to plain inefficiency and corruption. But I do accept blame on behalf of my fellow citizens. Let me tell you a story...
Yesterday, as I was out for my evening walk, a handsome young man, probably in his late teens or early twenties, stepped out of his long, swanky car and dumped a styrofoam plate on the side of the road. 10 steps away from his scene of "crime" stood a forlorn, unused dustbin! But then, everyone knows that when you drive a high end car, you don't go near dustbins! Scenes like this aren't uncommon.
Once, while traveling in a cab, I had a dear friend, my fellow passenger, toss out orange peels on the road. When I objected, her answer was, "Do you expect me to keep it in my bag?" I said yes, she called me a dirty "ganwar" who liked to hang on to trash and never spoke to me again!
These are people who are "educated" (I'd call them "literate only", but then I'm a "ganwar" who carries trash home or puts it in the nearest dustbin). These are also people who go abroad and come back singing about the beauty and cleanliness of these foreign lands. They don't travel within India because it "dirty." But would they have the courage to throw plastic plates and orange peels on the streets there?
You love the beaches in Greece? Try throwing garbage!
I grew up in Nainital. It was clean and beautiful. Then came people with their trash!
Let's accept it! It's our own fault. We think dustbins are beneath us. And trash needs to be picked up by someone else, even if that's a human being exactly like us with equal right to dignity!
We've failed miserably! We've failed to teach our children. We've failed to teach ourselves. We don't know the meaning of "clean", "hygiene" or "beauty." Look around you. See what nature has given us. And how dirty we have made it. Got a beach? Let's litter! Majestic mountains? Oh! Let me fish out those plastic bottles. The drains just got cleaned? Let me break out my trash and restore it to normal! We may be the highest tax paying city in the country, but dirt is in our blood, our minds, our nature. We love it! What would we do without it? Below are pictures from India of places where we could live. And there are pictures of what we have made of them. Choose your favourite after you have figured out if you have been guilty of throwing trash where it doesn't belong.
So let's say proudly, "This is my country" and go back to our muck and dirt. More power to us!
Both these pictures are of India and this is where we should be living. And hey! We made it to a top 10 list by claiming 7 places! Three cheers for us!
https://wisetoast.com/top-17-dirtiest-cities-in-the-world/
Yesterday, as I was out for my evening walk, a handsome young man, probably in his late teens or early twenties, stepped out of his long, swanky car and dumped a styrofoam plate on the side of the road. 10 steps away from his scene of "crime" stood a forlorn, unused dustbin! But then, everyone knows that when you drive a high end car, you don't go near dustbins! Scenes like this aren't uncommon.
Once, while traveling in a cab, I had a dear friend, my fellow passenger, toss out orange peels on the road. When I objected, her answer was, "Do you expect me to keep it in my bag?" I said yes, she called me a dirty "ganwar" who liked to hang on to trash and never spoke to me again!
These are people who are "educated" (I'd call them "literate only", but then I'm a "ganwar" who carries trash home or puts it in the nearest dustbin). These are also people who go abroad and come back singing about the beauty and cleanliness of these foreign lands. They don't travel within India because it "dirty." But would they have the courage to throw plastic plates and orange peels on the streets there?
You love the beaches in Greece? Try throwing garbage!
 |
| We did this |
 |
| She eats our trash |
I grew up in Nainital. It was clean and beautiful. Then came people with their trash!
 |
| We contributed to this |
Let's accept it! It's our own fault. We think dustbins are beneath us. And trash needs to be picked up by someone else, even if that's a human being exactly like us with equal right to dignity!
We've failed miserably! We've failed to teach our children. We've failed to teach ourselves. We don't know the meaning of "clean", "hygiene" or "beauty." Look around you. See what nature has given us. And how dirty we have made it. Got a beach? Let's litter! Majestic mountains? Oh! Let me fish out those plastic bottles. The drains just got cleaned? Let me break out my trash and restore it to normal! We may be the highest tax paying city in the country, but dirt is in our blood, our minds, our nature. We love it! What would we do without it? Below are pictures from India of places where we could live. And there are pictures of what we have made of them. Choose your favourite after you have figured out if you have been guilty of throwing trash where it doesn't belong.
So let's say proudly, "This is my country" and go back to our muck and dirt. More power to us!
https://wisetoast.com/top-17-dirtiest-cities-in-the-world/
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