India Shining, India Whining - Cleanliness

Pura system corrupt hain (The entire system is corrupt). This is exactly the first thing that we usually say to each other when we are talking about some political news or small talks that involve government or anything related to the overall society at large. I am an Indian and extremely passionate about taking India to the world and I do that through my writing. This time I am focusing on something else and that is the People of India. Recently, the newly elected government has created lot of positive buzz and I certainly believe that the People of India have stood up to vote for a government that can make things better and take India to the next level which we all dream of. We, as Indians love to see India Shining and being a superpower in the Asia region and also across the globe, but is voting for the right government our only responsibility?

I am no moral police. I am not here to judge people, but I would certainly like to make people aware that every person is a part of this system, this corrupt system that we keep blaming all the time, helplessly. What if I keep nagging about how inefficient my maid is and that she does not bother to clean the apartment the way I expect her to? Well, the options that I have here is either to tell her to be efficient and to work as per my expectations, second is to replace her with someone more efficient, and lastly I can do all the cleaning work myself because at the end of the day it is MY apartment. For many years, India has tried the first option telling the government to do better, this time India chose the second one giving an opportunity to someone who can do better and I think that is a good move, but we haven’t really made attempts to clean our home so far, have we?

For instance, let’s take Mumbai which I think is so overpopulated that most people almost live and travel in sub-human conditions and we know that and I am sure international visitors also know about it. I am not focusing on the space here; I am talking about the quality of the space. Every monsoon we read in newspapers about floods and water clogging and we hold BMC, the municipal corporation for poor job and their inefficiency. Has anyone ever thought where all that wrappers, plastic bottles, soft drink cans, plastic bags and other filthy stuff come from? Well, it is us who throw it there and that is what comes back to us. 

We spit on roads, piss on roadside walls and pavements, eat at roadside food stalls sitting comfortably in our luxury cars and throw paper plates, plastic glasses on the road and drive away casually. Who said cricket is the most favorite and most played game in India? It’s not cricket, it’s the Blame Game, because we all are pointing fingers at each other rather than working collectively towards a single goal. Government blaming the Opposition, people blaming the municipal corporation and in return they blaming the overburdening population and the chain never ends. It runs like an endless loop until you forget where it all started.

India is now depending on the new government to make a huge leap in every possible way, but no government can succeed on its own merit. It requires equal amount of dedication, effort, discipline and responsibility from its citizens as well. We often take pride in going abroad to some exotic locations like Switzerland, Dubai and so on and we boast about how clean those countries are. Well, that is not just because the government is taking measures to clean up the city, but also because people are mature enough to keep it clean. It is again a collective effort and the laws that ensure that everybody gets a better lifestyle and living experiences for the hard-earned money they pay in taxes.

Let me put it this way, even if you have the best maid in the world, it still depends on you to keep your apartment clean. Expectation is a good thing, but when you expect something from someone, you also have to be ready to deliver something in return. Even if the existing government does well and come up with better infrastructure and facilities are we ready to improve? Are we ready to stop pissing on road? Are we ready to walk out of the car and dump those plastic plates and glasses in the dustbin? Are we ready to act like grown-ups and do something about cleaning our city and make it a better place? Or are we just interested in the chhodna-yaar (just let it be) attitude that is so common among us, so common that this habit has become a part of our DNA in some sense.

What Indians Think of You When You Walk Out of that Airport?

We often say that the world today is a smaller place and that we are globally connected through internet technologies that allow us to connect anytime and anywhere. However, the funny part is that there exist many misconceptions that we still see around in the real world. While the West is technologically ahead and culturally different, East is just catching up and trying to balance between its old traditions and customs and the effects of modernization and westernization. On the other hand, the culture contrast is wide and that also impacts life in many different ways. I have many friends in the West who are passionate about touring India, exploring the sights and sounds and the heritage and culture of my country, but what they don’t know is how they will be perceived the moment they walk out of the airport. So, based on what I know (excluding assumptions), I came up with this funny concept of how I can tell my international friends in the West, what Indians really think about them.