We Indians have a proud feeling of our country. We are proud of its rich cultural heritage and its diversity. We take pride in its glorious history, the freedom struggle. And come independence day we all recall this. Introspecting on how we celebrate our independence day, I found that there is a lacuna in the way we celebrate this historic day. We limit ourselves to flag-hoisting, patriotic singing, slogan-shouting or may be sporting flag-badge on our clothing. Isn't it what we do?
I took some time to observe the hustle and the bustle on the street. What I noticed was a overflowing garbage bin, and not to forget the awful stink, a man spitting on the road side, pot-holes and the water stagnating in them, mud that had turned murkier with the rains, and me who just threw the bus ticket after alighting the bus (By the time I realized it, the ticket was flown by the Mumbai wind). To put it in just few words the Indian Civic sense, sanitation, hygiene and social responsibility.
We all know that what is right and what is wrong, yet we don't follow the right. We don't mind hanging at the door of the bus or the local, however dangerous it may be, until and unless I reach my destination on time. I don't care of the security threat that it posses to my life. I don't mind having tea or snacks at the roadside, no matter how many times the glass is washed in the same water in that day. That is what we call Indian Hygiene.
Let me now show the other side of the same coin. We speak of dwindling rupee, have you any time understood how we are contributing to the phenomenon? The same Indian we saw in the last para, doesn't hesitate to spend lavishly at the McDonalds or Pizza Hut. Or doesn't mind shopping in the malls showcasing International merchandise. Did you realize that profits made by these establishments affect the rupee growth? And with the amount of these establishment mushrooming in the Indian cities, the rupee is bound to be crippled.
Somewhere we need to draw the line. I dream of an India with clean roads, less crowded city transport, Indian establishments serving hygienic and economical food and the other merchandise. I want an India which would be a developed nation with a strong economy, and where people love to live in full independence. An India that stops cribbing about caste, religion, corruption and tackles all such social evils with appropriate actions. An India where I could walk on the streets and admire the infrastructure which I imagine to be existing only in the west. When would this happen. can anyone tell?
I took some time to observe the hustle and the bustle on the street. What I noticed was a overflowing garbage bin, and not to forget the awful stink, a man spitting on the road side, pot-holes and the water stagnating in them, mud that had turned murkier with the rains, and me who just threw the bus ticket after alighting the bus (By the time I realized it, the ticket was flown by the Mumbai wind). To put it in just few words the Indian Civic sense, sanitation, hygiene and social responsibility.
We all know that what is right and what is wrong, yet we don't follow the right. We don't mind hanging at the door of the bus or the local, however dangerous it may be, until and unless I reach my destination on time. I don't care of the security threat that it posses to my life. I don't mind having tea or snacks at the roadside, no matter how many times the glass is washed in the same water in that day. That is what we call Indian Hygiene.
Let me now show the other side of the same coin. We speak of dwindling rupee, have you any time understood how we are contributing to the phenomenon? The same Indian we saw in the last para, doesn't hesitate to spend lavishly at the McDonalds or Pizza Hut. Or doesn't mind shopping in the malls showcasing International merchandise. Did you realize that profits made by these establishments affect the rupee growth? And with the amount of these establishment mushrooming in the Indian cities, the rupee is bound to be crippled.
Somewhere we need to draw the line. I dream of an India with clean roads, less crowded city transport, Indian establishments serving hygienic and economical food and the other merchandise. I want an India which would be a developed nation with a strong economy, and where people love to live in full independence. An India that stops cribbing about caste, religion, corruption and tackles all such social evils with appropriate actions. An India where I could walk on the streets and admire the infrastructure which I imagine to be existing only in the west. When would this happen. can anyone tell?
No comments:
Post a Comment
If you liked the post, I would like to know.
Even if you didn't, I will appreciate your criticism.
Thanks!