"the world is my garbage can"
a couple months ago, we saw a vendor selling bhutta. i didn't get any, but s did. it takes a while to eat bhutta, so he continued to eat it in the car. when he was done, he rolled down his window, threw out the bhutta, and rolled the window back up. i didn't say a word. i couldn't, because i was watching in shock to realize just what he was doing. when it struck me, it was too late to point out. i made a mental note to say something the next time it happened.
after much thought, i also realized that preaching to someone i barely knew would only earn a deaf ear. whether it was the ideal course of action, i do not know, but i chose to teach by example instead. so when there came an opportunity for me to save trash instead of chucking it out randomly, i would do the former and make a verbal statement to have it noticed. perhaps it wasn't clear enough though, because there was the other occasion of a friend chucking some batteries out of the car. i asked him what he had just done. he said "i threw out the batteries", almost questioningly. i asked "but why did you do that?", only to be told "oh, they were old batteries". oh, yeah, like that made it all kosher.
these are just two examples i came face to face with. the streets of india tell you how grave this reality is. years ago, when i was 9, my cousins (born/brought up in the u.s. and abcds in every way) were visiting. we were on a trip to udaipur, when one of them threw orange peels out of the car. when my uncle told her to throw them in the trash instead, she said "but india's one big trash can, dad". i was livid (yes, at 9) but what could i say, when we'd seen enough examples along the way of people eating things like moongaphali and throwing the shells on the streets with sheer apathy.
years later, the scene on the streets is worse, if anything. what does one do with the people for whom india is indeed one big trash can? if only there were a way of identifying the litterer for every piece of litter on the streets. maybe we could get dna samples, find the wrong-doer, and charge insane fines. yes, that's a dream. and i wonder - even if the trash had their name and address written on it, would they care? does it embarrass these callous indians ever so slightly that the world knows they're littering? it certainly doesn't embarrass them that india is widely recognized as a filthy country due to them.
one could argue that there aren't enough trash cans around. this is perhaps true. i know that when i was first in germany, i was fascinated to note the number of trash cans in any vicinity. there was almost always a choice of the closest one to go to. all bus-stops had at least one, as did parks, walking trails, malls, etc. if we did that in india, would things improve? remotely, perhaps. the option is still worthwhile to explore. the bigger problem, i think, still lies in the mind. when the majority of the population is used to living with litter, the "chal raha hai, chalne do" attitude rings in. the inertia is never-ending.
i'm not in a position to make far-reaching changes here. with my writing, all i can hope to do, is appeal to you to do your part in the avoidance of litter. it doesn't hurt to just save it till you find a trash can, no matter how much later. you don't trash your laptop, your handbag, shopping bags, etc. as soon as you're done with them. then why not hold on to your trash for a little while longer? it's your trash after all. if you're reading this, the likelihood of you being a litterer is mighty low (i'd like to think). in which case, i appeal to you to share the message with others you know.
clean is beautiful. respect your surroundings so they can respect you.
after much thought, i also realized that preaching to someone i barely knew would only earn a deaf ear. whether it was the ideal course of action, i do not know, but i chose to teach by example instead. so when there came an opportunity for me to save trash instead of chucking it out randomly, i would do the former and make a verbal statement to have it noticed. perhaps it wasn't clear enough though, because there was the other occasion of a friend chucking some batteries out of the car. i asked him what he had just done. he said "i threw out the batteries", almost questioningly. i asked "but why did you do that?", only to be told "oh, they were old batteries". oh, yeah, like that made it all kosher.
these are just two examples i came face to face with. the streets of india tell you how grave this reality is. years ago, when i was 9, my cousins (born/brought up in the u.s. and abcds in every way) were visiting. we were on a trip to udaipur, when one of them threw orange peels out of the car. when my uncle told her to throw them in the trash instead, she said "but india's one big trash can, dad". i was livid (yes, at 9) but what could i say, when we'd seen enough examples along the way of people eating things like moongaphali and throwing the shells on the streets with sheer apathy.
years later, the scene on the streets is worse, if anything. what does one do with the people for whom india is indeed one big trash can? if only there were a way of identifying the litterer for every piece of litter on the streets. maybe we could get dna samples, find the wrong-doer, and charge insane fines. yes, that's a dream. and i wonder - even if the trash had their name and address written on it, would they care? does it embarrass these callous indians ever so slightly that the world knows they're littering? it certainly doesn't embarrass them that india is widely recognized as a filthy country due to them.
one could argue that there aren't enough trash cans around. this is perhaps true. i know that when i was first in germany, i was fascinated to note the number of trash cans in any vicinity. there was almost always a choice of the closest one to go to. all bus-stops had at least one, as did parks, walking trails, malls, etc. if we did that in india, would things improve? remotely, perhaps. the option is still worthwhile to explore. the bigger problem, i think, still lies in the mind. when the majority of the population is used to living with litter, the "chal raha hai, chalne do" attitude rings in. the inertia is never-ending.
i'm not in a position to make far-reaching changes here. with my writing, all i can hope to do, is appeal to you to do your part in the avoidance of litter. it doesn't hurt to just save it till you find a trash can, no matter how much later. you don't trash your laptop, your handbag, shopping bags, etc. as soon as you're done with them. then why not hold on to your trash for a little while longer? it's your trash after all. if you're reading this, the likelihood of you being a litterer is mighty low (i'd like to think). in which case, i appeal to you to share the message with others you know.
clean is beautiful. respect your surroundings so they can respect you.
2 comments:
i think that having more trash cans around would definitely make a difference - atleast to people like me, who honestly don't want to litter, yet don't want to have to carry their sticky candy wrapper all the way back home while carrying many other things as well. it would be an interesting exercise to see how much of a change more frequently occuring garbage cans would make.
i think i've already told you my goa temple story? i was at a temple in goa, and had a wrapper in my hand that i wanted to throw. i asked this man keeping records at a desk where a garbage can was. it took him a while to understand what i wuz asking for, and then when he finally understood, he was irritated with me for wasting his time - he pointed out the window and said in annoyed tones "just throw it outside, no". and this, in the temple grounds!! i wuz livid (at the age of 14). i bided my time, doing the usual temple stuff, and then on my way out, i left my wrapper on his desk and ran out. his desk was a better place to litter on than the temple grounds :p
ha ha ha ha. that's really funny. you may have told me, but not surprising - i don't remember.
about garbage cans, i definitely think it's worth it. but you know, even in places that have a ton of them, people tend to litter.
still, i agree, that if people just saw a garbage can EVERYWHERE they looked they might just think "what the hell". i mean, how much work would they possibly want to do to avoid a garbage can on purpose?!
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