Litter-ati
Please note that all the actors in the picture attached alongside are in their right senses.
Read: None of them are high on weed!!!)
This picture is just a dramatic representation of an act of illegal littering at Regent's Park in London.
During the filming of this there was no actual litter involved.
This amazing picture has been marred by your's truly because he could not control a sudden surge of laughter.
Other wise this picture would have come off even better.
As you must have aready noted, the person on my left, Mr X, is giving an intense performance. Now, that's what I call method acting. From the looks of it, either he is preparing to shoot or he is completed his hit and is putting the gun back in the holster.
Bachche ne poori jaan lagaa di hai is photo mein!! :-)
Here all of us try to play vile indian loafers/taporis for whom there is no sulabh shauchala/ public toilets. Whatever they find nearby is their shauchala.
On the other end of the photograph is Mr Y, trying hard to match the skills of Mr X. Again from the looks of it, it seems that this fellow is oblivious of his surroundings and is busy shooting...Bang bang bang.... ;-) ( You know what I mean ! )
So much talent around me that I had to burst out laughing.....
To tell the truth, this photo session was fun. I mean real FUN!
Now coming to the more serious truth, it is this visual imagery that has held back India's progress for a very long time. The entire World once thought that India was a land where people pissed and littered on the roads. It was supposed to be the land where people had no respect for others.
A land where they emptied their dustbins in the neighbour's yard, or maybe a construction site.
Facts say that India has progressed leaps and bounds. Facts say that the attitude of the world towards India has changed...Has it, Really?
Moreover, the real question is that has our mantality changed? Do we still throw litter on the roads? Think hard!!
May be a chewing gum....maybe a coke can....may be a chocolate wrapper..anything.
We are so many of us that even if each one threw 2 empty coke cans in Mumbai, it would be enough to fill up the entire Mahanagar in 40 days.
Phwew! Do you believe that?
I know that you will all ask me how I have come up to this number?
So, here's the answer:
The population of India is 1,095,351,995 people, excluding Azad Kashmir and Aksai Chin, disputed territories.
Wow!!!
Area of Mumbai = 437.71 km²
Now assuming that
1> all the coke cans are placed upright.
2> the radius is 4 cm.
3> cans are accumulated ( and not removed by the cleaning corps )
Area covered by one can =
22 * 4 * 4 SQ KM
---------------------
7 * 100000 * 100000
Area covered in 1 day if each indian throws 2 cans = Area covered by one can * 2 * 1095351995
= 11.06 SQ KM
No of days required to cover Mumbai =
Area of Mumbai
------------------
Area covered in 1 day
= 40 days approx.
Shocking ain't it?
And with India's polulation increaing sharply (Read more about India's population threat @ BBCNews), keeping india clean is a very BIG challenge.
When I first came to London, I looked around for places that have Indian restaurants. People recommended EastHam and Southall.
So I took couple of friends, who had just landed to London, to EastHam . The place is literally jam-packed with Indians, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, and Pakistanis.
You can see restaurants that have their name boards in Tamil and Hindi. But my friends did not notice all this. They just saw the litter that was spread everywhere.
One of them remarked that "It looks like Chennai, with AC turned on. And it's really - really dirty! Very similar to India. Litter everywhere!"
While the other, (as if in a trance... First day onsite and looks like he is back to India!!!) commented with a frown of disgust on his face... "Typical Desis!"
What do we do to change this opinion about ourselves? If we have this opinion about ourselves, I shudder to think what others think about us.
It's a huge effort and all of us have to take part in it!
P.S> I have to start from my room. There is so much litter around. Polythene bags, food stuff, aluminium foils, tissues..and what not!!! I will start NOW!
5 comments:
Thats a good thought - to start from your own place. The comment about Indian Restaurant was what came to my mind too when I saw this Dosa Hut, on Indian Street, Journal Square here. The complete street looked like one of the streets from Abids, Hyderabad. As I stayed for long in Hyd, I can relate to that place well. How the hell could people manage to create a street which looks much simillar to Indian streets in terms of cleanliness when the other streets looked exactly opposite !!
The problem with Indians is the attitute "somebody else will clean its not our problem".If we are responsible enough ourself then we can make any place better.
The point is instead of blaming other we have to inculcate the habit of cleanliness ourself and to the younger generation.
- V
#V - You are absolutely right. There is no pint in pointing fingers. If all of us think the same way, its not a big deal at all!!!
#Akshu - I know what you are saying. It think this is a common syndrome all across the world.
An incident comes to mind. I was waking down the road in Chennai, with a well mannered, well educated chap whom I had met there.
Very nice guy.
He stopped to "do the dew" right opposite to Spencers plaza .
Well, atleast your room is clean now :) .
OMG Jeevan!!
Hope you were not a part of it ;-) We Indians have this amazing superpower to "do the dew" anywhere we want..
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