Save our culture from filth
Save our culture from filth
May 13, 2012 11:16 PM
By Deepak Parvatiyar
NEW DELHI: Soon after I entered the class room for a guest lecture to the mass communication students in a reputed Delhi college, I noticed a bubble gum wrapper lying on the floor. It was easy to find the gum chewing culprit. He was a lanky teenager attired in casuals and a pair of chappals. When I asked why he didn’t use the litter box, he came up with a stunning reply: “It is not in our culture sir.” Taken aback by his reply, I asked if he ever visited his place of worship without taking a proper shower. The youngster got the point and apologized.
But what about the policemen of our national capital region, who are on an overdrive these days to remove dark films from the window panes of cars? They must have planned their drive quite meticulously – their team, the penalty amount, the spots, and the number of challan books. What went missing from their scheme of things was a litter box. In absence of it, they just dumped the removed films on the road without even realizing their contribution to the garbage piles that have become a part and parcel of our lives.
We all keep our homes clean. We all bathe religiously before going to place of worship. But when it comes to keeping our neighbourhood clean, we shirk our responsibility. Today we are so used to the garbage dumps around us that they cease to surprise us. The other day I read somewhere that Delhi’s metro stations – the symbol of a modern and progressive India -- is surrounded by filth. “A stench of urine hits you even before you come out of the “world-class” New Delhi Metro station,” said the report.
Nowhere did I read the Delhi and NCR police contributing to the dumping of non-biodegradable plastic through the drive against dark screens on roads!
NEW DELHI: Soon after I entered the class room for a guest lecture to the mass communication students in a reputed Delhi college, I noticed a bubble gum wrapper lying on the floor. It was easy to find the gum chewing culprit. He was a lanky teenager attired in casuals and a pair of chappals. When I asked why he didn’t use the litter box, he came up with a stunning reply: “It is not in our culture sir.” Taken aback by his reply, I asked if he ever visited his place of worship without taking a proper shower. The youngster got the point and apologized.
But what about the policemen of our national capital region, who are on an overdrive these days to remove dark films from the window panes of cars? They must have planned their drive quite meticulously – their team, the penalty amount, the spots, and the number of challan books. What went missing from their scheme of things was a litter box. In absence of it, they just dumped the removed films on the road without even realizing their contribution to the garbage piles that have become a part and parcel of our lives.
We all keep our homes clean. We all bathe religiously before going to place of worship. But when it comes to keeping our neighbourhood clean, we shirk our responsibility. Today we are so used to the garbage dumps around us that they cease to surprise us. The other day I read somewhere that Delhi’s metro stations – the symbol of a modern and progressive India -- is surrounded by filth. “A stench of urine hits you even before you come out of the “world-class” New Delhi Metro station,” said the report.
Nowhere did I read the Delhi and NCR police contributing to the dumping of non-biodegradable plastic through the drive against dark screens on roads!
Our grounds are filled with rubbish. Our ponds are open sewer. Our “holy” rivers are polluted and so is our air. We no longer breathe freshness. Still we take offence if someone like (the then environment minister) Jairam Ramesh says that our cities are the “the dirtiest cities” in the world and that India could win a “Nobel Prize for dirt and filth”, hands down. His remarks about a couple of years back had evoked sharp reaction and he was accused of demeaning our country.
It is a fact that there is poor compliance with the solid waste management rules and that waste management is not given priority in our country. The dark screen episode is just a case in point.
Yet what indeed turned sanctity of a holy place on its head was the news about one of our four dhams, Jagannath Puri, that because of a defunct civic body, drain water from an overflowing drain forced the worshippers to wade through it to go to the Jagannath temple last Thursday.
It is a fact that there is poor compliance with the solid waste management rules and that waste management is not given priority in our country. The dark screen episode is just a case in point.
Yet what indeed turned sanctity of a holy place on its head was the news about one of our four dhams, Jagannath Puri, that because of a defunct civic body, drain water from an overflowing drain forced the worshippers to wade through it to go to the Jagannath temple last Thursday.
Indeed filth has seeped into our culture. On second thoughts I feel my student was right. He had grown up watching garbage spilled all around him. It was quite natural for him to accept them as part and parcel of our lives.
Yet, being my pupil, it was easier to make him understand my point. It is high time we start lessons on tidiness as part of our school curriculum. That’s the only way to save our environment and…our culture.
(The writer is a senior journalist and filmmaker)
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Deepak Parvatiyar
Chief Media Advisor
Isha Creative Vision Private Limited
(The writer is a senior journalist and filmmaker)
--
Deepak Parvatiyar
Chief Media Advisor
Isha Creative Vision Private Limited
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