Why??

“What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.”

Early morning ,she finished her chores hurriedly at home. Many mouths to feed, a drunkard for a husband, who stays drunk all his waking hours., just waiting for those small coins to clang in his pocket. The day’s beverage has been taken care of- his wife has slogged hard through sickness, kids routines, foul mouthed neighbours and of course the husband’s never satisfied brawls. Little is he aware that once he sprawls himself in the corner of his abode, she sets out to do her bit for us ‘conscientious citizens’ out on the streets.


Her task is to clean the streets, collect the dry waste scattered all over the roads and the footpaths. Each morning she has a really stinky job on the hand. I’m sure the very “My country is so dirty, the roads are filled with muck and the people are so dirty” will never get to hear her heart and her mind’s conversation as she goes on her job.

A long stretch of stonewall bordering an institution by day, turns into a stench filled roadside toilet by night. There is a properly managed “Nirmala Shouchalaya” across the road, but isn’t it a task to cross the road?? Nah! This wall will do….”I’ll finish the job quickly and scoot! No one will notice!”

By morning the stench filters through the masala gravies and dosa smells of the eateries close by and provides the lady her duty to do. The authorities have tried and done their bit. They sprayed chemicals and cleaning agents each night, but the physical cleaning has to be done by the woman.

The perpetually plastered figures against these walls never stop, but the guys in the hierarchy did devise a new plan.

They fitted in boards in the local language and also English “ Do not urinate here” it said. , but pray tell me- which person drunk or not in the dark of the night or bright daylight , stands long enough to read these notices. If he could wouldn’t he head to the space allotted opposite?
Knowing the Indian sentiments and religious fanaticism, they came up with a bright new plan.

If you can’t beat them, plaster them…yes they did just that. Pasted across are tiles painted with innumerable depictions of GODS all over the stretch of wall. There will be no space for religious indifferences. One can’t break down the wall like they did the other religious structures across the country. Each religion has been given its proper space. So there is an eclectic mix of symbols and figures. But will it help?

Will they stop now or won’t they?