Thursday, February 7, 2008

Why??


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?

31 comments:

--xh-- said...

first you opened teh blog with soem sad realities, and later you showed a innovative way to fight a public nuisence... nice one, prats. is this a real story? where in b'lore is the wall?

Prats said...

@XH This is just what I see happening right in front of my eyes....an dthe place is in Malleswaram.

Guruprasad said...

oh yes, it does stop them to a large extent. but the problem isn't solved because they only find a new corner or wall to shower their liberal offerings on :)

and it has nothing to do with education either, as i used to naively believe earlier. the freedom to urinate freely is almost considered a fundamental right.

i think it has to do with individual responsibility and taking ownership of your own world. most of us feel that somebody else (the government, the system, etc) is responsible. we like to pin the blame on someone, anyone else. we then believe we are getting victimised.

and therein lies the biggest problem!

Guruprasad said...

another version i's come across was - what you have is god's gift to you. and what you do with what you have is your gift unto him'.

Anonymous said...

Started to read about a very bad life..and a stinky job to a social issue.

God!! pee on the people "horrible times" if they pee anywhere around you .

But well ain't it true.. that when thy are drunk [as you pointed out] will they understand they are looking at a God? And not to make any remarks.. what if you don't pee around your God?! [get the point?]

And what if they find some other wall? If people don't learn... I don't think we have a solution here... its people who bring about the change and not laws ..*sigh!

Anonymous said...

There can hardly be a wall in the world that hasn't been peed on, from the Great Wall of China to the old Berlin Wall in Germany!

Rambler said...

I had seen this on the blore walls, sadly they misused this, going and urinating on another religion's symbol...

Jaya said...

I agree with Guruprasad, they will find a different wall. Maybe they should put a bottle in these wall which would fill the bottles of the liquor shops.....

BTW: I really liked the quote that started the post.

Prats said...

@guruprasad. Yes, this will only stop them to a certain extent...and in this case itself,till the end of the wall....after that its theirs to enjoy.

But the sad part is...not every wall can be treated like this and like you said it should come from within each one and not hold others responsible

Prats said...

@veens. Thats the sad part. but the irony was how they brought in religious symbols to tackle their problem. And yes, its the people who should start making the change

@keith lol Thats so true. But it hurts to see our very own country being defaced like this. And when the higher ups make trip to distant lands and compare our country to theirs..

Prats said...

@rambler. Its pithyful isn't it? It eventually boils down to getting your job done, even if it means your own walls...

@joy....heheh bottled ...God!!! but do you think it'll end the problem?

That quote felt so apt I dont know why?

Anonymous said...

Ya you r right Prats.. they are supposed to convey -"All religions are same and we r one" and they showcase "All you idiots who think you are not divided yet.. here we are with a new plan! pee on another religion poster competition.. Lets start a communal warfare with this one AT LEAST "

*its stinky business!
*its yuck!

Preethi said...

hope they will.. its so irksome.. but like Keith says there probably isn't a wall that hasn't been peed on.. at least in India!!

Preethi said...

tag is done by the way.. come read

Unknown said...

Oh yes, pasting the pics of all the gods quite fascinated me the first time. Thought perhaps we were taking religion a bit too seriously, until I noticed the real reason.

And well, it happens only in India :D

aMus said...

Iloved the quote which started this post...

and never realised where you were heading into...
this is an innovative methiod to deal with a nuisance but the sad part is they will always find another wall, another back lane ....sigh...

i've seen even owners sitting in those 'luxury' cars opening the door and spitting in the road...individual responsibility is the key thing here and that's sorely lacking...

Prats said...

@veens, I sincerely hope it wont lead to that.

@preethi It is and it irritates more, cos many of the culprits are well educated lot

@j mmmm...yes it can only happen here. I was quite amused at first...but then when you think about it...it can be analysed in so many ways....but hopefully it'll solve the underlying issue

@TA. Maybe it should start from one's very own homes....the upbringing and awareness....but its gonna take a while

Sairekha said...

You know what stinks more than pee on walls? People's attitudes!

I used to think it was only the drunk and the uneducated until.. picture this - a huge sedan parked in the aisle of a busy road. Door opens, very stylishly dressed 10 year old BOY steps out, encouraged by his expensive looking folks goes on to PEE in the road!!! If it were a little girl, won't the parents stop by the first restaurant to relieve the child??

Sorry GP, Tys n other guys here, I'm sure this does not apply to you. But it boils my blood on how you put a penis on someone and they think its their license to rule the world - be their assumed right to spray the roads with their waste, or simply rape a woman! Grrrr...
And recently a new species of penile delinquents have developed issues in stubbing their cigarette butts... they just toss it on to the roads still lit, after they're through... in a way its good, if there is a fire, more of them might just die!!! (At the cost of innocent lives!:( Sigh!):(

If we were a muslim country, we could have extreme laws for people like this. But we are liberal, benign, callous and will surely risk our Gods peed on. :(

Prats said...

@ziah Brilliantly said...its the attitude ...and somehow always related to the upbringing....I feel, when kids are young if teach them right, they'll grow up to use it well.
And now India has been making progress...there are toilets provided, public ones, in gas stations ( I have used them and they are good....no complaints) , restaurants, highways, and resorts. Stop, pull over, and use them....
and like you said, if girls can be made to wait...why can't the boys too....are they any different????

Prats said...

and saying this...I wonder if these same wrong doers, will ever stop and do the this on the roadside walls in any other country...They keep harping about other country cleanliness....and crib about ours...but they are the ones who deface the roadside....aren't they?

Guruprasad said...

prats, i wrote about this earlier a couple of times, here - http://guruprasad.blogspot.com/2006/11/im-amazed-at-investors.html

and here - http://guruprasad.blogspot.com/2006/10/what-is-it-about-us-indians-and-road.html

and here - http://guruprasad.blogspot.com/2006/10/whats-wrong-with-our-temples.html

not trying to blow my own trumpet, but i think we are on the same page here :)

aMus said...

Atta girl, Ziah..well said!!!

and prats so true...you will be amazed at how well the indians behave here in Singapore...they have even learnt to respect teh queue...

Keshi said...

Religious intolerance is something that bothers me alot. I cant u'stand why ppl fail to see the uniqueness of each and everyone else's beliefs and just embrace the common lesson all religions teach..and that is LOVE.


Keshi.

Sumana said...

Very well written prats. Reading this i cannot comment anymore. Tongue tied.

Tys on Ice said...

i must admit that theres a certain sense of freedom ,when one pees outdoor..but iam personally not much into peeing on someone's property...but a tree is a fair game...

there are urinals here that hve a fly printed inside. This ensures that the guy will aim properly. Somehow men always try to drown the fly...this must say something about us..hmmm

Prats said...

@guruprasad Those were well written posts. And yes, seems like we're on same grounds there :)

@TA so true....I guess they prefer not being fined and punished there...but somehow lose their sensibilities out here

@keshi Well said...lvoe needs to go across these barriers...but if the higher ups are using religion to bring discipline in the people it speaks volumes on the callousness on the wrong doers.

Prats said...

@sumana Thanks.

@tys.Freedom is alright as long as its done in your own backyard...

And men really need to be told time and again to focus...on the task at hand I suppose.... :)

Guruprasad said...

prats, you actually read those posts? i am honored!

talking about peeing & men in particular, one usually finds a lot of interesting stuff written on the walls in the men's loos. (i will write a post on that!)

just wanted to share something i remember from college days when there was a lot of noise during the mandal commission issue.

in the men's loo we had a line drawn at eye level and a statement nxet to it saying - 'if you can pee above this line, join the fire-brigade' and then there was another line drawn about a foot below that which said - 'this is for sc/st!'.

i know this sounds extremely rude and politically nicorrect today, but it beautifully reflected the angst felt among the student commnuity in those days!

Prats said...

@guruprasad. Yes, I did...

And regarding the graphiti in the men's loos....wonder if it'll be any different than the ones on public walls.....yep, maybe you should do a post on it...

Vinesh said...

i don't think the gods will stop them. maybe the religious ones. more chance for communal riots since we don't have enough already.

Prats said...

@vinesh. The first time I saw that , these were the thoughts that crossed my mind too.....as if we needed any more reasons... *sigh*