Change is here, Change is now
Thanks everyone for the responses to the last post. From your comments I sense two things:
1) We are ourselves to blame for the relaxed attitude to law and order and even basic hygiene and good manners that we face in India.
2) A better enforcement would ensure more compliance
I have only one suggestion can we get to work on it right away? Who better to enforce any law than our own conscience?
I am listing here 5 things we could do to bring about a change.These are very small things and executable on an individual level, hence not dependent on anyone else but us. That should make it easy to achieve success isn’t it?
1. Garbage goes only into garbage bins – this includes no dropping of nutshells and empty bottles out of your vehicle in an attempt to keep it clean.
2. Using Mobiles necessitates knowing mobile etiquettes and FOLLOWING them.
3. Use minimum plastic – look at an option where you can carry an eco-friendly bag with you so that you can say no to those extra plastic bags while out shopping. Check online for some very interesting bags, even Big Bazaar stocks some very economical good looking ones.
5. Promise yourself that for every foreign location you visit, you will also holiday at an Indian
one. What do we lack? From snowcapped mountains, to golden beaches, to deserts, to jungles India offers something for everyone. AND while on holiday you will behave as impeccably as you would at a foreign locale.
(Psst incase you are wondering that picture is from Andamans)
I will be glad if you could add to the list through the comments section, I promise to keep editing this post and adding all new suggestions to the post.
Also a second request possible to do a similar post on your blog as well? This isn’t a tag but why not take it up and make it into one. Write back to me and I will link all such posts to this one.
Let’s make the change happen guys!
1) We are ourselves to blame for the relaxed attitude to law and order and even basic hygiene and good manners that we face in India.
2) A better enforcement would ensure more compliance
I have only one suggestion can we get to work on it right away? Who better to enforce any law than our own conscience?
I am listing here 5 things we could do to bring about a change.These are very small things and executable on an individual level, hence not dependent on anyone else but us. That should make it easy to achieve success isn’t it?
1. Garbage goes only into garbage bins – this includes no dropping of nutshells and empty bottles out of your vehicle in an attempt to keep it clean.
2. Using Mobiles necessitates knowing mobile etiquettes and FOLLOWING them.
3. Use minimum plastic – look at an option where you can carry an eco-friendly bag with you so that you can say no to those extra plastic bags while out shopping. Check online for some very interesting bags, even Big Bazaar stocks some very economical good looking ones. 4. Refuse to be served by children at roadside dhabbas, railway stations etc.
These children need to study at this age. If we refuse to be served it may affect their jobs but it will also give them a chance to know that education is their right and a must for a better tomorrow. Don't just refuse explain why you are doing so too.
These children need to study at this age. If we refuse to be served it may affect their jobs but it will also give them a chance to know that education is their right and a must for a better tomorrow. Don't just refuse explain why you are doing so too.5. Promise yourself that for every foreign location you visit, you will also holiday at an Indian
one. What do we lack? From snowcapped mountains, to golden beaches, to deserts, to jungles India offers something for everyone. AND while on holiday you will behave as impeccably as you would at a foreign locale.(Psst incase you are wondering that picture is from Andamans)
I will be glad if you could add to the list through the comments section, I promise to keep editing this post and adding all new suggestions to the post.
Also a second request possible to do a similar post on your blog as well? This isn’t a tag but why not take it up and make it into one. Write back to me and I will link all such posts to this one.
Let’s make the change happen guys!
Edited on 14th Oct, to add comments from:
Pecos Blue says saving energy is important too and we should strive for it.
Quirky Indian suggests we:
(1) show courtesy to fellow motorists and pedestrians while driving; it'll really help getting us out of the Indian Traffic Nightmare.
(2) Car-pool as far as possible.
Edited on 15th Oct to add Nimmy's comment:
Use public trasnport as much as possible instead of having 4 cars for 3 members of a single family..Will make a great difference..
Edited on 16th October: Iya wrote about this on her blog, read it here.
Comments
Over to the five points:
1-Yes Ma'am.
2-Yes Ma'am.
3-Yes Ma'am.
4-Yes Ma'am.
5-Yes Ma'am.
what appalls me is these very ppl who throw garbage on the streets in india are extremely careful to not litter on foreign soils. wonder what's so difficult in treating ur own country well.
What Dr.kalam had said is absolutely true. We always blame others for any fault and conveniently forget ourselves.
And I agree with your list of things that can be done.
One important thing in all that is: we should be able to give first, before we expect from others, either it be 4m the govt or 4m the people.
Only the righteous have the right to criticise.And once we are in our way to be so, we come to know the difficulties and we never find a reason to criticise.
To give my list...
Well, let me follow first before I can suggest..;)
Keshi.
My suggestions - (1)show courtesy to fellow motorists and pedestrians while driving; it'll really help getting us out of the Indian Traffic Nightmare. (2) Car-pool as far as possible.
Cheers,
Quirky Indian
http://quirkyindian.wordpress.com
Rayshma, thats exactly the point, its not like we cant do it, it just that we choose not to, keep the country clean that is.
Hey Keshi...am sure we all will.
Pecos...agree, have added your comment to main post.
Quirky Indian..thanks those are important and completely doable things. Have added you to the post too. :)
thanks for joining the effort.
But as Akshaya said,denying them the tea will only bring them more harm..Leave alone education,Those people even don't have food to eat and clothes to wear..Either we take up the matter and sponsor the chils or simply take the tea,drink it,smile and move..I understand and appreciate the intention behind what you said..But the problem is,how many of us will bother to do that..We all are 'so' busy to mind soembody else's business..
Instead of denying the tea,we can drink it as ask him to save his money and get educated tomorrow using that..By promiting self dependency,maybe he can do wonders tomorrow..really sad..How will we feel if we see our own kids working like that :(
well,suggestion,will keep thinking and post it :)
Just some quick ones :
Use public trasnport as much as possible instead of having 4 cars for 3 members of a single family..Will make a grest difference..
Will look forward to your post and in the meantime will upload your suggestion.
Its almost akin to the child finally saying that 'the empereor is naked'. Am pretty tired of people claiming to have seen Heaven once they see a few foreign locales.
We dont lack in natural beauty what we lack is the will to keep it looking great. And its 'we' who are to blame for it.
Btw, I've blogrolled you.l :)
and thanks for the effort as well. Thats what matters, we may not always be able to be perfect but keeping at it is important. Believe me you are making a positive difference.
i have added my 2 bits on my blog..here is the link - http://thewhiterain.blogspot.com/2008/10/what-can-we-do-to-make-our-world-better.html
such is not the case anymore. Travelers from far and wide commute to the "phoren" lands and add dirt wherever they can without being fined. Take a walk in Manhattan or Asakusa to find more. Its the same everywhere. However, the shiny, gaudy malls in India could boast a clean surrounding at times. I guess it boils down to the fact that we're brought up the way to function by fear. Hence imposing fines could help, though partially.
I sometimes wonder if it could really be enacted, given the current infrastructure.
The "if you do this - then you'll be spanked" paradigm extends to all the walks of life. No wonder once the spanking stops, the kid might indulge in the forbidden straits.
There is nothing bad with that. The problem is that we need to realize we're no more kids. Time to teach the kids that they should keep the aura clean and reward them for their gesture - a little toffee here and there doesn't hurt :-)
A great Indian entrepreneur, once said: "We definitely belong to a great land where we believe and follow the concept of a joint family. However, it is sad that our thoughts haven't gone beyond the welfare of our families."
High time we stand up for a change - in the outer scope and the inner-self alike.
if what you say is true then i am further saddened...knowing that we do follow rules abroad was heartening, it showed hope that things could turn better here, but it seems we are going the other way making things worse there.