Dignity
My door bell rang:
A fine day it was and as I woke up from my bed, a mysterious thought stuck me.This thought drew its limit beyond the line of demarcation.The thought was about the excreta of human and its implications on the society of "little runners".Have you ever wondered about this thought while using the rest rooms of the exhaustively used Railway system in India.The reader may answer in a frisk "I never use them and so I never bothered".True.With the existing system of hygiene ,the most used means of public transport is actually a question of "Dignity" for India.So as with my mind seeking the answers for this sensible question I completed my morning chores and started reading about the existing system in India.Manual Scavenging:
There is a famous proverb in Hindi "Ghar ki safai mein haath gandhe kaun kare" which means "who wants his hand to be made dirty while cleaning his own home"( a dialogue from 'Rang de Basanti')
Its an iron reality that we stick to this proverb on a large scale.Manual scavenging in India is a burning problem.History provide evidences that wet toilets existed as early as 2000 BC even during the period of Harappan civilisation.But today with a pride count of 1.21 billion population , a considerable number of people (different statistics show different data) do the work of manual scavenging.The elite class in India has evolved from the system of open bathrooms to the caravans with attached mobile toilet facility.But still the "Safai Karmachari "system is yet to be rooted out from the world's fastest growing economy as per the recent statistics.And again,my pride fellow men blame the system for the "top down approach" of the pyramidal society.Well, this question needs to be answered with conscience.And I shall deliver the answer for this question in the later part of this article.Now as we move on to the "core area",I started sensing whether my "Freedom of speech " will be questioned by the so called lateral "thinkers and movers" of the elite society.But then the truth be told.This evil of "Manual scavenging" which rolled out its carpet by 1214 in Europe reached our residing sub continent and took the form of demon.The strings attached to it for becoming a demon were the "caste code" and the "untouchability" title.( readers who read with pure conscience,please refer Article 17 of Indian Constitution).With the esteemed status of "Largest democracy "in the world, this evil is yet to be rooted out and we are nearing our platinum year celebrations within a decade.
Common Mindset:
January 1,2015...As I strode towards the beach during pre noon,I saw a family( couple and a male kid) standing behind the bus terminus.I judged the family to be reasonably rich from their attire and their two wheeler.The scenes that later happened made me turn down my face.The head of the family was meeting his calls of nature along with his male kid in the open space and the so judged rich lady photographed it with a winking smile.The inner voice of mine mocked at this act of jest and said" Ram,worry not...starting with first acts of walking,talking and singing, the act of first "mootravisarjan" ko bhi record karna hai...so the lady is just doing that..worry not..carry your jogging"...Well,the society has grown with highly educated but least civilised people.With my above stated example,do we think that the problem of hygiene can be addressed with the this "common" mindset.Let aside the burning problem of "Manual scavenging" for sometime and lets plunge ourselves into the "never sleeping" city life. Again the readers be true to their conscience.How many of us have cleaned the restrooms which we personally use?? Its either the paid maid or the lady who manages the house who do this cleaning most of the time.It is india's shame that around 46.2% of Indians defecate in open.Also it is be noted from the demographic dividend that around 63% of Indian population is below the age of 35.When the whole world suffers from the lack of labor, Indian work power is soon believed to rule the wokmanship.Charity begins at home and so does cleanliness.But this is not the practical scenario in our daily lives.A habit which is constantly practiced for a period of 21 days becomes our character says pyschology.But we aren't bending towards the practice for even this short span of time.I am not here to enlist the approaches that we are to do.We by ourselves are aware of our own misbehaviour with little cautious effect.But the impending point of implementation is the blockade to our success.With an aim of rising above the limit ,this mindset of Indians definitely need a change
The government's recent reforms such as "Mission Dignity" ,"Swacch Bharat Abhiyan" and "Bharat Nirman", the engine for the growth have just started heating.It is the duty of the citizens to keep this engine geared up and make the wheels move.Lack of awareness and sharing of prosperity are the areas to be attacked.In a day of 24 hours ,a minimum of half an hour be spent for the one spirit that unites us all "India".I thereby request the readers to give a serious thought about what I mentioned in the first paragraph of this article of leading a "dignified" life.A life where all the material earnings are reinvested to cope up with the maintenance of material possession gives us the satisfaction of mind whereas an act or deed of helping /sharing gives us a satisfaction of the heart and thus smiles along with it our spirit.The word "Dignity" paramounts different understanding at different phases of life but then the minute before our entry into the coffin matters.Think and rethink.
With my recent readings and interactions with the rural world I have understood a concept and I write this poem with a heavy heart,
"The Universe-a single entity by the supreme.
Came then the trees,the birds and the animals
Last came the homosapien with the might of all above,
Divided thus the entity in the name of flexibility.
Divided thus the supremo for his own comforts,
Divided thus the cup of heart with love,greed,creed and lust.
The cup now overflows with bubbling lust and greed.
The sacred love spares its space absorbing the heat underneath,
A day would come when the cup then breaks,
My dear sacred you soon will find your place...
Worry not now but persevere,
A day would come when they will hear....
A day would come when they will hear...."~Shri
