JOIN USIt must have been the biggest flush-out in human history used up for a single-time toilet usage: 32 million litres of water drained out of the Oregon Lake in the USA this June, after closed-circuit cameras caught a young man peeing into the reservoir.
Indians who face this prospect (or have themselves taken the leak, oops lead) whether in swimming pools, ponds or rivers, are sure to shrug this off as over-reaction, but here is what the Oregon water bureau in-charge official apparently said: “Nobody wants to drink pee, and I don’t want to deal with the 100 people who would be unhappy that I’m serving them pee in their water.”
If this was the criteria India were to ever adopt, we would be the non-stop drain-out capital of the world. But no portion of land, air or contaminated water of our country has ever been evacuated on this count. Rest assured, ‘public pissers’ can continue to let go, whenever, wherever. It’s after all their unchallenged right to pee’dom.
Curious to know what tops the list of the worst offence when it comes to civic sense (rather the lack of it), I decided to do my own little survey on Facebook and a few other e-groups. The agenda: To find out just how uncivic are we. The question I asked: What do people around you do that irritates you the most?
Responses poured in; here then are the top ten turn-offs of civic behaviour, in no particular order:
1.Using weird blaring ringtones and speaking loudly over mobile phones in public places.
2.Unnecessary honking; speeding at the signal even when you know the traffic light is just about to turn red.
3.Not making way for ambulances to pass; and when the ambies do get the right of way, motorists zooming alongside to jump the signal.
4.Watching pets litter in front of somebody else’s house; continuing to watch coolly even when their pets leap out at hapless walkers.
5. Youngsters racing on busy roads putting their life as well as others’ at risk.
6. Men staring at a woman walking on the street till she moves out of sight. Even decently dressed women aren’t spared.
7.Putting up pandals for private functions on the road, blocking it for pedestrians and motorists.
8. Plucking leaves and flowers ‘just like that’ while walking beside a plant. “Very frustrating!”
9. Piling up your house-construction material like you own the whole road.
10. “Insane violence” and damage to property when a popular personality passes away.
Mediaperson Vijaysimha Vyakarnam sent me a list that defied bullet-points, which is why I present his angst, as it is: “Refusing to stand in the queue, jarring car-reverse alarms, peeing, spitting, littering, road hogs not making way for faster vehicles, motorists riding on pavements, pedestrians jaywalking on the road, vehicles parked on footpaths, blocking the entrance to a building or in front of other people’s gates, motorists from cross roads neither passing nor letting the traffic pass... oh, there are a 100 more things that get on my nerves!”
The “preoccupation with public peeing” was on every pet peeve list, which is why I decided to keep it out of the top-ten list, singling it out for special attention. Vijendra Rao, freelance journalist from Mysore, even had global data to back him up.
“Quite a few friends who have toured Africa extensively tell me that men piddling in public is an essentially Indian practice. I don’t know how it originated, for the country has had its own rich hygiene tradition.”
Vijendra should know. Three years ago, he presented a set of proposals to the Mysore City Corporation to launch a drive to discourage men from easing themselves in public. The first person to object to the idea said, “Senior citizens and diabetics should be
exempted as they cannot hold their bladder.” Perhaps senior women diabetics should now fight for the right to let go in public?
Many like Vijendra have gone beyond just feeling angry at the sight of (mostly) men with their face to the wall. But this or other aspects of civic sense have never gone beyond MTV-style candid camera jokes, or got the seriousness they deserve. The result: National embarrassment, a factor that forced the Tourism Ministry to run ad campaigns, the ones with actor Aamir Khan.
Sunitha Maviti, who has recently relocated to the US, finds the schizoid attitude of Indians amusing. “These are the people who back home act like they own the world, barge into queues. Once they are in the US, they behave like perfect souls. They have no problem waiting for their turn decently at traffic signals, shopping plazas, billing aisles or even the WCs for their loo-break!”
Writer Mitra Phukan from Guwahati finds the “spit from paan (betel nuts) all over town not just unhygienic and ugly, they give an angry look to everything. It’s so nauseous to see a person in the act of actually spitting out a long stream...” she trails off.
Certain civic sense traits are city-specific. Ankush Arora, a diehard Delhiite, is annoyed by how “dilliwalas don’t mind their business, how they always want to know what’s happening, whether its your co-passenger, a jogger in the park, colleague at work, or your neighbour next door.”
Nosey parkers or those who clear their noses with total sound effects, the great Indian civic behaviour can be a subject of intense study, of what I see as the split-personality of a nation.
Of how we gloat over our heritage of thousands of years, but have no compunction piercing ancient fragile monuments with ‘arrows through hearts’ and names of current lovers. Of how we believe in keeping our houses spotlessly clean, and shoving our garbage right outside where our door ends.
Of how we worship even inanimate objects, decorating our bikes and cars with marigold on Ayudha Pooja, and have little regard for the health and hygiene of living breathing souls next to us. Of how we hold Ganga maiyya (River Ganges) one of the most sacred in our lives, but will soap our dirty selves, bury our dead and dump our most toxic effluents into her divine waters.
Ask Jairam Ramesh, the most vocal environment minister India has had, till he was moved into his present rural development ministry. One of those officially on the rolls to save the Ganga, Jairam’s observation made to a national magazine is telling. He said, “India is a country where individual hygiene and collective squalor co-exist. We say it’s a holy river, but look at the way we treat it. In fact, we are comfortable with this squalor and add to it.” But, that’s okay; we Indians have “
different standards of hygiene than the Westerners”, don’t we? You heard that phrase during the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi last year; but, can we now shift our worry from Commonwealth to common filth?