Living the European Dreams but still being an Indian

By: Reetasri Bhattacharjee

One can’t deny that the European countries are just awesome. Look at the spectacular, picturesque landscapes, waterscapes and even the people. Everything looks picture perfect, out of fairy tales, something that just does not belong to this world (atleast not the “world” we live in). As Indians we are one dirty community, spitting on the roads is just normal, finding no dustbins throwing things on the roads is just a way of life and lets not even mention the habits of the our men urinating on the streets.

As human beings we are good, successful. We know how to make a life for ourselves. Education has helped us further in improving ourselves. (Let me just clarify, here by “we” I primarily mean the middle class and the upper middle class. I am not even getting into the major section of the population who are poor and without education). But when it comes to social awareness or even responsibility we prefer ignoring and turning a deaf ear towards them. If we hadn’t would not we make an attempt to keep our surroundings clean, be hygienic in the way we behave on the roads?

India is a very beautiful country. Very few countries have the diversity that we Indians often boast of. We have the mountains, we have the hills, we have the desert and we also have the seas and oceans. Our lands are filled with jewels in the form of minerals, soil quality and yet we don’t want to take care of it. Is it that we are not proud of what we have and always long for what others have? It is true that the grass is always greener on the other side but our grass isn’t bad either!! If we all start taking a stand and make our small efforts we too can have a clean and beautiful country. It is time to stop blaming the government (yes, they are to be blamed) and move on and see how things can be changed if we try.

As I am writing this, a thought just came to my mind. While visiting the many malls in the city one thing that comes out is that they are very clean. They just don’t fit into the otherwise dirty surroundings. Sweepers are always on the toes cleaning and making the area spic and span. We on our parts are also conscious not to litter the area and show how “classy” we are. But as soon as we step outside our etiquette goes down the drain and we begin our littering spree. Are the malls the real India or are our streets real India? It is time we shed our hypocrisy and behave in a similar manner whether it is inside a mall or on the streets.

As an Indian I hope the day comes when seeing India on television I can boast of clean roads, sparkling buildings, clear skies. Let them not fade away into a dream never to come true.

This blog has been contributed by Reetasri Bhattacharjee a dear friend of mine. She is a regular blogger on blogspot and maintains the blog My Passing Moments