The PM’s recent cleanliness drive has provoked different responses. Some people are happy that finally there is an official recognition of a problem and an official response to set things right but on the other hand there are others, particularly the Modi detractors who feel that Modi should concentrate on more important things like the economy and defense of the nation rather than cleaning things up.

Sadly, this is just the problem – no one wants to accept that changes take time and that a journey of a hundred miles begins with a single step. Whether we like it or not, the first image that comes to mind when one says India – is filth. The stench that assails one’s nostrils the minute one lands at Mumbai airport, or gets off a train in this Urbs Prima in Indis is simply Eau de Toilet. And this is the case in most Indian cities where despite the public toilets which are regularly cleaned and the heavy use of  masking perfumes, the smell always lingers.

A study in India Today revealed  that most Indians, especially in rural areas, don’t want to use toilets public or otherwise and prefer defecation al fresco. This is not entirely true : people in our cities too happily give a Bum Salute to passing commuters in Mumbai’s suburban trains. And yesterday evening while walking down Mumbai’s Marine Drive, I was horrified to find two young children openly squatting on the pavement and peeing to their mothers’ encouraging words. While I had a strong urge to stop the children and chastise their mothers, Hubby Dear held me back saying that they were only little children who didn’t know any better. But what about their mothers? Didn’t they know any better? And for the record there are at least four public loos on Marine Drive. They may well be filthy since I haven’t visited any, but at least they are there!

Why do we as a people lack any sense of public cleanliness? And when our Prime Minister urges us to change and keep our surroundings clean, shouldn’t we support or should we mock him as a populist?

This is my post for Write Tribe