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I am a common (Indian) man.
I live in a neighborhood where there is no drainage. People constructed houses but did not leave any space for draining channels; instead they encroached part of the road as well. As a result the road is very congested.
The garbage from my house is collected by a woman who brings a cart. I recently realized that the garbage is dumped in a canal which was once meant for irrigating the fields. As a result it often gets choked by polythene bags. Most of my neighbors discuss, we don’t have civic sense when we visit each other. Then we turn a blind eye to the problem.
When I was a kid, I had learnt about the civic amenities in ancient India especially the roads, the drainage system and the houses. But thousands of years later, we still struggle, basking in past glory!
I own a car and a bike – not because I was too fond of these, but because a public transport never existed in my town. People have more vehicles per capita than I have. That doesn’t help because finally those vehicles have to be driven on the same dilapidated roads.
I hear about how toddlers fall in the drill holes that are abandoned after use. I stick to television whenever such a tragedy strikes. TV and other gadgets require electricity. Like most households I need my own alternative to the electricity supply. Most have invertors, some even have generators. I have both for my clinic, but neither for my home.
Most of us have our own water storage system that is meant to store water in surplus to avert a crisis; once through we don’t mind wasting water the most useful commodity on earth. Since we live in a rented house, where an underground tank was not constructed, we were the only one to face the problem when silt clogged the incoming channels after incessant rain. We did a little bit of “water harvesting” by keeping small pots under the front porch.
The water that I get is not fit for drinking or cooking. Therefore I have installed an aqua-guard purifying system in my house. But it gets clogged very frequently. My kids need boiled water to ward off gastrointestinal upsets. I have seen the municipal water purifying plant- lesser said the better. When I raised that issue with authorities few years ago, everyone mocked as apparently I “could not afford” even an aqua guard for my family. Mine turned out to be the loan voice.
The vegetables and fruits I get are far from the best: not only do they contain pesticides through contaminated water, but worse. I see bright green peas in the market. You soak them and the colour goes off. I got adulterated stuff recently during a festive season.
On TV I see, how one can make a fortune by adulterating harmful chemicals to milk. I wish I had space to cultivate my own crops and owned my own cattles. But farming space is dwindling not because of increased demand for land for housing, but due to “investment” in property as there are no land reforms or land management policy.
I am a doctor, but realize that availing the best medical care is elusive in India for most even as India pushes itself as a destination for “health tourism”.
My kids go to a decent school, but most of the formal and informal education in true sense is looked after by us – the parents.
Recently we had a theft in our house. We had to collect the facts about the suspects. Even when we handed over a fifty page dossier to the police, they wanted us to hire a vehicle to be used in a raid. We complied, the suspects were nabbed. Our stolen articles were retrieved according to the press reports, but in reality only “restolen” by the police from the culprit’s house.
I pay taxes. But unlike many, I do not have a parallel “invisible” economy. I wonder why should I, if everything has to be arranged on our own. Over the years, I have developed several abilities that are taken for granted in other countries. If I have to fetch my own water, dump my garbage safely, rear my own cows to ensure qulaity milk supply, cultivate my crop, generate electricity when there is electric failure, be my own policeman, tell me what should I do?
Should I stop paying my taxes?
When I am the one to fix most of my problems, tell me why shouldn’t my house qualify to be the smallest (and youngest) republic of the world?
Why not?
Any one interested in being a citizen? Apply with a detailed account of the skills you posses to survive.
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I am a common (Indian) man.
I live in a neighborhood where there is no drainage. People constructed houses but did not leave any space for draining channels; instead they encroached part of the road as well. As a result the road is very congested.
The garbage from my house is collected by a woman who brings a cart. I recently realized that the garbage is dumped in a canal which was once meant for irrigating the fields. As a result it often gets choked by polythene bags. Most of my neighbors discuss, we don’t have civic sense when we visit each other. Then we turn a blind eye to the problem.
When I was a kid, I had learnt about the civic amenities in ancient India especially the roads, the drainage system and the houses. But thousands of years later, we still struggle, basking in past glory!
I own a car and a bike – not because I was too fond of these, but because a public transport never existed in my town. People have more vehicles per capita than I have. That doesn’t help because finally those vehicles have to be driven on the same dilapidated roads.
I hear about how toddlers fall in the drill holes that are abandoned after use. I stick to television whenever such a tragedy strikes. TV and other gadgets require electricity. Like most households I need my own alternative to the electricity supply. Most have invertors, some even have generators. I have both for my clinic, but neither for my home.
Most of us have our own water storage system that is meant to store water in surplus to avert a crisis; once through we don’t mind wasting water the most useful commodity on earth. Since we live in a rented house, where an underground tank was not constructed, we were the only one to face the problem when silt clogged the incoming channels after incessant rain. We did a little bit of “water harvesting” by keeping small pots under the front porch.
The water that I get is not fit for drinking or cooking. Therefore I have installed an aqua-guard purifying system in my house. But it gets clogged very frequently. My kids need boiled water to ward off gastrointestinal upsets. I have seen the municipal water purifying plant- lesser said the better. When I raised that issue with authorities few years ago, everyone mocked as apparently I “could not afford” even an aqua guard for my family. Mine turned out to be the loan voice.
The vegetables and fruits I get are far from the best: not only do they contain pesticides through contaminated water, but worse. I see bright green peas in the market. You soak them and the colour goes off. I got adulterated stuff recently during a festive season.
On TV I see, how one can make a fortune by adulterating harmful chemicals to milk. I wish I had space to cultivate my own crops and owned my own cattles. But farming space is dwindling not because of increased demand for land for housing, but due to “investment” in property as there are no land reforms or land management policy.
I am a doctor, but realize that availing the best medical care is elusive in India for most even as India pushes itself as a destination for “health tourism”.
My kids go to a decent school, but most of the formal and informal education in true sense is looked after by us – the parents.
Recently we had a theft in our house. We had to collect the facts about the suspects. Even when we handed over a fifty page dossier to the police, they wanted us to hire a vehicle to be used in a raid. We complied, the suspects were nabbed. Our stolen articles were retrieved according to the press reports, but in reality only “restolen” by the police from the culprit’s house.
I pay taxes. But unlike many, I do not have a parallel “invisible” economy. I wonder why should I, if everything has to be arranged on our own. Over the years, I have developed several abilities that are taken for granted in other countries. If I have to fetch my own water, dump my garbage safely, rear my own cows to ensure qulaity milk supply, cultivate my crop, generate electricity when there is electric failure, be my own policeman, tell me what should I do?
Should I stop paying my taxes?
When I am the one to fix most of my problems, tell me why shouldn’t my house qualify to be the smallest (and youngest) republic of the world?
Why not?
Any one interested in being a citizen? Apply with a detailed account of the skills you posses to survive.
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hail the youngest republic, the micro economy, the micro social system. ekla chalo re MJ. thats what people like us have to do!!
ReplyDeleteThe idea of independance seems to be catching on....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/news/2011/09/110903_italy_independence_pa.shtml