(Around 12 year ago when I was a
school kid)
I aimed at a stone on the road
and spat the chewing gum from my mouth straight onto it. Like most of those
aims, my chewing gum landed short of my imagined destination. I looked down
with disappointment and ‘raaaap’ went a strike on my head.
Someone hit me!
Fierce fully I turned back to face my older
sister. She had a very irritated look on
her face and she looked straight into my eyes angrily. Before I could recover
from all those scary looks, she screamed... “Sai... what did you just do?
I very promptly confessed that I spit
out a gum and that I was trying to aim it at something. She closed her eyes for
a moment as if to think something and said, “Didn’t you know that you should
always wrap a gum in a piece of paper before throwing it?” and looked at me
questioningly.
“Ummmm no... But why?” went my
answer straight.
“Because a gum thrown just like
that can get stuck to someone’s foot wear, body or even worse… imagine it on
your hair?? I’m sure you don’t want that to happen. Next time you throw a gum;
you will wrap it in a piece of paper and throw it. Alright?”
My sister who was just another
girl around me looked a little too cool to me that moment. Whatever she spoke
made sense. And because it came from an “elder sister” her words automatically
made a little more meaning. Without another word I nodded to her and decided to
take the word seriously. That was the last time I ever spat a chewing gum
without wrapping it.
One good practice and one halo on
my head. It made me feel good.
(Around 9 years ago when I was a high
school kid)
After attending a wedding, the
whole family was driving back home. I finished the last sip of water in my
disposable glass and left the glass flying outside the window. Oh! that ‘raaaap’ again and no marks for guessing
who gave it.
I turned around to look at her
with a puppy face. She was as angry and irritated with me. Being a high school
kid, I was not needed to be told about the harms “plastic”/ “polythene” cause
to us and to the environment and how important it is for us to keep our
surroundings clean. This time I was not explained or told. That look made me
understand. I raised my hand apologetically and promised her not to repeat that
again. That was the last time I threw waste anywhere other than a dustbin.
Two good practices and two halo on
my head.
But with the second practice I
had to counter quite a few consequences. I picked up fights with relatives and
friends for throwing waste on roads during trips. I had arguments. I had a
couple of nicknames too. One of which was “dustbin”. This was because I had a
separate compartment in my bag only for my friends and other members to put
waste. They fondly called me that. We had a laugh over it. But eventually it
all made sense to everyone. The same friends and relatives make it a point to
carry an extra bag to drop waste in, during trips or atleast handover things to
me when they don’t find a dustbin around. The change in them is what gives me
more joy!
So bottom line… we all know the
importance of keeping our surroundings clean and most importantly the harms of
throwing polythene outside. A result of
which not only makes the surroundings dirty but pose a remarkable threat to our
environment. If you are still one of them who don’t dispose waste properly, now
is the time to change and add a halo! J
