Friday 12 December 2014

On the road to A Swachh India



The words hygiene and sanitation take me back to my childhood days when my grandmother used to enter the kitchen only after taking a bath,wearing a white cotton saree specially meant for this purpose. The kitchen was out of bounds for anyone wearing shoes or chappals.My grand mom used to draw a line with flour around her sitting place and her mud baked oven (chulha ).No one was allowed to enter this space.I was the privileged one sitting opposite to her at a respectable distance from the marked line.I remember helping her by handing to her the various condiments ,the cut vegetables etc which were kept on a rack behind me. The only condition was that I had to first wash my hands and feet before helping her.This was a ritual that I simply loved and at the same time inculcated in me the habit of washing my hands before handling anything in the kitchen.The cooking done she would douse out the burning coals and the residue of coal ashes was collected for the cleaning of utensils as it was considered to be pure and a good cleaner.This was a daily routine followed not only in our house but numerous other households as well.
Every day she would broom the courtyard clean as she was not satisfied
with the work of the servants. She would personally supervise the washing of all the open spaces and the washrooms so that there were no flies or dust remaining She was a great teacher who instilled in us the values of hygiene and sanitation.
There is no doubt that hygiene and sanitation play a great role in our lives ensuring a healthier life and cleanliness of our homes and surroundings keeps us away from infections and diseases. We usually take care of our homes but our surroundings are sorely neglected.Time has come to change our attitudes and habits.
India is one of the oldest civilizations of the world and has a charm and charisma that has always attracted people from all over the world and from different walks of life,like historians, teachers ,philosophers and adventurers. They came here to study our scriptures and visit our historical sites.Things have not changed even today more and more tourists
come to India attracted by its age old charm.
Although India has progressed in many fields but the only eyesore is our lack of cleanliness and sanitation facilities in the slum areas as well as the villages.
This problem has been on the rise with the ever increasing population. Individual efforts as well the civic authorities must  take the initiative of not only spreading awareness but also take appropriate measures to keep the city clean A healthy environment means a healthy individual The school is a good starting place to teach the children the advantages of hygiene and sanitation.
There are many organizations who are helping in spreading this awareness as well as bringing into the market products which help us to maintain good standards of hygiene and sanitation ,Dettol being one of them helping in giving us Indians better hygiene and sanitation options.
If we are aware of the benefits of good hygiene and sanitation then there is nothing that can stop us from being a part of this initiative. Then  we need not hang our heads in shame and we can embark on a journey to make our country ,Swachh India

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