3 Thoughts

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India is the World’s Largest Garage Can



Alright, its time to share a few observations about India. The most striking feature of this great country is the natural beauty that is all around you, as long as you are outside a city. The next most obvious thing is the amount of litter that there is, no matter where you are. The citizens of this country treat it like it is a garbage can. There is so much prepackaged food, snacks etc available at ridiculously cheap prices. Cadbury,Nestle, Frito Lays etc are all doing very well in this country. The problem is, in addition to the affected diets, no matter where the resident of India is, it could be in the most polluted city in the world, Delhi, or atop a 4000 meter mountain in the middle of nowhere, if they have some trash, it will be dropped to the ground. Litter is never deposited in a garbage can, it is never picked up, it just sits on the ground. An organization called “Waste Warriors” are trying to do something about it by organizing garbage pick ups, recycling programs and education, but even their staff recognize this country needs an attitudectomy and it may take many generations before this problem can be solved. I did my part on our trek; as we were approaching our destination at the end of our day, I would start to pick up garbage and carry it down to our our camp site. I noticed our guide starting to do the same on the last day. Sarah and I will also join the waste warriors on a clean up/hike on day while we are in Dharmasala.



The Car Horn



No matter where you are in India, there is a good chance you will hear the sound of a car horn honking at least once every thirty seconds. In Delhi, it is constant, 24/7. In the countryside, because of the echo, you will still hear a distant horn blaring even if it sounded twenty kilometers away. That is because the horn is used to communicate to your fellow drivers. The message delivered could mean...”get out of the fucking way”, it could mean “I am coming around this corner so get to your side of the road”, or it could mean “I am passing you”. Actually I really think the driver honks the horn every now and then for no other reason that he has not used it in the past minute. Its a habit. My hope is that one day the Indian driver will use the brake with the same frequency that he or she uses the horn (well, its a “he” 95% of the time, you rarely see a woman driving in India).



Toilets



I bet you are surprised it took so long to get to this topic...toilets, or the lack therefor. For a country that serves you food that just seems to promote a bowel movement, there is a noteworthy lack of toilets. And when you find one, be sure you have your own toilet paper and get ready to squat because the “toilet” may be a hole in the ground. Even if it isn’t a hole in the ground, the lack of a toilet seat will induce the squatting behaviour. And after completing the job, good luck in finding a functioning tap and/or sink. Thankfully our stomachs have not turned on us up to this point on our journney.





Now I have heard that Prime Minister Modi has made it a priority to install more toilets in India...we fully endorse this plan.

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