On most weekday evenings on my way back home from work, I choose to ditch the rickshaw and walk. There are no ulterior motives involved here, its just that I find it illogical to wait 20 minutes (the time it takes to get a rickshaw) for a 10 minute ride (the time it subsequently takes to reach home). There are a lot of benefits to walking you know, I can listen to music, improve fitness levels (despite the heavy pollution en route) and most importantly, spend some quality time with myself. Just me and my sub conscience.We do talk a lot, and on this particular day, the topic was "India".
"Whats it with us and civic sense man? People just don't get it, do they? I mean, look at this idiot..as if we need any more paan stains. Discharging his weapon right next to the guy selling vegetables on the pavement"
A few steps later...
"Hawkers on the pavement. What a concept! Conveniently located, selling vegetables garnished with local dust, chemicals and paan spit (among other things). Up yours, big bazaar. Anyways, why do you think the government constructs footpaths?" "Beats me". I forfeited. "So that they can double up as mini commercial areas. See, from the vendors to the customers and occasionally, anti-encroachment officials, everyone benefits. If only they could maintain them properly..."
Some more steps later...
"The municipality probably had the best interests of the citizens in mind when they decided to leave a few manholes open, or stones and other stuff dumped at random places on the footpaths. You see, health is a two-way thingy. In addition to the consumption of a healthy dust, chemicals and paan spit infused diet it includes exercise. Exercise that you can get by jumping across open manholes, swimming if you happen to fall into the sewer below and dodging the zillion odd objects dumped on the footpaths. My god these guys are good."
Another few steps later, I reach the lakeside promenade.
"Little wonder then that there are so many health conscious people out here today." Ouch! A fat man bumps into me and just walks away. No apologies. "Maybe he's in a hurry to buy his quota of healthy, dust, chemicals and paan spit infused vegetables." Ouch again! This time, I bump into a lady who is walking very slowly. I raise a hand in apology. No reaction from the lady, just a tired glance. "See, she must be one of the regular exercisers here at the roadside hurdle course. Must have been on her cool down lap. Or was she on her warm up lap?" "Never mind" I said.
Another few steps later, I reach an intersection that I have to cross, and avoid vehicles from four different directions.
"Now we know the secret behind India's pristine physical health, but what about mental agility? That comes from accomplishing such difficult maneuvers such as crossing a busy intersection, and avoiding being hit by vehicles coming from 4 different directions. What, you are on the zebra crossing and you feel the vehicles should respect that? Dude, its a zebra crossing, its made for zebras, not donkeys like you". (My sub conscience is surprisingly strict with me).
I am now at this place where there are a number of electronics stores one after the other. People crowd outside every one of them. Ti's the cricket season after all.
"You can't blame the people. See, all good things in India are free. When exercise is free, what makes you think we'll spend money on getting score updates". True that. I get additional health benefits that day as I snake my way between all the match gazers in order to move forward.
As I get closer to home, the sarcasm starts to melt away. This time, I start my tirade and force my sub conscience to listen. "This is so bad. Once, just once I wish that everybody sees this the way I do. We've forgotten the civics lessons from school in this mad rat race that is today's life. Just once I wish that people would stop desecrating the streets and public property, that they would be nicer, say their sorrys and thank yous, that the footpaths would be clean and the streets better, that motorists would respect pedestrians and a driving license would be a proof of competence, not ability. For once, I wish people would understand that there is a difference between being literate and being educated. God, there is so much not happening in India today. Mediocrity seems to have become the accepted quality standard everywhere. How I wish there was a magic wand to make things better. But who am I kidding? There is no such thing, there never can be. How then will things change, if they ever do. Who is going to bring about these changes? Who has the power and the will to do that?"
"You!"
I was taken aback. It was true. The answer was right there. It was me. I am the agent of change. The days of being passive are long gone. I am the one. I have to start setting things right. I have the responsibility of shaping India's destiny, and I am going to do a good job of it.
"Yourself..."
Yes, me, myself. But wait a minute, that is not my sub conscience. It generally speaks to me in a strict tone, and the voice I recognize. But this was a strange voice, and it sounded....irritated.
"Yourself, blue shirt...get out of the way. You are walking in the middle of the damn road. You wanna get run over or something?" Embarrassed, I hurriedly walked away.
And that's when I understood. I was so lost in all the thoughts that I never realized when I went from the edge of the road to its center and in one single action, managed to do all the things I was cribbing about seconds earlier.
There has been enough thinking. There have been too many calculations, analyses, simulations, projections and forecasts. Now its time we actually did something. Its time project India moved out of the drawing boards. Planning and doing are complementary activities. People who do things without planning, or people who keep on planning things without doing are equally inefficient. They say that every great journey begins but with one single step. The time to take that step for India has come.
My sub conscience was back, and with the right message this time.
