Last 3 months myself and my husband had been travelling every weekend by train, and at the starting we found out that buying a ticket at last moment for general compartment is a pain, just because lot of people kept breaking the queue to get their ticket directly at the window, or asking other person to buy a ticket for them or paying Rs. 10 to policeman!!!!!!!! to buy a ticket for them, and the thing which disturbed me most was nobody in the queue was bothered by the fact that all such things were causing delay for them to get a ticket. So we decided to get a ticket everytime by standing in the queue rather than reserving and started doing one thing. Of us, one used to stand in a queue or ask the person in front and back to retain our no. in the queue and then go and stand near the ticket window, dont let anybody bypass the queue and get the ticket in between. initially people laughed at us. Then some started joining us from preventing people to get the ticket in between. Then some people started admiring us for making it easy for them. finally i saw 1-2 people doing same thing until their no. came.
offcourrse we cant do social service by standing there all day, only thing we did was whatever time we had to stand in the queue, we made sure no injustice can be done to us by the bypassers, and it showed others the benefit of shouting at the bypassers to get ur ticket in time.
Morale of the story: you cant change others thinking but can set an example for others by showing them the benefits or at least making them aware of it.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Plastic bags
What do you do with plastic bags? I normally store them for future use. But what about the bags which are not clean from inside?
Normally we throw them away. Next time you have such unclean plastic bag, dont throw it away, use it as dustbin lining. Doing so will reduce at least one plastic bag in the waste.
I know we can not stop completely using plastic bags/polythenes practically. But try to minimize their use by taking your own bag for shopping, especially while buying vegetable, Fruits. Also reuse them as much as possible before throwing them away.
One more suggestion - the unclean bags can also be used to throw away food waste which needs to be sealed in plastic before throwing away e.g. leftovers or spoilt food items.
The packets of chips, groceries and bags of packeted food in it, milk plastic bags can also be reused this way.
I hope it will reduce the plastic waste everyday by some mean.
Also share if you have some more ideas.
Normally we throw them away. Next time you have such unclean plastic bag, dont throw it away, use it as dustbin lining. Doing so will reduce at least one plastic bag in the waste.
I know we can not stop completely using plastic bags/polythenes practically. But try to minimize their use by taking your own bag for shopping, especially while buying vegetable, Fruits. Also reuse them as much as possible before throwing them away.
One more suggestion - the unclean bags can also be used to throw away food waste which needs to be sealed in plastic before throwing away e.g. leftovers or spoilt food items.
The packets of chips, groceries and bags of packeted food in it, milk plastic bags can also be reused this way.
I hope it will reduce the plastic waste everyday by some mean.
Also share if you have some more ideas.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Being an Indian inside India
Many people who have been abroad appreciate many things there, and complain about many things in India. Some of them prefer to go back and settle outside India just to avoid all the hassles here. I dont blame them or complain about them for being outside India.
But one thing I noticed is we behave differently outside India and inside India.
Outside we follow the rules, we try to make good impression; the reason might be that our country is judged by our behaviour or something else.
But same person when comes back to India, changes behaviour.
A person who pays all the taxes properly, does not break any traffic rule, be time punctual, follow all the rules and regulations, cares for other people, gives way to others first outside India; tries every way to save tax, becomes a F1 racer caring only to top the traffic race by breaking all possible traffic rules, reaches on IST ('Indian standard time'), cares least for and in fact curses and blames others for everything in India.
Why so?
Its the same person, having split personality. Can we not try and behave same way here as well?
True, our country is judged by our behaviour outside India, but that does not mean we are free to do anything when we are in India.
But one thing I noticed is we behave differently outside India and inside India.
Outside we follow the rules, we try to make good impression; the reason might be that our country is judged by our behaviour or something else.
But same person when comes back to India, changes behaviour.
A person who pays all the taxes properly, does not break any traffic rule, be time punctual, follow all the rules and regulations, cares for other people, gives way to others first outside India; tries every way to save tax, becomes a F1 racer caring only to top the traffic race by breaking all possible traffic rules, reaches on IST ('Indian standard time'), cares least for and in fact curses and blames others for everything in India.
Why so?
Its the same person, having split personality. Can we not try and behave same way here as well?
True, our country is judged by our behaviour outside India, but that does not mean we are free to do anything when we are in India.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Mess free
Last week I was travelling from Mumbai to Pune by bus. The bus had a break at food mall. I was roaming around the bus as didnt feel hungry at all. There was another family from the same bus as mine standing nearby. Husband, wife and their 4 years old daughter. Well educated, well dressed family. The man got few eatables in a paper bag. They had all of its contents and the man threw the paper bag there itself in the parking area. I was shocked as the dustbin was really 7-8 steps and very much visible from where they were standing, still they didnt bother throwing it in dustbin. Does well-educated and well-dressed mean well cultured? I was left with a question. Apart from making the place dirty, the man had given his small daughter a lesson to remember all her life - 'Not to bother the cleanliness of public places'
Don’t throw waste anywhere except for the dustbins. Easier said than done. Its easy to follow when we are at home, because we want our home clean and neat; but otherwise we conveniently forget the same basic thing at public places. It troubles us to take 4 more steps to go to public dustbin, or to carry the waste with us until we find a dustbin/reach home.
I will not request to spare any of your time, energy or money to clean the places. Cleaning is of no use as everytime we clean, new waste is added to the place. Instead we can try to avoid adding to the mess from our side.
Can we carry a paper bag or some carry bag everytime we are out and put all the waste in it and dispose it off once at the end when we are done with the bag to the dustbin at public place or the bin at our home. Does it not atleast lessen the mess by 0.01%?
Can we encourage people around us to do the same or ask them to put their part of waste in our waste bags.
Does it take much of our time, energy, money?
Try doing it once and you will feel proud of yourself for at least avoiding more mess/waste to cause a shame to our nation.
Don’t throw waste anywhere except for the dustbins. Easier said than done. Its easy to follow when we are at home, because we want our home clean and neat; but otherwise we conveniently forget the same basic thing at public places. It troubles us to take 4 more steps to go to public dustbin, or to carry the waste with us until we find a dustbin/reach home.
I will not request to spare any of your time, energy or money to clean the places. Cleaning is of no use as everytime we clean, new waste is added to the place. Instead we can try to avoid adding to the mess from our side.
Can we carry a paper bag or some carry bag everytime we are out and put all the waste in it and dispose it off once at the end when we are done with the bag to the dustbin at public place or the bin at our home. Does it not atleast lessen the mess by 0.01%?
Can we encourage people around us to do the same or ask them to put their part of waste in our waste bags.
Does it take much of our time, energy, money?
Try doing it once and you will feel proud of yourself for at least avoiding more mess/waste to cause a shame to our nation.
Introduction to purpose
1) Today there are good workers, employees, leaders, entrepreneurs, managers but there is scarcity of good human beings.
2) Only good humans can better the current situation in India.
3) We sit at home and keep blaming everything, very few of us dare to do their bit to improve situations.
4) We are used to ‘Its ok’/’Chalta hai’ - passive attitude.
5) We have taken for granted that everything that is wrong or not proper has been like that forever and will be like that forever, no single person can change it.
But
1) If every individual decides to follow small good habits him/herself then its done. Nobody needs to tell others to follow it.
2) It starts from self.
3) Do a bit of your responsibility and take extra effort to make others realize their part of it.
I will not talk about rocket science, simple and small things - baby steps which are easy and still useful.
We can do it together, just a bit of understanding, realization, co-operation and support, and its done.
2) Only good humans can better the current situation in India.
3) We sit at home and keep blaming everything, very few of us dare to do their bit to improve situations.
4) We are used to ‘Its ok’/’Chalta hai’ - passive attitude.
5) We have taken for granted that everything that is wrong or not proper has been like that forever and will be like that forever, no single person can change it.
But
1) If every individual decides to follow small good habits him/herself then its done. Nobody needs to tell others to follow it.
2) It starts from self.
3) Do a bit of your responsibility and take extra effort to make others realize their part of it.
I will not talk about rocket science, simple and small things - baby steps which are easy and still useful.
We can do it together, just a bit of understanding, realization, co-operation and support, and its done.
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