Friday, March 19, 2010

Them Poo-luters

Fresh day, cool breeze and early morning joggers smiled past as the leaves scattered around the pathway crackled in mischievous glee. My not-so-friendly neighbour was wearing a stinking expression and carrying a miniature plastic spade wrapped in black polythene in one hand and holding the leech to his Faginesque mutt in the other.

The freshly painted writing on the wall said it all. I smiled too. ‘Things’ are finally ‘falling in the right place’. No wonder, the row of genda phools near the community park gate painted a Van Gogh-ish look – just the yellow you wanted them to be.

These little pleasures of life, aah...I make myself a hot cup of garden fresh Assam tea to go with my morning newspaper. Sip tea, scan headlines...STOP. Page 1...anchor headline read: “Every day, 1.1 bn people poo without a loo”. 

A WHO-UNICEF report said “globally, 1.1 billion people still have no access to toilets, with India alone contributing 638 million to the figure.” This is one No. 1 spot India would love to flush away pronto. But are the folks sitting (or whatever) in the right place doing the needful.

Lo(o) and behold! Just when I thought things were finally falling in place.      

5 comments:

Lynn said...

That wall painting is priceless. I like the dog with his tongue sticking out. :)

That UNICEF report is certainly shocking and troubling though and makes me realize again how fortunate I am.

Shyamanga said...

Come to think of it, emerging economies like India and China, apart from other nations like Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sudan, Brazil and Niger, are on top of the list.

Guess we need to get rid of the muck ourself instead of waiting for someone in a three-piece to do the job.

Yes, the Red Dog is cute...lol

Anil P said...

Who said It's a dog's life? and who said We own them? :-)

The irony will be if a dog decides to mark his territory on the freshly painted warning!

Shyamanga said...

Spot on, Anil.

Someone also said: "Properly trained, a man can be dog's best friend."

togoh said...

really cool wallpainting! ;D

interesting report..