THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY.....(My view of the Indians' regard--or lack thereof--for our beautiful earth and its inhabitants)

THE GOOD: 

At least SOMEONE who thought of this wall art project in Koregaon Park had the right idea and best of intentions. I don't know if children painted this or it was MADE to look like children painted it, but the idea is wonderful, yes?! We ALL want to do right by our beautiful planet...how could it be otherwise?

Yes, being mindful of conserving water...important worldwide, as it will soon be our most precious resource. In many parts of the globe, a shortage of clean water has already become a dire issue. 

Sad fish...polluted waterways...uncool, people! 

There is SUPPOSED to be a drastic reduction of the use of plastic here in India. Good in theory...yet still I see plastic bags and containers in use and discarded EVERYWHERE! 

Well, duh...of COURSE we use proper bins to dispose of our garbage, right?? Common sense and second nature, right?!?!... read on....

I thought about an alternate title for this post: "Homesick"!

Every now and then, I am ready to high-tail it to "home". Desperately ready. Even though I am not sure if I consider the U.S. home anymore. Especially when I get certain reports about what is going on there at present and the last thing I want to admit is that I am American.

For example: my most lovely host, Prachi, told me this morning how now it's a "thing" in America for people to throw so-called "Corona parties" in order to see who will "win" by being the first person to get the virus. I could not--WOULD not--believe it, until I was able to confirm with a friend back in California that this really was true, and not fake news to make Americans look even worse than they already do in the eyes of the rest of the world. Such levels of stupidity have to break all records heretofore in existence. I definitely wanted to disown any association with a country where the already rampant idiocy has reached such unthinkable new heights!

But here's the thing: Craziness, madness, stupidity and evil are unfortunately everywhere in the world. Inescapable. And horrifying.

Still... why should I even remotely be homesick for that crazy U.S. of A.?

It has one very major, redeeming feature: In America, there are vast expanses of untainted beauty. And MOST people seem to care about protecting and preserving this beauty and cleanliness, both in the countryside/wilderness areas AND in their cities. One does not typically see massive amounts of trash dumped everywhere and anywhere. This, friends, is a significant contrast to what I find--to my ongoing disgust and horror--EVERYWHERE in India.

Which brings us to...

THE BAD AND THE UGLY:

What COULD have--and SHOULD have--been a nice little roadside strip of greenery, was instead turned into just another excuse for a garbage dump. This sort of occurrence is, tragically, VERY typical everywhere I have seen!

Really, pedestrians, you have a problem with stepping around all manner of refuse dumped everywhere on the city sidewalks?! How very strange of you!

Here's another one: I will use GARBAGE bags, but then just dump them by the side of the road. Hey, that's handy!

A nice bench on which to repose...but...er... something seems to be missing!?!? Ah what the heck, let's leave it here for a conversation piece! 

Rubble, rubble everywhere... too much trouble to pick up or clean up, I suppose... no one can be bothered?!?!

Ahhh, yes... sidewalks, city streets, trees... isn't it great how we can just leave our trash any place we feel like?! Just so freeing....!!!

A bin, but...oops! I missed!!!

One simply runs out of words for these horrors.... 

Yeah, so what was that about those fish? Protecting and keeping waterways clean and pollution-free???? This, to me, is the most heartbreaking sight of all....just an unspeakable horror.

What particularly amazes me about all of the above is that these are scenes from the upscale parts of Pune City: As previously mentioned, MY digs--that is, Koregaon Park and Kalyani Nagar! So imagine how much WORSE it gets in the slums! On second thought, you DON'T want to imagine it... just too darned depressing. It does make one wonder if this planet is totally doomed.

Next, there are... the dogs. Let's compare:

In America, or at least amongst my friends, people care about their dogs SO much that many treat their canine children better than human ones are treated in many parts of the world! They are on leashes, and there are stiff fines for any unleashed pooch not in your own yard or a dog park.

And pooping!?!? Even worse: A SERIOUS crime you wouldn't dream of committing as a dog owner! Heck, plastic poop bags are standard equipment ANY time you step out to walk your canine companion.

By contrast, there are the dogs India:

First of all, only very wealthy people actually have PET dogs. These are generally pedigrees or designer dogs, displayed proudly when walked by owners or servants on the streets. But these cared-for pooches are the minority.

The VAST majority of canines in this country are homeless and living on the streets. They are covered with fleas, mange, ticks and open sores. Many of them are missing pieces of their ears from the myriad dog fights they get into. Most are bloated, probably from worms and other horrible diseases. Others are scrawny things, clearly starving. It is a heart-wrenching sight one witnesses everywhere...and for someone such as myself--an extreme dog lover--it borders on unbearable.

Yet another bitch who has clearly had puppies recently. So why the HECK aren't they getting fixed so they aren't constantly breeding, adding yet MORE dogs to the overpopulation of these miserable creatures!?!? How hard can it be to round them up and neuter them?  Most are totally docile and downright lethargic... be easy enough to scoop them up... So why this is clearly NOT happening is something  I just cannot figure for the life of me!!! This is clearly a serious problem EVERYWHERE I have been in India. 

Besides the horrific life of the dogs, there is the horrific HAZARD for the pedestrians because of these animals. Eyes have to be everywhere: not only watching out for the dangers of traffic, but watching out for what is underfoot as well! For, friends, dog poop is EVERYWHERE. All over the sidewalks, in the streets, everywhere. People don't seem to mind this filth any more than they mind the profusion of human garbage. But I mind...I mind terribly. It is gross! It stinks. And no matter how careful I try to be...well, you got it--I wind up stepping in a heaping mess of it on almost any walk I take out-of-doors. Disgusting beyond belief!!!!!

Yours truly DID step in the slimy mess you see here! Arrrgggghhhh! 

Finally, there is the subject of the traffic--a "bad" that not only pollutes but is always a very direct and immediate hazard to me personally.

In America, there are too many cars, no question about it. And...people drive too fast, talk on their cell phones, manifest road rage, and so forth. Not a fun deal at all. But they DO at least MOSTLY obey traffic laws, especially when it comes to refraining from running over pedestrians!

Well, as previously mentioned--repeatedly, I am afraid--there is NO such regard in India. Why do I keep harping on this point? Because I can never quite get used to it, same as I can never get used to the profusion of garbage and street dogs. But while the former two tragedies are not a direct and immediate threat to me personally--apart from the mess on the bottom of a shoe--the issue of the dangerous traffic IS.

As I set out on the walk when I was shooting the above photos, the first thing that happened--within the first five minutes-- was that I was nearly run over by two vehicles in succession: first by a bicycle and then by a motorcycle, both going the wrong way up the street and heading directly at me! There is no sidewalk in many places, so I'm forced to walk in the street. And I have to have "360 vision" for this reason, because any kind of vehicle can come at me from any direction at any time. It gets very tiresome having to always be so very vigilant!

People think of India as a "developing country". But remember, all of the above are occurring in the "Beverly hills" neighborhoods of a very affluent city overall. I'm talking about home to millionaires and billionaires. Home to yet another Trump Tower. So WHY don't these people--with the money and power to make a difference--DO something about all of the above problems? Are they too busy counting their fortunes and building their mansions to care about their own, immediate surroundings? To care about this precious earth they also happen to inhabit? It certainly seems that way to me, and this seeming disregard for these societal ills is as distressing to me as the environmental issues themselves.

Sorry, dear reader, that this post has been such a downer. But here's the thing: If you have any intention of coming to India at all, you should come with eyes wide open, braced to deal with all the "bad" and "ugly". And even though there is of course a deep spirituality and a lot of goodness here, there is this very dark side as well.
And sometimes, it just gets to be too much. And when it does? Well...those times, I just want to come "home" to the good ol' U.S. of A.