His friends call him the most diligent CA in the neighbourhood (CA here stands for Cleanliness Agent). Sachin Karandikar, after his retirement, had taken to social service in a way unlike others. He is on this self-proposed cleanliness drive and aims at making the city (if not the world), a better, cleaner and, hence, a healthier place. So what’s new in this, you say? Well, he believes in only this, nothing more, no money, no name, just a clean environment with people with good habits around.
Sceptics always doubted his ‘selfless’ deeds; they reasoned ‘I mean who is so noble in today’s world!’ SK was not be deterred by such critics. He said, “I just want clean and healthy people, how more simpler and straightforward do you want me to be.” Still, not all were appeased. SK just didn’t care anymore; just went about his business as usual. Many people, the fast, urban, always-work-on-the-mind, on-a-hectic-schedule kind, sometimes found him irritating. Little did he know that it would be only a matter of weeks before the same people would come to him for advice in food habits, crowd manners and what not!
Cut to today – August 2009. SK is amazed to notice the transformation that people have undergone. He sees people today ‘afraid’ ,’wary’ of dirty, unhealthy environs and most importantly unclean people. It seemed only yesterday that he heard people scoffing, “common now, who has time these days to ‘wash your hands thoroughly and wipe them dry’ after every small thing”. Modern malls and hotels have their toilets installed with this ‘blower’ where you just put your wet hands in front of it, and its blows out hot fumes to dry your royal hands. Was it to save time, most certainly not – it took more time than wiping with a hanky, was it to get rid of public towel use – well why don’t people carry their own kerchiefs, or was it for just plain indulgence for the ones with a golden spoon, SK never could really come to terms with the cause for that. But now, no, he can see everyone, from the white collar execs to the average Joe, taking out their clean, neatly folded hankies out to scrub each finger separately, and then again, some even neatly folding it afterwards, and then put it away in the pocket even more carefully than one’s cellphone.
What has been the difference? Ironically, a disease, that threatens to explode into a pandemic. The words are on everyone’s lips (of course, under the mask!) today – swine flu. In the days gone by, SK witnessed many daily commuters on the always-overcrowded trains sneezing away so jubilantly without any protection whatsoever. And it doesn’t end there. The guy then gets his whole arm, from about mid-arm right to the tip of the fingers over his leaking nose to temporarily wipe it! Yuk! But day before yesterday, when in such a commute, when SK sneezed neatly into his hanky, he could have sworn that he had seen more than one appreciative nod around. He was pleasantly surprised. People were not only changing their habits for good, they were also encouraging good ones. Kids did not need second telling anymore to wash themselves after food, toilet or after evening play. Mild symptoms of cough, fever etc were promptly attended to by taking out some of the precious time to have a check-up done. Home-food was the ‘new’ in-thing. And if ever it was inevitable to have outside food, it was made sure that it is clean, healthy. And no need to mention to the omnipresent masks. They started out with the simple-just-to-do-the-job, green coloured veil, and now it’s almost a fashion statement. “Does the job all the same”, SK happily says, totally satisfied with the welcome change sweeping across people faster than the piggy flu.
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