So there I was jogging my way to a slimmer, fitter, more metro-sexual me, when I saw a boy in his teens throwing a 'My Can' on the lawns of the sole ground that this city has to offer to its denizens. I stay in a Mumbai suburb and as such a playground is a rare sight. And one this big, whoa mummy!! And there he was merrily sipping on his 'uber-cool' Pepsi. Probably showing off to some girl. Now if he was from my era, I mean the 1800's a can of cold drink was not something that wooes a girls. But now-a-days, anything is a 'turn-on'.

Have you ever been to Mulund station? You might notice a group of 'banjarans' with their ever-drunk husbands, abusing them and trying to make a living out of selling trash at the same time. Whoever buys that stuff!! But walk a little further and you are sure to see a man in probably his mid-40s, bald, wearing a multi-coloured 'dhoti'. Oh did I mention he is a begger, wretched fellow. His clothes are bedraggled and torn. They haven't been washed since I think... ever. His teeth are yellow, or some shade darker than that.

No you haven't seen him, right? You will not. Not you, who wear a mask everyday on your face. Show the world how good you are, hiding those dark secrets of your past and present. Not you either, who are too busy to 'stand and stare' at the people whom you pushed aside on your way to the office. People you think are so worthless and have no work other than standing in your way. Neither will you see him, you, who show how preened you are. Styling your hair for your date with someone else just like you. Nor did I see him for a long time. He is non-existent. For us, he's an entity that has no use on this planet. He doesn't have a name or perhaps he himself does not remember it.

But next time you go past him, just take time and look beside him. He will probably be standing next to a big heap of garbage. He spends his day, cleaning the road, collecting trash from outside all the shops and them dumping it all in the dumpster. He isn't a government employee and is not on anyone's payroll. He does it, because... well, he does it. Altruistically cleaning waste left behind you and me alike. And he sings when he rests. Sings not so that we can "throw" him some alms but because he wants to. He does it for himself. People in the city, and the shopkeepers, whose pavement he so regularly cleans say he's crazy. Lost his nuts in some accident. I say he has his bearings in place. Its us who have lost them.

So coming back to the jogging park scene, I saw this guy throwing his cold-drink can on the ground and leave. By the time I finished my second round and returned to the 'Scene of Crime' the felon had left with his felon'i' (thats Indianised, read 'his g.f') in his arms. I started scratching my head. What to do? If I clean his mess up I was sure to be laughed at. I mean hey "isn't it the job of stewards". I looked around and noticed no one there even knew me. Why not clean the shit? Walked over to the spot to be met by more trash than I thought. What's wrong with our people? Anyway I picked up a torn out plastic bag and stuffed most trash away. Carried it to the dumpster and disposed it. Thanks to the city's nameless cleaner, the day was saved. He hasn't lost his bearings, and before its too late, we need to fix ours. Get up people, keep your city clean. Please do not litter, and my personal request, please do not spit.. yuck....

After you read this blog, please suggest a name for our hero. I want to call him, 'Crazy Gadge Baba'.

p.s.: if you think this is 'trash', 'dump it' dont just ignore.

Its has been many days since I wrote anything that made even little sense. That is primarily because anything around me is hardly making any sense to me anymore. There are a number of reasons why that could be happening. I would like to share them all with you, but since last few day I have been acting kinda recluse. Closing my self every now and then. There are too many thoughts, too many to put in words. Yet I feel like writing, I feel like putting some of them down, not for you readers to read. I just want to test whether this way I can reduce their number from my head. Sounds funny doesn't it, but hey I like to experiment, and this is just one of them.