A Namaste to all of them.. Dil se

Much awaited family vacation’s countdown has started a few days ago and the D day has finally arrived. It was our trip to the peaceful Khangra valley in the state of Himachal Pradesh. We started our journey around 7am from Delhi and proceeded towards Lutyen’s Chandigarh. Weather was quite congenial to travel and luckily it started drizzling while we entered the state of Haryana. It was showering all the way till we reached the outskirts of Chandigarh though not heavily.

The silent sentinels, the cool breeze, the fragrance of eucalyptus, scent of roses and lilies wafting in the air off and on the expanse of the mango orchards, koels songs in between, intoxicating smell of the rain drenched mud, scenic villages, gushing water in the streams, pristine waterfalls the voices of birds, snow capped mountains, the passing silky clouds, terrace farms, sugarcane, corn and apple yards splendid and mesmerising nature welcomed us with its wide open arms. Flowers are in full boom. We enjoyed every bit of the journey. We captured many pictures of the beautiful nature and saved them in our hearts too.

We reached the guest house that was booked for us adjacent to a small rocky area in which flowed a stream and was overlooking a small village. After planning for the next days trip, we went into a blissful sleep in the silence of the country side.

The rays of the Sun peeped through the window panes to wake us up. The chirping birds and the sounds of peacocks were like morning ragaas. We got up lazily from our beds, but did not want to miss the beautiful sights of the village so jumped out of beds instantly. The cook offered us steaming hot coffee, buttery yummy bread toasts and omelletes for breakfast. We got ready by 9 am to move ahead towards Mcloed Ganj and the journey uphill started. We stopped our vehicle at the Eco park on our way to Mcloed Ganj, did a half km trek uphill in the jungle and returned to spend some time at the cathedral of St. John in the Wilderness thats just across the eco park. It’s a dense green place surrounded by pine trees, few yaks moving on the green patches and a variety of birds.

After loitering there in the premises of the cathedral for sometime, we went ahead and reached Mcloed ganj. This cute tiny hill station is full of tourists both Indian and foreign. The music from tiny restaurants, the drum beats from monasteries, the temple bells, the colourful prayer flags of Budhists tied across the tall pine trees were fluttering with the breeze , the flavours of the Chinese, the tibetan and the Indian foods enveloping the air while passing through the bylanes added so much life and vibrancy in everyone of us. It was a joyful mood everywhere. Not to mention the brisk bussinesses of street food vendors making laphing, thupkas, soups, chai, sushis and serving the customers with a warm smile.

We roamed around most of the streets of McLoed ganj to get a good feel of the place and interacting with locals was great learning to un derstand about their livelihood, culture and and cuisine.

It was nearing 4pm. Our energy levels were happy and high. Our next destination was Dharamshala, a fifteen minute drive from Mc loed Ganj. We wanted to visit the monastery in Dharamshala opposite to H H Dalai lama’s residence before it becomes dark and we were there in no time. The monks were chanting the mantras which were reverberating inside the huge monastery. A magnificent brass statue of Goutham Budha adorned with flowers invited us to an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. There were a lot of visitors outside the monastery but once inside it was pindrop silence. We sat there on the mats for half an hour, felt as if we went into trans for a brief period, could feel the positive vibes. We really are the fortunate ones to be here. I thought when we exited we saw it was getting darker in the sky. We enquired for a wash room so that we can go downhill after releiving our bladders. For its a 40-50 minute drive to our guest house from Dharamshala.

An elderly monk lead us to the wash rooms which were only a few yards away from the main gate of HH Dalai lama’s residence. This time I saw a young girl in her mid twenties, doing her duty, the greatest service to the humans by humans. The cleaning, mopping, washing of commodes, collecting the solied tissue litter with utmost devotion and dedication. She has no time to breathe fresh air, though Dharamshala is on the unpolluted green hills and people flock here from around the globe for calmness and fresh air. But, this young girl is breathing the stink emanating from urinals and lavotories. I felt sad for her. It’s not an easy job at all atleast for her age.

We in our families arrange caretakers to do the jobs of changing diapers and cleaning the body wastes of old parents when they are bed ridden. Just imagine these sanitation workers doing such jobs of cleaning the toilets that we all use, helping maintain the cleanliness in the public toilets. They are great souls.

These guys can always pick up another job.It needs will power to work specially in the maintanance of washrooms in busy areas like these which are flooded with visitors 24×7.

“It’s her work and she is paid for that.” my thoughts changed. “It’s everybody’s work, responsibility and duty to keep restrooms clean and dry.”

Unlike most of the other workplaces these restrooms are not well ventilated. She was working like a machine, maybe she works with her collegues and this is her shift. I found her quiet and fully engrossed in her work. I was shocked and humbled. Whatever said and done, “It’s still her work place.”

The girls face was very pleasant and she was patiently handling the continuous pour of visitors there. There are so many sisters and brothers like her who do this great service to human kind.

Be it Delhi, Dharamshala, a railway station, hospital, bus terminals, prayer halls, wedding halls and all public conveniences across the planet, we just can’t afford to undermine their services.. We can’t take their work for granted and what they get is sheer pittance.

I started wondering how these brethren of ours go home, cook and have food after working in lavatories for hours, breathing foul smells whole day long. When will they go out on a holiday like us? When will they fill their lungs with fresh air and fragrance of flowers? When will they play under the water falls or do they have to be with their mopsticks, chemicals, litter and filth all through their lives?

They are God sent for us. A little more human approach from our side by not littering soiled sanitary pads, soiled tissues around the dustbins, flushing the commodes properly after use is a small help that we can from our side. Some comfort to them may be provided by the authorities concerned by arranging an airy room nearby their work place. During their breaks, these rooms help their lungs breathe in fresh air, lessening the time of inhaling toxic gases emanating from toilets will make them feel better. They are our sisters and brothers who are toiling for keeping the washrooms clean which we dirt with our body wastes.

I salute my all of them who are working for us, they are not mineal jobs, these jobs can be done only by men who have big hearts. They are serving the God by serving the humans. Clean habits, importance of maintaining healthy environment, respect towards people and their jobs however small or big ought to be inculcated from homes and from school life itself. This will bring about a big positive difference. After all it’s the world in which we and our coming generations are going to live. Let’s try to make our little world a healthy and happy place to live doing our small bit.