Paan-stained walls are an eyesore.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

As I navigate the streets trying to take in the various sights and sounds on my morning walk to avoid the monotony of exercise, my husband pushes me and points down to the path. I barely avoid a glob of spittle. And so the story goes day in and day out. If we walk on Chennai’s roads or anywhere in India for that matter, it is hard to avoid the omnipresent spittle. We must master acrobatics to move and weave our way about while still looking up to navigate our way while walking.

India has a national bird, national animal, national song, and national anthem. The unofficial national sport would be cricket, though some may say hockey pointing to erstwhile glory. But for the national pastime, there would be no competition. It would be spitting, unequivocally. A drink of water deserves a spit. Being thirsty deserves a spit. A ride on a dusty road deserves a spit. A roadside snack deserves a spit. A cigarette deserves many a spit. Beaches, parks, roads, railway stations — no public space is spared. The newspapers covered the recent outrage over newly minted metro stations covered in paan and gutka stains. But the status quo remains. And our spaces remain dirty, unhealthy, and extremely unusable.

The ubiquitous cynic and self-proclaimed social media expert would ask, Why does only spittle and not the dog poop, plastic wrappers, covers, food waste bother you? Everything bothers me but let us start one step at a time.

So how do we bring about change? The simple logical way is to target the next generation. Spitting should be discouraged and frowned upon in schools. Our education system should include and inculcate basic discipline in upkeep of public spaces. The children should be taught clean healthy habits.

Additionally, enforcement of the “no spitting” rule should be stringent in public spaces. Let’s start with railway stations, metro stations and monuments. Let’s aim to have more public space warriors and volunteers who can help enforce this rule. Let each of us start at home by trying to enforce this in front of our houses and apartments. Let’s educate our security men and maintenance staff and last but not the least, our family too. Let the war start small and win big.

And hopefully in a generation or two, our spaces would be spit-free and clean.

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