License To Pee – Part 2

A case study in Swachh Bharat:

It was one of those rare days when the weather in Vizag is pleasant – sunny, with a cold nip in the air. We headed out on such a fine afternoon yesterday, with our sunglasses on, happy to be outside. And then, just like things are wont to happen, things go downhill.

We see a cute, teeny kid walk out of Barbeque Nation with his father. What’s so bad about a father-son lunch date you ask, given the age of the toddler and the fact that the mother was nowhere to be seen. What’s bad, is what happened next. The father unlocked his car door – we assumed to get into it. But no.

Right before our disbelieving eyes, the father pulls down the toddler’s pants and teaches him (we kid you not) how to pee by the side of the road. Right near his car! We’ll let that sink in. He stands there, guiding the child till he finishes his business, and casually proceeds to hoist his child into the passenger seat before getting into the car himself.

While the father drives away; his child newly enlightened in the art of peeing publicly, we sit dazed in our car – wondering what in the world we just saw. It is one level of irresponsibility when you see a grown man peeing shamelessly in the public, it is another when you see a grown man teaching his child to do the same. Real good parenting skills on display here!

Last we checked, Barbeque Nation still had functional bathrooms. Also, we’re pretty sure the man couldn’t claim ignorance or illiteracy when asked why he couldn’t read the sign – right on the wall he taught his kid to pee on – urging people to maintain cleanliness. I mean, Swachh Bharat and all, am-I-right?

After we’d gotten over (kind of) what we’d just seen and thought about it, we realised that this kind of behaviour is quite common. Railway stations, bus stations, tourist spots – they’re all really filled with a mix of human and animal excretions which can’t all be just the adults. Somewhere, someday, an adult taught a kid that it is okay to relieve himself/herself in public, landing us all in this situation.

While we were too hesitant to click a picture of this transgression, do click and send us in a picture next time you see someone peeing publicly, or just send in your experience or views. And most importantly, how about we not teach our kids that’s it’s okay to pee in public. Deal?