Environmentalism

Do you know how hard it is not to litter in India?

I have kind of been proud of the fact that I don't litter. No, maybe not 100%, but pretty darn close to it. Since I was a youngster and became aware of "nature" I have done my best to be environmentally conscious. At times it is a hard task, but back then, "Woodsy the Owl" was my pal.

I will actually carry trash around in my pockets until I get a chance to throw it in a garbage can. You don't know what a pain that can be in Korea where public garbage cans are few and far between. And I spent about ten years there.

I normally try to avoid pictures of trash.

In India, however, public trash cans are even more rare. The fact that there is already trash and litter everywhere makes it tempting to just drop your refuse anywhere. I just can't do that though. I usually end up carrying it until I get back to the hotel room (who knows where the garbage from my room will end up, though). Or, if I see an obvious trash pile, one that looks like it is destined to be cleaned up eventually, I'll drop my trash there.

In all the places I have traveled so far in India, I have come to the conclusion that environmental concern on the local level pretty much seems to be lip service. Yes there may be policies and promotions, signs and services, but to the individual citizen, they pretty much don't mean a thing. Whether in the oceans, rivers, forests, or streets, as soon as the trash leaves their hand, it is someone else's problem. And therein lies the real problem, no personal responsibility for the public commons.

Gone are the days when the oceans, rivers, and valleys would swallow up anything you could toss into them. The world has changed. The people need to change too. All the people.

Anyway ... I wrote previously about my room in Pondicherry. The city isn't much more exciting. The beach area, what there is of it, certainly isn't anything to write home about, but I guess it is good for a stroll. There is some interesting architecture left over from when the French were the residents in charge, but the buildings are only nice if they have been kept up.

Actually I am not sure if this is new or old.

There are a lot of churches, too.

One of the more colorful of several churches in Pondicherry.

I never knew there was a St. Roch. Perhaps he is the patron saint of skinned knees and delivery dogs.

From Pondi I took my first train ride in India this trip to Trichy (Trichirappalli) which is more of a temple town.

On the train.

The Temples there were kind of nice. From the "Rock Fort" you get a pretty nice view of the whole area.

You have to take your shoes to climb the steps to the temple.

One of the entrance gates to the big temple complex.

The big temple complex there is nice too, but a lot of it is closed off to non-Hindus. Have a look at what I saw.