Every wall, urinal …

Krishnan, mom and I went for a walk today morning behind the ECIL facility. Krishnan and I had discovered this beautiful 2.5 kms long stretch that is covered with trees and a good road, without any cars/trucks/other vehicles. There is an occasional vehicle, but for the most part it’s just a walker’s paradise. As we neared the other end of the road, we saw a Maruti 800 being parked and Krishnan remarked that this guy seems to be parking to do a walk the opposite way. 

As we got closer, we realised that the driver of the car had gotten off to pee on the roadside. He was well dressed and was obviously working in some office and still he chose to use the roadside as a urinal. I find it distasteful and terribly annoying to see some men just use every wall as a urinal…. Sure, in Mongolia we had to go  behind some bush because we were on the road for 100s of kilometers without a soul in sight and no public conveniences. But in Ulan Bator, we didn’t find a single man using any wall as a urinal and peeing in public. In Botswana, we had to use the makeshift toilet wherever we pitched the tents and there were clean toilets inside the forest ! Again, we used the bush to go sometimes, but in the towns there wasn’t a single wall that was used as a public urinal. 

In Chennai, as part of the Swachh Bharat campaign the civic authorities have built urinals at road corners and men still use the open wall to pee !! Is this some sort of macho stuff ? It’s quite disgusting. 

As we turned back towards our starting point, there was another man, peeing on the roadside and without a care in the world. He then walks to his scooter to drive off – what uncivilised behaviour is this ? And these men are fathers, brothers, uncles who are teaching a whole next generation that it’s ok to pee in public. Most walls smell of urine in our cities and towns because some “men” don’t care what anyone thinks or feels – they will pee anywhere, when they feel like peeing. I somehow feel this is at some level a way of showing that they are the macho race, and superior. They can do as they please. Heck, no. 

Am at a loss of ideas to deal with this behaviour… Will pasting posters of Gods and Goddesses on all the public walls stop this ?  There are enough “Sulabh” toilets, and now just urinals that can be used. What will change the behaviour ? Ideas are welcome and men who don’t use the roadside or public walls as urinals, please try and educate/convince your brothers not to do so. It’s quite gross.