RD's Story

If you don’t take care of your environment, who else will?

I am an old man of 82. Even before I was born, this river existed. It is a lifeline to millions of people and a few million animals. The river doesn’t expect anything back from us, but at least we could keep it clean. Our next generations need bodies of water too, don’t they?

People come to the river to party in the evenings, and they throw their plastic and their bottles in the river. On auspicious days, devotees come to take a holy dip, then discard their used clothes in the river. People living nearby throw their trash in the river. Industrial pollutants enter at various points along its flow. When I see all these things, I just feel like crying. What have we done?

What have we done? I cannot do much. I am not educated. I am neither rich nor influential. But I still want to change this situation and help to clean my beloved river. I want to see her in her past glory, once again.

So, a few years ago, I decided to do it, and I have been doing it since. When the water flow is low, I venture into the river, take the trash out and clean its banks. Seeing me do this, every time, one or the other person volunteers — sometimes a group of people come and join hands — and that warms my heart. In many cases, it’s the young street kids here who come to help me, and I can’t be thankful enough for that. It is these children who are the future of this nation, and if you instill these precious habits in their minds, any country will surely be prosperous in the future.

When people see this old man working to keep the river clean, they understand the lesson. They understand that cleanliness is everyone’s responsibility, and they start working to keep the river clean, too. What better way to teach people than by example? Do it yourself and show them!

Artist Notes

“The focus of this story is a poor illiterate man without any fancy clothes. He wears only a piece of cloth on his waist, which is symbolically shown. Blue is used to represent the river and dark yellow represents the sand. The pollutants in the river are shown in different colors, and the man has a basket in which he collects the trash when the water level is low. ”

Published Jan 1, 2020
Updated Aug 4, 2023