How often have we talked about the change on our community page? Remember? No? Well, that’s fine – neither do we. What is a change? Why do we need to change the city for the better? Because everyday as we step out, we realise there’s a need to change something about the city to make it even more beautiful, no matter how much we already love it.
The city is ours; we’re the ones who roam around the city – sometimes with a purpose, sometimes without one. We see the garbage on the roads, stray cattle on the highway, stinking public toilets, dark streets et al. We remain silent and choose to move on because we think we can’t change a darn thing about all these.
Sometimes, we are clearly pissed and find an online platform to vent out our frustration. We join debates on social networks, shout out loud for changes that must happen now or never. But little do we realise that the ground realities are barely prone to our virtual activism. But, we achieve emotional salvation having voiced our anger online and being ‘liked’ for the best comment on a thread. We hit the sack satisfied, being largely devoid of the fact the dog that we saw dead on street this afternoon is actually decomposing.
So why do we fight our inner calls to for a community on the ground and affect a real change for real? There are many answers, but here area few prominent ones.
#1 – We Don’t Live in the City
I live in New York. If I was living here, I would rip shit off. NYC has problems yo! It also has many real communities that actually do things on the ground. So are you a part of the movement there? No, I don’t feel the love for NYC because my heart goes out to my home city Bhubaneswar. Ok, no problem stay right there only. The city don’t need you either.
#2 – It’s Not Our Job
Hey I got a real job man. I like the city, ya know! I love the fast food, I feel the vibes. You know I’m born and brought up around here. I know this city like I know myself. I really dig this city. Well, so how come you bear with so many problems in the city? You see I work a 9-5 that needs me to slog 9-9 and I ain’t got no time left for this cause. But you love this city, right? Oh hell yeah! But it’s not my job to change the city. It’s their job, not mine. They should slog 9-9 to change the city for the better, not me. So what do you do over the weekends? Well, bro, I just chill. Ya know, I deserve it.
#3 – It’s Colossal Waste of Time
We have met many people in our city who say DB is a waste of time. Some say we should use it as a business model to promote stuff and laugh all the way to the bank. They say it’s a happening page and there’s a whole lot of opportunities to be monetized. Thank God we don’t have a greedy mind. Because if we were a bunch of greedy minds, there would no DB in the first place. Sometime people think everything you do should be related to money. They see no value in value creation. We tend to assume they are the perfect candidate for the so-called Indian Politics.
#4 – Weekends Are Too Precious for a Cause
We started off on a humble note, offering what they like the most – good stuff. We showed them the cooler side of the city and then, started talking about the real issues in the city. Suddenly, we found few takers. Then, after two long years, we decided to invite the community members for a weekend meet up. As expected, there a huge turn out on Facebook event page. Turns out, there were barely 12 community members who made it to the meet up. Such is our passion to make a change on the ground.
#5 – We Have Other Commitments
Of course you do! Who doesn’t! When we asked people why they always offer a lip service instead of taking a real step on the ground, “I’m too busy working on being a civil servant to care about what you guys are doing” – pat came the reply. Ok, for your kind information, Saheed Nagar languish in a sorry state despite teeming with the so-called influential civil servants. You don’t need to be a civil servant to make a real change for a real change comes from the burning desire to making it happen now.
Remember – Change is not a choice; it’s a pressing need.
So what is your excuse to not make this city better?
What Do You Think?