Sunday 18 October 2015

Clean-Green Initiative

It took weeks of intensive planning and careful coordination over coffee and whatsapp to bring to reality an amazing event such as this!

Indeed, this edition of APJ Vision 2020, going by day-end output, was a great success by all means!

The events of the day included cleaning up the two bus stands, sprucing up the compound walls by cleaning and white washing them, planting tree saplings (my favourite hobby), and clearing garbage in the vicinity.

committed to the core :-)
We gathered sharp at 7 am at the Mogappair West Bus Terminus and were surprised to find more than 200 volunteers from apartments and avenues in the vicinity, vibed up in elegantly-uniformed tees, geared up in gloves and smoke masks, and cleaning, scrubbing, washing and painting implements in hand!  It was indeed a great motivating sight to behold!

young and old
Yes, even the by-standers, on-lookers and passengers were one curious lot, trying to come to terms with the this ‘hullaballoo of sorts’ within their bus terminus.

As time passed by, the volunteers gathered in strength. Obviously, today being a Sunday, many would have wanted an extra hour’s harmless dozing off, we presume! And, we were all on our mark… get… set… and there we go!

Well, well, well, it took just a matter of one hour flat (unbelievable to the core!) to white wash the entire stretch of the compound wall that bulwarks the huge bus terminus.

entrance to bus stand
Paint brushes and distemper buckets of all hues and shades were seen all around the place and girls and boys, men and women of all cultures, languages and states exhibited a spirit of camaraderie and a joie de vivre that propelled and motivated all of us to further move on! 

Even as we moved on cleaning up the vicinity, we realized that there is great happiness in keeping our surrounding clean, and still greater joy when we step outside from our ‘narrow divisive walls’ and come together with ‘one goal-one aim’ in the interests of society, with the bonhomie, the camaraderie and the spirit of unity that pervaded the hearts and minds of all of us gathered over here!


Well, on the lighter side,
how can we forget the tea/coffee that came in at the right time (with sugarless/sugarfree for the oldies too!!!) and the other food items that gave us the gastronomical prop and the much needed respite from work!


The neatly-cemented bus stand had loads of dust accumulated on its surface down the days (ages?!) and it took nearly 50 of us to clean up the platforms much to the joy of the passengers and satisfaction of the MTC staff!

The conductors and drivers also chipped in at times with their ideas and suggestions!

One episode that added a little shock to the event was the mysterious disappearance of a young and mischievous boy who was part of our group. 

This little lad was happily whiling away his sweet time trying his little hands at wielding the brooms and the mopsticks and also taking turns to play within the buses that were  lounging in the bus stand. In one such instance, he comfortably perched himself in the corner seat of a bus in the terminus. (77 J) 

Expecting an added amusement ride in the bus, he was overjoyed to see the bus driver start the bus and drive down the road towards Guindy. (Well, we assume that this little guy must have been all along under the impression that kids were given joy rides in buses on Cleaning Days!!!) 

The bus was on its way - more than three kms - when the parents realized their ‘missing son’. 

Soon, the members of our group swung into action, and the staff at the MTC terminus contacted the conductor of 77 J who, confirmed the presence of this mischievous little imp of a lad, and promptly handed him over to the nearest police station!

The kid was quickly ‘retrieved’ (rescued) and brought back! He, unmindful of the perturbed look on his parents’ faces, took a broom and started his quota of ‘cleaning’ the bus stand!

Mid way through his ‘cleaning’ work, he asked, (albeit with innocence-writ-large on his little visage) to one of the members, "Uncle! Why did the conductor take me out of the bus midway???"

He had us all there!!!

We couldn’t find a possible cure for our belly cramps that followed ;-)

Slideshow on the Great Transformation wrought!

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