Plastic Bag Culture Bite

This blog is dedicated to my father who would rather use a plastic bag instead of a filing cabinet. He would rather use a plastic bag instead of a gym bag. He would rather use a plastic bag instead of a briefcase. He would rather use a plastic bag instead of a secure purse in a third world country holding his most precious wallet, hotel key, passport or writing instruments. So I am informing you that you would fit right in in India because the plastic bag is the only way to go.

I'm waiting for the bus with a small, green, sporty Diesel bag slung across my shoulder. I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt and some sandals (chappals in Tamil). The woman next to me is wearing a beautiful orange sari with orange flowers covering her body in pattern and she is holding a Sri Krishnan plastic bag. It is yellow with red and white lettering. It is holding her tools for the adventure she will be having today. The man next to her in western dress, some navy blue slacks and a man tailored shirt is clutching a white plastic back. His fist is clenched as he squeezes the plastic into a wrinkled form. He may be on his way to the bank to get money for the week, he maybe be going to work in Chennai, but as long as he has his plastic bag all of his merchandise will be safe by his side. I turn to my left away from the woman and there is a small hill sloping down away from us. There is a stream of trash and debris floating in the lull of the earth. The field behind us is growing paddy to be harvested and eaten as the basic food for all Indian people. Before the edge of the paddy field meets some trees and the stream there lies a slew of plastic bags. Clean bags, dirty bags, old bags, new bags, green bags, black bags, full bags, empty bags. All the bags line the street as many others do, that I have witnessed in placement like this. The bags of India. Slowly seeping into the earths' crust as does the water used to clean a shops floor dripping down the steps and into the spoiled aqueducts lining the streets. In the olden days, India used to be a completely organic culture. Eating off banana leaves, using coconut hairs to wash, and bartering goods for trade and progress were commonplace in everyday life. Now with materialism taking effect plastic is slowly polluting the entire country without a waste management system to organize this chaos. At least the locals know how to put a plastic bag too good use. Whether they are transporting sandy wet clothes from the beach or sorting and grinding some mint leaves and spinach, the plastic bag will be their accomplice. I hope there is a clean future for India in some of the countries leaders minds, but with all of the disease, poverty, capitalism and corruption to take up their brain space I think the pollution level will move from the Orange warning to the Red threat and the perpetual cough that many Indians suffer from will shorten their lifespan while inorganic western corruption also pollutes their minds and bodies. If this dust storm in Tamil Nadu ceases to inflict its terror on the people the caste system won't be the only thing currently on the Dalits minds.