Spitting Image of India

Indians cannot wait to part with their bodily fluids, and saliva is no exception. Everyone spits all the time and everywhere: no respite from spit in India. What are they trying to do? Is it part of a nation wide distributed grass root mandatory irrigation project that I did not know about? Are they trying to fend off the next drought?

There is no wrong time or place for Indians to spit. If they are in a bus stand, then they will spit on the bus-stand while waiting, on the steps of the bus while boarding, on the road though the window while riding. The auto-wallah will slow down the auto to spit on the road, the taxi driver would poke his head out to spit in the air, and the lorry driver would spit without even looking. As if, there is a big spitting marathon going on in the country and everyone is participating. And all the roads are filled with supplies to make sure the contestants do not run out of spit. The chewing of betel leaves and tobacco were invented for this purpose. The true believer of the natural spit movement uses tobacco; the more artistic ones that believes in the colorful resurgence of India picks betel leaves - it gives a rich red color to the spit to and creates an indelible impression of art. And India is filled with it.

The country is filled with “NO SPITTING” sign stained by spits. This is the only country that has unused public spitting pots and spit drenched pavements. Indians need to be reminded of ban on smoking in the bus - and spitting, with equal seriousness. They even spit in the holy water with a holier than thou attitude. The same holy water they drink to purify their body and mind. Talk about recycling.

What sort of discriminating judgment is enough when you see a sign that says: Do not spit indiscriminately? Does it mean as long as you miss the face of the man walking by it is all right? I guess it is all right to spit in public places, as long as you do not do it on the public.

I admit Indians abroad tend to spit less frequently. I am not sure if the compulsive spitting that is common in India is result of an excessive disgust for the life Indians live in India. Even if that is true, please spit with discrimination — and do not spit on me.