Washing our hands thoroughly with water and soap, is a habit that has been instilled in us since childhood. Our parents, teachers and guardians have taken special care to ensure that we followed this practice before having food, after playing or even after we come from school. But over the years, we have observed a tilt in this practice. With more of westernization, we have made every attempt to imitate our western brethren. The desire to be modern or rather the need to pretend as being modern in front of others have forced us to forget our own traditions and culture. Therefore, it can be stated that, over a span of few decades, we have mortgaged our identity for another one which is a futile, the only motive of which is to merely win over our fellow neighbours.
As we began adopting foreign habits, we kept on forgetting the value of one which we had. Over the years, paper and tissues replaced fresh water and soap. Emphasis was given on only the positive aspect of using tissues, whereas none of us paid heed to the demerits of it. The fact that increased consumption of tissues are causing large scale deforestation, was ignored. Tissues are made out of rapid processing of paper. Nowadays, paper manufacturing itself is turning out to be a big menace to the world. These production units form the 4th largest industry in the world.The amount of raw materials required to sustain this industry is enormous. And, with the wide scale production of tissues and other paper products, the rate at which trees are cut down is reaching a boom. It’s high time that we start reflecting upon our acts. It’s self explanatory , as to how much rolls of tissues are used by a single factory. A mess, which can be cleaned with a little water and a piece of cloth, uses at least five sheets of tissues. Isn’t it too luxurious? Moreover, is there any guarantee that the germs are cleared off completely?
The hour is near, when we should go back to our own tradition and not just practice it, but also promote it. Let us all try to spread awareness about the need to use water and soap for cleaning purposes rather than tissues. Slowly and steadily, we will be able to visualize a world where trees aren’t cut down for making paper and its products. Instead better counterparts like; cloth, water etc. will easily fit into common man’s lifestyle like before.
