As close to heaven as it gets?

Does heaven stink? If goes by the countless scenes where it has been depicted one gets the answer in a jiffy. Well-kept gardens where exotic flowers bloom. Well-lit ballrooms where gorgeous dancers perform classical dance in front of metrosexuals donned in silk, gold and flowers. The perennial emergence of smoke (Though one may not get a chance to see the source of it). Yes, one can almost feel the pleasant fragrance of heaven from all these. So heaven, sure, doesn't.

But in their attempt to allure tourists, Department of Tourism, Kerala, doesn't seem to have any such qualms. It asserts emphatically on each sign board, under the much-hyped 'God's Own Country' 'as close to heaven as it gets'. When you come as close to Kerala onething you'll sure get is the unbearable stench. Am I exaggerating? Well, get yourself an opportunity to commute by road through the breadth and length of Kerala. From Kasaragod to Trivandrum, roads, especially highways, stink. Polythene bags stuffed with garbage can be visible on either side of the roads. If you can bear the rotten smell piercing your nostrills, keep watching. As it goes you'll sure find a bag or two with its belly cut. Garbage , strewn all over, comprises of voraciously gnawed chicken bones to used sanitary napkins can be seen.

We Malayalees are extremely conscious of personal hygiene. We also keep our homes and its premises super clean. So we pack, whether it's leftovers from the kitchen or things used for personal hygiene, and clandestinely throw it to the neighbourhood or to the roads.

If you ever found yourself in a comparitively empty area on a highway on early morning or by night you can witness to a scene that's so uniquely Kerala. A speeding car slows down a bit, the window glass comes down, a hand with a stuffed-like- a-pillow polythene bag comes out of the window, "thud". Once it's thrown the hand pulls back itself slowly,( Here I have a persoanl tragic experience to narrate. This particular scene, the gradual withdrawal of the hand, has a tragic effect on my poetic sensibility. Kalpetta Narayanan concludes one of his poems with these lines; "Kramena avyakthamaya aa kaikallude neeyippozhevideyannu?" can be roughly translated as "Where are you of the hands that vanished gradually?" I understood this line as an intense longing. But nowadays, I can't think of the gradually vanished hand without making my nostrills flared up in anticipation for a foul smell.) the window glass escalates, the car gains speed and within seconds zoom out of your focus. It's not our lack of civic sense that makes our state stinking, it's our obsession with cleanliness that causes the stench. A recent newspaper report indicates the widespread skin diseases among labourers indulging in sand mining. Though doctors rule out the possibility of 'anything serious', the message is clear. We are writing the epitaph for our rivers. Leftovers from slaughter houses are being dumped to our rivers. And the once crystal clear waters have become polluted to a point from there is no return. Whoever steps into these rivers is in danger of getting infected with some sort of a skin disease. Water sources, the lifeline of humanity, is on the verge of an untimely demise. Where are we heading towards?

Kerala stinks. It's soil, water and air; all polluted. It's not at all heavenly as it gets closer. But, then the slogan doesn't say it is heaven. It says 'as close to...'. That's relative. Isn't it? Then why should I blame the tourism department. O.K leave it and consider this. Even if they say 'it's heaven', am i supposed to buy it at once? Has anyone on his right mind ever believed what is said or written without making a judgement. We have been taught to read between the lines, see the real face behind the mask. Then why should I make such a fuss over the issue?

In fact being naive is a crime. And I have been being a criminal by being naive and for elaborating such a silly matter. Excuse me please.