When they become matters of habit

It was a rhythmic rustling and its source sat three seats away across the aisle in the back of the Jet Airways plane We had just landed in Mumbai Bangkok far behind us The crowd of returning Indians was already restive waiting for the doors to open The only people still sitting were myself the rustler and the two people in between Finally I leaned forward a little and dared to peepHis eyes were in some distant planet while his thumb ground into his palm crumbling something against a swatch of wax paper Rustle rustle rustle A while later his eyes still far away his hands scooped the paper up into a little pouch twisted the top and began grinding it against the hollow of his palm in a series of practiced movements The rustling continued faster and louderThen he tipped the contents into his palm it was khaini or dry tobacco mixed with wet lime and carefully wedged it against his back teeth whence it would release the toxic juices that would give him a pleasant buzz now and oral cancer years laterThe entire process had lasted 11 minutes As we disembarked I asked him how often he performed this ritual Four or five times a day Fiftyfive unthinking minutes a day spent in an automatic habit that would one day bring him harm and his family grief Made me start wondering how many innocuous actions do we perform habitually barely aware of even doing them that cause deep and lasting harm to ourselves our communities and the cityHere are three that came to mind1 Rushing to the door Youve seen it at airports The plane has landed the seat belt sign is still on but the Indians passengers can barely contain themselves They are up opening the overhead hatch pulling their bags out seemingly unable to tolerate a moment more in the aircraft like someone who cant wait to peeYou see it again and again at Churchgate and CST stations The crowds surge like a tsunami towards the doors bodies so densely packed that they prevent themselves from entering and anyone within from getting outYou see it in queues I saw it as I stood in a line of two people at Andheri at midnight in a near empty station The man behind me was crushed against me as though that somehow it would get him to the ticket window faster I turned around and firmly asked him to step clear back The rush to the door creates an edgy city in constant panic elbows and curses slows everyone down creates a savage uncivil environment where everything takes longer to get halfdone It is a habit whose civic consequences we suffer daily2 Treating traffic rules as optional Now that we are a nation of 8lane expressways you might expect more disciplined driving But I watched horrified two days ago as tourist Volvos giant container trucks tiny Santros sedans and motorbikes all wove woozily between lanes on the steep curves of the western ghats on the MumbaiPune expressway It was the rush to the door again but now the players were cars each one squeezing and edging past the others honking and cursing in a brutal mefirst competitionLanes are not suggestions they are rules So are traffic lights Yet at which red light have we not seen traffic edging forward inch at a time that old rush to the door so that each vehicle can be the first horse out of the paddock when the light goes greenWhen the people of a city of 184 million treat rules as optional they help neither themselves nor their city Mumbais many anarchies arise from a culture where the rulers and the ruled alike detest and fight regulation with all their heart3 Spitting freely In a culture that treats saliva as disgusting and dirty and spitting as a sign of disrespect it must mean something that everyone spits without a second thought on the city that they call home Drivers open their doors to emit their juices and stairwells are streaked red with paan But leaving ones bodily wastes wherever convenient is not just egregious it is a key source of the spread of diseases Each unthinking squirt makes the city deadlier adding lakhs of rupees to the healthcare bill in easily prevented diseasesThe Broken Windows theory predicts that miscreants feel freer to commit misdemeanors where there is an air of neglect and anarchy Guided by this New York made itself crimefree and clean one district at a time by enforcing rules and punishing offenders on the spot Ill stand up and applaud the day Mumbai reinvents itself one shabby habit at a timeHere viewed from there C Y Gopinath in Bangkok throws unique light and shadows on Mumbai the city that raised him You can reach him at cygopigmailcom Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates