Islander

I came to listen to the term "Civic Sense" while I was a kid young enough to study at class II.We were recent residents of Kalighat then. One of our neighbors made it a habit of throwing his family's garbage promptly in front of our entrance every morning. The narrow street used to remain dirty until the municipal sweeper arrived on the scene.It was real difficult for someone to enter to or go out of our house meanwhile.As was the practice in the locality no one came forward to object.Perhaps hoping that one day the gentleman responsible would understand the agony of his close door neighbors. But that fateful day never came.
My father lost patience one sunday morning and asked the gentleman to stop the practice.He,in turn, got infuriated and questioned the authority of my father . His logic was simple.As the street belonged to commoners using the road all users had similar claims.He refused to accept that he was doing anything wrong. He assured my father that he would not raise a hue and cry if my father started using the street as dustbin during the days to come. There were enough of arguments but nothing could convince our neighbor until a group of healthy young boys came forward and threatened him with dire consequences unless he changed habit. During the hot arguments I can fairly remember my father once remarked with utter frustration ," This gentleman does not have civic senses."
Long afterwards, I came to understand what my father meant.He was shocked to find in the neighbor the absence of sense of duties towards the community and society. I understood the literary meaning of the word used no doubt but did I ever think of attaching enough importance to the term in my life? Perhaps, not.Through out the days, I find lot many are doing senseless acts on the streets of my city leaving them as dirty as hell.Neither I gather enough courage to object nor I take any initiative to amend things.I may pull out number of alibis for not doing what I am supposed to but fact remains.Perhaps this is true for most of us.
Over the years our inaction have been weakening the threads of the fabric of the society and we are now completely detached.Detached from others,detached from people at large and detached from our good old city.Now both the city and the society belong to no one and remain without care.We,somehow,are having a satisfied life of an islander.
For around a month or so, I have been visiting a country which comprises nothing but islands.The inhabitants are islanders in the true sense of the term.Every early morning here I meet a person older but more agile than me.He is Mr.Kit Williams , a retired principal of a high school,now is the property manager of this apartment building.Since morning he starts his regular chores.He cleans the corridors of this 18 storey buiding with a vacuum cleaner.He then goes out and starts cleaning the front road with a water hose meticulously.He never inquires about the people who are throwing cigarette stubs or beer cans on the front road and never complains too.He cleans anyway ,everyday.
Kit has his own house in the nearby city of Hamilton.His sons are staying there and Kit along with his wife visits them too often.This job he does primarily to keep himself and his wife active and occupied.
Kit is no different than me.Only our approaches towards life differ.I am sure that he never had to learn the term"Civic Sense"from his father.Perhaps he never bothered to look for the term in any dictionary.The sense just came to him naturally.
Alas! Nature was not that kind to me ever.