On Sunday 14 Jun 2009 10:51:15 am Venkat Mangudi wrote: > Was it a foregone conclusion in those ages that one's personal hygiene > and cleanliness, if followed by everybody would lead to a cleaner > community? > > Maybe we lost a whole lot of other instructions along the way while > retaining the individualistic ones because it was easy, as well as > beneficial to yourself, if you "conveniently forgot" the community based > rules.
My view on this is that given the far lower population load in those days, spread out isolated communites and 100% biodegradable rubbish, the problem of stepping on someone's toes, snot or crap was never a big issue unlike the same habits in crowded urban communities of cement pavements, miles of tarmac and non biodegradable waste. Toilets, organized garbage deiposal and drainage systems are characteritics of large human communities. In the 1970s, 80% of India's 700 million people lived in rural communities. In 2009 - perhaps 40% of India's 1100 milliion live in urban areas. Habits have not changed. The environment has. shiv
