“For a boy like me who has never cleaned up his room, I picked up a lot of waste material lying on the streets of Red Square Market,” shares Arjun Singh, a student. “I am grateful for having an opportunity to be part of the Clean Hisar campaign.” Arjun, who has never picked up a shirt in his room, actually armed himself with sweeping tools and along with hundreds of other children, cleaned the streets. The busy streets were lined with rows of children, working elbow to elbow, fired with the ambition of giving a sparkling look to their community.

It is said a lit candle lights others. The enthusiasm of the children echoed across thousands of citizens who joined in the effort. The initiative played an exemplary role in making over 25,000 citizens of Hisar aware about personal hygiene and cleanliness of their immediate surroundings.

“This idea of cleaning the district was born in March when Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar visited Hisar and encouraged the volunteers to clean their district,” says Bharat, one of the coordinators of the campaign. “The Clean Hisar campaign was born and April 15th and 25th marked the first ever cleaning drive at the state-level of Haryana,” continues Bharat, proudly.

Contagious zeal to clean up

The zeal and enthusiasm of the volunteers and children proved to be contagious. Residents, who were hesitant to join in, eventually could not hold themselves back. The atmosphere became charged with enthusiasm and a satisfaction of making a difference. “It’s heartwarming to be a part of a society in which organizations like The Art of Livings strive to bring changes in every possible manner. It was a great pleasure and satisfaction to become an active partner in the Clean Hisar Drive,” shares Shalini Tewari, the principal of the district’s Kendriya Vidyalaya that was one of the participating schools in the drive. Another teacher also echoed Shalini’s sentiments when she commented that the humble beginning made by this campaign would be sustained through efforts by the partnering schools and their students.

The cleaning campaign certainly spruced up the streets of Hisar. More over it led to a new perspective among citizens and students. A happy yet tired Palavi Arya sums up what everyone felt as she put away the dirty shovels: “The beauty of Earth lies in nature and the beauty of nature lies in our hands.”