The Syringe and the Showerhead

At home, we have a showerhead which keeps getting blocked due to the poor quality of ground water supplied by the city. Of the hundred or so holes, every day a few get blocked, and in a few days, there's just a trickle that comes out of it.

Earlier, my idea was to use a safety pin (since the nozzles are narrow and difficult to get to) to poke them out once in a few days. For convenience, I used to leave the safety pin in the bathroom. Then I realized that because of the moisture all around, the pin itself would rust in a week or two, and would break when I try to clear out the blocked nozzles. Also, because of the rust, it would not fit into the holes any longer, and would be discarded.

So I racked by brain, and came up with the brilliant thought of using a medical syringe. The good thing about the syringe is that it is sturdier than a pin, and is longer too - capable of pushing the sediments further away. But because it is longer, it would bend if I don't bring it out carefully, and the next nozzle would be difficult to get into.

However, since it is still better than the rusted old safety pin, I'm still with the syringe, probably for lack of a better option.

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Now, allow me to introduce you to the cast of characters in my analogy -

Showerhead - The awesome Indian Government

Safety Pin - All those poor people who did their bit to try and repair the system

Syringe - Arvind Kejriwal - for now :)

Bathroom - Our Society

Corny, right? Apologies for that. I've been thinking about this analogy for several months now - ever since my safety pins started rusting and breaking off. If you have the time, go back and read through the short analogy once again, and you'll see what I mean. Makes for some delightful reading.

Not that I take Arvind Kejriwal, and the team of people who're dedicating their lives to the cause of good governance, lightly. I love them, respect them, follow them on Twitter, 'like' most of the things they put up on FaceBook, and feel guilty each time they dare to oppose a wrong-doing which I support by default. I'm like most other Indians.

But then, the whole environment is that of a bathroom - moist. Feels fresh for a few minutes, and then becomes terribly uncomfortable. When we are struck by a malady that forces us to spend long durations of time in the area, we start hating it. And if - God forbid - we're required to clean it, we pay people handsomely to do it on our behalf! Anything to get away from the task.

The cause is great! It is a fabulous topic to discuss over coffee, and makes for some awesome fights on Social Media. But using the syringe every day, and that too without proper precaution, renders it unusable. When that happens, the syringe also joins the discarded pile of rusted pins. Yes, it is taller than the rest, it is shinier than most, and probably has been loved, respected, and used more than the rest, but the pile is the same.

Then we buy a new syringe. Or probably someone reading this post will suggest a better alternative, which will give me a showerhead that works as it is supposed to.