Part 2 of the Magrath Road Spot-fix

Video of Part 2 of the Magrath Road Spot-fix by the Ugly Indians - don't miss the BBMP Corporation Official:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4314R8Ykgs&feature=youtu.be

Before

After

The transformation is unbelievable. The Ugly Indians are a group of silent workers who don't want to be named, or want any publicity. Join them. Watch the city change.

The Ugly Indians: http://www.theuglyindian.com
On Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ugly-Indian/123459791046618

Click on The Ugly Indian label below this post to know more.

Fulfilment, Fun, Therapy: The Ugly Indian Way

"Today, I feel a sense of fulfillment that I haven’t experienced in a long time" - said one of our volunteers. Scenes from our Cleaning-up-Bangalore spot fixing effort with the Ugly Indians.

If someone tells you that cleaning up muck and dirt and painting walls with your friends is both fun and therapeutic, believe them. None of us have felt this great in a very long time. Amazing what team-work can do, and how good it feels.

My friend A and her 1.5 year-old son were the stars of the show - I hope she is an inspiration to mothers who keep their kids away from so much experience "because they are too young". That kid is one of the most peaceful, friendly, accommodating children I have ever seen - she takes him everywhere. He's got a solid grounding in social responsibility.

Photos here: https://picasaweb.google.com/106491954401233999557/FulfilmentFunTherapyTheUglyIndianWay

Video: http://www.youtube.com/user/theuglyindian1?feature=mhee#p/u/1/9PyfUw-Al-4

The Ugly Indians: http://www.theuglyindian.com


On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ugly-Indian/123459791046618

Mail them at theuglyindian@gmail.com if you want to volunteer for a similar activity with your friends or family. Click on The Ugly Indian label below this post to know more  about them.

And please do spread the word - thank you!

Come, let's bond over some paint!

Can you get a group of 10 people, who'd love to spend 3 hours on a weekday from 7-10 AM to clean and paint a Bangalore wall? If yes, mail theuglyindian@gmail.com and they will find you a wall, get the necessary permissions, work out the costs (which should be below Rs.5000), and assist you on the day of the painting.

That is exactly what the employees of Orange County did! They came in early one day and cleaned up that footpath and wall near St.Patrick's complex, Brigade Road - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSoknGXZ4I0

So get together and have fun! I am trying to do this from our office - try at your offices too - or just among your friends' circles -  10 people should not be hard to get? You could post on Facebook, send to your mailing lists, your groups at church/apartment blocks/college/school.  

If you are planning to do anything in the city centre, let me know, will try and join in :)

For the complete story, click on The Ugly Indian tag below this post, and start from the first post.

Americans paint Lavelle Road wall

Inspired by the Ugly Indians, a group of American students from Seattle clean up and paint a wall on Lavelle Road. Something we could do ourselves?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6Ydt7j7jCg

If you can get a group of 10 people willing to do something similar, write to theuglyindian@gmail.com - they will find a location, get the required permissions, and let you know. This will be around 3 hours work on a Saturday morning.

Hear it from the kids :)

And watch the fun! Beautiful.

SpotFixing at Bishop Cotton Girls' School Part 15 - The Ugly Indian

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtnzY3wWXw8


SpotFixing at Bishop Cotton Girls' School Part 16 - The Ugly Indian 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJYJmNHCFto

 Click on The Ugly Indian label below to know the whole story.

From Ugliness to Beauty

Can you believe this footpath was a stinking mucky place with rotting garbage, until a few weeks ago?(Click on photo to enlarge)


In case you were not following them on Facebook, the Ugly Indians (an anonymous group of people like you and me, with full-time jobs) cleaned up that nasty stinking garbage pile + public urinal (wall) in front of Bishop Cotton Girl's high school, on Residency Road. You will now find a garden where the dump was, and working urinals that people use - and little kids can go to their school vans without walking through stinking muck/walking right in the heavy traffic, to avoid the smell. I went to see it for myself yesterday.

These people contacted the BBMP, got the garbage collection to be moved to a better location, cleaned up the dirt themselves (yes!), got the urinals fixed again, painted and planted with the help of the public/schoolkids who were willing to help.

You have to see the videos to believe this!  (And they have good/funny music to go along with them too)

You can start from Part 6 if you don't have the time, it summarizes the Before Cleaning part too:

Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJo7KuTB98I

The whole series is here.

The work is still going on - but what they have achieved is just mind-blowing. A huge lesson in what we can do, if we get together - one thing we have in plenty is manpower, right? :)

What you can do (message from the Ugly Indians)

1. Stop being cynical and believe it is possible. 
2. If you want to make a difference to your surroundings by taking ownership of the problem and seeing it through, these videos may help you. Or write to theuglyindian@gmail.com and they will help you. (We consult with many people to help fix dumps near their house) 
3. If you want to show your support Bangalore CBD Area, you can adopt a tereBin at a location of your choice. We will soon put up WonderLOOS for adoption too. 

To know the whole story, see the other posts here, or click on The Ugly Indian label below this post.

For any doubts, contact them directly: theuglyindian@gmail.com

Cleaning up Bangalore, Bin by Bin

So here's the bin I sponsored for the Ugly Indian, on St. Mark's Road. (http://www.theuglyindian.com - see my earlier post),

Can you also sponsor a bin to make Bangalore a cleaner place? Or pass this mail on to friends in Bangalore?

Sponsorship cost:

Option 1: Rs 1000 (Installation + 100 days maintenance).
Option 2: Rs 1500 (Installation + 1 year maintenance)

See this video on how BBMP empties these bins regularly as part of their daily rounds, and how people are actually using these bins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97tlirAM8hs 

What  I like most about this anonymous group is their professionalism, their willingness to answer all your doubts convincingly, within 24 hours, and their realistic optimism.  I absolutely love their sense of humour too!

Send  a mail to theuglyindian@gmail.com if you want to sponsor a bin/want to clear doubts. They will ask you for the money only after they have installed the bin and observed it for a few days to make sure the cleaning process is taking place. Online transfer and checks are possible. You can also choose your bin from the locations available.

So could you sponsor a bin? Actions do speak much louder than Facebook Likes :)

Thank you.

The Ugly Indian shows us the way!

Disgusted with the garbage dumps and the litter on our streets? Want to see how a group of people are changing people's behaviour to stop this ugliness?

Check this out - http://www.theuglyindian.com  - These guys have managed to clean up garbage dumps on Church Street (Bangalore) - involving BBMP garbage staff, the private housekeepers and kabaadiwalas, the shopkeepers, and random passersby.

"By transforming Church Street, The Ugly Indian has showed us that such a thing is possible in our country. They see hope. Do you? Would you like to make a change in your surroundings? Then write to them theuglyindian@gmail.com. You can also connect with them at their Facebook page.

"This is a story of successful experiments by a few Ugly Indians in an Indian city.
To see whether THE UGLY INDIAN can change.



This is an attempt to understand why 'we are like that only' and to find smart ways of changing our behaviour."

 http://www.thebetterindia.com/3519/the-ugly-indian-shows-us-the-way

The War on Litter: http://theuglyindian.com/War

Please spread the word, participate, share your ideas with them, be a part of a mass movement - thank you!



I mailed them - click here to see what happened next.