Only God Can Stop Public Urination

How ceramic tiles could keep Indians from treating the streets as a urinal


I recently noticed something curious as I drove out of my neighborhood in South Delhi. The road had just been redone and now, on the stone walls that run along either side of the street, about knee-high off the ground, I spotted ceramic tiles with pictures of Hindu gods. There were images of Lakshmi, Shiva, Saraswati, Hanuman, and others of the pantheon, along with saints like Shankaracharya and Sai Baba of Shirdi.

Why, I wondered, were these god tiles there? Perhaps they were intended to beautify; placed about three feet apart, they certainly brightened up the otherwise nondescript walls. Or maybe they were inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent election and the corresponding swell of Hindu pride. Or they could have been spare gifts for the Hindu festival of Diwali—even donated leftovers from someone’s home renovation.


http://www.theatlantic.com/internati...-india/381622/