On streets across Indian cities, a man can often be seen cleaning garbage with a rake and gloves as traffic moves past him. He is not employed by a municipality. He is a foreign national who has lived in India for eight years and has chosen to spend his time cleaning public spaces.
“India is too beautiful to be this dirty,” he says. “The country has natural beauty everywhere, north, south, and northeast. But garbage is spread across all regions.”
He began cleaning informally near his home soon after moving to India. In August 2024, he created a social media page and began documenting his clean-up drives. Since then, he has organised and participated in regular clean-ups across cities, sometimes independently and sometimes in collaboration with local citizen groups such as Let’s Clean Gurugram.
According to him, the biggest challenge is not lack of infrastructure, but mindset. “People feel it is not their problem,” he says. “They believe that throwing one piece of garbage will not make a difference.” During one clean-up, an auto driver threw a cigarette butt next to the area he had just cleaned and walked away.
He says the most common waste found on Indian streets is gutka packets, chips wrappers, and plastic packaging. During a clean-up near a metro station in Gurugram, he and his team found these items clogging drains, blocking water flow, and contributing to flooding during rains. He describes that location as the most difficult area he has cleaned. “It was raining. There were layers of garbage soaked in sewage. The smell was strong. Everything was wet.”
Despite the conditions, he continues. Clean-ups usually last around two hours and are often held on weekends. During one self-imposed seven-day challenge, he cleaned streets daily and says he lost five kilos in a week. “It is a good way to stay fit,” he says. “But more than fitness, it brings mental clarity.”
He also views cleaning as a personal practice. “I do yoga, meditation, and psychotherapy. For me, cleaning is a form of karma yoga,” he says. “When you clean outside, something also changes inside.”
Public reactions vary. Many people stop to thank the volunteers. Some join spontaneously, including children. Others are dismissive and say the effort is pointless. “Some people say it is like pushing a rock uphill,” he says. “But when more people join, that itself shows there is an impact.”
Volunteers who join the clean-ups describe mixed emotions. One resident of Gurugram said it was uncomfortable to see a foreigner leading such an effort. “It feels embarrassing that he is doing this and we are not,” she said. “But it is also a wake-up call.” Another volunteer said the act of cleaning made the area feel like home again.
He compares the situation to Serbia, where he is from. While Serbia also faces pollution issues, he says there is stronger community participation. “In my neighbourhood, people clean together, water plants, and take responsibility,” he says. “That is what I want to promote here.”
When asked what young people can do, his answer is simple. “Clean your own street. Talk to your neighbours. Maintain your area. You don’t need to clean famous places. Just start where you live.”
He says he does not feel discouraged. “I am not trying to gain anything,” he says. “I am only doing my part. If others do theirs, that is enough.”
For him, the goal is not recognition, but change that begins at the individual level and spreads outward, one street at a time.
