Lakshmi and Saraswati's Joint Venture

 “Dear sister Lakshmi, you are the one who is never stationary. However, for the past few days you are always in your quarters in the heaven. You also appear gloomy. What is the matter?” Asked the goddess of knowledge Sarawati to her sister.

“Dear Saraswati you are right.” Said Goddess Lakshmi fondling with the lotus garland in her neck. “There was a time when I hardly had any time to sit in my luxurious quarters here in the heaven. I would be making rounds of my various devotees on the earth.”

“Yes of course. You are the most sought after goddess by the mankind.” Saraswati said winking her eye.

“Yes I too hanker to visit the homes of my devotees and bless them with prosperity.” Said a distraught Lakshmi.

“Then what is the matter Lakshmi? If your carrier vehicle owl is out of service, I can lend you my peacock. I don't mind. Because there are very few who invoke me.”

“That is not the case Saraswati. My vehicle is in perfect shape. The state of earth is what is bothering me.”

“Why? Lord Brahma was telling me that all is well on the planet.” Said the Goddess of knowledge patting her peacock.

“All is not well Saraswati. You know I am all about cleanliness. But people have equated me just to wealth.”

“Yes on Lakshmi pooja day a broom, which is believed to be your image is worshiped in many Maharastrian homes.”

“Yes. But these days people litter everywhere. Wherever I go what I find is empty wrappers of chips, plastic bottles and gutka sachets. I am speaking about the lanes that are abutting the devotees homes. I change my course on seeing garbage and other unclean places. But the humanity has turned the entire planet into a garbage ground. People keep their houses clean. But throw the waste from their houses on the streets. I wish to visit their cleaned houses. But how can I cross that squalor which covers most of the street? You know I detest unclean environment.”

“Yes I know. Lakshmi you may not be wearing snow white clothes like me, but I know your dislike for unclean environment.” Said Saraswati nodding her head.

“The filth leads to numerous diseases. It pollutes the pristine waters, land and even the life giving air which father Brahma created. People pollute their surroundings. They fall ill because of the garbage dumping, spend on hefty fees of doctors and then say I never visit their homes.”

“Sister Lakshmi even I have been educating people on cleanliness. I have been telling everyone to keep their premises clean. To segregate the organic and non-organic waste. The other day I visited the thoughts of one of my sons and taught him to have a compost box in his home. Just imagine if everybody had a compost box in their homes, most of the garbage from the planet would be turned into gold. That is because 70% of the waste generated from households is biodegradable.” Said the goddess of all arts and sciences.

“I will have to smile on that devotee of yours. You know compost is very expensive.”

“Yes sister. I know.”

“As regards the plight of those public toilets is concerned the less the said the better it is.” Lakshmi seemed to be very unhappy with the unclean environment.

“Yes those are very filthy. Those lead to various types of infections. Many of my daughters refuse to go to public toilet, hold back their calls of nature until they reach home and fall ill as a result of it.”

“It is so sad.” The pain on Saraswati's face was palpable

“Sister Saraswati plus that is tarnishing the image of the holy land of India. Foreign tourists consider India to be ugly, filthy and pollution loving country. Plus the waste is discharged into rivers making them dirty and turning their sweet waters from blessing to a curse. Did you see what did they do our sister Ganga? They made her ugly. Do you know they even defecate on her banks?”

“Sister Lakshmi I too was once flowing as a river on the planet earth. The very word Saraswati means the flowing one. The great Indus civilization evolved in my lap. But seeing the plight of our sisters today I am glad that I mysteriously disappeared from the planet earth. Otherwise they would polluted me too. You know how much I like white.”

“Yes you wear white all the time. But considering your beauty any colour will look good on you.” Said Lakshmi with a smile.
“Lakshmi colours and extravagance are for you. I am happy with my simple white.” Said Saraswati blushing.

“Ordinary people think that we two sisters don't get along. But the fact is wherever there is cleanliness both of us coexist, isn't it?”

“Well said sister Lakshmi! Wherever there is cleanliness all the Gods stay there.”

“Sister Saraswati we have to join hands to save father Brahma's creation. You impart them the knowledge of cleanliness and I will fund the cleanliness drive. Together we will and we can.”

“Yes sister Lakshmi. Hope our collaboration will make the world clean.”

The next day there was a news in the newspapers that many corporates were funding various NGO's for carrying out cleanliness drives as a part of their corporate social responsibility.