Arrival in a Land of Contrasts
When I first arrived in India, I was struck by its beauty, its warmth, and its unstoppable energy. But I was also quietly unsettled by the sight of garbage strewn across otherwise vibrant streets. One morning, I saw a man in a crisp suit step carefully over a mound of trash before climbing into his SUV. That simple act stayed with me. Why not just bend down and pick it up?
That fleeting thought soon became a mission—Ek Din, Ek Gully (One Day, One Street).
A Lesson from Home: Sacred Public Spaces
I grew up in Serbia with a simple but powerful lesson: our public spaces are as sacred as our living rooms. That belief travelled with me everywhere—through the bustle of Gurugram, the greenery of Bengaluru, and even up the Himalayan slopes, where I would stop to pick up stray wrappers while catching my breath.
It made me wonder—what if real change begins with a single act, done quietly, repeated daily, and visible enough to inspire others to do the same?
The Birth of Ek Din, Ek Gully
On 8th August 2025, just days before India’s Independence Day, I put on gloves, picked up a rake and trash bags, and began cleaning one overlooked gully in Gurugram’s Sector 55.
My promise to myself was simple: every day for a week, I would honour India’s spirit by gifting it a little more beauty—one street at a time. Because true freedom, I believe, is the ability to shape the world we share.
From Solitude to Community
What began as a solitary act soon became a community effort. Children peered out of their homes and joined in with laughter. Shopkeepers, once hesitant onlookers, offered cups of chai and began sweeping their own doorsteps.
I had done this before—in Bengaluru, across four different homes—quietly cleaning my surroundings without posting videos. When I finally began sharing short clips online, the response surprised me. My Ek Din, Ek Gully videos started gaining traction, and soon, hundreds of people began reaching out, asking how they could join or start their own clean-up efforts.
Now, in Gurugram’s Sector 55, residents have formed WhatsApp groups to coordinate community clean-ups. What started as one person’s daily ritual has turned into a collective habit.
Small Acts, Deep Change
Moments of transformation often come quietly. Once, I saw a man gently feed a cow—then toss a plastic wrapper at its feet. I approached him and explained softly that what seemed small could harm the animal and the street. He paused, looked at me, and nodded. In that brief moment, I realised that people often care—they just need to be reminded with kindness, not criticism.
Change doesn’t require confrontation; it begins with compassion.
A Dream Bigger Than Streets
People sometimes ask if I want to clean every street in India. Of course not—India is too vast for one person. My dream is different: what if every neighbourhood, in every city, chose just one gully to clean together?
Imagine the Ek Din, Ek Gully idea spreading from Gurugram to Goa, from Mumbai to Guwahati—each community taking ownership of its surroundings. That’s when responsibility stops being “someone else’s job” and becomes everyone’s shared pride.
The Power of a Simple Habit
I’m not interested in being a hero or a viral sensation. I simply want to remind people that change starts right outside their doors.
There’s a Hindi phrase I’ve come to love: “Bas do meter saaf rakho apne ghar ya dukaan ke saamne.” (Just keep the two metres in front of your home or shop clean.)
If every person followed this, India’s natural beauty would shine without effort. Real change, after all, doesn’t demand grand gestures—just small, steady habits.
Persistence Amid Setbacks
Of course, there are frustrating days—when stray dogs scatter freshly collected trash or when yesterday’s clean path is littered again today. But I’ve come to see these moments not as failures, but as reminders: persistence, not perfection, is what builds change that lasts.
Quiet Victories and Ripples of Hope
Some of my proudest moments are the quiet ones—returning to streets I cleaned months ago and finding them spotless, maintained not by me, but by neighbours and shopkeepers who’ve taken ownership.
Those are the victories that matter most. They prove that transformation doesn’t depend on one person. It spreads—through small acts, shared values, and the growing realisation that “if he can, so can I.”
A Serbian Heart in an Indian Home
I may be a Serbian man, but India feels like home now. My role is small—to inspire, to act, to serve. The real power lies with you, the citizens of India.
If each of us becomes a little more alert to our surroundings, informed about our impact, and active in small ways, we can transform not just one gully, but the spirit of the entire nation. That, to me, is active citizenship—not waiting for others to act, but asking yourself, What can I do today?
I’d like to end my article by congratulating organisations like Desh Apnayen Sahayog Foundation which share this vision of nurturing ACTiZENS: Alert, Informed, and Active Citizens who strengthen India not just through words, but through everyday action.
Mr. Lazar Jankovic, a Serbian model who arrived in India in 2018, is the founder of Ek Din, Ek Gully (One Day, One Street), a campaign that promotes cleanliness, responsibility, and civic pride across India.