It was on my list to visit Mawlynnong, to see for myself a village in Meghalaya chosen in 2003 by Discover India magazine as Asia’s cleanest village. It seemed like any other village in Meghalaya as I walked in. Everybody from tiny toddlers to toothless grannies, however, seemed to have a stake in ensuring discarded bottles, crumpled food wrappers, plastic bags, cigarette butts and rubbish were nowhere to be seen. Even the dustbins made of hand-woven, cone-shaped bamboo were pretty. Scattered all over, at intervals of approximately 30 metres, the villagers use these baskets to throw their garbage.
Huge notice boards placed by the village headman 
prescribing methods to dispose of trash, even suggesting only items like paper bags, wrappers, banana peels were allowed to be thrown into the bamboo dustbins. Most surprisingly, the rules are strictly followed as defaulters are bound by heavy penalties. In the village, People not just clean their own houses, but step out to sweep the roads too! Cleanliness is a way of life in this quaint and vibrant little village.
A walk down the main village showcases concrete roads decorated on either side with colourful creepers and flowering plants of various types, making the experience incredibly pleasant. Houses on either side of the road look cosy with most households hosting a small 
garden of flowering plants and fruit-bearing trees. Dedicated gardeners hover around maintaining public plants and flowers that line the pavements. All houses have functional washrooms and the village has its own manure converted from garbage dug into a pit. Every compound had a clothesline with tons of clothes drying in the sunshine. It occurs to a traveller like me that cleanliness permeated their private existence and has been deeply ingrained for generations.
There were hordes of tourists besides me, all looking delighted to be in the cleanest village in Asia! Apparently several of them were staying in the village in the numerous home stays that I could see, staring out from every corner. Keeping the area clean with a large tourist population is a challenge by itself! I saw a public toilet made from stone masonry, fashioned 
in typical Mawlynnong style with a thatched projection to provide a partial roof for the caretaker. (Given the village’s reputation for cleanliness, the insides could have been lots cleaner!)
How did the village community become a model of cleanliness and sanitation especially when this is a major problem in the rest of the country? In this village, the children are taught early on to partake in its beautification. During my exploration, I saw children with brooms in hand all over the street sweeping up dead leaves and garbage and emptying the rubbish bins after separating organic waste from dry trash.
So where did this affinity for cleanliness come from? Mawlynnong is mainly inhabited by the Khasi tribe, who are traditionally matrilineal. With women having a dominant role in society, it is perhaps natural for them to ensure their homes and environment are kept neat and 
orderly. This isn’t a habit, it’s a long-time tradition! And with the 2003 recognition, the village felt a sense of responsibility which they had to live up to and continue to do so to date. It’s nearly 20 years since the inhabitants tidied up a ritual so much so that the village went on to earn another sobriquet “God’s own Garden”. It may be an old achievement, but now the villagers actively play the role.
Bengaluru with its burgeoning population is nowhere close to such immaculate standards. Struggling with its garbage, the city is forced to look up to neighbouring Mysuru which in 2020 was adjudged the cleanest city among urban centres with a three to ten lakh population. This is the closest Bengaluru has got to being dubbed ‘clean’ !
*********
The writer is a Bengaluru based contributor for The Shillong Times