India is in dire need of proclaiming an "Aesthetic Emergency" Everywhere you go you find that garbage is littered, roads are broken, wires tangle and hang precariously from rooftops, poles etc.

Commonwealth games are slightly more than a year away and it is interesting to see what the world sees. Why cant we beautify our roads and clean up our cities? Is it because we are not worried about it or the cost is too much? I believe that this is one area where poor governance has had an impact.

Government is good at "funding" public good causes but is very poor at providing the "services" that can do public good. There are numerous such instances in healthcare, education and also in public facilities. Arun Shourie once said that the government should not be in the business of running businesses.

It is time we woke up and paid heed to having better aesthetics. Even small countries like Malaysia and Indonesia are awesome in this respect.