If I ask you that which is the place where you get your
share of peace for each day of your mechanical life?
Okay, if I ask that which is the place where you would visit
everyday without fail (subject to ill health)?
Now I think many of
you have guessed it right that I am talking about the most important place of
our life where we get an extra piece of relief, I am talking about restrooms,
washrooms or better say Toilets.
Toilets play a critical role in our daily life, and I am not
the first person who is writing on this subject, many more scholars and big
shots have also written about toilet.
For reference I share a few with you,
“It is better to have a relationship with someone who
cheats on you than with someone who does not flush the toilet.”
--Uma Thurman
”Toilets first, temples later”
---Narendra Modi
It is the best place in your house which you can use as
“Private Zone” and you can be a bit more relaxed while sitting here than any
other area of your house.
Indians are Intelligent but they are also known for their
misconceptions and superstitions, if we talk about going toilet, many people
have their own morning habits for this task, I know many people just go there,
sit, wash, flush and return. But for a large chunk of people going toilet is a
big task.
Let’s have a flashback…..
I spent my childhood in a small village so I start with my
village, at that time people used to visit farms, forests, and ponds for the
daily routine. Having a house was more important then having a toilet in house.
So, many times for the elder people of village it was a point of get to gather
and they used to discuss important issues during their toilet sessions, issues
like, which fertilizer should be used, what is the right time for seeding the
farms, whose son is ready to be married in market, whose buffalo is giving how
much milk etc.
Children also used to go and sit in abandoned farms and open
lands. They used to play with pebbles and bushes around while their sessions,
many times they used to discuss about the “Kancha tournaments” and they get
their school bunk planned in that session.
I have seen women too; they generally used to form a group
of 5-7 and then go. Their usual topics of discussion were the same as today when they meet.
Let’s come back to
today’s era….
Now when people have built toilets in their houses, they
usually don’t need to go outside and they don’t get company to discuss
important matters while their toilet sessions, it become difficult to have a
“Successful Toilet Session”. Here I will not elaborate the “Successful session”
it’s your task to understand.
People have developed strange habits to have a “Successful
Session”. Here I share some strange and some known habits which people follow
to have their successful morning call.
I start with my grandfather, he used to smoke beedi in
normal day but every morning he needed a filter cigarette. He explained to me
that without that filter cigarette he couldn't get his pressure. He
carried this habit with him for long time.
Same as my grandfather my father developed habit to chewing tobacco;
he keeps the small boxes of tobacco and chuna under his pillow, to make
it sure that after waking up first thing should be tobacco which goes into his
mouth.
Chewing tobacco, smoking cigarettes are the known habits
which many people follow today, but Mahesh uncle, one of our neighbors was
having a strange habit, on the corner of the street where we used to live,
there was a sweet shop, and every morning they used to sale hot jalebi, samosa
kachori and the Famous Indorie Poha. Now if Mahesh uncle doesn't get the Kachori
with Imli chutney from that shop, he wouldn't get his “Successful toilet
Session” and it is believed that because of this habit he used to deny
travel much and go outstations because he needed that Kachori everyday.
Apart from these habits of eating Kachori, smoking cigarette
/bidi, chewing tobacco/gutakha/paan masala or drinking a hot cup of tea there
is a big group of people who go and read news paper inside the toilet, I am
sure many of you would admit this fact to bring newspaper in toilet, now we have
different variants of this habit as well, like one of our relatives has designed
his toilet in a way that a folding table is attached in front of his toilet
seat which he would use to read news paper. One of my friends doesn't get his
share of peace in toilet if he doesn't get a fresh set of news paper or better
I say a virgin newspaper. Our college topper and gold medalists had a habit to
go with formula sheets and other tutorials with him while going inside.
I see that things are not changed today as well, now the
young generation has I-pads, smart phones, laptops and PSPs in their hands while they go
inside.
Now it’s your turn to admit… what you bring along with you
when you go “Inside”??
Share interesting Toilet habits you have seen in people ….
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