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This is an archive article published on April 1, 2010
Public inconveniences
When was the last time you travelled and needed to use the public facilities? Even at the newly refurbished airports of Mumbai and New Delhi you can be sure the bathrooms will be a filthy,stinking mess.
Written by Nonita Kalra
April 1, 2010 12:23 AM IST
3 min read
3 min read
When was the last time you travelled and needed to use the public facilities? Even at the newly refurbished airports of Mumbai and New Delhi you can be sure the bathrooms will be a filthy,stinking mess. Half a dozen attendants will be sitting around bemoaning the state of their lives but they will never get up to clean even though their job profile demands it. The same staff will be the first to turn a blind eye as the WC overflows. And yet,they are hugely efficient at dispensing one sheet of toilet paper to every single person who enters the bathroom.
But instead of getting mad at them I realized that the reason the bathrooms are perpetually dirty is because we Indians as a race dont seem to care about personal hygiene. Why else would we,for instance,repeat the same design flaw – over and over again. Take the taps in said airport loos. They are always placed just an inch too far from the sink. The result? Water that will come crashing out,spilling every where,wetting the counter but leaving you with dry hands. And have you noticed that even after you turn off the taps,there is a permanent drip? Every time I fly from Mumbai to the capital I find a new flaw in the bathrooms. Its as if an inspired genius took time out to plan the fiascos. No novice could come up with screw ups such as pitch dark stalls and overly high toilet seats.
The funny thing is that this masterful carelessness extends to our best restaurants and hotels making me suspect that the attitude is pandemic. Leaking flushes,malfunctioning taps and broken toilet paper holders are to be expected. What is invariably missing is the health faucet or the bum shower which is a must in every Indian home. Even more shocking is that they are completely absent even in large luxury hotels. Not even in the ones that charge you USD500 per night.
Airplane bathrooms of course take the cake. Even before you board the flight they stink. I have traveled in the best airlines of the world and none of their bathrooms make the grade. By the time the first 10 people have used the facilities the bathrooms need to be sealed to avoid a bio hazard.
Strangely enough the best public bathroom I have ever been to is right at home,in my neighbourhood. The facilities at the lobby level of the Taj at Apollo Bunder are amazing. There are fresh towels,superb toiletries and a sweet smile for everyone. The attendant cleans up after every use. Despite the huge security checks,it remains one of the busiest bathrooms and yet they manage to do a superb job. Which means we know how to do it right but for some odd reason we like our bathrooms to be served up soiled. Till this changes there is a simple trick for survival: Learn to hold your bladder like a camel retains water. The next bathroom around the corner is guaranteed to make you gag,so try and hold out till you reach home.
Nonita Kalra is the editor-in-chief of Elle
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