Toilets

I was visiting an older relative of mine in India with my one year old daughter. While we were there my daughter pooped. So I asked my relative as to where I could change my daughter’s diaper. She immediately guided me to the washroom. As I was about to  ask her if I could use the dry bedroom floor for changing the diaper, the image of her grossed out look or her comment at using wet wipes to clean my kid’s ass instead of water flashed through my mind which made me seek the privacy of the washroom. I stepped in with my daughter and the diaper bag with a smile pasted on my face.

As soon as I closed the door behind us my smile vanished and I desperately looked around to find a way to change my daughter’s diaper. As I had suspected the floor was wet! The bathing area wasn’t enclosed. It was a typical semi-modern Indian bathroom; a portion designated for bathing with an imaginary line separating it from a lone wash basin at one corner right opposite  the toilet and the hand faucet (in case you are wondering, hand faucet is used for washing your bum). In India we use water to clean up our ass. We don’t use toilet paper.

When my husband and I shared this piece of information with a Canadian friend , she heartily agreed with the fact that water would do a finer job of cleaning than toilet paper does.

Her next question was:   “So what do you use to clean the area with while using water?”

Our reply:    “Our hand”.

We hear a grossed out “What? Doesn’t shit smudge all over your hand?”

We say:    ”No, not  if you do it properly. And the squatting position we use while using an Indian style toilet(can see the pic above) leaves nothing or very little shit behind to be cleaned.”

I personally like the Indian style toilets  in public washrooms because none of your body parts come in contact with any part of the toilet which makes it hygienic.

We practice Indo-Canadian methodology in our home. The first step is to wipe the ass with toilet paper, second step is to wash it with water and the third to wipe it again with the toilet paper which leaves us feeling totally clean and dry! 

PS : If you are wondering whether I managed to successfully change my daughter’s diaper, the answer is yes; but I don’t remember how. I guess all the thinking that I did (god alone knows for how long) in that bathroom fried my brains enough to instantly forget all about it!