Of BreakFast, Celine Dion, Bird Battles, Dirt is not Dirty, Squatty Potties, and other things

Squatty Potty: So, in India they use the squat toilet, with a cup of water to serve the purpose of toilet paper (I think much of Asia is like this). Usually there are two ceramic tiles that one places one’s feet on and below is the usual ceramic toilet bowl. It does seem to be a remarkably efficient way to go about things, as the majority of what needs to be achieved is done in about 15 seconds, as a matter of the anatomy of the human body (and the pressure generated within) and simple physics. Now, keeping one’s balance is a whole other matter. I always hope that there is some sort of handle nearby. The results could otherwise be disastrous.



Dirt is not Dirty: As I’m sure anyone who has gone camping or who perhaps lived in a rural area knows, dirt is not dirty, at least not in the bacterial sense. So, what I have observed in the rural areas is that after meals the dishes are taken out to the nearest pile of dirt, dirt is placed in/on the dishes and the dishes are vigorously scrubbed with dirt until all of the food particles are gone. After this, a light rinse is performed to get the dirt off. I think this is a water and soap-saving measure, in an area with little water and money. Kind of turns some thinking on its head though.



Bucket baths: I rather enjoy bucket baths in India. For a bucket bath you fill the bucket with water and then wet your body using a cup dipped in the water in the bucket, then you soap up and rinse off in the same way that you wet your body. It is simple and easy and I’m sure saves a boatload (many bucketloads?) of water, in an area where water is scarce. Perhaps a little adjustment is needed, but it’s quite nice.



Safaaee: this means cleaning. In Indian culture it has a very big place, as cleanliness is very important to Indians, i.e. your body should be clean, your house should be clean, the surroundings of your home should be clean, etc. There is a whole caste that is devoted to cleaning, the sweeper class, and they keep pigs for eating rubbish (pigs are considered very dirty in India and are not to be eaten), and go around to different places and sweep the road, and different areas. This is especially true in the rural areas. Both places I have stayed in the city have had cleaners, but I am not sure if they were from the sweeper caste or if they were merely people who needed the work (similar to house cleaners in the states). In general, caste is not very strong in the cities, but I don’t really know on this matter. So, I have gotten into caste. Let’s talk about it at a later date. For now, back on to cleaning. The head of the NGO is very into cleaning, so we take our little handheld sweepers (imagine long bundles of straw that you hold horizontally just above the ground to sweep) and sweep the heck out of things; and since this is a desert area without much grass and the living quarters are not sealed in any sense of the word, there is a whole lot of dust, along with some ant piles, in the rooms. The appearance of any dust on things such as computers, window sills, etc. also appears to be anathema to Indians, so that must be thoroughly swept as well. This is an interesting experience for me, as I have to maintain my room. I quite enjoy the cleaning process though it takes a decent amount of time (30 min.) and effort (getting down low, repeatedly sweeping, etc.). There is something satisfying about the process of figuring out how to move all of that dust, proceeding to move it, and then seeing the difference. Here is another place where more time is taken in India to do a task, but perhaps there is something in the time taken. In fact, the head of the NGO thinks of the cleaning as yoga, where the generally sense of yoga means making yourself stronger, more disciplined, and fitter (physically, mentally, spiritually, etc.). This strengthening, disciplining is a good thing and is perhaps something that the upcoming generation is missing. Am I saying that we should abandon our technology in order to strengthen and discipline ourselves? No, but perhaps we should at least re-think technology at times. Perhaps it is not so bad to mow a small lawn with a simple rotary lawn mower (i.e. no engine), or to wash the counters with simple vinegar and water solutions, or other such actions where technology perhaps does not really help us and instead weakens us by not making us do physical work, by creating too many chemicals that have to be disposed of, and using too much energy. What will the future of this type of work be? I have no idea, but I think there is something intrinsic in human nature that likes to do some of these basic tasks of upkeep and survival, and without them there is a loss of meaning and connection to what it means to live in this natural world. My thoughts anyhow.

Perhaps surprisingly this desire for cleanliness does not generalize to the public sphere, i.e. roadsides, public open spaces, etc. which are generally quite filthy with waste, dirt, plastic bags, and so forth. From this it can be seen that in India the sense of importance of public well-being is not well developed. That is, you take care of yourself, your home, and your family (in this instance, their cleanliness), but anything outside of that, even 10 feet, is not your business, so you don’t care how it is. As someone (Malaya) in my former study program pointed out, this is highly narrow thinking, because if there is a big pond of stinking, standing water in the poorer part of town, then mosquitoes will be bred that can fly away and bit anyone, regardless of where they live. Thus, dengue, malaria, etc. can strike anyone, even if they keep “their” area clean. Hence the need for thinking along the lines of public health and public well-being. I think it was like that in the US before big environmental pushes in the 60s and 70s, so these things come slowly. For the sake of all I hope that the situation improves in this regard. In a sign that perhaps it will, I have been told by the NGO chief that the state of Rajasthan is moving to ban plastic bags, which will greatly cut down on the amount of waste strewn across the land. Hopefully this is a sign of wider change to come.



Election update: I learned a bit more about the election since I last wrote. One is that a vote for the Congress government was a vote for stability in economics, and other aspects of governance. The BJP has been obstructionist against anything the previous Congress government wanted to do (even measures the BJP started when they were in power, e.g. the US-India nuclear deal), while the Left has been obstructionist in economic matters and anything involving the US (Left = communists, not left in US sense). So, the Indian people just wanted stability and the progress that brings. Ironically, the previous Congress government got a lot of the credit for a Left-driven policy: NREGA – the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which guarantees 100 days of employment at a rate of Rs 100/day for people in the rural area. While this may not seem like much (Rs 47.5 = $1), it is huge for the rural population of India and their way of life. The new Congress government will be expected to build on this with work in rural and urban health, in education, in economic reforms (to attract foreign investment, etc.; this will be easy with the Left out of government), and many other areas. It will be interesting to see how they do. Another interesting thing is that the Indian stock market, Sensex, shot up by 17% in the day after the election, the largest ever gain by a single market in world history. The markets like a stable, friendly government, no matter where you are.

Another interesting fact is that India has been relatively unaffected by the financial crisis, with its stock market actually growing by about 45% this year. An older Indian man I talked to gave me a possible idea as to why: India is not so dependent on credit, as people still save a lot of money and don’t spend out the wazoo. Perhaps there is a lesson here. Another thing I noticed is that the two countries that seem to be doing relatively okay with the downturn, China and India, are the two countries that have largely rejected the aid and guidance of western institutions such as the world bank and IMF in their national operations. They subsidized national companies, developed local industries, and all that jazz. Now they have some local strength. This perhaps too, is not a bad thing. Perhaps the market is not all-knowing after all, just good if properly controlled and directed in some sense (though not in the complete sense of communism). Note that most of this past paragraph was my speculations and thoughts. I think they are somewhat well-informed, though.
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