Squatters, Squatting and Squat
Trip Start
Sep 02, 2005
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10
18
Trip End
Oct 03, 2005
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Pushkar, India
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Not all homeless are begging for money, and not all "Homeless" are actually without homes. Squatters seem to have rights to any piece of land. It seems that many, many people live in open/abandoned buildings which are basically a cement floor with up to three full or partial cement walls. You can really feel something deep inside when you pass by a broken-down building with families and children all living in corners. It is really sad, and I always think, "I wonder what their lives are like?". I don't see how the government could pass any laws against squatters, as a huge part of India's population seems to be living on the street.
India does not have public restrooms (apart from some really nasty death holes at bus stops), nor do businesses have restrooms. Businesses are roughly 10 x 10 ft. cement blocks that often have a few people hanging out drinkin chai or lying on a carpet. So where does everyone pee? I want to first interject that my view on these things is only from 2 weeks in India, and obviously it is the anti-norm things that stick out in my mind. I hate to think that I might be insulting someone from India.
Regardless, I have seen people peeing in streams, in the road, at the bus stop and pretty much wherever and whenever there could be a need to urinate. I have not seen this from women but, then again, women are not seen out alone much. The general population is men although I have seen several women driving mopeds with their long saris floating behind them in the wind.
I have determined that men have it much easier in India and, perhaps, women stay home because the very few public restrooms are downright deadly. First of all, western (Eurpean and North American) toilets differ from other countries for those that do not know that. Toilets here, as in most other undeveloped countries, consist of a hole in the ground with a bucket of water and a scooper nearby. The idea is to squat, then toss some water on oneself (in place of using paper).
The squatting toilets really make much more hygenic sense than western toilets, and you really come to feel that way here. However, Indian women have had years of practice beyond my 6 weeks in foreign countried; I have much to learn about the art of squatting.
The "Box", which they call a bathroom, is usually a pool of urine and other solid materials if you are not so lucky. There is typically no ventilation unless you are in one of the few mostly open holes at a bus stop. It is quite tricky to hold your bag, cover your mouth and nose with either a tissue or your t-shirt (depending onm how bad you yourself smell that day), and keep your bag and pants from touching anything south of your rear. Yes, lovely' let's all take a moment to picture that now...
Okay, now that you have that picture in mind (by the way, picture yourself and not me) imagine how well you can balance with one hand holding your clothing and items and and another blocking the deadly fumes from entering your nose and making you pass out altogether. I gag and almost vomit about 30% of the time, but I have always managed not to fall forward or backwards into the cess pool of god knows what.
I end this on a positive note regarding India. There are so many poor people here that ain't got squat, but so many are such happy people. People here are on Indian time and not western time. Their happiness seems to come from life and not material things. I have even spoken with some shopowners about Ebay and asking if they have ever thought to use the internet to sell items, and they put me to shame by saying they are not in it for the money.
I often think that money is the root of evil. It is important to stay grounded and in touch with yourself and not get wrapped up in "The job", "The Car" and "The house". It is very easy to forget what is important and to put material things in place of family or spirituality. Visiting a country such as India helps to put things back in perspective. This is not due to my big 2 weeks of enlightenment here, but it reminds you of how happy people can be in a society in which material things have far less value than in the states.
As always, I must remind you to read my blogs keeping in mind that I know nothing about India and its people, and my thoughts are just that. India has its own set of judgements based upon castes and other things which I do not pretend to know anything about. It is just refreshing to take my own country's flaws and find that certain things are better and refreshing in a country that seems to have far less in other ways.
Comments
beers-squatting
try not to squat after a few beers... LOL Im glad your trip is going so well.
Home turf - an insiders view point
Finally found the time to read your blogs and now I find myself 100% hooked. It is like re-living first twenty two years of my life (born and raised in Lahore ... some three hundred miles west of New Delhi). Just laughing out loud reading your description of the local bath rooms. 'Death holes?'. You are being too kind. 'Death holes from the farthest depths of hell' is more like it. I say that all while acknowledging that these 'facilities' did not bother me one bit growing up (they were part of my world ... the only world I knew, and a world I long to return to someday, my home turf). The aweful disgusting smells, the homeless, the beggers, the cows, the dust .... oh, what a small price to pay to be with some of the most beautiful people and places on earth.
Thank you Stephanie for your blogs. You are doing great. Keep up! I am leaving soon for Pakistan/India/Sri Lanka for a six week trip of my own. I'll send you my own e-mail reports.
So long (for now).
Usman Aslam - AHFC
Amazing
Again, you sound like you are having great time. I am so happy that you are having fun. I bet you are learning alot from the people in India.
Mo
Squatters...
It is really refreshing to read your Blog, with your latest entry I now know you will not be shocked to learn we have sold all of your worldly possessions on Ebay while were gone. Oh yeah, we have also removed the toilet paper and toilet seat from your bathroom.
Love You,
Mom and Dad
The balancing act!!
Hi - I am really enjoying your journals - it reminds me of past memories of a few travels I've had with the holes in the ground with foot markers on the ground to stand. But I have never been to India, so it is all very interesting. Your trip is a great opportunity to see another culture close up and one I am sure you will always remember. Take care and work on keeping your balance :)
Annette
From a Westerner's Sheltered View
Hey Usman, I am glad you got the time to read some of my entries. I had actually forgotten that I had an acquaintence from India that would be reading my blog. Regardless, I have been fearing that I might insult someone telling only of the crazy stories that I have encountered; I hope I have not.
India is indeed a beautiful country with very beautiful people, and I am having such a wonderful time interacting with people here. This trip is better than I had imagined.
chemicals?
Ok just out of morbid curiosity, is what's below the hole a chem toilet like a porta potty, just a big barrel, or worse just a hole with no drainage?