JOIN USWomen tourists and toilets
Sometime back, I read of women tourists complaining about the lack of toilets in Hampi. That piece of news brought back memories of my own experiences as a tourist. Men
have been blessed, generously, in this matter.
I visited Rajasthan in December to celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary. With great expectations, we landed in Jaipur and checked into a hotel. We were shown to our rooms and there I was, standing in a bathroom where the commode was cramped between the wash-basin and the bath. After relieving myself, while getting hold of the toilet faucet, I had an unintended shower to my utter surprise. The faucet was placed behind, on the wall, most inconveniently. By the time I could bring it to appropriate use, I was drenched fully.
I had a few more horrific experiences during our visit to Ladakh. I know. Ladakh is not a human-friendly terrain; but being one of the most sought-after tourist destinations, the lack of this basic facility was a spoiler. Aspiring tourists, consider warned!
Ladakh’s beauty is simply mesmerising; it also seems to be a toilet-free zone, literally! After miles of travelling, you would be lucky to see one dingy shed put up by the locals with some old tin sheets passing off as toilets.
As beautiful as the terrain is, it is mostly devoid of any cover like a tree or a boulder. You are forced to use the make-shift tin shed. Else, you’ll have to use the car and the members of your family as cover.
Well, that was just a trailer compared to the experience atop the Khardungla Pass, which is at a height of 18,380 feet. With temperatures way below freezing point, the need to relieve oneself becomes more frequent and often dire. Up there is a point for travellers to stretch their legs after a perilous ride and of course, relieve themselves. We, women of Indian, Japanese, Korean and various other nationalities were united in hunting for a toilet. We were shown a shed and directed to go behind that particular one to do the needful.
The biggest surprise of my life awaited there. There it was. What could have been the most amazing structure of artistic excellence but for its origins – a frozen, stinking hillock. We had no choice but to add layers to it.
Toilet - Ek Prem Katha is not just the story of rural women asserting the need for toilets, it’s a prem katha of every female tourist in India.