Inauguration of the Public Toilet, Jaanu Nagar
[21-01-2008]
That day, DTC buses had arrived in Ghevra and left from there all morning according to their usual routine. The weather was clear, people smiled, and two lines of chalk powder ran along the edges of the road leading into Ghevra. Two white lines, running along the road, turning as the road bends. Our story too, takes a turn along one such bend. The driver of the DTC bus, route number 949, alights from the bus and asks a shopkeeper, "What's going on here?" Folding a betel leaf, the shopkeeper replies, "The Toilet is about to be inaugurated. The MLA is coming to Ghevra."
That day, DTC buses had arrived in Ghevra and left from there all morning according to their usual routine. The weather was clear, people smiled, and two lines of chalk powder ran along the edges of the road leading into Ghevra. Two white lines, running along the road, turning as the road bends. Our story too, takes a turn along one such bend. The driver of the DTC bus, route number 949, alights from the bus and asks a shopkeeper, "What's going on here?" Folding a betel leaf, the shopkeeper replies, "The Toilet is about to be inaugurated. The MLA is coming to Ghevra."
Both look up in the direction he has pointed towards. Only a faint outline of a tent that has been set up opposite G Block can be seen from this point. Water has been sprayed on the road. It has washed the road and settled the dust. The empty T-junction that this road ends in, has been transformed today by the setting up of the tent.
On approaching, one can see people have been seated on chairs inside the tent. Some names, that have been selected beforehand, are being called out from the stage. Whoever's name is called, gets up, dusts his clothes, wipes his face with his hands and goes and stands in front of the man who is calling out the names. Today this place, which otherwise lies empty, is filled with many people. People, who have been offered chairs to sit, and who are optimistic about gaining something from what is about to happen.
Alongside, there are also those who are standing, and they seem to be here to listen to what will be said by those who take the stage.
Away from all these people, government officials stand together in a group, at one end of the toilet. The gate to the toilet has been decorated with marigold flowers, and today it looks no less than the entrance to a temple. Pots with marigold flowers have been set at the door of each toilet; their leaves shine in the sunlight and keep swaying in the breeze.
The white and the black cars finally begin to arrive, one by one. From the tent, a voice begins to be heard, asking more people to come into it. It calls: "The pradhan [local leader] of Sawda village is amidst us now...", "Nizampur's pradhan has arrived...", "Ghevra's pradhan is here with us in this gathering..."
There is a notebook. It contains the names of all the hopefuls of this day. They have been drawn from different blocks of Ghevra colony, and from the Savda village as well.
The cars continue to come. Politicians, many of whom are dressed from head to toe in white, though some are wearing cream coloured waist cloths and white shirts, and are covered almost entirely with woollen shawls, are here. Some are wearing traditional headgears.
A voluminous spray of lectures sprung forth from the stage. Everyone present on stage had something to say. One gentleman said efforts are being made to make electricity and water available, and have public toilets functional in Ghevra. Someone said, all kinds of efforts need to be made in Savda-Ghevra, and presented a list of names of people who were in need of different things. Another said, "I too am the son of a farmer, and I understand your difficulties and your sorrows in this place. Therefore, on this occasion of the inauguration of the toilet, I announce that blankets will be distributed to those people who are seated in front of us. And it will be one from amongst those who are to receive these blankets, who will hand out these blankets today."
One person now appeared on stage, held the microphone with both hands, turned to someone and said, "Salimji, call the names of the people to whom slips have been given for today." Whose name was about to be aThe toilet has been inaugurated, but it is not yet open for being use. That will happen only after a caretaker is appointed to it. Till then, people will continue to live by the same rhythms that they have been living by till today. nnounced first? The public sitting on chairs before the stage grew restless.
The moment soon passed and, one by one, those with a slip issued by the MLA for this day went up to the stage in response to their name being called out. The ones giving away the blankets on the stage would ask each person who came to the stage his name, give him a blanket, take the slip for him, and send him back to his seat.
While this went on, the other guests entered the toilet to see how it had been constructed. People who live in the colony also entered along with them for a view. Some even checked the facilities. The men and the women were not segregated today. But still it was clear that it was men who filled the toilet, while the women stood outside, engrossed in watching blankets being given away and noting who all the blankets were being given to, and which blocks were left out of this ceremony.
After a lot of time passed in this way, people began to return to where they had come from. A restiveness filled the colony: "What kind of a giving, what kind of a donation was this?" people said, "It was as if a big favour was being done! They knew the blankets were to be given to the old and the disabled, then couldn't they have given bigger blankets! These blankets are enough to cover only small children! It would have been far better to give money instead! That way people could have added some of their own money to it, and atleast bought something they liked."
Soon, the inauguration ceremony ended. The crowd dissolved and the politicians left. The thousands of blankets that had been brought for the inauguration had all been given away.
TATA 407 tempos arrived at the public toilet, and the pots of marigold that had been playing with sunlight till now were loaded onto them. The strings of marigolds that had adorned the doors and the walls of the toilet began to be carried away on motorcycles. Those who had set up the tent removed the silver strings that decorated the tent and left them on the road. Only the scaffolding of the tent now remained.
The toilet has been inaugurated but it is not yet open to use. That will happen only after a caretaker is appointed to it. Till then, people will continue to live by the same rhythms that they have been living by till today. The lock to the main entrance, which had been removed in the morning, has been replaced on the gate.
On approaching, one can see people have been seated on chairs inside the tent. Some names, that have been selected beforehand, are being called out from the stage. Whoever's name is called, gets up, dusts his clothes, wipes his face with his hands and goes and stands in front of the man who is calling out the names. Today this place, which otherwise lies empty, is filled with many people. People, who have been offered chairs to sit, and who are optimistic about gaining something from what is about to happen.
Alongside, there are also those who are standing, and they seem to be here to listen to what will be said by those who take the stage.
Away from all these people, government officials stand together in a group, at one end of the toilet. The gate to the toilet has been decorated with marigold flowers, and today it looks no less than the entrance to a temple. Pots with marigold flowers have been set at the door of each toilet; their leaves shine in the sunlight and keep swaying in the breeze.
The white and the black cars finally begin to arrive, one by one. From the tent, a voice begins to be heard, asking more people to come into it. It calls: "The pradhan [local leader] of Sawda village is amidst us now...", "Nizampur's pradhan has arrived...", "Ghevra's pradhan is here with us in this gathering..."
There is a notebook. It contains the names of all the hopefuls of this day. They have been drawn from different blocks of Ghevra colony, and from the Savda village as well.
The cars continue to come. Politicians, many of whom are dressed from head to toe in white, though some are wearing cream coloured waist cloths and white shirts, and are covered almost entirely with woollen shawls, are here. Some are wearing traditional headgears.
A voluminous spray of lectures sprung forth from the stage. Everyone present on stage had something to say. One gentleman said efforts are being made to make electricity and water available, and have public toilets functional in Ghevra. Someone said, all kinds of efforts need to be made in Savda-Ghevra, and presented a list of names of people who were in need of different things. Another said, "I too am the son of a farmer, and I understand your difficulties and your sorrows in this place. Therefore, on this occasion of the inauguration of the toilet, I announce that blankets will be distributed to those people who are seated in front of us. And it will be one from amongst those who are to receive these blankets, who will hand out these blankets today."
One person now appeared on stage, held the microphone with both hands, turned to someone and said, "Salimji, call the names of the people to whom slips have been given for today." Whose name was about to be aThe toilet has been inaugurated, but it is not yet open for being use. That will happen only after a caretaker is appointed to it. Till then, people will continue to live by the same rhythms that they have been living by till today. nnounced first? The public sitting on chairs before the stage grew restless.
The moment soon passed and, one by one, those with a slip issued by the MLA for this day went up to the stage in response to their name being called out. The ones giving away the blankets on the stage would ask each person who came to the stage his name, give him a blanket, take the slip for him, and send him back to his seat.
While this went on, the other guests entered the toilet to see how it had been constructed. People who live in the colony also entered along with them for a view. Some even checked the facilities. The men and the women were not segregated today. But still it was clear that it was men who filled the toilet, while the women stood outside, engrossed in watching blankets being given away and noting who all the blankets were being given to, and which blocks were left out of this ceremony.
After a lot of time passed in this way, people began to return to where they had come from. A restiveness filled the colony: "What kind of a giving, what kind of a donation was this?" people said, "It was as if a big favour was being done! They knew the blankets were to be given to the old and the disabled, then couldn't they have given bigger blankets! These blankets are enough to cover only small children! It would have been far better to give money instead! That way people could have added some of their own money to it, and atleast bought something they liked."
Soon, the inauguration ceremony ended. The crowd dissolved and the politicians left. The thousands of blankets that had been brought for the inauguration had all been given away.
TATA 407 tempos arrived at the public toilet, and the pots of marigold that had been playing with sunlight till now were loaded onto them. The strings of marigolds that had adorned the doors and the walls of the toilet began to be carried away on motorcycles. Those who had set up the tent removed the silver strings that decorated the tent and left them on the road. Only the scaffolding of the tent now remained.
The toilet has been inaugurated but it is not yet open to use. That will happen only after a caretaker is appointed to it. Till then, people will continue to live by the same rhythms that they have been living by till today. The lock to the main entrance, which had been removed in the morning, has been replaced on the gate.
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