There are several types of museums all over the world. But
have you so far come across a museum of “toilets”? Yes, you heard it right!
There is a museum of toilets, right in the capital city of India.
I noticed this place on Google Maps. And once while I was
passing from nearby, I decided to halt and make a visit. This is “Sulabh
International Museum of Toilets” and it is situated in Mahavir Enclave area of
Delhi. The exact location is too inside the lane so you can either follow the mobile
maps or else you can watch for a name-place “Sulabh” written at the entry of
the lane in Mahavir Enclave.
The museum consists of pictures from the beginning of history
explaining how the toilet system developed in India as well as across the globe.
There are real toilet seats, models and other artefacts in the museum.
At some places in Europe, the toilet seats were “decorated” so that while those were not being used, those appeared like a show-case.
In the above picture, you can notice a wooden toilet seat in
the shape of a “book” near the wall.
Besides it there is a wooden toilet seat which played a duel
role of a table as well as toilet. While it was not used, it served as a table.
When used, its upper cover was just detached and then the person could sit over
it. It was portable and came handy for places like hunting or war where it was
carried.
Above, you can see a “throne toilet” which was used by a king
from Europe. The King had an ailment due to which he took very long time in
toilet and could get nature’s call abruptly. Hence he made this throne which
was also a toilet. He could sit over it and also attend to discussions and talk
to people while using the toilet.
Several types of toilets and related washroom stuff from the past.
“SquatEase” is a new type of toilet developed which is easy
on the knees and hence comes to help for people who can’t squat in regular
Indian style of toilets. It is an innovative product by a young entrepreneur
from Pune. You can read more about it here.
Toilet
and double pits design which needs least maintenance – this is highly rewarded
design by Sulabh
A toilet design where the water from hand-wash (left) is used
for flush
About Sulabh International
Sulabh
International is an India-based social service organization that works to
promote human rights, environmental sanitation, non-conventional sources of
energy, waste management and social reforms through education. The organization
counts 50,000 volunteers. Sulabh International is the largest nonprofit
organization in India.
Sulabh
was founded by Bindeshwar Pathak from Bihar State in 1970 .And have 50,000
volunteers Innovations include a scavenging-free two-pit pourflush toilet
(Sulabh Shauchalaya); safe and hygienic on-site human waste disposal
technology; a new concept of maintenance and construction of pay-&-use
public toilets, popularly known as Sulabh Complexes with bath, laundry and
urinal facilities being used by about ten million people every day and
generates bio-gas and biofertilizer produced from excreta-based plants, low
maintenance waste water treatment plants of medium capacity for institutions
and industries. Other work includes setting up English-medium public school in
New Delhi and also a network of centres all over the country to train boys and
girls from poor families, specially scavengers, so that they can compete in
open job market.
Bindeshwar
Pathak has been conferred with the 2009 Stockholm Water Prize for his
contributions towards his work. Sulabh International awarded Gandhi Peace Prize
for year 2016 jointly with Akshaya Patra Foundation in 2019.
An Interesting Question About Indian
Vs Western Toilets
While
I was seeing the museum, a Sulabh volunteer came and politely asked me to ask
any queries if I had so that he could answer. I took the opportunity to ask a
question I had in my mind for long time. Why do we see a difference between
Indian style of toilet (which needs squatting) and Western style of toilet (which
needs sitting)? Why did India and Europe develop different styles of toilet
instead of a single style?
His
answer was most educating. He explained it as follows:
In
ancient Indus Valley Civilization of Mohenjo-daro, people had sitting toilets
similar to the Western style of toilets we had today. Here is a picture of the
same:
The
toilet was made of bricks. People used to sit on it and the waste went down and
passed through drains to outside of the city:
Looking
at this arrangement, I could not stop but be proud of our ancestors. They had this
design in India (Indus valley) around 2500 BC – i.e. about 4500 years ago. Wow!
Afterwards,
when Aryan Civilization developed and spread in India, Aryans had a different
set of concepts and rules of hygiene. Aryans believed in not “touching” the toilet
seat while using the toilet because otherwise germs and disease could spread.
Therefore, they did not have sitting toilets but squatted while using toilets.
This
practice and concept of hygiene was also adopted by many Islamic regions who
still practice it today.
Squatting
also had some health benefits, e.g. it helps those who have constipation
problem.
Now,
this practice had a side-effect. Because of maintaining “distance” from objects
while using toilets was necessary, people went to places far away from their
homes, for example in the fields or in the forest, to defecate. This developed
the practice of what we call “open-defecation”. It was “open” in the sense that
it was not inside homes. And current government and Prime Minister Narendra
Modi is fighting against this “open-defecation” practice in rural part of India
and has been largely successful.
This
practice of keeping defecation at a distance from homes was actually helpful
during the old period. In Europe, one of the reasons behind “black deaths” or “bubonic
plague” which killed one third of Europe’s population was poor sanitation. People
in Europe used pots inside their homes for toilets and lacking alternatives, threw
away the waste on the streets, leading to the plague disaster.
Hearing
this explanation of the historical background, I felt enlightened. I came back
from this museum with more knowledge and empathy about this.
If
you are curious enough, do pay a visit to this unique museum of toilets. And praise
Sulabh International and its founder.
- Rahul Tiwary
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