The Art of Pooping

Disclaimer – The facts expressed here belong to everybody, the opinions to me. The distinction is yours to draw…

India will always be a developing country. The civility of our countrymen will force it to remain that way. We just cannot let go of our animal like tendencies and make way to something less grotesque. 

So I understand that we derived the idea of shitting and peeing anywhere and everywhere from our ancestors the Chimpanzees or conceptually the early Man. But while the rest of the world evolved into people with stance and etiquette, we stuck like glue to our age old barbaric living. We continued blessing the land with our faeces and piddle undisturbed, in every land or nook left unattended and unused. Our citizens, be it man or woman, do not believe in false modesty by shying away from the concept of pooping together while the rest of the world passes them unperturbed.

I have spent a large part of my life seeing the buttocks of a considerate number of slum dwellers as the bus dropped me to school every morning and if in case I got too busy to notice the defecating ceremony, I could still catch a glimpse or two through the windows of my classroom. All this became possible due to the large ground facing the slums and located right in front of my school, which the thoughtful government kept free for conducting small sports activities. Every morning, the slum dwellers, irrespective of their gender, age or butt cheek size, march towards the ground with a mug of water, unload the previous days load and frolic back with a smile of satisfaction on their face. On the same ground every year in the month of October, thousands of people including me stand to joyfully celebrate the bursting away of Ravana. To prep up of the land for the Dussehra celebrations, the munificent municipal corporation comes with truckload of sand to carpet the land fully pasted with human poop. The land becomes a fresh open toilet for the slum dwellers from the next day onwards. 

Soon the less barbaric lot of the city, wrote and pestered the local government to build public toilets on that land for the satisfaction of both the excreting slum dweller and the forced to watch plebeians. Hence, a line of toilets were built upon the area which was poop coated every day. But they say it right, ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’. While some the residents started using the newly built toilets, majority continued to practice their age old tradition by sitting right outside the toilet and defecating, sometimes accompanied by domestic animals. The dog and the master pooped together and that my friend is the equality we were unceasingly searching for. 

The human mind is hard to decipher and the act of those who had a toilet to use but were persistent on passing stool on an open land, is still being researched upon. Even a notice was pasted on the walls of the toilet that not even a penny is charged for using the toilet, made brick by brick only for the slum dwellers.

The reason for ignoring the amenities could be many. May be it is the joy of a taking a dump in the company of your family and friends. Maybe it’s their preferred way to discuss the current affairs of the world. Maybe it’s their chance of meeting new people. Maybe it’s the view. Like I said, the human mind is hard to decipher.

P.S. – Comments other than the one relating to the above post and in particular towards my country will not be tolerable. Mind you! You are dealing with a patriot 😉

45 thoughts on “The Art of Pooping

      1. India? I’ve always wanted to take a vacation there. People making use of nature for toilet facilities happens everywhere – even in the USA, although it is punished by law if someone sees and reports it. 😦

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      2. Well people have least respect towards law here :).. Anyways ,hope to see you in India soon. “Atithi Devo Bavha”, That’s our slogan 🙂

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  1. I’ve never read/heard the likes of this….what I marvel at is the contrast between what you’ve seen and who you are….you are one of the most elegantly-articulate people I’ve ever connected with, yet you’ve grown up in a culture that includes a practice that is, arguably, repellent. Yet, even as you speak of it, your writing style and charm takes the yuck out of it, and leaves me curious….now, that speaks to your talent….thanks for sharing 🙂

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    1. You very well know I can’t catch up with you when it comes to expression of thoughts lol. You are just on a different league Truly .And nope it’s never been a practice as has been saying.. It’s all in the mindset 🙂 Not gonna ask you how you view me since I’m pretty sure I will be loaded with a unending supply of compliments 😛

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      1. I am such a fan of all you write….and, your comments are as charming as your posts…I hope you are having an enjoyable day and are finding things to smile about. And, please know that I appreciate any opportunity to heap compliments on people who are generous enough to share their awesomeness in the interest of making the world a better place…you, my friend, definitely fit the bill 🙂

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      2. Sometimes truly, all a person wants is an empathetic ear; all he or she needs is to talk it out. Just offering a listening ear and an understanding heart for his or her suffering can be a big comfort and I enjoy this comfort with you 🙂

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  2. So, your keen observation ensued from visible surroundings. 😀 I had also seen a group of slum boys who used to sneak a look into bedrooms and loos, at the neighbouring houses, through windows and ventilators. Then they talked about them doing faces as if the they had done a great job. 🙂

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  3. As I read this, I can’t help but stare at the “swach Bharat” posters peeping through my window.I am from Kolkata and the poster reads South 24 Pargana is soon going to be declared as the the district which is devoid of any ‘open shitting and peeing ground’ on 31st March.The poster makes me burst into an ironial laugh everytime I see some urchins peeing right under it….

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  4. While it’s not desirable to have your sports ground carpeted in poo, there’s something to be said for the relaxed attitude of the poopers. We in the UK are so uptight about pooping that we like to pretend we don’t do it at all. No wonder so many of us suffer from constipation and other bowel problems.

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  5. If you think about it, poop is nature ‘s fertilizer. Everything returns to nature. Vietnam also has similar pooping practices. With some Amerasians migrating to the US after the fall of Saigon, they even had to learn how to use a toilet.In some other countries(cant recall any specific one right now),some use latrines. I’m sure the cavemen and aborigines had similar cleansing practices as well.

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    1. It’s not about how one poop that I have an issue.. It’s about the public nuisance that these people resort to even when they have been given the amenities.
      PS- Those western toilets are a serious health hazard.

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      1. I hear you. What I’m trying to ay is another side of the discussion. Sometimes, some habits aren’t easy to shed off. Some folks do use the toilet amenities properly, some still misuse it out of ignorance orinability to shed some bad toileting habits.

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  6. I must say that, although I knew this was an issue, I did not realize it was so widespread (no pun intended).
    It must play havoc with the sanitariness of the land. I can handle most things in life, but not certain I could tolerate this well here in the US. Tells me how different societies are.

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  7. Omg! Thanks for this post..it’s high time for this issue being raised! I have been thinking about it for quite a sometime now..and not only “the art of pooping” but also the art of peeing! God, they pee almost everywhere, wherever they please to..behind construction metro pillars, against a wall, side of the road, just anywhere! It is soo disgusting! I wish this scenario changes! SOON!

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  8. Acha hai sirf lota lekar gaye. If the western culture were to seep in, banners wouldn’t exist because they will be the toilet papers.
    Swacch bharat ka naya slogan, ” lota in the right place, lota to wipe your butt and face”

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