E-Toilet launched in Mumbai
The other day, during the Diwali holidays, we were going to our Native village. And this contraption, installed on Thane Belapur road, immediately caught my attention. Looking like a modern phone booth, it was all shiny, and the board on the top, said it with great modesty, "E-Toilet". Till now, in India, we can identify a public toilet, when you see (actually you don't want to see) , a person, either standing or sitting, getting it out of his system, oblivious to the world. Or if you see a constructed toilet, "Sulabh Sauchalaya" (which is one of India's well known brands) or it is that toilet constructed at bus stands and railway stations, which attracts the desperate denizens, just by the smell which radiates in all directions. Thus this E-toilet was certainly new to me and I decided to investigate. That time I was not in a desperate situation hence it was only to satisfy my curiosity and expand my sphere of knowledge, that I decided to investigate. Ignoring lot of protests from my wife and daughter, I screeched to a halt, on the side of the road and proceeded towards the contraption. First thing which I noticed was that the area around it was clean and there was no pungent smell in the vicinity. Impressed, but thinking that, maybe this is so because of it being newly installed, I went nearer. Second major discovery was that there was no person sitting outside, collecting money from prospective users. Suitably impressed, I saw that there was a board on the side...i went nearer to read. This board was really a user instruction manual!! It made a really interesting and entertaining read... Read on...
1. If E-toilet is empty insert coin- OK, you have to pay first before using... But how do you find out whether someone is using or not... No instruction...
2. Enter inside and pull the door from inside, only one person allowed inside- OK, why would somebody not shut the door... And why would two persons enter at one time... But then I thought, in India, anything is possible, so the toilet authorities are taking no chances and giving clear instructions...
3. After going inside, shut the door- OK, in the previous instruction you should pull the door, now you also have to shut it... This instruction is for those people, who like to do it in the open... This instruction makes it doubly sure that the door is shut tight and there is total privacy... So thoughtful...
4. On commencement of use of the toilet, light, fan and... VOICE GUIDE will start- why on earth, is the voice guide needed... People have been doing it for ages... Any ways... Of course they might not have used a E- toilet before, I remind myself...
5. After use, please press the flush switch to clean the toilet- yes, this instruction is required, otherwise people will come out without cleaning toilet. Of course, one is not sure whether the users will follow this instruction once their work is done
6. If the E-toilet is not cleaned then there is a facility to automatically flush and clean the E-toilet- if this is written, I am afraid, no one will follow the previous instruction, knowing the gentry who are expected to use it.
7. After use please clean the E-toilet- the toilet authorities are trying to make it doubly sure that people follow instruction no. 5.
8. Don't make a mess in the E-toilet- it is a hope that after this instruction, people will diligently follow it. After all India lives on hope.
The long list of instructions cleared my misunderstanding. It is not even remotely connected to the internet like E-chat, E-shopping, E-banking, etc.
So people, have lots to eat and drink and then rush to the nearest E-toilet to get that feeling of eternal bliss.
Yatin
The other day, during the Diwali holidays, we were going to our Native village. And this contraption, installed on Thane Belapur road, immediately caught my attention. Looking like a modern phone booth, it was all shiny, and the board on the top, said it with great modesty, "E-Toilet". Till now, in India, we can identify a public toilet, when you see (actually you don't want to see) , a person, either standing or sitting, getting it out of his system, oblivious to the world. Or if you see a constructed toilet, "Sulabh Sauchalaya" (which is one of India's well known brands) or it is that toilet constructed at bus stands and railway stations, which attracts the desperate denizens, just by the smell which radiates in all directions. Thus this E-toilet was certainly new to me and I decided to investigate. That time I was not in a desperate situation hence it was only to satisfy my curiosity and expand my sphere of knowledge, that I decided to investigate. Ignoring lot of protests from my wife and daughter, I screeched to a halt, on the side of the road and proceeded towards the contraption. First thing which I noticed was that the area around it was clean and there was no pungent smell in the vicinity. Impressed, but thinking that, maybe this is so because of it being newly installed, I went nearer. Second major discovery was that there was no person sitting outside, collecting money from prospective users. Suitably impressed, I saw that there was a board on the side...i went nearer to read. This board was really a user instruction manual!! It made a really interesting and entertaining read... Read on...
1. If E-toilet is empty insert coin- OK, you have to pay first before using... But how do you find out whether someone is using or not... No instruction...
2. Enter inside and pull the door from inside, only one person allowed inside- OK, why would somebody not shut the door... And why would two persons enter at one time... But then I thought, in India, anything is possible, so the toilet authorities are taking no chances and giving clear instructions...
3. After going inside, shut the door- OK, in the previous instruction you should pull the door, now you also have to shut it... This instruction is for those people, who like to do it in the open... This instruction makes it doubly sure that the door is shut tight and there is total privacy... So thoughtful...
4. On commencement of use of the toilet, light, fan and... VOICE GUIDE will start- why on earth, is the voice guide needed... People have been doing it for ages... Any ways... Of course they might not have used a E- toilet before, I remind myself...
5. After use, please press the flush switch to clean the toilet- yes, this instruction is required, otherwise people will come out without cleaning toilet. Of course, one is not sure whether the users will follow this instruction once their work is done
6. If the E-toilet is not cleaned then there is a facility to automatically flush and clean the E-toilet- if this is written, I am afraid, no one will follow the previous instruction, knowing the gentry who are expected to use it.
7. After use please clean the E-toilet- the toilet authorities are trying to make it doubly sure that people follow instruction no. 5.
8. Don't make a mess in the E-toilet- it is a hope that after this instruction, people will diligently follow it. After all India lives on hope.
The long list of instructions cleared my misunderstanding. It is not even remotely connected to the internet like E-chat, E-shopping, E-banking, etc.
So people, have lots to eat and drink and then rush to the nearest E-toilet to get that feeling of eternal bliss.
Yatin
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