There is possibly no urban Indian who has not visited a public toilet sometime. In Mumbai these toilets take on a different character. No, am not talking about how badly maintained they are and how the attendants may fleece people – all that is a given in Mumbai.
The ‘Ladies’ side of the public toilets are quite something else. A theatrical experience of sorts at the point of being an overstatement. For the women from the nearby hutments, public restrooms serve as an extension of their lives. So there is crying, laughing, dancing, fighting and also bathing in there. And there is also mafiagiri as it is these women who decide who uses which toilet, not the attendant.
Take for instance the toilet near Girgaum Chowpatty. Some 4-5 toilet enclosures for ladies but only one was available for ‘public.’ Two huge women stood guard inside to make sure that ‘outsiders’ use that one loo because the others were being used to bathe and wash clothes. No, the women did not look like those one would want to take panga with but when I asked, I was told one since one was vacant, no point making an issue. That was also right, actually.
At Dadar TT, of the seven-eight washrooms, some 4 were locked. In the two open ones, there were women and their children waiting in two queues. Their body language was clear – “we have kept a single lavatory vacant for you, use it and get lost.” Unfortunately, that one was not the best of the lot. At the toilet at Dadar, near Plaza theatre, thankfully the situation was better. Well-kept toilets and no dada women to tell you which one to use. The one at Bandra, I never see women visiting it since auto and taxi drivers are parked there permanently waiting to use the toilet or have a bath.
Many public toilets in and around Mumbai tell a similar story. Without sounding arrogant, the presence of widespread slum colonies ensures that a public toilet actually becomes a private one. This is not a ‘me’ versus ‘them’ argument, it is a question of civic sense which is sadly lacking in society in general. A slight reprieve in the last few years has come from malls and coffee shops. Lots of women visit malls only for the washrooms, though not all malls have classy ones. Some even visit hospitals.
There used to be this story making the rounds in journalism circles years ago. This very famous journalist who used to work for a newspaper in town used to frequent a five-star hotel everyday to use the toilet. The staff at the hotel kept a tab on her and realised that her only interest was the restroom and one day warned her and even complained to her newspaper. Don’t know whether the story is true or not but it is a telling fact on the state of public toilets in our urban places.