Modi's was dressed like a bride's father at a traditional Indian wedding -- in colorful Jodhpur style flowing turban. He spoke without notes and made animated gestures with both hands. He was the personification of leadership. He noted that half of the nation's population did not have access to household latrines and that it was a matter of shame for the country for half its people not having a latrine in their homes. Never before had a Prime Minister spoken with such candor on this taboo topic, although world agencies had identified the problem and its devastating impact on to public health. This is a topic that is rarely mentioned in common parley. We Indians use euphemisms in referring to toilet -- constitutional, excreta, stools. or defecation. We say poo, poop, loo, du-du, can, motion, 'going', bladder problem, front/back door, can, bath room, wash-room, night-soil, morning chores. morning ablution, making fertilizer and so on.
People in different linguistic States use their own terms such as Helu, Kakkas, Sandas, Doddi, Paikhana, ..... Further more, the reference word of one person is unlikely to be meaningful to a person of a different language.
Judging from the response of people across India, Modi has inspired people. As the Sanskrit proverb says, yatha rajah, tatha prajah (however acts the top man, so do the people at lower levels)
This blog is a compendium of the reactions, elaboration of the challenges, the linkage of diseases with open toilets, the behavioral changes needed and success reports. The objective of this blog is to open up a forum where the thinking and the doing, as well as honest feedback and stumbling blocks to this nation building activity get reported; This is also a means of evoking new thinking.
The subject had always been referred to in euphemistic or connotative words, but denotative words were a no-no, considered embarrassing and not in good style. In typical referral people talk about going to --: going to the can, du-doing, pooping, going to the office, going for a constitutional, regularity, motion, night soil, crap, shit/shitting, pee/peeing, taking a leak, output, morning ablution, human-manure/fertilizer, going with the water-pot, left-hand work or simply going. Nobody referred to it as defecation, excreta, and such other denotative words.
Not only did Modi spoke about it, but went on to announce how many million of these out-houses would be created through government funds. That was brazen disregard of the Indian norm of what a government should be concerned with. People were expecting announcements with respect to more job creation, inflation, agriculture, banking and so on.
