Saturday 23 April 2016

Bathroom Musings on a Sunday Morning....!


The morning bathroom is a always a dreaming place. All those who use it in the morning for the usual charities and other purposes know it. The east wind of Chennai from the Bay of Bengal comes soothingly through the side window and the little exhaust fan runs on its own due to the blow of the wind. The white ambience of the room is always inviting and to read the news paper goes hand in hand with making the morning contributions. Not necessarily one has to read the papers, but with me with the passage a of time it has become a habit. Difficulty to cut out a habit is really tough.

Once the major news are over attention shifts to the near by shower and the shaving materials kept on the side of the wash basin. Surprisingly, the items kept there the day before are not found. The new little bathroom cupboard stood majestically over the wash basin. There is a chance these little items of morning use may have found their way into the new cupboard. Yes, they are there. One by one they all travelled back to the edge of the wash basin where they used to rest for the last three or so years.

The little tube holding the shaving lather cream is pressed and the face brush takes over the rubbing up on the face with a creamy layer and then comes the three edged razor called Lazor which makes a smooth shave. Since the tripple edged shave is smooth, my mind ran over the various matters of governance like all other people who buy the morning newspaper called 'The Hindu'. It is always agog with the latest news and gets one thinking if not acting. There was a time going to the far edge of the compound was the norm in the moring which has now changed. Then no body could think of having a loo or toilet inside the house. Ayurvedic tennets did not allow anything not so clean inside or near the house, but far far from the house only. But new studies, new knowledge and information changed all that.

Shaving was with a 7 o' clock blade in a safety set which is pulled over a face well creamed. That old shaving set is still kept as a memorablia and at times used. After the shave if I have to remove some extra disobdient hairs I still use it, after removing the safety holder off the stick and it still works well. When I though of the early shaves, I always loved to use the old custom made leather belt with the shaving knife which my father used to use. The knife is sharpened on the belt from time to time. My father used to talk to all of us on general matters of home while sharpening the shaving knife and as the talk conluded he slowly slipped into silence and shaving with rapt attention to the purpose. He only use to wet his face with cold water and after the shave he had a ksharam stone crystal which dipped in water was applied on the face before he washed his face clean. Once he wiped his face clean, he always looked younger and I liked it..!


Now the times have changed! No body ever uses the ksharam stone or the shaving knife. Very rare..if at all..! I my self is in the throe of changing over to the tripple edged as using my heart throb shaving set with the 7 o' Clock blade is becoming cumbersome compared with my son's tripple edged 'Lazor' set. Of course the next (this is a Philip's electrical set) set I have reserved for future urgent use only.

All through, none of these are the things making me think. Those are the matters of governance. What will happen in the country. The kind of Governments we have, an on coming draught, an expected more than enough monsoon which make us all very happy, the recent movies in the movie halls, the pros and cons of spending an afternoon in the near by movie hall called 'Mayajaal'..! Don't know how it all will turn out.

Now I have to stop thinking as my wife has started calling out for me to vacate the bath room. So, bye for now.








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