When I was very young, toilets were called toilets, whether at airports, railway stations or in homes. Then they came to be know as Lavatories, Wash Rooms and now Rest Rooms. That matter currently rests at Rest Rooms. In most homes they are still called toilets, however. I guess, they were looking for better sounding names to label public toilets, hence the migration. The place presumably stinks less when called by a less offensive name. Also, "I am going to the rest room" probably sounds more civil and agreeable than "Let me go to the toilet". Ugh, how can one go to a toilet, when just a few minutes of "rest" should take care of all that effusive urge?
Having studied in a Hindi medium boarding school, I was used to the term shauchalaya (शौचालय in Hindi) even for the hostel toilets, a term that remains unchanged to this day. Hindi speaking Indian homes have called them pakhana (पखाना in Hindi) without wincing or pinching the nose. There was a separate bathroom (गुसलखाना or स्नानघर in Hindi) With the advent of the combined bath and toilet the term changed to a less offensive "bathroom (बाथरूम in Hindi too)". So, even when one was going to the loo in an Indian home, one would say, "l am going to the bathroom". Taking a bath or a shower was not implied every time one announced the destination.
Well, the designation of the toilet underwent this massive change when I was not even watching. And, I learnt about this march of civilisation in a rather educative way. Having been dumped by an International flight at the Newark airport late one night we were looking for a place to stretch our legs. The connecting domestic flight was scheduled the next morning. One of us spotted a rest room sign in the terminal building. We were delighted at the prospect of a dormitory or a room with lounge sofas where we could spend the night. So, I despatched a member of the team to go look for it.
He went up and down the "Rest Rooms" sign a few times and came back. "Sir, there doesn't seem to be a rest room over there", he said.
I reprimanded him, "Can't you see the board there? It clearly says Rest Rooms. Let me go and check for myself".
Well, I too walked up and down the sign and found no trace of a rest room. Not even a narrow passage in the wall that could lead to a rest room deeper into the building. Every time I walked up, I would see a door to the toilets. Then coming back to the sign, I would see the same door again. Confused, but determined to solve the mystery, we went into a huddle just the way the West Indies cricket team had taught us. We came to the conclusion, "THE TOILET IS THE REST ROOM". Thus I made the discovery of the Rest Room on the American land. Wouldn't Columbus be proud of me?
Now, of course, Indian public places of some sophistication, such as Malls or Airports have rechristened their toilets Rest Rooms. The eponymous facility in the Indian Railways is used by loco pilots (engine drivers) for rest between duties, kind of a small running room. And, they actually do there what the name suggests - lie down in a bed, catch forty winks and wake up fresh to run the next train. And, of course, in the rest rooms they also have a rest room, oops .. .. a toilet.
For the hoi polloi caught in the maze of modern civilisation a rest room promises nothing more than a place to rest one's bladder and bowels. Maybe in the fast lane of life today that is rest enough.
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