"Indians introduced British men in the delights of regular bathing."
"Those who had returned home (to Britain) and continued to bathe and shampoo themselves on a regular basis found themselves scoffed at as ‘effeminate’."
William Dalrymple in White Mughals
"Those who had returned home (to Britain) and continued to bathe and shampoo themselves on a regular basis found themselves scoffed at as ‘effeminate’."
William Dalrymple in White Mughals
THE first Englishmen who came to India as servants of the East India Company were bewildered by the Hindus taking a daily bath. Those Indians who visited England in the 17th and 18th ce, had not recorded their impressions about bathing facilities in the houses they lived in.
For most Englishmen of the 17th and 18th centuries, a bath must have been a rare experience indeed, affordable to the very rich, who perhaps took baths when they felt particularly obnoxious. Such indulgences were possible only during the few weeks of what the English call summer
Even those who thus bathed their bodies a few times every summer kept their heads above water. In other words, a bath did not also involve a hair-wash. Otherwise why they should adopted—a special word shampoo, which is derived from the Hindi word, champi, for ‘massage’??
Source : Smelling sahibs learnt to bathe in India by Manohar Malgonkar
Out in the tropics Goras must have gone about smelling quite a bit upon discovery of lands outside Europe, it is a fact, the Chinese, when they first encountered the White man described him as "the smelly one".
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and they still smelled pretty good by June. However, since they were starting to smell, brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence, carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women, and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was very dirty.
Yet some people who have no clue about European history have doubts about why hygiene standards amongst their descendants is bad.
Because age old habits die hard.
Because age old habits die hard.
All bathrooms have doors but not all lock it when in use. The French do everything in their bathrooms without locking the door. Children walk in and out while a parent is in the shower or bath in their bday suit. Bathroom door is closed when in use only if there is a houseguest.
In European families, bathrooms doors are left open WHILE IN USE because modesty in a bathroom is not something that is even considered in these cultures. In the USA, it is custom to leave the bathroom door open when nobody is in the bathroom, for ventillation.
No need for modesty during ablutions in the western world can be linked to compulsory military service where all the money in the world does not accord privacy while taking a dump.
In the Indian Army from 1930's to 1950’s. A WW2 Veteran - Manohar Malgonkar served in the Maratha Light Infantry became a Marathi historian. en.wikipedia.org
@yjvyas94 @Lucillalin3 In Finnish saunas is there a concept of privacy for every individual while using one ? As in cubicle doors for one person? Because in Switzerland the sauna is one big room where men and women go in naked, sometimes with a towel.
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