Soumya tells us of some of the best views of nature and wildlife from the loo. An exclusive for Different Truths.

There is a joke about the man who went to the loo without his phone and found out the number of tiles in the bathroom!

I do not have this problem, as I read in the loo. And I have a library of thrillers, bestsellers and magazines to keep me occupied during the time in this very private space.

However, the view from the loo is usually bathroom tiles and fittings and possibly toiletries and towels.

 But there are a few notable exceptions, and I will share some of these.

Fancy Resort

We were staying in a fancy resort, which tried to give us the feeling of being one with nature. The loo, accordingly, had a small, enclosed garden next to the window to give an impression of being in the middle of nature, whilst in it. It was a slightly uncanny feeling off doing your business in the open as we had to while on treks in the remoter parts of the country.

The other spectacular view was from a lodge in Sikkim, which was situated on the edge of a Ridge. And we had a panoramic view of snow peaks from all the rooms and the balcony and from the loo. This was safe because nobody who could not fly could look inside and one could spend this long time in reflecting, whilst viewing the beautiful Himalaya whilst sitting on the throne.

 But the most extraordinary view is from the forest lodge in Holong, in the Jaldapara tiger reserve. This lodge is in the middle of the forest next to a small stream and overlooking a salt lick.  This was earlier reserved only for an iconic chief minister of the state but has since been open to the public and if you were lucky enough and book months in advance you may get this room.

 Not only from the balcony, but from every room and every window we could see various animals coming to the Salt lick and to the stream as if they are there for our private viewing.

Marvelous View

This marvelous view was available even from the loo. And I had the unique experience of having my morning contemplation in solitude on the throne, interrupted by a battle Royale going on outside between a rhino and his challenger.

In the early morning mist, the grunts and thumps got my attention. And I was witness to a scene which lucky photographers get to see after months of patient stalking.  And here, I was getting a ringside view off this spectacle, while sitting in the loo.

 This definitely would be the ultimate view from the loo!

Visuals by Different Truths

Soumya Mukherjee

Soumya Mukherjee is an alumnus of St Stephens College and Delhi School of Economics. He earns his daily bread by working for a PSU Insurance company, and lectures for peanuts. His other passions, family, friends, films, travel, food, trekking, wildlife, music, theater, and occasionally, writing. He has been published in many national newspapers of repute. He has published his first novel, Memories, a novella, hopefully, the first of his many books. He blogs as well.