Project Kathan

Kin, Uttar Pradesh

Conversation through voice messages, December 2024

Three years ago, I was travelling in Egypt. I was travelling from Cairo to Hurghada and this was during COVID. In Egypt, the COVID wasn’t as bad as India but it was still scary. It was us a bunch of us interns, and sadly, the binary system is there, men and women. So, we stop in the night, were in this very regular bus (not a fancy one.), it’s an overnight journey, so it’s tiring and the driver stops around post-midnight midnight for a pee break. We really needed to pee. All of us interns, the guys and the gals, we get out of the bus and the guys immediately hit the loo, and they were out, just like that, “Zap”. Nothing. Period. They were great, they did their job, no complaints, good to go. We gals, when we hit the loo one of us went for a vibe check because we were sceptical. There were so many people in there during COVID wearing no masks and its expensive, this public toilet, charging 5 Egyptian pounds, which is 25 INR, and it seemed dirty from outside, so none of us gals are buying it, so this one girl, she goes inside for a vibe check, and she comes right out, and she’s like, “No, no no no way, we’re like, fuck yes, sis knows it, we’re all confused, and then one of us suggests that we go relieve ourselves in the desert, so it’s Egypt, right, it’s a desert country, so there was this expansive desert, and the washroom is in this expansive desert. And all of us in unison are like, yup, we’re going Pachamama, in mother nature! (laughs). So, its pitch dark, but the whole sky I peppered with stars so it’s gorgeous, one of my best pee experiences, very wholesome, and funny, sad how it started though. I felt bonded with these girls for the first time, that we’re all sitting in a circle, in this pitch darkness, and peeing at the same time, and one of us this Russian girl, she goes like, omygosh I’m so scared, if a snake bites me or something and were like, gurl, wtf, why would you say that, its so scary, gurl! And we’re all just like giggling the entire time, keeping our eye out, if someone walks in on us, but we’re pretty out in the desert and giggling while were peeing so, core memory!! Haha