Lota (vessel)

Lota (Template:Lang-ur, Template:Lang-hi) is an Urdu and Hindi word for a small, usually spherical water vessel of brass or copper used in parts of South Asia

It is commonly used to store or transfer small amounts of liquids like milk or water. It is also used in religious activities, like Hindu puja, or for purposes of ablution. When used for Hindu worships, it is often decorated with sindoor and/or turmeric powder, kalaawa.

In the Indian sub-continent, where cleaning with water is the usual method for maintaining personal hygiene after defecation or urination, a lota with a spout is widely used as a container for this purpose. Due to the hygienic requirements of ritual ablution, or wudu and ghusl in Islam adhered to by many Muslims, the use of a lota has become prevalent throughout the Muslim world, where it is considered to provide a more thorough cleaning than simply using toilet paper.

A Neti Lota, a specially designed pot for nasal irrigation, is also used in the practice of Hatha Yoga, aiding in the practice of Pranayama, Asana and Meditation. Its use to clear the sinuses is believed to prevent respiratory disease, reduce post-nasal drip, and normalize the pressure of the inner ear.

A brass lota without a spout

Charles Eames and the Lota

Charles Eames was fascinated by the lota and considered it significant because it has become, over its evolution, exactly right. The design of the lota addresses the need of retrieving, carrying, storing, and pouring water. In his The India Report, he expressed a great admiration for the lota and had the following to say about its design:

Of all the objects we have seen and admired during our visit to India, the lota, that simple vessel of everyday use, stands out as perhaps the greatest, the most beautiful. The village women have a process which, with the use of tamarind and ash, each day turns this brass into gold. But how would one go about designing a Lota? First one would have to shut out all preconceived ideas on the subject and then begin to consider factor after factor:

• The optimum amount of liquid to be fetched, carried, poured and stored in a prescribed set of circumstances.
• The size and strength and gender of the hands (if hands) that would manipulate it.
• The way it is to be transported – head, hip, hand, basket or cart.
• The balance, the center of gravity, when empty, when full, its balance when rotated for pouring.
• The fluid dynamics of the problem not only when pouring but when filling and cleaning, and under the complicated motions of head carrying – slow and fast.
• Its sculpture as it fits the palm of the hand, the curve of the hip.
• Its sculpture as compliment to the rhythmic motion of walking or a static post at the well.
• The relation of opening to volume in terms of storage uses – and objects other than liquid.
• The size of the opening and inner contour in terms of cleaning.
• The texture inside and out in terms of cleaning and feeling.
• Heat transfer – can it be grasped if the liquid is hot?
• How pleasant does it feel, eyes closed, eyes open?
• How pleasant does it sound, when it strikes another vessel, is set down on ground or stone, empty or full – or being poured into?
• What is the possible material?
• What is its cost in terms of working?
• What is its cost in terms of ultimate service?
• What kind of an investment does the material provide as product, as salvage?
• How will the material affect the contents, etc., etc.?
• How will it look as the sun reflects off its surface?
• How does it feel to possess it, to sell it, to give it ?

Other facts

The word "lota" or the phrase "Bependi ka Lota" (literally a "lota without a base") is colloquially used in a derogatory manner to refer to a person who frequently switches loyalties. This is because a spherical lota without a base tends to roll over in unpredictable directions when kept on uneven ground. The neologism "lotacracy" was coined in Pakistan to describe politicians who frequently switched parties.

Provisionally used as the term "sajed" many years ago, Urdu language was changed and suited for further fluency. What we then knew as "sajed" is now known as a "lota".

In many parts of Bangladesh, the term "bodna" is used to describe a lota.

External links

• A Very Serious Web Poll A man trying to figure out how people use a lota.
• Bodna Nai Music video depicting the extinction of the Lota from Urban Bangladesh