Each one a ‘pikaso’

Public spitting in India can be termed an uncelebrated cultural Olympic event with no medals for the best spitter. Despite the absence of a system to give away awards for spitting, people, however, continue to practise this sport, which has several intriguing and unique aspects. First and foremost, the act of spitting does not have any barrier of caste, religion, language, sex, rich-poor divide or any other so-called social status. Moreover, there are no strict rules to follow while spitting, and there is no fee. It is equally important to note that there is no coaching centre or institute that helps individuals perfect this unique sport, which can also be considered a special art form. For these reasons, people from all walks of life participate in this activity. And the best thing is that spitting is the most popular and widespread nationwide public activity. Unlike other sports or cultural activities, it can be done anywhere, not just in a stadium or gallery. The best way to spit is to do it in public places – from the road to the pavement to the inside of buses and trains and various other modes of public transport to all kinds of government buildings, including hospitals and educational institutions, and so on. The most popular place to spit, however, is the wall – the roadside wall, regardless of whether it belongs to a school, health centre, government office, or something else. While there are no strict rules or awards, it is still possible to identify the top spitters. Yes, there are two categories of spitters – the paan-chewers and the non-chewers. While both categories of spitters are skilled, those who spit from expensive vehicles onto newly constructed walls, particularly the walls of recently inaugurated flyovers and bridges, stand out due to their creativity and accuracy. By the way, what is a person who spits in public places, especially on walls, with a mouthful of paan – tamul paan, mitha paan or zarda paan – called? Since ‘spit’ in Assamese is called ‘pik’, someone has recently termed them ‘Pikaso’. Quite an innovative term.