25 August,2010 06:30 AM IST | | Aditi Sharma
American author JD Salinger's potty is on sale for $1 million, which a collectibles dealer claims he sat on while conceiving his writing. Here's exploring the long association the pot shares with pondering
Rick Kohl of webuytreasure.com has got Catcher in the Rye author JD Salinger fans curious by putting up his pot for sale on eBay for no less than $1 million.
Although the pot was manufactured in 1962, and was used by the author only after the publication of his most popular book, collectible dealer Rick Kohl says Salinger conceived some of his unpublished writing while sitting on the million-dollar commode.
With the pot being a space quite commonly associated with 'eureka' moments, we decided to delve deeper into the connection between the pot and pondering.
"It's peaceful in the loo. I know I won't be disturbed, and I think that's why I can concentrate best on my reading," says Anshul Trivedi, a political science student from Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Trivedi can easily spend hours on the pot, simply trying to "assimilate and make sense" of the complex theories of politics and their application in real life.
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He says with sincere gravitas, "Throughout the day, I get so busy running around for one thing or the other, that the only time I get to think is in the loo."
Media professional Manish Hariprasad even takes his work to the pot, quite literally. "Earlier, it was a struggle between taking the laptop into the loo or not, but now that I have my Blackberry, it's become a little easier.
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Once I started taking my BB to the pot, I realised I might as well take the laptop and be comfortable," he says.
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Hariprasad even has special 'potty books' Hindi comic books, featuring Nagraj and Super Commando Dhruv, and the entertainment section of newspapers are favourite reads.
In fact, Hariprasad's loo is one of the best-designed areas of his home, complete with ambient lighting, a diffuser and aesthetic murals. It's simply an aesthetic extension of his home, he shrugs.
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"In a city, where there are serious space constraints, you don't have the luxury of a study or library to spend time alone in.
That's probably why the loo becomes a place where you can lock yourself up from the rest of the world."
Psychologist Varkha Chulani agrees that it's the 'alone time' or 'me time' that the pot provides that makes it a favoured spot with some.
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"The pot is a place where there is complete privacy. Someone who enjoys solitude seems to enjoy the space.
It's a philosophical moment of sorts. There is a feeling of ease and quietness that envelops the mind, possibly.
Also, most people who spend time on the pot do so in the morning hours, which is considered a good time for introspection."
Salinger wouldn't be happy
In the years following the publication of his most famous novel, Catcher in the Rye (1951), JD Salinger turned into a recluse and published new work less frequently.
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Collectibles dealer Rick Kohl claims he has been trying to get his hands on Salinger-related memorabilia for years but had been unsuccessful till he approached the Littlefield family that now resides in the house that Salinger lived in till the 80s.
The family had kept aside some of his belongings when they renovated the house, and have given a letter of authentication for the toilet that is being auctioned.
