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What is a kitchen without a sink? Well, in the
eras gone by there were no sinks. The kitchen was simply one
room in the home, designed with storage for the utensils and
food stuff, along with the cooking corner, which was in the form
of a fire place. And since a dining room was not something that
really existed, the family would gather in the kitchen for their
meals while the woman of the house would serve them hot
chapattis, just as she cooked them on the tava. |
As for the washing of utensils, it was done outside the
house. There was no drainage system in the house as such. In fact, even
the toilet and bathroom were placed outside the house. According to the
experts, who have been studying Indian cultural development, the
washing, toilet and bathing area were situated outside the premises in
order to maintain the sanctity of the home, which was regarded as a
temple.
This was convenient as long as the homes were single storied bungalows
or row houses and huts. But with the development of apartments,
buildings and skyscrapers the architects had to create home designs with
the washing area within the house. However, in the earliest buildings,
known as chawls, the washing area and the bathrooms are outside. The
residents have kitchen for cooking and eating, along with a drawing room
and one or two bedrooms. Some of them do have toilet. However, the
washing area is a common one where the ladies wash the clothes and
utensils.
However, certain chawls have been modified with an area in the kitchen
to wash the utensils. They have stainless steel kitchen sinks. This is
because apart from being rather inexpensive unlike the marble and
granite sinks, these are also preferred for hygiene reasons. They do not
corrode or rust; and are easy to maintain.
The designers have created some interesting sink patterns that do not
require too much space, and yet provide a drying area for the utensils.
Before putting back the utensils in their respective places, they need
to be dried out properly in order to prevent cockroaches and mosquitoes.
Some stainless steel sinks are designed to have a flat or corrugated
surface where one can place the utensils straight after being washed.
Some also have spoon, knife and fork holders.
To make it all the more convenient and occupy less space, interior
designers have come up with the concept of the stainless steel corner
kitchen sinks. These are placed in one corner of the kitchen, where the
common drainage pipe of the building runs through. And some of them are
uniquely designed with a stainless steel utensil holder for all types of
utensils.
So, instead of the utensil cabinets and cupboards, one can place the
dishes in a way that they dry, and yet do away with the mosquito and
housefly problems due to storage of wet utensils in closed cabinets.
While the larger cooking dishes can be wiped and placed inside…
Most builders provide already fixed kitchen stainless steel sinks in the
homes. However, during the time of construction, the builders and
architects allow the home buyer to make any changes in the sink
placement area, which would be compatible for the person in terms of
Vaastu or Feng Shui. However, one needs to make changes to sink
placement during the construction activity because of the placement of
the drainage pipes. Also, the type of stainless steel sink can be
changed. Some people prefer the double sinks – one for soaking the
utensils and the other for washing them.
All said and done, the choice of sinks is a matter of convenience and
helping in maintaining better hygiene standards. And the stainless steel
one’s may not have an aesthetic appeal, but where hygiene is concerned,
hotels, restaurants, hospitals, etc., have these placed, as decided by
the public health commission. So then why not at home?
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