Steaming Hot

In Finland’s freezing temperatures, the sauna is not just a place to get warm; it is a way of life – a tradition

- Anita Rao Kashi

Visibility is rather poor under the dim lights, and the air is hazy. The walls of the room seem to dissolve into the haziness and swirling mist. There are staggered and stepped wooden boards running on three sides, much like the bleachers in a school ground. A handful of people sit scattered on them – silent, as if in meditation. A wall of humidity hits the body as you enter and completely envelops it; while outside it is rather cold, the inside feels like the bowels of the earth. Within a few seconds, sweat begins to pour. The first experience of the Finnish sauna, in Finland no less, is quite a remarkable one, to say the least.

In a corner sits a rectangular podium whose top is filled with small rocks. As if the heat inside isn’t enough, someone or the other usually flings more water from a jug or bucket that’s normally placed near it. As the water splashes on to the rocks, a loud, angry hissing sound ensues and the room is momentarily filled with a thick curtain of steam, lending a bit of drama to the whole scene. The steam quickly dissipates but, in its wake, the temperature rises a bit more, the sweating continues, and people, mostly locals, sigh in utter contentment and settle down for more. For the average Finn, it’s all in a day’s work.