By Sunayana Choudhry

Water, as we know, has the ability to soothe and refresh. Whether it be the sound of waves in the sea, or the gentle lapping of the waters of a lake with the motion of the breeze or even the gurgling of a small stream. This feeling of release and relaxation is heightened when one is actually in water and this naturally brings us to the daily routine of a 'bath'. So is the 'bath' for cleaning up or relaxation? 
A 'bath' is defined as "immersion in liquid for cleansing or therapy in a vessel or room". If we recall, Archimedes was doing just so when he realized his 'principle' and in his euphoria yelled "Eureka"…….or so the science texts state, and thereby giving yet another dimension to the 'bath'.
But Archimedes was not the only one to immerse himself in water in the bygone ages. Since about the second century B.C., the Romans had made an art of 'the bath'. The ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and the Baths of Caracalla in Rome are testimonies to this ancient Roman way of life. The latter is still under restoration & some beautiful floor mosaic work can be seen in it.
The 'baths' usually had separate male and female sections. Each section was further divided into rooms. The apodyterium or changing room was first. This sometimes had a cold plunge (pool) too. The bathers next moved to the frigidarium (cold like frigid air??) which housed a big pool. Then onto the tepidarium which had seats along the walls and a raised floor to allow the hot air to circulate from a furnace which lay below the floor between the male and female sections. The warmth from the tepidarium readied the bathers for the next step - a plunge into the hot pool of the calidarium. Some 'baths' had yet another room - the circular laconium or 'sweating room', much like the saunas of the present day. So is it any wonder then that a 'siesta' became a necessity??
The Romans were magnanimous enough to carry forth this 'art of the bath' and introduce it into newly-acquired lands; which is why one can still see the remains of aqueducts in England and a Roman bath in, where else but -Bath, in southern England.

Whilst the Romans 'created' baths, a few hundred years later, elsewhere in the world, it was being discovered that natural springs held medicinal and therapeutic properties. And so, the advent of the 'spa'! Spas like the one in Baden-Baden in Germany became the fashionable retreat of the rich and elite. A place in which to pamper themselves and, quite literally, 'soak in the ambience'. Closer to home, is the exclusive Javana spa and the more public Sari Ater which even has a waterfall of warm sulphur water. There are many hotels too, which offer spa treatments.
This Jakartans fascination for spas seems to extend to the house, with the installation of a swimming pool or at the least, a bath - tub! The 'bath tub' seems to be a must in every large hotel the world over and in many homes in the west. A sign of luxury? In colder climes, by the time the bath fills, the water is cold (unless you have a Jeeves to monitor it!!). In dry desert areas, water is scarce (no wonder Cleopatra used goats milk to bathe in!) 
This contraption was obviously not meant to shower in but to soak in and relax ones body and soul. And as so often occurs with the former, if the sole does not contact properly, it brings about the body's downfall!