The Godhadi

satchitananda · Feb 5, 2019

Gauri03 said: ↑

That brought a lump to the throat Satchi. My little ones were swaddled exclusively in 'gudari', as we call them, made from my grandmothers' sarees. Both my grandmothers passed before my children were born, and wrapping them in those soft cotton sarees made me feel like I was, somehow, magically transferring their blessings to my kids. Even the most expensive organic cotton blankets cannot match the warm embrace of those gudaris. It's as if the sarees are steeped with the essence of those who lived in them. Now they are packed away, for what, I'm not sure, but I know I could never part with them.
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Hey Gauri! Isn't it fascinating how uniform this sentiment of mom's/grandmom's sarees being so comforting and precious is! I totally agree. All the fancy blankets one can buy cannot replace that feeling of security and warmth that one gets from worn sarees.

I have been clinging on to the godhadis which I got from my mom earlier. Just 2 days ago, it occurred to me that I could possibly pass them on to my maids grandkids to sleep on, to be swaddled in. Am sure my mom would be very happy and am sure that even though they are frayed, it could be cut into smaller bits for a baby, leaving out the torn parts. Can't think of throwing them away. No kids around me for whom I can use them any more.

Talking to sis today, I got the cheerful news that there are still some of mom's sarees and I can still hope to get some more godhadis of those!!!

satchitananda · Feb 5, 2019

jskls said: ↑

Godhadi -am hearing it for the first time Satchi. Hugs to you! I am sure the soft touch of your mom’s saree is like her arms around you. Now thinking back I am trying hard to remember where my mom’s sarees went … No idea as it was long long ago. last week when I saw her in my dream I was reminded of your other snippet where you had wondered should I have to be sick for you to visit me amma …I have the same question too but whom to ask. I have been reading all your snippets but it gets too emotional for me to reply and this one is for all those things I share with you … I get you … Hopefully our parents are around and within us as long as we are here ! And truly we are blessed to have such wonderful parents but am I being one is a totally different question. Take care.
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Dear Lakshmi,

Really lovely to get your FB. Yes, we all deal with our emotions differently. Somehow putting it down here makes me feel better.

Am sure every parent asks themselves whether they are doing a good job. I am equally sure your kids will have the nicest things to say of you and good memories of you later on in life. I often tell myself, it is good I don't have kids, for I am not sure what kind of a parent I would have made!!! Well, that is a hypothetical question and I am glad to let it be so!

satchitananda · Feb 5, 2019

Srama said: ↑

Dear Satchi,

Totally get you and here, some warm hugs coming your way. I also have a couple of those blankets made of my mom's sarees and I treasure them a lot - I literally can feel her presence! Recently when my grandmother passed away, I shamelessly asked my uncles to keep something that belonged to my grandmother for me - not jewlery or anything that is expensive, you know what I mean! It is unbelievable how much these little things end up meaning the most to us. Thank you reminding all of us those special moments and things.
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Hi Sabitha,

I know exactly what you mean. Not only I, all our neighbours' and their daughters wanted various items out of Amma's kitchen. I got quite a few of them too, although I don't need any of them strictly speaking. Just the fact that I grew up with them made me want them to come home.

satchitananda · Feb 5, 2019

Anusha2917 said: ↑

Awww. . This article brought back some memories and gave me a realization.
When I was newly married and staying in Mumbai my MIL used to make these at home. Yes she used to herself make the Godhadi . Seeing her do that I found a tailor nearby and said let's give it to tailor and get it done. You don't struggle trying to make them. Then we got two godhadis made .
In when vacation my two SILs came home and saw their mom's Saree converted to Godhadis. They were hell bent in taking it with them . I didn't have a mind to give them as I had them made from the tailor for our use .
After a few days when we had a chance to go to Chennai one SIL insisted that I make one for her from that tailor from her mom's Sarees . I made them but carrying it in my suitcase from Mumbai to Chennai was difficult. She got very upset I didn't carry them for her.
Next time when my husband got a chance to go he took the one which I had made for them.
Now I understand the emotion involved in it. It's the mom's Saree which gives them the warmth and not the blanket itself.
Nice article.
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Dear Anusha, so glad that this helped you get an insight into your sil's sentiments. It would make it easier for you to indulge their little wishes, especially when the demands wear you out.

kkrish · Feb 5, 2019

That was one lovely, heartwarming, nostalgic, yet laced-with-a-little sadness post Sats!
This is the first time i heard the term, though mom's sarees have been used in a myriad forms. I remember one "pattu pavadai"(lehenga) my mom made for me out of a very soft mustard silk saree.

Thank you for this post, I am now going to convert my sarees to "godhadhis" and leave them for my sons as "heirloom".

satchitananda · Feb 5, 2019

Thanks a lot Kamala. Am sure they will treasure them. Here is a do-it-yourself guide.

Thyagarajan · Feb 6, 2019

Your post shows how mom was dear to you and vice versa. It demonstrates one of many ways how close and intimate the role of mother and significant in something turned into quilt providing optimal warmth and the feel of extra ordinary love and affection.

2. When things were scarce, even waste and other discarded material turn into Arti crafts in the hands of moms of those good old days. In Well to do families too, mothers turned Unwanted sarees into cribs (Thooli In tamil), cover for radios and centre tables .

3. In such a time, my mom converted her own sarees old clothes into beautiful decorative products. Her sarees used to become quilts sometimes looking like a collage - a riot of colours. The quilt she had made with her mother few months before I was born, was in my home for a very long time and I treated that as a treasure.
4. Moms substitutes were quilts and babies always had profound comfort and sleep.
5. I too participated in making quilts from discarded sarees when mom bought Usha brand tailoring machine. The small tiny sectoral cuts turned into cones and stitched on cotton sarees in geometrical patterns .......
6. I enjoyed reading of post and all FBs preceding mine and those lines turned my eyes moist at the thought of my loving mother who always cared for me and others as well.
Thanks for nostalgia.
Regards.

satchitananda · Feb 6, 2019

Thanks a lot for your feedback sir. BH's aunt used to turn old sarees and bedsheets combined into fancy quilts and cushion covers etc. Very true, we really knew the art of turning old into gold and those were not only more precious but worth the most fancy stuff bought from any world-class store.

shyamala1234 · Feb 6, 2019

satchitananda said: ↑

It is the summer holidays. The days might be blazing hot, but the nights are extremely cool, especially towards dawn. I am sleeping on my bed near the window which is open. Cool breeze blows in and cools my warm skin. I snuggle under my 'godhadi' - that soft covering which is just right - neither too warm, nor inadequate. The soft touch of my mom's sari - that is what the godhadi is.

A godhadi is basically a patchwork quilt made of old sarees. A very effective way of recycling, while ensuring the soft touch of the person who wore it.

The years go by. Everytime I go home to visit my parents, I take out all of mom's old sarees and pester her to find someone to make a godhadi for me. So I collect something like 4-6 godhadis which I treasure and use regularly. They soon wear out, the fabric fraying completely and giving way in various places. Simple. I just make sure I use that side up, so as not to get my foot stuck in the tear. But I can't get myself to give it away.

My mom has a pile of sarees, many of them never worn. All gifted to her. She barely ever bought any sarees for herself. Only to gift others. Now that she isn't here, her house is sold off and many of her belongings are given away. Except some sarees. My sister makes them into 2 godhadis each for her son, her daughter and for me. Yesterday I have received the very last godhadis I will ever possess out of mom's sarees . (They are a bonus. I did not know who I could find to make godhadis of them for me.) The first one is immediately commissioned into use. As I look at the four sarees they are made of (3 of them, my favourites), I can picture my mom wrapped in them and the softness of their touch which envelopes me brings a feeling of happiness and security.

I always thought I was Daddy's girl. So what did I receive from dad that gives me the same feeling, I wonder this morning. Then I realize - all those Gita classes, lectures by Chinmayananda which made me think and still do (the consequences of which all of you face at regular intervals - my sincerest apologies!!! ) and which give me strength in the toughest times were the 'godhadi' which he spun around me for a lifetime. Memories of just the two of us going for Marathi plays, walking back laughing over the funny dialogues, of us enjoying food together, going with him to his office and taking the lift as a 5 year old for the very first time in my life ..... those are some extremely fond and priceless memories.

And then the whole import strikes me. Much as I think of them all the time and feel their presence around me, the actual extent of their presence with me, around me and IN me is more than the actual sum of the 50% DNA from each of them. Their warmth and their wisdom are an integral part of my existence and will continue to be with me for the rest of my years. A heartfelt prayer goes out: may I always have such solid parents in every lifetime to come. I hit the jackpot in this life. May my lucky streak not be over.

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satchitananda said: ↑

It is the summer holidays. The days might be blazing hot, but the nights are extremely cool, especially towards dawn. I am sleeping on my bed near the window which is open. Cool breeze blows in and cools my warm skin. I snuggle under my 'godhadi' - that soft covering which is just right - neither too warm, nor inadequate. The soft touch of my mom's sari - that is what the godhadi is.

A godhadi is basically a patchwork quilt made of old sarees. A very effective way of recycling, while ensuring the soft touch of the person who wore it.

The years go by. Everytime I go home to visit my parents, I take out all of mom's old sarees and pester her to find someone to make a godhadi for me. So I collect something like 4-6 godhadis which I treasure and use regularly. They soon wear out, the fabric fraying completely and giving way in various places. Simple. I just make sure I use that side up, so as not to get my foot stuck in the tear. But I can't get myself to give it away.

My mom has a pile of sarees, many of them never worn. All gifted to her. She barely ever bought any sarees for herself. Only to gift others. Now that she isn't here, her house is sold off and many of her belongings are given away. Except some sarees. My sister makes them into 2 godhadis each for her son, her daughter and for me. Yesterday I have received the very last godhadis I will ever possess out of mom's sarees . (They are a bonus. I did not know who I could find to make godhadis of them for me.) The first one is immediately commissioned into use. As I look at the four sarees they are made of (3 of them, my favourites), I can picture my mom wrapped in them and the softness of their touch which envelopes me brings a feeling of happiness and security.

I always thought I was Daddy's girl. So what did I receive from dad that gives me the same feeling, I wonder this morning. Then I realize - all those Gita classes, lectures by Chinmayananda which made me think and still do (the consequences of which all of you face at regular intervals - my sincerest apologies!!! ) and which give me strength in the toughest times were the 'godhadi' which he spun around me for a lifetime. Memories of just the two of us going for Marathi plays, walking back laughing over the funny dialogues, of us enjoying food together, going with him to his office and taking the lift as a 5 year old for the very first time in my life ..... those are some extremely fond and priceless memories.

And then the whole import strikes me. Much as I think of them all the time and feel their presence around me, the actual extent of their presence with me, around me and IN me is more than the actual sum of the 50% DNA from each of them. Their warmth and their wisdom are an integral part of my existence and will continue to be with me for the rest of my years. A heartfelt prayer goes out: may I always have such solid parents in every lifetime to come. I hit the jackpot in this life. May my lucky streak not be over.

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Dear Satchi,
Kindled many memories of my amma.
We used to stay in Delhi when little. Amma learnt knitting there. Made beautiful sweaters for us. Still we have them as treasures..... Especially one shawl....still I have it. She knitted pretty sweaters, socks and cap sets whenever anyone in her circle has a baby. She passed away many years back but still I miss her.
Syamala

satchitananda · Feb 6, 2019

Dear Syamala,

Some things can never be thrown away, no matter how tattered they are. My mom used to make cane bags once upon a time, but at some point she gave up. I don't know why. I was still in school then. I remember the last one she made was an orange and white one in which I used to carry my lunch box and water bottle to school. I wish I had been a bit older and had learned to make those.