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Sounds Smells People

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by Agatha83, Jan 19, 2016.

  1. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    Many times during my evening walks I have noticed sprawling bungalows with towering gates bearing a big board announcing “beware of dogs ”,but not a single soul visible to the eyes, not even the dog! I have also observed hoards of families cramped into tiny tin sheds with lots of puny looking Kids crawling about happily and keeping good company with them would be hens, dogs, goats, cats and people. This led to me thinking as to what could be difference between a home or a house. Sprawling spaces, refined architecture or prime location. None of these , but the people inhabiting them, earthly flavours, invisible bond of affection that binds such people is all that matters- be it a high tech bungalow or a smelly hut!


    My growing years happened to be in such a small house which always echoed with human voices,friendly banter and sometimes serious fights resembling the Bollywood movies, with cooking vessels instantly turning into flying missiles, many times missing their target! Well, I grew up with my maternal and paternal grandparents, the only reason, being my dad leaving for his heavenly abode at a young age. My grand parents behaved much like the ruling and opposition parties, sometimes hugging each other, and sometimes hurling accusations and vessels, ending it with a tearful finale, with both parties shedding loads of tears before my Dad’s smiling photo, which brought some temporary reprieve.Thus there was no dearth of entertainment for me, none of which I understood!


    Being a late riser among a large group of early risers, I was deprived of a good sleep, as I had to share the small common hall, which being the most utilized portion of the house was always noisy. I isolated myself from all the early morning noises by turning me in to a "Mummy", wrapping myself top to bottom with a thick bed sheet. Inspite of my strong defense tactics my sleep remained disturbed.


    The mooing of the cow with the milkman Munuswamy’s Clarion call “Amma Paal” in his baritone voice, was the first one to be my wake up call. There was no need for Suprapatham as my grandpa, an early riser used to chant all the names of the Gods religiously in his high pitched voice, sure enough to wake up not only the Gods inside the temples but my furious Neighbours also. Then came the strong smell of cow dung mixed water, carried in a bucket to be sprinkled on the front yard, some of which spilled on me but was not strong enough to wake me up from my slumber.This would be religiously followed by a spirited chatter between ladies drawing huge rangolis. Next was the grinding noise of the coffee grinder -a contraption fixed to the kitchen Almirah with a rotating handle to grind the roasted coffee seeds. After this came the strong aroma of coffee decoction which was brewed in a huge brass coffee filter ,filling it up with three fourths of coffee powder and the rest with boiling water.(secret- I never knew to make coffee till the time of my marriage) I was the last to drink my share of coffee which I did after a lot of shouting, cajoling, many times me curling up in to a tight ball like a millipede ,and finally some cold water sprinkled liberally by my loving grand parents worked pretty well, with me waking up screaming aloud !
    Next horrible thing was to have a bath in a smoke filled bathroom. The big bathroom with huge space for stacking fire wood and charcoal, was good enough for all the reptiles from lizards to snake to sneak in and live together in peace. It had a big ironcast stove, which heated a cauldron of water good enough for 10 people to bathe. But the smoke filled bathroom was anethama for me, many times driving me to have just have a quick French bath and evolve out of the bathroom looking fresh.


    The kerosene smell of the stove and the burning charcoal smell coming from the cast iron stove over which food was cooked was so overpowering that I detested eating my lunch in the kitchen! Along with it came the divine smell of lighted joss sticks, camphor, sandalwood and strong smelling strings of jasmine flowers adorning the pictures of Gods who occupied one of the shelves in the small kitchen - all sure made me feel light headed !


    Yes ,lunch was at 9 am , eat it or walk out on an empty stomach. Having to walk a mile to the school I ate whatever was laid out in front of me. Just a stern warning that nothing should be left on the plate. Hurrying against racing time I used to walk the long way to my school!


    Evenings would be more peaceful with all the cooking done. I had to eat the tiffin, which most of the times would be items made out of sour curds or buttermilk as there was no refrigerator those days.Rava dosa,Wheat dosa,Morkali (a frequent item relished by many in the canteens of the sabhas) were regular items offered as tiffin. Somehow the sour smell of the butter milk which dominated these items were the ones I abhorred very much!


    Saturday and Sunday were usually reserved for preparing the idli batter and the idli chutney powder.The sounds made by the huge stone grinder which was manually operated was accompanied by the non stop gossip about our Neighbours, servant maids, their runaway daughters, recent deaths etc not leaving a single soul in the colony untouched.Next came the pounding of chilli powder etc which took a few hours with an extended gossip.


    The streets would be streaming with mobile vendors , selling rice, coal,salt,kerosene,vegetables,fruits,ghee,ice creams to bangles sarees,women’s accesories ,bed sheets ,flowers etc. Each vendor had his own singsong style of calling out and there were no dearth of buyers for all the stuff offered.


    Summers were pleasant as the Neem and gulmohar tree lining the roads were liberal enough to extend their huge shady branches in to our house.The sweet fragrance of the flaming red gulmohar flowers and neem flowers was heavenly and the muddy compound floor turned into a red and white velvet carpet. I loved the ambiance and used to curl up with a book in a cane chair, enjoying the soft scented summer breeze along with the cawing of crows and sweet chirping sparrows, and an additional bonus of the smelly poop of birds adorning my crowning glory.
    Many relatives(sisters or brothers of my grand parents) both long distance and short distance ones used to drop in frequently without any prior intimation. Heady fragrance of the flowers, agarbathis etc they brought along with them- champakam flowers,sandalwood incense sticks ,sandalwoodsoaps, flower dust packets, field beans (mochai)etc from Bangalore, loads of closely stringed jasmine flowers,Kadambam(a mixture all scented flowers),Palm jaggery etc from Madurai ,Peda and Peta(pumpkin sweet) sweets from Delhi just filled the house with not only their fragrance but also displayed the magnanimous love and affection the guests had for us.


    All those wonderful years, it’s amazing people , those charming houses -things I detested most have vanished, and what I am left with are those sepia tainted photos where my grandparents smile at me with indulgence and ask me mockingly whether I can search for them in Google! Life at sixty is peaceful and quiet, one which I frantically yearned for, during all my growing years, but now my mind longs for those affectionate as well as stern voices of my grand parentsAs I get older I realize what an active
    lift these people lived at their age, which was full of warmth,empathy and rich values, which they have passed on to me without my knowledge! Tears swell, blur my vision and a drop falls on the photo -my humble way of expressing gratitude to those precious people


    Sent with Writer
     
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  2. umaakumar

    umaakumar Finest Post Winner

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    Dear Agatha,

    It was really very nice to read your post. While young we always do not enjoy and understand what we have and long for the things we do not have.

    Only while grown do we long for things that we have missed while it was there.

    Very nicely written

    Regards
    Uma
     
  3. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Uma,
    My only grudge against noise in my home was, that I never could study my lessons in peace and the only time the house was quiet was night times. From 9 pm to 12 pm was my study time throughout my school days.Thanks for your appreciation.

    Agatga83
     
  4. jskls

    jskls IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear madam,
    Very well written. Brought back wonderful memories where I could relate to atleast 75% of it. Missed the ringing bells from vendors of "pericham pazham" and sonpappadi jars. With somuch noise around we still enjoyed inner peace. All those Suprabatham learning was happening passively. Enjoyed traveling with you in this melodic sounds fragrant smell and wonderful people. Felt like watching an episode from Malgudi days. Thanks for bringing wonderful memories madam.
     
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  5. shobhamma

    shobhamma Gold IL'ite

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    Most people have good memories of their childhood, cramped, poor, rich, sprawling or whatever. That is the only childhood you knew and enjoyed , that is what you think is ideal and that is how it should be.
     
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  6. jayasala42

    jayasala42 IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Agatha,
    Brought back memories of the village life with lots of relatives all around.The first decoction will go to Appa and the diluted ones will be distributed to others.My Amma used to conut the heads and get 100ml of milk to each and extra one litre of buffaloe's milk for preparing curd.There was a big vessel-brass Andaa-near the well.At least halh the vessel should be filled by every one by drawing water from the well.
    Cleaning of dry toilets would come to us by turns.That was the nastiest job.We used to pity those scavenger women who used to carry human waste in a basket on their heads.
    Giving bath to four cows and calves would also have to be done by us.Amidst all these chores there was joy and laughter,playing and chiding the kids of my sisters and cousins.At a time there would be two or three pregnant women and feeding mothers.The big hall with madras terrace would have four or five cloth slings hanging from the ceiling by a hook.No diapers in those days.The hall was pleasantly fragranced with urine flowing liberally through the cloth slings, the babies crying aloud being woken up by chillness or some kids simply enjoying the warmth.vathal kuzhambu sadham was given to us in our hands, a mouthful each time, with 15 of us sitting around extending our small hands out of turn.How yummy it was!There was a fight for the last bit of sadham from kalsatti.
    Agatha, you have really brought back to memory those wonderful days.Whenever I describe my grandson says,'patti, don't bluff;how is it possible for 25 people to live in a house?How did you live without in any privacy or independence?I don't know how to reply.Perhaps we were forced to lead such lives.had we enjoyed freedom earlier, perhaps we also might not have liked the atmosphere.My grandson is very argumentative and very often lists out pros and cons of joint family system and tries to force his ideas.I simply obey.This is another experience.
    Jayasala 42
     
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  7. knbg

    knbg Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Beautiful nostalgia dear Agatha...A nice read...:coffee Thank you.
     
  8. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear jskis,
    Thanks for your compliments. For me writing this piece was a nostalgic trip down my memory lane. During those times I detested noises as it interfered with my studies. My strict grandpa wanted me to be the top scorer in my class -a tall order, given the non stop noisy atmosphere.Being soft and sensitive by nature, somehow I detested the noises !!

    Agatha83
     
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  9. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear shobamma,

    Welcome to my thread. Now living a life of peace and bliss, I wonder if I can go through all those rigors of life once again.Life was a little suffocating with cramped spaces,but my grand parents were wonderful people though extremely strict! Black and white and sometimes grey is all that makes life interesting!isn"t It?

    Agatha83
     
  10. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Jayasala,
    Being the only girl in my family I was constantly under the surveillance of my grand parents, which was a little bit annoying many times, but we had to blindly follow orders! there were no crying babies or dry latrines . I never got the pleasure of living in a village or a very big family like you!The present generation is enjoying a lot of freedom as well as space but cannot experience the fun we had along with the hard life time lessons of adjusting and compromising, with whatever we had!

    Agatha83
     

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