My grandparents were an amazing couple. Amma used to tell me how, Valiammachy would be working in the paddy field or pounding rice, even when she was fully pregnant, and when she gets labor pain; she would just rush back home and deliver..
She never stopped working, it was a ritual for her to wake up early after a short nap once Gopi our karavakkaran leaves, the first activity after attending to her personal chores was to take a montha (bronze mug) fill with water and splash in the front yard, the sand in Kayamkulam was very fine, dry and white, this particular activity kept the dust from rising while sweeping the yard.
The amazing detailing in anything that was executed excited me all the time; every single action had tons of detailing..
She always swept walking backwards, she never left any mark on the ground; truly it was a clever way to trace who is the first one to wake up and walk out….
Real Sherlock Holmes..
There was a systematic collection of dried leaves, which was piled around the trees to cool them off and to hold the water that is poured, the balance went to the pit for burning later to be used as chaaram (ash) those days we were quite ignorant of the pollution due to burning, or maybe there was not much of pollution from other sources like fuel etc. and this was overlooked.
At around 12.15 pm Valiammachy would enter the kitchen and start preparing lunch for Valiappachen and whoever is present at home. In less than 45 minutes mouthwatering lunch would be ready with what is available…
“Nellu kuthiya ari” (red rice), was cooked in a huge kalam (big earthen pot) on fire wood with lot of water and she always kept a wooden thavi (ladle) on top of the pot to prevent the bubbling, foaming water from spilling over the rim., she did that for milk, tea etc.
She used to press the rice between the thumb and the index finger, the rice grain had to pulverize with one press and then it was strained, the lid of the cooking pot had holes on one half of the lid and she used a cloth around the neck to prevent the hot water from spilling all over and this also held the lid tight and hands protected..
Kanji vellam that’s water from rice is so full of vitamins, remembering an amazing Malayalam movie dialogue. This is life saver liquid. We can use for drinking as an energy drink for any illness, can be made to a mock tail so yummy with kachiya moru (yoghurt curry) or with rasam, can use for starching saree, mundu etc., can use as base for cows feed, as their regular meal, absolute miracle fluid.
She used to make an amazing tomato curry, nothing can beat the wholesome taste of a tomato curry ever, its true blue traditional curry. I made the same yesterday in the Kallu Chatty I have.
Yesterday was 9 years, since Amma passed away, 16th of May 2009, I was alone with Amma when she let go her last breath and left me with all the detailing she practiced all her life.
Last few days I had the opportunity to witness detailing in performance by world renowned, pride of India and Kerala in particular. The dancing Tigress Shobhana, as introduced by yet another Woman of Substance, Bina Menon, an adorable talent and mother of a darling 7 footer Son Manu.
The performance was called “Trance”, only difference was I was not in any Trance, I was fully awake. Every moment of the performance, be it the detailing of the choreography, the petite girls with Cinderella feet dancing to the soul touching music, was making concrete impression in my soul, etched in stone, the touch of culture, the depth of spirituality, the precision of their performance along with the versatility of their talents amazed me and made me feel so humbled and touched.
Such talents should be seen by the whole world, should be experienced and felt by the millions of youngsters; they have to start emulating such art. We have to care, respect, reach out and support their efforts and feel immensely proud of them. I am hoping the show comes on Broadway, New York, the citadel of plays and shows.
I was talking to Anita today and telling her she should watch as much as she can on You Tube, I know she will feel very happy. That’s the whole idea, we deserve to be happy and this makes you very happy and peaceful.
One has to be focused, passionate and determined to serve, it takes a lot of courage and perseverance to deliver the perfection I saw on stage. All through the performance I was thinking of the mammoth efforts behind the scene.
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