At my home in Uliyakovil, the only place where my heart and soul throbs like a flutterby, I remember watching Amma cutting fish by the kitchen, there was a cement path from the kitchen door, after the 3 steps with very low rise, leading to the trough, alongside the wall separating Mohana Chechy & Hindi Sirs home. The trough was 1.2 mts square. Alongside the wall there was a raised platform 30 cms wide and 20 cms high, there was a granite stone embedded in the cement platform for scrubbing the stubborn Karimeen (Pearl Spot) with salt and of course certain other fish which had to be scrubbed so hard until the black or slimy skin turns silver white.
There was an upstand pipe like the kaalan kuda (umbrella with a curved handle) inserted in the one brick high kerb around the trough towards the kitchen side. It was so unique in position and purpose, either to fetch water to water plants or to wash and clean our feet, when we enter the house from outside. The best use was for cleaning big pots and pans and fish.
Everything was meticulously designed to suit our need and lifestyle, in the most practical and sustainable manner, there was a purpose and a position, a place for everything and everything in place. This principle was etched into my system from the time I was born. I have learnt all the fundamentals of designing and operations, from my elders and ancestors. I have never felt anything out of place in my home; like I see in many places I travel and stay. Hence wherever I have lived or worked I have tried to make the place user friendly, to meet the basic needs of a human being, without flamboyant designs and cost.
We used to hold the upstand pipe and scrub our feet on to the concrete trough floor and rub it so hard that most of the time the skin turns pink in color. I used to tiptoe inside the house without dirtying my feet. I loved walking barefoot all the time.
If we run away in a hurry without closing the tap tight it will drip like the bullock cart that leaves the trail of the bull from Tamil Nadu to Kerala. The next thing you hear is a shout and yell, which makes you reverse and close the tap. This is where I learnt the most important sustainability lesson, look back and check before you leave any device with running water, a water closet, a tap, shower. This is one lesson etched in my brain, before you leave, look behind, check and leave clean your space, this will leave our public toilets and places clean forever. Same applies for electrical devices, switch off the light, fan etc. when not in use.
The side of the trough facing the rear of the house had an open drain with a slope or gradient to take the water and any solids right to the soak pit which was the foot of a Coconut tree, any drainage which has water and solids to be drained should have a gentle slope or the water runs in no time and the solids will stay back not leaving the drain. This came handy when I started my Civil Engineering classes, I had a lot of practical tips which helped me understand and execute better than by hearting text books.
Amma sat opposite the open drain on the kerb which was made high and wide enough to rest her seat, and bend her knee in a comfortable manner and just enough height to reach the Meen Chatty with fish inside.
There were no cats, but there were a lot of crows singing in harmony kakaka, around waiting for their treat all the time. We never had cats in our home because of Amma’s Asthma and Allergy.
Let me try to make a few selfies in my mind: Amma! Start, action, cut: Fresh Fish from the source to Meen Chatty, Fish in celluloid.
Amma was one of the first woman drivers in Kollam, Our Mayil Vahanam as it was called Morris Minor with 4 doors, KLC 2003 was a black beauty, This gave her the freedom to go to the source, she was an expert in sourcing the best fresh fish ever. There were many fundamental rules those days, just like checking the bride and the watchful eyes of the Ammayi who spots the walk and talk of the bride.
The eyes of the fish, should be bright, focused and bulging, the smell of the fish should be so fragrant and not fishy ( ayyo meen naarunne) its funny fish should not smell fishy!!! the look of the stomach, it should not have the intestines sneaking out, the feel of the fish whether its sturdy or clumsy, when we open the chekala (the gills) it should be bright red or pink.
But now all these lessons does not help much as the fish sits in a mortuary and when we are viewing it, it’s already dressed like in a funeral home, you can make sure there aren’t any blood stains and it’s not smelling fishy. What we need is a lot of luck to have tasty fish.
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