August 15, 2011
The Sunday magazine section of the newspaper dedicates more than half its space to matrimonial ads. 8 pages jam packed with telegram-ish coded announcements of brides and grooms whose parents are on the prowl.
Almost all the women listed are 'beautiful' and almost all the men are 'financially secure'. The code word used is 'Sambathikamund' which literally translated would mean something like 'has finance/money'. If the women are not beautiful, then they are financial secure. If the men are not financial secure, then caste no bar, second marriage no problem etc. These pages find much mention of planets and other heavenly bodies that astrologically determine the fate of the advertised individuals.
I was surprised to find 'Sundari blacksmith yuvathi' (beautiful blacksmith lady) and 'sundari carpenter yuvathi' (beautiful carpenter lady) with both blacksmith and carpenter in printed in English. Apparently this is the new trend of announcing anglicised caste! For a moment, my imagination had run wild imagining Hustler/Playboy calendars with blacksmith and carpenter themes. I searched for similar beautiful 'barbar', 'toddy tapper', 'coconut climber' and 'cadaver disposal' ladies but the ads stick to the traditional names in those cases. Nairs are still sticking to that name instead of 'warrior', 'soldier', 'mercenary', 'erstwhile feudal overlord now self-pity hobby' etc. I guess it is just a matter of time!
The divorcees who have re-entered the marriage market invariably make it a point to announce that they got divorced because of 'no fault of their own'!
The biological alarm buzz of mosquitoes woke me up at 3am this morning as the power was out again. It was only appropriate to wake up into darkness on the 65th Independence Day. I used the restroom in candle light and went to walk on the terrace where the air was much cooler. Since it was full moon the night before, there was enough natural light outside. Power was back on at 5 am. As soon as Amma woke up, I used the opportunity to sell her the idea of buying an inverter. What if power fails on the wedding day morning?! It won't be pretty dressing up in darkness! She agreed. Personally, it means the modem will stay active and I can be online more reliably.
Very heartening to find that most of the long-bean and bittergourd seeds have sprouted. New green has appeared on a couple of the tapioca stems too. We need to wait on the ginger and habenaro. The rose bushes bought yesterday for the 'bridal photo session' were potted this morning.
Numerous unwritten diaries dating back from 1990s are discovered as boxes are unpacked and arranged. This online daily journal I am creating is a notable exception to our families pristinely blank past!
Amma wanted to buy a new cooking gas stove with three burners because she was having some issues with the old two burner one we have now. Good exchange deals were expected as part of the Independence Day celebrations in particular and the Onam and Malayalam new year festival season in general. Amma was already bent on buying a new brand from Butterfly titled 'desire'. So the whole 'shopping around' was a sham. Few months ago, she was in the same train with some Butterfly company employees and had complained to them about the current gas stove. They told her that the new 'desire' line is going to be smashing brilliant!After an obligatory stop at one outlet that played the role of 'around' in the 'shopping around' drama, we went to the 'Gas Stove' store which had the desired stove. It was a glass-top stove with some sleek design of wavy lines imprinted on it. I think the name and the imprinted design pretty much did the trick for Amma. Yet, she is the modern day discerning shopper, the conscious customer, so some queries had to be made. But they were along the lines of:
Amma: Will this give me any issues?
Shop-keeper: No, madam.
Amma: Will this work well?
Shop-keeper: Yes, madam.
That's it! Done! She keeps her status as the intelligent, choosy consumer and he made a sale. Happiness and head-bobbing all around.
We have a Chembu Uruli (brass round rimmed vessel) that is kept for show in the living room. Like all things showy, it is empty. When I saw the coralwood tree, at the old house that we visited few days back, with all the red beads (manjadi) fallen underneath, I thought it would be good idea to fill the Uruli with those. So this afternoon's project was to sit under that tree and pick the red beads. It would have been a very zen experience had I been alone! I wasn't. So no zen. We collected beads for around an hour. The uruli looks good now half filled with that collection.
At that house, I took some photos of the preserved traditional Padipurra (entrance). The stone pillars on either side of the wooden door have cow-ear shaped stone shelves meant to be filled with oil and a lit wick can be placed to provide light in those days before electricity. Well, even in these days considering the reliability of electricity here. The house also had some nice old furniture including a crib.
Went out walking to do a bit of household shopping. On the way back saw the enterpreneur of the year. He must be over 70 years old. He was seated outside the Highness Restaurant & Bar. In a closed steel cylindrical container in front of him were boiled eggs. Next to the container a small jar with hot sauce. The steady stream of drunkards coming out of the bar stop by. He wraps as many eggs as they order slurringly with some scoops of the sauce into a newspaper. There is no bargaining. In their inebriated state of mind, his clients have no idea how logical his prices are. Brilliant example of being at the right place at the right time with the right product.
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| Manjadi-Coralwood beads |
Almost all the women listed are 'beautiful' and almost all the men are 'financially secure'. The code word used is 'Sambathikamund' which literally translated would mean something like 'has finance/money'. If the women are not beautiful, then they are financial secure. If the men are not financial secure, then caste no bar, second marriage no problem etc. These pages find much mention of planets and other heavenly bodies that astrologically determine the fate of the advertised individuals.
I was surprised to find 'Sundari blacksmith yuvathi' (beautiful blacksmith lady) and 'sundari carpenter yuvathi' (beautiful carpenter lady) with both blacksmith and carpenter in printed in English. Apparently this is the new trend of announcing anglicised caste! For a moment, my imagination had run wild imagining Hustler/Playboy calendars with blacksmith and carpenter themes. I searched for similar beautiful 'barbar', 'toddy tapper', 'coconut climber' and 'cadaver disposal' ladies but the ads stick to the traditional names in those cases. Nairs are still sticking to that name instead of 'warrior', 'soldier', 'mercenary', 'erstwhile feudal overlord now self-pity hobby' etc. I guess it is just a matter of time!
The divorcees who have re-entered the marriage market invariably make it a point to announce that they got divorced because of 'no fault of their own'!
The biological alarm buzz of mosquitoes woke me up at 3am this morning as the power was out again. It was only appropriate to wake up into darkness on the 65th Independence Day. I used the restroom in candle light and went to walk on the terrace where the air was much cooler. Since it was full moon the night before, there was enough natural light outside. Power was back on at 5 am. As soon as Amma woke up, I used the opportunity to sell her the idea of buying an inverter. What if power fails on the wedding day morning?! It won't be pretty dressing up in darkness! She agreed. Personally, it means the modem will stay active and I can be online more reliably.
Very heartening to find that most of the long-bean and bittergourd seeds have sprouted. New green has appeared on a couple of the tapioca stems too. We need to wait on the ginger and habenaro. The rose bushes bought yesterday for the 'bridal photo session' were potted this morning.
Numerous unwritten diaries dating back from 1990s are discovered as boxes are unpacked and arranged. This online daily journal I am creating is a notable exception to our families pristinely blank past!
Amma wanted to buy a new cooking gas stove with three burners because she was having some issues with the old two burner one we have now. Good exchange deals were expected as part of the Independence Day celebrations in particular and the Onam and Malayalam new year festival season in general. Amma was already bent on buying a new brand from Butterfly titled 'desire'. So the whole 'shopping around' was a sham. Few months ago, she was in the same train with some Butterfly company employees and had complained to them about the current gas stove. They told her that the new 'desire' line is going to be smashing brilliant!After an obligatory stop at one outlet that played the role of 'around' in the 'shopping around' drama, we went to the 'Gas Stove' store which had the desired stove. It was a glass-top stove with some sleek design of wavy lines imprinted on it. I think the name and the imprinted design pretty much did the trick for Amma. Yet, she is the modern day discerning shopper, the conscious customer, so some queries had to be made. But they were along the lines of:
Amma: Will this give me any issues?
Shop-keeper: No, madam.
Amma: Will this work well?
Shop-keeper: Yes, madam.
That's it! Done! She keeps her status as the intelligent, choosy consumer and he made a sale. Happiness and head-bobbing all around.
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| Coralwood Tree |
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| Padipura |
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| Beautiful traditional furniture |
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