Chakki Tales-3 Glass of Toddy

It was fascinating early morning watching the man, climbing the huge palm tree precariously.He emptied the pot at the top of the tree into a big sachet tied around his waist.The sachet was made from the base of the palmyra  frond.I waited till he descended down .I was curious and longingly looked at the sachet to know what it was in it.

As if a wish answered, he plucked a nearby jack fruit tree leaf shaped it into a cup and gave some of the sweet liquid.

Wow! it tasted so sweet and nice,pure unadulterated plant sap.He looked at me smiled and said ,Shankaran chayande mol aa allae?(You are shankaran brother's daughter?). I nodded in agreement. How long are you all there?I replied 2-3 days.He went on his way to the neighbor's property to finish his morning rounds.He least expected me there the next day with a big glass in hand.

Next day I got up early and went to the kitchen stealthily picked the biggest steel glass available because in those days the kuppi glass was in vogue.I stood near the verandah and calculated the approximate time for climbing and coming down the tree to make my entry on time.He was surprised when I went with the glass.

"So you like the taste of it eh?, your father will scold me"he said. "Don't worry I will not tell him,we are going in the evening so no one will know.One last time, it will be okay ."

No more question and answers, he filled my glass , winked at me and said,"You must study well when you go back to your city and become a big officer like your father okay.He is the first person from our village who has gone outside to study and work.Otherwise, like me you will have to get up in the mornings and climb trees up and down".I nodded in unison .

He went away.

I went and sat on the branch of the old kappi tree enjoying sipping the sweet liquid.By the time I finished Chakkiammachi caught me red handed and hurled a string of abuses at the toddy tapper for giving me toddy.

I hugged her and said once in a way only know, I am going away today and I don't like you being angry. She hugged me with all her strength and wiped her tears away flashing her toothless grin once more.

Chakki Tales-2 The Morning Trek

It must have been more than half a century to date, the memories of the two or three days spent during holidays in Valavoor, a place then with no electricity.Rivers and rivulets as the source of water in addition to the wells with sweet ,cool water in those days ,is as vivid as if I was there yesterday.

Everything from bathing cooking, washing defecating happened under the sky be it day or night. It was located very close to a small  town Palai in God's Own Country which boasted of early banking .Caste system was well prevalent. However the occasional visitor like me was never entrapped in such trivial.
Going to bed early was the norm .Lamp lit dinners was the norm,the substitute for modern day candle light dinners.  

So, always there could be no lapse in concentration and alertness.Getting up early morning was a treat to feel the dew drops, race to pick the sweet small mangoes on the ground ,delicately balancing on the slippery separators between the fields or the short trapeze act on the coconut stem while crossing the rivers and rivulets  with mango and neem twigs in hand brushing and plunging into the brooks for a quick splash and gulgul.The screams on seeing a snake  ,or falling into the river would bring peals of laughter from cousins as they pulled me out fully drenched with mud after slipping and falling into the fields. a quick wash and  and another ten minutes the clothes dried as we trudged along.

In those days,boundaries though defined did not have fenced up walls , so it was just entering from one property to the next which extended to acres.After a little bit of trekking skirts folded up would be laden with  rose apples of different varieties white pink red, mangoes, guavas,small pebbles, flowers .

Seeing me the inmates would quickly pop up heads to ask "Are you Sankaran's daughter?has your mother also come?" My mother was beauty to them wearing nice sarees and nailpolish and respected because she came from a very reputed family. I would smile but my country cousins would complete the formalities. Occasionally, we would be treated to jaggery with spices or a big bowl of tea without sugar,not because I was diabetic,but it was rude to ask anything from those nice people.We were just waiting to gulp it down happily and hungrily, as were out more than three to four hours.

By now the sun has made it's full appearance and we had gone a long way from home.We sat near the stream with legs dangling in the clear water to finish off the morning's prized collections and slowly trudge home.The one feet road made by constant usage was just a makeshift between two pieces of land and had to wriggle our way through.

As we climbed the stone cut steps to enter our home there stood Chakkiamma glaring at us with stick in hand.Where you have been this long?Since I was a rare visitor she flashed me her toothless grin and showered the choicest of abuses on my cousins.Cousins sulked and glared angrily at me.We sat down to eat after washing ourselves near the well where stood a nice big lemon tree laden with green limes.

Now, breakfast was not a norm for them. It was only when visitors came it was done.We sat on the floor while we were served,when Chakkiamma entered the kitchen and brought me the boiled egg especially for me and squatted next to me with eyes full of love.When pullykozhi had laid it yesterday she picked it and hid it  for me in the granary which is dark and always under her lock and key.

All of us played till lunch time again to go on our trek in the afternoon.It was a treat to all of us introducing and showing me off to their friends,not that I was the prettiest thing on earth but the topic of conversation in their otherwise simple lives.

By evening we were all in the river taking bath and washing clothes and enjoying splashing water.We reach back home and share some home made snacks till the darkness descends and the evening lamp is lit. We doze off after our hard day's work,only to be woken to have lamp lit dinners and to fall back asleep dreaming of what awaits us the next morning.

Chakki Tales-1

 Chakkiammachi was giving gyan to Kuttyshankaran years ago.I was a little girl lachami to her.O! how I miss her and her blouse less,bejeweled neck, toothless grin enveloping me in a warm,skeletal, embrace with tears of joy streaming down her face. She must have been 70 plus.O! how much she loved me,I cannot define. Bent with age she was the epitome of filial love.She continued while both of us listened in rapt attention.For coming from an illiterate background she spoke with a lot of conviction,intelligence and foresight.

In every college there can be only one best which means for the whole country the no of best equals no of colleges. Then what will happen to the remaining students?

So it is about doing your best and utilizing what you have learnt to make  a livelihood for your self.The enterprising ones will do well in life. Some may accept defeat in life and  sponge on others, some will make no attempt at all and remain engulfed in poverty.

So we can see clearly that  in all this it is the choice one made/makes.Education gives us a means.How we utilize it, is our necessity .

Love is there ,but it is in actions of what you make out of your life that means you love and care. I don't mean repeating  repeatedly "I love you" or hopping on to the next bus or rushing to the station or rushing to catch the next available flight to physically be present to show that u love and care.

 I think you understand me.So let the path  of your future be clear and follow it to sustain your self ,not just hand to mouth existence but by living well with a good standard of living  because ultimately the yard stick is standard of living  which is important .

Which means am I satisfied with daal roti or do I need to improve on it with some more nutrients and dishes and dessert.

Because it is when you do well I am content and happy that I raised you well. Calamities and troubles are a part of life , he who takes shortcuts and backs out are nothing but cowards who do not know how to live and adjust in life. A total misfit to humanity, how much ever you may crow ,you will remain a zero.

Kuttyshankara show the world  that no place is small to lead a happy life. Illadi lachamikutty, she winked at me.

LOVE

Love means different things to different people for some  it is koochi koos, dressing alike,agreeing with everything,looking into the eyes,dramatizing with choicest of words,repeating oft "lLU",constantly being on the phone, messaging, checking mail for instant updates,instant dialing for approvals /concurrence for purchases from buying onions to whether be it apparels inner/outer. The list goes on endlessly as if life would come to a standstill  if the above did not happen.

I am totally confused at this new age concept and trying to decipher as much as possible.I have become a mental wreck, pulling my hair and biting my nails.

Love is a new entry or a millions of years ago old discovery, was it an entity which came into existence A.D or B.C. I muse.