Chakki was already in the kitchen making breakfast and I walked sleepily in to the kitchen.
“Oh.Kochumaharani finally got up?” She asked me
“Go chakki, stop teasing me in the morning itself.
I opened the cupboard to get the umikari box ( Umikari.Charcoal made of paddy husk, which was used for cleaning teeth). Ammachi doesn’t believe in toothpaste and I am forced to use the umikari to clean my tooth. I took few pinches of the umikari and walked towards the well. Using my thumb and index finger I tried to brush my teeth with the umikari. I tried to see where Ammachi was and through the dense foliage of tapioca and yam. I couldn’t see her.
After brushing and rinsing my mouth many times to remove the burned husk from my mouth I walked back to the kitchen.
“Chakki, where is Ammachi?”
“She is checking the pineapple fence.” Chakki replied.
In Malaysia, people use barbed wire for fence, in our house Ammachi uses rows of pineapple plants as a fence. The leaves are so sharp and spiny, even the neighbourhood cats don’t dare enter our land.
“Thangammo, I am hungry”. I stood on the kitchen door step, cupped my hand and yelled. hoping she would hear me and come and eat breakfast. Besides I didn’t want to waste a chance to call my grandmother her real name.
“Who is calling me Thangamma?”I heard her asking
Chakki was already looking at me and laughing
“It is Methran Thambi’s grand daughter” I replied
“Has she grown that much to call me by my name?”
” Why don’t you come and see?” I yelled again.
I sat on the bench and waited for her to come. Chakki made dosai and coconut chutney for breakfast.
Ammachi walked in carrying a stick and a huge jackfruit.
“edi Chakki, did you hear someone calling my name?”
“I think it was Methran Thambi’s granddaughter who called you Ammachi” Chakki responded.
“What are we going to do with this Ammachi”I asked pointing my fingers at the jackfruit. I needed to change the subject quickly
“We will make chakka puzhukku (boiled spiced jackfruit) and fried butt for lunch today”.
“No you won’t”, I walked to her and gave her a hug.
“edi Chakki, did you get what I asked you to buy yesterday” Ammachi asked Chakki
Chakki took a newspaper wrapped parcel and gave to Ammachi.
Ammachi took it from Chakki and gave it to me without saying anything.
I quickly opened and found inside 2 sets of beautiful dark green colour glass bangles with golden spots. I was so happy.
I took them out and counted, there were 24 bangles. I could wear a dozen on each hand and they would jingle when I moved my hands.
I thought about Ammalu and how much she wanted bangles. may be I could share half of my bangles with Ammalu. But I knew my mother would never buy me bangles and Ammachi probably would never buy again either. I convinced myself it is Ammalu’s parents who should buy her the bangles, not my grandmother. May be I would hide it till the harvest is over. Then I don’t have to tell Ammalu and then share.
I quickly ate my breakfast and went to Ammachi’s room and hid my bangles in the cupboard under all the clothes.
When I went to the fields, workers were already clearing the last stacks of hay. I looked for Ammalu. She wasn’t there.
I asked the woman who was carrying the hay stack to the store
“chettathi (sister) where is Ammalu?
“Oh, she won’t be coming again”.
“Why?”
“She went to Madras” chettathi (sister) replied
“Why did she go to Madras”
“her father sold her to the pandi, who wanted to employ her in his firecracker factory”
I got something similar to this green glass bangles.
http://www.fashionvisionboutique.com/pcat-gifs/products-small/Copy-of-glassbangle2.jpg
I hope it was really a firecracker factory.
Olden days we used to have the spiced one also…do you remember? with pepper powder mixed in fine powder of umikkari with salt?
I used to brush teeth with charcoal and salt in my native.. or using neem branch. It used to be of different taste and more fun.. :).. thats bad that ammulu’s dad sold her. Just hopw it was real factory and nothing horrible than that. And more over selling itself is a big crime.. how could one do that.. so sad 🙁
Thank God for the crack down on Child labor in Firecracker factories, Ammulu and her ilk can now live without the fear of being sold off.
The way you called your Ammachi by name was so cute and cheeky 🙂
I can never even fathom how parents can sell their kids.
When we used to go to Kerala, we used to use umikari and then eerkil from ola as tongue cleaner.
I tried Maavila(Mango Tree Leaves)…and they are great like neem branch and umikkari
The bangles again brings in memories.
The good old ‘umiikkari’ LOL
Did you know toothbrush was invented in India?
Hi Sarah,
I was sitting infront of my PC for 3hrs now!. I read ur posts from october 2005 to March 23, 2006. I think i will read the ‘ammachi’ stories later (when i have time)!
You have got the inborn talent to be a writer.. Kids doesn’t matter for that job. I liked ur critisisms on white supremacy, eventhough you sounds frustrated sometimes. You are not clear about GOD & belief. Since you were born in a relegious family and raised with all kind of faiths, you feel it difficult to challenge it even when you want to.
Don’t worry about your kids. Let them grow in love and peace as “humans”. Help them develop a broader view about life. You will not regret.
regards
JM
I am addicted to your site, really enjoy all the stories, somehow I am transported to that place.keep posting.I can almost see the paddy fields and the workers.
Cute Post. Especially the Umikari, made me nostalgic and brought back my memories of my Achan’s House where there used to be Umikari put in a bowl and hung from the ceiling.
I remember that whenever we used to go to our grandfather’s place, my father would make us brush our teeth with ummikari. But that was after the normal toothbrush and paste routine. I can only describe it as yucky now. I remember thinking, how can something black make my teeth whiter??
Just like LG, I hope that it was a real firecracker factory.
Lot of nice memories about umikari. Now, I guess grandmothers use Nambooris Podi to simulate it.
was a really sweet post but Ammalu being sold to Pandi was shocking.
lg:over the years, it progressed from firecracker factory,shrimp factory.kamatheruvu etc..
Q8techdrive: I don’t remember the spiced version. But I remember the tender mango leaves and small branches.
Sujit:Selling kids..it happens
Silverine:Thanks.. I never wasted a chance to call her name.
Thanu:I was never good with eerkil..i liked the mango stem better
Jac:thanks
Lg:really? I had no idea, probably by a vidwan who didn’t get a small branch to brush in the morning?
Jasmin:Thank you for visiting my blog.. Yes I have absolute religious confusion
Starrynights:I am glad you can see the place and feel it…
dhanush: we had umikari petti.. a wooden box exclusively for Umikkari.. Do people still use umikkari?
mathew:My oldest child asked me the same “you mean you used yucky charcoal to brush your teeth??
Popphabhi:What is nambbothiripodi?
Arjun: I was shocked too..
I heard it on an American Radio Quiz. I dont think the modern one. Maybe the process of ‘cleaning their teeth’. Remember we tease saayippu saying,
“kulikoollatha,*** kazhukoolatha,
palluthekkoollatha vargam” 🙂
Hi !!
I have been researching on rice husk ash and its uses from few months now as my final project in M.A. It was so difficult for me to find out the uses of it and also ..the time period when people use to use it and why we do not use it anymore.
anyone reading this can email me on
shubhi.td@gmail.com
I am curious to know more and more about it after reading amazing indigenous uses you all mentioned above.
I am based in london and trying to do a project – in which I am trying to revive the lost traditional uses of our culture and how it can be adaptable to western life.
Waiting to hear more about eerkil, nambbothiripodi and ola.