CHAPTER 6 - WINNING HEARTS THROUGH GOOD FOOD MARINATED IN THE MILK OF HUMAN KINDNESS

All grannies are good cooks. Their recipes gain immortality  by being passed down by way of word to mouth by fond grand-daughters.  Narayani Patti was  no different. She was  a keen and enthusiastic  cook, who turned out delicacies  with a flourish, without batting an eyelid. Her Mohan dal, Manoharam and savouries like Murukku, Thattai and Athirasam are part of Kallidai folklore. Amma would march the entire family to Kallidai for summer vacations, which was the season of mangoes and pickle-making. Milagai Maangai was one such pickle made of small pieces of raw mango pieces, simmering in fresh smelling gingelly oil and seasoned with salt and chilli powder. This pickle would tantalise the nostrils with its heavenly aroma of mustard and asafoetida seasoning. Patti would fill jars and jars  of this pickle, preparing it for its 2000 km journey  up distant north. Patti”s Milagai Maangai had  an amazing shelf life. It would arrive in Dhanbad iin a tightly screwed brass  container sans a spill or a  trickle.

 Recently,  I bought a cut mango pickle from a reputed super-market, only after checking and re-checking the label for ingredients, date of manufacturing etc. As I unscrewed the lid and peeled off the plastic seal,I stared in shocked disbelief at  the rancid, sickening greenish hue, tell-tale signs of having gone spoilt. Patti’s Milagai Maangai held its own over store bought pickles which turn  rancid with a sickening greenish hue in a very short time. Her Milagai Maangai was a cut above the rest, lasting a whole year and still retaining its freshness, a feat only she could achieve. One can keep talking about her various specialities and recipes.

Patti firmly believed that the way to the human heart was through the stomach. Her cooking was the fulcrum of forging relationships in a close-knit village community where day to day routine and socio-economic activities were dependent on one’s social equations. Patti’s guide and mentor in cooking as well as the myriad, intricate aspects of a Tambrahm household with its extended social outreach was her neighbour Lakshmi Maami, wife of Sri. RSA Sankarier. The two were great chums apart from being related. and their houses  were joined by a common wall. Their deep friendship spilled over to their children also. “ Ahoy”,  would shout one stripling, his voice soaring onto the window perched high and descending onto the neighbouring kitchen, “What’s cooking in your kitchen? I am not keen on our menu today. Can I come over and have something there?” Sometimes Patti would send over fresh sweets and savouries, warm from the stove, immediately after offering them to the Gods to the other house, with the message, “ I know R..... Is very fond of these laddoos. My kids will finish them up in no time. So I am sending them across right away. Let him have them warm and smelling of fresh ghee.” The gesture was reciprocated in the same degree and even today Lakshmi Maami’s descendants come over to look us up, mentioning that they cannot forget Patti’s snacks.The sweet lingered in their mouth for a few minutes, but their friendship lasted a lifetime.

Narayani Patti’s siblings always visited Kallidai during their vacations. On such occasions, Patti would stock up  with stacks of their favourite snacks. When they headed back home, she would ply them with eats and handy presents to carry back along with many happy memories of their stay. To their protests that she was bothering too much, her inevitable rejoinder would be  a simple,” Let it be.  Just enjoy and forget everything else”.  Her manner said it all Even today, Narayani Patti’s brother and his wife recall poignantly, the deep  warmth and  affection that Patti bestowed on them. Large was her hearth but larger was her heart! 

Narayani Patti lives on, in the minds and hearts of her near and dear; through her  social attitude and dealings,  her innate affection and sense of family inclusiveness, her silent efficiency and kind deeds.Her kitchen regularly catered not only to her immediate family but also the likes of Gopalan Thattha and any visitor or relative who dropped in casually. One did not need an invite to her kitchen;  one just walked in. To this great, gracious lady whose kitchen knew no boundaries and whose cuisine was rich in range and limitless, I dedicate her recipe for her piece-de-resistance-Mohan Dal. Yes, the same Mohan Dal which founded and nurtured many a friendship.

CHAPTER 5- OF UTENSILS,A TROUSSEAU AND OTHER TRIVIA

    The girls were growing up and Narayani Patti was concerned. Ahead lay the big job of finding  suitable alliances in the traditional manner and marrying them off into good families. Weddings of those days were grand affairs involving lot of festivities, feasting and  putting together an extravagant trousseau of jeweliery, clothing and other household articles. Narayani Patti, with her astute sharpness and housewifely thriftiness, went about her task  with customary efficiency Little drops make an ocean. So too , patti had  crafted an exquisite piece of jewellery or silver from whatever savings she could conserve from the  cash that thattha gave for household expenses. Agriculture did not generate much cash but in those days of low inflation and simple living, patti managed to put away a tidy nest egg for her children, Ladies of rich Brahmin families were always hankering for a jewel or a silk saree. But Narayani Patti was not one to keep up with the Joneses.. In the years that I grew up and observed her, never once did I see her showing off something as her personal possession, to be vied for. Unassuming and simple in her requirements, this gracious lady , in true selflessness, only wanted the best fso that her children could start their married lives with the comforts they were used to. Keeping this in mind,she accumulated articles of their trousseau very fairly and equitably for her three children. If she gave away her daughters with grand trousseaus, she also welcomed her only daughter in law with equally grand presents.

Narayani Pattti’s trousseau shopping  started with buying household articles like utensils. Those days, brass utensils had been replaced by gleaming, scratch-free stainless steel  vessels which were becoming increasingly popular for their ease of handling, and cleaning. As was the custom in those days, Patti bought a few vessels from the  street old saree vendors who gave vessels in exchange for old silk sarees. To this day, I have failed to see the  merit of such bargains for apart from considerable exercise of lung power and exchange of ready wit.  In terms of fair money value and quality of the article bought, such  transactions were highly dubious. But nevertheless they thrived. Post lunch, in the early afternoon hours the upper class ladies of Kallidaikurichi looked forward to the patrakaran”s arrival.  Usually a deal would be concluded only in two sessions. First, mutual wares would be inspected and selected The conversation would flow somewhat like this-  “ Amma, I can only give this plate for your saree. It does not have much jari”. “ But, that’s not fair. It has got lot of jari, which i know you will melt and make good money. Plate will not do. Give me that big drum. “ Amma, I’ll be ruined if I give a drum for such a measly saree”.  “ Ok, then at least that big container” and so on it would go on familiar lines, in the manner of two encircling opponents in a boxing ring, each trying to get a measure of the other. But an agreement would not be reached. Perhaps this was because each, for his part wanted to extract the maximum value from the transaction. Both parties were sharp and thrifty and both filed away in their memories, what article they wanted from the other. So, it would transpire that patti would patiently wait for the patraman’s next trip when the deal would be concluded to their mutual satisfaction.

  However a weighty trousseau could not be accumulated in bits and pieces. Patti’s brother Kalyanam mama, who lived in Mumbai, had been inviting Patti  to  come and stay with him. Incidentally, Mumbai was also a shopping mecca for stainless steel vessels.  So Patti arrived in Mumbai, fully set to do some heavy shopping.  Now this was easier said than done. Maama’s wife was fully occupied with housework with no energy or time to spare and Patti could not find her way on her own. so , after returning from work, late in the evening after dinner, parti and maama would set off, changing two trains for the distant Mumbai suburb , where two famous brands Devidayal and Oriental  had their shops. More was in the agenda. After preliminary rounds, they would proceed to the venue where Marathi Natya Sangeet  was being conducted. In the wee hours of morning, they would come back tired but happy, at the end of a fulfilling day of shopping and music. 

Patti stayed for ten days, days of intense shopping, including some back and forth trips of exchange.  This would typically  start with Patti buttonholing mama in the morning with, ” Kalyanam, one addaku (big container) which I bought  yesterday  is slightly outsized. What we bought was a whole set of adukkus each fitting into the other, so they can be stored  away without occupying too much space. But this one sticks  out and won’t fit into the next bigger one. I know, it is a bother but please can we go and exchange .” And ever affable Kalyanam mama did not have the heart to refuse his dear sister’s request. Another trip was made to exchange a saucepan which wouldn’t sit properly on the burner. Mind you, these were not whimsical demands but based on sound housewifely common sense. “ No point in having a saucepan which is  so light that its slanting and falling with its contents,” Patti would remark wisely. Her keen perception of quality and  attention to detail stood her in good stead. Those addukus and saucepan are with me now. serving me after almost sixty years. Isn’t that testimony to Patti’s  common sense and acumen?

The trousseaus were ready. Only the grooms had to be located.  This also happened in good time and the girls started their homes and married lives.