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 Those days, brass utensils had been replaced by gleaming, scratch-free stainless steel  vessels which were becoming increasingly popular for their ease of handling, and cleaning.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.