My
brother Jacob and I used to wake up early to behold the daybreak. It was
interesting to watch the dawn in the presence of a cool breeze, coming from the
east that rustled in the leaves. The gentle breeze ruffled and tousled our hair.
The birds and the dogs were so vigilant that they made their presence felt. The
cattle shook
themselves off the ground, sniffed the air, and mooed.
They too were getting ready for their morning chores. We could see pink and
orange hues which slowly disappeared as the sunrise emerged on the eastern
horizon. The sky then turned radiant blue. We noticed the rays scatter in
different directions. It peeped through the branches and leaves of tall trees
and gradually the sun shone in full splendour. We could hear the cacophony of
men waking up in the neighbourhood. We noticed that the dew drops on the
vegetation vanished into thin air. This spectacular sight of rising sun
definitely gave me a positive energy.
It
was interesting to watch our household morning chores. ‘Ammachi’ always had a few maids at her beck and call. She used to
insist on cleaning the ‘Montha’, the ‘Kindis' and the brass lamps in the
morning. ‘Montha’ is a small brass
pot to keep water. ‘Kindis’ are brass
goblets, which are water vessels with a snout. Every morning Kamalakshi, one of
her helpers, cleaned them with ash from the fireplace and tamarind to make them
sparkle. This was then filled with water and kept on the dwarf wall by the side
of the entrance. Guests and other members of the household used this to wash
the dirt off their feet before entering the ‘Mana’ when they come back from the
field. Thereafter, the crockery and cutlery used on the previous night was to
be rinsed spic and span. Then boiled water was kept ready in a big earthen pot.
Health and hygiene were very important.
‘Kolambi’, a brass vessel with a
large mouth was also one of the utensils commonly used. The old ladies who were
in the habit of chewing ‘Murukkan’, a
pan of betel leaves, Calcium hydroxide, a few areca nut pieces and little
tobacco, and conveniently spat out the
sediments into this vessel. An attached bathroom was unheard of years ago.
Toilets were bottomless, which were made out-door by the pond, a little away
from the ‘Mana’. They opened into a pond where fish ate the excreta, a method
of recycling waste. I have observed people at Angamali-Kalady belt in Kerala
and in various places in Tamilnadu used pigs to do the same job. But these
cannot be utilized for scavenging large quantities of excreta, as the
population increased. This toilet made it difficult for the ladies to go out at
night. The big ‘Kolambi’ with a large
mouth therefore served the purpose of a urinal, which was covered after use and
emptied out and cleaned in the morning. Pazhukka, Ayyappan’s mother, was
entrusted with the duty of cleaning and keeping the courtyard fresh. Mariakutty
used to sweep and swab inside the ‘Mana’.
I
have noticed that Mariakutty used to mix the waste gruel with some coconut-cake
for the cows. Some of the waste was thrown into the backyard of our kitchen for
the fowls and ducks who would normally linger around there. The bio-degradable waste
that was unfit for even the birds were put into a pit and covered with soil.
These pits are normally dug up near the banana cultivation. Hence this natural
manure generated from this provided excellent manure for the banana crop. The ‘Njalipuvan’ bunches from such banana crop
were really delicious.
Personal
hygiene was also taken care of. ‘Umikkari’,
a natural tooth cleaning powder obtained from burnt paddy husk mixed with
little salt or a spotlessly clean mango
leaf was used to clean our teeth. ‘Ammachi’ used to clean my teeth with
these concoctions which I never relished. It was a painful experience for me.
Given a chance I would slip out and run away but all to no avail as her helpers
too would join in to catch me. I enjoyed the pleasure of having my morning
calls in the open ground; after which I demanded a bath. I insisted that ‘Ammachi’ herself should perform that
task and not leave it to any of her helpers. I used to enjoy my bath with the
transparent “Pears soap”, which had a gentle fragrance that lingered on for
most of the day. I have given up on that now as the present opaque “Pears soap”
does not appeal to me anymore. It could be because coconut oil the main
ingredient for good quality soaps has found other substitutes. “It is
significant to maintain the quality, quantity and price of a product.” I
remember how Jacob and I used to pluck the leaves and flowers of the shoe
flower plant (Hibiscus rosiness) to
make ‘Thali’ a natural shampoo for ‘Ammachi’. On Saturdays she used to have
an elaborate bath with all these homemade concoctions. ‘Inja’, beaten bark of Acacia
intsia, was used to scrub the dirt from her body. She too loved to take a
dip in the pond and have a bath there with us.
As
population increased, modern amenities like attached bath rooms, toilets, wash
basins and kitchen sinks started coming to this Island in 1970s. Diesel powered
motor pumps were used to fill up tanks which stored water for use in the
toilets and kitchen sink.
I
have noticed that pollution of the environment is a serious problem which has
to be curtailed at the source itself. All plastic wastes, as far as possible,
should be reused or recycled. It is definitely the duty of the administration
to find suitable ways to recycle the non-bio-degradable wastes and / or ban
such items totally in the larger interest of the state to protect the
environment. The government should make proper arrangements for disposal of
large quantity of garbage from markets, hotel wastes and rubbish from
hospitals. The local authorities are justified in charging reasonable fees and
charges from such hotels, restaurants and other business places. Littering in
public places should be fined heavily to deter such individuals.
I
would like to appreciate the earnest efforts taken by the government to create
awareness among the public. Moreover, the subsidy given by the government
through local administration to erect composte pits and bio-gas plants in an
effort to reduce pollution is also commendable.
The
Clean City Campaign commenced in 2010 namely “Suchithwabhodhanayajnam (SBY)” undertaken by Fr. Geoerge Pittapilly,
a CMI friar, Co-ordinator Suchithwabhodhanayajnam,Rajagiri
College of Social Sciences at Kalamassery, has created awareness among the
public. During 1st to 15th of January 2010 and 2011 he
had conducted marches carrying placards on a particular route of Ernakulam
district, held a cleaning work and in the evenings he held meetings various
points on his route and addressed the gatherings. The young and old alike
participated in his venture and encouraged him. As I understand he wishes to
continue the clean city campaign every year, A crusade for the protection of
environment is highly laudable.
The Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, stressed the significance of improving the health and sanitation of the rural poor in India. His "Clean India Campaign" is picking up.
Excerpts from
MEMOIRS
An autobiography
by
Joseph J. Thayamkeril
Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.
josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com
josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com
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