‘Appachan’ took particular care to give us an idea about
significant places and to explain relevant details. On our way to Broadway from
the Ernakulam Boat Jetty and the Railway Station area, there were so many fruit
vendors and other hawkers doing brisk business. A variety of fruits like
apples, mangoes, oranges, custard, sappottas, pears, grapes and varied banana
fruits were arranged in different attractive shapes. This made the customers
take notice of them. Pineapple and Jackfruit were other more bulky fruits which
they sold according to the season. On the main road-sides we even came across
snake charmers. They played on their pipes to which the cobras made rhythmic
movements. They even tried to bite them at times. Another lot are the tribal ‘Vaidyans’, doctors, vending rare Ayurvedic medicines
collected from the mountains and hills of the Himalayas; peacock oil vendors;
good artists who could draw pencil sketches in a jiffy. At times, Palmists or
Chirologists and ‘Jyotish’, Astrologers,
another set of future-tellers were also seen on the pavements.
Parrot astrologers who could tell the
destiny with the help of tarot cards picked up by the green parrots kept in a
cage. Many young people went to review their marriage prospects and also
consulted to fix suitable dates for auspicious occasions like weddings,
engagements and business openings. Parrot astrology was usually a family trade
passed on from father to son or daughter.
Once a customer arrived, the session began with the parrot astrologer first
asking the customer for his name. Upon the announcement of the name, he opened
the cage and requested the parrot to select a suitable card for the customer
with such a name. The parrot daintily walked out of its cage and after pulling
a card out of the stack with its beak, retreated to its shelter. The astrologer
then opened the card and revealed the picture and message to his customer. Most
of the time, these cards bore optimistic messages. They interpreted the tarot cards to foretell a
person's future.
Excerpts from
MEMOIRS
An autobiography
by
Joseph J. Thayamkeril
Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.
josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com
josephjthayamkeril@google.com
josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com
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