My fellow bloggers,

Please,lend me your ears, for my husband and I   cleared the loft in our house yesterday  and how!

Summer has started in full swing and so also  the frequent power cuts.There are current cuts at all times atleast in our area.Inspite of the generator we are put to lot of difficulties .

My mother in law, a grand old lady ,really feels it.The other day current went off at 1.30 PM..The inverter at home took sometime to grunt and groan to start functioning.My MIL could not bear to sit in a place with out a fan.She asked for the ‘panai olai hand fan’ie the hand fan made with the leaves of palm tree.

‘Where oh,where is my ‘visiri?”whimpered my mil.Both I and my husband searched in the nooks and corners of the house for the fan,but ,could not find it.In the meanwhile MIL became restless even though the invertor had started functioning and we could put on the fan in her room.But “I must have my panai olai visiri,because anytime current goes and I will not trust your invertor”thundered my mil.My husband sent the gardner to the market nearby to see whether these fans were available.No,”Sir,all these fans have been sold out.He says he will get fresh stock in two days’ grinned Sivaraman, the gardner,though why he took so much pleasure in the non availability of panai olai visiri is yet a mystery to me.

In entered our maid,Nalini.When she found out the reason for my husband’s misery, she said,”Appa,when pattiyamma went to your brother’s house sometime last month,you put the visiri in the loft,no?”.

Suddenly there was light in my husband’s eyes and his entire countenance changed.He asked the gardner who was watching the fun,to bring a stool,climb on it and jump into the spacious loft in our bedroom to retrieve the visiri.He obliged.After five minutes, he shouted,”Sir,there are so many things thrown about in the loft,I am not able to find out the fan’.Suddenly clouds gathered on my husband’s face.He looked at me ,”Today I am going to clear the loft.You people throw anything and everything in the loft,one fine morning I may find myself there”.I could hear Sivaraman giggling from where he was ie  the loft.I kept quiet.

This loft and its contents have been the subject matter for furious discussions between both my husband and I for a long time.My husband  feels that I throw or put everything that I can not find a place for in our house, in the loft, conveniently forgetting it,where as I feel that both of us do that,and the servants emulate us.

 

He is of the opinion that other than what we use in our every day life,all other things have to be given away.I am very angry with my daughters, who, whenever I raise this topic of them taking some of the things that I have been keeping and which rightfully belong to them,say,”Oh,no amma,not this time may be some other time’So I decided that my husband will do as he pleased and give away anything that he wanted to give away.

Normally I try and reason it out with my husband ,but this time I decided to keep quiet.

“Sivaraman”shouted my husband.”Bring down every thing from the loft.I don’t want anything lying about there’.Sivaraman suddenly became very smart and brought down card board boxes,deal wood boxes,suitcases,bundles and bundles of  note books and what not.Our bedroom floor was scattered with things,.Finally Sivaraman said,”Sir,there is a grren painted box painted in green colour, which is very heavy.I cant bring it down single handedly.I have to bring atleast two boys to help me.”.

So he went and brought two more persons who climbed into the loft,Sivaraman and these two boys together with some difficulty brought down the huge wooden box,painted in green colour ,,which brought a nostalgic smile on my lips.

I was in second year B.A.One evening I returned home to find a huge wooden box in the verandha of our house.My mother was beaming with pride.When I asked her whose box was that and what it was doing in our house,my mother replied,”This box is for you”.”For me!”I became incredulous.

My mother continued,”Next year you will be finishing your graduation and in all probability you will get married.I have bought this box so that whatever utensils I buy for you,I will keep them in this box.Such a nice box,do you know that I got it for Rs.25 only?”My mother was beaming on getting such a beautiful,hmmmm,piece for such a low price.

 

With difficulty I controlled my laughter,when I looked at the box.I went near the box,tried to lift the lid and open the box,but the lid was so heavy, I could not open it by even an inch.

I called my mother,”Amma,I think you have to look for a Kingkong or Dhara singh to marry me”said I ,giggling.My mother’s face darkened,”why?”asked my mother.

“Amma,whenever I want something to be taken out from the box,I have to ask my husband to take it out for me and do you think a lesser mortal will be able to open it? Amma,my life will become miserable”,said I with a serious face.The neighbour lady who was standing there and watching ‘the box opening ceremony,’began to laugh.This added insult to injury.My mother dragged me inside,gave me a mouthful,”How can you talk like that ,that too in front of friends.What will they think about you?Dont you dare talk like that anymore”shouted my mother.

I finished my postgraduation,got married and the big box painted in green travelled with us wherever we went.I forgot to tell you,I married a lesser mortal ,a nice human being, who shuddered at the mention of opening the box.So whenever the box had to be opened which occasion was rare, we being a small family not requiring too many utensils,I took the help of my maid,my neighbours’ maids,my chowkidar,my neighbours’ chowkidars’,believe me, I am not exaggerating!

“So you are back in your dream world?”shouted my husband and I came back to the present.

My husband was telling Sivaraman to open the box.Sivaraman was huffing and puffing and using all his might to open the box and finally he succeeded.All of us ie,myself,my husband,sivaraman and my maid looked inside the box with great curiosity.There were stainless steel utensils,round ones starting from huge size to the smallest size kept one inside the other.There were long vessels stacked in similar fashion from the biggest to the smallest size.There were brass vessels,bronze utensils,lamps in all sizes and shapes.There were plates in different varieties.There were coffee tumblers and dubbarahs,a must in every Brahmin household by dozens and dozens.My maids eyes popped out.My husband looked at me and said,”Mythili,both of us are growing older .We don’t need such huge vessels at all,let us give them away,My mother in law came to our room slowly and sat by my side.The fun started.

 

“No problem”,said I. “We will do as you wish “I acted the obedient wife.My mil looked at me with faintly covered disgust and said,”Are you mad?”.She asked sat on the floor comfortably ,took out each and every utensil and other pieces,examined them and finally said,”Kanna,you will be a fool to give away these vessels.Go to the shop and enquire,even if you pay ten times the money you will not get such heavy,pure stainless steel.Do you know that/”

She looked at Sivaraman and said,”Siva,keep aside all these vessels.Keep them in the loft only,next time when my grand daughters come, I will give these utensils to them.They have children,they will use them”My mil put a full stop to my husband’s efforts to rid ourselves of these vessels.Ok,so the utensils were to go back to the loft,atleast for the time being.

Next Sivaraman pulled some seven or eight cardboard boxes on which were written,Kolu Bommai(dolls used in Navarathri)Again my husband looked at me and said,”Mythili,you are not able to arrange all these dolls what with your surgeried back.Our daughters are not taking them.So what?There are young,newly married girls in our complex,let us give these dolls to them.”

“Ok,I agree with you,”said I .My mil looked at me with fury.If looks could kill a person,I would have become ashes then and there.My mil said,”What you are saying is right.Buy any number of new dolls and give the young,newly married girls here.I will be very happy.But these dolls should not go out of the house.Do you know why?”Without expecting any answer my mil continued,”These dolls are gods and goddesses.We do puja to them during Navarathri,offer prayers and offer prasadam and how can you give away your God?I will not have it?”,said my mil authoritatively and asked Siva to keep aside the dolls sothat he can put them back on the loft.

I took a sideglance at my husband whose face was grim and announced the arrival of a thunderstorm.

Next Siva pulled a metal box and kept it before my husband.He  opened the box and there were note books.400 pages,500 pages,long ones,regular ones,there were notebooks stacked neatly.Suddenly I knew what they were!They were notebooks in which my father in law used to write ‘SriRamaJayam every day when he was alive.He would not have his meal without offering pooja and writing SriRamaJayam sitting right in the puja room.Some days he would write 108 times,while on other days he would write more than that also.Just before he passed away he gave the notebooks to my husband and told him to keep them safely.

My mother in law’s face had reddened on seeing the notebooks with my father in law’s handwriting in them.She told my husband,”Kanna,if you don’t have place for these notebooks in the loft,give them to me.I will throw away all my sarees and keep them in my box”.It was an emotion charged moment.

“Amma,don’t ever say that.Did I say that there is no place for these notebooks in our house?I will keep them as they are.”So saying he kept the box aside,ready to be kept in the loft,since our puja room is small and in no other room will the note books be safe.

Next Siva drew a suitcase in front of us and opened it.Oh,mine,there were all the wedding albums of the family members includine mine .All the albums were taken out,my mil took each and every photo album out and started showing Nalini who were who in our family.Nalini and Siva paid handsome compliments to my husband and me on our looks four decades back.

“To whom shall we give these album.I think we should give the rightful owners their wedding albums, and ours, we can just give away to anybody”said I, a little sarcastically,ofcourse.One look at my husband’s face  was enough to make me realize he was in no mood for jokes.The albums were put back in the suitcase ,we having decided that for the present they will go to the loft and our daughters will take them, when they come next time.

Then came the easy chair,in which you can sit comfortably or recline deep into it and go to sleep also.Before my husband could say anything,my mil stroked the seat of the chair and said,”Your father used to sit on this chair.When he was alive nobody would dare sit on it you know?”That’s it.The chair found its place back in the loft and so kept aside.

Finally,Siva brought a cardboard box before us and opened it.On looking into the box and its contents the entire mood in our room changed from one of frustration,anxiety to happiness and joy,for the box contained toys.The toys that were kept in the box and would be brought out whenever our grandchildren arrived.The hall would be cluttered with the various toys and our grand children fighting over who would play with which toy.I saw a smile in my husband’s face after nearly four five hours.He took out the toys ,we dusted them kept them back in the box and my husband made the grand announcement,”That’s all,Mythili,let us put them back.Just ask Siva to clean up the loft before putting the things back.”

Suddenly I heard Nalini’s shriek,’Amma,come here and see”she shouted.Iam timid by nature,I wondered whether a snake had entered the kitchen,how would a snake enter a third floor flat in such a guarded place?”’

I gingerly entered the kitchen,Nalini was standing in the middle of the kitchen,one hand on her hip,the other  hand holding the by now famous ‘panai olai visiri’ ie the hand fan, aloft ,her facial expression resembling Durga Devi on Surasamhara .On seeing me, she said,”Amma this was on the top of the shelf in the kitchen only’.My husband glared at me,I glared at Nalini,Nalini in turn glared at Siva whose eyes were transfixed on the blessed fan.

My mil continued sitting in the hall,oblivious to the fitting finale to the fan episode that took place in the kitchen,happy in the knowledge that no treasure was taken away from her son’s house.

 

Loft:Storing place that is a must in every household.