The House without electricity!
Now it may seem unusual! In those days it was quite normal. We never felt anything amiss for not having electricity. The general feeling was that electricity is always for the rich and the poor is to use kerosene lamps or wick lamps or no lamp at all. We used to get kerosene to burn small wick lamps. These lamps were used for usual lighting and reading. Candles were used at the prayer stand. I had a beautiful brass lamp with glass for my reading purposes which I bought with a part of my fees money in later life in higher classes. In smaller classes we didn't have much to read. The arrangement was to finish reading by night fall and then take up later in the morning. Oh.. The morning for all purposes. Reading, loud reading always took place in the early mornings.
We walked up and down in the courtyard and made many things by-heart by loud reading. All children reading aloud made a cacophony of sorts in the morning. Every body read ones own subjects according to ones need.
Night times were utilized for writing works. As these did not make any noise and thus no disturbance to others in the house or neighbours. The smoke from the kerosene lamps entered our nostrils which we never considered serious. But if we wrote or read all night, next morning the nasal discharge will have soot in it. But it will go eventually. And this happened only during exam times.
The mornings were usually announced by the cocks in the household. We got up at the crack of dawn. There was a lot of cashew nut groves around of which we took a round usually and brought all the fallen fruits with their nuts on them. This was a thing to be done carefully as the place was having enough tropical snakes, especially the cobras and krates. Keralites have a belief that if we have made a prayer to St. George and if the elders have given a token offering to St. George who protects all from snake bites, we are safe. We believed it totally and our life really depended on him. A photo of St. George was got blessed from the priest and visibly exhibited above the front door of our house which we revered. A snake may be difficult for us to handle, but not for St. George. The present day snakes do not have wings, like the one St. George had tackled!
The difficulty here was the fallen leaves which makes a heady play ground for the snakes as they move around to catch mice and other beings for their daily food. Most of the times they moved away on sighting us. All the same we were frightened to the core on seeing them and flew from the spot. These were the first flights we learned to save our lives!
But then, we had very strong guys to look after us in these. My father and one of my brothers who could handle any snake and look directly into their eyes. When they faced the snakes, it was as if the snake and them. And I had a mother who spoke to the snakes, on the strength of St. George who she had enlisted on her side. She told the snake (that too a strong and brave cobra) which was standing with an open hood, that "we have already paid St. George his dues, now what are you waiting for on the cot in the house? We do not intend you any harm, please leave the house and go your way. If there are any dues we will send it to St. George!" The cobra which had entered the house and was lying on my father's cot, slowly folded the hood, crept down very slowly from the cot, and moved from room to room (all the rooms were in direct succession in that house) and left to the courtyard and disappeared! She narrated the story when we came one day from School. She said the house was all open and she had gone to the neighbours house to talk to the lady there and when she returned, this was the sight, the cobra lying on the bed as if it was taking rest! When we heard the story our hairs stood up and we did not know whether to sit down or run. We looked around in the small room and below the cot, to see if the snake had actually left. But mother was emphatic "don't look here and there and panic. I have seen it off my self upto the kitchen door and also seen it leaving from the corner of the courtyard! Hugh!!
The mornings were usually announced by the cocks in the household. We got up at the crack of dawn. There was a lot of cashew nut groves around of which we took a round usually and brought all the fallen fruits with their nuts on them. This was a thing to be done carefully as the place was having enough tropical snakes, especially the cobras and krates. Keralites have a belief that if we have made a prayer to St. George and if the elders have given a token offering to St. George who protects all from snake bites, we are safe. We believed it totally and our life really depended on him. A photo of St. George was got blessed from the priest and visibly exhibited above the front door of our house which we revered. A snake may be difficult for us to handle, but not for St. George. The present day snakes do not have wings, like the one St. George had tackled!
The difficulty here was the fallen leaves which makes a heady play ground for the snakes as they move around to catch mice and other beings for their daily food. Most of the times they moved away on sighting us. All the same we were frightened to the core on seeing them and flew from the spot. These were the first flights we learned to save our lives!
But then, we had very strong guys to look after us in these. My father and one of my brothers who could handle any snake and look directly into their eyes. When they faced the snakes, it was as if the snake and them. And I had a mother who spoke to the snakes, on the strength of St. George who she had enlisted on her side. She told the snake (that too a strong and brave cobra) which was standing with an open hood, that "we have already paid St. George his dues, now what are you waiting for on the cot in the house? We do not intend you any harm, please leave the house and go your way. If there are any dues we will send it to St. George!" The cobra which had entered the house and was lying on my father's cot, slowly folded the hood, crept down very slowly from the cot, and moved from room to room (all the rooms were in direct succession in that house) and left to the courtyard and disappeared! She narrated the story when we came one day from School. She said the house was all open and she had gone to the neighbours house to talk to the lady there and when she returned, this was the sight, the cobra lying on the bed as if it was taking rest! When we heard the story our hairs stood up and we did not know whether to sit down or run. We looked around in the small room and below the cot, to see if the snake had actually left. But mother was emphatic "don't look here and there and panic. I have seen it off my self upto the kitchen door and also seen it leaving from the corner of the courtyard! Hugh!!
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