Most of us were associated with grandmothers. They were like our mother. As for my grandmother, she used to be very strict yet warm. Very ferocious, yet calm. Very traditional, yet she accepted our modernity. They saw life from their granny’s age to us and maybe our children too. (Here I’m talking about an average situation). They are the only people who can pass our traditional knowledge from our ancestors to us.
Especially in India, the traditions and the knowledge is transferred
only through chores done in our daily life. Grandparents we know are generally
nagging about the olden days and very strict about their routine. However, the
routine is the thing which they learnt from their elders, which gave them a
healthy body and mind too. And now, we have enough proofs that there is a
scientific reason behind every Indian tradition. Grandparents are people made
this tradition as their habit. So I wanted to expose ideas of my granny on
various things.
Today I will focus on the perception of granny on “TOUCH”.
My grandmother is very particular about the things she
touched. She always reminded me to wash hands after combing my hair.
At that age, I was not interested either to wash or to listen to her words.
After becoming a mother and a homemaker now I understood why the hair is so bad
thing to touch. Today every corner of my home you can find small pieces of
hair, which is irritating. The home is not clean enough if your hair is not on
your head. Now I understand why she insisted to wash hands after combing hair,
touching comb, hair. There will be small hair strands which will get attached
to our hand when we touch hair or comb. Washing removes extra hair strands
which are on our hands or comb.
Her rule for the touch is broomstick, feet and face. When we
touch the broomstick same logic applies, the dirt on the broomstick will be on
our hands, which should be washed immediately. She used to say
always “Don’t touch your feet all the time”. I used to think
that is okay if my feet are clean enough. But my granny was wise enough to know
about microorganisms.
Once my granny said, “Don’t place your hands on your face
always”, with a harsh tone. I asked why. What she said made me
spellbound. “You will place your hands here and there; you may think your hands
are clean. Your facial skin is more sensitive when compared to
remaining skin. If you place your rough hands on face, the facial skin becomes
rough and your facial pores will be filled with mud. Moreover, my
queen should look good.”
Another concern is not to touch the rice vessel during our meals. In
many of our traditional houses, we still follow it. We don’t touch curry vessel
right after touching the rice vessel. It is not like rice vessel is dangerous
or anything. But Cooking rice has separate formula than making curries or
sambhar. The whole point is cooked rice should not get affected by the other
tastes and spices. Moreover, the water used for cooking rice (which is
used as porridge) can become residue and viscous. So my granny usually
touches some water or washes her hands after using the rice vessel.
My granny’s touch-hand washing list will not end here. She used to take
a bath even after completing kitchen chores. I was surprised when I came to
know that she takes a bath 3 times a day. I used to mock her for washing hands
after touching certain things. But now I came to know what the importance of
washing hands is. (Of course by the western doctors’ suggestions).
She was far more intelligent than western PhD doctors. Love you granny!!
Do comment your memories with your granny.
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