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Some Cultural Insights -2 Anand K Bhatt Anand K Bhatt is based in Mumbai working as Member in the Central Administrative Tribunal

This column is aimed towards understanding some of our customs and personal habits in the right perspective. Readers are welcome to share their stories, beliefs and customs to make this series more interesting and valuable.

Ho Chi Minh had once started a movement in his country which he named 'Eat well cooked food and drink boiled water.' Marriages in my part of the country were performed mostly during summer. A custom of a typically agrarian society. Marriages were solemnised after the harvesting season was over: people had money and spare time. At the bride's place there were two types of feasts; kachcha khana and pucca khana. The latter was for large gathering- it consisted of puri, kachaudi and boiled spicy vegetables which had been on the fire for some time. A very scientific way of saving the food from infection. The kachcha khana was for a limited number of people- people who had come in the marriage procession of the groom- a much smaller number. It was also called bhatwan as rice and dal were served- the food was more homely and mainly cooked by ladies of the household. With a typical Keralite food, the water you get is warm and has a lot of herbs in it. It is yellowish in colour.

And now medical scientists have discovered that fresh coriander leaves have a lot of disinfectant qualities- particularly effective against salmonella- the main cause of food poisoning all over the world. Remember that the grandmother used coriander leaves in all the curries including dal. Agreed that she thought that it was mainly for fragrance and garnishing. But were our ancestors aware of its medical qualities as well?

Another custom for which I haven't been able to find a solid basis is bathing with warm water even during summer. This practice is prevalent in entire Goa and probably most part of the Konkan coastal region. I can think of only that it is used to soften the hard water. Another reason could be that in the coastal region this could be one of the ways to save you from arthritis. My osteo-arthritis flared up after spending my 2-year tenure in Mumbai.

In the north, especially eastern U.P. and Bihar, swings are tied on trees only during the rainy season: sawan ke jhoole pade. And swings at home are most prevalent in the coastal regions of the country. You need breeze to dry out your sweat during hot and humid climate of these areas and during the rainy season in northern India, and it is easier to be on a swing than to wave a hand fan.

I probably don't have to explain the reason behind the immersion of Durga, Kali, Saraswati and Ganesh idols after 10 days. Thousands are spent on the idols. Well, where do you keep them after the festivities are over? The practice adopted is the simplest solution.

Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. You don't hear it anymore: children burn the midnight oil. Those days it was the best way to utilise to the maximum the light of the day for working. In my village where I used to go during summer vacations which included the beginning of the monsoons, the ploughman started his work at dawn, and had a siesta during the hottest part of the day. So is the case with the labourers who do the earthwork on the road and the rural tanks both new and for desilting.


Some Cultural Insights -1

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