Veranda Tales-A very resourceful woman
Storytelling has been an integral part of my life since childhood. I grew up listening to stories during the hot summer evenings and nights with my cousins. Mothers and grandmothers would gather all of us children for story time. It was usually pitch dark except for a very faint light coming from the flickering candle. Power cuts were as frequent as the hot and humid summer days. We all spread out on a cool concrete floor or on bamboo mats on the veranda intently listening to fascinating stories about kings, queens, princes, princesses, and peasants alike. Stories about love, life, families, and people entertained and taught us life skills. These stories transported us to distant worlds which were strange yet familiar. Often the same story told by two people sounded different as storytellers added new twists and turns adding their personal style and flair to the stories.
Storytelling wasn’t limited to summer evenings and bedtime. I was surrounded by adults that didn’t pass up an opportunity to share their wisdom using the art of storytelling. The rich and vibrant oral traditions include songs, poems, stories, and సామెతలు (Sametalu are proverbs in Telugu). Men and women sing songs as they work in the fields, grind grains and spices and other daily chores at their homes. Stories are often used to teach important life lessons, interpersonal skills, and survival skills. These stories and the time spent listening to them made our lives richer leaving an impression on me. This series is all about reliving those memories as I share these stories.
The relationship between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law continues to be intriguing since the beginning. Stories have been told about this unique relationship since humans embraced the institution of marriage. Stories sound similar whether they are of royals such as Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth or ordinary village folk. Here is the one that made an impression on me for an amusing reason.
మాడుచెక్క మంచినీళ్లు (Burnt rice and water)
This is a story of a daughter-in-law, Mallamma. She lived with her husband and his parents. Mallamma woke up very early to start her household chores such as sweeping the house and decorating the entryway with ముగ్గులు (Rangoli) and so on. She then went to the river to bring water for drinking and cooking meals. During the afternoons she went to the river to wash clothes. Mallamma cooked 3 meals a day. Once the meal was ready, her mother-in-law served the meal to her husband, her son and then she ate her meal. Once everybody ate their meal, she gave మాడుచెక్క (burnt rice) and మంచినీళ్లు (drinking water) to Mallamma. This repeated every single day.
As time went by, Mallamma got tired of this. One day, she took rice and dal with her when she went to the river to wash clothes. She then snuck into the village goddess’s temple by the river. The temple was a small room with the goddess in the center, small space either side of the central altar, and a door. Mallama closed the temple door behind her and started a fire in the temple to cook rice and dal. Once the meal was ready she gave an offering to the goddess and enjoyed the rest. After so many months of మాడుచెక్క (burnt rice) and మంచినీళ్లు (drinking water), plain rice and dal was a real feast for Mallamma. She continued this routine for several days.
One day, పూజారి (Priest or Pandit) noticed that the goddess had placed her pointing finger on her nose. Placing one's pointing finger on their nose is a gesture when someone observes an audacious act. The news of the goddess with the pointing finger on her nose spread to the entire village very quickly. The villagers were now very scared that their goddess was displeased with them. They were afraid of what would happen to them. Our Mallamma heard the news and she knew the exact reason. Mallamma was also scared and decided to solve the problem. She mustered the courage to go to the temple to explain to the goddess why she had to cook the meal in the temple. After explaining the reasons, she then pleaded with the goddess to take her finger off her nose. Goddess took pity on Mallamma and took her finger off her nose. The news spread about our Mallamma’s daring act very quickly in the village. Mallamma became the heroine that saved the village from a certain disaster. All the villagers started to revere her as the goddess whisperer. The mother-in-law had no choice but to treat her with respect and be afraid of her. Mallamma was indeed a very resourceful woman.
The first time I heard this story, I was very puzzled why Mallamma would be unhappy eating మామిడి చెక్క (half a Mango). మామిడి కాయ (Mango) is a heavenly fruit and I ate mangoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner during summer months when I was growing up. When I asked why anybody would be unhappy if they get to మామిడి కాయ (Mango) everyday, everybody laughed and explained to me what మాడుచెక్క (burnt rice) means. It then made sense why Mallamma would be unhappy about eating మాడుచెక్క (burnt rice) every single day. Whenever I see burnt rice, Mallamma’s story brings a smile to my face.