Veranda Tales-Do lizards have crystal balls?
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 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, 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 who didn’t pass up an opportunity to share their wisdom using the art of storytelling. These rich 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, grinding grains and spices and doing 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.
అందరికి శకునం చెప్పే బల్లి తాను బోయి కుడితి తొట్లో పడ్డట్లు (andariki sakunam cheppe balli taanu boyi kuditi totlo paddatlu)
బల్లి (balli) is a common house gecko in Telugu. They are uninvited guests in most of the Indian households. People have a love-hate relationship with these light brown creatures who hide in cabinets, crawl on walls, fall down on people and fall into food. బల్లులు (ballulu is plural of balli) are useful creatures keeping the house clean by eating insects, spiders, and other household pests. They are small in size, a full grown one is about 3–6 inches long with a lifespan of 7 years. They are nocturnal, hiding in cabinets and dark areas of houses during the day and come out to hunt for insects at night. They would crawl on the ceiling and walls as they chase insects congregating around light sources. If there is a ceiling light, you can be sure to spot a బల్లి (balli) hunting for prey at night. India’s hot and humid tropical climate is great for these cold blooded creatures. They don’t have to worry about wasting their energy to stay warm and there are plenty of varieties of tasty insects to feast on. People are tolerant to look the other way since they find them useful.
My morning routine would not be complete without a few of them saying good morning to me. When I open my eyes, I would spot one crawling above me on the ceiling or on a wall next to my bed. If I managed to not see one right after I opened my eyes, I was bound to see one when I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. They were everywhere. They minded their own business and stayed away from humans for the most part unless they feel threatened. When they felt threatened they would show their small sharp teeth and make clicking noises locking their small round eyes with humans. They can be a real problem in the kitchen. If they fall into food being prepared, all of that food has to be thrown away. A fully grown adult బల్లి (balli) can be poisonous. అమ్మ (amma is mother in Telugu) was very worried about food contamination due to a బల్లి (balli) falling into boiling milk or other food she was preparing. She would cover pots and pans as soon as she possibly could. She would put away prepared food in our green meat safe. This was one place బల్లి (balli) couldn’t get into.
I was bothered by them when I opened cabinets, especially the one I used to keep my books and school supplies in. I would gingerly open the cabinet door and get my books and supplies out for school or to do homework as I scanned the inside walls of the cabinet for pesky little creatures. On occasion they would land close to me or close to a book I was just about to pick up making noises and eyeing the intruder who disrupted their peaceful slumber. We coexisted with బల్లులు (ballulu) peacefully without engaging in violence.
“అందరికి శకునం చెప్పే బల్లి (andariki sakunam cheppe balli)” means, “a balli who tells people’s fortunes”. శకునం (sakunam) means omen or sign of something about to happen. శకునం (sakunam) by itself is neutral, there are శుభ శకునాలు (subha sakunaalu are good omens) and అశుభ శకునాలు (asubha sakunaalu are bad omens). శకునశాస్త్రం (sakuna sastram is the science of omens) is an ancient text that details the good and bad omens and how they manifest based upon animal or bird sightings and their movements. There are about 28 ప్రాచీన శాస్త్రాలు (praacheena satralu are ancient texts) covering various disciplines of study. As an example, అర్థశాస్త్రం (artha sastram) is about the science of finances and money.
శకునశాస్త్రం (sakuna sastram) covers the details of శుభ శకునాలు (subha sakunaalu) and అశుభ శకునాలు (asubha sakunaalu) pertaining to lizard behavior and movements. There are conflicting beliefs regarding బల్లి (balli) sightings and how and where a బల్లి (balli) falls. గౌలి శాస్త్రం (Gauli sastram) is another science specific to lizard movements and falls. According to the గౌలి శాస్త్రం (Gauli sastram), if a బల్లి (balli) falls to the right side of men and left side of women, it is considered to be auspicious and something good is going to happen to them. On the contrary, if a బల్లి (balli) falls to the left side of men and right side of women, it is considered to be inauspicious and something bad is going to happen them. Someone spotting three బల్లులు (ballulu) in close proximity to one another is considered to be a good omen. Money and good fortune will enter the house in which the three of them are sighted together.
Depending upon what a బల్లి (balli) does, it could be a sign of good or bad things to come. If a బల్లి (balli) makes noise when someone is just about to step out of the house, it is considered a bad omen in some parts of the Indian subcontinent. Our uninvited houseguest, బల్లి (balli) is a psychic, you don’t have make an appointment for and shell out money to find out about your good and bad fortune. You can be informed of what’s coming by just coexisting with these creatures.
This sameta says, “a బల్లి (balli) who is capable of predicting what’s going to happen in the future doesn’t know that it is about to fall into a కుడితి తొట్టి (kuditi totti) and die”. కుడితి (kuditi) is a drink for cattle made out of water that was used to wash rice, water discarded after cooking rice, vegetables and other kitchen waste. తొట్టి (totti) is a large cement or clay container used for storing water or కుడితి (kuditi). When a బల్లి (balli) happens to fall into a కుడితి తొట్టి (kuditi totti), it will drown and die. This sameta questions the wisdom of believing in these signs and acting on them.
When I hear this sameta, I immediately shiver thinking about all the times I had to dodge these pesky creatures when I was growing up. I can still remember opening the cabinets gingerly to get books and other items out. I can remember eyeing them cautiously as they crawled around on the walls when I was brushing my teeth or taking a bath. As I pause and think about the meaning of this sameta, I can’t help but think about a psychic who ran her business in a small house. I would see her place as I drive by to pick my kids from daycare and school twice a day for several years. Her place was at an intersection of two busy streets. It was a quaint little 100 year old house with a small porch with a bright neon sign with a palm. I had gotten used to glancing at the house and parked by the building as I drove by. All of a sudden, I stopped seeing cars parked and the sign disappeared. I wondered if she closed her business for good. After a few days, I read in the newspaper about her being murdered by her husband of 20 years. Even though I never stepped foot in her business to find out about my future, I was sad when I heard the news of her demise. I couldn’t help but think about the people who might have made life altering decisions based on her readings.
The irony of a psychic not being able to know what was coming her way was a telltale sign of the folly of believing in these predictions. There are people who swear by psychics and truly believe in their ability to predict the future. Others believe being a psychic is all about having the skill of reading people and getting them to share their innermost thoughts, experience, and feelings without realizing that they are doing so. Once a psychic gets some important information, they could start asking leading and open ended questions to get more information.
I had one such experience of working with a జ్యోతిష్యుడు (Jyotishyudu is an astrologer in Telugu). When I was about nine years of age, నాన్న (Nanna is father in Telugu) volunteered my services to solve a mystery of a theft that took place at my aunt’s place. I have a vague memory of sitting in front of the జ్యోతిష్యుడు (Jyotishyudu) as he performed అంజనం (anjanam) ritual to get me to visualize the theft taking place. అంజనం (anjanam) is an ancient practice of using divine of third eye to find hidden or missing things. During the practice, I was asked to close my eyes and visualize what could have happened to the lost money. I described what I could see as he performed the అంజనం (anjanam) ritual. I could see a person getting in through a side window that could be accessed from a side balcony to steal money from my aunt’s house. I described the thief in a lot of detail according to people who listened to my narration. This goes down as a bizarre incident in my young life.
It turns out జ్యోతిష్యుడు (Jyotishyudu) was నాన్న (Nanna is father in Telugu)’s co-worker and gained నాన్న (Nanna)’s and నానమ్మ (Nanamma is paternal grandmother in Telugu)’s trust. He would predict things and took large sums of money from both of them for his services. It was a lot of money then. He performed his అంజనం (anjanam) rituals on several members of the family and predicted outlandish things. He successfully preyed on and exploited నాన్న (Nanna)’s desperate hope to see his bedridden father-in-law walk again. He took advantage of నానమ్మ (Nanamma)’s desperate attempts to ward of evil predictions about the future of two of her children.
తాతయ్య (Tatayya is paternal grandfather in Telugu) saw through him and was skeptical of him. Tatayya called him “సూటు మాంత్రికుడు (suit manthikudu)” which traslates to magician in a suit. అమ్మ (Amma) expressed her skepticism questioning, “When does he do pooja, I keep seeing him walking around smoking cigarettes?” తాతయ్య (Tatayya)’s and అమ్మ (Amma)’s skepticism did not discourage and deter నానమ్మ (Nanamma) and నాన్న (Nanna) as they continued to believe him and lose money. All of their money and effort was “బూడిదలో పోసిన పన్నీరు (budidalo posina panneru)” at the end. “బూడిదలో పోసిన పన్నీరు (budidalo posina panneru)” means pouring perfumed water on a pile of ashes.
In addition to this bizarre incident, there have been other predictions regarding short lifespans which came true in my family. There are a few too many good and bad memories associated with this sameta which tries to dispel the myth of the beliefs surrounding omens of all types. The image of a బల్లి (balli) falling into a కుడితి తొట్టి (kuditi totti) in itself is ironic. బల్లి (balli) might not have crystal ball, but their probing eyes sure do look like crystal balls to me.
