Veranda Tales-Never wrestle a pig
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.
పీతి మీద బెడ్డ వేయకు
Amma (అమ్మా is mother in Telugu) has a సామెత (proverb) for any occasion. She slips in a సామెత (proverb) with ease as she is speaking. It is so amazing to watch her do that. When I was growing up, she would use సామెతలు (proverbs) to describe situations or to teach me about the world. After an unpleasant interaction with a nasty or mean person, she usually decided to not engage with them and chose to walk away. After that, she would say “పీతి మీద బెడ్డ వేయకూడదు (If you throw rocks on a pile of feces, it splatters on your face and nothing will happen to it)”. The idea being, if you engage a nasty individual and respond to their mean words, they will have something mean to say and you will end up getting hurt. The mean person will enjoy belittling you.
It is hard to resist the temptation to get in a tussle with mean people. However, this సామెత (proverb) guides me still as I navigate encounters with difficult and mean people. I am thankful for these little nuggets of wisdom Amma imparted on me when I was growing up.
As far as I can tell, Amma is no George Bernard Shaw and has no relation to him. However, it is amusing to learn that some things are universal. The wisdoms of Amma, a homemaker and a famous Irish playwright happen to line up. As George Bernard Shaw said “I learned long ago never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it”. I wonder if George Bernard Shaw’s mother imparted this wisdom on him.