Veranda Tales-Weaving golden threads of magic

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.

పగలెల్లా బారెడు నేశాను - దీపం తీసుకురా దిగనేస్తాను అన్నదంట (pagalella baredu nesanu - deepam tisukura diganestanu annadanta)

My first introduction to Greek mythology, Iliad, and Odyssey happened while I was finding books in తాతయ్య (Tatayya)’s library when I was little. తాతయ్య (Tatayya) is paternal or maternal grandfather in Telugu. తాతయ్య (Tatayya) had an eclectic assortment of books. His library consisted of wall to wall cabinets of books. Some had wooden doors and a few had glass doors. Several were full of dusty law journals and books. Others had books about varying subject matters. తాతయ్య (Tatayya) collected books about the history and evolution of Telugu language and its script.

I read Iliad and Odyssey in Telugu while exploring books in his library. తాతయ్య (Tatayya)’s friend, లక్క రాజు లక్ష్మి నారాయణ (Lakka Raju Lakshmi Narayana) was a Greek scholar and a Mathematics teacher at the PVR Municipal High School in Ongole. He taught mathematics during the day and pursued his passion of researching Greek mythology at night. He translated several Greek works into Telugu. He spent money getting them published. He gave autographed copies of his books to తాతయ్య (Tatayya). He would come by in the evenings after dinner. తాతయ్య (Tatayya) sat in his easychair chatting with his friend who sat on a chair or sofa across from him. తాతయ్య (Tatayya) called his friend గ్రీకు పిచ్చోడు (Greek Pichodu) fondly and teasingly. గ్రీకు పిచ్చోడు (Greek Pichodu) means a man crazy about everything Greek.

There was an illustrated picture book about the story of Penelope and Odysseus in తాతయ్య (Tatayya)’s library. It starts with a picture of Odysseus pretending to have lost his mind by plowing fields in his kingdom, Ithaca with a donkey and horse tied to a plow. He thought feigning insanity would result in avoiding going to the Trojan War. Odysseus was one of Helen’s suitors. He knew he had no chance of winning Helen’s hand and came up with an idea to convince all other suitors to take an oath to protect Helen. This would bind all the suitors to an oath to protect not just Helen, but also whomever she chooses to marry. This idea helped avoid conflict after Helen chose Menelaus. Helen either eloped with Paris or was abducted by him. Menelaus called upon all the suitors that took an oath to protect Helen to help him bring her back from Troy.

Odysseus didn’t want to go to the war leaving his wife, Penelope and their newborn son, Telemachus fearing that a prophecy that said it would take him a long time to return home from the war would come true. He couldn’t avoid going to Troy and the prophecy came true after the war ended. 

Penelope waited for Odysseus for 20 long years devising clever strategies to delay marrying one of the 108 suitors. The suitors started living at her house eating and drinking while they waited for her to make a decision. She told them she would choose one of them after she completed weaving a funeral shroud to give it to her father-in-law. For 3 long years, she would weave all day long and undo the weaving staying up all night long, ensuring that the shroud would never be completed. In the end, her delaying paid off and Odysseus came home disguised as an old beggar and won the contest she presented the suitors with. Odysseus and Penelope lived happily ever after with their son, Telemachus.

When I heard the sameta, పగలెల్లా బారెడు నేశాను - దీపం తీసుకురా దిగనేస్తాను అన్నదంట (pagalella baredu nesanu - deepam tisukura diganestanu annadanta), my mind immediately went to Penelope and the illustrated picture book from my childhood. This sameta means, “I have woven an arm’s length of cloth during the day, get a lamp and I will undo the weave”. This sameta is used when someone is prolonging work for a good reason or no good reason at all. It could also be used when someone is undoing the work they have done, letting it go to waste. In the case of Penelope, she had a very good reason to do what she did. She somehow had to keep delaying choosing one of the suitors.  She didn’t like any of the suitors and she was convinced her husband was alive. She probably wanted to protect her son. Unfortunately for her, one of her maids disclosed her secret causing trouble for her. Fortunately all was well in the end.

అమ్మ (Amma is mother in Telugu) says this sameta is talking about the Sun. The Sun weaves golden threads all day long and rests at night undoing them. This magic repeats day after day and night after night. This sounds very poetic and magical. Who am I to argue with my మాతాజీ (Mataji)? She is always right.