"Wake up, wake up".
It is only 4 am. But I am excited. I wake up. The hot water is ready for me. I brush my teeth quickly. Then I take my new clothes out and look at them happily. I am going to wear them today, yaay!! Nice warm wash with the water poured from big pot to my bucket. Aunt keeps bringing the hot water complaining. "You waste too much water. Your mother is slaving in the kitchen heating water for everyone. You need to finish and come out soon too. People need to go in after you...." She doesn't stop. I take my time and indulge myself in. I like the smell of the green arappu. It is powdered leaves of a tree in our area. We use it to wash our hair. I like the fresh clean feeling of the hair after arappu wash. I quickly wash the body and come out. I don't apply turmeric on my face. I don't like the unnatural colour it gives to my face. I am out. The clean warm towel is comforting. It is still dark. "move move, move away. Others have to wash their hair. quick, move". I put on my new clothes. I dry my hair with the towel. Will have to wait for the sun to be out to get the hair dried properly.
There is so much noise outside. I hear chiththappa shouting. "stay away from that cracker. it will come onto your face if you stay that close." He is talking to my brother, Senthil. Senthil is all brave type and enjoys fire crackers. He is very noisy too. He is laughing loud. It must have been him, who lit the crackers...
bhooom, patapatapatapata...
It gave me a fright. Oh it is that saravedi. A type of firecracker that goes on continuously for sometime. It is his favourite. There is this gun-cracker he likes a lot as well. I don't like any of these noisy things.
"Akka, come come," he is calling me. I go out in my new clothes. I stand leaning on the door frame and smile at him.
"Akka, come, and lit this one."
"No. I don't like."
"Vamma, come and lit this cracker, you will like it", chiththappa calls me.
"No".
Senthil laughs at me. "Give her that maththappu, (the one that doesn't make noise, but gives out flowery fire). She is very scared of noisy crackers chiththappa." He laughs again. "Come and try this."
He lits another saravedi just to scare me. This time I am not too scared, as I expected the noise. But, still little bit scared as the noise does scare me.
bhoooom, patapatapatapata...
I shake a little.
Senthil laughs loudly. "See, didn't I tell you that she is scared."
I am still leaning on the door frame.
"Come to the vaasal, don't stay there. It is Theevali and you have to enjoy as well".
Chiththappa calls me. I go to the vaasal.
"Chithappa, I like sangu maththappu and poomaththaappu". They are all that softies, no noise, only flowery fire. Sangu maththappu spins all over the place and we have to jump to get away from its flowery fire. I like that. I lit a sangu maththappu, it spins, I hold my new skirt and start jumping and running all over the vaasal to get away from the flowery fire.
Senthil laughs at me. He lits another saravedi. I lit another sangu maththappu. He laughs and I jump.
It is only 4 am. But I am excited. I wake up. The hot water is ready for me. I brush my teeth quickly. Then I take my new clothes out and look at them happily. I am going to wear them today, yaay!! Nice warm wash with the water poured from big pot to my bucket. Aunt keeps bringing the hot water complaining. "You waste too much water. Your mother is slaving in the kitchen heating water for everyone. You need to finish and come out soon too. People need to go in after you...." She doesn't stop. I take my time and indulge myself in. I like the smell of the green arappu. It is powdered leaves of a tree in our area. We use it to wash our hair. I like the fresh clean feeling of the hair after arappu wash. I quickly wash the body and come out. I don't apply turmeric on my face. I don't like the unnatural colour it gives to my face. I am out. The clean warm towel is comforting. It is still dark. "move move, move away. Others have to wash their hair. quick, move". I put on my new clothes. I dry my hair with the towel. Will have to wait for the sun to be out to get the hair dried properly.
There is so much noise outside. I hear chiththappa shouting. "stay away from that cracker. it will come onto your face if you stay that close." He is talking to my brother, Senthil. Senthil is all brave type and enjoys fire crackers. He is very noisy too. He is laughing loud. It must have been him, who lit the crackers...
bhooom, patapatapatapata...
It gave me a fright. Oh it is that saravedi. A type of firecracker that goes on continuously for sometime. It is his favourite. There is this gun-cracker he likes a lot as well. I don't like any of these noisy things.
"Akka, come come," he is calling me. I go out in my new clothes. I stand leaning on the door frame and smile at him.
"Akka, come, and lit this one."
"No. I don't like."
"Vamma, come and lit this cracker, you will like it", chiththappa calls me.
"No".
Senthil laughs at me. "Give her that maththappu, (the one that doesn't make noise, but gives out flowery fire). She is very scared of noisy crackers chiththappa." He laughs again. "Come and try this."
He lits another saravedi just to scare me. This time I am not too scared, as I expected the noise. But, still little bit scared as the noise does scare me.
bhoooom, patapatapatapata...
I shake a little.
Senthil laughs loudly. "See, didn't I tell you that she is scared."
I am still leaning on the door frame.
"Come to the vaasal, don't stay there. It is Theevali and you have to enjoy as well".
Chiththappa calls me. I go to the vaasal.
"Chithappa, I like sangu maththappu and poomaththaappu". They are all that softies, no noise, only flowery fire. Sangu maththappu spins all over the place and we have to jump to get away from its flowery fire. I like that. I lit a sangu maththappu, it spins, I hold my new skirt and start jumping and running all over the vaasal to get away from the flowery fire.
Senthil laughs at me. He lits another saravedi. I lit another sangu maththappu. He laughs and I jump.
5 comments:
Hai prema,
read ur blog on diwali, remainds me of my years with my brother, i had the similar toughts & rememberance except a couple of difference (i like cracking atom bombs and stuffs like that), and the other thing,my brother is still a student (will have the same thinking in the next 5 years when he gets married....)
Hai prema,
read ur blog on diwali, remainds me of my years with my brother, i had the similar toughts & rememberance except a couple of difference (i like cracking atom bombs and stuffs like that), and the other thing,my brother is still a student (will have the same thinking in the next 5 years when he gets married....)
shobana
Hi shobana,
Thanks for dropping by. Do come back when you have time.
:)
Premalatha
always wondered about arappupodi. we used to get them in the stores in packages. it was a substitute for seekai podi. :)
seekapodi we used to get rid of oil from hair & body. in chennai atleast, arappu was used more for cleaning patharams. then it so distant a past. i may be wrong. :(
i loved pattasu. i heard they don't burst crackers now like they used to in the 60s.
In our area alos we use only arappu for the hair. A little seevakka podi is mixed with the arappu. I still like using arappu for the hair.
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