My Memories 1.......Girijakka

This is my first blog on 'Old Memories'.

More of these will follow hopefully in course of time.

Most of my summer holidays during school days were spent in my native village. I usually went to my aunts place (my mum’s sister).

It was a typical and traditional Indian village which embodied the true spirit of India, I must say, with mud brick edifices and quaint tiled roofs and landscapes punctuated with coconut palms. The sights are etched in my memories.

Then there was ‘Girijakka’ (she was my aunt’s mother in law, and also my mother’s aunt; quite complex…huh!!!!).

I did not know much about Girijakka’s past. She was in her 80's and a widow at that time dressed in typical traditional Brahmin attire which used to be a nine yards sari, covering her head at all times.

Most of my day was spent playing with my cousins and other village children romping all around the lively village.

At noon Girijakka would call me loudly, ‘Have your meal, eat this now, you don’t get this food in the lousy city.’

Girijakka was a very good cook. We still have her recipes and her numerous cooking tips. Even today her name comes up at all our festivities and family gatherings.

My abiding sense of her was that she woke up at the crack of dawn come rain or storm, had her bath and then went about her rituals, especially her chores in up keeping the exclusive and pious god’s room and its daily puja’s.

I remember the distinct sandal wood paste she applied on her forehead and her meticulous and orthodox ways of carrying out her numerous chores around the house. For me she always smelled so nice.

Although orthodox in her own ways, her thoughts were very modern. She would talk about anything under the sky. With me she would discuss about city life, the clothes I wore which were mostly trouser and shirt. As far as I remember she never chided me. In fact she would always tell me that it looked good.

The one thing she would be vocal about was my hair. She would passionately tell me not to cut my long hair ever. ‘You look feminine; with those long lustrous hairs’ were her wise words.

Another thing etched in my mind about Girijakka was her incredible ability to tell us her innumerable and adorable stories.

Late evening after play, when we all children returned home, Girijakka expected and forced us to wash our feet properly, go to the puja room, say a prayer and then sit for dinner.

After dinner, we all would sit round on the floor and play cards. As it would get late we would all frolic around Girijakka and pester her to tell us a story.

As we all lay in our beds tired after playing the whole day, Girijakka would narrate us some of the most amazing stories filled with awe and wonders.
The stories would be mostly mythological with lots of morals. Sometimes it used to be about the nitty gritti village life incidences. But the most interesting stories would be of 'all creatures’ big and small'.

The brave frog king and his four wives, the cobra queen, the rat queen, the frog queen and the lizard queen etc etc. The cobra queen was vicious, the rat queen cunning, the frog queen brave and the lizard queen docile. There were all combinations of good and bad.

Most of the time the narrative would be in Kannada (a south Indian language spoken in Karnataka) which I could understand quite well though could not speak. All the frog king’s wise words would be told to us in Kannada and later translated in to my mother tongue (Konkani). As we listened in awe dumbstruck, it was actually like watching a 3 d movie.

I almost believed this animal kingdom existed, many times I asked her did the frog king live in the well near our house to which she would say with total conviction ‘Yes! But don’t peep or go near the well or the frog king may punish you’. We all would be terrified with those words.

Girijakka’s stories were a mix of panchatantra and malgudi days. We all were so fascinated by her stories and her story telling abilities. One noteworthy observance was that Girijakka never completed her story at a stretch. It would be almost like a TV serial. It would meticulously continue the next night though we would pester her the whole day when we were at home.

‘Will the frog king punish the errant cobra queen?’ I would ask her during lunch. She would keep quite as if she had not heard me. The suspense would be palpable. We used to look forward in anticipation for the night to dawn early.

As much as we enjoyed her stories, Girijakka took extreme pleasure in telling them. When I recollect her style and narration it surprises me to see her energy kept just for us kids though she would be bone tired with the chores of the day.

Where did girijakka get these stories from? Was it a fabrication of her imagination or were they stories told to her by her own kin at her young age. It was a mystery. The stories she narrated was so vivid with detailed description that it truly amazes me today.

Those days with no TV or any other entertainments, Girijakka’s stories were a source of joy and entertainment for all young minds.

I do regret now that I should have noted down many of Girijakka’s stories. Without an elephant’s memory like Girijakka’s, I really can’t remember any of her stories. Her stories could have easily been compiled into a book, for the present generation to read.

In today’s world of nintendos, playstations, TV and video games, will there be any takers for 'Girijakka stories' I wonder though.