We are family: What do we see in these people?
When my daughter was turning one this February, she exhibited a lot of changes in the way she tried to speak, react, understand what we were telling her. She had always been a fan of the Kulfi man who rings a bell and rides across our street everyday on his tricycle. Since almost when she was six months old. Around the completion of one year, she had learnt how to imitate how the kulfi man rang the bell. Whenever he passed by, I would ask her (in Tamil) "Kulfikaaran epdi mani adichaan? (How did the Kulfi man ring his bell?)", and she would lift up her right index finger and sway it in the air rapidly back and forth. For those of you who know Tamil, I was using the word 'kulfikaaran' which is not an approved usage of referring to any person. Such a usage is slightly demeaning in the literal sense. After a few occasions of usage, I paused to think a bit. If I was using a language which would actually put that kulfi man one step lower in the society, what would my daughter learn from me? So I decided to change the way I referred to him. The next time, I began asking her "Kulfi uncle epdi mani adichaaru? (How did the kulfi uncle ring his bell?)". This usage I felt put him on an equal level as someone in our family.
Slowly I began to explore how we were looking at a lot of such people in the service sector, present all around us, going about their daily duties. This exercise taught me some values that I guess is making me a better parent.
Thick black and round spectacles. Powerful lenses fitted inside of them. A slightly black and mostly white beard. Hair which is visibly white with tiny black streaks peeping here and there. A half sleeve white shirt with thick blue vertically stripes, worn along with a navy blue cotton pant which hangs loose near the feet. An old plastic chair in faded red color. Sitting outside the ATM all alone the entire day is this old gentleman. He should be in his late sixties. His tiredness makes it tough for him to keep himself awake all the time, yet he sits there entire day and night, in order to support his family. The Watchman thAthA.
Red, round bindi on the forehead. Face smeared with the color of Haldi. Curly wavy hair on the front neatly oiled and combed up. Black dyed hair tied neatly into a bun. Heavy golden earrings held up using a thick 'maattal' over the ear. Red and green plastic bangles worn in both hands that shine in dark brown. Graceful long wrinkles travelling from the elbow till the palms. As bikes and cars race by the small lane, she sits there under the shady neem tree without any qualms. In front of her is a short table covered with an old flex banner. Flowers of various colors are tied together and placed in order. Business is good on some days and on some, its dull. The PookAra AmmA.
The tall Hero bicycle. Tall sticks fastened to the handle bar as well as the carrier. New types of colorful balloons in shapes of Dora The Explorer, Dolphins, Shiny stars, tied with strings to the sticks. In between these modern balloons fly the traditional apple shaped and heart shaped rubber balloons. Making sounds with a simple long balloon, clad in a simple old shirt and pant, he pedals across streets trying to make some business. The Balloon mAmA..
Old wooden benches and plastic stools arranged outside the small room-like shop. A make-shift kitchen set-up. A board which reads the 'special items of the day'. Some khushbu idlies with piping hot sambar and lipsmacking chutney; the crispy dosas; ghee-laden pongal and vada; pulisadham,sambar sadham, thayir sadham.. she prepares all of these and serves with a lot of motherly love. The price doesn't hurt much too. The mess mAmi.
A splash of yellow and black. Some with posters and ads, some without them. Some with words of wisdom at the back, either borrowed from a book or made up on their own. Some neatly maintained, while some haven't seen water for quite a while. Despite so many differences, the men who own them.. their style quotient is ever high. Some polite, some outright rude. Some who are loud and talkative, while some who are too timid. An essential element of our society. The auto annA.
ThAthA, ammA, mAmA, mAmi, annA.. all of them about whom I have spoken about here.. The list doesn't end here. There are more such people around us. Kaaikari uncle (vegetable vendor), pazham vikkara paatti (fruit seller), carpenter thAthA, school Aaya (caretaker in the school), paper thambi,.. They might form a miniscule part of our lives.. But their existence is essential to our society and its economy. They have always been there in our surroundings. We might rarely notice them amidst our daily chaos, but we address them with phrases that we use within our own family. They deserve the respect that each and everyone of us demand wherever we go. I believe that treating them like our own will in turn guide our future generations to show respect and treat them as equals. This, I believe is important towards building a just society.
Slowly I began to explore how we were looking at a lot of such people in the service sector, present all around us, going about their daily duties. This exercise taught me some values that I guess is making me a better parent.
Thick black and round spectacles. Powerful lenses fitted inside of them. A slightly black and mostly white beard. Hair which is visibly white with tiny black streaks peeping here and there. A half sleeve white shirt with thick blue vertically stripes, worn along with a navy blue cotton pant which hangs loose near the feet. An old plastic chair in faded red color. Sitting outside the ATM all alone the entire day is this old gentleman. He should be in his late sixties. His tiredness makes it tough for him to keep himself awake all the time, yet he sits there entire day and night, in order to support his family. The Watchman thAthA.
Red, round bindi on the forehead. Face smeared with the color of Haldi. Curly wavy hair on the front neatly oiled and combed up. Black dyed hair tied neatly into a bun. Heavy golden earrings held up using a thick 'maattal' over the ear. Red and green plastic bangles worn in both hands that shine in dark brown. Graceful long wrinkles travelling from the elbow till the palms. As bikes and cars race by the small lane, she sits there under the shady neem tree without any qualms. In front of her is a short table covered with an old flex banner. Flowers of various colors are tied together and placed in order. Business is good on some days and on some, its dull. The PookAra AmmA.
The tall Hero bicycle. Tall sticks fastened to the handle bar as well as the carrier. New types of colorful balloons in shapes of Dora The Explorer, Dolphins, Shiny stars, tied with strings to the sticks. In between these modern balloons fly the traditional apple shaped and heart shaped rubber balloons. Making sounds with a simple long balloon, clad in a simple old shirt and pant, he pedals across streets trying to make some business. The Balloon mAmA..
Old wooden benches and plastic stools arranged outside the small room-like shop. A make-shift kitchen set-up. A board which reads the 'special items of the day'. Some khushbu idlies with piping hot sambar and lipsmacking chutney; the crispy dosas; ghee-laden pongal and vada; pulisadham,sambar sadham, thayir sadham.. she prepares all of these and serves with a lot of motherly love. The price doesn't hurt much too. The mess mAmi.
A splash of yellow and black. Some with posters and ads, some without them. Some with words of wisdom at the back, either borrowed from a book or made up on their own. Some neatly maintained, while some haven't seen water for quite a while. Despite so many differences, the men who own them.. their style quotient is ever high. Some polite, some outright rude. Some who are loud and talkative, while some who are too timid. An essential element of our society. The auto annA.
ThAthA, ammA, mAmA, mAmi, annA.. all of them about whom I have spoken about here.. The list doesn't end here. There are more such people around us. Kaaikari uncle (vegetable vendor), pazham vikkara paatti (fruit seller), carpenter thAthA, school Aaya (caretaker in the school), paper thambi,.. They might form a miniscule part of our lives.. But their existence is essential to our society and its economy. They have always been there in our surroundings. We might rarely notice them amidst our daily chaos, but we address them with phrases that we use within our own family. They deserve the respect that each and everyone of us demand wherever we go. I believe that treating them like our own will in turn guide our future generations to show respect and treat them as equals. This, I believe is important towards building a just society.
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