This lace-crimper belonged to Dadi’s grandmother, Ganpatraiji who lived in the Taparia family home in Rajasthan. The origins of the lace-crimper are unknown, and the machine holds no markings of its maker. Dadi estimates that like most other Marwari households of the region, this machine would have been acquired for the family at the nearest large town, made by local blacksmiths in the early 1900’s or earlier.
Apart from several novelties received from family at their wedding, a widowed aunt gifted a vermilion case or shidoor kouto to Thamma. Its uniqueness characterised by the engraving in Bengali letters — ‘chiroshukhi’ or forever happy. The kouto would be more than 72 years old now, having been passed on from Thamma to my mother and then to me.
On one of his trips back to Srirangam around the 1930s, my grandfather picked up this hand-crafted metal box. He used it as a paan box, and furnished it with his requirements. Inside are two repurposed kumkum boxes, and the longer cylinders actually once held camera film reels. Each of these was for a different ingredient.
Brass crockery may be found in almost any South Asian household, but this particular pitcher, surahi and glass set were a part of my grandmother’s trousseau, along with other ornamental utensils such as decorative trays and silver cutlery.
I could not contain myself as I ran my hands over the print. Imperial Bank of India – Srinagar, Kashmir. The last set of cheques were dated from October till November 1947. I hold on to the cheque book like a medal of honour. I continue to tell the story of how it came into my possession and the significance of its last cheque entry.
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