80 Years Around Chettiar’s Dining Table
The dining table that sits in my family home was crafted in 1942. The table’s original owner, and the man who commissioned it, was my maternal great grandfather –– M. S. Ramaswamy Chettiar.
Leela Chander’s Biryani Pot
This brass cooking pot belonged to my maternal great-grandmother, Leela Chander. Referred to as a dekchi, It is a wide-mouthed pot, that sits obediently in my grandmother’s drawing room. But years ago it was used to cook biryani to serve up to 30 people.
The Uruli and my Patti: A story that never was
The Uruli as a vessel was popularly used for cooking over wood-burning stoves in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Nearly 100 years old today, this Uruli was used to make payasam, vadaam maavu, sweets, kozhakattais, murukku and fried snacks. Patti recalls the way the flames from the wood burning stove would envelope this grand vessel as her mother deftly prepared the food and kindled the fire all at once.
Utensils From A Pujo, Alive in Memories
Always having been a practical woman, Didimoni read the situation [in what was now East Pakistan] and slowly began to realize that they wouldn’t be able to stay in Khurshimul forever. So she decided to begin transporting some valuables to Kolkata, to my grandfather. Making several trips, Didimoni singlehandedly began taking these pujo utensils from Khurshimul to Kolkata.
Sweet Imprints
During the 1947 Partition, Thaakuma had to make her journey across the border to Kolkata alone. While she couldn’t carry much, a few Chhaanch made this perilous journey with her. Though they may be a bit rough around the edges due to the passage of time, they are still in a pristine condition to leave their mark.