Bengali households often have a rich set of traditional items that are passed down as heirlooms from generation to generation. These are either pieces of jewellery, clothing, or any kind of utensil. For our family, it is the Pooja utensils that my mother received from my grandmother, and which my grandmother had once received from my great-grandmother.
In 1978, two years after my great-grandfather’s demise, this Philips radio was bought at the price of 1000 rupees by my grandfather, Mukut Yadav. It replaced a black tape-recorder he had, until his friend; who also owned an electronics shop in Kishangarh, convinced him to buy a radio. My grandfather saved for months from his already meagre income, without my grandmother’s knowledge and bought the radio to her surprise.
Molded into a large rounded jar, 31 inches in height and 16 inches in depth, this floor-placed vessel is made entirely of brass and was the container that stored the entire family’s stock of sugar. It was known as a ‘Chatee’ and had enough capacity to store at least one hundred kilograms of sugar within it.
This very unglamorous sewing needle has been on my mother, Sunanda Mukerji’s dresser for as long as I can remember. About 5-inches long, mottled, a little worse for the wear but its tip still faceted where the ironsmith shaved it to not-too-fine a point, now I use it to thread a naada (cord) through its eye.
This particular tea set belonged to my grandmother’s sister-in-law, Padma, known to the family as Paddi, who bought it from Banaras sometime in the 1950’s for 14 rupees. Perhaps it was made in Banaras, or elsewhere. One will never know, as there are no legible markings or etchings on it.
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