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.
This letter dated 28 October, 1942 made its way from Ceylon to Thrissur. It is written by my grandfather and speaks mainly of family matters and describes his life in Ceylon. My nanaji, like many other migrant workers, stayed and worked at the plantations for 7-8 years to support his family.
This type of ghagra or popularly known as ghagri, is typically found among families belonging to the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan. This ghaghri was my great-grandmother, Tejwati Sekseria’s.
Since 1987, not long after he retired as Class II Income Tax officer, thatha has been filling up one page a day with the words Sri Rama Jayam, meaning Jai Sri Ram in Tamil. Every single day, the same words repeated until they cover the entire page.
My grandfather brought out an old briefcase filled with old black and white photographs and albums. That evening, while sifting through all the 2×2 inch black and white photographs, the entire family took a trip down memory lane over chai and namkeen.
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