Paru amma

Paruamma was our servant ever since I can remember. I think she might have been Ammoomma’s best friend….they were always fighting.. The only person with whom ammoomma could shout and show her frustrations was Paruamma. There was a whole lot of responsibilities on ammoomma’s shoulder. I have seen men helpers also in the house, but Paruamma was the only one who was allowed all over the house. Only Paruamma other than the family members were allowed to enter the kitchen.

Though kitchen was not the cleanest place of the house, untouchability was strictly observed. Men servants could draw water from the well from outside the kitchen while women could do it from a place called ‘kotta thalam” adjacent to the kitchen.

Paruamma used to sleep on a mat on the floor outside the kitchen. Ammoomma would get up very early, before the first rays of the sun appear, slowly get out of the thalam without making any sound. She would make sure that all the women and children sleeping on the floor in a line are covered properly and step into the verandah followed by me. Every day she would ask me not to get up so early, but I somehow wanted to be with her always.

Then she would look at the picture of God on the wall, utter a prayer and walk towards the kitchen. Only when she repeats the same words everyday Paru amma would wake up. Ammoomma would say, “Paru it’s already afternoon, get up…”Her day starts grumbling. Ammoomma would enter the kitchen taking care not to touch her. I too would follow and sit on the wooden box [Aripetti] used to store rice. The bulb in the kitchen gave a dull yellow light and nothing was clearly seen.

I knew what was to happen next. There was a wooden box with a sliding lid where salt was stored. Ammoomma’s next task is to shoo away the cockroaches from the box. She would never kill a cockroach, or even an ant or spider. Every morning she would shout at Paruamma for not closing the box. I could hear Paruamma answering back in illegible words as she would be cleaning her teeth with ‘umikkari’ [the burnt residue of rice husk].

Paruamma would then draw water from the well, pour some on herself, change clothes and enter the kitchen. By that time Ammoomma would have started lighting the firewood for the day’s cooking. She would keep her hands on the fire and worship fire for a second. Ammoomma goes out of the kitchen and Paruamma enters. I don’t think she did any cooking, she only helped. Cooking was easy as the menu was almost the same everyday.

Paruamma and Ammoomma shouted at each other throughout the day. They never exchanged anything in normal tone. But both of them were very good to all other members. Gowrivalliamma used to say Janaki & Paru are ‘munnal’ [one having birth nakshatra the third from the other one] that is why they disliked each other.

But now when I think of those days, Paruamma & ammoomma had a fondness for each other. They were very much dependent on each other. This was obvious on the days Paruamma went to her home. She was very poor and her large family lived on what they got from this house. She would be given a large basket of rice and coconuts and other things to take home. One of her sons would come to carry it. I think Ammoomma did this secretly without the permission of the elder men of the house. Ammoomma was very lavish in helping her though both of them would not admit that. It was a strange relationship. Ammoomma knew she couldn’t go on without Paru’s help and Paru knew her family would starve without ammoomma’s help.

She used to call all children in the family ‘kunnje’ meaning baby…. She would give me a bath some times shampooing my hair with ‘chembarathi thali’. She would pluck fresh hibiscus leaves mash them on the washing stone with her hands and make a thick green extract and clean my hair.

Paruamma and ammoomma, both helped Gowrivalliamma as she couldn’t see properly. I used to watch while they helped her with the bath. If someone gave birth to a child, then Paruamma as well as ammoomma had no rest atall.

Paruamma was short and stout and might have been ammoomma’s age. I think she left the house before partition. Her children might have grown up and started earning by then. It has been several decades now, all in her generation and the next too have left the world.