Prized Possessions! Priceless Memories!! @ Rs 40 – Rs 4000 per Kilo!!!

‘Saath kilo now so pachees’ !  (Seven Kilos & nine twenty-five grams)

And he beamed a smile at me !!
WOW !! I exclaimed .

‘Theen Kilo saath sow paanch’ !  (three Kilos & seven hundred five grams)

He rang out once more!

And I was really impressed !!
Hearing Hindi in a small shop in Mylapore, Chennai was the last I expected!!

Thin & short, dark & wiry, white dazzling pearly teeth, bright shining eyes – man ( ? ). youth ( ??) or boy ( ???) of indeterminate age.

And  he  clearly enjoyed his job !!

Here I was, in a narrow dingy shop filled all over with old piling Junk – old vessels , old used pressure cookers, pots , pans, brass plates and a lot of shiny stainless steel vessels hanging from the roof as well.
Not a logical place where one would find happiness, cheer and enthusiasm.

But Senthil defied logic !!
He was a shop assistant at the Indra Vessels Mart, which was squeezed between two equally depressing dingy shops in one of the small crowded by-lanes of Mylapore , Chennai .

I was there to dispose off our huge family collection of old vessels – huge heavy copper, bronze and brass vessels, massive woks, enormous pots, pans, plates, pitchers etc, etc – many belonging to my grand mom and her mom as well. Most of these would have been offered as a part of their dowry package and proudly displayed ( in new & polished & shining condition, of course ) along with other silver & gold ornaments and silk sarees in the display room ( seer room ) which is a traditional part of every south India marriage ritual .
Now they were no use , no relevance and their grand value reduced to just Rs 180/kilo for bronze, Rs 200/kg for brass & Rs 220/ kg for copper !!
Sad , 3 generations of prized possession getting sold at scrap value !!

Some of you might have had a similar sad and unpleasant task to relocating your grandparents / parents  and elders from their ancestral homes in small towns.

And bring them to cities and metros to live with you, to enjoy a comfortable life with their children and grandchildren.

And many times, I wonder if this was really a good move for them. Uprooting them from their well-established environment and eco-system and making them resettle in totally new place and at an age when it becomes extremely challenging for them to adapt to change.

I guess some of us did it for our own convenience, so that it becomes easier for us to be near them when they need any help.  Catching a bus and a train or driving a couple of hundred miles frequently is not a good arrangement for most of us.

And clearing up the old house (and in many cases haveli / bungalow / mansion), is never an easy task – both physically & emotionally).

Every article that you touched had a history, a story relating to your mom or dad and your grand mom and dad as well. Many had a deep sentimental value and brought back memories of your early childhood days when you spent your summer vacations in that house.

And as you start clearing up the house, you are overwhelmed with the tons and tons of thing that you unearth.

 Things that have been stacked away in the deep recess of lofts, almirahs and in those huge wooden and steel trunks. And the amounts of things that are put up on the walls.

And It starts with the big grandfather clock (its once shiny brass pendulum now black with corrosion). A few  family portraits in sepia,  some huge framed pictures of majestic looking Gods and Goddesses -  reproductions of  paintings by Ravi Varma.

And those massive furniture that weighed a ton each!

Your granddad’s Favorited easy chair made of solid wood. And Grandma’s rocking chair, made of rose wood and the writing table, the center table (also called teapoy in south), the chest of draws and the three-legged stool!  All made from solid local wood or Burma teak!

Plywood and particle board technology was not developed then, and people did not cover their furniture with foam, fabric or leather.

Everything was plain dark rich polished wood!

And the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the huge bound volumes of Ramayana (we had a huge volume of Ram Charit Manas published by the famous Gita Press in Gorakhpur).  And the big Golu Potti that every South Indian household had in those days. And it contained a variety of brightly painted mud, wood and ceramic toys all carefully packed  in shredded white and pink colored paper and then tightly wrapped in newspaper.

I stood alone  at the counter, lost in my thoughts.

And then I hear
Saar, your money Saar !!
I was jolted back into reality. This trip yielded me 8000 bucks !!

7 days , numerous calls to all relatives encouraging them to take away all they wanted , multiple trips to libraries, junk marts , and finally a call to Udavamkarangal – the NGO that takes house hold goods and uses them to maintain their charity and old age homes .

Mom had died a few years back ..
And Dad slowly switched off from reality, and his Alzheimer’s was catching up on him as well .
It was impossible to remotely maintain our house .
Three  generations of family heirloom
All sold for a song – a very sad song !!

Chhai Piyo , Saar !!
Senthil  bounced back in front of me .
With a steaming glass and a beaming smile !!

The hot syrupy chai restored my bearings and I slowly headed back to my car.

And that was 9 years back. 

Time really flies . You bet!!

Krish..