‘Surahis’/ earthen pots, radio sets, inland letter covers and fountain pens are all things from the past. They may no longer be found in Indian homes. Yet they cannot be banished from our memories because of the significant roles they played in our lives.
Surahis – things from the past
In my early childhood very few Indian homes had a refrigerator. My family too did not have a fridge. We stored drinking water in a cylindrical, closed earthen pot with a tap on the lower side. It was always mounted on a stool to facilitate things. It was often scrubbed carefully and then refilled.
In school too, big earthen pots with large mouths and a lid (‘matkas’) were used to store drinking water during the summer months. We could drink from the tap (tap water was considered safe in those days) or from the ‘matka’.
Dipping our hands or a tumbler into the ‘matka’ would contaminate it. So a steel ladle with a long handle (donga) was used to take out the water. Many schools, colleges, cinema halls made use of these ‘matkas’ to store water. Some house owners would generously keep a ‘matka’ full of water just outside their gates for weary and thirsty travellers.
Whenever we travelled by train we always took a ‘surahi’ with us. ‘Surahis’ were light earthen pots with long narrow necks and a lid on top. Water was poured out from the mouth of the ‘surahi ’which was the opening of the neck.
Passengers refilled their ‘surahis’ when the train stopped at stations. Often there would be long queues at the drinking-water taps. Consequently, some passengers would hurry back to the train with unfilled ‘surahis’ fearing that the train would leave without them.
However, travelling together, sharing the same space and circumstances together generally made travellers sympathetic towards each other. They did not hesitate to share water and other things also with each other. My sister and I would anxiously look out of the window whenever our father went to get water.
A ‘surahi’ normally has a small base. So, whenever the train accelerated or jerked and rocked violently the ‘surahi’ would tilt and spill water. At times the ‘surahi’ would crash and break.
The water would flow speedily to the adjoining compartment taking people’s feet and luggage by surprise. It was unavoidable; something that happened regularly in the journeys of yester years.
There were vendors selling ‘surahis’ at some stations. Today we have bottled water on trains that is doled out to us at meal times. The bottles are not eco-friendly and very difficult to dispose. Any kind of earthen pot, on the other hand, does not pollute the environment.
The eco-friendly earthen pot ( whether a ‘surahi’ or a ‘matka’ ) was a vital accessory for the Indian kitchen. It functioned as a traditional fridge because it could keep water cool.
The pots are porous and constant evaporation of water through the pores cools the water. Water cooled in a ‘surai’ is gentle on the throat compared to water chilled in a fridge.
It is refreshing and has healing properties because it is replete with minerals and vitamins like calcium, iron, and magnesium and even B-12.
Radio- things from the past
It is now more than four decades since the radio in Indian homes has been displaced by the television. Yet I cannot forget the magical moments the radio brought to ordinary middle class homes.
The radio was a rectangular and box like set that occupied pride of place in the living room. It had circular knobs for fine tuning, volume control etc. When not in use it was covered with a piece of cloth, embroidered by my mother. The cloth protected it from dust.
My earliest memory of the radio goes back to the time when I was three years old and living in Secunderabad. I would wake up hearing jingles aired on Radio Ceylon.
One old jingle that still sticks in my mind is: “Daddy had a cough and cold…… dear, dear me……Glycodin will set him right…..” The only radio in the home belonged to my uncle and was kept in his room. He would keep the volume high so that everyone in the family could hear it.
Radio Ceylon was a very popular radio station in those days. A song they often played was:
‘Bimbo, Bimbo
Where U going to go e oh
Bimbo Bimbo
What U going to do e oh
Bimbo Bimbo
Does your mother know
That your going down the road
To see a little girly oh……….. ‘
I loved the song and it lifted my spirits. In due time waking up to these familiar jingles and songs gave me a sense of security. I felt that all was well with my world.
Every Saturday Radio Ceylon had a slot for storytelling. Encouraged by my uncle my cousin and I made it a habit to listen to the stories. With lot of emotion, expression and sounds they made the stories truly interesting.
When we shifted to Delhi my father bought a big Murphy radio set. At first only my parents knew how to operate it. As my sister’s and my interest in the radio grew we learnt to operate it too.
As the hands of the clock neared 9 ‘O’ clock my father would be in a hurry to finish his bath and dinner. At 9 p.m he would settle down on the sofa and listen to the 9’O’ Clock news in English broadcast by All India Radio . The news was followed by debates, talks and discussions.
Much later my mother would tune the radio to Delhi B station for some western music. ‘A date with you’ and ‘Forces request’ were two programmes of request for English songs that became our favourites. One was aired on Mondays and the other on Fridays. Philip Neelam was the popular compere for these programmes.
All India Radio (A.I.R.) was the national radio network. Later it came to be known as “Akashvani’ (or voice from the sky). In the sixties hotels, salons etc. had big radio sets to attract customers.
At the break of dawn the signature tune of A.I.R. could be heard from many homes. It catered to a diversity of Indians. A set of beeps before the reader began the news was typical. So was the mourning music that played for days when some V.I.P. was no more.
The humble radio in our home was dear to us because it was our only means of diversion and entertainment. It gave us a mix of news, music, plays, discussions, cricket commentaries and quiz competitions.
Through the years the programmes improved. Our ears got fine tuned to recognizing the voices the prime minister, the president, other important dignitaries, news readers. We got to see them in newspapers and magazines only.
My parents, sister and I were not great cricket enthusiasts. However, there were families who sat glued to their radio listening to cricket commentaries.
Ordinary families who could not afford to go to the theatre or for travel trips spent a lot of time listening to the radio especially movie sound tracks. Some kept their volumes loud so that their poorer friends around could also be entertained.
I can remember some of the English news readers of my school days – Melville de Mellow, Surojit Sen, Roshan Menon, Latika Ratnam, Pamela Singh and so on. All of them had their own ways of captivating their listeners.
Melville de Mellow was an iconic news reader who is said to have given a seven hour commentary covering Gandhiji’s funeral on 31st January 1948. It moved many to tears. His audio skits during the Pakistan India war of the sixties made us feel proud of our forces.
Later my sister and I began listening to Vividh Bharati and the Cibaca Geetmala programme every week. Ameen Sayani who hosted it had a charismatic style and was very popular for many years. The weekly Bournvita Quiz and the ‘Double or Quit’ also became our addictions.
The ‘surahi’ and the radio are only two man made things from the past. They are both differently made. One involves simple skill and simple things. The other involves science and complicated things. Yet when kept in homes and amidst people they touch people and make memories. They cannot be forgotten because of these memories.
What are your memorable inventions from the past?
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