SOME BY-GONE ITEMS--II

 

SOME BY-GONE ITEMS- II

Several trade activities have undergone changes never conceived in those days. I am afraid the younger generation may dismiss the information as untenable or as concocted. However, persons of my age-group would concur and endorse the information.  Let us recall them.

Physicians and visits

Hospital visits were rare; Private practitioners used to treat common disorders. Prescriptions and antibiotics were infrequent. Often fever and common ailments were treated with carminative fluid dispensed by the ‘compounders’ who could compound medicines prescribed by the physician. A few tablets were ground to powder in pestle and mortar and powder spread on a porcelain slab and divided to parts by a knife and given as single doses individually folded in paper. The physician bill was either paid to the compounder or paid on monthly basis. If someone was down with fever, the Doctor would visit the patient and provide medical care / advice for further care.

Everyday buttermilk, curd, butter were sold by vendors in streets. The items could be procured at very nominal price except of course-- butter.  Besides, some sellers established trade with certain households  for butter or ghee. Often butter was preferred over ghee from such vendors. Depending on need ,  families would buy them once or twice a month and bill settled on a defined date. More or less, a near clientele was established in several towns by traders from different districts. Such sellers had built a reputation for catering to needs and were known to stick to quality.

Another daily occurrence was buying of coriander/ curry leaves on barter for a fistful of rice. The vendor would carry a small basket and the rice is delivered into the basket. In exchange, curry leaves and coriander leaves were given.  In this particular custom, people did not weigh the value of items exchanged. They were just happy to get fresh leaves daily.

Groceries, edible oil, Tamarind ,  jaggery were sold on streets in long cart drawn by bullocks. Measures were in ‘veesai’ , oils in measures like ‘padi’. Sunflower oil was unknown then.

Another street sale was garments or cloth or sarees of different measurements as 6 yds or 9 yds. Those vendors would display their material in some prominent house and women from neighbourhood would throng the place and manage to select material, paying a part of the price and the rest would be cleared in installments. There was genuine goodwill between buyers and sellers. Such relaxations / deferred payment schedules were necessitated by the then lean economy of families.  Indirectly, quality had to be sustained lest payments of dues should suffer.

Another 11’o clock trade was selling of stainless steel utensils. Invariably, utensils were bought by women in exchange for old silk sarees +some little cash. Why I name it 11’o clock trade is, men would not easily agree to such procurement of vessels as they would always argue that such utensils are not essential. Further they would debae that the old saree is a worthier material as against the utensil. But, women would murmur that only items not in use are profitably converted and the man would yell ‘converted  at a loss’. Just to avoid the protracted arguments, sellers would visit streets only after the men have left for work [latest by 11 am]. Silently the sale would pass off and the vessel[s] would go underground until a safe incubation period. Men are relatively poor judges of appearances or disappearances of vessels. 

A very important activity in those days pertained to making of gold ornaments at our door steps; also specific items like diamond ear studs were ‘constructed’ to the desire or design of the people and goldsmiths would visit the house hold. New ornaments were made by melting the old ornaments or raw gold; they were also done at our doorstep during day time. Precise weighing of the raw material and the final weight of the product after allowances for ‘wastage’ were done to customers’ satisfaction and making charges were collected by goldsmiths. .All making was before us and it was widely accepted by people as a standard practice.

Washer men worked for a nominal fee calculated for 100 pieces [roughly 15 – 20 Rs per hundred items].Every week ‘to be washed’ clothes were dumped in a basket of cane . When the washer man handed over the previous lot, the next load of clothes would be handed over, after recording the number and types of clothes. The washer men used to keep track of ownership of clothes by a typical indelible mark- the dhobie mark . The dhobie mark is for the house and not for dress material of individuals. All these have simply faded in to the oblivion. Now for everything people move to shops , laundries / market and hospitals. All those doorstep help are by-gone.                               Prof. K. Raman