This is how I remember my grandmother's home in Madurai: Huge play area, dining table filled with delicious food, shelves stocked with crunchy snacks and the smell of clean clothes, freshly laundered, drying in the sunlight.
That's right. There was fresh laundry on the line, basking in the sunlight every day. That is not because my grandmother had a huge family. It was because she just loved to wash clothes. Not the dishes, not the floor, just the clothes. If I awoke early in the mornings, I would see the whites and colors separately soaking in their designated buckets of hot water and cold water respectively. Right after my breakfast, my grandmother would be brushing away the dirt on the shirt collars and cuffs. If I linger around in the service area, I would be asked to fill three other buckets with clean water so that she could start her favorite job of rinsing the clothes in those buckets. Then, she would wring the clothes dry so well that along with the next step of a quick jerk and flick, she would remove all the crinkles in the clothes along with the excess water. Laying the clothes carefully on the line without any crimps or ruffles, she would admire her handiwork fluttering in the sunlight. "Look how pretty they look", she would say, with the most satisfying sigh!
I must say that she has ingrained in me some need for washing the clothes well- Right from the soaking the whites in hot water and the colors in the cold water to the laying of the clothes on the line after the quick jerk and flick of the clothes. As I am saved from the manual labor involved in brushing due to Ariel, I am so perfectly satisfied to see my clothes, hot off the machine, hanging in the line clean and wrinkle-free thereby making the less than like-able job of ironing so much easier or even skipped from time to time :)
So, I say, my husband can do the dishes, the floor and roti for tonight's gravy.
It is better to let the expert to do the laundry!
But some day, two little girls will be thanking me,
for making their husbands such experts in laundry.
Because my two little boys are looking and helping with my way everyday
The way I wash and dry and clean our clothes away!
Therefore making the world a better place and and an equal place
For both men and women, they will each have their own equal space.
Include this line “I am writing for #IsLaundryOnlyAWomansJob activity at BlogAdda.com in association with Ariel.”
That's right. There was fresh laundry on the line, basking in the sunlight every day. That is not because my grandmother had a huge family. It was because she just loved to wash clothes. Not the dishes, not the floor, just the clothes. If I awoke early in the mornings, I would see the whites and colors separately soaking in their designated buckets of hot water and cold water respectively. Right after my breakfast, my grandmother would be brushing away the dirt on the shirt collars and cuffs. If I linger around in the service area, I would be asked to fill three other buckets with clean water so that she could start her favorite job of rinsing the clothes in those buckets. Then, she would wring the clothes dry so well that along with the next step of a quick jerk and flick, she would remove all the crinkles in the clothes along with the excess water. Laying the clothes carefully on the line without any crimps or ruffles, she would admire her handiwork fluttering in the sunlight. "Look how pretty they look", she would say, with the most satisfying sigh!
I must say that she has ingrained in me some need for washing the clothes well- Right from the soaking the whites in hot water and the colors in the cold water to the laying of the clothes on the line after the quick jerk and flick of the clothes. As I am saved from the manual labor involved in brushing due to Ariel, I am so perfectly satisfied to see my clothes, hot off the machine, hanging in the line clean and wrinkle-free thereby making the less than like-able job of ironing so much easier or even skipped from time to time :)
So, I say, my husband can do the dishes, the floor and roti for tonight's gravy.
It is better to let the expert to do the laundry!
But some day, two little girls will be thanking me,
for making their husbands such experts in laundry.
Because my two little boys are looking and helping with my way everyday
The way I wash and dry and clean our clothes away!
Therefore making the world a better place and and an equal place
For both men and women, they will each have their own equal space.
Include this line “I am writing for #IsLaundryOnlyAWomansJob activity at BlogAdda.com in association with Ariel.”
What a nostalgic post meoww... at least for me ..
ReplyDeleteI too remember vividly such sights of long clothesline with pure white and coloured clothes fluttering in wind, emitting sweet fragrance of detergent if we go near to them.
And like your grandmother , I too feels proud (blushing sheepish smile ) when my utility area boast such a sight :) :) But yes its not a lady's job alone ...
Best for the contest dear :)
I chose to write about laundry because it fit so well with my experiences with my grandmom. Great to know that you like it :)
DeleteSuch a cute and lovely post...I can so vividly imagine Grandma's house and then the habit inculcated. Nice post indeed.
ReplyDeleteThanks Shweta :) Just realized how so many people are involved in making me, me!
DeleteWhat I liked best about your post was that you're bringing up your sons to learn to do the laundry - just as you would if you had daughters.
ReplyDeleteI think kids of the future should know to stand on their own legs. Make their own way in life, earn for themselves, cook their own food and do their own laundry!
DeleteThis is also good lotus
ReplyDeleteThis is also good lotus.
ReplyDelete