Yesteryear musings(5) - Solicitors

Gudugudupandi: Wearing several layers of cloth in multiple colors, this man came with a small drum (udukkai) and portended good times for the house owner. He used to ask for cloth. He used to wear black
eye paint and the people believed that it was made of human skulls collected by the gudugudupandi from the cremation ground. People believed that he possessed occult powers and dared not antagonize him.

Bum-bum madu: The vendor brought along a bull decorated colorfully. He also predicted good things to happen in the house and made the bull nod in agreement. We had an expression to denote the “yes-men” – we said he was a bum-bum madu. When he failed to get anything from a house he used to utter curses and faithfully the bull will nod in agreement.

The monkey trick: The solicitor brought along a couple of monkeys, a stick and other things. On his command to cross the ocean and go to Lanka, the monkey used to scale the stick and jump to the other side.

Kalai poosaliyo: Only brass utensils were used in those days – stainless steel had not become popular. The vessels were coated with lead inside. When the coating wears off, it has to be done again. This vendor offered such services. He used to design a hearth inside the compound. A bellow like tool will pass the flame inside the vessel along with a piece of lead. The molten lead will then be spread evenly when still hot and later washed with cow dung. Sometimes he will use black lead instead of silver lead and cheat.

Thoor varaliyo: Wells were the only source of water in olden days. They had to be desilted every year to get rid of the solid waste collected and deposited at the bottom. This operation was called thoor vararadhu. In today’s terminology it can be roughly called dredging or desilting.

Ghee and butter merchant: The vendors who used to deliver ghee and butter at home were invariably were from Andhra Pradesh speaking Telugu. They will have a peculiar kind of balance and several shapes of weight to counter the weight of the vessel in which ghee or butter will be weighed. The housewife will apply a small amount of ghee on her elbow, spread it vigorously and smell it to determine the quality – much the same way people evaluate perfumes at the department stores. The vendors will wear shirts with huge pockets in which the account note books will be thrust. They will enter the amount and collect the sum after a couple of visits.