Nurungukal...contd......

                                Adjacent to Kuttan’s barber shop Ali was managing an ironing facility. In other words he facilitated  others to walk in style.There were not many like him. He was a step ahead of the traditional washer man. He was not washing cloths . But would iron. The heavy iron box filled with burned coconut shells which wold keep the box always hot will be ready to provide instant service.Those days no charcoal was used . It was very eco friendly without depleting natural deposits. He reminds me about another pair of my village. Pangunni and Malu hailed from washer men community. Once in a month they used to collect dirty cloths from selected houses for washing . Those days clothes were cleaned  to remove dirt by hitting hard on granite slabs kept on the banks of rivers or ponds. Then a hot steaming mixed with  ash  of burned coconut tree parts for whitening and dipping in boiled rice water to stiffen and ironing was the traditional process. This way it was assured that any type of contamination was avoided. Here also we find that the materials used were devoid of chemicals. In exceptional cases only soda ash was used.

                                Pangunni  was very handsome, fair, tall and sturdy. On his  fully shaved  head a bunch of long hair knotted in a peculiar style ( KUDUMA ) unidentified his  personality. Often he would unlock the knot and comb the hair with his hands just the way women did . Although above 70 years  with bare gums  he was so charming when he smiled. He was very talkative and would carry news  from house to house . Always his daughter-in -law Malu would accompany to support him  to carry the huge bundles of clothes. She was a beautiful village damsel. Her long and jet black hair falling well below on her back side like a water fall, swaying as she made each step would have made the onlooker’s heart throb.It reminds me a  description  narrated by Kannadasn the Tamil poet about a scene in Kamba Ramayanam , how Seetha moved towards Rama to garland him. Seetha was bending slightly forward because of the weight of her breasts  and the garland . It looked  as if her waist  which was so narrow and flat wold break !! And Malu almost resembled Seetha !!.

                                                Now let me come back to Ali. He was not only doing ironing but was a well known snake charmer. People depended on him to get rid of poisonous snakes which were abundant in our neighbourhood. Many  deaths out of snake bites  occurred yearly.  When ever such threats surfaced he would get rid of it by tactfully catching the snake and letting it off in a distant place. But before the release he used to play with it in public. On one such occasions  a venomous cobra bit him. He some how managed to push the animal into a pot . With in a few minutes  he showed symptoms of poisoning and was rushed to a traditional healer. He was a Namboodiry of Pakaravoor Mansa. The news spread very fast and a big crowd  gathered in front of his shop  anxiously waiting to know the result. The incident took place in the morning and he was brought back by evening. By the grace of God he managed to escape death. Then onwards he refrained from playing with  the snakes in open , respecting the advice of the Nambhoodiripad. It took several days to restore his health, and  the public lost a few gasping moments of entertainment there after.. !!