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Young Ammini lived in a village in Kerala. The year was 1943. Nestled in agricultural land, her family home was large and despite not having a lot, they had some land around their home. Kerala in the 1940s was lush green and bountiful and everyone who could was responsible for the upkeep of the house and the land that they owned.
Ammini was 8 and a half now and had just finished all the chores that had been lined up for her in the morning. She looked at the clean courtyard that she had just finished sweeping. All the dried up leaves had been collected to the side of the boundary which was the least visible to the small path outside. She would have to deal with some of the weeds that needed removal when she got back from school. She knew that now she could go to the pond and have her bath. She called out to her younger sister Sati and they picked up the bark of the coconut fruit 'Chagari' and the 'Cherupayar Podi'- green gram flour that they would use to clean themselves. Ammini had seen some posters of a commercial soap in a local shop. The poster was partially torn but she'd noticed the 'rose' flower near the bar of soap. She wondered if she would ever hold a soap bar in her hand. She was brought back to reality by her sister who was tugging her hand while walking.
She turned her head and glanced at Sati. About three years younger, Sati was still generally happy and playful. Ammini asked herself if she felt playful anymore. Not really!, she decided. The times she had been chided by her older sisters and mother for running around the courtyard like a 'fearless upstart' had quickly calmed her down. She hadn't understood why she couldn't play when she had done all her chores, listened to everyone the whole day and obeyed all the rules of the house. She knew it was unfair but she also knew that she didn't want to be beaten. Everyone in her house had a temper and seemed to be on the lookout for an occasion to explode and a prey to pounce on. Ammini was just too young to understand that poverty and lack of education led to fewer opportunities and that led to an overall frustration that seemed to seep into every member of her family.
She smiled at Sati as they walked to the pond. It was already hot and the sun was shining bright and high. Sati held her hand as they walked down the wet and mossy steps to their pond. Ammini helped take off Sati's clothes and rinsed her body in water that was till their knees. She scrubbed her sister's body with the coconut husk and applied some of the flour on her and then assisted Sati to go into the pond and swim a bit. Living in the village meant that they were both excellent swimmers. So Ammini could now take her own bath. She pulled off her blouse but immediately covered herself with the 'thortu' or towel. Balancing it on her torso, she scrubbed her armpits and her torso with the flour and the coconut bark. She went lower into the pond to be able to wash her lower body. She was always worried about the presence of some peeping Tom who may have managed to get through all the wild plants and foliage at the back of their property where the pond was located. This was because one of her older sisters had seen a man look at her some years back when she was taking a bath at the very spot Ammini was now. Her sister had been slapped by her mother for not being extra careful. Ammini didn't get why her sister was to blame. But she'd lived enough to know that it was always the girl who was to blame. Coming back to the present moment,, she quickly looked around to see if she could spot a pair of prying eyes. Nothing that she could locate. She tried to listen carefully if the sounds of nature around her were disturbed by an alien presence. She finally stopped her imagination from going further and took a couple of dips to wet her head. Collecting her sister, they both quickly dried themselves off, wore the same clothes they had worn before their shower and walked back to the main structure of the house.
Ammini headed to the outside of the kitchen and picked up the coconut oil bottle. She scrubbed oil over her partially dry skin and hair and Sati copied her sister. They then went indoors and wore fresh tops and waist cloths and headed out towards their school.
#childhoodtrauma #poverty #keralainthe30s #keralain1940 #girlslife #womanempowerment
#thechroniclesoftheyoungestchild
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