The Flour Mill ( Maavu Mill Kathai ( Nostalgia Story )
After a very long time , I had
the chance to take wheat and rice and have them crushed in to fine powder at
the Maavu Mill.. As I waited for the process to be completed , my mind just
wandered to our young days where this process was so complicated and time consuming.
Whenever there was a festival
coming , rice ,wheat and other flour had to be readied to make the wonderful
snacks for the festivity. And it used to be 100 % homemade—No A2B or Grand snacks
or any of those shops existed to buy it ready made. The task of getting the
flour done would be invariably assigned to the children. Some ground rules :
- Cannot just leave your stuff at the Mill
and come back . One had to wait and ensure that only our stuff went in to
the Grinding machine and come out and not mixed with others. The other reason
was that stuff can be stolen , so just stay put☹
- If Kadalai Maavu was being grinded , do
not allow the guy to have your rice to go next. Ensure that they clean the
machine and then have your rice grinded . ( most times , we had to wait as
the guy in the Mill will not clean and will look for customers to get the
same type to grind
- Time was of no importance. Just stay
there , get your stuff done in the
right way as prescribed and come home.
The mill
was owned by a couple who used to come in their bicycle. Although the time as
10 Am , it would be anytime after 10 AM … The crowd will become excited as they
see them come.. Slowly , the man will open the shop.. The vessels will line up
against each machine—There was one for Rice , one for Turmeric and one for Shikakai ( Shampoo ? ) – Shikakai will take the
longest to get done. If you had all three, then be assured half the day will be
gone. The man will do prayers to the God before he switches on the mains.
Everyone there will pray that the machines start and work ! And
when they start humming . the crowd will be noisy and chirpy
Finally
, the grinding will start.
And as
they follow the Q , if the Rice is on in a machine , the wheat has to wait. All the Rice that is in the Q needs to
be grinded , before they change. Now there
is no end to the wait. As you thing the rice is done , a new customer will enter
with rice to grind. So the switch will never happen. Finally , the switch will
happen and they will start with wheat to
be made in to flour. Just when you think you are next in line and getting it done, the Power will go !!!
And there is no estimated time for it to come back. Once again everyone prays
for the power to be restored
Meanwhile
, most of your friends are at the Maavu mill carrying the same errand.
And as
we wait for the power play begins – it will be either marbles ( most of us
would have carried this in our pockets ) or Kabaddi ( no prop needed ) A team will be formed—Lines will be drawn
right outside the shop and the game will become intense…. Now, the guys playing,
will pray for the power not to come… !!!
Oh…. What
lovely days it were … Simple but sweet memories with life around things that we
had and so contented. It was happy days always ... Nothing to worry about !
PS: This time , my waiting time was hardly two
minutes -- Took pic as the wheat flour was
being made
Comments
It rekindled my memories
We had two machines- between Panagal park and T Nagar bus stand
We did not have the luxury to play as even in those times it was commercial area
But all other memories were similar especially the power
btw, andha ManU satta super