I could take a few lessons on time management .Whoa ! and I could give some tips on procrastination too.....and for this I shall take a leaf out of my grandma tales.
Kannamani was a wheely working wonder.She was a well bred illiterate and yet exhibited some of the finest home and finance management techniques that could well qualify to enter the curriculum of a m
anagement course.
Krishnamoorthy was slow when compared to his deft moving better half Kannamani.....She was quick to react and respond to any given situation....a trait that Nayaki wishes to emulate today to keep in pace in this fast world.
It was in the seventys that Nayaki had a taste of the kind of smart labour ,that when put into use was effective in efficient management of time, along with proper completion of work with the optimum utilisation, of the limited resources available.
Those were the days when Kannamani ran the show ,alternatingly with a Kerosene stove and a mud chulha .The monthly provision included the cotton wicks and Kerosene was available in plenty across the ration counter.
Today we have connections with links that simplify our chores.In the absence of a gas connection or an induction stove and under austere conditions,Kannamani was making hay .
Nayaki vividly remembers the golden words "Dear girl !Always remember to boil water before cooking and keep hot water handy always.Soak rice and pulses in hot water...saves time on cooking and therefore fuel.Some vegetables can be cut and blanched....Just pour enough boiling water to cover the vegetables and your vegetable will be ready in a jiffy....Had Maggi been around those days,she would have devised means to boil down the cooking time to a few seconds...and I mean it.She was a rapid live wire.I remember her using the Rukmani Cooker,the functioning of which I have forgotten...Yet ! the lessons, that I learnt to work under pressure, hold me in good stead today.
Cleaning was not an onerous task too.The cooking done and the mouths fed,the vessels went below a running tap and then into a huge tub with hot soapy water...The final wash and the rinse was over in minutes.She never saw a dish washer in her lifetime.
Clothes met with a similar fate...though hot water was used judiciously only for the whites.The collars and cuffs got a scrub,the heavier clothes a whack ,a rinse and out they went under the scorchy sun for a pat dry.The precious colours were handled with care and they searched their way to a comfort zone of a cool shade...the hand wash regimen that seems so simple....Aah !I do not wish to even dream of such a task today.
All this and more,and with time to spare,Kannamani never missed her daily date with the Gods in the nearby temple,a long walk in the parks and the chatting session with her friends...Had she been around I guess she would have been online too.
I wonder if the Idli batter had anything to do with her grey matter....coz I can also recollect that stones rolled manually, to roll out a steady supply of batter every alternate day...though Mom kept saying "Too much of urad dal is not good for the brain.".....Funny !!!!!
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