“Vanali Patti” of Cadavasal

A mail extract between CRN mama and his daughter Juni

Years back in Cadavasal, a widowed brahmin cook, clothed in the traditional whites was employed and was with us for a few years. She was a little mousy person with a bad squint but she was an excellent cook and her Vattha kuzhambus passed muster even with my father, whose olfactory sensitivities were so good that he used to sit in his chair under a thatched roof close to the mango tree, and shout to my mother, "Tell Patti to add some salt or some puli" or some such thing. I think one night the Patti needed to relieve herself on an emergency basis. She was afraid to go out of the house and her explanation was that she did not want to leave the rear doors open for any "thirudan" (thief) to have easy access and she did not wish to wake up anyone. Whatever it is she found a well seasoned iron Vanali with handles and used it for her nightly ablution. She apparently planned to clean it up later
My parents were early risers and my mother saw the vanali in the rear yard. She was about to pick it up and realized the contents were less than edible and was the result of intake! She confronted the patti, who, to her credit instead of blaming a rat or a maranai or a cat accepted that it is her own contribution! That resulted in the patti being rechristened as "vanali patti" and the vanali found its way into the dustbin unceremoniously. The patti also was relieved of her responsibilities much in the same way, she relieved herself.