Chores done by my Mom and Dad to raise us kids

When I was growing up in Kalander Chowk, Panipat, I had three siblings - all sisters, and the fourth had yet to arrive on the scene.

Dad Vas Dev Singh and Mom Savitri Devi in 1963 at Panipat

My mom alone had to do all the chores. My Dad will also help her like grocery shopping, veggie buying, veggie chopping and even helping making dishes, bringing water from the public tap of the Municipality. 

My Mom on other hand will do our hair, combing and setting everyday and hair bathing every week for all kids. She will do the firing of kitchen oven, which was a complicated and expert job. It was time when the kerosene stoves had not arrived. The arrival of kerosene stoves and made her job much easier in 1960s. She would do the bread baking after the flour had been casted. She will do so both in morning and evening all fresh from the scratch.

The sort of Oven Mom used to cook food  for us.

In the afternoon after a nap, she will take out the sewing machine and make clothes for all my sisters. While she will do the stitching, would ask me my immediate sister to bring the books to do home work.

On Sundays, after the Gurdwara, Papa Ji would do stitching for himself and me, and Sallwars stitching for my Mom. He was expert in Salwar cutting and switching and our Moms friends would often come to get help from Dad. 

There was no Langar in our Masjid turned Gurdwara in Khail Bazar, Panipat. There were about 30-50 members of our Gurdwara. My mom had always a complaint that no good Raagis were deployed by the Gurdwara. But a regular Khalsa  School was functioning.

My mom was a prominent member for only ladies programme on every Thursday afternoon. She led the team on Dholak and made herself popular. My Dad also got her a Harmonium as she was supposed to be an expert. 

On every Tuesday, she would invariably go to 'Ladies Show' discounted by the 'Naval Talkies' Authorities at an entry rate of 5 Annas ie Rs 0.30. Here again she was too popular. It was jokingly mentioned that if She does not go to the Show, the 'Naval Talkies' will fail. 

 

Mom was more interested in Shakuntla because she twisted her tongue while speaking and that twist she will mimic and repeat it again and again to her sisters and their kids. And there will be thud of laughter all around on her mimicry.

But Shakuntla resultantly learned how to write and read while she was good in vocal math already.. Her husband Ram Parkash moved to Delhi and started his own business and would manufacture school note books and supply to schools and retailers. They had four kids, all joined the business and became very rich. When ever she came to Panipat She would bring a load full of note books me and sisters. Shakuntla was very grateful to my Mom for educating her and remained indebted. was her powerful presence marked.

As is aware, tthere is a long summer in tropical conditions in India. With so many kids, my Mom Dad had laid out a strange rule for using tumblers for drinking water by each of us. Olders will simply pour the water through their throats without letting their lips to touch the tumbler. While we were told to use a silver tumbler again and again as the bacteria will not pass from one person to the other through silver metal. Hence the washing of so many utensils was avoided.

I got the cue from this idea and have started using the above silverware which had been simply stocked up in our cupboards since it's procuring. Believe me the silver cup remains as clean as ever without left-over water marks in the inner walls of the cup. I am not, however, aware of the scientific facts about the same.