Stickler for cleanliness

Aberporth is a small town in Ceredigion on the west coast of Wales. In 1976, I took a train from London to reach this quaint little town to undergo training in the ranges of the RAE. This was my first overseas trip and like most tourists, I bought some picture postcards. After I finished writing little personal notes to each of my friends and relatives, I went into a small post office nearby and purchased some stamps.

Then I faced a strange problem. When I looked for gum or water to stick these stamps on the postcards, I could not find any. I went in, out and around the post office like a lost puppy. Noticing my strange behaviour, the old lady who sold me the stamps asked me, “any problem, son?” When I told her that I needed either gum or water to stick my stamps, she said, “ just lick and stick”. Before I could decipher the meaning behind her statement, she quickly grabbed all my cards and stamps from me, licked each one of the stamps and stuck them on to the cards and returned the cards to me. As I thanked the old lady, she gave me friendly advice, “Son, you must taste our stamps, they taste like mint!”

I thought amusedly what the reaction of my grannies and aunts would have been like had they witnessed the above scene. I knew the answer well, they would have shouted “Narayana, Grahaacharam!”

I belong to a conservative South Indian family, where we were taught to observe certain practices that I can club together as, “aacharam and madi”. These are both synonymous to cleanliness and hygiene. We had to remove our footwear and wash our feet before we entered the house. We practised the “drink without sipping” technique and were not allowed to sip our water or coffee. The glass (never a cup) was to be poised strategically above the mouth and the fluid to be directed into it! We also ate on banana leaves.

Thanks to Covid-19, we now have an opportunity to reset and restore a range of good practices of yesteryear. To conclude, we cannot forget our ancient wisdom and the Sage Vyasa, who said, “Achara Prathamo Dharma: dharmasya prabhu achuta” meaning acharam is the first dharma of mankind.