the GODs in the attic....!

hello



With lots and lots of apartments coming up there are no individual houses these days. The attic was one place where they put up things that were not often used. the attic I am talking about was one small one put up with two thick beams and thick wooden plants nailed to it. The andas and gundas were piled up. It was a joint family my fathers and each family had a room of their own although all rooms had two doors an entrance from the hall and the other leading to another room. My aunt said they often kept valuables inside a vessel in the attic whenever they went away on long tours as thieves never did go after the andas in the attic…!!

We had access to the attic with the help of a small ladder. Sometimes we used the iron stool which was very heavy but left near the attic after taking something from there.

Our mind was always racing about what we would play on the floor of the attic. There was quite some place left for the five of us to hide play or do whatever we pleased. Kitchen was a long way off and they always imagined us playing on the streets ..pandi or hide and seek or those days games.
We smuggled (?) quite a few things to the attic sometimes one by one. A pitcher of water, some biscuits, mornings rotis, playthings like cups and sauces and choppu, dolls …ludo..chalk piece to draw up games like adu puli . we sometimes slept there without anyone calling us as they had their share of heavy work what with no gas, no proper maid, umpteen people to feed and drink morning afternoon and night.

Those were the days when they didn’t stock any groceries and called to us kids to get everything from salt to chillies to dhalls. We would buy a small portion of whatever they asked and give it to the elders when another would call ..please get this for us..
Our names were called out quite often god knows what they wanted … we stuck to the walls like a lizard and remained out of sight when they tried peeping through the opening to the attic.

My sister topped a pitcher of water one day.. it went trailing the wood being old did absorb some but it went drip drip drip. My aunt who was passing by said…the old rats these days… they must be urinating?...have to ask someone to clean up the place…!!

We were all in guffaws but held our mouth shut till our eyes popped out….!! Couldn’t contain the laughter.
Another day we slept through lunch and we didn’t know…!! They had been calling and went about the neighbourhood wondering where we were …till my sithappa found out that we were on top sleeping..!!

There was no fan…there may have been quite a few scorpions, lizards and rats in the attic but that did not prevent us from having fun… reading stories..playing and keeping out of sight of the elders…!!
The Good Old Days in the attic...!!

sathya

Dear Sathya,

That was such an intersting post, very enjoyable to read!!
Here in these cities we have these lofts, but the huge attics used to be in the native in Kerala .Initially as kids they would scare us telling us ghosts resided there. But later as we grew we all cousins would have fun there, picnicking and eating dancing there. It was very huge . The attic stands proof of a lot of our deepest darkest secrets.

Nice post Sathya, Got me nostalgic in a very happy way!!

Love,
Devika

Good Old Days---that meant GOD, how nice....

Sathya,
In our house we had an attic....there they kept some vessels and also valuables...I am afraid to get there because...I am still afraid of getting up the ladder...
But nice to read all those pranks you all had enjoyed during those days....

sriniketan

oh I loved your post. It reminded of my beloved attic that i abandoned. I used to love the attics those days. But i read a book that had a story of a grandma's armchair that was haunted and the girl was mysteriously attracted to it and she got possessed. After that book - i dont keep my head in that direction. god knows whats up there!

hello devika

so the god got you to peep in...!!
not the ghosts i mean..
picnicking sure was fun there...
my god to think we had such huge
sly appetites..!!

sathya

hello srinik

me too not very happy about ladder heights...
dad saw to it because he was scared stiff of climbing ladders...
mom is still good at it...
but getting on a stool
or going up a ladder small is ok by me..

sathya

hello sriranjani

mmmm..!!
can a book
keep you away from something?
ya may be you are right
i once read a serial with a horse that a friend gives
later he dies and the horse keeps talking about him
i left the story midway...
i had a horse rubber idol too...

sathya

Originally Posted by sathya

hello



With lots and lots of apartments coming up there are no individual houses these days. The attic was one place where they put up things that were not often used. the attic I am talking about was one small one put up with two thick beams and thick wooden plants nailed to it. The andas and gundas were piled up. It was a joint family my fathers and each family had a room of their own although all rooms had two doors an entrance from the hall and the other leading to another room. My aunt said they often kept valuables inside a vessel in the attic whenever they went away on long tours as thieves never did go after the andas in the attic…!!

We had access to the attic with the help of a small ladder. Sometimes we used the iron stool which was very heavy but left near the attic after taking something from there.

Our mind was always racing about what we would play on the floor of the attic. There was quite some place left for the five of us to hide play or do whatever we pleased. Kitchen was a long way off and they always imagined us playing on the streets ..pandi or hide and seek or those days games.
We smuggled (?) quite a few things to the attic sometimes one by one. A pitcher of water, some biscuits, mornings rotis, playthings like cups and sauces and choppu, dolls …ludo..chalk piece to draw up games like adu puli . we sometimes slept there without anyone calling us as they had their share of heavy work what with no gas, no proper maid, umpteen people to feed and drink morning afternoon and night.

Those were the days when they didn’t stock any groceries and called to us kids to get everything from salt to chillies to dhalls. We would buy a small portion of whatever they asked and give it to the elders when another would call ..please get this for us..
Our names were called out quite often god knows what they wanted … we stuck to the walls like a lizard and remained out of sight when they tried peeping through the opening to the attic.

My sister topped a pitcher of water one day.. it went trailing the wood being old did absorb some but it went drip drip drip. My aunt who was passing by said…the old rats these days… they must be urinating?...have to ask someone to clean up the place…!!

We were all in guffaws but held our mouth shut till our eyes popped out….!! Couldn’t contain the laughter.
Another day we slept through lunch and we didn’t know…!! They had been calling and went about the neighbourhood wondering where we were …till my sithappa found out that we were on top sleeping..!!

There was no fan…there may have been quite a few scorpions, lizards and rats in the attic but that did not prevent us from having fun… reading stories..playing and keeping out of sight of the elders…!!
The Good Old Days in the attic...!!

sathya

hahahah yes what fun, idont remember much of these, but yes it was good while it lasted..akka

hello akka

even i dont remember much
except that we stuck to the andas
and gundas without a scare of scorpions
or cockroaches...
but remember hiding from calling
moms and aunts for buying something
and eating biscuits, cakes mangoes
nava pazham and rotis too....
that place was so huge
we could hide
all five to six of us
and the elders couldnt find us
or did they pretend...?



sathya

Dear Satya,
So...GOD - Good Old Days in attic....hmm.. made me feel a bit nostalgic, cause when we grew up, the attic was existent only for a few years in my grandmom's house and after wards everything vanished....to replace lofts with wooden doors.But the few years, attic was meant to scare us kids, that if we dont eat food properly the ghost from there or sometimes bhima or bhakasura would gobble it up.hhaaa haaa yes Good Old Days

Enjoyed reading it.