Kumbakonam Trip: Stop 5: Lunch!:
Well, that was certainly something. After the Patashala, we drove to the Darasuram area, and sat down for lunch at the Paradise resort.
Of course, everyone went to the bathroom first, but once they had had a good discussion with nature, it was time for food.
Priya Thyagarajan called all the non-vegetarians to one side, but strangely hardly 10 people opted for non-veg. Those poor vegetarians missed out on something!
The serving-boys were all completely clued out on what they were serving, and when asked what a dish was, asked each other, until someone ran into the kitchen, or if Pradeep Chakravarthyep happened to be around, got an earful, and sent into the kitchen!
I didn't notice the veg items that much, they were decent. But what really caught my attention was the crab, and Kaadai(pheasant). A whole crab AND a full pheasant was put for all the non-vegetarians, and though the crab was super spicy, it was delicious!
We finished lunch with vanilla ice cream, and then sat around for a whle in food comas.
Pradeep and Priya now had a dilemma on their hands; go to Darasuram, hardly 1km away;go to someone's house in the middle of the city, and finish with Darasuram; or go to a seeval factory(this last option I was not so keen on, but having never seen Seeval before, decided to experience it. ) and then continue with option 2.
The verdict was Seeval. then coffee at the house, and finally Darasuram.
Stop 6: Seeval factory: Not much to say here, so I might as well link these two.
We were greeted by a two story structure, which called itself a 'factory'. I was very surprised. What kind of factory was this? But as we entered, I comprehended.
Right by the door is a basement structure, with the Seeval grinding machine, in a dank dark room. A line of clothes have been hung by the back, and there are bags of Seeval everywhere.
The man who worked the machine demonstrated it for us.
Seeval is pumped into the side, and comes spilling out onto our feet, as finely carved shavings. Before this, it is soaked for a week.
After shaving, it is left to dry for three days, and then sorted. We saw that too. Rows of women sat inside the house, packing the Seeval, which has been sorted into fine, and coarse.
Seeval is an essential part of paakku, an essential part of the Kumbakonam middle aged man. He will have a box of paaku or seeval on his oonjal, and a bit of Paaku tucked into the corner of his mouth, and his lips will always be stained be stained a bright red. We will encounter a few over the next few posts, but they may not feature prominently. Maybe a background appearance.
According to Pradeep Chakravarthy, Devadasi's had to know multiple ways of folding vethilai, as part of their training.
Sorted Seeval ready to be packed.
The sorting room
Well, that was certainly something. After the Patashala, we drove to the Darasuram area, and sat down for lunch at the Paradise resort.
Of course, everyone went to the bathroom first, but once they had had a good discussion with nature, it was time for food.
Priya Thyagarajan called all the non-vegetarians to one side, but strangely hardly 10 people opted for non-veg. Those poor vegetarians missed out on something!
The serving-boys were all completely clued out on what they were serving, and when asked what a dish was, asked each other, until someone ran into the kitchen, or if Pradeep Chakravarthyep happened to be around, got an earful, and sent into the kitchen!
I didn't notice the veg items that much, they were decent. But what really caught my attention was the crab, and Kaadai(pheasant). A whole crab AND a full pheasant was put for all the non-vegetarians, and though the crab was super spicy, it was delicious!
We finished lunch with vanilla ice cream, and then sat around for a whle in food comas.
Pradeep and Priya now had a dilemma on their hands; go to Darasuram, hardly 1km away;go to someone's house in the middle of the city, and finish with Darasuram; or go to a seeval factory(this last option I was not so keen on, but having never seen Seeval before, decided to experience it. ) and then continue with option 2.
The verdict was Seeval. then coffee at the house, and finally Darasuram.
Stop 6: Seeval factory: Not much to say here, so I might as well link these two.
We were greeted by a two story structure, which called itself a 'factory'. I was very surprised. What kind of factory was this? But as we entered, I comprehended.
Right by the door is a basement structure, with the Seeval grinding machine, in a dank dark room. A line of clothes have been hung by the back, and there are bags of Seeval everywhere.
The man who worked the machine demonstrated it for us.
Seeval is pumped into the side, and comes spilling out onto our feet, as finely carved shavings. Before this, it is soaked for a week.
After shaving, it is left to dry for three days, and then sorted. We saw that too. Rows of women sat inside the house, packing the Seeval, which has been sorted into fine, and coarse.
Seeval is an essential part of paakku, an essential part of the Kumbakonam middle aged man. He will have a box of paaku or seeval on his oonjal, and a bit of Paaku tucked into the corner of his mouth, and his lips will always be stained be stained a bright red. We will encounter a few over the next few posts, but they may not feature prominently. Maybe a background appearance.
According to Pradeep Chakravarthy, Devadasi's had to know multiple ways of folding vethilai, as part of their training.
Sorted Seeval ready to be packed.
The sorting room
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