Of Kal Chattis and Vasmbu

-by Sheela Rani Chunkath

Last week I had gone to Coimbatore to attend to an All India Crafts exhibition. So much talent in one place. I ended up buying a whole lot of stuff including some quaint soft stone dosa kallu (dosa tawa) and kal chattis (soft stone vessels). The artisan gave me detailed instructions on how these soft stone vessels had to be made ready for using on our gas stoves. First you had to make a mixture of turmeric and castor oil and apply it to the vessel. After 24 hours, hot kanji, the water that is drained when cooking rice, is poured into the vessel and left for a few hours. The kanji treatment is continued for around a week or ten days. The vessel is then ready to be placed on a gas stove. In the beginning the vessel is placed on a small flame after which it is ready to go. The maavu kalartisans have practically disappeared from Tamil Nadu as people have switched to other kinds of utensils for cooking. The kal chatti is a wonderful way to cook your food having been treated with herbal products like castor oil and turmeric. I feel sorry that instead of using such wonderful traditional products, we have switched to Teflon coated vessels whose long term health benefits are really suspect. Today you can purchase silicone coated nonstick pans which they say is an improvement over the older toxic version. God knows what they will say twenty years down the line! In my house chemically coated vessels are a big No-No. I use iron kadais, kal chattis and stainless steel vessels. I have tried earthen vessels but had to give it up for regular use because of non-cooperation from my cook.

Of course when I showed the quaint kal chattis to my friends and relatives all of them wanted one. So I have ordered some more pieces. Haven't tried making dosas with the soft stone tawa yet but I was told that you will get lovely soft dosas with small holes in it which is how traditionalists love their dosas.

After the exhibition I visited a friend who had had a grandchild. The baby's beaded bracelet intrigued me and I asked my friend what it was made of. She said that it had been made by her mother, the baby's great grandmother. It was a bracelet made of the beads of Acorus calamus (vacha in Sanskrit and vasambu in Tamil) and garlic. A root of Acorus calamus is soaked in water overnight. In the morning the top skin/layer is removed and the piece then cut into small segments and shaped into small beads. These beads are strung alternately with small round segments of garlic and a bracelet of around ten or fifteen of these beads is tied around the wrist of the baby. According to the great grandmother this keeps the baby free from coughs, colds and colic as vasambu and garlic have antiviral, antibacterial and anti-flatulent properties.

Acorus calamus is a veritable treasure trove and is called pillai marunthu in Tamil being used extensively to treat children and even very young infants. The herb is roasted over a fire and the ashes are mixed with honey and given to children for a variety of ailments; from lung infections to stomach ailments. Little children wear a piece of vasambu tied with a soft string around their waist to ward off insects as it is a natural insecticide. I use vasambu sticks in my cupboards to keep away silverfish and other insects. It is also used to improve the voice quality and to prevent stammering. Literally vacha means to speak. The medicinal use of Acorus calamus has been noted in the Vedas and I am happy that it still lives in our homes.  

--- The writer was earlier Health Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu and is currently Additional Chief Secretary and Chairman & Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation. She can be reached at Sheelarani.arogyamantra@gmail. com. Earlier articles can be accessed at http://arogyamantra.blogspot.com/