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Disappearing Traditional Objects. Tradition and Culture! This morning while looking for the wristwatch that was given to me on my 15th birthday by my parents, I came across something wonderful that took me back to my childhood when I used to play with it with my friends on the garden of our house, a portion of which was used for playing Badminton in the evening of the winter nights under floodlights. The object that I found on the top shelf of the showcase was nothing but a colored Spinning Top , the one which was my most favorite! I don’t know who had kept it there along with my other things that were supposed to be kept and displayed in our parent’s house located in a district town where I grew up! I think it could none other than my mother who must have passed on those things to my wife for preservation when we started to live separately in this city! May be, what I have stated above, could remind you about your childhood, your play mates and the games you played but no more played by your grand . I am sure, most of them are busy now on internet or with their play stations or mobile sets to play games either embedded therein or downloaded from elsewhere during their free times! The purpose of writing the above two paragraphs is to tell you, dear readers that the traditional way of living a life is changing gradually when we are busy struggling to survive in this competitive world of ours! Our grand no longer like to play with the Spinning Tops. The majority of these are no longer interested to pass their times playing outdoor games. We all know that video games have replaced many popular outdoor as well as indoor games. The scientific and technological advances that took place during last fifty years have transformed our world to such an extent that our traditional way of living is vanishing rapidly too. The objects that we have been using traditionally in our day to day life are disappearing one by one, perhaps, every where in the world! Some of these objects have totally gone extinct during the last half a century. For example, let us examine some of the traditional objects that have disappeared from the country where I live now. These objects are no longer used as before as replacements are easily available to us. I live in Bangladesh which was known as Bengal before the British Rulers left the subcontinent for good leaving it divided! We became fully independent after we could finally drive out the occupying Pakistani Armed Forces in the year 1971. Our traditions, cultures are based on our rural settings. Those of us who have been living in the cities in this country could not forget our rural based cultures and traditions related to lifestyles, crop- production, vehicles, food, and religious beliefs etc completely. However, some of the traditional objects are on the verge of disappearing completely. Recently, I read an article in the local Newspaper listing some of the disappearing objects to remind us how fast our lifestyles are being changed gradually much against our wishes! The list of some of the traditional objects that are going to disappear completely in the near future are posted here under with a short note on each along with pictures. Those who are intereste 1. Palki (Palanquin): This is a wheel-less boxlike vehicle carried on shoulders of six men called the Beharus! The Landlords used this transport while traveling by road from place to place in the earlier times. Later on, Palki was used to transport the new bride by road from her father’s home to her in-law’s depicting the transition of the girl to womanhood. Even today, we may see palki being used in the remote villages as an ornamental addition in weddings. Palanquins began to fall out of use after rickshaws (on wheels, more practical) were introduced in the 1930s. 2. Dheki It is an agricultural tool used for separating rice grains from their husks. It has multiple uses! A Dheki is operated by two or three women. One can still find Dhekis in remote villages though husking machines and automatic rice mills are now used extensively everywhere. It is a heavy wooden liver and at the one end of the lever, there is a vertical wooden cylinder, which functions as a pest 3. Kupi There were days when electricity was not available anywhere in the world. People had to use various lamps after fire was invented to shed light around. Kupi was such a lamp used here in this country. Kupies used to come in variety of colors and designs! I think Kupis have done their duties and may go to disappear completely as the kupis are now replaced by solar powered lamps, Charger lamps or electric lights. 4. Tal Pankha (Handmade fan made of palm leaves): It is our tradition to keep and use this hand made fan from time immemorial. I remember having seen varieties of such beautiful fans being used in our house even when electric connections were available in our home. I have posted some picture of these colorful fans so that readers can form ideas about them. 5. Latim (Spinning Top): I have mentioned in the main text of the blog that I was very fond of playing games with Latim (Spinning Top) when I was a . The Latim or the Spinning Top is made of wood and sometimes of iron! Many of the readers know how wonderful it looks when a Top spin at its own! “A rope is twisted around its axis that causes a rapid unwinding when pulled quickly – setting the top in motion.” or aged boys are now rarely found playing with Latim! Thanks for reading this article!           |
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There are many things in haven and earth! Thanks for reading.
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Thank you for the comment left here on my blog, I appreciate! Have a nice time.
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Thanks for the wonderful text you posted here for me to read. I can now remember about the two Irons that we had in our house. Those irons were almost same like you described. I can also remember the washer man who used to collect clothes from us to wash it at his place. Perhaps, I purchased my personal TV on the first day the TV program went in the air. At that time I was working in a bank as an executive. It is always nice to travel down the memory lane, Mary Ann. Stay well and happy and Take Care.
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I think that we need to honour our past, but move on into the future and all that entails. Very interesting read Look!!
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I think that we need to honour our past, but move on into the future and all that entails. Very interesting read Look!!
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I just wrote a different take on your blog......together they make a powerful statement.
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I am pleased to read from you again here on my blog page,MySeek2day after a considerable time. As usual, your comments have enriched my blog immensely. Sometimes, I wish the time to stand still so that we can find a way to travel back to live again in a world where hours and days pass by more slowly as described by you! The new efforts now being introduced in Sweden make sense to me. Thank you so much for stopping by and for your responses, Stay well and happy always.
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I just wrote a different take on your blog......together they make a powerful statement.
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looklook, blogs like this make me thinking back. I remember playing with marbles. The heels were the digger for the holes and how sad I was when lost my favourite marble and how happy when won a nice one. And yes, we played with the spinning tops using a whip like MySeek mentioned. Often the whip broke when playing to hard and hit the cobblestones our streets were made of. I own an iron which has to be filled with glowing coals. When travelling in Cambodia I noticed a similar tool like the Dheki which was used to kneel the dough for rice noodles. And a fan like the one you displayed was very helpful in the heat or to chase flies off. Thank you for the pictures and the narratives.
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looklook, blogs like this make me thinking back. I remember playing with marbles. The heels were the digger for the holes and how sad I was when lost my favourite marble and how happy when won a nice one. And yes, we played with the spinning tops using a whip like MySeek mentioned. Often the whip broke when playing to hard and hit the cobblestones our streets were made of. I own an iron which has to be filled with glowing coals. When travelling in Cambodia I noticed a similar tool like the Dheki which was used to kneel the dough for rice noodles. And a fan like the one you displayed was very helpful in the heat or to chase flies off. Thank you for the pictures and the narratives. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and responses. It is nice reading from you here presumably for the first time telling me something about your girlhood! It surprised me to learn that being a girl; you liked to play with marbles! Here in this sub-continent, I have never seen girls play with marbles. I consider this information as a wonderful addition to this blog. While staying in the then West Germany in 1976 ( mostly in West Berlin and Hamburg ) I came to know many German ladies, but none of them ever told me about passing their times playing with marbles during the days of passing through girlhood. Yes, evergreen, Dheki is used in many other Asian countries including Cambodia. It has multiple uses. Thanks again evergreen. Stay well and cheerful.
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So much in our society that is called progress is not really good. You have just illustrated that beautifully in your blog. The loss of traditions is probably the greatest loss. Be a prism, spreading God's light and love, not a mirror reflecting the world's hatred.
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Mrs.Joe, Thanks for your meaningful comments. I agree entirely with it. I wish to repeat here what I have posted in response to Rocket ship’s comment at above that, "Sometimes old ways may also be helpful to open new doors." Hope you are keeping well. Best wishes.
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Great story and amazing pictures, as always, LookLook. I loved the spinning tops when I was a kid and was fascinated by the gyroscopic effect of the rotating top. I also became pretty good with a yoyo and loved marbles. I still had some "aggies" stored somewhere but have no idea where I put them. Fossil
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