Page 13 - Seniorstoday September-2023 Issue
P. 13
Mumbai had ice factories spread across as soon as the tin is melted. With stainless
the city. These made blocks of ice that a steel, aluminium, non-stick Teflon coated
man on a bullock cart transported to little vessels in use these days, the kalai is no
restaurants within the local area. For longer required and today very few people
example, in South Mumbai, there was an used brass and copper vessels that required
ice factory in Sassoon Dock and one was tin coating. The kalai walas have vanished
in Ballard Estate. These bullock cart ice from the cities back into the small town and
carriers used sawdust to cover the ice that villages.
was then covered with gunny cloth. This
insulated the ice even in the sweltering ● The Masalawaali Bais
summers.
Ice was supplied to small restaurants,
canteens, soft drink shops and was loaded
into an ice box. Even today, sugarcane juice
vendors have ice blocks from which they Image courtesy: atlasobscura.com
break up little pieces and put in your glass.
Another unknown fact was that the ice
factories were also very helpful if there was
death in a family when they would bring ice
up to the flat where the body could be kept Every May, women would go around
on ice for preservation. homes and pound dry cooking masalas
that would almost last a year, if they were
● The Kalai Wala properly stored. They were three women
who would carry their own mortar and
pestle. The mortar was a large wooden
bowl in which three big pestles were used
to grind the masalas that the three/ two
women would stand around the large
mortar and in a well-choreographed
movement, pound the masalas. Within
four to five hours, a household yearly
consumption of masalas was ground,
Indian kitchens used a variety of vessels. stored and sealed into the bottles. Besides
Some copper, some brass and some earthen. money, people would give them tea
Water was stored in copper and earthen and maybe a little snack. All the mixers
vessels. Brass vessels were used for cooking and grinders have made these women
and these were coated with tin and this unemployed and go back to their villages.
was called ‘Kalai’. Constant use of cooking
vessels would wear out the kalai and ● The Taakiwaali Bai
they had to be recoated once in two-three The ancient art of the grinding masalas
months. Kalai protects from food poisoning in most Indian homes was a daily ritual.
and blackening of the vessel. The process Most homes had their own indigenous
of kalai is to melt the tin and coat the vessel stone grinders in some shape or size of form
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #51 | SEPTEMBER 2023 13
