On Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 3:21 PM, Venkat Mangudi <s...@venkatmangudi.com>wrote:
> Srini RamaKrishnan wrote: > > On Fri, Jun 5, 2009 at 4:57 PM, Indrajit Gupta<bonoba...@yahoo.co.in> > wrote: > >> Jhoota - touched by another, typically by mouth, making it impure for > consumption by another. > > > > The Tamil equivalent is "yechal" i.e saliva - in very traditional > > households it is common to never let the lips touch the vessel or > > I, to this day, do not cease being amazed that your plate is "yechal" > while the table it rests on is not. Just the surface though is. My mom > and I have huge arguements about this subject even today and it usually > culminates in me shaking my head and walking away while she triumphantly > goes about business as usual. > > Venkat It is basically understanding what is a good conductor of "yechal" or "Ointha" as we call it in Oriya. Whatever is fixed is not while what is not fixed is. So plates clearly are while kitchen counters are not. The fridge used to pose a challenge for my othodox grandmother since Non veg food used to contaminate her food in the fridge. The problem was solved by desiganting one shelf in the fridge as pure ensuring that no meat, eggs or Ointha food ever touched that shelf. A Table falls somewhere in no mans land since it is fixed but also movable. . I had this near miss incident in a small village in Orissa when I are some snacks and sweets and unconsciously almost put the "dirty" plate on the cabinet where all the sweets were stored. The waiter shouted and I stopped myself just in time. Deepak
