On Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 16:07, Deepak Misra <yahoogro...@deepakmisra.com> wrote: > 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.
In some orthodox tambram houses putting a 'yechal' plate on the kitchen counter would be a big no no. And there is also a restriction on putting the plate directly into the kitchen sink. You'd have to go wash it (or at least pour some water on it) where you wash your hands (which is never the kitchen sink), and subsequently go deposit it in the kitchen sink. > 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. The area of the dining table / floor where the plate rested (which for the brahmin men is signified by the circle of water drops around the plate) is yechchal. So, even the immovable floor can be yechchal. [The following sentences assume right-hand-normativity.] Also, if one held the plate in the left hand while eating, then that hand becomes yechchal. That means no serving of food using the left hand (until it is 'cleansed' with water), and sometimes even no touching of the remote control with the left hand! For a bit more nuance: Yechchal, as someone observed earlier in this thread, can be avoided by flicking the food (if it is flickable, like mixture or laddoo) into the mouth. If, however, your hand is holding the laddoo when the laddoo touches your teeth, then your hand is yechchal.
