Before we start with this article, I would like to state that at PinkLungi, we are against abuse and violence. This article is meant to be humorous and invoke nostalgia. Most importantly, it is not meant to promote physical abuse in any form.
Coming back to the point of the article, if you were anything like me, the thought of a beating would scare you to bits. Most of my childhood did involve getting beaten up by my mother for various reasons. I would either do something extremely naughty or procrastinate studying because I wanted to play. Either way, I would end up getting a nice addi from my mother. Since my father was in the Gulf, he wasn’t there to act as a shield from my mother’s terror (she isn’t as bad as she sounds though). I would protect myself using a pillow, like how Captain America uses his shield, or hide behind the sofa.
But, the one thing that has intrigued me to this day are the things my mother used to beat me up with. They were all veetilthe sadnaghal! Yes, mothers are smart that way. Even if we managed to hide something thing that was capable of being the hitting tool, they would find another household item to hit us with. Maybe, it’s passed down from one generation to another. Who knows? Hopefully, our children won’t have to say the same.
Anyway, I’m going to list down household things amma used to hit us with when we did something naughty.
Chooral Vadi
Almost everyone is Kerala fears the Chooral Vadi. It beholds a power that no other household item has. It is the go-to beating tool for all the mothers in Kerala. As kids, we would try it hide it in no man’s land so our mothers wouldn’t find it.
Cheepu
We all had that comb we all hated – the one with the long handle. Damn, it was something we all wished we had broken with our knees the way Bruce Lee did.
Steel Scale
A whip of the steel scale on the body was just brutal. The pain was kind of like getting injected by a syringe but compounded four times over. Who ever created the steel scale!
Cherupu
Our mothers would use rubber slippers especially when we played outdoors. If we ignored her calls to stop playing and come back to the house, she would immediately take her rubber slippers and come running towards us like Bhadrakali. It was the easiest to carry and painful when used on the body.
Choolu
The choolu not only helped mothers clean the house, but also aided in giving a nice beating to her kids. A hit with a choolu might not be as bad as a hit with a chooral vadi, but the humiliation lasted for decades!
Chattakum
When our mother’s wanted to take the beating up a notch, the chattakums from the kitchen would be used. After all, it had to be used for something apart from cooking, right?
Hanger
Ende Amme! Every time we saw a hanger, that’s the only words that came out of our mouths. The hanger was mainly used when we studied. So, if we were ever sleepy in-between and managed to get a few answers wrong, we would get a nice whack with the hanger.
After a point, mothers realise that there’s no point beating their children because they’re going to do what they feel like. Parents think that hitting their children is an effective way to discipline them. But contrary to traditional belief, hitting is bad as any other form of domestic abuse and leads to trauma, not discipline.
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