Back to Kunnumkulam home, it was a university for me, looking back and analyzing life, I have learnt a lot from there, human relationships, have’s and have nots, business acumen, science, technology, sustainability.
This place has a huge connotation in my life, twists and turns, love hate relationships in the fabric of a dynasty.
My first exposure to power and money in a family, a lot of remarkable people, beauty parlor, domesticated python, monkeys, love birds, squirrels, mina, parrots was here.
Even before I started school, I had the opportunity to be ready on time at the chime of the bell, the ding dong at a fast note made me rush to the entrance of the workshop and I enjoyed watching the super talented craftsmen walking to their various machines in uniform, if I remember right they all wore shorts, like the old police men style, but, without the bra like stitch, deep navy blue in thick fabric.
The bell was a flat piece of metal like the Dosa Kallu, hung near the verandah by the side of the pond in front of the workers accommodation and there was a hammer to ring the bell, the resonance of the bell made everyone jump from wherever they were to be in line to punch their cards and enter the workshop.
It alerted everyone at home, to catch up with gossips, and kitchen would slow down as the lady of the house has stepped out to check on the activities in the workshop.
I experienced unconditional loyalty in Kunnumkulam, no matter what, the staff always stood by the master, even when they sympathized with other family members their loyalty to my Valiappachen and Valiammachy was unquestioned. They would die for them, their bond was in steel, they were taken care of, and their families were protected forever and ever. This is one place I saw trust, belief, compassion when it came to relationships.
The relationship was more of a give and take, Valiappachen and Valiammachy knew everyone in their family, marriage, child birth, education, health everything was routinely taken care of. The business was run for the welfare of the staff; this was visible from the quality of the products that turned out of the workshop. Time was observed and time was never wasted, there was no reason to stay overtime, it was not expected. The workers started on time observed all the breaks and left on time. Even though many of them were staying in the dormitory they never spend extra time in the workshop. They did their best and never cheated and wasted time ever. They worked and earned their living. They never believed in free food.
This is the first place, I saw and felt workers taking pride in doing a good job.
My heroes were Karim Etten, Krishnan Kutty Etten, Chakkettan, Arumugham and so on and so forth. Amazing times. I loved to sit by the lathe, the smithy and watch the steel transform to the best of scissors and surgical instruments, with a deluge of questions, my first lessons in physics and mathematics was definitely from here.
I used to get lucky once in a way to run with a sample to Valiammachy and then to Valiappachen for approval. I saw him look at it holding in different angle and checking the correctness. Well they were all connoisseurs and experts, everything was precise and they identified any error by feeling, touching, viewing. There were different finishes to the products, mat, smooth, shiny, and all these were later adapted in my life when I started doing things on my own. I had mastered the trait of looking at anything to determine the plumb, be it a picture, a beam, a column, a bottle or book on the shelf, a broom hanging on a hook, if its not straight my hand itches to this day…..
The experience I gathered from Kunnumkulam was timeless.
1 comment(s)