Missing my village life

Yesterday when I was having sandwich here in Mysore Infosys campus, I thought back of my childhood days in my village. I used to go to temple every day evening to collect “Arasam pazham” a fruit from the peepal tree (Ficus religiosa). We used to collect it and prick it with a stick and take home. I got reminded of those “Orange mittai”, which we get for 5 paise, and how we mixed them with fruits and made it a mixture and ate. Those were the golden days of my life.
One day, one of my friends, who is also from a village, and I started discussing about our village life. I started telling him how we used to eat when we were kids. I used to go to my aunt’s home and there in the front yard everyone will gather bringing food from their home. We will sit in a circle and share food (At times even with Rani-our family dog).

Kadambankulam

My village Kadambankulam has lots of “panai maram” (Palmyra palm – Borassus flabellifer). The main occupation of the people in my village depends on these trees. In my grandma’s home, it’s a routine for her to go and collect the mangoes and cashew nuts from our farm. We used to accompany her to the farm, which is located in the foot hills of Western Ghats. We used to see monkeys, snakes and peacocks there. It was a kind of wildlife safari by walk. And then we would have “pathaneer”, a liquid product from palm tree. Those days are never going to return back. We had also gone into the forest to pick “naaval” fruits (Syzigium cumini). I can get these fruits even now in cities but the excitement of going into the forest to get the fruits fresh will never come back.
If we are there at our grandma’s home, there will be lots of food to eat. There will be all kinds of products from palm trees.
• Pathaneer
There are two different flavors for this drink. One is by adding noongu and the other by adding mango to it. There is also something called maalai pathaneer.
• Noongu
The one we get in cities is the one we throw without eating in villages. They don’t have the real taste.
• Thavun
If the seed of palm tree is made to germinate, a white substance is found inside the seed which is called Thavun. If it’s too ripe we call it as kanji thavun and I like it the most.
• Panangai
They put the fruit of palm tree in fire to cook it well and then cut it into pieces.
• Panang-kilangu
When the seed germinates the root forms an edible substance called panangkilangu.
Fishing in the pond with the small children, grandma’s kilangu kootu, chow mittai – they used to tie it in the hand like watch and children used to lick it. Missing them all…
This is the list of sweets which I enjoyed in my childhood days but I am missing them now.
• Thaen mittai
• Ural mittai
• Kal koona
• Illantham pazham
• Suthu mittai
• Palli mittai
• Jeeraga mittai
• Inji mittai
• Kadalai mittai
• Appala pori
• Pori urundai
• Orange mittai
• Aasai chocolate
• Pulippu mittai
• Kuchi mittai
• Bubble gums, which will have the cricketers’ pictures
• Caramilk chocolate – with red, blue covers
• Lacto King chocolate (the old ones had better flavors)
• Panju mittai
• Thaengai mittai
• Kuchi ice i.e Ice lolly (Paal ice, Semiya ice)

If I had missed something pls comment them