As we are decluttering and re-doing some parts of our house, I am discovering a lot of things from a bygone era !!! They are fascinating and still functioning, but just not useful in these times. Sharing some of the quirky stuff that I found –
Brass Kerosene Stove
This stove would probably fire up if we were to pour kerosene into the fuel chamber. Its lovely to look at and will remain functional forever probably, but I haven’t cooked with a stove of this kind ever ! The fumes must have been difficult for the cook.
Today we have odourless LPG and flameless induction stoves …. these kind of brass stoves probably belong to a museum.
Manual Coffee Grinder
It was difficult for me to part with this one .. I distinctly remember Appa buying this in Shillong at the coffee board office sometime during 1980-83. Amma would roast the coffee beans and the whole house would smell of coffee. At that time, I was a hardcore tea drinker so never enjoyed coffee much.
Then the grinder travelled with Amma and Appa through four other postings before getting setup at home in Hyderabad. Don’t think Appa ever used it after 1983 but he was a collector and couldn’t let go of these things ! I did give it away even though I love the concept and love filter coffee.
You could adjust the lever out in the front to get fine or coarse coffee powder.
Eagle Thermos
As our wedding gift we received several flasks and clocks. The clocks stopped working or got broken after a few years but the flasks survived for a long time. Most of them were from the brand “Eagle”. One was apple shaped, red in colour, then this bright yellow flask was another.
Just gave it away as this comes with glass chamber inside :).
“Kooja” or Steel water/milk/juice bottle – truly bygone !
Krishnan was very reluctant to give these two away !! One is my Periyamma’s Kooja and the other is Amma’s. Both cannot be used because they are broken, the thread has come loose in the rim so the lid cannot be closed in. Just love the design … so easy to carry water, milk or any liquid. Its also very well made, heavy steel.
This item is very typical of Tamilian homes .. Not sure if something like this is used in the north. The closest is a lota with a lid.
The one thing that is common to these things from a Bygone Era is they are built to last … I had shared earlier about my maternal grandfather’s steel tumblers – Etching my name !.
In the process of shifting completely to steel and glass … just have to do away with the Tupperware stackable containers. Hmmm :).
Bindu,
Nice post. Going through old stuff certainly brings back memories, as I have found, too. It’s hard to part with things that have sentimental value, or, as you say, things that were made to last. Good luck.
Nice mam