Picture: www.pbase.comIt's a funny old world but I'd still have thought you didn't need to learn how to manually do your laundry.
My colleague was today telling me about her son and daughter who've both flown the roost and left the comforts of home to work or study in other parts of the country. She said her husband, who seems to be a pretty hands-on dad, had been teaching the son how to wash clothes since he'd be staying at a hostel which wouldn't have a washing machine.
Ah, the advantages of technology and labour saving machines. I'd grown up washing clothes from hankies to bedsheets by hand and the washing machine became part of our lives only in the mid 80s. But then I suppose for those born in the mid 80s, it's perfectly justifiable to not be able to even imagine ever laundering items like bedspreads manually. The soaking in water, the rubbing and scrubbing with washing soap, the rinsing and drying out in the sun. Manual labour. So tiring today but in the past we went ahead and did it all with no complaints because it was a way of life and there simply wasn't any other alternative.
It's strange though that with all the time and labour saving devices and inventions we now have at our disposal, life doesn't get any easier or less hectic. Seems like the more technology we use, the less we learn how to manage our time and lifestyles.
Ka Pu Office bangah hian "Dalai Lama: The Paradox of Our Age" tih hi a tar a:-
ReplyDeleteWe have bigger houses but smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; We have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgement; more experts, but more problems; more medicines, but less healthiness; We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbour.
We built more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; We have become long on quantity, but short on quality. These are times of fast foods but slow digestion; Tall man but short character; Steep profits but shallow relationships. It's a time when there is much in the window, but nothing in the room.
I thu ziah nen hian a in mil riau mai.
to say nothing of manually washing clothes, in the old days we had to fetch water from the stream, etc. the pressure cooker and gas stove was quite a revolution. electric iron and heater.... i'm still a little awed every time i take a hot shower.
ReplyDeletebut then, like you remarked, where does all the time we 'save' go? life is more hectic than ever.
azzask, i va ron quote tha em! Thank you so much. Ka amen vel vek. Ka print out anga kan dept board-ah ka va tar vah teng. Courtesy - i hming leh ph # aw?
ReplyDeletemesjay, yeah I remember when we first had a gas stove. The neighbours kept dropping by to have a look :) It was such an advancement from kerosene stoves and firewood. We didn't have to fetch water from streams but I do remember once going to the stream to wash lots of clothes with my sister. We had to climb down a steep, narrow footpath and I made my way down so clumsily and slowly my sister laughed at me so much I got really mad with her!
calliopia, ka pu hil tar hi keipawh a tha ka ti khawp asin. courtesy tarlan angai lo ang:)){i tarlang duh tralh anih chuan UoH/MH-C/R.No.421 ti ang che:P}
ReplyDeleteWhich reminds me, a washing machine is on top of my shopping list nowadays. Monsoon has begun and clothes take forever to dry, not to mention the hard work and labour and time involved in the washing. And I recently discovered I could no longer wash bucketfuls of clothes in a jiffy like I used to when I was younger and stronger before my back and other body parts started acting funny. Growing old sure ain't no fun.
ReplyDeleteC'mon ambs, you're not exactly that creaking old yet! You're probably just in need of a little keep-fit exercise :) But yes please, do treat yourself to a new washing machine. One of the perks of being salaried.
ReplyDeleteazassk, Zoram lam atangin phone call i dawng nawlh nawlh mai don asin. "Enga?" tih pui tur a ni leh mai a :)
Hmanah chuan insu turin thante nen lui ah kan kal thin a, sih te kha a nuam khawp mai. Kei chu a hahthlak lam ai mahin a 'nuam' lai tak hi... Tuna nuam te nen chuan a in ang talo. Tunah chuan top up thun a mobile a chhas te biak paha khawl a suk nimai a. Ka ngaihtuah mai mai thin 1 chu kan system hi lo fail ta se, ka socio- economic structure hi. Chutih hunah chuan a manual taka survive ngai ta se, lo nei/ram a ei zawngi.... ngaihtuah zel ila, a dan a dang raih mai
ReplyDeleteSo true! I still manually wash all my clothes and my friends have expressed shock every time they learn that fact, washing my clothes when I could get a maid or a washing machine. I still don't see what's the big deal..I was bought up the "manual" way. Zuk fai theih nak alaia mai mai sala! lol
ReplyDeletehahaha...reading your post reminds me so much of KTP hnatlang and blanket suk and all that jazz :-D
ReplyDeleteTHAT is tiring :)
You're so right, my dear. For us who are from the mid-80s, life is tough, but I guess that made us tougher even now. I remember those days we didn't have a telephone yet, so I had to run all the way to Lunglei from Aizawl just to tell a stranger that it was a "wrong number" and then run back again... phew.
Jerusha: I was bought up the "manual" way.
ReplyDeleteNi e... Jerusha-i hmel reng reng te pawh khi a "manual" eee sin...
:)
vana, kpoh ka lo ngaihtuah alom. Back to basics tak meuh a nun leh han ngai ta se kan fit lo hlom om mange. A fit lo tur ber pawl ka la ni zui ang ka ring. Huiss ka ngaihtuah ringot pon ka hah lawk!
ReplyDeletejerusha, do you do the heavy pieces yourself? Like bedspreads, sheets etc? My sister has a laundry obsessive-compulsive disorder of sorts so I rarely deal with the clothes washing apart from a few items which I prefer washing by hand. And yeah, manual washing is usually a lot more thorough.
Illu, you been to those KTP/YMA hnatlang and blanket suk outings? Hey, you remind me of when we first had a telephone installed at home. It was an extension of dad's office phone and it would ring in the daytime and we'd happily pick it up and coo helloo into it and dad would bark from the other end, "Put it down, put it down!" :D
pawnga - min address lo hi chuan I awm thei lo ani ber e tiro? Huis...
ReplyDeleteJ - yasi, sheets, curtains, everything. The only ones I don't do are the ones that can't be hand washed, and blankets - those go to the dry cleaners.
milem kha a nalh
ReplyDeleteA rawng vel khi a fuh tiro duls? La ti ve chhin roh. Mahse cam neih that leh hman thiam hi chu a lo ngai ve a ni...
ReplyDelete