Thursday, May 3, 2012

Breaking Apples

Shopping for it was something to look forward to. So was breaking and destroying it. The enthusiasm and interest were equal both ways. Breaking would be followed by shopping for a new one. While shopping; the eye would already be on the next one to be possessed. Either my dad or mom would take me and my brother to the market. We would find a vendor selling his colorful wares - fruits mostly - apple, mango, guava. Attractively colored ones placed in the front rows while the simple nude ones sat in the farthest corners.  They were always boring, colorless and lacking creativity; so a big NO-NO.

Carefully choosing one was a serious business; if I need Apple; my brother chose Apple too...though there were two apples, I wanted to have an unique piece. Raise all hell, a smirk, a nudge, glum faces before being stared by the parent. Choice to be made; so one had to compromise; that would mostly be me being the elder one. So Apple for him and a Mango for me. An offer to even take a look at those non-colorful ones were dismissed in unison by me and my brother.

A couple more reconsideration and decision finally made. A negotiation later might get me the Apple! who knows. While the choice was happening; the elders indulged in bargains; 1 Re here and there and amount paid. The apple and the mango are neatly packed and off we set to start a new saga until next time. Dreaming about the coins and notes that would be slipped into them for months to come.....Yeah the coin bank.
 
The lucky ones gathered more be it the Apple or the Mango. They were kept at a height far off from our reach; preferably just near the portrait of God and Goddess. Each time we were offered some money; the coin bank was brought down under the supervision of the parents; the notes or the coins slid in. It was a predictable act - slid the coin or fold the notes to 4s and push it in with utmost concentration and prick with a stick to make sure it really fell to the floor of the container and back off with satisfaction. And when the time came to break them apart; there were no sorrows whatsoever of destroying a beautiful work of art. The eyes and mind were on how much got accumulated. The privilege to break rested with the owner; yet who would go first was a difficult decision. A coin toss could have solved the issue!

No remorse, no sorrows, it was pure exhilaration to break them to pieces, accumulate the money and dispose the broken pieces to trash. There was always another one next time isn't it? Perhaps a Coconut or a tomato?

24 comments:

  1. This took me down the memory lane too!! Collecting diligently for a period of time and then breaking the piggy banks and count the amount with bated breath and then doing it all over again!
    Do kids now-a-days do this??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shilpa,

      Exactly! Feel pity for the kids of this age. Those were the times and those moments!

      Delete
  2. I use to have one of those earthen money banks, and I would be so stupid i would almost count weekly even when i did not put any money in it. it was funny now that i think of .. I still have that piggy bank back home.. the good memories
    my Nanaji gave me so many coins every time he came.

    Bikram's

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bik,

      Wow! awesome.. I dont have any, I broke them all..

      Delete
  3. I had a fancy donald duck bank with a secred number and only then it gets opened. I love counting them and recounting them...I still have a plastic piggy bank where S and I put some coins as and when we have changes..when it gets filled..I buy something for myself, even before S discovers the money is gone :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vaish,

      :) The fun was in breaking the clay ones and getting new onws..You know that moment when we had to break it. We used to sit in a circle, and one will do the sacred ritual :)

      Delete
  4. do kids these days even know that piggy banks were made of clay earlier?

    Even though I was the younger one, but my brother used to be ill most of the times, thus whatever he wished for, we got that home. And slowly you learn to understand things in a better way. Ah good old days!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neha,

      I doubt and I feel bad they wouldnt know about it. In the age of credit cards! why should they?

      Delete
  5. Lovely post Insignia:) The clutter of coins made noise in my mind too as the earthen pot broke with no remorse to see the accumulated treasure!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rahul,

      Thanks Rahul..Those pleasure can only be understood by folks who have done that :)

      Delete
  6. A good throw back. Brought back nefarious acts of larceny from the another persons apples and tomato banks using a divider or a small forceps.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anil,

      Thank you..I miss those days and the clay coin banks

      Delete
  7. In passing these days piggy banks and mundane clay coconuts and apples are faded out. And we have debit cards and credit cards in plastic to ensnare.

    ReplyDelete
  8. We still use an earthen piggy bank in our puja room.Initially kids used to fill it half on first day itself just to hear the sound of coins.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. kavita,

      :) Kids must experience those joys; thats how we learnt to share and save isnt it?

      Delete
  9. Hahaha I wonder if the buddy even realizes :P

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mmmm.... currency notes folded in four... And what was the average pick?

    You know, I was kind of disturbed reading your post. One, the eagerly saved bits and then the breaking of - ' a work of art'? I felt a twinge of pain... Perhaps there is something metaphorical about it... We do break up precious things, don't we, sometimes for money, sometimes for something else? Mostly it is relationship. How easy it is to break them up!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Balan,

    If we turned out to be lucky, 100s and 50s..otherwise 5s, 10s and 20s..

    You do read my inner message dont you? :) Yeah true. When I was writing this, I was wincing about the thought of breaking a clay pot now..I wouldnt! And a testimony to the fact is how I have preserved things over years...But I did break the coin banks then, didnt I? How easy it is to break up, and how impossible it is to patch them up.

    ReplyDelete
  12. We have Mickey bank in our house. years old. But not broken yet. Because money slips out thru' the top. Money goes in and comes out Like our true bank.Withdrawals are frequent than deposits..:)

    In these parts potters sell banks made of clay now they come in diff. shape and sizes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. chitra ma'am,

      Ha you never have to break it. I think I might still find them here as well if I go hunting for it. I have to check

      Delete
  13. Replies
    1. Thanks sir; I didnt know the Hindi word :)

      Delete

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