Dusty covers?!!

I just don't get it!!

I've opened my refrigerator for the umpteenth time, but am yet to figure out how to magically bring in the contents that should be there and not what is.

Took me back to the time, the refrigerator came into my home, many years ago. Those days, everything had to have a place,.The fridge was duly installed in its justified position. A neatly embroidered cover was fished out...and promptly spread over the top.

"Do you have to cover everything in sight, Ma?"

"Yes! its so dusty. It'll become very dirty and discoloured"

A few years later I see this Ad on tv..and I had to literally slap my grinning face...it was an ad for a detergent soap with a netted cover. And the family were parsis.

Thats when I had thought. Nooo , you havent seen us south indians. We have so many things around the house, that there'll be more covers than in a wedding buffet dinner.

The wet grinder, for the thousands of dosas that have to be churned out most mornings, the phone ( here we can place two, one below and one on top), the humble mixer, which needs to be moved, cleaned so many times in a day...but still it can boast of one to keep its bottom warm.

Have you see the TV..though it came much later to our city...I remember the panic my mom went into, when she couldn't find something to cover it..The dimensions were a little vague...you had the front, back, top....she was stumped. But even there she had found a way. A huge table cloth and the deed was done. Then of course, the plasticky covers were sold much to the amusement of all of us at home..which was bought pronto all the way form Bombay.

These very effective sheets, covers, etc of course had another skill that got going.One started to learn embroidery to put on it. Fabric painting classes...and the ads would say...learn fabric painting for table cloths, fridge covers, phone cover,etc. Yes there was a skill being learnt!

Thankfully now the trend has died down, I assume with the rapidly changing appliances and also the fact that the skills attached to them stayed back with the generation that brought the covers in.

And now when I open the refrigerator, I see one more trait of our clan...its always 'curds' ( yoghurt) in there...more than what they need. But one ounce less and there is a stress attack out there...