"Destined Minds"

You've got multiple posts running along like little feet

I'm confused Cois??? multiple posts???

Hmmm.. Check your 'latest blog posts'.
I thought you were trying something but noticed that you posted everything a few seconds apart.. i don't know to explain it .
Just check the Latest Blog Posts in your sidebar and you'll spot it..

ok cois I'm always up for a treasure hunt of sorts....oh found it....I don't know how that happened...I guess I should check and see how many times this piece was actually posted.....I would hate to be found stuttering my poetry now...lol

This has reminded me of the time I lived with my grandparents in Kerala (India). The tradition of taking off one's footwear before entering the house is practiced in many countries in the East and even by some in the Middle East. The equatorial climes meant people wore flip-flops or sandals to keep their feet cool, and one tended to drag in the with them the mud, dirt, grass, cow pat etc on their feet. Bringing that into the house was an ABSOLUTE NO NO, particularly with my very traditional staunch Hindu Brahmin grandmother. Even though the flooring in the house was cool polished stone/cement/tiles (depending on the room), one could not enter the house without washing one's feet at the door step first. There was always a little pot with water at each entrance to the house.

In fact my grandma used to be so strict in the early days that her family returning from work, school etc, would first have to shower in the 'outside bathroom', then having cleansed their body, they took into the Pooja room (prayer room) anything they brought in with them - books, papers etc. and had that blessed as they prayed. Only once they had done this could they actually enter any other room in the house. And women having their periods had to bathe first thing in the morning before entering other common rooms in the house and they were barred from the kitchen too. I know it must seem a bit bizarre and over the top, but few germs dared to make an appearance at my grandmothers'

She was one tough tiny little cookie. I remember her as walking doubled over (spine problem in later life), once washing the floors of the entire house (which was a bungalow maze of many rooms) by herself (though we had hired help), because one of my grandfathers' visitors had dared to enter the house with his shoes on! He'd only been as far in as the front room (verandah), but she did it to make her point which was greatly respected since then. Even though she is long gone and a lot of traditions in my family have died, no one will enter the house with their shoes on. They have now fitted a tap by each door way into the house - there are 4 entrances And no one enters the Pooja room if they have not first bathed.

Wow this brought back some memories for me. I often wish I could enforce those rules in my own home but I think I might meet with some resistance - particularly in winter! But my carpets would be so much cleaner! And how I hate carpets!

wow thank you for sharing that part of your life story.....I had an Aunt who made her husband use the downstairs loo and bathroom...the ensuite was strictly hers...lol