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Sunday and oil-bath...no..no it is going to be Saturday and oil-bath.. thanks Nagarajan!

I remember my childhood Sundays for the oil bath I had to mandatorily have. My parents used to insist that I should take oil bath without fail every week as it helps to reduce the body heat and add shine to the skin. I was following it till I was Class XII and after that slowly started becoming a fortnightly then monthly and now a Diwali exercise!!

When I moved out to Chennai for job the possibility of having an oil bath started diminshing and it was possible only if I happened to go home once in 3 months or so. As the habit slowly forgotten, I didnt try to revive it even after I took a house and settled down in Chennai.

I remember the Oil-bath sundays particularly when you follow the bath with chinna vengaiyam (small onion) sambar and urulaikilangu (patoto) curry or a Vegetable Pulav which my mother can alone make. (if I say this to my wife, she says if sumptuous coconut paste is added all Veg Pulav's taste good!! ok thats a different story). You finish off the oil bath lazily by 10 or 11 AM and sit down with the whole family for the brunch. Normally it would be a three course lunch consisting of Sambar, Sambar again and thayir sadam. Rasam doesnt interest much on days when you have chinna vengaiya sambar. If it is Veg Pulav, again it was a three servings of Pulav. Now I dont think I would be able to eat that much eveb if I like it. After this haughty meal, you sleep like a log for another 2-3 hours in the afternoon. You get completely refreshed for another hectic week.

After a long time, I took oil bath this sunday. Of course, just like anything else now, it is again a stripped down version. Oil only on the head but not on the whole body. Didn't follow up with either a three course meal nor an afternoon sleep. Now the challenge is to get my son into this routine! Guess, it is ambitious to convince these guys now.

5 comments:

Suresh Iyer said...

Wow. What a coincidence. Recently I revived the oil bath practice and initiated my sons into it...Saturday 'Father & Sons' Oil Bath is the new version. We love it!

Keep posting.

Cheers!
Suresh

Venkysdiary said...

@ Suresh: Really.. I have been doing it for the last two weeks. Hope I am able to continue it.

Unknown said...

Hi Venkat..Saturdays and Wednesdays are meant for oil bath..Not Sundays..Lord of the day Soorya Narayana becomes unhappy if anybody takes oil bath or consumes liquor or if he eats meat. And that too, if any one is born in the tamil month of Aippasi, they should avoid it completely as Sun would be debilitated in their horoscope and this would further lead Sun God's curse. I read it in Soorya Namaskara Bhashya.

Venkysdiary said...

@ Nagarajan: Thanks for this clarification. I think moving the oil bath to saturday should not be a problem. It is more of a convenience to do it on Sunday but if it has so much effect(!), then better do it the way our elders have done it. Thanks once again!

Unknown said...

Any time Venkat! My granny use to tell me those days "Sani Neeradu". During school days bathing itself was a big exercise:-) She is no more now and your blog post brought back her memories!