2009/6/6 Srini RamaKrishnan <[email protected]> > > The Tamil equivalent is "yechal" i.e saliva - in very traditional > households it is common to never let the lips touch the vessel or > utensil used, and in extreme cases even the food - so even scalding > hot coffee is poured down with great relish down one's throat where it > touches barely, (if that) the tongue.
Telugu "engiLi", where the practice is that it's not acceptable if it's been touched by someone else's lips. Sipping your own meal is okay. Incidentally, something I didn't grow up with and therefore encountered with surprise in the homes of relatives: it is a great offense to serve rice before any other item. Serving rice first apparently implies you're too poor to eat anything else. Is this common practice elsewhere? -- Kiran Jonnalagadda http://jace.zaiki.in/
