PILLOW- THALAYANA Dear friends,
Recently in the response about myposting- sleep, Sri Venkatraman Perinthalmanna had responded with twoinformation. One was Pillow talk and other Goddess of sleep in Greek Mythology-Hypnos At that time itself I thoughtabout writing on Pillows. When the head is raised with any pillow or similarthing, most feel comfortable to lie than lying flat on the bed. Only exceptionis when a person is fully tired and overcome with sleep. I recollect sleepingin the green grass LAN of local temple while seeing Kathakali during my boyhooddays. Pillow should be comfortable forgood sleep. Many times when the pillow height is more or tightly stuffed, Ihave felt difficulty in getting sleep. I want a pillow of desired height andmedium stuffed- Normally I designate- MY PILLOW. This is in the normal courseof time. When we are extremely tired, anythingto raise head like telephone directory, cardboards, wooden plank etc. issufficient to get sleep. I have recollection of my late grandmother observing suddhamused a wooden plank for her afternoon siesta. If we are relaxing by lying inthe sofa, sofa cushion cannot replace even a good pillow. I had many occasionsgetting sleep while watching TV in the night and wake up after an hour or morebefore years. I have reduced watching TV in the night unless very interestingfilms are shown. A few days back I was watching TV till about 1 AM, since thefilm was very interesting- Udaharanam Sujatha. While my pillow is required athome, in travel through trains that small pillow given to me gives provides fullcomfort in the AC coaches. Otherwise my small hand bag becomes pillow in sleeperclass.While travelling in AC chair carin the early morning trains, since woke up early 3.30 AM or so, sleepautomatically comes while the train moves. I read elsewhere at one time granitecots and pillows were there, people used to sleep on the slab using the pillowat one end of the slab. My home temple has a provision of granite slabs oneither side of the entrance, and during college holidays I used to sleep afterreading magazines/library books on the slab. A small side track- One day night in the home temple watcher wassleeping in the open near Banyan tree. It was about midnight. He heard somebodytelling him- Go and sleep in the granite slab inside temple, it is time Yakshito come after bath and relax here. If one is worried, tensioned or inthe preparation of a journey or excited in a happy or non-happy mood , sleepmay not come at all. I recollect the Tamil film song- Palirukkum Pazhamirukkum,Panchanayil kattu varum, Thookkam varathu. ( Milk is there, fruits are there,nice pillow is there, but sleep is notcoming.. I thought of collecting someinformation on pillows. Many are advised for theirmedical condition simply to sleep flat on the cot on a bed sheet. No bed, nopillows. The following is a compilation Sincerely, Gopala Krishnan 26-8-21 1 How comes the name- pillow?A bag or case made of cloth thatis filled with feathers, down, or other soft material, and is used to cushionthe head during sleep or rest. Anything used to cushion the head; headrest: apillow of moss. Also called lace pillow. 2 What is a pillow stuffedwith? In contemporary western culturepillows consist of a fabric envelope which contains a soft stuffing, which mayrange from down feathers to synthetic foam. In other cultures, PILLOWS HAVEBEEN MADE OF WOOD OR STONE. Bed pillows are typically covered with a clothpillowcase. 3 Origin of word Pillow The word pillow comes from MiddleEnglish pilwe, from Old English pyle (akin to Old High German pfuliwi) and fromLatin pulvinus. The first known use of the word pillow was before the 12thcentury. 4 Why do they call it a husbandpillow? Husband pillows derive their name because the backrest is firm andsupportive and the arms mimic a human, thus earning the name husband. It isused to prop the user upright while in bed or on the floor, as for reading orwatching television. Because of this common use, a husband pillow is alsocalled a reading pillow 5 Cushion A pillow is used to sleep on andsupport the head/neck or other parts of the body while sleeping, lying down orsitting. In addition, pillows have decorative uses and are used on beds,couches or chairs; these are also referred to as cushions. My note- A pillow used in sofa is called Cushion is a new information to me . Normallywe differentiate pillow with bed and cushion with chairs, sofas. 6 Pillow making In contemporary western culturepillows consist of a plain or patterned fabric envelope (pillowcase) whichcontains a soft stuffing, which may range from down feathers to synthetic foam.In other cultures, pillows have been made of wood or stone. Bed pillows aretypically covered with a cloth pillowcase. Pillows used in a living roomtypically have a sturdy cloth cover. 7 Throw pillows There are also throw pillows(also called toss pillows or pillow shams in different worldwide dialects ofEnglish, which are pillows that are mainly decorative and not designed forsupport or comfort. 8 Oblong pillows and squarecushions A cushion is a soft bag filledwith air or padding such as hollow fibre, feathers, foam or rubber. In theUnited Kingdom, pillows used on chairs and sofas are called cushions or throwcushions, with the word pillow used only for pillows on a bed. In the UK, cushions are usuallysquare, while bed pillows are oblong. 9 Etymology The word pillow comes from MiddleEnglish pilwe, from Old English pyle (akin to Old High German pfuliwi) and fromLatin pulvinus. The first known use of the word pillow was before the 12thcentury. 10 History The first people to use pillowswere those who lived in early civilizations of Mesopotamia around 7,000 BC. During this time, only thewealthy used pillows. The number of pillows symbolizedstatus so the more pillows one owned the more affluence he or she held. Pillowshave long been produced around the world in order to help solve the reoccurringproblem of neck, back, and shoulder pain while sleeping. The pillow was alsoused to keep bugs and insects out of people's hair, mouth, nose, and ears whilesleeping. My note- At one time people used to have pillows for leg also. Now somehow use isless for feet even with elders. Sidepillows are provided in the cot for kids- for not falling down. 10.1-In ancient Egypt Pillow use has been associatedwith the mummies and tombs of ancient Egypt dating back to 2055–1985 B.C.Ancient Egyptian pillows were wooden or stone headrests. These pillows weremostly used by placing them under the heads of the deceased because the head ofa human was considered to be the essence of life and sacred. The ancient Egyptians used these wooden orstone pillows in order to provide support to a corpse’s head, uphold body vigour,keep blood circulating, ANDKEEP DEMONS AWAY. My note- Hitherto I did not know the purpose of keeping straw in the head of dead body among Brahmins . 10.2-In ancient Europe The Romans and Greeks of ancientEurope mastered the creation of the softer pillow. These pillows were stuffedwith reeds, feathers, and straw in order to make them softer and morecomfortable. Only upper-class people typicallyowned these softer pillows, however all classes of people were allowed to usesome type of pillow while sleeping in order to give them support. People inancient Europe started to use pillows when going to church in order to kneel onwhile praying and to place holy books on. This is a tradition that still lives on today.Additionally, the Romans and Greeksused their pillows by placing them under the head of those deceased just likethe ancient Egyptians did. 10.3 In ancient China Chinese pillows weretraditionally solid, though sometimes used with a softer fabric over them. Overmany Chinese dynasties, pillows were made from a wide range of materialsincluding bamboo, jade, porcelain, wood, and bronze. Ceramic pillows became the most popular.The use of the ceramic pillow first appeared in the Sui Dynasty between 581 and618 while mass production appeared in the Tang Dynasty between 618 and 907. The Chinese decorated their pillows by makingthem different shapes and by painting pictures of animals, humans, and plantson them. One common type of pottery used was Cizhou ware. Chinese ceramicpillows reached their peak in terms of production and use during the Song, Jin,and Yuan dynasties between the 10th and 14th century, but slowly phased outduring the Ming and Qing dynasties between 1368 and 1911 with the emergence of betterpillow making materials. 10.4 In ancient India In India, traditional pillowsusually made with plant-borne materials, such as the fluffy, glossyfruit-fibres of Silk-cotton tree This posting is fully edited of one on 26-9-2016 by me. Some repetitionsare there with additions. I have not removed repetitions. I will continue in next posting. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to thatha_patty+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/20217425.819561.1629968989309%40mail.yahoo.com.
