THORTHU MUNDU (TOWEL) Dear friends,
Today I was purchasing a fewEErezha thorthu (Double thread weaved towel) for my children. Once theseeerezha thorthu were available only in Kerala textile shops. Now it isavailable in Tamilnadu also in all textile shops. EErezha thorthu is the bestfor absorbing water after bath from the body and preferred by most for itslight weight. There are two varieties. Tightly weaved and not very tightlyweaved. The second variety is used to swipe water and first variety to wearwhile taking bath. Many prefer dry thorthu forabsorbing water from body after bath. Somehow I like wet and squeezed towel than a dried one. I have tried toanalyse this nature, probably from boy hoods days using wet towel during bathin river might have made it a habit now. Thorthu is used as a second clothby most village people instead of wearing shirt or banyan just to go out orwhen any guests come immediately to the house. Tightly weaved thorthu is usedby many. Lengthy thorthu closely weavedis used by most village woman along with their wearing Mundu and blouse and forcovering upper area just like half saree. During bath in river they use thisvariety to wear. Probably men and women usethorthu partially for mundu purpose also, hence the name thorthu – mundu. I have seen many inyesteryears wearing closely weaved large towel wearing in Home. Many agednampoothiri Brahmins also wear Thorthumundu. EErezha Thorthu is an essentialitem in the list of cooks- It is used to squeeze coconut milk to be used inPayasam, olan etc. It is an excellent tiny filter cloth. The thorthu is used for applyingsteam in any part of the body where sprains are there by dipping it in steamingwater, squeezing and applying in the affected area. For this too eerezha isbetter than others. There is a saying in Malayalam- Kulichillengilumthorthu purappurathiduka. (Put thorthu in the tiled roof reachable by hand, ifat all not taken bath). Wet towel should not be put on shoulder. While coming after bath,it can be put in the knee portion. It is told by putting wet towel on shoulder the sree (Lakshmi) will get downimmediately. Let me go in to thorthu puranam. Sincerely, Gopala Krishnan 5-9-2011. Reposted on 26-12-2020 after editing and updating information. R Gopala Krishnan. 1. Varieties of thorthu. There are mainly two varieties ofthorthu. One is bleached type and the other UN bleached type. Always eerezhathorthu come as bleached (White in colour). Unbleached thickly weaved doubletowels are worn by priests and others during Utasava bali, Sreebhootha balietc. A single towel is wornby all as upaveetham. Update-This wearing of upaveetham makes me to think - it was surplus Brahminsbrought by sage Parasurama started to function as variars, marars etc. (Pushpaka Brahmins). 2. Design of thorthu Always the thorthu came with border in the breadth wise, on either ends orkuri (Marks) in the ends. Because of the kuri, the thorthu is also known as kurimundu or in short kuriyandu. Border design (Kara) length wiseas in the dhothies will not be there in towels. 3. Day to day use Many people use large towels thicklyweaved while working in paddy fields or agricultural lands since it is veryconvenient to work. Similarly while cooking for feasts, many iyers and nampoothries wrap a towelaround waist so that wearing dhothies would not get dirty. Earlier carpenters,masons etc. too used to wear thorthu over dhothi. But now a day most come witha dress separately for work. For climbers of coconut tree, thorthu is aconvenient dress. Now most use half pants. For taking out cooking vesselsfrom the aduppu (oven) too, not to feel the hotness, small thorthu is felt mostconvenient to hold them. 4. Size of thorthu mundu Thorthu come in different sizes.People choose to purchase them according to their use. Smaller thorthu is verycomfortable for drying water from the body of kids. Medium thorthu is good forelders. Eerezha is best to absorb water from body. While using as a working dressits dimensions will be bigger so that purpose is served fully. Smaller size mayslip from waist also. 5. What is eerezha thorthu? In this type of towel (thorthu),we can clearly see two threads together laid length and breadth wise and weaved,but the laying of threads is with a small gap. Hence after weaving the thorthuif spread and seen, it will appear as a mesh. 6. Thickly knitted thorthu Thickly knitted thorthu is thethorthu- mundu serving the purpose of mundu to a great extent. Since it coversabout the knee from the waste, for using in public people go for regular mundu. 7. Washing of thorthu Though thorthu is wetted duringdaily bath, for removing dirt as well as dead skin getting attached during use,thorthu has to be washed with soap regularly. To keep appearance after washblue is applied. A thorthu has to be discarded after a period of say- 2 years. 8. Stitching the ends of thorthu Most people stitch the ends ofthe thorthu especially of eerezha type before use. Simple reason on use the threadsmay come out loosely on application of pressure, washing etc. Regarding closelyknitted thorthu, such easy coming out will not be there. 9. Colour thorthu and printed thorthu For the last 5-6 years we getcolour eerezha thorthu. In the colour form sometimes length wise border isgiven, but not in the border, some 2” inside. Lately I have seen printedeerezha thorthu also. Colour eereazha thorthu does not require application ofliquid blue. 10 Washing in Dettol mixed water The thorthu will have excellentodour if at least once a week after washing put in diluted Dettol water beforesqueezing water for drying. Update- With Covid 19, it is a must to wash all clothes and dip in diluted Dettol or similar liquids and dried. 11. Thick company knitted bath room and wash basin and kitchen towels. These towels come in differentsizes, depend on the use. These towels either are plain or coloured or printed.But for thickness and size, these towels are good for use. These towels forbath use occupy a lot of space while packing for tour etc. These towels areleast suitable for wearing and working due to their extreme weight. But in rest houses, resorts etc. where theythemselves provide, they are the best. Especially for hand drying afterwash in the dining hall near wash basin, I feel these small towels are betterfor the size and appearance. It is also good to hold hot vessels in kitchen. Ihave seen my wife many times use kitchen towel, after misplacing Idukki. -- 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 [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1654040565.3545000.1608948624832%40mail.yahoo.com.
