The green revolution has moved south to Tamil Nadu. And the ones who are reaping the benefits now are textile barons and the textile shop owners.There are several reports concerning where it all started. According to one, the head of a religious mutt had warned the people that this year would prove disastrous for men. It would be a cruel way to correct the male-female ratio, but he is supposed to have said that many men might die in natural calamities and accidents. So, as parihaaram (antidote) he suggested that mothers buy green saris as gifts for their married daughters, to secure the lives of their sons-in-law. Brothers were also to gift green saris to their sisters in order to protect their own lives.
After a lot of wrong leads, it is now established that the whole idea is pegged on this being the Tamil year (Ishwara) in which the legendary Nallathangal lived a miserable life and died a horrible death.
Nallathangal, deserted by her husband, took refuge in her brother's house along with her sevenchildren. But her sister-in-law lived up to the Indian stereotype and harassed her. Eventually, Nallathangal threw her children into a well and jumped in herself. But before committing suicide, she cursed her brother. And, as is always guaranteed in legend, the poor man duly suffered.
This happened in a Ishwara year and another is now here. So it is being suggested that brothers buy some insurance in the form of a green sari, and gift it to their married sisters. If the brother scoffs at the idea, then the girl's mother must step in.
Like any myth, there are local variations. According to one, brothers should also buy their sisters matching bangles and give them money to go to the temple and perform a puja for their welfare. They could also host a feast for them and make a ceremony of handing out the gifts. They could even use this very obvious excuse for a bash and invite the whole undivided family. Brothers are also being exhorted to give these gifts to all sisters, irrespective of their maritalstatus.
Women now turn out in identical green saris, a fact which can be verified in any public venue. Certain temples, especially the one where Nallathangal is worshipped in the interior of Tamil Nadu, become seas of green on certain auspicious days. Textile shops have opened special green counters that stock hitherto unknown shades of green. In most suburban shops, the saris that are hung out on display are -- no prizes for guessing -- all green.
The green mania reached new heights during the Deepavali season, when it is customary for almost all Hindus to buy new clothes. A leading textile shop claims to have sold 12,000 green saris (of various textures) in a week. The leaning towards green continued during Pongal.
It is almost impossible to wear a green sari (even if it looks washed out and worn out) without people wanting to know if it is a gift from a brother of her mother. Especially at office. The syndrome has led to disaffection in some families. There are fathers who yell, ``So you and yourdaughters have found a new way to fleece me?'' Because even if it is the mother who gifts the saris, it is daddy who pays for them. And there are brothers who are press-ganged into doing the right thing by their sisters even when they aren't looking for life insurance.
Nallathangal has certainly had a major economic and sociological impact on Tamil Nadu. And at the emotional level, it has ever so subtly made people once again aware of their siblings in these days of nuclear families.
Brother-sister relationships that had been forgotten in the dustheap of time are being shaken out and put on display for the whole world to see.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
