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Bed
Rooms were spacious with two or three wall cup-boards,
mirror or glass paneled with highly ornate wood
work. They were full of all sorts of knick-knacks,
valuable heir-looms, crockery, cut-glass Family
photos, pictures, well-framed, paintings and landscapes
adorned the walls. Well-to-do families had a safe
or two, used for guineas and gold ornaments. These
safes were kept in the bed room. Huge wooden chests
stacked with mattresses, rugs, razais, sawars,
farasis, pillows, woolens were also kept in the
bed room. Solidiron trunks used for keeping hand
embroidered linen-bed sheets, pillow cases, cushion
covers table clothes, napkins, a part of the trousseau
for the growing daughters, also were part of the
bed room.
Some of the almitants would be
full of eats, sweet meats, jars of Murabba, Chatni,
dryfruit, Varas, bottles of scintillating Sharbats,
exotic Sindhi wines etc. All were securely locked.
There were niches in the wall,
in which tiny idols of Goddess Laxmi and Satyanarain
were kept. Combs, Oils, rose water, hairpins etc.
occupied some niches. There were no rouge, lipstick,
mascara and what nots at that time. Only Cuticura
powder Afghan snow, and pond's cream entered some
houses in the later years. For the curiosity of
the reader it may be recorded here that for the
Sindhi lady milkcream was the nourishing cream
and besan mixed with water, the cleansing cream.
Brisk rubbing with a dry towel would bring roses
on my lady's cheeks. 'Musag' served the dual purpose
of mouth freshner and lipstick and 'Dandan' (babul
or neem twing) that of tooth paste and tongue
cleaner. Ritha and Shikakai, were used instead
of drying shampoos. Fuller's earth was the face
pack and soap. In place of the hair remover, ladies
used ash.
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