An Ode to the Humble Charpai

The chronicles of a four-legged Companion.

-  Ritu Kamra Kumar

While traveling from Yamunanagar in Haryana to Jaipur, we came across many highway dhabas and the sapia tinted frames of collective childhood comjured up before my eyes in the form of colourful charpais that were laid in the dhaba courtyards.

Nostalgia struck hard as in our childhood we had these charpais lying in our courtyard and on roofs.

In summers, lazy evenings and nights were spent relaxing and narrating bedtime stories. We jumped from one charpai to the other much to the annoyance of our elders. In winters, vegetables were spread on charpais on a muslin cloth to get dried for pickles and potato chips to be made.

The beauty of charpai is that it can fit in any space. Most furniture is designed for specific use but charpai is a multi-utility item. You can sit on it, lie down or hide under it - as we did in childhood while playing hide and seek.