By Rajaram Ramachandran
Shabdaavali: Gorta/Gortay (n): Snore/Snoring (English), Kurattai (Tamil), Karratay (Hindi/Urdu). This is something which is a matter of concern for the others than the one who is responsible for this act. Many people snore during sleep, be it night or day, the sound varies from person to person and the impact on the other persons nearby also differs. I also snore occasionally, but within a minute or two, I somehow wake up to realize that I am snoring and stop it. But there are people who snore and snore unmindful of its effect on the ones nearby. I had a colleague, who was working in Bengaluru, now settled in Bengaluru, who used to say that he snores so much that he was a nuisance to his family members. He mad some enquiries here and there, far and wide and rang me up one day. He gave a Jawahar Nagar (Chennai 600 082) address to me and said that the so-and-so at the address had come out with a leather item which helped stop snoring. He wanted me to buy the same and send to him. I accordingly sent a messenger to the given address and bought the item for Rs.900/- (some fifteen years back). It was almost like pistol cover made of leather with a wide mouth and a sling – it was supposed to be fixed in the mouth and tied around the neck while sleeping. On seeing I remembered my Veethividangan days. For new-born calves, there used to a thin bamboo split made small basket sort of a thing which would be fixed around the mouth of the calves and tied around the neck so that they do not stray and eat unhealthy plants which would be harmful. This attachment would be removed while feeding the calves only. Of course I did not tell my Bengaluru colleague my opinion or comparison. Now I sent it to him. The third day he called me and shouted that he had been cheated and that the ‘pistol cover’ did not help him stop snoring but only suffocated him during sleep and he lost his sleep but his family members slept well as he did not sleep and hence did not snore! But one disadvantage of people who snore is that they cannot sleep in the office as colleagues would immediately know that the person is sleeping over files!
Shabdaavali: Gorta/Gortay (n): Snore/Snoring (English), Kurattai (Tamil), Karratay (Hindi/Urdu). This is something which is a matter of concern for the others than the one who is responsible for this act. Many people snore during sleep, be it night or day, the sound varies from person to person and the impact on the other persons nearby also differs. I also snore occasionally, but within a minute or two, I somehow wake up to realize that I am snoring and stop it. But there are people who snore and snore unmindful of its effect on the ones nearby. I had a colleague, who was working in Bengaluru, now settled in Bengaluru, who used to say that he snores so much that he was a nuisance to his family members. He mad some enquiries here and there, far and wide and rang me up one day. He gave a Jawahar Nagar (Chennai 600 082) address to me and said that the so-and-so at the address had come out with a leather item which helped stop snoring. He wanted me to buy the same and send to him. I accordingly sent a messenger to the given address and bought the item for Rs.900/- (some fifteen years back). It was almost like pistol cover made of leather with a wide mouth and a sling – it was supposed to be fixed in the mouth and tied around the neck while sleeping. On seeing I remembered my Veethividangan days. For new-born calves, there used to a thin bamboo split made small basket sort of a thing which would be fixed around the mouth of the calves and tied around the neck so that they do not stray and eat unhealthy plants which would be harmful. This attachment would be removed while feeding the calves only. Of course I did not tell my Bengaluru colleague my opinion or comparison. Now I sent it to him. The third day he called me and shouted that he had been cheated and that the ‘pistol cover’ did not help him stop snoring but only suffocated him during sleep and he lost his sleep but his family members slept well as he did not sleep and hence did not snore! But one disadvantage of people who snore is that they cannot sleep in the office as colleagues would immediately know that the person is sleeping over files!