Way back in the decade of 70s, the use of an LPG gas stove was rare and thought to be a luxury. The regulator system over the cylinder was also different from the present day's regulators. It was more like a screw. The food was cooked on coal ovens (called Chulha) in every household even in cities like Patna. As a teenager in those years, I remember my mother requesting my father to bring an LPG gas stove to get rid of the smoke. But my father was more concerned about its safety. He did not think it safe after some accident news in newspapers. Due to this fear the entry of the LPG stove was very late in my house. So every morning and evening the coal oven was to be fired. These times of the day we used to witness smoky and polluted air around us. But nobody cared and the awareness about the environment was nonexistent. Now firing the coal in the coal-Chulha (Oven) was not easy. An easily combustible thing was needed to be placed under the coal pieces. This thing was dried cow-dung cakes which we knew by the name "Goytha" (गोइठा). It is also known by the name of "Upla" or "Kande" in the other part of the country. It is still used even today in the rural parts of this subcontinent.
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| Diagram for Chulha |
The Goytha pieces were placed on the iron gratings inside the Chulha. It was sprinkled with Kerosene oil and lit. Otherwise, we used to lit it with the newspapers. Over it, coal pieces were put. So not only coal but Goytha was also to be purchased and stored. The Goytha-sellers roamed the streets like "Pheriwalas" putting the basket of Goythas over their heads. When asked about the rates they would tell the rate as twenty Ganda (गंडा) for a rupee. I had never heard this word before. My mother told me that Ganda is a unit like a Dozen or an Ana. While a dozen means a bunch of twelve things and an Ana contains six paise similarly a Ganda is used for a collection of four things. So when he says twenty Ganda for a rupee he means eighty Goythas for a rupee. Surprisingly I never saw this unit being used for other things except for the Goythas. As time passed, LPG replaced coal in the kitchen. With the lesser coal uses the Goythas also slowly disappeared and the Ganda became a forgotten unit. Hardly the new generation knows about it.
