Madi – Madi is a state of purity of the body practiced by the Brahmins of South India. To attain the condition of Madi, the person should take a bath and wear clothes that are washed and dried and untouched by anybody who is not in Madi condition. If anybody in a Madi condition is touched by a person who is in non-Madi state accidentally or otherwise, the Madi condition of the person is gone and to regain the Madi condition the person has to take a bath again and wear the fresh Madi clothes (Madi clothes are called Madi Batta in Telugu ). If Madi batta is not available, the person has to wear wet clothes which are considered as ultimate Madi. Madi is essential condition to participate in religious ceremony or for cooking food for religious ceremonies. The opposite of Madi is Paachi. For a person who is in Madi state, all non-Madi persons are Paachi and are to be avoided any physical contact to maintain Madi condition. My mother used to practice Madi strictly to cook food from early morning till noon every day during her Madi state we were not allowed to go near her, let alone touch her. As a child, I used to wait impatiently till she declares she is out of Madi state and run to touch her.
Tadi – Tadi means wet in Telugu. Wearing Tadi Batta,(wet clothes) is considered as the highest form of purification of the body. To participate in some religious rituals where utmost purification of the body is essential, the performer is required to wear Tadi Batta. If a person is in Madi condition and has to go outside the house, he has to carry water in a lota and immerse his fingers in the water to maintain the Madi condition. By immersing the fingers in the water the person is in a state of Tadi thus holding the highest purity. When a person is in Madi condition and touches a cooked item witch is considered as Untu, the person has to Tadi his fingers ( rinse his fingers in the water ) to get purified. After taking a bath in holy rivers, most of the Hindus pray to Ganga Mata and Surya Bhagavan (Sun God) with wet clothes to pray in utmost Madi condition.
Untu – Untu is a practice of stringent hygienic condition by South Indian Brahmin community. Any food item that is cooked is Untu. If a person touches cooked rice and with the same hand and if he touches raw rice, the raw rice also becomes Untu. Any item that becomes Untu cannot go back to storage for a future usage. It has to be consumed within few hours or thrown out. One has to wash the hands with water after touching an Untu item to attain clean state again and then only they can touch a non-unto item. It is a common practice in Brahmin kitchen for the cooks to wash their hands repeatedly between handing Untu and non-Untu items. Untu is a Telugu word and in Tamil it is called Pathu .This Untu is also applicable to cloth. The clothes worn by a person in unhygienic condition like during the days of menstrual periods of women are also considered as Untu.
Now for the younger generation, it looks very complicated to practice Madi, Tadi and Untu but it is a regular and routine life for the Brahmin community few decades ago. For them, it was a matter of pride that they followed these traditions.
Tadi – Tadi means wet in Telugu. Wearing Tadi Batta,(wet clothes) is considered as the highest form of purification of the body. To participate in some religious rituals where utmost purification of the body is essential, the performer is required to wear Tadi Batta. If a person is in Madi condition and has to go outside the house, he has to carry water in a lota and immerse his fingers in the water to maintain the Madi condition. By immersing the fingers in the water the person is in a state of Tadi thus holding the highest purity. When a person is in Madi condition and touches a cooked item witch is considered as Untu, the person has to Tadi his fingers ( rinse his fingers in the water ) to get purified. After taking a bath in holy rivers, most of the Hindus pray to Ganga Mata and Surya Bhagavan (Sun God) with wet clothes to pray in utmost Madi condition.
Untu – Untu is a practice of stringent hygienic condition by South Indian Brahmin community. Any food item that is cooked is Untu. If a person touches cooked rice and with the same hand and if he touches raw rice, the raw rice also becomes Untu. Any item that becomes Untu cannot go back to storage for a future usage. It has to be consumed within few hours or thrown out. One has to wash the hands with water after touching an Untu item to attain clean state again and then only they can touch a non-unto item. It is a common practice in Brahmin kitchen for the cooks to wash their hands repeatedly between handing Untu and non-Untu items. Untu is a Telugu word and in Tamil it is called Pathu .This Untu is also applicable to cloth. The clothes worn by a person in unhygienic condition like during the days of menstrual periods of women are also considered as Untu.
Now for the younger generation, it looks very complicated to practice Madi, Tadi and Untu but it is a regular and routine life for the Brahmin community few decades ago. For them, it was a matter of pride that they followed these traditions.
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