Day 21 - Udu

There was a big 'Goni' bag with black gram beans (Udu) in the small granary room in my host's house, and I heard my host scream from inside the house. To later find out that small bugs called 'gullo' have dug into the bag and started slowly consuming the black gram beans. She then grabbed the bag, which is quite heavy, and dragged it into the garden. Opened the bag and poured all the beans onto a mat on the ground and kept it directly under the sun. It was an attempt to force the bugs to leave the beans, as direct sunlight is a deterrent. We all observed the mat to see if the bugs had left the mat, but it seemed they still found ways to hide under the beans. My host then brings out a large sieve, which is a common tool found in any farmer's house in Sri Lanka.

She tells me to hold the sieve from one end, and we both sway the sieve quite swiftly to get rid of the bugs, and to my surprise it was actually working quite well. After a few mins of sieving, we managed to collect all the black gram beans into another bag and seal it. It might not sound tiring, but somehow it is. I am getting used to this form of physical labour day by day.