Primus

The other day, while I was watching Raam Lakhan, I saw Radha (Madhuri Dixit) was using one and that reminded me of Hungama when Nandu (Aftaab Shivdasani) was using one too when he fought with Anjali (Rimi Sen). I remember we had one at home too when I was a kid and when the gas cylinder ran low or was out, we turned to it. It was fun little gadget that came in handy when something special needed to be done or at a special time. We, along with our neighbors, made our yearly supply of tomato ketchup, which consisted of more than 20 liters of this red sauce on there and sometimes tea and things like that. It was this tiny little thing, but worked amazingly well with the more economical fuel - kerosene. They had these pins that went with them. Flat knife like thing with a sharp wire at one end that could be stuck into the burner hole thing in case it got clogged with the kerosene burned leftovers. And there was a pump that needed to be maneuvered in case there wasn't enough kerosene on the burner or when it went dry of not being in use for an extended periods of time. Mom used to shake it to find out whether the brass tank at the bottom still had any fuel left or needed a refill. If it did, there was a designated funnel to be used as it is flammable and non-edible liquid. I remember the top plate-like thing with three grooves on there that fit the three fat metal rods that connected the bottom tank and curved at the top and formed the rest of the structure. What an interesting gadget! Having a discussion with family members about it took me back to the good ol' days when it was not just a part of any kitchen, but a necessity and made me miss our dear old primus so much I just had to write about it. I am so pleasantly surprised this one has made it to wikipedia. Long live primus! :)