Table manners

In comparison to our Indian culture, the English culture has very many table manners.  While official dinners are a rite in themselves, even everyday meals at home are bound by some etiquette.  Back in India, we do follow some basic manners, mostly out of reverence for the food that is prepared, but we're not as strict as the English.  So even without tables we do follow some table manners!

I distinctly remember the rule about folding the plate, either a banana leaf or woven with leaves, after a meal.  It was during one of the rare visits to Mangalore that we made and during one marriage (it was mostly for marriages that I visited Mangalore as a child) being told that after meal, the indicator of having had  enough is to fold one's plate.  However if one folded it towards oneself, it indicated that the meal was good and appreciated.  If one folded the plate away from oneself then it was a sign that the meal was not good.  Another lesson I learnt while I volunteered to serve at one such meal was not to scrape the serving bowl.  It indicated scarcity of cooked meal - that we were running short of food! 

Back then, as a child, I dreaded those visits to Mangalore because we had to meet and greet like a million people, all of whom would know us but we'd know no one!  It was all too much of a crowd for me.  However,  I guess the pendulum now has swung to the other extreme.  One hardly knows anyone else!  It's ten years since I last visited Mangalore.