At Thiruvananthapuram. Traffic was horrific and consequently took support of the autorickshaws - the interaction with three of those drivers were eye openers! And a fantastic education at that.
1. 0650h. From Palkulangara to Pattom.
I was to be at Vilasini kunjamma's house for the 3rd day ceremonies after Santhan kochachan's demise. Biju's auto was timely and godsend. It was a brand new, gleaming vehicle and I happened to be his first customer - an honour! His speech was slurred due to a growth in his vocal chords and the doctors have given a fifty percent chance of a successful surgery. His acceptance of the situation was something that touched me and I quote, "I'd feel quite sad if I were to lose my voice, post surgery and I'm 38 yrs old so, it doesn't matter anymore. Moreover, my wife doesn't mind, so why should I bother?" He has a son(in class 7), a daughter(in class 5) and has no complaints about life. He's promised to be in touch with me.
2. 0710h. From Pattom to 'Santhi kavadom' and back.
Me and an uncle were hurtling towards the cremation grounds to collect Santhan kochachan's ashes. The solitary car that was earmarked for the purpose was oversubscribed because a couple of officials of the Nair Service Society - the co-ordinators of the ceremony - had to be accommodated. Francis, whose auto it was, was incensed that the NSS guys were prone to taking short cuts in the conduct of the ceremony. Answering our surprised looks, he said coyly that his wife was a Nair and hence, was aware of the entire sequence. He was only feeling bad that the guys were taking advantage of our grief (and ignorance too!). Damn nice of him. People with whom you've no connection, do bat for you - yet another example to show that every human being is good deep within!!
3. 1115h. From Pattom to Palkulangara,
Sukumaran happened to be our 'saarthi' and right at the start, he gave us a rundown about the massive choke in the arterial road thanks to a roadblock orchestrated by the CPM and the consequent route that he was gonna take. A strong Congress party backer, his life is a 'riches to rags' story wherein his family had sunk a lot of money on him to fight the assembly elections in the late 70s, which he lost and attributes it to the shenanigans of his coworkers and mind you, he was a communist then! He'd some real pungent and colourful adjectives for some of its current crop of leaders. His wife, however, is a loyal communist even to this day. Presently, he finds solace that his children - Shiny and Shaiju - are stars by themselves by their excellence in the world of sports. The daughter is an IT graduate while his son is an aspiring IPS trainee!
A great day and a fantastic fund of experiences from simple, yet resolute people. Thanks, Biju, Francis and Sukumaran for the superb education delivered to me on a platter. I shall remain indebted to you!
1. 0650h. From Palkulangara to Pattom.
I was to be at Vilasini kunjamma's house for the 3rd day ceremonies after Santhan kochachan's demise. Biju's auto was timely and godsend. It was a brand new, gleaming vehicle and I happened to be his first customer - an honour! His speech was slurred due to a growth in his vocal chords and the doctors have given a fifty percent chance of a successful surgery. His acceptance of the situation was something that touched me and I quote, "I'd feel quite sad if I were to lose my voice, post surgery and I'm 38 yrs old so, it doesn't matter anymore. Moreover, my wife doesn't mind, so why should I bother?" He has a son(in class 7), a daughter(in class 5) and has no complaints about life. He's promised to be in touch with me.
2. 0710h. From Pattom to 'Santhi kavadom' and back.
Me and an uncle were hurtling towards the cremation grounds to collect Santhan kochachan's ashes. The solitary car that was earmarked for the purpose was oversubscribed because a couple of officials of the Nair Service Society - the co-ordinators of the ceremony - had to be accommodated. Francis, whose auto it was, was incensed that the NSS guys were prone to taking short cuts in the conduct of the ceremony. Answering our surprised looks, he said coyly that his wife was a Nair and hence, was aware of the entire sequence. He was only feeling bad that the guys were taking advantage of our grief (and ignorance too!). Damn nice of him. People with whom you've no connection, do bat for you - yet another example to show that every human being is good deep within!!
3. 1115h. From Pattom to Palkulangara,
Sukumaran happened to be our 'saarthi' and right at the start, he gave us a rundown about the massive choke in the arterial road thanks to a roadblock orchestrated by the CPM and the consequent route that he was gonna take. A strong Congress party backer, his life is a 'riches to rags' story wherein his family had sunk a lot of money on him to fight the assembly elections in the late 70s, which he lost and attributes it to the shenanigans of his coworkers and mind you, he was a communist then! He'd some real pungent and colourful adjectives for some of its current crop of leaders. His wife, however, is a loyal communist even to this day. Presently, he finds solace that his children - Shiny and Shaiju - are stars by themselves by their excellence in the world of sports. The daughter is an IT graduate while his son is an aspiring IPS trainee!
A great day and a fantastic fund of experiences from simple, yet resolute people. Thanks, Biju, Francis and Sukumaran for the superb education delivered to me on a platter. I shall remain indebted to you!
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