Monday, June 25, 2012

Munshi is with me.

After what seemed to be ages, Kurup kochachan has finally come calling. He'd gone to Thrissur, on the 20th, to attend the first meeting of the newly constituted committee of the Kerala Sangeetha Naataka Academy, of which he is a member. After his wife's (Leela Kunjamma) death last November, he has been staying with his eldest son at Thiruvananthapuram and has a serial or two on Malayalam television as well as being part of a commercial advertisement.

His transformation has been tremendous. From a fun loving, ever smiling, gregarious person that I'd always known him to be, he's become quieter and unsure of himself, lapsing into long periods of silence. The passing away of a spouse has lasting effects and I must admit that I too miss my ma'asi, when I'm with him and can very well appreciate his predicament. But being media savvy, he's been penning his thoughts on current issues that grate him and he's given me one such effort of his for perusal, before sending it to the press.

In an unguarded moment, he said that while he's glad to be with us it would have been a lot better had my ma'asi also been there with him and I saw his eyes brimming with tears.

And yes, Leela kunjamma had promised to come to our place, last November, to celebrate my birthday but death had other plans for her.

At 84, he's kept himself fit and has just finished a treatment session, of a fortnight, at an ayurvedic spa at Thiruvananthapuram. Except for a lingering pain on his right knee, for which external application of oils are resorted to, he doesn't take any medicine unlike some of his counterparts!

I hope that his mental agony and loneliness are reduced further - however small in measure - during his stay with us.

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