I was at the Ernakulam 'sivakshetram' on the dot at 7 AM only to be told that the puja that I'd wanted to do, remembering dad, would commence at 8. I'd then sat at the entrance, reciting my daily set of prayers while watching the steady influx of people who're streaming in to pay their morning obeisance to god. Justice Krishna Iyer, along with the two young men who're assisting him, was the only person that I knew among the crowd that had passed by during my short stay in the temple premises.
The small portion of cooked rice, mixed with ghee, that was given by the priest was placed on a piece of banana leaf out at the open ground off the temple's southern entrance and I tried to recapitulate my times with dad. As I was leaving the spot, the priest who must have registered my worried looks, assured me that the crows would swoop down to take in the food on offer and that I didn't need to wait. But the question that I was asking myself was whether dad was upset about my last night's indiscretion which manifested in the crows' delayed arrival/hesitation! And I must reiterate that not a single one had come anywhere near the offering till I'd come off from the spot.
It was around 3, in the afternoon, that we'd set off to the hospital to meet up with Lekha's doctor. And boy, what a commotion it was on the roads? The members of the 'Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha' - from all over the sate - were conglomerating at the Jawaharlal Nehru international stadium at Kaloor to attend the valedictory function of the 150th birth centenary of Ayyankali, being presided over by none other than the President of India. Vehicles that brought in the delegates had clogged the arterial road as well as the feeders and at one point I was in total despair at the possibility of not being able to keep our appointment with the doctor which was so very essential considering Lekha's condition!
As we inched forward, upon reaching the final rail over bridge before turning off for the hospital, I'd got got out of the car amid the worst traffic snarl to walk the last stretch to catch an auto rickshaw, so that I could reach the reception counter at the hospital to beat the deadline of the registration formalities.
And then God arrived.........in the form of Raju, my man Friday of yester years in his autorickshaw, urging me to clamber on. Thanks to him, I could complete the formalities and receive Lekha who'd followed in the car a while later. The queue of patients who'd come with prior appointment was indeed a long one and by the time we're home bound it was well past a half past 9. The traffic was still bad but we could fortunately move without hindrance on the stretch where the Kochi metro construction activity was at its peak.
Tailpiece.
By the time, we'd settled down for dinner with Indraneil and Upasana, our neighbours, it was 10 and I really felt bad that they'd to be kept waiting for no fault of their's!
It was a long tiring day but I was glad that whatever was planned for the day could be accomplished despite the hurdles which looked very, very conspiratorial!
The small portion of cooked rice, mixed with ghee, that was given by the priest was placed on a piece of banana leaf out at the open ground off the temple's southern entrance and I tried to recapitulate my times with dad. As I was leaving the spot, the priest who must have registered my worried looks, assured me that the crows would swoop down to take in the food on offer and that I didn't need to wait. But the question that I was asking myself was whether dad was upset about my last night's indiscretion which manifested in the crows' delayed arrival/hesitation! And I must reiterate that not a single one had come anywhere near the offering till I'd come off from the spot.
It was around 3, in the afternoon, that we'd set off to the hospital to meet up with Lekha's doctor. And boy, what a commotion it was on the roads? The members of the 'Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha' - from all over the sate - were conglomerating at the Jawaharlal Nehru international stadium at Kaloor to attend the valedictory function of the 150th birth centenary of Ayyankali, being presided over by none other than the President of India. Vehicles that brought in the delegates had clogged the arterial road as well as the feeders and at one point I was in total despair at the possibility of not being able to keep our appointment with the doctor which was so very essential considering Lekha's condition!
As we inched forward, upon reaching the final rail over bridge before turning off for the hospital, I'd got got out of the car amid the worst traffic snarl to walk the last stretch to catch an auto rickshaw, so that I could reach the reception counter at the hospital to beat the deadline of the registration formalities.
And then God arrived.........in the form of Raju, my man Friday of yester years in his autorickshaw, urging me to clamber on. Thanks to him, I could complete the formalities and receive Lekha who'd followed in the car a while later. The queue of patients who'd come with prior appointment was indeed a long one and by the time we're home bound it was well past a half past 9. The traffic was still bad but we could fortunately move without hindrance on the stretch where the Kochi metro construction activity was at its peak.
Tailpiece.
By the time, we'd settled down for dinner with Indraneil and Upasana, our neighbours, it was 10 and I really felt bad that they'd to be kept waiting for no fault of their's!
It was a long tiring day but I was glad that whatever was planned for the day could be accomplished despite the hurdles which looked very, very conspiratorial!
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