Sunday, April 10, 2016

Off to Thiruvananthapuram.

Had got up on time to go through the morning chores but took care not to disturb Rema and family! Padmakumar did complain of a lingering headache which receded only after he'd finished his breakfast. Interacting with them - Padmakumar, Rema and Achu, - was good as usual. Lekha had called up her assistant who came at the appropriate time to give us a lovely poori-bhaji-egg masala breakfast only to return soon after as Sundays are off days for her!

I was watching mom's excitement at seeing so many people at home after what seemed to be a while and as I'd said umpteen number of times before, she shares a special bond with Rema. Achu being at Perundurai, short of Salem on a short stint, has the freedom to fetch up at his home on most weekends and this trip itself was structured yesterday, soon after his arrival from work at Palakkad, at sunset. Next week, he's tied up with his uncle to visit Sabarimala on the occasion of Vishu.

We left in Padmakumar's car, with Achu behind the wheel, soon after an early lunch. They're supposed to have dropped me at the railway station so that I could board the 1 o'clock local to Thrissur to board the Jana Shatabdi express to Thiruvananthapuram, while they peeled off to Palakkad. Did Achu deliberately slow his lunch? The upshot was that they dropped me at the Thrissur railway station and we'd an animated round of discussions on various subjects as Achu drove through those 25 kms!

The wait of over an hour passed off smoothly, with me spending the final half hour having a cup of tea and vadas at the vegetarian refreshment stall on the platform. And the train was on the dot...
But what do I say about the journey? It was miserably hot and the five hours spent on transit gave me an impression that it was unusually longer than usual but had used the time to clear my doubts on the Upanishad that I'd with me.

Omanakuttan took sometime to pick me up and he'd consumed alcohol, a thing that I don't encourage. But the paradox was that he'd had that swig from the bottle of rum that I'd given him when he'd come to Guruvayur last week! I did convey my disapproval!! Enroute to maman's house, he'd a close quarter situation with a couple on a mobike and he wanted to fight with them which I prevented with a curt and no nonsense 'nyet'!!



Tailpiece.

(a) Yet another Thiruvananthapuram trip is on and I've a lot of things to do.
(b) The fireworks tragedy at the Puttingal temple's annual festivities is gruesome with 112 dead                 and counting. I remember the temple and its precincts vividly because when we're young, we
      used to spend our vacation at Leela kunjamma's house, just a stone's throw away from there.
      Those were halcyon days!...............Tears and prayers to the departed.

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