The day had begun at 4. We'd gone through our chores and had set off for my parents' place by about 10' past 6. Enroute we'd a truck carrying an elephant that branched off at Kecherry, ahead of us. It was a nice omen, we said. The day was sunny but there were numerous puddles of water from last night's rains. The first irritation was the deviation in the heart of Thrissur town and I really did get confused thanks to the unfamiliar roads but finally, made it out of town.
The breakfast at the Saravana Bhavan near the Paliyekkara toll was not something to write home about especially because the buffet did not have all the serials like the 'potato mash' for the puries! But I'd behaved like a good boy and didn't complain, as is my wont! Lekha was surprised!! And soon after, there was a massive traffic jam beyond Kalady. A massive truck, carrying vegetables had overturned and one side of the central median - our side of the road - was choc-a-bloc with traffic. I'd given up on reaching home at a reasonable time and slowly inched, crawled my way till we finally found a way out. Time lost, 28 minutes!
We passed through Kochi uneventfully and stopped at Mithila for a mere rest room break! The restaurant was swarming with two busloads of tourists and firstly, we weren't hungry and secondly, we didn't want to waste time. Cherthala was okay in so far as traffic was concerned but my moment of reckoning was lying in wait off the Vandaanam Medical College.in Alappuzha.
I was overtaking an auto rickshaw pick up when a red Maruti Ritz tried to overtake my Chevy and looped in sharply to the left to avoid an oncoming vehicle. In the process, my car's bumper was badly dented and consequently looked grotesque. I'd flagged him to a stop, took down his details and asked him to follow me to the Kollam service station of the Geeyem Motors for damage assessment. In between, we'd entered the Kayankulam service station of their's but to no avail as it was a fledgling office and they didn't have the wherewithal!
Since Lekha's lunchtime was being extended and to avoid complications, I'd bought her two big bananas to tide over the problem, following Thomaskutty - that was his name - to Kollam, all the time. Finding the Geeyem Motors at Kollam was a Herculean task but we did it eventually, after making a lot of inquiries enroute!
Samad was assigned as my Customer Service Adviser. It was when Thomaskutty tried to explain his story that I forcefully put him down an, "You'd no business to overtake me while I was doing so. Not only is it dangerous for everyone but it's also suicidal if an oncoming vehicle were to come because there's no central median! You've to answer for that mistake of yours." The damage was assessed and it was ascertained that the car's insurance will look after 50% of the expenses and Thomaskutty, would foot the remaining!
My Chevy was admitted, we parted ways with Thomaskutty amicably and Samad had fetched a cab for dropping us home. It was a quiet evening with plenty of yakkitiyak!
Tailpiece.
1. Samad was ticked off for perusing the innards of my passbook and had advised him not to do that ever again as it was bad manners. His reply, "Sir, you're very straightforward."
2. Raj Nivas looks neat and is slowly coming up to my standards!
The breakfast at the Saravana Bhavan near the Paliyekkara toll was not something to write home about especially because the buffet did not have all the serials like the 'potato mash' for the puries! But I'd behaved like a good boy and didn't complain, as is my wont! Lekha was surprised!! And soon after, there was a massive traffic jam beyond Kalady. A massive truck, carrying vegetables had overturned and one side of the central median - our side of the road - was choc-a-bloc with traffic. I'd given up on reaching home at a reasonable time and slowly inched, crawled my way till we finally found a way out. Time lost, 28 minutes!
We passed through Kochi uneventfully and stopped at Mithila for a mere rest room break! The restaurant was swarming with two busloads of tourists and firstly, we weren't hungry and secondly, we didn't want to waste time. Cherthala was okay in so far as traffic was concerned but my moment of reckoning was lying in wait off the Vandaanam Medical College.in Alappuzha.
I was overtaking an auto rickshaw pick up when a red Maruti Ritz tried to overtake my Chevy and looped in sharply to the left to avoid an oncoming vehicle. In the process, my car's bumper was badly dented and consequently looked grotesque. I'd flagged him to a stop, took down his details and asked him to follow me to the Kollam service station of the Geeyem Motors for damage assessment. In between, we'd entered the Kayankulam service station of their's but to no avail as it was a fledgling office and they didn't have the wherewithal!
Since Lekha's lunchtime was being extended and to avoid complications, I'd bought her two big bananas to tide over the problem, following Thomaskutty - that was his name - to Kollam, all the time. Finding the Geeyem Motors at Kollam was a Herculean task but we did it eventually, after making a lot of inquiries enroute!
Samad was assigned as my Customer Service Adviser. It was when Thomaskutty tried to explain his story that I forcefully put him down an, "You'd no business to overtake me while I was doing so. Not only is it dangerous for everyone but it's also suicidal if an oncoming vehicle were to come because there's no central median! You've to answer for that mistake of yours." The damage was assessed and it was ascertained that the car's insurance will look after 50% of the expenses and Thomaskutty, would foot the remaining!
My Chevy was admitted, we parted ways with Thomaskutty amicably and Samad had fetched a cab for dropping us home. It was a quiet evening with plenty of yakkitiyak!
Tailpiece.
1. Samad was ticked off for perusing the innards of my passbook and had advised him not to do that ever again as it was bad manners. His reply, "Sir, you're very straightforward."
2. Raj Nivas looks neat and is slowly coming up to my standards!
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