From The Quarterdeck to Raj Nivas.

Lekha had got up at 3 as she'd made up her mind to prepare both breakfast and lunch for everyone during the journey. This was because :-

   * two days back when we'd gone out with Mini, we'd visited the famous Guruvayur Tiffin for                    breakfast. To our utter surprise we were told that only idlis and upma were available; by a half 

      past 8, idlis were over. This was the result of the shortage of cooking gas thanks to the ongoing 

      Gulf War.

   

   * eating out, these days, has become a hassle and it's better to avoid it till the situation eases out.

And wow, what a fair it was! Breakfast was puries, peas paneer curry and boiled eggs and lunch was fried rice and salad.

Sajish reached the house on the dot and we cast off at a quarter to 7.

Had breakfast at Rema's place by 9. She was okay, much better after what she was yesterday.

The journey was smooth with no traffic snarls at all.

Reached Letha's house by a quarter past 1. Had lunch, caught my forty winks and we resumed our journey, dropped Sajish at the rtc bus stand by a quarter past 3.

Got behind the wheel and dropped Rema-Padmakumar at Pidavoor.

Reached Raj Nivas by 4, quickly unpacked, set the house in order and allowed Lekha to have her siesta.

Spoke to mom and dad.

A quiet evening!.  

The National Dental Commission.

The commission will frame rules, conduct rating and assessment of dental institutions. It will evaluate human resources and promote dental research, frame guidelines for fee regulation in private dental colleges and establish standards for ethics.

To support the function of the commission, three autonomous bodies  have also been constituted which are :-

   

     * Undergraduate and Postgraduate Dental Education Board

        Will oversee dental education.

     * Dental Assessment and Rating Board

        Will regulate accreditation and institutional assessment.

     * The Ethics and Dental Registration Board

        Will govern professional conduct and registration of dentists.

Dr Sanjay Tewari                                          Chairperson of the commission

Dr Mousumi Goswami                                  Part-time Member

Dr Chandrashekhar Jankiram                    President, Undergraduate and Postgraduate DEB.

Dr Shailesh Madhav Lele                             Whole time member

Lt Gen  Tapas Kumar Bandyopadhyay                    "

Lt Gen Nanda Kishore Sahoo                       President, Dental Assessment and Rating Board

Arindam Modak                                             Secretary to the NDC.

My take

A step in the right direction!

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent all the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Morning cuppa with Lekha and Mini.

Dropped Mini at the railway station and put her on the Passenger bound for Ernakulam at 0700 hrs.

Walked on the road in front of the house; recited my prayers.

Bath followed by breakfast of dosas, chutney. The maid given homework.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch followed by siesta.

The metallic addition to our left boundary put in place. 

The Chevy was washed down and The Quarterdeck was systematically shut down.

Packing done in steps.

Rema and Padmakumar will be joining us tomorrow.

India today.

As global tensions escalate, India stands steady with an uninterrupted supply of crude and petroleum powering the nation forward.

This stability is no coincidence; it is the direct result of PM Modi's clear vision to transform India from import dependence to a truly Atmanirbhar Bharat.

From ethanol blending, which has significantly reduced our crude oil import bill, to the near-total electrification of railways (now at 99.4%), every step has fortified India's energy security. While others questioned initiatives like Make-in-India, the Modi government stayed focused, ensuring that Bharat never has to fear global uncertainty.

The result? A nation that is not just growing but is resilient and self-reliant.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent all the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp, switched on the hymns on the home-theatre.

Morning cuppa with Lekha and Mini.

Walked on the road in front of The Quarterdeck; recited my prayers.

Bath followed by breakfast of Masala dosas with chutney.

Mini's friend, Saju Soman had dropped by; Seena was down too to attend on Lekha.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch, watched "Snehakkoottu" followed by siesta.

Lekha and Mini go to the temple to have a darshan of the good Lord: Lekha by the local citizens' queue while Mini did it by joining the senior citizens' queue.

Pushpaakaran plucks the coconuts.

A quiet evening.

 

Iran war likely to jack up drug costs.

As the West Asia crisis continues, the Indian pharmaceutical industry fears that a prolonged disruption in petrochemical supplies, critical to drug manufacturing, syringes and packaging, could significantly impact the sector.

Used in synthesis of small-molecule apis

In drug manufacturing, petrochemicals are widely used in the synthesis of many small-molecule APIs. Aromatic compounds such as Benzene derivatives are involved in pathways for the synthesis  of analgesics like paracetamol. It is also used in tablets, injectables and liquid formulations, including polyethelene glycol, polysorbates and parabens.

Integral to syringes, IV bags, ampoules

Beyond medicines, petrochemical-derived plastics and polymers are integral to syringes, IV bags and diagnostic kits, among others. Pharmaceutical packaging, too, relies heavily on such materials. Plastic component in blister packs, ampoules and high-density polyethene bottles that stores delicate medicines are derived from petrochemicals.

My take

The war needs to end soon but that idiot Trump doesn't know when to do it. Sadly, he lacks good advisers!

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent all the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Morning cuppa with Lekha and Mini.

Was ready by 7, Rahul was at our door 10' before and we cast off on the dot. We visited the following places :-

       * Vadakkunnatha Siva kshetram

       * Paarameykkavu Devi kshetram

       * Hotel Guruvayur Tiffin for breakfast. Got only upma as idlis had got over! The gas shortage!!

       * The Sri Rama-Sita kshetram with Hanuman's huge statue in front of it.

       * The Venu's, at Chaavakkaad, to collect our induction cooker that was given for guarantee

          repairs.

Returned by a half past 10. Mini's yet another requirement fulfilled.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch, watched "Snehakkoottu" followed by siesta.

A quiet evening.

SIR timeline - West Bengal.

Starting point : Existing voter list

The process began with the previous electoral roll - 7.08 crore voters.

Draft roll preparations (bulk deletion stage) 

* BLOs verified voters physically

* Data was cross-checked with death records, migration data etc

* 58.2 lakh names removed

* This formed the draft poll roll

* Publication of draft roll

Claims and objections window opened after the draft for

* Applying to re-add their names (if wrongly deleted)

* Requesting corrections

* Objecting to wrong inclusions

Final verification (2nd filter)

* Claims filled by voters

* Objections raised

* Field verification reports

* 5.46 lakh additional names removed

* Some previously deleted names may also have been restored

What the two key numbers mean (core confusion)

* 58.2 lakhs        - deletions before draft

*   5.46 lakhs      - deletions after draft (final stage)

* 63.66 lakhs      - total deletions across entire process

Key pattern observed in Bengal SIR

* Higher share of deletions among women voters

* Significant impact in rural and migrant-heavy areas

* Sharp drop in some urban constituencies

The CEC says that the total number of eligible voters in the state currently stands at 6.44 crores in the electoral rolls published after the SIR on 28 Feb '26.

My take

Some semblance of law, order and clarity on completion of SIR. Phew!

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent all the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Morning cuppa with Lekha and Mini; the latter was poised to leave for the Mammiyoor Siva kshetram by a half past 6.

Walked on the road in front of The Quarterdeck; recited my prayers.

On Mini's return, Lekha and she went to the Thiruvenkatam temple for darshan of the goddess.

Bath followed by breakfast of idlis and sambar.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch, watched "Snehakkoottu" followed by siesta.

The evening chores.

The maid will not come by tomorrow and the day after because of her temple's ulsavam.

The winners and losers of war.

The winners of this war are already identified. They are the US-Israeli strategic axis that has achieved operational dominance, the defence-industrial complex that has added tens of billions to its valuation and the oil-exporting monarchies whose revenues have surged.

If the war grinds on unchecked for another month, it has serious implications for India, which is dreaming of a $5-trillion economy by 2027. For us, this conflict is not a distant headline but a dagger at the heart of our ambitions.

India just can't afford to be an accident and hapless victim of a war in which it hasn't fired a bullet, leave alone a bomb.

Courtesy. Prabhu Chawla in The NIE

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent all the messages, opened up the house for the day, had an early tea with Mini and Lekha as the former was going for an early morning darshan of the good Lord.

A later morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked on the road in front of the house; recited my prayers.

Bath followed by breakfast of appams and egg roast.

Off to Venu's at Chavakkad to h/o the defective Induction Cooker for guarantee repairs.

Worked on my laptop.

Reynish, came for servicing the stove and the chimney.

Lunch, watched "Snehakkoottu" followed by siesta.

The evening chores.

The looming Assembly polls.

 09 Apr                                          Assam            126 seats

                                                      Kerala            140 seats

                                                      Puducherry      30 seats

23 Apr                                           Tamilnadu      234 seats

23 & 29 Apr                                  West Bengal   294 seats

04 May                                                      RESULTS           

824 seats across 4 states and 1 Union Territory 

17.4 crore voters eligible to cast votes

Bypolls for 8 seats

The Election Commission of India announced polls for eight seats in six states. Bagalkot and Devanagere South in Karnataka, Goa's Ponda, Dharmanagar in Tripura and Koridang in Nagaland will vote on 09 Apr, Umreth in Gujarat, Baramati and Rahuri in Maharashtra on 23 Apr.       

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent all the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the pooja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked on the road in front of the house; recited my prayers.

Bath followed by breakfast of pancakes. Lekha goes to town to make sundry purchases. 

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch, watched "Snehakkoottu" followed by siesta.

Teatime. Mini fetches up from Ayur; she'll be with us till the 21st when she returns to Bangalore.

A boisterous evening.