At Raj Nivas.

The day began at 4 for us, went through our chores and were ready by 6. We kicked off from The Quarterdeck at a quarter past 6. Kannan took the NH 544 route and thankfully, we didn't come across any traffic snarls and steered a steady course.

Breakfast was at a Saravana Bhavan at Muvattupuzha. From there, barring the wiper motor's problem, we had a peaceful journey. Changed the wipers at Koothaattukulam and we resumed our journey. There were showers at various places but it was nothing to worry about.

Lunch was the Padma Cafe at Pandalam and it was nice.

Reached Kottarakkara around a half past 2, sent Kannan back on his return and drove the remaining 10 km to Raj Nivas. Got our staying arrangements streamlined, had the television energised and went for siesta.

Evening tea by Lekha, spoke to mom and dad about our program and we went to Suresh's house to offer our condolences on Rajamma chechi's passing away. Prayed at her cremation spot as well as Manian Pillai's! Interacted with all of them!!

Returned after about an hour and a half; were happy after having spent time with the family for the sake of Rajamma chechi!

A quiet evening. Had Malabar parathas and an egg omelette for dinner which was nice!

Slept at our usual time.

When a President lies....

Trump's false and misleading claims at his State of the Union address, seeking to reverse dismal polls and see off mounting challenges at home and abroad ahead of crucial midterm elections.

The Economy

Claim. "When I last spoke in this chamber 12 months ago, I had just inherited a nation in crisis, with a stagnant economy".

The fact. The US gross domestic  product rose 2.8% in 2024 after adjusting for inflation. That's a stronger pace of growth than the 2.2% achieved last year during the start of Trump's second term.

Investment

Claim. "I secured commitments for more than $18 trillion pouring in from all over the globe".

The fact. The White House website offers a far lower number, $9.6 trillion.

Jobs

Claim. "More Americans are working today than at any time in the history of our country". 

The fact. The unemployment rate is a low 4.3% but was lower when Biden left office  in Jan 2025, at 4%.

Foreign wars

Claim. "My first 10 months I ended eight wars".

The fact. Although he has helped mediate relations among many nations, his impact isn't as clear-cut as he makes it seem.

Tariffs

Claim. "Tariff revenues are saving our country, the kind of money we're taking in".

The fact. The Congressional Budget Office estimated his new taxes would raise $3 trillion over 10 years. That's not enough to cover the cost of his $4.7 trillion in tax cuts.

Immigration

Claim. "We'll always allow people to come in legally, people that will love our country and will work hard".

The fact. Trump has actually taken steps to restrict who can emigrate to the US, often in the name of protecting national security.

My take

How can a President, who's supposed to be the icon for his countrymen, get off with such outright lies? Shame on you, President Trump!

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.

Walked within the house; recited my prayers. Got the house ready for the interior painting of the top inner roof. Ranjith did it in the afternoon while Suresh did the frontage.

Bath, followed by breakfast of bread and egg roast.

Lekha had gone to the gas agency to find out as to why the new gas cylinder was taking time to come by ; the delivery boy was sick for the past week.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch, watched "Snehakkoottu" followed by siesta.

Lekha goes to the temple to have a darshan of the good Lord as it's gonna be the annual festival commencing on the 28th.

Ribi's boys secured by a half past 5. The maid washed down our car.

Packing covered after everyone had left.

Nationwide HPV drive for U-14 girls to prevent cervical cancer.

In a major step toward eliminating preventable cancers among women, the government will soon launch a 'human papilloma virus' (HPV) vaccination program.

The program directed at girls under 14 years, will use a single-shot Gardasil, a quadrivalent HPV vaccine that provides protection against HPV types 16 and 18, which cause cervical cancer, as well as types 6 and 11. It is in line with WHO proposals, which identify HPV vax as a pillar of Global Strategy to eliminate cervical cancer.

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.

Carried out the usual Wednesday 'aarathi' of the house.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Ribi's workers - Suresh and Ranjith - commenced their work.

Walked within the house; recited my prayers.

Bath, followed by breakfast of upma.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch, watched "Snehakkoottu", followed by siesta.

The evening chores.

War with Iran postponed!

Planned US strike on Iran faces a major problem : toilet failures on board USS Gerald R Ford, their largest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier currently on deployment off the gulf region in west Asia!

The ship was due to undergo dry docking and refit way back in Jun 2024 but has been deployed continuously for more than one and a half years.

The Captain of the ship, too, had requested not to be deployed but to no avail.

Too few working toilets for 4,600 sailors and an erratic vacuum system that can't be fixed without returning to a dockyard.

My take

A real peculiar situation; any navy man would understand the situation!

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.

Walked within the house; recited my prayers.

Bath, followed by breakfast.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch, watched the serial followed by siesta.

The evening chores.

Sukesan helped me to unpack the spanking new rocking chair and put it in its place.

An interesting day!

Got up at a half past 4, 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.

Walked within the house; recited my prayers.

Bath, followed by breakfast of appams and egg roast.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch, watched the serial, "Snehakkoottu", followed by siesta.

Went at 4, with Kannan, and converted Crazy to her Kerala registration on FASTag! Nejila of the Akshaya was of a great help.

Got dinner and ice cream from Welcome and Harisree.

Mukund and Devika drop by for dinner. They seemed to be happy! A pleasant evening.

  

The curse of Kerala!

'Nokkukooli' row disrupts waste management in Thiruvananthapuram!

Waste transport by Clean Kerala Company Ltd was halted after headload unions demanded 'nokkukooli' for loading and unloading at the facility.

Operations at the integrated plastic waste management facility at Muttathara - one of the largest centres handling non-biodegradable waste in the capital - have been severely disrupted due to a prolonged dispute over 'nokkukooli' (Gawking charge) for the past six months.

The headload workers affiliated with CITU, INTUC and BMS insisted on 'nokkukooli'. Nearly 300 tons of plastic waste has accumulated at the facility, disrupting the waste management network in the capital. Moreover, manual handling of waste is not feasible at the unit.

It is a fully mechanised facility. Each bailed bundle weighs around 800 kg and is handled using forklifts. On average, 25 tons of plastic waste was transported daily to cement factories. It is equipped with advanced systems for segregation and includes a plastic shredding and bailing unit. The High Court has  directed the police to intervene in case of any law and order issues. The court has also directed that headload workers and associates must not obstruct the functioning of the facility.

Tailpiece.

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

Walked within the house, recited my prayers.

Bath, followed by breakfast of puttum kadalayum.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch, watched television followed by siesta.

The evening chores. 

2.69 cr voters in Kerala's final list.

After initial threats by the entire lot of opposition parties saying that they wouldn't allow the Election Commission to carry out Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state's electoral rolls, the exercise has been completed. The final tally stands at 2.69 crore voters.

Interesting factors

* There were 2.78 crore voters in the roll before the SIR.

* 87.9 lakh names have been deleted from the earlier list.

* Of the 36.88 lakh voters summoned for hearing, 53,229 were excluded from the final roll. They were

   found to be either dead, had accepted overseas citizenship, shifted or were detected as duplicate

   entries.

* The final voters' list for the Assembly elections will have 16.54 lakh fewer voters compared to the 

   December 2025 local body voters' list.

* Voting in the Assembly elections will be held in 30,471 polling stations.

My take

Congress party's constant gripe about the EC, wasn't parroted by the other parties! After initial hurdles, the court had intervened and said that they didn't expect the exercise to be torpedoed by anyone and consequently, everyone fell in line!

Tailpiece.

Got up late around 7' past 6 and went about my morning chores.

A quiet Saturday!