Eid Mubarak ho!

Wished Afroze Ahmed, Aboosala, Badaruddin and their families a happy Eid. Got up at 5, sent 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 on the courtyard, recited my prayers and carried out my exercise regimen.

Bath and breakfast of upma, banana.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch.

Siesta but woken up at a half past 3, by Venu's Electronic shop at Chavakkad to say that our induction cooker was ready after guarantee repairs. Called up Sukesan, dashed across and got the item back as I know that Lekha was finding it difficult to manage things in the kitchen without it for the past fortnight.

A quiet evening, thereafter, after Rema and Sathyabhama had returned from the "Mahaabhaagavatham Samarpanam". 

Hit the sack at our usual time.

A fast - happening day!

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. Rema and Sathyabhama went for their 'Mahaabhaagavatham samarpanam" as of the last three days. Sukesan had come and picked them up in his autorickshaw at a quarter to 6. 

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Rema, had returned around 11, after she'd finished her recital for the day. She and Lekha had gone across to the market for urgent purchases and she'd returned after lunch.

Unni, of the Sarathy Autocars, Kottarakkara had connected me to a local Maruthi servicing guy at Choondal. Vineesh had come in by 12 and we proceeded to the place, forthwith.

Got the car washed and Joby drove back the gleaming Victoris by 5, in the evening. Phew, that was an achievement!

Must pick up the RC of the car from Jimmy, tomorrow. Had recharged the FASTag last night.

All actions regarding the car have, thus, been completed.

Tailpiece.

There was a whole lot of tamasha in respect of Pinarayi Vijayan. The Enforcement Directorate had raided 12 places all across the state, connected with him and the CPM had gone on a rampage, damaging two cars of the ED Officials. The DYFI/SFI ruffians, then, took shelter in the party's area committee office.

The party, then, posed a challenge to the police by asking them to prove the identities of the guilty so that they could hand them over later, at the police station.

Here's what I liked of the stance of the DCP. Increasing the forces' strength around the area committee office of the CPM, he insisted having the culprits handed over to the police forthwith which, evetually, the local party leaders did. He'd handed over the identities of 12 ruffians and managed to get 7!

The Kopra reservoir.

Kopra reservoir, Chhattisgarh's first designated Ramsar site in Bilaspur district, has emerged as an inspiring model for embodying the core spirit of the International Day for Biological Diversity 2026 - "Logical Action, Global Impact".

Active public involvement key to transformation

Regular cleanliness drives, massive tree plantation initiatives and the implementation of bio-fencing are being carried out consistently through community mobilisation. This active public involvement has also fostered a deep sense of shared responsibility.

The reservoir has established itself as a critical sanctuary for thousands of migratory birds that traverse international borders. The rich aquatic ecosystem offers an abundant supply of food and a peaceful resting ground for these avian visitors.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent 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 Padmakumar.

Sajish gives me my monthly haircut and massage.

A quiet day.

The agony put aside. Phew!

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. In between, saw Rema and Sathyabhama go in Sukesan's auto rickshaw to the temple.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked on the courtyard; recited my prayers and carried out my exercise regimen.

Breakfast of idlis and sambar.

Worked on the laptop.

Snoozed for a while and we were off to Saroja Hospital to meet up with Dr Sreekumar Pillai. Despite the traffic blocks, we could reach there by 2.  The doctor confirms that there's no malignancy and he has given her medicines for a fortnight. If the white plaque remains, it will be removed under anaesthesia. A great worry removed after a long while.

Returned home and checked at Jimmy's studio and Shabir's bakery.

Squared up my study for Padmakumar, coming this evening. He fetched up at a half past 6.

A quiet evening.

Back at The Quarterdeck.

Hit the sack by a half past 1 and was up at a half past 4. Went about my chores and we were ready by 6. Monish was outside the house at about a quarter to 6 and we kicked off by a quarter past 6.

There were rains all through our route and we reached Lekha @ her sister's place by a quarter past 8. It was a lovely breakfast and we'd a taste of Lekha's birthday cake. We left by about a quarter to 9 and I'd decided to drop Aniyan at his house.

We reached Kidangoor by a quarter past 11 and received the happy news that Paru has has become a woman! Gave her a small gift on the occasion. And we left soon after.

Reached The Quarterdeck by a quarter past 4. Sent Lekha to catch her 40 winks while I unpacked.

Rema and Sathyabhama came by around a half past 6. And we talked about a lot of things.

A quiet evening thereafter!  

@ New Delhi (6).

Dateline 23 May

Our tryst with the chief minister.

Met Mr VD Satheesan, the chief minister, at the Kerala House this afternoon. He has assured us that he’d attend the Vaayana Dinam program on 19 Jun at the Tagore Theatre. 

We presented him with Muthachhan’s English biography and draped a shawl around his shoulders.

Returned to Thiruvananthapuram from New Delhi by the Indigo flight at 2030 hrs. Landed up short of midnight!

@ New Delhi (5).

Got up at 5, sent all the messages and was ready by a half past 9. Walked within the room and recited my prayers. Maman and Aniyan went for breakfast and brought me my breakfast.

Off to the Kerala House for briefing Prof PJ Kurien, then to the Kerala Emporium at Connaught Place to buy mementoes for the VVIPs. Returned via Logani’s at Khan Market after placing orders for the 30 new invitation cards.

A quick change to formals and were off to the Vice President’s Enclave by a half past 2. There was no question of lunch! Had picked up the new cards in between.

The Book Release of Sathyan’s “The Library Man of India - The Story of PN Panicker” went off like clockwork. Great speeches made by the Vice President, MoS Suresh Gopi and Prof PJ Kurien. Maman was good in his introduction.

Went to the Kerala House to fix up our appointment with the CM of Kerala tomorrow through PJ Kurien. 

Returned to our guest house. A quiet evening!