An appointment with toothy Mallan.

Our day began this morning, at a half past 3 when Lekha's cellphone alarm woke us up. Went through the chores and were ready at the appointed hour; Kannan came in around that time and we kicked off at a quarter to 6, for Muhamma.

Luckily, we didn't come across any traffic blocks the whole day and reached Mallan's kitchen by a half past 9. Had a quick bite of breakfast and Lekha was on the toothy's chair, within no time. The dental work didn't take more than half an hour and we began our return trip by about 11 o'clock. 

Had a lovely lunch at Salkara, at the turn toward the Nedumbasserry airport! Spent about three quarters of an hour at the restaurant for finishing our meal. Resumed our journey, visited a nursery enroute, picked up a couple of ornamental plants, flower pots of varying sizes and some manure.

Had tea at the women's stall, soon after the Amala hospital. Reached The Quarterdeck by a quarter to 5, saw off the workers - Babu and Suresh - for the day, cleaning up our terrace. Settled down for the evening and saw the usual Malayalam television serials. 

Felt damn sleepy but hit the sack at a half past 11, our usual time!

Tailpiece.

A day that went by, like clockwork!  

Most prominent AI use cases across key sectors.

Education

* Standardised teaching to adaptive learning

   AI is shifting education from uniform instruction toward data-informed learning models.

* Adaptive learning platforms

   AI systems analyse student performance and engagement patterns to adjust lesson difficulty

   in real time. Gaps are identified early, allowing targeted intervention.

* Intelligent tutoring systems

   Virtual tutors provide explanations, feedback and practice exercises on demand. These systems

   scale across thousands of learners simultaneously.

* Automated assessment and feedback

   AI tools assist in grading assignments and analysing written responses, reducing administrative

   burden and freeing educators for mentorship and deeper instruction.

Impact. AI is enabling scalable personalisation that was previously limited to one-on-one

             teaching. 

Healthcare

* Diagnosis to prediction

   Healthcare remains one of the most consequential domains for AI deployment.

* Medical imaging and diagnostics

   AI models analyse scans to detect cancers, strokes and respiratory conditions with increasing

   accuracy, assisting clinicians in faster diagnosis.

* Predictive risk modelling

   Algorithms process patient histories to assess disease risk and enable preventive interventions.

* Drug discovery and research acceleration

   AI tools identify molecular compounds and simulate outcomes, compressing early-stage research

   timelines.

Impact. AI is strengthening the shift from reactive treatment to preventive and precision care.

Entertainment

* Personalisation and production at scale

   AI is altering both how content is created and how it is consumed.

* Recommendation engines

   Streaming platforms use behavioural date to personalise viewing and listening experiences.

* Content production tools

   AI assists in editing, script drafting, animation workflows and visual effects enhancement.

* Synthetic media technologies

   AI-driven dubbing, voice synthesis and digital avatars are expanding multilingual and global

  content distribution.

Impact. AI is increasing production efficiency while tailoring content to individual users.

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.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked within the house; recited my prayers.

Bath, followed by breakfast of appams and dry coconut chutney.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch, watched "Snehakkoottu" on television, followed by siesta.

Suresh and Babu - of the Asian Paints team - worked on the roof and had applied the first coat of paint by the end of the day.

The evening chores.

Ceremonial code.

Ceremonial code for National Song and National Anthem.

National Song (Vande Mataram)

Playing time 19.0 sec for official six-stanza version

When it has to be played.

* Unfurling of Tricolour

* Arrival and departure of the President at formal events

* Before and after the President addresses the nation

* Arrival and departure governors/lieutenant governors at formal state functions

* Civil investitures

* When the national flag is brought on parade

The Protocol

* Audiences must stand in attention

* Mass singing encouraged

   If national song and anthem are to be played at the same event, national song to be played first

National Anthem (Jana Gana Mana)

Playing time 52 sec

When it has to be played

* National salute to the President or governors/LGs

* Parades and formal state/UT  functions

* Before and after the President's address

* Presenting regimental colours

* Sports events

* Diplomatic receptions; visiting nation's anthem played first

The Protocol

* Audiences must stand in attention

* Should not be sung or played indiscriminately

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent all the messages, lit up the puja room lamp, opened up the house for the day 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 a colonial type!

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch; watched "Snehakkoottu" followed by siesta.

The evening chores. The Neelamperoor Devi kshetram payment has been done. Our family would conduct the second day (24 Mar) of the 'utsavam'.

Mujib comes by around sunset time and services our air-conditioners.

My salute, li'l one!

Oh this glorious sadness 

that brings me to my knees

In the arms of the angel

Fly away from here....

 - Sarah McLachlan, Angel

Aalin Sherin Abraham has gone from the cradle to the grave in 10 months. She, who has also scripted a new chapter as the youngest organ donor in the state, was laid to rest with full state honours at the St Thomas CSI Church cemetery, in Nedungadappally, Pathanamthitta on the 15th.

Aalin's mortal remains were brought to her home at Mallappally around 0800 h from a private hospital in Nedungadappally. Public viewing was held first, at the hospital and later at the residence till 1400 h, where thousands offered floral tributes.

The grief-stricken parents, Arun Abraham and Sherin Ann John were inconsolable. 

Aalin sustained critical injuries in a car accident in Chingavanam near Kottayam on 05 Feb. She was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Kochi when she was declared brain dead on the 13th.

Her eyes, heart valve, liver and kidneys were transferred to the needy!

Adieu li'l Aalin! My salute, tears and prayers for you!! May god give strength to Arun and Sherin to tide

over these trying times!!!

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.

Off to Rajah hospital for giving my sample but not accepted because the receptacle wasn't right.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked within the house; recited my prayers.

Bath, followed by breakfast of appams and egg fry.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch with fish, followed by siesta.

To Dr Hema at the Rajah hospital; dropped the sample at the lab.

Siesta.

The evening chores.

Offered our condolences to Rajamma chechi's son, Subhash.

Spoke to toothy Mallan and fixed up the Thursday morning appointment.

Adieu Rajamma chechi!

Rajamma chechi, of our neighbouring Thottadiyil House - at my village, Nadutheri - passed into the mist of time last evening around 9. She was 85 and her end was brought about by old-age-related illnesses. Her husband, Manian Pillai, had passed away on 19 Aug 2009, 17 years back.  

He'd a problem of drinking, with a gay abandon. He was our caretaker during my dad's time especially when he used to direct the family's farming interests - paddy fields, coconut trees and rubber - himself. After a day's work, dad and he used to have long conversations about the forthcoming activities. There used to be small fights over our paddy fields' boundaries and though dad preferred a mild approach, Manian Pillai used to pick up quarrels which dad had to sort out, eventually!

He was a very lovable guy and used to be fond of me and my sisters. Between him and Rajamma chechi, they've six children viz. three boys and three girls. 

Rajamma chechi had undergone abject poverty, in that on certain days, Manian Pillai, after his work, used to spend the entire money at the bar and used to sleep on our verandah, without my dad's knowledge.

Their eldest son, Surendran, is a farmhand and his weakness, too, is drinking. The second son, Suresh, has got over his drinking problems and is now, the owner of a soda vending shop. The third, Subhash, is a successful businessman, works for St Gobain, based in Sreeperumbudoor and has saw mill and metal turning units in our village, providing jobs to youngsters.

Of the three daughters, two are teachers and the third is working for the panchayat. All are married and have their own families. The middle daughter, Sumangala, had stayed with us, doing the household chores and my parents had ensured that she passed out a graduate! 

It's the children who provided Rajamma chechi the affluence, that she richly deserved toward the last years of her life and I'll never forget as to how mightily pleased she was when she'd provided Lekha and me with a superb lunch, a couple of years back!

Adieu Rajamma chechi! My tears and prayers!! Will always remember you because you never blamed fate for your bad days, showing the toughness in you!

Tailpiece.

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

Lekha went to the Mammiyoor Siva kshetram, at 6, as today's Sivarathri. 

Walked within the house; recited my prayers.

Bath followed by breakfast of masala dosas, bought by Lekha.

Suma kunjamma, her friends, Vimala (Mini's colleague at the Chinmaya School in Thiruvananthapuram, quite a while back) and Mohan had come by and returned to the temple by lunch time. It was nice interacting with them.

Lunch followed by siesta.

The evening chores.

PM Modi lands on highway strip.

About 300 km from the LAC, the PM had landed on the first Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) at Moran, in the Dibrugarh district of Assam in a C130J, on NH 127. In the presence of the PM and the CM of Assam, an IAF Sukhoi aircraft also took off from the ELF.

 The IAF had undertaken successful trials on the 4.2 km stretch two days ago.

The ELF is capable of handling fighter aircraft up to 40 tons and transport aircraft up tp 74 tons max. take off weight.

The PM had inaugurated Kumar Bhaskar Varma Setu, built at a cost of Rs.3,030 cr across the River Brahmaputra. The six-lane extradosed prestressed concrete bridge connects Guwahati with North Guwahati and is the first extradosed bridge in the northeast. It will cut travel time between Guwahati-North Guwahati to seven minutes.

Considering the high seismicity of the region, the bridge incorporates base isolation technology using friction pendulum bearings.

The Prime Minister flagged off 225 electric buses under the PM-ebus Sewa Scheme as follows :-

      * Guwahati             100

      * Nagpur                  50

      * Bhavnagar             50

      * Chandigarh           25

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.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked within the house; recited my prayers.

Bath; followed by breakfast of poories-bhaaji.

Worked on my laptop.

Ramesh and Sijo work on repairing stuff and changed flower pots; Suma kunjamma drops by. 

Lunch.

A long chat with Suma Kunjamma. Siesta.

A quiet evening. Suma kunjamma leaves to be with her friends; will be coming tomorrow.

BNP romps to power.

The results of the recently concluded general elections in Bangladesh is out, with the late Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) winning by a landslide. Tarique Rehman, her and Gen Zia-ur-Rehman's son, is the prime ministerial candidate. How his party's outlook toward India is, needs to be watched and seen over time.

What needs to be factored in, by India's National Security apparatus is that almost all the constituencies of the border areas, with India, have been won by the highly toxic and Pakistani-military-supported, Jamaat-e-Islami. Also the ones around the chicken's neck area!

There's also a sizeable number of the population who've an extremist mindset. It's my fond hope that Tarique Anwar would be able to carry all of them along and bring about bold democratic reforms in the Constitution which has got the green signal at the referendum with 68% of ayes!

Bangladesh continues to be a tricky neighbour!

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.

Lekha's aa'rathi carried out with a silver coin as today's the 1st of the Malayalam month of Kumbham.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked within the house; recited my prayers.

Bath, followed by breakfast of appams and egg masala.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch, watched the serial followed by siesta.

The evening chores.