Aniyan and family arrive.

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.

Had bath; recited my prayers in the process as I didn't want to be late when the guests arrived.

The maid was well ahead of time and commenced her work so that she could leave early after preparing lunch and dinner.

Spoke to both Sreedevi and Saumya of AIMS, to take clearance from Dr Rajesh Jose, my cardiologist, regarding substitution of Carvidas 6.25 in place of BetaOne XL 25. Got the approval by lunchtime.

Worked on my laptop.

Yakkitiyak with Aniyan and his family(Usha ammayi, Maalu and Praarthana). The dress bought for Paru, yesterday from Seematti at Kochi, was ill fitting. So, Lekha took Malu and Paru to the Trends outlet and bought a new dress for the little one. And weren't they happy?

A boisterous lunch followed by siesta.

Aniyan and his family, along with Lekha, goes to the temple for the darshan of the good Lord @ a quarter to 5, after tea.

A long evening with full of yakkitiyak!

They return past 9, fully satisfied with their outing. Lekha had come in much earlier as she prepared the main dish for dinner!

And a boisterous dinner!

Our quarterly medical reviews!

Our day had begun at 4, went through our chores and were ready by around 6. Earlier, we'd recited our prayers!

We kicked off for Kochi at a quarter past 6, reached Aaryaas at Idappalli, had breakfast and reached the Diabetic Care of India by a quarter to 10. I entered the clinic on the dot at 10. All the girls were there and the doctor fetched up an hour late after his tryst with the auditors along with Meera.

Satish Bhat has given me a course of six injections around my tummy to enhance my Haemoglobin - over a period of six months.

We, then, went across to Chellakkili's office and we had tender coconut water!

By a quarter to 1, we were headed for Shenoy Care. Had a quick bite of vegetarian lunch and went through Lekha's registration formalities. She went through the tests, we met the junior doctor, Aswathy an hour later. By the time we met Dr Padmanabha Shenoy it was a half past 5. Lekha will go through the biopsy, we've decided.

And after a quick cup of tea and 'ullivada' at the canteen, we're on our return to Guruvayur.

Reached home by a quarter past 9. Settled down quickly. 

TMC's shameless lie exposed!

"Bengal was never a manufacturing hub and never can be", thus spake Mahua Moitra, the party's MP during her election rallies.

Then how do you explain the legacy of Hindustan Motors, Burn & Company, Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, Dunlop India and more?

Under Mamata Banerjee, corruption, strikes, violence and a broken business climate pushed 6,668 companies out of Bengal. First they destroyed the industrial backbone. Now they deny it ever existed.

They lie. They deflect. They deny. But Bengal remembers. And Bengal will respond.

Mamata Banerjee has been unusually silent on this and many more!

Tailpiece.

Got up at a quarter to 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.

The Rajah team had come by to draw my blood samples for tests.

Had breakfast to be in time for the 'post prandial blood sugar' test.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch, watched "Snehakkoottu" followed by siesta.

The evening chores. 

Vishu '26.

Got up at 4, got the Vishukkani ready, brought Lekha from our first floor bedroom down below to our puja room to view the kani. "Kanikaanum neyram, kamalanethrante......", the iconic song that characterises Vishu, the festival always, was playing on the home theatre! It was a perfect beginning to Vishu '26!

Sent all the messages.

The Wednesday "aarathi" of the house was carried out.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Handed over the 'Vishukkaineettam' to Ramakrishnan, the newspaper boy.

Walked on the courtyard; recited my prayers and followed it up with the ground exercises.

Bath; handed over Lekha her Vishukkaineettam. A lovely breakfast of Aval nanachathu, uzhunnu vada and paal paayasam.

Wished Maman, Suma kunjamma and Aniyan, Vishu wishes.

Dismantled the Vishukkani, threw away the old flowers and put each of the items back into their respective places.

Lunch, watched television for a while followed by siesta.

The evening chores.

Watched a few of our favourite Malayalam serials. 

Hit the sack at our usual time of a half past 11.

 

Helping Lekha in setting up the "Vishukkani"

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.

The morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked on the courtyard; recited my prayers.

Breakfast of idlis and sambar!

Bath and was ready by a half past 10. Off to Dr Kripal's hospital for a second opinion on my medical test results.

Returned by a half past 2 after Lekha could finish her last-minute Vishu shopping.

Lunch, watched "Snehakkoottu" and siesta.

The evening chores.

Handed over the Vishukkaineettam to:-

     * Rajesh, our chauffeur

     * Farhaan, the medicine delivery boy

     * Pushpaakaran, the farmhand

     * Sukesan, the autorickshaw driver

     * Abhishek, the delivery boy from Harisree.

Post dinner, got down to setting up the Vishukkani with Lekha.

Tailpiece.

Was reminded of our first Vishukkani at The Quarterdeck with my Amma being the chief architect of the Vishukkani, in Apr 2014.

Adieu Asha Bhosle!

Asha Bhosle passed into the mist of time yesterday around 1100 hrs at the Breach Candy Hospital in Bombay.

She recorded her first song in 1943 and her last recorded song, "The Shadowy Light" came out two months ago. More than 12,000 songs across multiple languages - a career spanning 83 yrs - is her legacy! These are the days when one realises the insurmountable impact some artists have made in our lives. Asha Bhosle, without any exaggeration, is one of those rare artists.

Adieu Asha ji! My tears and prayers. You'll live on through your songs.

My all time favourite song of hers is "Aaiye Meherbaan" of Howrah Bridge!

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.

Walked on the courtyard: recited my prayers.

Bath followed by breakfast of semiya upma.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch, saw "Snehakkoottu" followed by siesta.

The evening chores.

Factories feel shortage of manpower.

Reminding the sight of migrant workers huddling together at Railway Stations during the Covid 19 severity, the flight of the migrant workers to their homes triggered by fears of shortage of cooking gas is a sad sight these days!

Manpower crisis

Federation of Indian Export Organisations(FIEO) says around 5-7% workers did not return due to LPG-related disruptions.

Industry players are seeking government intervention to improve living conditions of workers, introduce measures to minimise reverse migration.

The Tamilnadu government has asked Torrent Gas to ensure piped natural gas(PNG) supply to industrial units in madras within 60 days.

Around 10-20% migrant workers or roughly 10,000 labourers across western and southern Tamilnadu, have not returned to their workplaces.

Industry estimates indicate that nearly 2 lakh workers in Coimbatore left for Holi and are yet to return.

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.

Walked on the courtyard; recited my prayers.

Bath followed by breakfast of assorted stuff.

Lunch followed by siesta.

The evening chores.

Watched the movie, "Sarvam Maya", starring Nivin Pauly, Riya Shibu and Preity Mukhundhan along with the others. Lekha and I enjoyed it thoroughly.