Next week is gonna be hectic with plenty of travel on the cards and as per earlier arrangement, mom had to be shifted to my sister's place at Palakkad. So, it was work as usual in the morning and after having cleared the log, we'd hit the road by lunchtime. The traffic was smooth with no major clutter of vehicles enroute and after a brief respite for lunch at the half way mark, we're at my sister's place by a quarter past 3.
The 30 odd km from Mannuthy through the Kuthiraan hill was much better with the resurfacing done, on a war footing a couple of weeks back, but I'm doubtful about its longevity and my reasons are:-
(a) The highway's new surface does look brittle and not strong enough to take on the wear and tear
that would be caused by the movement of heavily laden vehicles on interstate material transfer. A sad
testimony to the fact that we aren't even able to grow our own food grains, vegetables and fruits within
the state!
(b) The width of the new surface leaves out fringes on both sides unsurfaced, with the net result that the
highway has become narrower and the thickness of the new lay has increased, so much so, that
there is a sheer drop - about a foot at places - at the extremities. Speeding and erratic vehicles can
fetch trouble for the asking!
(c) There are patches that require to be done up and the motorists, I'm sure, go through despair while
negotiating those unbelievably huge craters. The erratic driving that could be consequential, can make
a few of them drive crazily on the resurfaced stretch to bring about a hasty wear and tear, what with
the frequent rains that are prevalent!
After the detailed briefing about mom's medicines - the dosages and the timings, that is - to my sister, we'd kicked off back for Kochi by 1600h, after a quick cuppa, so as to avoid driving after sunset, to the extent feasible. And thankfully, it was managed as all factors seemed to work favourably.
There was a minor skirmish just before entering the city, when another vehicle had passed uncomfortably close, to slam the extended left rear view mirror into the stowed position with a loud thump. And weren't I relieved?
It was indeed a short and uneventful trip!
Tailpiece.
Mom will be with my sister for the coming fortnight. The temporary stillness in her room has brought about an unusual 'quiet' - we've already started to miss her!
The 30 odd km from Mannuthy through the Kuthiraan hill was much better with the resurfacing done, on a war footing a couple of weeks back, but I'm doubtful about its longevity and my reasons are:-
(a) The highway's new surface does look brittle and not strong enough to take on the wear and tear
that would be caused by the movement of heavily laden vehicles on interstate material transfer. A sad
testimony to the fact that we aren't even able to grow our own food grains, vegetables and fruits within
the state!
(b) The width of the new surface leaves out fringes on both sides unsurfaced, with the net result that the
highway has become narrower and the thickness of the new lay has increased, so much so, that
there is a sheer drop - about a foot at places - at the extremities. Speeding and erratic vehicles can
fetch trouble for the asking!
(c) There are patches that require to be done up and the motorists, I'm sure, go through despair while
negotiating those unbelievably huge craters. The erratic driving that could be consequential, can make
a few of them drive crazily on the resurfaced stretch to bring about a hasty wear and tear, what with
the frequent rains that are prevalent!
After the detailed briefing about mom's medicines - the dosages and the timings, that is - to my sister, we'd kicked off back for Kochi by 1600h, after a quick cuppa, so as to avoid driving after sunset, to the extent feasible. And thankfully, it was managed as all factors seemed to work favourably.
There was a minor skirmish just before entering the city, when another vehicle had passed uncomfortably close, to slam the extended left rear view mirror into the stowed position with a loud thump. And weren't I relieved?
It was indeed a short and uneventful trip!
Tailpiece.
Mom will be with my sister for the coming fortnight. The temporary stillness in her room has brought about an unusual 'quiet' - we've already started to miss her!
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