The day had started at 2, this morning. After going through my morning chores, I'd hit the road in my Chevy by 3. Unnikrishnan, a gulf returnee and who'd thousands of kilometers under his belt, was my 'saarthi' upon the family's insistence. I must admit that I wasn't very happy to see my car have someone else behind the wheel but the way Unni had handled the vehicle as he eased her out of the porch allayed all my misgivings.
He was a greenhorn insofar as the route was concerned but since our destination did not have too many diversions, that tricky aspect was sorted out. But we did go around in circles as we tried to negotiate out of Thrissur town and a turn negotiated at my bidding set us back by a few kilometers, though it had no impact in the final reckoning. We'd reached Ettumanoor, the destination, around 6 and since Unni was seeing the place for the first time, I'd insisted upon him to visit the famous 'Siva temple' as he was a keen temple-goer and because I did not want to be too early at my grand aunt's house, upsetting their early morning chores. And boy, didn't I give my uncle a start when he'd opened the front door to find me seated on one of the sofas in the courtyard and chided me for not having rung the doorbell on arrival. But frankly, it's hardly a wait! My folks and especially my aunts from Thiruvananthapuram were thrilled to see me.
The ceremony was simple, with each activity impregnated with meaning and the elderly 'karmi' took pains to explain the nuances. And it took about an hour and a half before we all sat down to have breakfast around 10 o'clock. An hour later, after getting interesting snatches from my grand uncle's diaries that he'd meticulously penned, I was on my way back satisfied having spent the day in a worthwhile fashion and was back home by about 3 PM.
Meanwhile, Lekha was back after attending her cousin's wedding and had given me a debrief of the entire event.
Tailpiece.
I'd gone by my inner calling and to relive the times spent with my grand aunt who'd showered me with love and affection during her lifetime. When her sons thanked me for fetching up, I'd to gently remind them that it was my duty to be there as a mark of respect and love to the departed soul and a great person!
PS.
The person who'd have been damn glad by the day's proceedings would have been my ammachi, Mrs. PN Panicker for the following reasons:-
(a) she was very, very fond of her kid sister, Kalyanikutty(the feelings were mutual, actually).
(b) she used to encourage me to go to Ettumanoor at the slightest pretext.
(c) when she'd passed into the mist of time on 25 Jul '91, my folks had kept me off from the
devastating news because I was doing an important course(?) at the Staff College at Ooty
and therefore, had missed out on all the ceremonies connected to her last rites.
(d) by my going through the nuances for her sister, she'd have pardoned my absence then!
He was a greenhorn insofar as the route was concerned but since our destination did not have too many diversions, that tricky aspect was sorted out. But we did go around in circles as we tried to negotiate out of Thrissur town and a turn negotiated at my bidding set us back by a few kilometers, though it had no impact in the final reckoning. We'd reached Ettumanoor, the destination, around 6 and since Unni was seeing the place for the first time, I'd insisted upon him to visit the famous 'Siva temple' as he was a keen temple-goer and because I did not want to be too early at my grand aunt's house, upsetting their early morning chores. And boy, didn't I give my uncle a start when he'd opened the front door to find me seated on one of the sofas in the courtyard and chided me for not having rung the doorbell on arrival. But frankly, it's hardly a wait! My folks and especially my aunts from Thiruvananthapuram were thrilled to see me.
The ceremony was simple, with each activity impregnated with meaning and the elderly 'karmi' took pains to explain the nuances. And it took about an hour and a half before we all sat down to have breakfast around 10 o'clock. An hour later, after getting interesting snatches from my grand uncle's diaries that he'd meticulously penned, I was on my way back satisfied having spent the day in a worthwhile fashion and was back home by about 3 PM.
Meanwhile, Lekha was back after attending her cousin's wedding and had given me a debrief of the entire event.
Tailpiece.
I'd gone by my inner calling and to relive the times spent with my grand aunt who'd showered me with love and affection during her lifetime. When her sons thanked me for fetching up, I'd to gently remind them that it was my duty to be there as a mark of respect and love to the departed soul and a great person!
PS.
The person who'd have been damn glad by the day's proceedings would have been my ammachi, Mrs. PN Panicker for the following reasons:-
(a) she was very, very fond of her kid sister, Kalyanikutty(the feelings were mutual, actually).
(b) she used to encourage me to go to Ettumanoor at the slightest pretext.
(c) when she'd passed into the mist of time on 25 Jul '91, my folks had kept me off from the
devastating news because I was doing an important course(?) at the Staff College at Ooty
and therefore, had missed out on all the ceremonies connected to her last rites.
(d) by my going through the nuances for her sister, she'd have pardoned my absence then!
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