Had got up with the alarm at 4 and after quickly going through the morning chores, was off to the railway station by Anto's autorickshaw. Disaster struck soon after we'd reached the Mammiyoor kshetram - I'd forgotten to carry my cellphone! Luckily since I was well in time, we could make a quick dash back, fetch the stuff and proceed onward.
The journey was okay, but at Pudukkad, the train had an unscheduled stop of 20 minutes because somebody had pulled the chain! And that upset my meeting up with somebody at Idapalli to whom I'd to hand over an important piece of paper. The best thing that happened was that a ticket was waiting for me by the faster, Jan Shatabdi thanks to Paulson, Ramjith - both my ex-shipmates - and PT Joseph of the railways. What I'd to do was to just get off the Fast Passenger at the Ernakulam North railway station, collect it and press on with my journey to Thiruvananthapuram.
Memories of my schooldays and the numerous football matches that were witnessed whizzed past my mind as the train crossed Kaniyapuram and Kazhakuttam stations. By 2 o'clock, I'd reached the Foundation's office and without ado, joined in the preparations for attending a public programme that was to take place at 1600h at the premises of the Karakulam panchayat of Thiruvananthapuram district.
The mood at the venue was electrifying and there was tremendous enthusiasm that rent the air. Mr. Kunhalikutty, the state's Industry and IT minister, had declared the panchayat 100% e-literate, which incidentally, was the second in the district to have achieved this distinction as part of our ongoing drive. 68 year old, Paru, was thrilled to bits and was all smiles as she received her certificate proclaiming her 'e-literate' from the minister. She's, incidentally, a farm labourer!
History was being made!!
Tailpiece.
Snapshots of an earlier album flipped past during the event. The sight of Kathamma, an elderly lady of about 80 years, hugging my grandfather for having achieved the ability to write her name and put down her signature thanks to the relentless work of Muthachan's KANFED(Kerala Association for Non Formal Education and Development), came into focus with striking clarity.
......I'm sure Muthachan was there at the meeting grounds in spirit! And no pun intended, please!!
The journey was okay, but at Pudukkad, the train had an unscheduled stop of 20 minutes because somebody had pulled the chain! And that upset my meeting up with somebody at Idapalli to whom I'd to hand over an important piece of paper. The best thing that happened was that a ticket was waiting for me by the faster, Jan Shatabdi thanks to Paulson, Ramjith - both my ex-shipmates - and PT Joseph of the railways. What I'd to do was to just get off the Fast Passenger at the Ernakulam North railway station, collect it and press on with my journey to Thiruvananthapuram.
Memories of my schooldays and the numerous football matches that were witnessed whizzed past my mind as the train crossed Kaniyapuram and Kazhakuttam stations. By 2 o'clock, I'd reached the Foundation's office and without ado, joined in the preparations for attending a public programme that was to take place at 1600h at the premises of the Karakulam panchayat of Thiruvananthapuram district.
The mood at the venue was electrifying and there was tremendous enthusiasm that rent the air. Mr. Kunhalikutty, the state's Industry and IT minister, had declared the panchayat 100% e-literate, which incidentally, was the second in the district to have achieved this distinction as part of our ongoing drive. 68 year old, Paru, was thrilled to bits and was all smiles as she received her certificate proclaiming her 'e-literate' from the minister. She's, incidentally, a farm labourer!
History was being made!!
Tailpiece.
Snapshots of an earlier album flipped past during the event. The sight of Kathamma, an elderly lady of about 80 years, hugging my grandfather for having achieved the ability to write her name and put down her signature thanks to the relentless work of Muthachan's KANFED(Kerala Association for Non Formal Education and Development), came into focus with striking clarity.
......I'm sure Muthachan was there at the meeting grounds in spirit! And no pun intended, please!!
No comments:
Post a Comment