While going to sleep, Lekha and I'd decided not to press on leaving at 6. The day's proceedings had exhausted us and I didn't want to put more pressure on mom and Lekha. The alarm, curiously, played ball to a conspiracy and didn't go off at 0430h! Earlier, I'd got up around 10 past 3, tiptoed to mom's room to see whether she was okay and knocked off to sleep to get up at the appointed hour.
And when I got up later, it was a quarter past 5. The departure was, finally, by a quarter to 8, thoroughly disgusted at not having been able to sight the newspaper boy. But as we hit the highway, the familiar visage of Ramakrishnan was sighted and the day's newspapers were retrieved from him. Breakfast was at our familiar haunt and the journey was uneventful as the Sunday traffic wasn't messy. The church going crowds were visible at many places and it was a pleasant sight as always. The usual choke points were passed by with ease and we'd reached our haunt for lunch, about half an hour in advance!
I was thanking my stars for the journey having gone off peacefully, thus far. The time was a quarter past 3 and then, disaster struck - making my happiness quite short lived. Actually, the bugbear was another state road transport corporation's bus who edged my Chevy to the edge of the road, forcing me to touch hard on the rear view mirror of a parked car, forcing its mirror to fall off. Mine, too, had fallen off and cracked beyond repair. As I went to park my car in a safer position, a guy from the family came in and yanked my car's ignition key accusing me of trying to scoot. However much I tried to explain that such a tendency was not in my blood, they - by this time two more guys known to the family had joined up - would not listen
I, then, asked the owner as to what he desired but the others' were dictating terms - they wanted 4 grand. As I gave the money to the owner, without haggling, the same guys, who're acutely 'militant' just a while before had softened down and wanted to know more about me. That was the time when I said that I wasn't interested in extending my hand of friendship as they'd doubted my integrity, my intentions as one of them held on to my car's keys till the end and I thought that that was very ungentlemanly, as I perceive!
It was a disheartened me who did the remaining part of the journey. We'd called on Lekha's dad and Pidavoor amma enroute before reaching my dad's house. And then, it was a fairly long train of guests who were eager to meet mom!
It's almost five months since we'd come here last!!
Tailpiece.
The briefing for tomorrow's function was long but it gave us the gist of the day's programme.
And when I got up later, it was a quarter past 5. The departure was, finally, by a quarter to 8, thoroughly disgusted at not having been able to sight the newspaper boy. But as we hit the highway, the familiar visage of Ramakrishnan was sighted and the day's newspapers were retrieved from him. Breakfast was at our familiar haunt and the journey was uneventful as the Sunday traffic wasn't messy. The church going crowds were visible at many places and it was a pleasant sight as always. The usual choke points were passed by with ease and we'd reached our haunt for lunch, about half an hour in advance!
I was thanking my stars for the journey having gone off peacefully, thus far. The time was a quarter past 3 and then, disaster struck - making my happiness quite short lived. Actually, the bugbear was another state road transport corporation's bus who edged my Chevy to the edge of the road, forcing me to touch hard on the rear view mirror of a parked car, forcing its mirror to fall off. Mine, too, had fallen off and cracked beyond repair. As I went to park my car in a safer position, a guy from the family came in and yanked my car's ignition key accusing me of trying to scoot. However much I tried to explain that such a tendency was not in my blood, they - by this time two more guys known to the family had joined up - would not listen
I, then, asked the owner as to what he desired but the others' were dictating terms - they wanted 4 grand. As I gave the money to the owner, without haggling, the same guys, who're acutely 'militant' just a while before had softened down and wanted to know more about me. That was the time when I said that I wasn't interested in extending my hand of friendship as they'd doubted my integrity, my intentions as one of them held on to my car's keys till the end and I thought that that was very ungentlemanly, as I perceive!
It was a disheartened me who did the remaining part of the journey. We'd called on Lekha's dad and Pidavoor amma enroute before reaching my dad's house. And then, it was a fairly long train of guests who were eager to meet mom!
It's almost five months since we'd come here last!!
Tailpiece.
The briefing for tomorrow's function was long but it gave us the gist of the day's programme.
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