Lekha returned after a 25 day absence, this evening, around 4. She was chauffeured by Manikuttan, an old family faithful. Unfortunately, for them there were traffic snarls galore on the way and hence, despite the fact that they'd left Kottarakkara by 7, could only reach around teatime. For mom and me, her return was simply great because it was getting to be tough going through the daily chores without her directions, the presence of an efficient assistant in Preetha, notwithstanding! But we went through the grind, without cribs, as we wanted her to go about her mourning phase without any pressure from us for her return.
* * *
The world is really small, we've already spoken about it many a time. This evening, Rachayita, my friend at Pune, had called up asking me to talk to a friend of her's at Thiruvananthapuram, who was going through extreme depression because her husband had passed away a couple of months back, owing to a massive heart attack. All of 44 years, he'd not come to terms with him not having made it on the Captains' promotion list - he was a Commander and an engineer of the Indian Navy!
They've a son studying in class X and she has been staying with her mom ever since her husband's death. And her mom was working for an NGO.
I spoke to the distraught lady and came to know that the NGO that her mom worked for was none other than the PN Panicker Foundation. And it all came back to me with a remarkable clarity. The old lady used to speak proudly about her son-in-law since she knew that I, too, was from that fraternity. It was during my previous visit that Maman had told me that she was on leave to be with her daughter who'd suffered the tragic loss. The curd that she used to get from her home was a favourite for Maman and me during lunch and she used to be genuinely pleased as we relished her 'brand'.
Have told her that I'd look her up on my visit to Thiruvananthapuram, beginning tomorrow.
* * *
My sister had called up, soon after I returned from my walk, to say that Achu had come on weekend and that they were setting off from Palakkad to be with us. Didn't tell mom about their programme and so when they met ultimately, wasn't she thrilled?
Tailpiece.
My cellphone was in a bad shape thanks to a depleted battery. In fact, communication had come to a standstill last night itself and as it happens on such occasions, there were a few who were trying to get in touch. Well, I got the battery changed this morning and presto, all the erratic functioning that had become a frequent phenomenon all this while, immediately became a thing of the past. Wish I hadn't procrastinated for so long!
* * *
The world is really small, we've already spoken about it many a time. This evening, Rachayita, my friend at Pune, had called up asking me to talk to a friend of her's at Thiruvananthapuram, who was going through extreme depression because her husband had passed away a couple of months back, owing to a massive heart attack. All of 44 years, he'd not come to terms with him not having made it on the Captains' promotion list - he was a Commander and an engineer of the Indian Navy!
They've a son studying in class X and she has been staying with her mom ever since her husband's death. And her mom was working for an NGO.
I spoke to the distraught lady and came to know that the NGO that her mom worked for was none other than the PN Panicker Foundation. And it all came back to me with a remarkable clarity. The old lady used to speak proudly about her son-in-law since she knew that I, too, was from that fraternity. It was during my previous visit that Maman had told me that she was on leave to be with her daughter who'd suffered the tragic loss. The curd that she used to get from her home was a favourite for Maman and me during lunch and she used to be genuinely pleased as we relished her 'brand'.
Have told her that I'd look her up on my visit to Thiruvananthapuram, beginning tomorrow.
* * *
My sister had called up, soon after I returned from my walk, to say that Achu had come on weekend and that they were setting off from Palakkad to be with us. Didn't tell mom about their programme and so when they met ultimately, wasn't she thrilled?
Tailpiece.
My cellphone was in a bad shape thanks to a depleted battery. In fact, communication had come to a standstill last night itself and as it happens on such occasions, there were a few who were trying to get in touch. Well, I got the battery changed this morning and presto, all the erratic functioning that had become a frequent phenomenon all this while, immediately became a thing of the past. Wish I hadn't procrastinated for so long!
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