Last Saturday while the quiz was on I'd got a call from Sivasankaran, a friend of mine, after what seemed to be a long time. Since he could hear the background noises, he'd volunteered to call me up an hour later and was very apologetic because he was inviting me for his daughter's wedding that was scheduled for Monday and seemed miserable, wondering as to how he'd missed us in the guest list.
He'd put an enormous pressure on me because my not attending the function - even with valid reasons - would have been tantamount to the fact that I was being churlish about being invited at the last moment and though there were a couple of things to tie up, I'd made up my mind to go. Lekha and mom would give each other company and a few more things had to be tied up for the forthcoming puja.
I'd cast off by the 0645h shuttle to Ernakulam and boy, two things literally threw me off balance viz.:-
(a) the two serpentine queues at the counters consisting of commuters waiting to buy the tickets
for the train. I'd joined one of them and saw that the clock said it was 35 past 6. I'd got my
ticket at two minutes before departure!
(b) the massive crowd within the compartment. People - mostly the office going crowd - were
packed in the berth like sardines. Going to the toilet was a Herculean task and thankfully, my
bladders had behaved, for a change!
The crowd remained the same in intensity till Ernakulam North, the penultimate station. It was there that I'd wolfed down Lekha's packed breakfast. Disembarking at the Ernakulam Junction, I was exposed to another nonsensical situation - auto rickshaws weren't available and the prepaid ticket
issuing cubicle was closed. I, then, decided to go to the other side of the station thinking maybe I'd be more lucky to get a vehicle out there and as I was on my way, came across my nephew who'd come by the Jana Shatabdi from Thiruvananthapuram - his wife is expecting and the 'D'-date is supposed to be in the first week of July.
It was he who told me that the auto rickshaw guys were up in arms about the fact that the Olay and Uber taxi services have gained acceptance among the public for their promptness and comparatively low fares! The rick guys were, consequently, out of their depth and hence, their unacceptable behaviour!!
The Uber dropped me at my friend, Ajit's, place from where we'd left for the venue of the wedding by about 1030 hrs after a quick wash and change. The way Sivasankaran received me told it all and wasn't he thrilled? The wedding was a grand affair and I was able to meet up with a good amount of my course mates and friends. It's a day well spent!
Tailpiece.
1. Satish and Santhi, who were off to Thiruvananthapuram had dropped me at the transport hub enroute to help me board my bus to Guruvayur. It's nice catching up with them.
2. At the wedding, thanks to the close circuit television, I'd noticed that Lekha's cousin and his wife were present in the audience and came to know that they're representing the boy's side. Was meeting them after a long while!
3. Was back home by a half past 5 for a late cup of tea and in time for my evening walk. There's a lull in the rains, phew!
He'd put an enormous pressure on me because my not attending the function - even with valid reasons - would have been tantamount to the fact that I was being churlish about being invited at the last moment and though there were a couple of things to tie up, I'd made up my mind to go. Lekha and mom would give each other company and a few more things had to be tied up for the forthcoming puja.
I'd cast off by the 0645h shuttle to Ernakulam and boy, two things literally threw me off balance viz.:-
(a) the two serpentine queues at the counters consisting of commuters waiting to buy the tickets
for the train. I'd joined one of them and saw that the clock said it was 35 past 6. I'd got my
ticket at two minutes before departure!
(b) the massive crowd within the compartment. People - mostly the office going crowd - were
packed in the berth like sardines. Going to the toilet was a Herculean task and thankfully, my
bladders had behaved, for a change!
The crowd remained the same in intensity till Ernakulam North, the penultimate station. It was there that I'd wolfed down Lekha's packed breakfast. Disembarking at the Ernakulam Junction, I was exposed to another nonsensical situation - auto rickshaws weren't available and the prepaid ticket
issuing cubicle was closed. I, then, decided to go to the other side of the station thinking maybe I'd be more lucky to get a vehicle out there and as I was on my way, came across my nephew who'd come by the Jana Shatabdi from Thiruvananthapuram - his wife is expecting and the 'D'-date is supposed to be in the first week of July.
It was he who told me that the auto rickshaw guys were up in arms about the fact that the Olay and Uber taxi services have gained acceptance among the public for their promptness and comparatively low fares! The rick guys were, consequently, out of their depth and hence, their unacceptable behaviour!!
The Uber dropped me at my friend, Ajit's, place from where we'd left for the venue of the wedding by about 1030 hrs after a quick wash and change. The way Sivasankaran received me told it all and wasn't he thrilled? The wedding was a grand affair and I was able to meet up with a good amount of my course mates and friends. It's a day well spent!
Tailpiece.
1. Satish and Santhi, who were off to Thiruvananthapuram had dropped me at the transport hub enroute to help me board my bus to Guruvayur. It's nice catching up with them.
2. At the wedding, thanks to the close circuit television, I'd noticed that Lekha's cousin and his wife were present in the audience and came to know that they're representing the boy's side. Was meeting them after a long while!
3. Was back home by a half past 5 for a late cup of tea and in time for my evening walk. There's a lull in the rains, phew!
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