My neighbour had called up in the morning to tell me that the body of his father-in-law would be brought in from the morgue at 1000 hrs and then, taken to the crematorium after half an hour. Accordingly, Lekha and I had gone to pay our last respects. We're seeing the old man for the first..... and also, for the last time! I'd, then, accompanied the cortege to the nearby electric crematorium, about a kilometer and a half from our place.
They weren't waiting for any more of their relatives to fetch up and anyways, the relief at seeing an end to the old man's woes for over the last fortnight was palpable. His three children - two daughters and a son, who's totally dependent on him - were in attendance. I, too, had helped in the shifting of the body from the ambulance to the stretcher and finally, on to the pyre. The mortal remains were pushed into the electric furnace and the doors were shut and Mr. Prabhakaran had become memory around a quarter past 11!
RIP, sir. My prayers and admiration for your having lived a good life without any medical problems till that Sunday's fall and the consequent complications. And as I understand you're wheeled into the hospital, brain dead, and hence didn't feel the pain.
* * *
Soon after return, it's a quick wash and I was off to the service station to admit my Chevy for its starting trouble. Actually, it had begun after our recent trip to Kovalam and back, in connection with our school's alumni day. I didn't use the car for the next few days and then, the problem had cropped up. There was a pending tinkering work that I'd intended to get done this time. The change over to a new battery would be done only after ascertaining the actual fault. Moreover, the car had to undergo a servicing after having run more than 60,000 kms and it was gonna cost about Rs.34 grand. Manikandan, the technical adviser and Prasobh, the customer adviser were keen that I did not spend the entire amount at one shot and on the pretext that the spares weren't available, the routines have been postponed after my completing the Kochi trip, next week, for Lekha's medical review.
While appreciating their concern, I reiterated that for me, my car had to be absolutely trouble free as I didn't want any wayside emergency because I usually travelled with mom and Lekha all the time!
........It's a delayed lunch by a quarter to 3!
Tailpiece.
The walk was nice and it was a quiet evening, thereafter!
They weren't waiting for any more of their relatives to fetch up and anyways, the relief at seeing an end to the old man's woes for over the last fortnight was palpable. His three children - two daughters and a son, who's totally dependent on him - were in attendance. I, too, had helped in the shifting of the body from the ambulance to the stretcher and finally, on to the pyre. The mortal remains were pushed into the electric furnace and the doors were shut and Mr. Prabhakaran had become memory around a quarter past 11!
RIP, sir. My prayers and admiration for your having lived a good life without any medical problems till that Sunday's fall and the consequent complications. And as I understand you're wheeled into the hospital, brain dead, and hence didn't feel the pain.
* * *
Soon after return, it's a quick wash and I was off to the service station to admit my Chevy for its starting trouble. Actually, it had begun after our recent trip to Kovalam and back, in connection with our school's alumni day. I didn't use the car for the next few days and then, the problem had cropped up. There was a pending tinkering work that I'd intended to get done this time. The change over to a new battery would be done only after ascertaining the actual fault. Moreover, the car had to undergo a servicing after having run more than 60,000 kms and it was gonna cost about Rs.34 grand. Manikandan, the technical adviser and Prasobh, the customer adviser were keen that I did not spend the entire amount at one shot and on the pretext that the spares weren't available, the routines have been postponed after my completing the Kochi trip, next week, for Lekha's medical review.
While appreciating their concern, I reiterated that for me, my car had to be absolutely trouble free as I didn't want any wayside emergency because I usually travelled with mom and Lekha all the time!
........It's a delayed lunch by a quarter to 3!
Tailpiece.
The walk was nice and it was a quiet evening, thereafter!
No comments:
Post a Comment