We kicked off from 'Raj Niavas' by a half past 6 and was seen off by the caretaker, only to return from Parankimaamukal to retrieve the remainder of the gifts that Ammu had received during her wedding. We'd, also, dropped in to meet Pidavoor Amma and I felt comfortable as I saw her with hands folded in prayer for our safe journey, on my rear view mirror as I cast off!
An hour later, we're at the Mannarassala Snake Temple to pay obeisance that was long overdue. I remembered our last visit, more than a year back, with mom and I'd stayed back with her as she didn't want to climb up the stairs and enter the premises. The breakfast that we had - post 'darshan' - was simply 'tasteless and odourless'! Wonder how these guys have the audacity to do such an outrageous thing! Simply put, it's the outright cheating of the pilgrims!!
While continuing on our journey, we gleaned from the FM Radio that there was a 'hartal' on in Ernakulam and that an unruly crowd was creating nuisance at Aluva, that we'd to pass through. A quick confirmation with my cousin made me opt for the comparatively narrow route of NH 17, through Kodungalloor. However, by doing so, we'd unwittingly got into another problem. Since the Ramzan fasting was on, every wayside eatery had downed its shutter only to open in the evenings, when the fast would be broken! So, having a snack was simply out of the question!!
Luckily, we found a decent eatery at Vaadaanappilli - a bit late into our usual lunchtime - where we gorged on the 'chicken biriyani' and 'faluda'! Half an hour later, we're at Guruvayur where I made a beeline to get the 'pollution under control' certificate for our Chevy! The sequence of events narrated below will confirm the criticality of collecting the certificate:-
* 13 May Met with the accident at Vandaanam at Alappuzha. Handed over the
Chevy to the service station at Kollam.
* 15 May The validity of the PUC certificate that I had, had expired.
* 29 May Got my car back from the workshop. Drove from Kollam to my home.
* 30 May Reached Guruvayur and made a beeline to the testing center that I
frequent and had the calibration done. Phew! The pollution level is
within acceptable limits.
We're at 'The Quarterdeck' by a half past 2. Lekha and I had a short nap as we felt too tired to unpack forthwith and it was after tea that we did the unpacking and put the soiled clothes for wash, marking the end of yet another trip. The evening walk was a short one, thankfully I could get a good card and order a cake for Lekha as it's her birthday, tomorrow and the day after - the first, as per the English calendar while the second was as per the Malayalam calendar.
Tailpiece.
A satisfying experience! I've carried out my duties as the patriarch. How it went off and how well it was conducted are left for the participants and the viewers to comment upon......I'd not taken any shortcuts and neither did I scrounge! In the process, 'Raj Nivas' was spruced up and it's looking nice.
An hour later, we're at the Mannarassala Snake Temple to pay obeisance that was long overdue. I remembered our last visit, more than a year back, with mom and I'd stayed back with her as she didn't want to climb up the stairs and enter the premises. The breakfast that we had - post 'darshan' - was simply 'tasteless and odourless'! Wonder how these guys have the audacity to do such an outrageous thing! Simply put, it's the outright cheating of the pilgrims!!
While continuing on our journey, we gleaned from the FM Radio that there was a 'hartal' on in Ernakulam and that an unruly crowd was creating nuisance at Aluva, that we'd to pass through. A quick confirmation with my cousin made me opt for the comparatively narrow route of NH 17, through Kodungalloor. However, by doing so, we'd unwittingly got into another problem. Since the Ramzan fasting was on, every wayside eatery had downed its shutter only to open in the evenings, when the fast would be broken! So, having a snack was simply out of the question!!
Luckily, we found a decent eatery at Vaadaanappilli - a bit late into our usual lunchtime - where we gorged on the 'chicken biriyani' and 'faluda'! Half an hour later, we're at Guruvayur where I made a beeline to get the 'pollution under control' certificate for our Chevy! The sequence of events narrated below will confirm the criticality of collecting the certificate:-
* 13 May Met with the accident at Vandaanam at Alappuzha. Handed over the
Chevy to the service station at Kollam.
* 15 May The validity of the PUC certificate that I had, had expired.
* 29 May Got my car back from the workshop. Drove from Kollam to my home.
* 30 May Reached Guruvayur and made a beeline to the testing center that I
frequent and had the calibration done. Phew! The pollution level is
within acceptable limits.
We're at 'The Quarterdeck' by a half past 2. Lekha and I had a short nap as we felt too tired to unpack forthwith and it was after tea that we did the unpacking and put the soiled clothes for wash, marking the end of yet another trip. The evening walk was a short one, thankfully I could get a good card and order a cake for Lekha as it's her birthday, tomorrow and the day after - the first, as per the English calendar while the second was as per the Malayalam calendar.
Tailpiece.
A satisfying experience! I've carried out my duties as the patriarch. How it went off and how well it was conducted are left for the participants and the viewers to comment upon......I'd not taken any shortcuts and neither did I scrounge! In the process, 'Raj Nivas' was spruced up and it's looking nice.
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