Had got up, on the dot at 4, went through my chores and was out of the house by a half past 5 as Antony was on call instead of Anto. The train left on time and maintained its punctuality till Ettumanoor, a station short of Kottayam. Meanwhile, I'd decided to call on Sarala kunjamma and her husband, who weren't keeping well of late.
It was her daughter, Vidya, who gave the necessary directions to the auto rickshaw driver, to their new house into which they'd shifted only a couple of months back. It was a two storeyed building in which the owner had stacked up his stuff in the ground floor. The difficulty was that the main bathroom and toilet were on the ground floor which is, indeed, a tough proposition for my kunjamma.
She looked bright and cheerful though Unni kochachhan was running a fever thanks to an infection on his right foot. Vidya took him to his doctor as I chatted up my kunjamma. She and her grandchildren looked after me to ensure that nothing went wrong during the short stay! Meanwhile, I also did take take time to marshal my thoughts on CG chettan, to speak at the commemorative meeting that was being held at the KPS Menon auditorium at a half past 4 this evening, within the premises of the Public Library - the raison de tre of this trip of mine. I'd a conversation with Maman to ensure that I didn't miss out on anything about CG chettan and noted down a few points.
After catching up on my 40 winks, I'd interacted for a while with the entire family before going off to the Public Library. The session was well crafted with the designated speakers paying glowing tributes to the lovable CG. I'd concentrated on his relationship with my grandfather and the family. I'd likened their rapport to the legendary 'Sri Ram - Hanuman' relationship and at the end of it, offered my condolences to the family who sat attentively in the audience. A few of them had wept when I'd dwelt upon the depth of the PN Panicker-CG Vasudevan Nair relationship and the gist of our conversation during our last meeting in January.
Perhaps, Maman's urgent requirement of having to be in New Delhi and my consequent presence at the event was but the logical conclusion of bringing the second generation of the PN Panicker family to pay tributes to the simple yet elegant man. His love for his mentor had to be felicitated! He was receptive of the latest trends and an active participant towards attaining the membership of the National Digital Library through the Indian Public Library Movement under the auspices of the PN Panicker Foundation and getting the small time traders of the town of Kottayam under the ambit of digital payments.
I was, then, dropped at the KSRTC bus stand by LT Paul sir's chauffeur and got on to a bus for Vyttila. Three traffic snarls enroute and the non availability of auto rickshaws - they don't do trips after 8, in the evening, I was told. A lot many empty ones had passed by and I'd thumbed for them during my trudge between Vyttila and Kadavantra but to no avail, it was drizzling too - brought an exhausted me at the Ernakulam Junction railway station around 10' to 9. It was Milton - a clear headed auto rick driver - who turned out to be the angel and pulled me out of that wretchedness as I passed Kadavantra!
The Thiruvananthapuram-Guruvayur Intercity Express was late by about half an hour and I could finally board it by a quarter past 10. Phew!
Tailpiece.
Babu Syriac, my classmate and friend had called up, after seeing my jottings on the what'sApp, to point out to me that I'd passed his house during the day! I could have easily called on him and Joma, too - a nice chance missed!!
It was her daughter, Vidya, who gave the necessary directions to the auto rickshaw driver, to their new house into which they'd shifted only a couple of months back. It was a two storeyed building in which the owner had stacked up his stuff in the ground floor. The difficulty was that the main bathroom and toilet were on the ground floor which is, indeed, a tough proposition for my kunjamma.
She looked bright and cheerful though Unni kochachhan was running a fever thanks to an infection on his right foot. Vidya took him to his doctor as I chatted up my kunjamma. She and her grandchildren looked after me to ensure that nothing went wrong during the short stay! Meanwhile, I also did take take time to marshal my thoughts on CG chettan, to speak at the commemorative meeting that was being held at the KPS Menon auditorium at a half past 4 this evening, within the premises of the Public Library - the raison de tre of this trip of mine. I'd a conversation with Maman to ensure that I didn't miss out on anything about CG chettan and noted down a few points.
After catching up on my 40 winks, I'd interacted for a while with the entire family before going off to the Public Library. The session was well crafted with the designated speakers paying glowing tributes to the lovable CG. I'd concentrated on his relationship with my grandfather and the family. I'd likened their rapport to the legendary 'Sri Ram - Hanuman' relationship and at the end of it, offered my condolences to the family who sat attentively in the audience. A few of them had wept when I'd dwelt upon the depth of the PN Panicker-CG Vasudevan Nair relationship and the gist of our conversation during our last meeting in January.
Perhaps, Maman's urgent requirement of having to be in New Delhi and my consequent presence at the event was but the logical conclusion of bringing the second generation of the PN Panicker family to pay tributes to the simple yet elegant man. His love for his mentor had to be felicitated! He was receptive of the latest trends and an active participant towards attaining the membership of the National Digital Library through the Indian Public Library Movement under the auspices of the PN Panicker Foundation and getting the small time traders of the town of Kottayam under the ambit of digital payments.
I was, then, dropped at the KSRTC bus stand by LT Paul sir's chauffeur and got on to a bus for Vyttila. Three traffic snarls enroute and the non availability of auto rickshaws - they don't do trips after 8, in the evening, I was told. A lot many empty ones had passed by and I'd thumbed for them during my trudge between Vyttila and Kadavantra but to no avail, it was drizzling too - brought an exhausted me at the Ernakulam Junction railway station around 10' to 9. It was Milton - a clear headed auto rick driver - who turned out to be the angel and pulled me out of that wretchedness as I passed Kadavantra!
The Thiruvananthapuram-Guruvayur Intercity Express was late by about half an hour and I could finally board it by a quarter past 10. Phew!
Tailpiece.
Babu Syriac, my classmate and friend had called up, after seeing my jottings on the what'sApp, to point out to me that I'd passed his house during the day! I could have easily called on him and Joma, too - a nice chance missed!!
No comments:
Post a Comment