Lekha had got up at 4 AM thanks to the alarm, I'd followed her a half an hour later and were ready in all respects by 10' to 7 and a call to Antony saw him with his auto rickshaw by 7, at our gate. We, thus, were at the road transport corporation's bus stand and clambered on to the Thiruvananthapuram super fast that left the station at 0725 hrs. I'd the vantage position to the left of the driver and could see the places whiz past as the bus gained momentum. We'd traveled with this duo earlier too and both the driver and the conductor gave us a happy wave as a sort of welcome! Felt nice!!
I was particularly eager to have a look see of all those places, enroute, that had broken down consequent to the recent floods. Things seem to have bounced back to normal from the sweeping view that I could get.....such is the resilience of the Malayalees. There were no signs of despair!
The road surfaces were okay, I mean, the number of potholes were less compared to what I'd anticipated. We reached the Vyttila hub by 10 o'clock. A quick visit to the rest rooms, in turn, by the both of us and almost as in cue, the low floor a/c bus headed for Thiruvananthapuram came into its parking bay. There were a lot of passengers but thankfully, Lekha could find a seat for herself in the melee. I'd a standing status all through the journey from Vyttila till about 30 km short of Kollam (A total of about 150 km), our destination, but it was manageable as I could rest my torso against the frame of the sliding door in the middle!
The stop for lunch was at the Kayankulam bus stand. Since Lekha had packed idlis and chutney, we devoured them and washed them down with the boiled 'thulsi' water that we were carrying. It was her insistence that we forsake eating from outside under the present circumstances and I thought that it was a very sensible suggestion! We reached Kollam by a half past 2 and after a brief wait at the bus stand, we could get a bus bound for Kottarakkara.
The road transport corporation's conductors continue to be parsimonious in dispensing with the change. I'd to get back Rs.4/- but in the hurry of disembarking from the bus, I'd forgotten about it and neither did the conductor remind me about it though he gave me a cute smile! It was once again a similar situation in the bus to Kottarakkara where the conductor owed me Rs.6/- this time. Before reaching the destination, this time, I'd asked for the change and he asked whether we'd any change at all and Lekha could fish out two one rupee coins. I was pleasantly surprised when he handed over a ten rupee note in return after much shaking of his head - Rs.2/- more than what I was supposed to get! Incidentally, there were many passengers who'd got down enroute without collecting their share, I'd observed.
On a lighter note, come to think of it, the change that the conductors pocket from their passengers is the biggest source of black money! It comes into circulation without being accounted for!
We were at Lekha's sister, Letha's place by a half past 3. This was gonna be our night halt for today as I'd delayed my going to Raj Nivas, after attending my nephew's wedding tomorrow.
Tailpiece.
It was a quiet evening where we could catch up from where we'd left last. Had a nice time indeed!
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