The day had begun, yet again, at 4 this morning. It was pouring and I'd reckoned a drive through rain, over the entire distance but it turned out to be otherwise. We were ready before 6, the shutting down of 'Raj Nivas' was complete and I'd asked the caretaker to be present when we were leaving. Actually, I wanted his help to load two of the main bags that were heavy.
Accordingly, he was there to see us off and I'd given him a couple of electrical problems that needed to be addressed without delay. We had set off around a quarter past 6, stopping at the 'Nagaraja temple' to give a small offering - a tradition that has been handed over to us, as a habit, by mom. At Kottarakkara, the Chevy was topped up with fuel but the tyre pressure wasn't checked as it was done just a couple of days back and the vehicle had not traversed too much of distance subsequent to it.
The Kayankulam - Punalur road did not have much of traffic during that time and therefore, I could clip through that 30 km stretch at an average speed of 60 kmph. There were rains, here and there, though not continuously and we were at the Kalpakavadi Inn by 8. Both Lekha and I like that place because of its idyllic location but I must say that the standard of food and the cleanliness of the toilets need to improve drastically, failing which, it's gonna lose out even among its hardcore followers like us!
On the Kayankulam - Alappuzha stretch, I came across a nasty driver - only one this time, thankfully. I shall give the details, in point form, for easier comprehension:-
* I had begun overtaking an Indian Oil fuel tanker, seeing that this fellow was approaching us but
was well behind and that I'd be able to clear without problems.
* But what he did was to give a burst of speed, switch on his headlights and sounded the horn
as though he was sitting on it.
* Realising that the situation had changed, I'd to pull back behind the tanker and what I can never
forget was the stupid smile on his face, smug that he'd stopped me from doing what I'd wanted
to do.
The passage through Alappuzha was smooth but Ernakulam was a different proposition. There was a long hold out at Kundannoor and Palarivattom junctions (Vyttila junction, comparatively, was a cake walk!) where flyovers are under construction/repairs. Lost about an hour there! The journey, subsequently, was quite uneventful and we reached Thrissur - covering a total of about 250 kms - by a half past 1. We'd lunch at a nice wayside eatery, short off Puzhakkal, where the snarl was what it is known to be famous for coupled with blinding rain for the subsequent 15'!
Before reaching 'The Quarterdeck', we'd stopped at the department store, short of the Mammiyoor kshetram where Lekha had to buy grocery, fruits and other tidbits. By the time we'd reached 'The
Quarterdeck' it was a half past 2 and after an hour's snooze, the used clothes of the journey were put through, what I'd call, washing machinex.
And it started to rain around sunset.
Tailpiece.
Was painfully reminiscing this day, three years back, when mom was sinking and I was ignorant of the fact that she'd leave us the next day. How I wish that I'd done the 'sayana pradakshinam', at the Guruvayur temple, to retrieve her from the jaws of death! I have still not been able to understand as to why that thought had not crossed my mind, then!!
Accordingly, he was there to see us off and I'd given him a couple of electrical problems that needed to be addressed without delay. We had set off around a quarter past 6, stopping at the 'Nagaraja temple' to give a small offering - a tradition that has been handed over to us, as a habit, by mom. At Kottarakkara, the Chevy was topped up with fuel but the tyre pressure wasn't checked as it was done just a couple of days back and the vehicle had not traversed too much of distance subsequent to it.
The Kayankulam - Punalur road did not have much of traffic during that time and therefore, I could clip through that 30 km stretch at an average speed of 60 kmph. There were rains, here and there, though not continuously and we were at the Kalpakavadi Inn by 8. Both Lekha and I like that place because of its idyllic location but I must say that the standard of food and the cleanliness of the toilets need to improve drastically, failing which, it's gonna lose out even among its hardcore followers like us!
On the Kayankulam - Alappuzha stretch, I came across a nasty driver - only one this time, thankfully. I shall give the details, in point form, for easier comprehension:-
* I had begun overtaking an Indian Oil fuel tanker, seeing that this fellow was approaching us but
was well behind and that I'd be able to clear without problems.
* But what he did was to give a burst of speed, switch on his headlights and sounded the horn
as though he was sitting on it.
* Realising that the situation had changed, I'd to pull back behind the tanker and what I can never
forget was the stupid smile on his face, smug that he'd stopped me from doing what I'd wanted
to do.
The passage through Alappuzha was smooth but Ernakulam was a different proposition. There was a long hold out at Kundannoor and Palarivattom junctions (Vyttila junction, comparatively, was a cake walk!) where flyovers are under construction/repairs. Lost about an hour there! The journey, subsequently, was quite uneventful and we reached Thrissur - covering a total of about 250 kms - by a half past 1. We'd lunch at a nice wayside eatery, short off Puzhakkal, where the snarl was what it is known to be famous for coupled with blinding rain for the subsequent 15'!
Before reaching 'The Quarterdeck', we'd stopped at the department store, short of the Mammiyoor kshetram where Lekha had to buy grocery, fruits and other tidbits. By the time we'd reached 'The
Quarterdeck' it was a half past 2 and after an hour's snooze, the used clothes of the journey were put through, what I'd call, washing machinex.
And it started to rain around sunset.
Tailpiece.
Was painfully reminiscing this day, three years back, when mom was sinking and I was ignorant of the fact that she'd leave us the next day. How I wish that I'd done the 'sayana pradakshinam', at the Guruvayur temple, to retrieve her from the jaws of death! I have still not been able to understand as to why that thought had not crossed my mind, then!!
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