It was a long pending job because the restrictions brought by the periodic spikes of Covid-19 prevented me from going to Dr Srikant Mallan's clinic at Muhamma. Earlier in December, I'd decided to firm up the programme and fixed up the appointment.
We had got up at 3, thanks to Lekha's cellphone alarm and went about our chores. Abhilash came in by a 10' to 5 and we'd kicked off by 19' past 5. The roads were comparatively sparse traffic-wise and we'd a smooth run past the usual choke points and had reached the petrol bunk, a trifle beyond the Aroor junction. Lekha and I'd lowered our water levels, had breakfast of idlis and chutney - Abhilash preferred having breakfast around 10 - and cruised further south to get hot cups of tea from Chathu's tea stall.
We were at Mallan's dental clinic by 0915 hrs and promptly by a half past 9, I was called in. The doc and me had a short chat before he got on the job in right earnest. The bridge on the top right was put in place, all my teeth went through a round of scaling and by a half past 10, we had taken leave of the toothy and we were on our return leg.
We'd picked up home wear sandals and slip-ons from the Bata showroom at Thevara. And from there, we went to the Titan Showroom at the marine Drive. Lekha picked up a few knick knacks, we had our lunch, consisting of the delicious Tomato Rice, pickle and salad. But alas, Abhilash was in no mood to eat. The extra food was passed on to two gentlemen - Prasad, the Security-in-charge and Ajayan, the parking attendant, with a disability. I was skeptical because I didn't expect anyone to share our food because of the Covid scare!
Lineesh, Reshmi and the owner, Babu Alappat looked after us as we went through the formalities of purchase. I gave them a short insight about my grandfather and his contributions to the good of the Malayalees.
The return drive was hassle free and on the dot at 4, we had our evening round of piping hot tea from Prasad's wayside tea shop where we also tucked in a few snacks. The toilets were a letdown in two of the three petrol bunks that we'd visited. When will we attach importance to the cleanliness of the toilets, I wonder?
A short trip where we could complete our work without difficulty!
Tailpiece.
Today's Kurup kochachhan's 93rd birthday as per the Malayalam calendar. He continues to be in a semi-comatose state. The doctor had removed the excessive sputum from his system and I was told that he felt much better.
We reached home by a half past 5 and slowly wound up to our usual evening routine.
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