Sleep took a long time to come by and I was quite restless, dunno for what reason. And at such junctures, I usually recite my prayers and that's exactly what I turned to. As I finished the final verse of the Vishnu sahasranaama sthothram, I was totally relaxed and swiftly drifted to sleep; the time was around a quarter to 1.
Lekha had got up by a quarter to 4, though she had set the alarm for a half past 4 and the both of us decided to get up and go through the chores. Suma, too, fetched up by a half past 5 to help Lekha and her sister with the take aways that they'd planned en route. We, finally, could kick off by a half past 6, being half an hour behind schedule.
I took the route through Thrissur town so that Lekha's sister could see the sights on her return. She has been with us for the last three weeks. The journey was smooth as the traffic was sparse, the Paliyekkara toll was much more efficient and there was no delay at the 'fastag', for a change! Short of Angamali, we stopped at an HP petrol bunk to lower water levels and for a change, the toilets were clean. We'd our breakfast of vegetable sandwiches and washed it down with a piping hot cup of tea from the nearby tea stall.
The journey was resumed after about a half hour and subsequently, passed through Ernakulam with minimum delays despite it being the peak hours. Had another rest room break at the Alappuzha KTDC eatery and by a half past 1, I could turn onto the Kayankulam - Punalur road. Just prior to turning into that road, I narrowly escaped hitting a teenage girl who was crossing the highway, intently speaking on her mobile phone totally oblivious of her immediate surroundings. Somewhere close to Adoor, we'd parked by the roadside, under a wooded tree providing us ample shade, where we gorged into a yummy pulao with home made lime-date pickle.......it was a lovely lunch.
Soon after, we dropped Lekha's sister at her place, had a few quick words with her husband and left for Raj Nivas without wasting any time. En route, had recharged the Airtel Dish TV, picked up a strip of Ultracet, the pain killer for Lekha's knee and we were at Raj Nivas much before 3, observed that the Dish TV had some inherent problems - switching on after a lapse of almost a year, you see.
The refrigerator was switched on and the vegetables/fruits, that required to be stuffed in, was put in pronto. The caretaker was at hand to show me the necessary steps taken to tackle white ants that have been causing havoc in three wall shelves. The grass was clipped around the house and the overall look of Raj Nivas was really nice!
While at my parents' cremation sights, I'd given them a briefing on the duration of our stay and the activities that were being undertaken over the next seven days. I suddenly felt that I was free of any responsibility and felt light, comfortable as though mom and dad were there to sort out even the slightest of glitches as in the days of old!
There were quite a few guests who'd dropped by to say their hellos, while Lekha was allowed to have her forty winks! A few necessary phone calls were made and I could also discuss with the doctor regarding Maman's hospitalisation. Meanwhile, the Dish TV man, Pramod had come by and got the system going. Phew!
The caretaker had dropped by to give us a run down and the sequence of the work which will be undertaken over the next few days. What I liked most about his narrative was that he gave me the full range of details about the activities that have been and are going on in this sleepy village. Meanwhile, was also monitoring my sister, Mini and her family's journey from Bangalore and they should be joining us beyond midnight!
Tailpiece.
It was wonderful to be back home.
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