At Thiruvananthapuram.

The day had begun at 4, when Lekha had woken me up. Went through the chores and was ready well before 6. Kittu and the two kittens, were also given their food before I was leaving for the railway station. Suraj was my chauffeur, for a change, as Anto was carrying out another medical assignment. The crowd was less when I'd entered the station, bought the ticket for Thrissur, collected the day's newspapers and boarded the closest coach from the entrance.

The passenger train to Ernakulam - that I'd boarded - was delayed a bit because the train from Madras Egmore was late. Half an hour later, I was on platform 1 at Thrissur Railway Station. Had breakfast - Lekha had packed lovely vegetable sandwiches - and boarded the train at 0820 hrs. But while boarding, disaster struck in that my bifocals fell off through the gap between the train and the platform. Looked desperately for the specs and I'd have picked it up by squeezing myself through the gap, but unfortunately it just couldn't be sighted!

So, it was with a heavy heart that I'd commenced my journey to Thiruvananthapuram, this time. Had the aisle seat out of the twin seats which was only confirmed by about a quarter past 6, by Paulson. The journey saw us passing through places like Kottayam, Chenganasserry and Kayamkulam that had heavy rain. Reached the destination by a half past 1. Since both our drivers had gone out for lunch, I'd reached the Foundation in an auto-rickshaw whose driver, Rashid was cribbing about his luck that he'd got a commuter like me who owed him just Rs. 30/- as the fare thanks to the pre-paid auto stand's rules.

His demeanour changed when he saw the way I was welcomed at the Foundation and I'd given him Rs.50/- for which he was profusely thankful and guilty for having blurted out his chagrin!

Had the lunch packed by Lekha along with Maman and I shared the egg masala with him. The meeting commenced by a half past 3, inaugurated by the affable Kummanam Rajasekharan. I, too, chipped in with my memories of Muthachhan: the crowd warmed up to the stories!

Maman and I had gone to the nearby Saastha kshetram. My visits there always take me down memory lane and today was no exception. Left for home by about 9.

Tailpiece.

Chatted with Ammayi and Chambu, before I turned in for the night.