From The Quarterdeck to Raj Nivas.

Our day began 4, this morning. Went through our chores and were ready by a half past 6. Kannan had made it by that time and we set off at a quarter to 7. Returned soon after, from Chavakkad, to open up the servants' bathroom for Ramesh and his co-workers, who were cleaning the well.

Had breakfast at "Elayathu" at Mathilakam.

Took the Thrippoonithura- Thannermukkam Bund road to reach Kottayam by a half past 10. The traffic was easy and we had lunch at the Padma Cafe of Changanasserry by around a half past 1. It was nice.

Reached Lekha's sister, Letha's house to collect our dinner. 

Sent Kannan back and I drove to Raj Nivas with Lekha. Reached there by a half past 3.

As Lekha caught up with her forty winks, I spoke to Mom and dad - briefed them about my illness, set up the puja room draping our ''pattu" on Guruvayurappan and got the lamp ready.

Lekha goes to the Kottarakkara Maha Ganapati kshetram to view the lighting in lieu of the ulsavam and to drop in on her chittappan-kunjamma and Venu-Vidya-Vivek to hand them over a handful of mangoes from our mango tree.  

A quiet evening.

Limbering up!

Got up at 5, sent the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked on the courtyard, went through my exercise regimen: recited my prayers.

Bath followed by breakfast of poorie, bhaaji.

Lekha goes to the ration stand to buy our monthly dues and sundry purchases.

Selvam comes in for pressing clothes as he was going to Pondicherry to cast his vote. He'll return after a week.

Lunch, watched "Snehakkoottu" followed by siesta.

The evening chores.

Shut down The Quarterdeck, systematically.

A boisterous Sunday.

Got up at 5, Aniyan and ammaayi were off to the temple to have the 'darshan' of the good Lord. Sent the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked on the courtyard, went through my exercise regimen; recited my prayers.

Bath followed by breakfast of poories and bhaaji ordered from Hotel Welcome.

Maalu and Paaru went to the Mammiyoor temple for the darshan of the good Lord.

Lunch from Hotel Welcome again.

Aniyan and family left home for Kidangoor by a half past 2 and they reached their house at 1950 hrs.

A quiet evening, watching television.

The Quarterdeck is all quiet again!

Aniyan and family arrive.

Got up at 5, sent the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Had bath; recited my prayers in the process as I didn't want to be late when the guests arrived.

The maid was well ahead of time and commenced her work so that she could leave early after preparing lunch and dinner.

Spoke to both Sreedevi and Saumya of AIMS, to take clearance from Dr Rajesh Jose, my cardiologist, regarding substitution of Carvidas 6.25 in place of BetaOne XL 25. Got the approval by lunchtime.

Worked on my laptop.

Yakkitiyak with Aniyan and his family(Usha ammayi, Maalu and Praarthana). The dress bought for Paru, yesterday from Seematti at Kochi, was ill fitting. So, Lekha took Malu and Paru to the Trends outlet and bought a new dress for the little one. And weren't they happy?

A boisterous lunch followed by siesta.

Aniyan and his family, along with Lekha, goes to the temple for the darshan of the good Lord @ a quarter to 5, after tea.

A long evening with full of yakkitiyak!

They return past 9, fully satisfied with their outing. Lekha had come in much earlier as she prepared the main dish for dinner!

And a boisterous dinner!

Our quarterly medical reviews!

Our day had begun at 4, went through our chores and were ready by around 6. Earlier, we'd recited our prayers!

We kicked off for Kochi at a quarter past 6, reached Aaryaas at Idappalli, had breakfast and reached the Diabetic Care of India by a quarter to 10. I entered the clinic on the dot at 10. All the girls were there and the doctor fetched up an hour late after his tryst with the auditors along with Meera.

Satish Bhat has given me a course of six injections around my tummy to enhance my Haemoglobin - over a period of six months.

We, then, went across to Chellakkili's office and we had tender coconut water!

By a quarter to 1, we were headed for Shenoy Care. Had a quick bite of vegetarian lunch and went through Lekha's registration formalities. She went through the tests, we met the junior doctor, Aswathy an hour later. By the time we met Dr Padmanabha Shenoy it was a half past 5. Lekha will go through the biopsy, we've decided.

And after a quick cup of tea and 'ullivada' at the canteen, we're on our return to Guruvayur.

Reached home by a quarter past 9. Settled down quickly. 

TMC's shameless lie exposed!

"Bengal was never a manufacturing hub and never can be", thus spake Mahua Moitra, the party's MP during her election rallies.

Then how do you explain the legacy of Hindustan Motors, Burn & Company, Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, Dunlop India and more?

Under Mamata Banerjee, corruption, strikes, violence and a broken business climate pushed 6,668 companies out of Bengal. First they destroyed the industrial backbone. Now they deny it ever existed.

They lie. They deflect. They deny. But Bengal remembers. And Bengal will respond.

Mamata Banerjee has been unusually silent on this and many more!

Tailpiece.

Got up at a quarter to 5, sent the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

The Rajah team had come by to draw my blood samples for tests.

Had breakfast to be in time for the 'post prandial blood sugar' test.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch, watched "Snehakkoottu" followed by siesta.

The evening chores. 

Vishu '26.

Got up at 4, got the Vishukkani ready, brought Lekha from our first floor bedroom down below to our puja room to view the kani. "Kanikaanum neyram, kamalanethrante......", the iconic song that characterises Vishu, the festival always, was playing on the home theatre! It was a perfect beginning to Vishu '26!

Sent all the messages.

The Wednesday "aarathi" of the house was carried out.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Handed over the 'Vishukkaineettam' to Ramakrishnan, the newspaper boy.

Walked on the courtyard; recited my prayers and followed it up with the ground exercises.

Bath; handed over Lekha her Vishukkaineettam. A lovely breakfast of Aval nanachathu, uzhunnu vada and paal paayasam.

Wished Maman, Suma kunjamma and Aniyan, Vishu wishes.

Dismantled the Vishukkani, threw away the old flowers and put each of the items back into their respective places.

Lunch, watched television for a while followed by siesta.

The evening chores.

Watched a few of our favourite Malayalam serials. 

Hit the sack at our usual time of a half past 11.

 

Helping Lekha in setting up the "Vishukkani"

Got up at 5, sent the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

The morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked on the courtyard; recited my prayers.

Breakfast of idlis and sambar!

Bath and was ready by a half past 10. Off to Dr Kripal's hospital for a second opinion on my medical test results.

Returned by a half past 2 after Lekha could finish her last-minute Vishu shopping.

Lunch, watched "Snehakkoottu" and siesta.

The evening chores.

Handed over the Vishukkaineettam to:-

     * Rajesh, our chauffeur

     * Farhaan, the medicine delivery boy

     * Pushpaakaran, the farmhand

     * Sukesan, the autorickshaw driver

     * Abhishek, the delivery boy from Harisree.

Post dinner, got down to setting up the Vishukkani with Lekha.

Tailpiece.

Was reminded of our first Vishukkani at The Quarterdeck with my Amma being the chief architect of the Vishukkani, in Apr 2014.

Adieu Asha Bhosle!

Asha Bhosle passed into the mist of time yesterday around 1100 hrs at the Breach Candy Hospital in Bombay.

She recorded her first song in 1943 and her last recorded song, "The Shadowy Light" came out two months ago. More than 12,000 songs across multiple languages - a career spanning 83 yrs - is her legacy! These are the days when one realises the insurmountable impact some artists have made in our lives. Asha Bhosle, without any exaggeration, is one of those rare artists.

Adieu Asha ji! My tears and prayers. You'll live on through your songs.

My all time favourite song of hers is "Aaiye Meherbaan" of Howrah Bridge!

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked on the courtyard: recited my prayers.

Bath followed by breakfast of semiya upma.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch, saw "Snehakkoottu" followed by siesta.

The evening chores.

Factories feel shortage of manpower.

Reminding the sight of migrant workers huddling together at Railway Stations during the Covid 19 severity, the flight of the migrant workers to their homes triggered by fears of shortage of cooking gas is a sad sight these days!

Manpower crisis

Federation of Indian Export Organisations(FIEO) says around 5-7% workers did not return due to LPG-related disruptions.

Industry players are seeking government intervention to improve living conditions of workers, introduce measures to minimise reverse migration.

The Tamilnadu government has asked Torrent Gas to ensure piped natural gas(PNG) supply to industrial units in madras within 60 days.

Around 10-20% migrant workers or roughly 10,000 labourers across western and southern Tamilnadu, have not returned to their workplaces.

Industry estimates indicate that nearly 2 lakh workers in Coimbatore left for Holi and are yet to return.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked on the courtyard; recited my prayers.

Bath followed by breakfast of assorted stuff.

Lunch followed by siesta.

The evening chores.

Watched the movie, "Sarvam Maya", starring Nivin Pauly, Riya Shibu and Preity Mukhundhan along with the others. Lekha and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

SIR in UP.

UP's final voter list out, 2 crore names deleted.

No of voters in UP post SIR           13.39 crores

Male                                                7,30,71,061 (54.54%)

Female                                             6,09,09,525 (45.46%)

Transgenders                                             4,206

Highest growth in voters since SIR first phase

Prayagraj                                               2,85,061

Lucknow                                               2,85,961

Bareilly                                                 2,57,920

Ghaziabad                                             2,43,666

Jaunpur                                                 2,37,590

Sahibabad                                                82,898

Lucknow west                                         54,822

Loni                                                         53,679

Firozabad                                                 47,757

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent all the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked on the courtyard; recited my prayers.

Bath followed by breakfast of Puttum pazhavum.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch followed by siesta.

The evening chores.

Through the Sabarimala entry case.

Restricting temple entry by denomination harms Hinduism

Hinduism will be adversely impacted if temples and mutts restrict entry on grounds of separate denominations inside a religion, Supreme Court says.

State can step in under article 25(2)(B)

The nine-judge Constitution Bench was responding to submissions of senior advocate CS Vaidyanathan that article 26(b) over 25(2b). The court did not agree with the supremacy of art 26(b) over 25(2b). Justice Nagarathna said that the State can step in under article 25(2b) to ensure access to temples to all sections.

Specificity of denomination not good : the court

* Vaidyanathan, for the devotees of Lord Ayyappa of Sabarimala temple, submitted that they constitute      a separate religious denomination and hence have the right to manage the temple's affairs

* To his submission, Justice Nagarathna said, ".....if you say only my denomination will attend the             temple, that is not good for Hinduism".

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent all the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Morning cuppa with everyone.

Bath followed by breakfast of masala dosa and coffee.

Worked on my laptop.

A boisterous lunch, a bit of "Snehakkoottu" followed by siesta.

Padmakumar, Rema and Achu returned to Thrippunithura; enroute they'd dropped our maid at the Chavakkad bus stand. Had handed over the 'Vishukkaineettam" to the three of them!

A quiet evening.

Cast my vote!

Our day had begun at a half past 4, went through our chores and was ready by a quarter to 7. Off to the RCUP School which was our polling booth at 7 with the Radhakrishnans, our neighbours, in their car. Cast out votes by 8, had a 'Guruvayur darshan' before having our breakfast at Renai's hotel. Returned by a quarter to 10.

It was yet another quiet, warm day.

The maid was absent.

Lunch at our usual time with Lekha preparing chicken curry.

Saw "Snehakkoottu" followed by siesta.

The evening chores. 

Lekha went to the temple to have a darshan of the good Lord and offered the first mango from our tree at the 'nada'.

A video conference of our classmates, orchestrated by Babu Sahdev. The quorum was less than what I thought it would be, but it was nice all the same.

Padmakumar, Rema and Achu fetched up from Kochi and it was yakkittiyak as always. Slept past 11.  

News from Kalpakkam, Tamilnadu.

Prototype fast blade reactor(PFBR) is a fast breeder nuclear reactor with 500 MW electric capacity. Nuclear fuel in the reactor is Plutonium 239. 

Along with production of electricity, this reactor converts Uranium 238 to Plutonium 239. Thus it produces or converts more nuclear fuel material than it is consuming for power production.

Utilising this technology, Thorium 232 can be converted into Uranium 233 which is also a nuclear fuel material. Incidentally, India has the largest Thorium reserve in the world.

Hence the technology which is demonstrated now has the potential to solve the energy requirement of our country for generations.

My take

A great step indeed. Thankfully, the heap of sand - rich in Thorium - off the coast of Chavara, Kollam will be gainfully employed! 

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent all the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Carried out the Wednesday 'aarathi' of the house.

Walked on the courtyard; recited my prayers.

Bath followed by breakfast of upma.

Worked on my laptop. Lekha goes to town to get a lot of work done.

Lunch, watched "Snehakkoottu" followed by siesta.

The evening chores. 

9 cops sentenced to death in Tamilnadu.

In a groundbreaking verdict, a court in Madurai handed death penalty to all the nine policemen convicted in connection with the custodial torture and death of two traders - P Jeyaraj and his son, Beniks - at Sathankulam in Thoothukudi in 2020.

Referring to similar incidents in the US, First Additional District and Sessions Judge G Muthukumaran observed that custodial killings are a social evil and an assault on human rights. The judgement, it's hoped, will serve as a warning to stop the recurrence of similar incidents.

As per prosecution, on 19 Jun 2020, the convicted cops picked up Jeyaraj for allegedly keeping their mobile phone shop open beyond the Covid-19 curfew hours. When Beniks went to the police station and requested his father's release, they verbally abused Jeyaraj in front of him, leading to a quarrel. Following this, the father-son duo was subjected to extreme physical assault, leading to their deaths in a hospital a few days later.  

My take

A very sad incident!

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent all the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked within the house; recited the prayers.

Bath followed by breakfast of pancakes.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch; the power outage prevented us from viewing the television, siesta.

The evening chores.

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).

The NFR achieves milestones, boosts connectivity

The Northeast Frontier Railway has achieved significant milestones during the 2025-26 fiscal year, with enhanced connectivity, modernisation, passenger comfort and development across the region.

It introduced 20 pairs of new train services, including premium, semi-premium and conventional trains, strengthening connectivity.

NFR increased the speeds of 35 trains, resulting in a cumulative saving of 675 minutes in travel time. 

Simultaneously, the railway made notable progress with 100% electrification, contributing to Indian Railways' mission of sustainable and energy operations.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent all the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Resmi calls up to say that the wedding of Kripa-shankar and Aishwarya ( daughter of a Telugu couple settled now at Ambalamukku, Thiruvananthapuram), sometime next year. Aishwarya is working at Google in the US and is friends with Kripa-shankar. She's a Brahmin girl and they want the wedding to be done as per their traditions!

Walked within the house; recited my prayers.

Bath followed by breakfast of appams and chammanthi.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch, watched "Snehakkoottu" followed by siesta.

The evening chores.

Met the Medical specialist, Jimmy Francis and my friend to show my recent test results at KIMS, Thiruvananthapuram. 

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

9-judge bench to hear pleas...

On Sabarimala verdict review.

The new bench comprises :-

     

     * Chief Justice Surya Kant

     * Justice V Nagarathna

     * Justice MM Sundresh

     * Justice Ahanuddin Amanullah

     * Justice Aravind Kumar

     * Justice Augustine George Masih

     * Justice Prasanna B Varale

     * Justice R Mahadevan

     * Justice Joymalya Bagchi

The time line.

     * 07 Apr            Shall begin hearing the review case

     * 07-09 Apr       The review petitioners shall be heard

     * 16-17 Apr       The parties opposing the review will be heard

     * 21 Apr            The rejoinder submissions will be heard

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent all the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked within the house; recited my prayers.

Bath and breakfast.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch, watched an episode of "Crime Patrol" followed by siesta.

The evening chores.

I'd some jokes on the armed forces....

I had a joke on the Infantry...it's still in the trenches.

I had a joke on the Armoured Corps...but I lost its track.

I had a joke on the Signals...but I couldn't "air" it.

I had a joke on the Artillery....but they couldn't hear me.

I had a joke on the Paras....but it got lost in free fall.

I had a joke on the EME...but it went off-road.

I had a joke on the Air Defence Corps...but they shot it down.

I have got a joke on the Ordnance Corps...but it's not indented yet.

The joke on the ASC...is in short supply.

I had a joke on the Engineers...but it got demolished in between.

I had a joke on the Education Corps...it's still being studied for the content.

And finally,

I also have a joke on the DRDO but I'll tell it 20 years from now!

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent all the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked in front of the house; recited my prayers.

Bath followed by breakfast of appams and stew.

Worked on my laptop.

Lunch, watched an episode of Crime Patrol, followed by siesta.

The evening chores.

Blessings and prayers on Good Friday.

   1. May God's mercy fill your heart with peace and comfort today.

   2. May your faith grow stronger and your worries fade away.

   3. May this Good Friday bring healing, hope and endless grace.

   4. May divine love guide every step you take.

   5. May your prayers rise and your blessings fall like gentle rain.

   6. May your heart be calm and your soul be at peace.

   7. May God protect you and your loved ones always.

   8. May forgiveness, kindness and compassion fill your life.

   9. May today renew your spirit and strengthen your trust in God.

 10. May your day be wrapped in peace, love and heavenly light.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent all the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked on the road in front of the house; recited my prayers.

Bath followed by breakfast of appams and egg masala.

Worked on my laptop.

Suresh, from Ribi's Asian Paints team, finished up the last of the jobs remaining. Gave him our first Vishukkaineettam for the year.

Lunch, watched "Snehakkoottu" and siesta.

The evening chores.

We've a guest.

Got up at 5, sent all the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked outside the house: recited my prayers.

Bath followed by breakfast of puttum pazhavum.

Worked on my laptop.

Leela Samson drops in by a half past 12.

Lekha had made Fish curry and meals. Leela seemed to enjoy it.

Met Roopika and Layapriya, two of Leela's disciples. Roopika's one of three daughters has been selected for the Sainik School.

They all leave by 3, back to Kochi.

Siesta after watching the serial, "Snehakkoottu".

The evening chores.

A quiet evening.

The FCRA Bill.

Lok Sabha was set to take up the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) for passage today. Owing to pressure from Kerala's BJP, the government decided to take up the amendment on a later date because of the strong opposition from the state's Christian denominations who feel that their contributions are being brought under check!

The amendment allows the Centre to appoint a designated authority, which could control funds and assets if the FCRA certificate of an NGO is cancelled, surrendered or ceased.

Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, expressed concern over the proposed amendments.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India wrote to the Home Minister seeking wider consultation and safeguards against 'excessive state control over civil society'. 

80% of Christian NGOs in Kerala have FCRA licence.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 5, sent all the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Morning cuppa with Lekha.

Walked within the house; recited my prayers.

Breakfast of dosas and chana before bath.

Worked on my laptop. 

Bath followed by siesta.

Lunch, saw "Snehakkoottu" followed by siesta.

Lekhs went to the temple for the darshan of the good Lord and buys grocery from the Harisree supermarket.

The evening chores.