Oh, this disgusting attitude!

Background.

1. Ajith, my friend, was staying in an inn nearby to facilitate the early morning 'darshan' of the good Lord, after his meditation. He'd, while vacating the room the day before yesterday, forgotten his cellphone behind. On finding out, he'd called me up for its retrieval and passing it on to him.

The follow up.

2. After pocketing the instrument from the receptionist at the inn - he'd made sure of my identity and that's what I call a job, well done - I'd gone across to the post office that services our area and asked the Branch Post Mistress as to what the charges would be to send the cellphone to Ajith's residence by speed post. She'd called up a friend of her's in the profession, who in turn asked her to find out the forwarding address and then advised her against accepting the cellphone. She turned back to me to say that she was unable to accept the responsibility because of previous incidents when similar articles had got lost on transit.

3. I felt sorry for the young lady because what she was doing was actually 'playing safe'. I told her that she must not let past happenings to limit her style of working and must learn to take risks, accept responsibility for her actions and always 'pressure test' the envelope of her professional capabilities. With a winsome smile, she said that she'd have been willing to do just that if she'd a superior like me! I wasn't impressed and headed for the local courier service.

4. The young lady at the counter, after hearing out my query, said rather matter-of-factly that the courier service did not cover the forwarding address. On further inquiry, she gave me the info about the nearest point they could send the article from where the addressee'd to retrieve it. This is another attitude of our's - the Malayalees' - that disgusts me. The service providers are parsimonious about parting with information so vital for the customer to take action, unlike their north Indian counterparts who ensure that their customers either use their services or buy the item at the end of their interaction with them. Sadly, here they give one the impression that they're doing the others a great favour by doing their job!

5. My attempts to get in touch with my friend were in vain and so, I returned home without taking any action.

Tailpiece.

Ajith had called up later on and said that he was coming in tomorrow to collect his cellphone personally. The problem was, thus, licked without further ado!  

What a great change!

This morning my friend, Ramesh and his wife had come calling. Over the last year, he was under treatment for intestinal cancer and had gone through some tough times. But with the right medical management that consisted of a couple of surgeries along with radiation, the malignancy has been removed. A class mate of our's, who is a doctor in Chicago, was also monitoring the case providing inputs as and when needed.

It's a combination of Ramesh's inner strength, his family's solid support and the right treatment that have helped in arriving at the present circumstances.

He was with us for almost an hour and I find that he's looking good, his sense of humour was intact and there has been a substantial reduction of his fabled weight - he was roly poly always and we, his class fellows cannot think of him otherwise and I don't have to say this but he continues to be the butt of jokes on his ample girth.

We're gonna meet at the Old Boys' Day at school next month and this time, hope to have a sizeable presence of our class mates and their families. The doc from Chicago was among the first to confirm about his participation, damn nice of him! Looking forward to the conglomeration!!


Tailpiece.

1. Ramakrishnan, the newspaper boy, had erred today in that he did not give us our copies of the newspapers making us feel that something vital was missing. I'd taken my neighbour's copies to browse during the latter part of the day which turned out to be the face saver!

2. Our neighbour has had the mud from the forecourt sprinkled on the cobbled pathway in front of our houses while getting the lawn tiled. The morning showers have made a mess of the new mud and passersby gather cakes of slush and dirt onto their footwear making them clumsily heavy footed!!  

Kottarakkara to Guruvayur via Ayoor.

After a late night, it's once again time to get behind the wheel to get to our place at Guruvayur. My sister and niece had to be dropped at Ayur, about 18 km in reciprocal to the direction that we'd to take. I shall touch upon a few thoughts and events that had taken place during the day. So, here I go:-

  (a) Even the KSRTC driver understands.

   We're passing through a narrow stretch of the highway - heavily barricaded by the Metro activities -
    when a road transport corporation bus passed by much too close for comfort, putting me into a spot.
    My reaction was to palm my chin, as though in contemplation as to what the guy was up to, all the while
    knowing he was seeing me through his rear view mirror. His reaction was not that I was prepared for -
    he'd stopped at a wider stretch ahead and asked me to overtake. Probably, it's his way of acknowledging
    his mistake and was nice of him. I waved at him as I went past and he, too, had reciprocated with a wide
    grin on his face. I'd made another friend without knowing his identity!

   (b) After a long while.

    My friend and classmate, Ajith had made a connect during the journey, saying that he was at Guruvayur
    and wanted to meet up with us. Accordingly, he'd fetched up around 2000h. His spiritual evolution has
    been tremendous, in fact, he spends a good time of his life at an 'ashram' on the foothills of the Himalayas,
    about fours by road from Nainital. One of the two bachelors of our class, he has always been helpful,
    a gentleman to his fingertips and humble to a fault. The three hours that he'd spent with us were absorbing
    and enlightening. My mom and he'd become good friends during the course of the interaction.

   (c) Arjun's call.

    As I was winding up with Ajith, young Arjun had called me up from Madras to give me his travel
    details. He's the eldest son of my class mate, Charlie Mike and has had some difficulty in his personal
    life owing to medical problems. The family had visited us last month and ever since the visit, he was
    very keen to come and spend time with us on a 'learning curve' as he puts it. He sounded very excited
    and will be with us from 26 Jun to 01 Jul.


Tailpiece.

A long day and a fairly long drive but everything had gone by with clockwork precision!
     
     

When help came by.

The night was miserable. Lekha was unable to sleep thanks to a painful left leg - it's the same one that had undergone the skin graft recently and had slowly been restored to normalcy. At some point last evening, while she was getting out of the car she'd sprained it. A double dose of 'Ultracet' didn't help and I was at my wit's end because today was gonna be a long day as we'd to reach my dad's place at all costs to fetch mom back to Guruvayur. My younger sister, who was presently looking after her, was leaving for Bangalore tomorrow.

We'd gone off to the airport by 6 AM, even though I'd received an sms from the airlines that our flight was delayed by over two hours. I didn't want to put pressure on Sekhar for transport by changing my time of departure for the airport. Meanwhile, Lekha was writhing with pain all through and I tried to give her assurances that all would be okay as the pain killer takes effect. But it was not to be!

And then came the Raos - Sekhar's relations that we'd befriended the previous evening during the wedding reception - and seeing Lekha's discomfort, Lalitha gave her a 'Combiflam'. Within a matter of about half an hour, things had improved. However, I didn't want to take any chances and had rung up Gary, at Bombay, for additional reinforcements of pain killers and a wheelchair. She'd, by then, become a wheelchair bound passenger!

The lunch planned by Sarabjeet and Gary, for us at their house, had to be given the go by as the transit time was reduced because of the delayed start of our flight from Nagpur. We're at Kochi at the appointed hour and Nixon, negotiated his car through the by lanes and fetched us at my Chevy, so that I could get about a couple of hours of daylight driving - I hate night driving, you see.

We could reach home by about a quarter past 9. Mom was quite happy to see us and my sister, absolutely relieved!


Tailpiece.

I'd be failing in my duty if I didn't mention the people who'd helped us on their own initiative without which I'd have been a goner and they're:-

    (a) Pradip . The ever smiling 'saarthi' from Sekhar's stable who'd arrived on the dot at 6 to convey us
                       to the airport and was willing to take us at the revised timing.
    (b) Lalitha.  She gave the healing touch.
    (c) Gary.     He'd screwed up his Sunday just to be with us.
    (d) Nixon.   The trouble that he took to negotiate the side lanes to ensure that we didn't get delayed.
    (e) Paulson. My ex-2i/c who'd come by to see that we're not plagued with any problem.

How do I repay each of them for their kindness?

A pleasant yet hectic day.

The day had begun at 0902h as it was an important 'muhurat' on Radhika-Lalit wedding day but we'd missed it by a whisker and rather than put the blame on the others, I'd taken it upon myself! After a brief interlude for breakfast, the rituals continued till lunchtime and it was interesting to note the customs and traditions that were being followed. We're, indeed, glad to be there!!

The interaction with the others continued unabated and I've now a stack of visiting cards given to me, by a few of the guests that I'd come across, with a promise to keep in touch. The lunch had a distinct Maharashtrian touch and I gorged on the exquisite 'poorenpolis'!

After the snooze, post lunch, we're on the dot at the lawns of Sekhar's house for the final event - the reception organised by Lalit's folks. A few new friends have been added to the list but it remains to be seen that the relationships continue.

Congratulations, Lalit and Radhika as you embark on a new journey together. Here's wishing that you get whatever you wish for and thanks, Sekhar and Vijaya for making this possible - our presence, that is. It's a wonderful get together.


Tailpiece.

I was once again pulled on to the center stage when my friends had insisted on my singing the all time favourite, 'Jamaican farewell' and in turn, I'd everyone singing the chorus with me. The texture of the evening had changed forthwith!

In the city of oranges.

The flight to Nagpur was at 0900h with a transit halt at Bombay for about four hours. We're off to attend the wedding of Radhika and Lalit - the bride is the daughter of my good friend, Academy course mate and Squadron mate, Sekhar Murthy. Gary, who was again with me years back at the Academy as a Divisional Officer, had fixed up a tryst at his place on our return leg. Working for the Jet Airways, he was 'monitoring our flight' throughout, as he cutely put it!

Though I'd sound gossipy, I must add on a couple of vignettes from the onward flight.

  (a) The 'silent' communication.

  There was this cute, newly married couple, presumably from Rajasthan - the aircraft had arrived at
  Bombay from Jodhpur - accompanied by the gentleman's mother. Both the ladies had the 'pallus'
  of their sarees draped around their faces as per custom. As they took the seats in front of us, the
  mother insisted on sitting between the couple, much to the chagrin of the husband! Couldn't help
  but notice the stolen glances and the silent communication between the couple all through the flight
  duration of an hour and twenty minutes!!

  (b) A 'smelly' neighbour.

   Now, this is gonna sound rather nasty but say it, I will because of the agony it had caused all
   through the journey. A pretty young lady was my neighbour on the aisle seat smartly dressed
   in jeans, jacket, leather boots et all. That she was reeking of sweat causing nausea, would be an
   under statement. She must have had to make the trip in haste to fulfill an urgent commitment,
   and had sweated through to make it in, perhaps! And she made the cardinal mistake of unfastening
   her seat belt, soon after the aircraft had landed and was taxiing into its parking bay. She definitely
   must have been 'dying' to meet her commitment but I sincerely hope that she maintains her personal
   hygiene, in future, though you would rightly insist that it's no bloody business of mine!

Pradeep, our 'saarthi' was at hand with a placard bearing my name at the entrance of the airport. The temperature outside was a blazing 46 degrees Celsius!


Tailpiece.

I think we're the only guests of Sekhar and Vijaya, other than the immediate family, who'd travelled farthest to attend the wedding and because of it, became the cynosure of everyone's attention much to my discomfort. How could I tell them that it was only a couple of years ago when I'd attended my classmate's son's wedding reception and we're housed at their place, 'the course mate and good friend factors' notwithstanding?!

     

How old are you?

We'd kicked off from our house by a quarter to 10. The first stop was at the nearest petrol pump to fuel the Chevy and check tyre pressure. And after handing over the soiled clothes at the dry cleaners, we shaped course for Kochi.

Murali and Radhika are our hosts for the day. We'd gone for the Malayalam movie, 'How old are you?' A comeback movie for Manju Warrier by Roshan Andrews. A nicely made movie which essays the story of a firebrand young lady during her student days, reduced to an unsure housewife adjusting to the diktats of her family. How she overcomes the situation is the crux.


My take.

Stories like this are common in our environment. It puzzles me when women accept being reduced to doormats. A successful marriage is the harmonious togetherness of two individuals with their personalities intact. Superiority or inferiority does not figure there.


Tailpiece.

It's a comparatively early evening. Earlier in the day I'd the privilege of interacting with K Venugopal and C Maniraj, my classmates from school.  It wasn't planned and had happened just like that. And weren't I glad for that?