Stumped!

Onward to Thiruvananthapuram to partake in the ceremony at Thiruvallam, on the occasion of my Ammachi's remembrance day as per the Malayalam calendar. Anto had dropped me at the station by a half past 5 in the morning. On inquiry, the gentleman at the counter had advised me to disembark at Thrissur to board the south bound Kerala express, from New Delhi and gave me the super fast train's base ticket. I was to convert it at the first available opportunity.

At Thrissur, I was told at the information desk that the 'conversion' could be done only by the TTE on board the train. Accordingly, I was seated in one of the reserved coaches and waited for the TTE to fetch up...and waited and waited. Somewhere mid way through the journey and my wait, a 'surprise check squad' had swooped in and on perusal of my ticket advised me to have it converted through the only TTE available on board, sitting in one of the foremost coaches, failing which I should be ready to pay up the penalty. And as I was moving away, he sort of assured(?) me that I might find it difficult to convert my ticket at that point of time!

I met up with the TTE, apprised him about the situation that I was in and he wasted no time in converting my ticket with the necessary endorsement. Armed with it I'd returned to my coach and much to my surprise the 'surprise checkers' didn't even want to see the endorsement after hearing that I'd got it done.

But what happened subsequently, really did stump me. The TTE had followed me to tell the checkers my story and I quote, "This sir is quite an unusual man. A few weeks back he was in a similar situation and had reached Thiruvananthapuram without the conversion. Rather than taking advantage of the situation and going off without paying the additional amount, he'd come to our cabin to state his dilemma and insisted on paying the due sum. A friend of mine had advised him then to drop the idea but he insisted on making the payment".


Tailpiece.

I was thoroughly flustered and embarrassed. For an impartial observer this might have seemed to be a 'contrived attempt' at painting me good because, as a natural fallout, my co-passengers had begun to eye me as a sneaky guy flouting the rules and marauding as a gentleman!

Thank you, Vivek, for endorsing my character! You really didn't have to do it but you did, humbling me in the process and I shall ever remain indebted to you for your kindness!! May only good things happen to you and may you get all that you wish for!!!  

Hiroshima day.

Sixty nine years back, on this day, the world had witnessed devastation of an unimaginable magnitude at Japan's premier city of Hiroshima when the first atom bomb was dropped. Since then man has made nuclear weapons of much greater magnitude, in terms of destruction, that they're indeed weapons of mass destruction. This day, therefore, must be used to reiterate universal brotherhood and an affirmation to avoid using force of any kind to harm mankind.

Elected governments, along with the United nations, try to maintain a working harmony among nations. The fear of annihilation is a deterrent by itself and it can be safely surmised that no country would venture into foolhardy bravado. The world over, people have gathered on this day to reiterate that the mistake of Hiroshima will never be repeated.

Having said that, what about the looming threat of terrorism that has invaded into every aspect of life? Public transportation, crowded areas, residential premises, name anything and they come as soft targets to a bunch of hard core terrorists, who don't seem to understand the meaning of love and compassion - a few of them could have been brought to that state by the harsh realities of life or even through insults or contempt bestowed upon them by fellow citizens though they don't give them the right to kill others.

Terrorism must not be allowed to flourish and the perpetrators, along with the prime movers, must be apprehended and subjected to swift and the harshest legal scrutiny for the appropriate punishment. No one has the right to take another's life, this is in essence our prayer as we bow in memory of the thousands of people who'd perished, 69 years back, at Hiroshima.


Tailpiece.

Another day of ceaseless rain. The meteorologist says that it's a double whammy caused by depressions over the Arabian Sea as well as over the Bay of Bengal. 

Finally, at the service station!

My Chevy had required repairs for quite a while but I could not take it to the service station because of tours planned earlier and journeys that had to be undertaken at short notice. I'd actually scheduled for its admission yesterday but delayed it because of my dash to Puthupally. It seemed conspiratorial, in that, it had begun to pour rather heavily this morning and I was wondering as to whether the body work and painting were advisable during such weather.

But shedding all my doubts, I'd driven to the servicing station, through the rains, for carrying out the necessary repairs. The Customer Adviser's opening question, pointing at the dent on the port tailboard, highlighted the delay in offering my vehicle and I quote, "Sir, when did that happen? It has  begun to rust". It almost seemed that he was castigating me for my negligence and I meekly accepted my mistake and did not offer an alibi. In fact, I did feel guilty for sure!

The Chevy would be delivered on Saturday. Meanwhile, the porch looks empty and desolate.

         *                                *                                 *

The forenoon outing was packed with a lot of small jobs and I'd gone around doing each, after getting off the return bus at the east gate of the temple. The places that I'd to visit were almost equally spaced and therefore, walking through was the option out, avoiding traffic and sporadic rain. By the time I was back home, it was a trifle past our usual lunch time and mom had just finished her's, saying that she'd have waited had she known that I'd return then.

         *                                 *                                 *

Mistaking the break in the rain to be a prolonged one, I'd ventured out for my evening walk, without an umbrella, but armed with my customary walking stick to shoo away any misguided dog that came my way. It was as I turned round the fourth bend that I saw the thick, dark, ominous clouds in the south western sky threatening to release its contents and I'd called for an auto rickshaw to get back home. Enroute, I'd collected a few medicines for mom.

Mom's cryptic comment, "Why don't you carry an umbrella with you in this sort of weather? You never know as to when you'll require it". I didn't have an answer yet again!


Tailpiece.

Today's newspapers had a bit more interesting things to read, what with a host of people writing their memoirs and experiences. The underlying factor that emerges from all these 'rewinds' is that most of the heroes turn out to be awfully flawed!

The final bye and other tidbits.

I'd set off for Puthupally, at 6 in the morning to pay my last respects to Sasi chettan whose mortal remains were flown in from Bangalore last night. The train that I'd chosen was the same 'fast passenger' that had let me down last time simply because the departure time suited me. This time it didn't fail to disappoint(?) me in that it was late by two hours - the train should have reached Kottayam, my destination of the day, at 0930h - what with two overtakings and four crossings that had to be gone through!

I paid my final respects and met his wife, daughters and the 90 year old mother, who was extremely angry with god for having played foul by taking away her son instead of her (She's P Kesava Panicker's - PN Panicker's elder brother - eldest daughter and that explains my relationship with the family). By the time I was back home, it was a bit past sunset but I could go for my evening walk, dodging the rain!

     *                                  *                                   *

I was delighted to see a family consisting of the father, the mother and their three sons on my return journey. They're on vacation from Abu Dhabi and were Delhi bound for a week's sight seeing. What was particularly gladdening was the manner in which the three children looked after each other, especially by swapping the window side seats to each other's requirements - no fights, no calling the parents for arbitration. Before leaving them, I did congratulate the parents for the good upbringing of their children and the children, for their punctilious manners that was natural and not a put on act!

     *                                  *                                    *

The evening news was all about the hypocrisy of the political parties towards the run up to the UP Assembly elections. The English questions in the Civil services examination will now carry no weightage. These politicians while trying to project an 'anti-English stand' have ensured that their children were educated in English medium schools. Whom are they trying to kid, I wonder!

I'm sure that the people of UP cannot be swayed by such gimmickry. What amazes me is that the young politicians have also joined the hypocrisy. Why can't they take a realistic stand for a change and get their elders see the light of reason?


Tailpiece.

Rains seem to have subsided, at least, for the moment. Hope tomorrow is a sunny day for a change!

'Pal, pal dil ke paas.....'

This is a number that never fails to impress me and it has a way of taking me into a feel good mood every time I hear it. This evening, on the musical programme, 'Raag Rang' on the Indiavision channel it was aired much to my delight.

The number, whose lyrics were penned by Rajendra Krishan and music scored by Kalyanji Anandji, has been sung by Kishore Kumar in the Hindi movie, 'Blackmail'. It has been picturised on a petite and cute Rakhee with Dharmender moving in and out of the frames, in the dream sequence. I've always felt that it has all the necessary ingredients in it to capture the mood of a viewer. I ain't contesting the fact that there are many numbers in various languages that arrest the senses of the audience for their lyrics, music, texture, quality and the sequence of the visual frames that go with the score.

This one's special and you'd appreciate it when I narrate my initial acquaintance with it.

I had seen the movie at the National Defence Academy, as a cadet. There was something else that happened that evening which I remember vividly, even to this day. The Academy Cadet Adjutant wasn't very happy with the standard of discipline of the cadets and had chosen the post-movie transit from the cinema to the Cadets' Mess to 'straighten' us out and towards that end, everything conceivable was brought to bear from his repertoire of front rolls, frog jumps, side rolls and other physical exercises.

The 'Walking out' rig that we're wearing was drenched in sweat by the time the 'straightening out session' was over. I remember having wolfed down the scrumptious supper on order, with an additional helping of the 'cream of diplomat' pudding saved for me by the ever indulgent, ever smiling Baalam, our Hunter Squadron's head waiter who was fond of me!

As we walked back to our Squadron, post supper, happy and contended, I'd requested Chandu Sharma - a course mate with a great voice - to recount the opening stanza of the song all over again..... and hearing him, it was pure ecstasy!


Tailpiece.

No amount of fagging could demoralise the indomitable spirit of a cadet whose needs in life were paltry and downright simple! So, sing with me, 'Pal, pal dil ke paas.....' 

The wet weather continues!

It has been pouring over the last week making good the deficit in the monsoon, many times over. The encouraging news is that many of the hydel power projects' reservoirs have filled up to near capacity, shedding the fear of power shortage for the year! Thank God for minor mercies!!

There's another persisting trend along with the incessant rains. Winds, gusting up to prohibitive speeds, take a cyclonic hue and hit limited areas creating tremendous havoc and destruction. Consequently, many people have been rendered homeless and are at the mercy of the various governmental agencies for sustenance. The already potholed roads are getting distorted further, making one want to shun possession of personal vehicles. The rain water filled pot holes put the motorists in doubt about their real size, in terms of depth, causing accidents by a dime a dozen.

It's the same old story, yet again. The greedy nexus of the politician-bureaucrat-contractor are waiting to reap the benefits of making a fast buck in the name of road repairs, additions and alterations! Why can't this nonsense be stopped once for all?

I could have my evening outing during the break in the rains and sweat it out after what seemed to be a long time. As I turned in for the night, close to midnight, there was a call - this time, from a cousin at Bangalore reporting another death in the family. Sasi chettan, all of 65 years, had passed into the mist of time owing to a massive heart attack around 2130h! A quiet and dignified individual who was the trouble shooter in his family. Wonder how his mom, Maheswari peramma in her late 80s, is gonna take this loss?


Tailpiece.

RIP, Sasi chetta! Will miss your dignified demeanour, easy laughter and simple outlook towards life. It would take a while to tide over this situation that you've put us in.

Disturbing trends!

I'm gonna narrate a couple of instances that I'd come across lately and leave the inferences to you with my comments, of course. I'd love to be wrong on this score because what I see does not augur well for the future. And so, here I go:-

A few days back, at a function attended by film personalities, there was a divergence of thought regarding the trends in movie making in the Malayalam film industry. Kamal, the veteran director with many hits to his credit, was critical about a few of the new generation movies that have story lines aimed at the younger generation but incomprehensible for the older generations. He was making a case for movies that would be lapped up by any audience, old or young. The retort from Rajeev Ravi, a young director, who has had a couple of hits in the new generation genre did not quite match with the elder film maker's idea.

While one understands that movie making, for many, is a pure business proposition (to cite an example, 'Bangalore days' is an all time hit, running to packed houses even to this day and the audience has predominantly been from the younger generation, viewing it repeatedly, as the story line reflects their angst and aspirations. Many from the older generation frankly admits to having missed the punch line) and any film that sets the cash registers ringing furthers opportunities for its director, it would be prudent to take the entire audience along and for that to happen a story line - liked by everyone - should be the sine qua non!    

The second instance is something entirely different and prevalent in another environment altogether. I'd noticed it during my drive to and from Kochi, the other day.

There are plenty of automobiles - swanky and high definition ones - plying on the roads these days. These cars are usually driven by young people who drive at good speeds, use the horn to intimidate fellow motorists to have their way and end up, in many cases, in edging out the not so 'high definition' vehicles. Initially, I'd taken this phenomenon to be an aberration but found, much to my chagrin, that it was a menace that was very much in play. The problem becomes all the more pronounced when the roads are broken and bad!  

Is consideration for one's elders or in this specific case, the disadvantaged lot taken to be unfashionable and a pure waste of time? If affirmative, then these are disturbing trends!


Tailpiece.

Anyone who forgets history is liable to be dumped into the dustbin of history.........an old relevant saying!