A comedy of errors!

The day had begun with rains, almost giving an impression that the weather god was making up for the lack of rains and the soaring heat of the past fortnight or so. It was through a light drizzle that we drove up to the nearby hospital for giving Lekha's blood and urine samples in preparation for the review by her doctor, later in the week. Since the right rear view mirror had worked out loose during our trip to Tirur, last Tuesday, it was stowed within the vehicle and to avoid the rains from wetting the innards of the 'mirror holder', I'd neatly covered the entire unit with a polythene bag and put a rubber band around it to hold it in position. No sooner had we taken off and after tiding over the tricky initial maneuver of guiding the Chevy from our lane onto the highway, a quick glance at the rear view mirror holder made me realise that the plastic cover had long blown off and it was shipping in the raindrops.

       *                                       *                                             *

We're at the laboratory well in time. The initial registration, paying up the money and the drawing of the blood samples had progressed without much of a problem though the sister, smilingly, made two attempts before getting the right vein and consequently, drew the right amount that was required. Lekha'd, then, gone around to collect her urine sample. After a while I saw her coming out of the rest room, utterly dejected and on inquiry, realised that she'd dropped the sample while trying to secure the crucible with the stopper.

So, we'd to return home and an hour later I'd deposited another sample and had to make a second trip to the hospital in the bargain.

       *                                        *                                            *

I'd gone to the town for doing the routine, mundane jobs like handing over the clothes to the dry cleaners, the usual bank jobs and paying of bills. To make it look natural, I'd leave my pouch in the rickshaw itself - I usually avoid taking my car to the town unless there're quite a few things that I've to buy and their stowage in the boot is easier as the problem of parking is acute - and on one such errand, dropped my cellphone in the vehicle. Soon after, I'd seen off the rick, there was a call on my phone and the good guy that he was, Mohan, retraced his way to hand over the instrument. Damn sweet of him!

        *                                       *                                           *

The messenger, armed with Lekha's results, had gone and handed over the folder to my neighbour - and the owner of the hospital - due to a faulty communication. I was taken aback when he'd called me around teatime to say that I needn't worry because the results were okay. He, then, had sent the report through one of his boys.


Tailpiece.

The rains, thankfully, have brought the temperatures down and though it prevented my morning walk, I could go out during the evening and make up for the lost opportunity.



     

A fast moving Sunday.

My sister decided to descend upon us this morning and in the process, improve her driving prowess. They'd reached here by a half past 10. The interaction was interesting, as usual and we're brought abreast with the news from back home, where she'd gone to spend the onam break. Padmakumar's mom had sent us her trademark 'banana chips' along with a bunch of bananas from the compound of our ancestral house.

      *                                           *                                                *

Mom packed her small bag to go along with my sister, to save me from a trip all the way to Palakkad on 10 Sep, before we proceed to Ernakulam to meet up with Lekha's doctor for her review. We'll bring her back on our return on the 12th. My mom and the mother of my sister's neighbour are good friends, who happens to be there currently and their interactions would offset mom's oft repeated complaint that she doesn't have a suitable person to converse with, albeit for a short while!

They're off by 1600h, to Palakkad and could reach their destination around sunset.

       *                                           *                                               *

Pat and Joyce, my friends from Bombay, had arrived on the dot at Kochi and Radhakrishnan, had brought them to the hotel - at the west 'nada' of the Guruvayur temple - where they'd done their bookings online, much earlier. Narayanan, my friend and I'd taken the couple around the temple and helped the lady weigh herself against dates according to a vow that she'd kept. After visiting the Mammiyoor Siva temple enroute, they're brought to 'The Quarterdeck' for interaction over a light supper.

The catching up did take up a couple of hours before they returned to their hotel for the night. Tomorrow morning, they'd be off for Kochi after a visit to the 'Vadakkunnathan' at Thrissur.

They reiterated that this was the best visit to Guruvayur till date. Felt thoroughly satisfied!


Tailpiece.

The house suddenly has become sort of empty with mom's movement to Palakkad.    

A proud salute.

RIP, Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami! My salute for your valour and in the gallant manner that you went down fighting for our country!! Your life shall definitely become folklore for the generations to come. My tears and prayers and here's my fond hope that your near and dear ones - especially, your wife and 7 year old daughter - have the strength to tide over these stressful times.

Goswami had proved his mettle by an active participant in three anti-terrorist missions in the Kashmir valley in which he had personally taken the scalp of 10 terrorists and captured one before laying down his life but not before ensuring that his last mission was a success! The Army's Northern Command had proudly announced and I quote, "Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami has created a unique history by eliminating 10 terrorists in 11 days. The missions were:-

       (a) 23 Aug        In Khurmur, Handwara where 3 LeT terrorists were killed by him.
       (b) 26-27 Aug   In a back-to-back operation in Rafiabad, where 3 more LeT terrorists
                                 were eliminated by him.
       (c) 03 Sep         In the Hafruda forest, near Kupwara, where he'd mowed down 4 terrorists
                                before laying down his life.

I'm proud to be Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami's countryman! He hails from Indira Nagar of Nainital.

           *                                       *                                            *

Today's Teachers' Day. 

I humbly pay my homage to all those teachers who've taken great pains to shape my destiny through their efforts, loving care and blessings and who've passed into the mist of time. To the rest, I take this occasion to sincerely thank you all from the bottom of my heart for having invested your valuable time in me to make me what I am. And to all among my friends and relatives who're into the noble profession of teaching, "Bash on regardless with your dedication and perseverance! May God be with you in your endeavour!"


Tailpiece.

Lekha and I'd gone to Kozhikode to attend the wedding of the son of a close friend. It was a well conducted wedding and here's me wishing Deepu and Kavita a happy, successful and long married life.

PS.
Anchie, another friend of ours, was with us on the occasion. As we sat down to partake the feast, disaster descended upon him in the form of a millepede wriggling on his banana leaf. Nonchalantly, he'd it removed and asked the person to serve him on the same leaf. Finally, I'd to get him to remove it and use another one, marveling at his poise all the time!     

A quiet day.

I was determined to recommence my morning walk, now that Lekha has regained her health and can move around. But the inertia had set in because it's been a long break since 20 May and I was utterly lazy to get up in the mornings. Last night, I'd told myself rather firmly, "Look Rajeev, you've had your fun and it's begun to show on your overall hulk. So, get cracking tomorrow morning itself."

The words seemed to have a sobering effect and I was up at 5 to go through my chores. The morning air was cool and crisp and as I passed along, there were a few who finally looked satisfied to see me on my regular circuit, because they said it in so many words. A few others gave me that knowing smile and there were others, still, who whispered to one another,

For me, it was plain happiness that I could finally let go off my inertia and was back on to healthy trends! Mom and Lekha were happy, too!!

       *                                              *                                               *

Mujib, the air conditioner mechanic, came in promptly at 1 after his lunch. He'd come because I'd launched a complaint that the air conditioner's voltage stabilizer had got burnt. About 10 days back, we're woken up in the middle of the night, with thick black, pungent smoke emanating from the stabilizer.

Without hesitation, he replaced the existing one with a new machine and thankfully, it's begun working well. I was surprised that he didn't even check as to what was wrong with the machine and when I asked him about it, replied, "Sir, I know that people like you will never report falsehoods because you mean business and respect people like us. It's my pleasure."

My doubt persisted as to why would anyone call up the service providers and provide falsehoods. Isn't it a waste of time when you've too many people coming in and going out of one's house under some pretext or the other? And moreover, what kicks do one get by reporting fictitious defects? I didn't ask Mujib these and decided to keep them to myself!

PS.
And I came to know that I was a valuable(?) customer to the company! Well!!

       *                                             *                                               *

I'd gone to collect a telephone unit that I'd given to the showroom, which had sold me the item a couple of years back, for repairs. While handing over the unit, I'd insisted that if the repair charges turned out to be steep and buying a new unit was a smarter option, they shouldn't hesitate to tell me. The unit had a problem that could be licked and that too, for a song. While taking its delivery, I learnt a few technical information which were:-

     (a) The ring tone of a telephone unit, with caller ID facility, will always be of low decibels.
     (b) To identify the caller, it's a must that the date and time are corrected periodically.

Probably, everyone knows and I took all this while to understand!

The return was by an auto rickshaw, driven by a guy called Abhilash. A very decent guy, I must say!


Tailpiece.

Tomorrow, is gonna be a long day. We've a wedding to attend at Kozhikode!  

Musings!

Based on certain news bytes and recent experiences, I've left my mind to wander. Accordingly, I've called them 'musings'......

 (a) Is it Bye Bye Schengen?

       Since its creation in '95, the Schengen area - named after a border town in Luxembourg - has
       abolished passport controls for travel between 22 of the European Union's 28 countries and non
       -EU Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein. It had sort off swept away psychological
       and physical barriers among the Europeans giving an impetus for Europe's single market.

       The system has begun creaking under the biggest refugee crisis, post World War II, as people
       from Syria, Afghanistan and Africa flood Europe seeking refuge from war and repression.
       The lack of a EU-wide asylum policy is a key problem with different countries dealing with
       the subject in differing ways and the following situations are becoming potent:-

           (i) disputes arise over the fairness of the distribution across the bloc especially when the
                refugees often seek those countries with the most favourable terms.
          (ii) confusion over how migration rules and Schengen overlap.
         (iii) severe anti-immigration climate prevails in many European countries.

       It's my fond hope that a statesman like decision is taken by the combined leadership of the
       region. The earlier it happens, the better!

  (b) A call that didn't excite.

        I was doing something unimportant when an unknown number had begun to ring insistently,
        this morning. Answering it, I realised the call was that of a friend whom I'd given up long
        before because of his inconsistency and perceived differences in thinking. He'd begun with
        ascertaining about Lekha's current medical status and as to what I was up to, though he                         admitted that he was keeping a track of my activities through what was covered by the media.

        We spoke for more than half an hour but sadly, I realised that it didn't excite me as it would
        have done earlier. I suppose I'm a bit too harsh on such people and I don't have to elaborate
        any further when I say that I'd deleted his number from my record of contacts, quite a while
        back, the problem being that I can't fake my emotions!


Tailpiece.

The Road Accident Report for the year '14 brought out by the road transport and highways ministry says that the country's killer roads have claimed lives of 75,000 youth, between the age group of 15 - 34 years. It's a global phenomenon too as per the WHO. Moreover, newer vehicles seem to be more prone to accidents!

An utterly wasteful day.

The day had begun, as usual, with an eerie silence as normal life had come to a standstill. There were no vehicles on the otherwise busy highway and shops were shuttered on the daylong - midnight to midnight - strike called by 10 central trade unions against government policies, termed by them, as 'anti-workers'. Let's quickly run through those lapses along with my comments in italics:-

      (a) Changes in labour laws. Many of the existing laws are archaic that demands renewal as per
            the changed circumstances, modernisation and state of the art technology that's simplified
            the degree of difficulty for the workers.
      (b) Privatisation of PSUs. Despite governmental utterances, the progress on this aspect is too
            slow. For example, almost every Indian is looking forward to the privatisation
            of the loss accumulating, national carrier, Air India!
      (c)  Minimum Wages to be pegged at Rs.15,000/-. Rationalisation of wages is a must but
             the attendant responsibility of the labourer to shed his hostility towards his customers is a
             must!   
      (d) Arrest rise in prices. The less said the better, for example, just follow the price of onions over
            the last month. I must confess that I see a conspiracy on this aspect to show the Modi 
            government in poor light by its opponents!
      (e) Reduce unemployment. A valid point which should find a solution with more investments
            by firms towards all round development.
      (f)  Strict Implementation of Labour Laws. Has there been any dilution in their enforcement?
            If affirmative, it needs to be avoided.
      (g) No Legal Amendments Permissible. To fine tune a particular law, amendments are a must!
      (h) Abandon disinvestment. Many of the PSUs are loss making and disinvestment is a viable
            alternative!
      (j) Social Security for all Workers. A desirable point but does the government have the                          resources to pull it off?

The BMS, the trade union with its affiliation to the BJP, had stayed away from the strike call.

The Results.

The total loss suffered by the country in economic terms is around Rs.25,000/- crores due to lack of productivity!

And consider these, which can never be quantified:-

     (a) The railways were exempted but the taxis, buses and autorickshaws didn't ply off the railway
           stations making travel weary passengers stay at the platform, many a time, with nothing to
           eat or drink. The Thrissur Railway Station proved to be an exception with all the utility 
           services deciding to work as though it's a normal day!
     (b) People requiring medical assistance had difficulty in reaching their destinations.
     (c) Eateries were shut forcing pilgrims to go hungry for long hours and consequently be                            dependent on temple offerings.
     (d) Fear psychosis existed among many to take their vehicles out fearing backlash by unruly
           elements!

I guess one can go on and on. The story is the same and the same old, miserable story continues!



Tailpiece.

One doesn't know how to react to Gurudas Dasgupta's statement post strike, "The strike was hugely successful". You put your countrymen through untold misery and claim success. What a tragedy? Do you have a heart, Mr. Dasgupta?

Interesting happenings around the globe.

News abound about interesting happenings all around the globe. Some fascinate me and a few others make me curious but all the same, they never fail to excite me. Let me go through a few:-

 (a) Receding Seas.

       Early in the morning, at the break of dawn really, a strange phenomenon was witnessed by the
       coastal population of Punnapra in Alappuzha district. The sea, over a stretch of almost 1 km, had
       receded by almost a quarter of a kilometer baring slush that made it difficult for fishing boats              with their catch to come to hard ground. For many, it reminded them of the post-tsunami
       situation creating a short term panic. Scientists have reached the site to study the phenomenon.

       Quite hard to believe, especially against the backdrop of a recent report that the sea levels have
       risen by 3" over the last decade amid fears of certain islands being gobbled up by the sea, thanks
       to the phenomenon. Nearest to us is the case of a few islands of the Maldivian archipelago!

   (b) The Syrian Refugees.

         Hundreds of angry migrants demonstrated outside Budapest's shuttered Eastern Railway
         Terminus, demanding that the station be reopened and they be allowed to travel on to Germany.
         In recent times, many refugees from Syria have been trying to migrate into Europe!

         The apprehensions of the European countries are understandable because:-

             (a) there's already a sizeable Muslim population in many of the European countries like
                   France, Germany etc and the respective governments have been grappling with the
                   demands of the group, which emanate from being 'religion specific' like being allowed
                   to wear scarves to allotting time for worship during office hours etc.
             (b) the demographic transformation has been stark that soon, some of these countries will
                   have a Muslim dominant society.

          A precarious situation, the plight of the refugees notwithstanding!

    (c) Diabetes through Antibiotics!

          According to a latest study on the subject, it's becoming increasingly clear that the                               indiscriminate use of antibiotics can result in developing Type 2 Diabetes. It goes by the
          argument that the bacteria present in the gut have a connection with the use of antibiotics.
          Excessive use of such medicines can produce imbalance in the gut leading to metabolic
          disorders!

          Even irrational prescription of antibiotics, for cure, by the doctors has now come under the
          WHO's scanner!!


Tailpiece.

India has done it. It has won the third cricket test at Colombo and in the process, the series and the rubber! A feat after 22 years!! Cheers!!!