How I put my foot into my mouth!

Babu chettan of Neelamperoor had arrived, by about 9, to spend the morning with us. His elder daughter is in Madras while the younger one is at Coimbatore. Ever since the death of his wife, he has been shuttling between Madras, Coimbatore and Kottayam, where he has his own house. He leads a lonely life and has quite a few medical problems to add to his woes.

After taking his permission, I'd darted out of the house for running an errand. There was a heavy rush at the bank and I saw that both, the manager and Subha were busy taking care of the customers. There was Raju, the peon-cum-messenger, who was sitting free and he took care of all that I'd gone for. I suppose his experience and cross training has made him a Jack of all trades! I could return home without much delay and could continue with my interaction with Babu chettan.

He left after his evening tea, fondly remembering mom's presence during his last visit. We met him later on in the evening at the Guruvayur Town hall where the wedding reception of Ajith and Raveena was on. It was a well organised event and we're introduced to many of the couple's friends. We're then called for a photograph with the newly wedded couple.

It was there that I'd put my foot into my mouth, something that I've been doing over the years! On wishing Raveena, I'd told her, "You're looking good in your natural self. Yesterday, your beautician hadn't done justice to your appearance". Lekha, later on, told me that the poor thing had stiffened on hearing me which I must frankly admit that I did not notice. What no one understood was that I was just being nice.

          *                                   *                                     *

The rains have been ongoing and from the latest meteorological information, the rains of the south west monsoon will cease by the end of this month and by mid October, the north east monsoon will be on its way bringing in plenty of rain. The caretaker of the 'Raj Nivas' had called up to say that the weeds around the rubber saplings were getting to be unmanageable and needed to be removed, the rains notwithstanding. It would require 23 men to do the work @ Rs.700/- per head after which the appropriate fertilisers will be applied. The requisite amount was transferred into his account forthwith as the work will commence tomorrow.

Agriculture demands periodic attention, the promptness with which one gets the work done will ensure the availability of the workers - we've still been using the local manpower instead of the immigrant labour.



Tailpiece.

Padmakumar, my brother-in-law is down with Chicken pox. My sister says that he's in bad shape. Get well soon, Padmakumar!

From a wedding diary.

We're up by 5, went through the morning chores as we'd to meet up with the car that was picking us up at a half past 7. The car would have the boy's grandparents other than us!

Lekha's friend, Seena, had arrived at a half past 6 to help her with her saree and the dressing up for the wedding. So, by a half past 7, we're ready, locked the house and had gone the 70 odd metres on the main road in anticipation of the vehicle that was gonna take us to the venue. That it took almost an hour for it to reach us speaks of the parking problems/traffic snarls in the vicinity of the temple. Finally, we're off by a half past 8 and our destination was about 60 kms, north, from here.

The roads were okay but the ones within the Malappuram district were really bad, especially within a 15 km radius near Perinthalmanna. Suresh, our chauffeur, had a ready answer for this state of affairs. The PWD and road work are handled by the CPM in the LDF ministry and they have an 'order of priority' in the repair and the upkeep of the roads/highways. It's the Muslim League that has held this portfolio in the UDF ministry, since times immemorial and the concerned ministers have always showed a preference to the roads of Malappuram district! The LDF ministry is just sorting out the havoc caused by that preference. This is the politics of the roads and who suffers ultimately? The average citizen!

We're at the Mangalya Auditorium at the foothill of the famous 'Thirumaandhaam kunnu temple' by a half past 10. The place gives me the feeling that time stands still, once in a way, on its own accord! And now, from the pages of the wedding diary.

  (a) Superstition, still plays a major role. 

        Both the boy and the girl have just attained marriageable age and one considers that as a trifle
        too early. In this case, the horoscopes of both indicate that this the right time for them to marry,
        failing which, they could end up marrying only in their late 30s which was unthinkable to both
        the families and hence, the wedding was decided. I only hope that the couple shows a restraint
        in siring children in the immediate future!

  (b) The girl's family.

        The father is working in Bahrain, the mother is a housewife and they've four daughters. 
        Raveena is the youngest. A family that's close knit and are fervent 'Thirumaandhaam kunnu
        Amma's devotees'. 

  (c) Overdoing the make up.

        In the name of dressing up the bride, the beauticians overdo the make up at times. Raveena is
        a sweet looking girl but her make up was so badly done that if I'd got a chance, I'd have given 
        her beautician a tight slap. The face was dark after the make up that the girl's elegance was
        lost behind the layers of material applied!

  (d) It was a long trudge!

        The bride and her immediate relations had started from Angadippuram at 3, in the morning, to
        be in time for the 'Thaalikettu' before Guruvayoorappan at 7, then returned to Angadippuram
        well in time to receive the bridegroom and his folks for the wedding, followed by lunch. The
        couple, then, returned to be received at the boy's house, ceremonially at 4, in the evening. Too
        much of travel for the poor couple and that too, within a short time...... O, these beliefs!

We're back home after all the ceremonies were over. It was a cute wedding with quaint traditions and ceremonies!


Tailpiece.

The evening walk was nice and enabled me to unwind.
   

Another one of those quiet days!

Last evening, Indira kunjamma had called me up to say that it would be nice if I tendered an apology on our family's What'sApp site. I'd posted a stern message - a couple of days ago - which had given heartburns to a few and though all supported my chiding the two cousins, some felt that I'd exceeded the limits of propriety expected of me regarding a particular issue.

I'd got up in the wee hours of the morning and my aunt's suggestion was weighing heavily upon me. After the morning chores, I was washing down my car when my aunt had called me yet again to say that she was waiting to read my new post. I'd to tell her that I wasn't able to articulate an appropriate formulation and was at my wit's end, regarding the issue, but I'd made a mental note that I could not let her down and had to do the needful, today itself.

I'd called up Lekshmi, her elder daughter, to tell her about my predicament and she, too, said that I'd be able to do the needful. Incidentally, I'd gone out by about a half past 11 to deposit a cheque in the bank quite forgetting the fact that today was the second Saturday of the month and that the banks had a holiday. I'd bought a few medicines instead and returned a chastened man.

It was after teatime that I'd mentally tuned myself to punch in that post and then, without hesitation, my thoughts got channelised or should I say, crystallised? Consequently, I felt light and nice. My aunt was quick to acknowledge the post and I was glad that I hadn't let her down!

We went to Ajith's house, next door, to attend the family's get together on the eve of his marriage that's gonna take place tomorrow at Angadippuram, Perinthalmanna which is about 60 kms north of our location. We were introduced to a whole lot of relatives that Lekha and I were meeting for the first time. Ajith's mother, Sujatha is the daughter of Sathi chechi, who's married to Radhan chettan, my cousin from P Kesava Panicker's family.

It was a pleasant evening and after a light dinner, we'd returned to 'The Quarterdeck' to crowd around our television set to watch our favourite programmes.



Tailpiece.

Tomorrow's gonna be an early day for us as the vehicle is gonna pick us up at a half past 7.    

News views yet again.

Though we're on the move, I was keeping myself abreast of the day's news. The churlishness among people and mouthing accusations have become the order of the day. Sad!

 (a) Who Killed Gauri Lankesh?

        The brutal murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh by unknown motor cycle borne miscreants has
        definitely sent shock waves. The police, as well as the SIT, have been investigating the case
        but a breakthrough is yet to be achieved. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi and Sitaram Yechury talk
        as though they're sure as to who the killers are and make public statements accordingly.

        Everything is, finally, laid at the doorstep of the Prime Minister. The pessimistic outlook on
        their performance at the general elections of '19 seems to be prompting them to make mistake
        after mistake. What a sad spectacle it all makes! Digvijaya Singh's tweets were in the same
        vein and it's obnoxious!

        It's my firm hope that the murderers of the journalist are brought to book at the earliest and the
        case must be taken on fast track to mete out justice, forthwith.

  (b) Why Safety Continues to be a Problem for the Indian Railways?

        The reply by the chairman of the Railway Board to the Parliament's Railway Convention
        committee gives the root cause of the accidents that occur viz. "Maintenance remains a 
        a constraint, particularly on high density routes where we've been introducing trains and 
        there's no sufficient time and that has been the bottleneck rather than anything else".

        How the railways sorts out this vexed issue will bring down the accident rate. Action needs to
        be taken without further delay and yes, in the process, the commuters can get inconvenienced.
        But it needs to be done, forthwith.

   (c) The Rivers Are Getting Salty.

         "Follow the river and you'll find the sea", so says an old saying but in Tamilnadu, it's bucking
         the trend. The sea, as if in search of the river, is making incursions inland, with disastrous
         results. The most glaring example is that of River Cauvery where seawater incursion has
         taken place by about 20 kms upstream in parts of the delta which includes the rice bowl,
         Thanjavur.

         The incursion takes place because of the lack of the flow of water in the rivers.

         A detailed study to improve the river flow and identifying related problem areas need to be
         undertaken to arrive at countermeasures, forthwith.

   (d) Another Twist.

         Nadirsha, a friend of cine actor, Dileep is wanted by the police for questioning in connection
         with the abduction of a Malayalam film actress. Why had he put up for anticipatory bail - the
         court has turned it down - if he's clean and has nothing to do with the case?

         And a question for the Mohanlal apologists. The actor is supposed to convey his 'anguish' over
         social issues that sadden(?) him through his blog, from time to time. Surprisingly, he has been
         silent on this unfortunate incident. What has happened?

         The investigations need to be carried out to its logical conclusion and if Nadirsha needs to be
         questioned it needs to be done, forthwith.


 


Tailpiece.

After a leisurely grooming, we're ready to kick off by a quarter past 9. The morning conversations over tea and then, during breakfast with Ramakrishnan and Rajamma chechi were interesting as it helped us to update ourselves about the family. Incidentally, Ramesh had inquired of us as to why we weren't staying at their place, this time. We'd actually stayed away because we'd anticipated plenty of guests there as he and Bindu are quite popular among us.

He goes for his chemos - there's gonna be three of them, this time - from today. Must look him up after the medical activity.

The road towards Idappalli and the highway beyond, were comparatively sparse and our movement was smooth. We reached Guruvayur by 12 and after finishing up a small job at the bank, sundry purchases and dropping my credit card cheque at the drop box, we reached home by a few minutes to spare for the clock to strike 1. Preetha had, in the meanwhile, spread a simple but fantastic lunch.

It was curtains to yet another cute outing.   

To Kochi.

The day had begun as usual with us going around our chores. Our maid, who was on leave till yesterday for Onam had fetched up earlier and we left for Kochi by a trifle after 9. There was a bit of trepidation anticipating traffic snarls, at the familiar sites on our way through Thrissur town and the deviations owing to the traditional 'Pulikali' this afternoon. But, thankfully, we're spared of it and I could hit the highway, at Paliyekkara, an hour later.

The journey was fine as we weaved our way through comparatively sparse traffic, reached Kochi before a half past 12 and could do a couple of things before lunch time. Lunch at my cousin's place was sumptuous and nice with Ramakrishnan and Rajamma chechi, with Gauri in attendance.

Lekha's medical parameters will be on check and the frequent travels need to be regulated. The idea is that she mustn't get too tired. Climbing of stairs needs to be minimised!

After a much needed and welcome siesta, we're ready to attend a wedding reception. It was raining and Jojy, my friend, had booked a Uber cab for us. The cab had fetched up late but its driver, Vipin had taken my cousin and her mom to the Jubilee Mission hospital, a couple of years back and he was thrilled to be taking us along. We reached the venue by 8 and everyone had begun to wonder as to why we're getting late. Lekha and I have become 'confirmed guests' on similar occasions - as I'd said earlier, it's these get togethers that cement and revive relationships, an essential part of life!

The evening was fantastic in that we'd a great time in interacting with the guests and our classmates in particular. Savio and Annie played the perfect hosts. MaryAnne and Mathew looked the perfect couple and we'd the privilege of wishing them a long and happy married life. The group photograph of the entire lot of classmates along with their spouses with the newly weds was, needless to say, the Kodak moment of the day. May all the good things happen to you, MaryAnne and Mathew! Take care.

Jacob Cyriac and Sheeba were gracious to drop us back despite the fact that they'd to take a detour from Vyttila, their destination. Damn sweet of them!


Tailpiece.

Ramakrishnan was up and awake to receive us. Damn sweet of him, too!! 

News views.

Going by the happenings of the past 24 hrs, one wonders whether there's a pattern in all of these? The analyses will give a definite picture, I'm sure and so, here I go.

 1. A Sudden Fondness.

     Over the past few days, the people of the Malayalam film industry have suddenly shown a
     fondness for Dileep, who's in jail. Yesterday, Ganesh Kumar, had gone on record to say that
     the jailed actor must be respected till he's found to be guilty. He also said that the chief minister
     could be approached to correct the investigations thus far, if the police has made a mistake. What
     a brazen way of trying to influence the case?

     There has been reports of the actor getting special consideration within the jail which was,
     however, rubbished by the Aluva jail superintendent. The television channels have been
     bombarding the viewers with an array of the actor's movies as part of the special broadcast during
     Onam and an unnatural number of songs picturised on him on the 'pure' music channels.

     Are these attempts to let go off the blighter by watering down the investigations? I hope that my
     fears are unfounded and the case, through its logical conclusion, will surely remove the rottenness
     within the film industry!

 2. The Thawing at Doklam.

     The Sino-Indian stand off at Doklam seems to have petered off for now. Wonder why the Chinese
     backed down after all the bluster. Were they due to any off the following reasons?

         (a) Bhutan took an uncompromising stand that was favourably oriented with Indian perceptions.
         (b) India did not show a tendency to blink anytime during this 'eyeball-to-eyeball' confrontation.
         (c) China did not want a possible boycott of the 'BRICS' summit by the Indian PM.

     Maintaining peace and tranquility at the border was a must for fruitful engagement between the
     two countries, the leaders concluded after their one-to-one meeting. The naming of the terror
     organisations, operating from Pakistani soil, on the summit's declaration has been good and is a
     victory of sorts for Indian diplomacy!

 3. A Change in Mindset.

     I've been watching with increasing disappointment at the reaction of liberally educated people
     reacting and offering comments about the so called beef ban, increased thrust on Hindutva by
     the fringe groups, the JNU happenings of the past and a few, that continue to happen in the name
     of free speech, the Rohit Vemula case etc on What'sApp and other social media.

     Consequently, in my personal interactions with many of the people, I've pointedly asked them
     as to whether they felt threatened or they believed in what the ex-Vice President, Hamid Ansari,
     had said about a fear among the minorities since the Modi government had taken over in '14. The
     answers were only endorsing the political ideology that they believed in!
 
     Frankly speaking, I haven't seen any change and it's certain that fringe groups could whip up
     hysteria with the opposition immediately taking up the issue and making it a stick to beat Modi
     with. The problems, thus, were blown out of proportion when viewed impartially. India cannot 
     and will not become a Hindu land that is a mirror image to an Islamic Pakistan.

     If anyone has such misguided notions, he/she must shed it forthwith because it's the multiplicity
     of cultures, religion and faiths that makes India strong and vibrant. A single religion country like
     Pakistan has shown the pitfalls and is not needed.

     It's against this background that I liked the newly inducted minister, Alphons Kannanthanam, say
     unequivocally that 'beef ban' is not in Modi's agenda. Cynics might call him a 'Modi-bhakt' but
     that's the fact!

 4. Meet Our New Raksha Mantri.

     It's Prime Minister Modi's master stroke when he made the able Nirmala Sitharaman his new
     defence minister. She has the grit and the chutzpah to carry it off efficiently though there might be
     very little that she could do in the strategic decisions taken by her predecessor. I shall be keeping
     a close watch on her moves and it's my fond hope that she visits the veterans sitting at the Jantar
     Mantar and finds a solution for the vexed problem of OROP and pensions forthwith!

     Best wishes to you ma'am for a fruitful tenure and here's hoping that you'd bring in new initiatives
     that your illustrious predecessors didn't attempt.



Tailpiece.

Suresh's ashes have been taken by a small group of people, from both the families, to Kanyakumari followed by Rameswaram. They'll return by early morning the day after. I was supposed to be part of that group but had to change plans because of Lekha's medical management.   
      

Lekha's medical review.

The day had begun at 4 as we went through our chores and had hit the road by a trifle after 6. I didn't quite like the pitter patter rain that persisted as I got into the Chevy and opened/passed through the two gates. I'd made up my mind to go on the NH 17, though it was potholed all over because I'd seen the Youth Congress guys agitating at the Paliyekkara toll to bring down hiked rates on the news, last evening. There was no point in taking chances.

We reached Oottupura at Panampilli Nagar by a 20' past 8. After a quick breakfast and we're off to Shenoy Care and reached there by a quarter past 9. We could meet the doctor by about a half past 11. This time, Lekha had three things to tell the doctor viz.:-

       (a) Her Haemoglobin has come down to 10. Was it because of our extensive travel and attending
             functions, all through the last month?
       (b) The fall that she had, two evenings back, was giving her discomfort but there were no
             visible bruises.
       (c) The frequent pain on her left knee.

After a thorough examination and going through the path lab results, the doctor had put us at ease and has put her under observation. The next visit is on 05 Dec.

We, then, made a quick detour to the naval canteen only to find it locked for the day and decided to revisit on Thursday when we'd be down to attend a function. Had the buffet at a place in Panampilli nagar, which was nice. I'd decided to take the Aluva route for our return but the wait at Idappalli was for almost 45'! The crowds visiting the Lulu Mall and those who're taking their ride on the Kochi Metro and their vehicles were the reason for the clog and some guys drove crazily!!

We reached 'The Quarterdeck' a few minutes before 5. It was another unpacking and washing process to be ready for the next outing.

The walk was nice and this evening, I'd walked it to the temple. had a 'darshan' of the Lord but the 'Ganesh Bakery', off the western gate of the temple, that sold the dosa batter and milk was closed. Had returned in an auto rickshaw as I felt lethargic!



Tailpiece.

1. Another hectic day, with calls and messages continuously pouring in on account of Onam. Felt nice.

2. What I'd observed at Padmanabha Shenoy's clinic. Everyone who came out of his consulting room had a smile on his/her face. When we're coming out after consulting him, I'd faltered on the leg of the chair on which I was sitting, prompting him to say, "Sir, don't fall here, you must take care". That caution brought a smile on to mine and Lekha's faces and we walked out". He has that personal touch with people....a true professional with a mark of greatness!