An afternoon outing.

Lekha's dental appointment was at 1400 hrs at the Vasan Dental Care, near Ayyanthole. A root canal treatment was to be performed on a lower premolar that was giving her a bit of a discomfort. Dental treatment is contemplated after taking all factors into consideration because of her SLE background. It cannot be trifled with as no mistake is permissible because it can result in the flaring up of the illness, one's told.

The concerned tooth stands precariously with the gums having receded considerably. It's, however, being retained as it supports the dental furniture that is in place. There was a discussion between her doctor at Kochi and the one here before putting down the plan of action. George, our chauffeur, had come around a half past 12 - on my calling - to enable us to be in time for the appointment.

George, incidentally, wasn't keeping well of late. On 21 Sep, his face had taken a contortion all of a sudden and he insists that he wasn't under any tension, any pain or was he undergoing any form of discomfort towards the run up to the incident. He was quickly taken to the hospital and with timely administration of medicines, a paralytic attack that could have been the culmination, was pulverized. The veins on either side of his forehead had bulged and luckily for him, there were no blood clots! He's just 62 years of age and I think the episode has shaken him. But he continues to pursue his driving assignments.

I dunno whether it was a rogue observation but I found him to be driving faster than usual. Was there an unconscious effort, on his part, to cram in as many events as possible due to a paucity of time? He did tell us that he'd be proceeding to Thiruvananthapuram by the Intercity Express, leaving Guruvayur at 0300 hrs, in the wee hours of tomorrow morning, to look up his grandson who'd undergone an accident, requiring three stitches on the bridge of his nose. And no, he's going all by himself and will return tomorrow. As he left, he waved me a good bye, quite unlike his usual self of smilingly driving away! Or was it all my imagination?

God, please take care of him and ensure that he's blessed with abundant good health.



Tailpiece.

Enroute, we'd visited the Airtel store and they, too, were surprised that my cellphone wasn't activated as yet. Another new sim was issued and a request for upgrade was given though the end result, by evening, was that the set would only receive and send emergency calls! Consequently, I was without a cellphone for over 24 hrs and only hope that there were no calls that require my urgent indulgence. 

Coping with technology and atrocious attendant services.

Lekha and my nephew, Achu had bought me a brand new cellphone in June as mine was hopelessly erratic. It goes off and has to be restarted periodically. The call drops are an added irritation. I was simply lethargic as I wasn't even aware as to whether the company had a store at Guruvayur or if they had one, as to where it was. And all my queries on their electronic address turned out to be futile!

Both of us have Airtel's post paid connections. Finally, I'd got the location of the store from a friend of mine and we'd headed for the place this morning. I intended to clear the following pending work:-

    (a) Link up our connections with the Aadhaar as per the latest government directives.
    (b) Convert both our existing 2G connections to 4G, hoping that it would enhance the efficiency
          and coverage and perhaps, reduce call drops.

In the process, I'd hoped to activate my new set too. Viswanathan, at the store that we'd headed first was helpful, though he was unable to help us because he only dealt with 'pre-paid' connections. He, however, told us about the two stores at Chavakad and Kunnamkulam and recommended the latter as the former was incapable and would not be able to execute my requirement.

I wonder as to why the telecom companies do not provide professionals - at least they should  provide the people, manning the booths, with the right training to enable them to do their work correctly - who're efficient enough to help the customers with their requirements/queries and thereby achieve their employer's objectives. The fact is that the service providers charge for their services and are yet to give satisfactory answers to our queries about the continuing call drops, the TRAI directives, notwithstanding! The general experience is that the companies are harsh in their retribution if, god forbid, the customer is in the wrong. It should be so to sort out errant customers but don't the service providers, then, have the responsibility to be strict, unwavering and uncompromising about the quality of their services?

We, finally, headed for the store at Kunnamkulam where the helpful young lady and the lad went about our requirements to the best of their ability. There were customers who're trickling in and hence, we took leave of them without wasting their time on our doubts, which were aplenty. In the hasty exit, I'd forgotten to take down their contact number about which I was gonna rue later.

A full 12 hours later, though the 4G services have been initiated on Lekha's cellphone, albeit with glitches, mine continues to be working on the 2G. 


Tailpiece.

I wonder as to when the service providers and businessmen realise that the customer is king. I'm sure they understand that they can only survive with the patronage of each of their customers! 

An unbridled enthusiasm!

1. Football, the Favourite.

The first match between India and the US of the under 17 FIFA World Cup will get going, this evening, at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in New Delhi. Over the past weeks, the enthusiasm towards the game has reached great levels and the popularity has no age bar. Just goes to show that in this country every game is popular, it just requires the right approach to attract popular support.

There was a general feeling that the Indians responded favourably only to cricket. Hockey, the once favoured game, does not figure anywhere on the adulation scale which is a sad story and I must say, unwittingly scripted by us because we didn't foresee the changes that were coming in and we didn't insist on our format, which was beautifully artistic!

I'd seen the sad transformation while at the NDA. The game that I was witness to in my first term, during Spring '73 was artistic where players flicked, tackled and played wrist shots sending the ball to their intended positions in a seemingly easy manner and the ball remained within the field for almost the entire duration of the game. The sticks never went up beyond the knees and yet the shots had sufficient force that could hurt anyone that came its way. By Autumn '75, during my final term, the texture of the game had changed with the sticks straying up beyond the knees quite often with the ball going out of the field every now and then. It seemed to be a modified form of cricket with hockey sticks!

May the game of Football prosper, attract more youngsters so that we have an international team that can compete with the best in the business within a span of a couple of years!

2. Simultaneous Polls.

The announcement by the Election Commission that it would be ready to conduct the general elections along with with the Assembly elections come Sep '18, if delivered, would become the biggest electoral reform in years. However, the entire spectrum of political parties needs to come to a unanimous decision for it to be implemented. The system of simultaneous polls was upset in '67 when a few state governments fell out of power due to a variety of reasons and elections had to be held to install their alternatives.

It would definitely bring about two things:-

    (a) The country's propensity to be on election mode, all through, will become a thing of the past.
    (b) Governance, consequently, will attain focus!

3. Getting to Know the Right Information.

I've been grappling with my erratic cellphone for quite a while. Actually, between Lekha and Achu, my nephew, a new instrument was bought in June but has not been commissioned till date thanks to procrastination on my part. All it requires is a micro sim card against the existing one(I want it to be converted to 4G from the 2G that I have at the present). This will enhance the speed and efficiency.
 
I need to identify the company's store in the near vicinity where I could get the needful done. It has been lethargy, instead! Must get it done before my trip, abroad, next week.



Tailpiece.

Today was the first remembrance day of the 91 year old Haridasa Menon, of our neighbourhood, as per the Malayalam calendar. He'd passed into the mist of time 13 days after my mom, last year!
     

The politics of 'yatras'.

The BJP is currently conducting the 'Janaraksha Yatra' from the northern part of Kerala and communist stronghold voicing its opinion against 'red terror' and 'love jihad'. That Amit Shah, the party's president took half an hour to articulate his views on the subject and 21/2 hours to 'walk the talk' showed his determination to take the fight to the enemy camp.

Beginning with a floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhi's statue at the Gandhi Park on 03 Oct, Shah and the other leaders of the party undertook the 'padayatra' from Payyannur to Pilathara, a distance of eight kilometers to show that they mean business. The 'yatra' will be joined by the party's chief ministers from other states and other leaders in the coming days and will end a fortnight later, at Thiruvananthapuram.

The CPM has been quick to dismiss the charges but what remains to be seen is as to what the repercussions would be, now that 'red terror' has been brought to the center stage at the national level. The CPM has already announced its intentions to hold rallies all over the country highlighting the fascist tendencies of the BJP. That there was consensus among all, that political murders had to stop, what could not be decided was as to how to put an end to them.

Yatras come and yatras go but the one that leaves a lasting impression in the minds of the people would have achieved its aim! 

These are good exercises that are required frequently, but without affecting normal life. They will help the younger generation to pick up the political party of their choice, without coercion from any quarter and together they should strive towards a political atmosphere of healthy competition sans hatred and divisive tendencies where the nation's good is of paramount importance.

That should be the political outlook where everyone's affiliations is viewed with respect and gracefully agree to disagree on points/issues, if any.



Tailpiece.

The problem outside the kitchen, where the dish water falls, has been licked with a simple yet novel idea! Preetha seemed to be thrilled at the way it has been sorted out. 

Back at 'The Quarterdeck'.

The train was on time as it slowly chugged into Guruvayur by 5’ to midnight. Made a quick get away and drove off from the railway station premises and was at home soon after.  Lekha was apprised of the day’s proceedings as I’d my supper – the only fault with this train is that it doesn’t cater for dinner as most of the passengers disembark at Ernakulam by a quarter to 10, to be in time for the meal at home! The railways had tried many stunts like delaying its departure from Thiruvananthapuram, so that it arrived later at Ernakulam, but there were no takers for the supper on board. This time, it was just three of us in the chair car to get off at Guruvayur.

We were off to bed by a quarter to 1, bringing an end to a hectic but enjoyable day. Meanwhile, Pushpaakaran had done the half yearly spring cleaning of the house and the fans, the window sills, the glass panes etc are looking nice and clean. The other pending job is to download a lorry of mud in our backyard to make it more even and strong. Just waiting for the long spell of rain to end.

                      *                           *                             *

Dileep has been granted bail by the High Court after he’d spent 85 days in jail. There are a lot of queries that I have and am reserving them for a later date. My only hope is that here is a chance to cleanse the Malayalam film industry and the opportunity must not be allowed to pass!

                *                              *                                *

I'm extremely happy to note a change, for the better, regarding the supply of LPG or the cooking gas. The waiting period for refill was almost 50 days from the date of booking not very long ago and these days, it's delivered the very next day. May the system prevail!

Tailpiece.

I'd like to share with you a good saying that was sent to me on What'sApp,

    "Anyone who is not on your same evolutionary and spiritual frequency will distance

      himself from you, while all those who are on the same evolutionary and spiritual

      frequency as you will come closer to you. You will see how amazing it is to discover that everyone who needs to be by your side will ultimately appear in your life in the most spontaneous and divine manner. That's how powerful the mind is!" 

A dash to Raj Nivas.

It was a decision taken on a whim but the reasons were as follows:-

     (a) The caretaker has been urging me to have a look at the quality of work done. Continuous rains
           had resulted in an overgrowth of weeds and consequently, a thick undergrowth. It was sad to
           see the wild creepers that were twisting and weighing down the rubber saplings.
     (b) I wanted to have a tete-e-tete with my parents who were resting there.
     (c) The uniform application of the natural fertiliser, cow dung along with other appropriate man
           made ones had to be finalised and the plan, put into effect.
     (d) Since the 2nd was a holiday, I expected less crowd in the public transportation.
     (e) The return reservation was confirmed.

Since it was the continuation of a string of holidays, getting people and services turned out to be difficult. My regular auto rick guy, Anto, was returning from a pleasure trip in Palakkad and therefore, wasn't available. The other two, whose numbers we had, refused to respond......perhaps, they're busy! And I decided to drive to the railway station in my Chevy, park it there and return in it on completion of the trip. I was not fully happy about parking it there because of the chances of damages being inflicted by other vehicles and it would also have to stand the harsh weather, for the whole day, as the parking area wasn't a covered shelter.

Had got up at a quarter past 4, went through the chores and was ready by a half past 5. Armed with a folding umbrella because it was raining all through the night but had, thankfully, taken a break as I was casting off, breakfast rustled up by Lekha along with six bananas(Catering for breakfast, tea break and lunch, you see), a bottle of drinking water, a change consisting of a shirt and vest and reading material, I'd driven past the second gate when I realised that I'd forgotten my cellphone and charger. I'd gone running back to fetch them and continued the drive and reached the railway station about seven minutes later. After parking the vehicle and collecting the parking ticket, I'd joined up the long queue, left with just another seven minutes to go for the train's departure. People jumping the queue were irritants but I could get my ticket without much delay and cut through the railway tracks to get onto the third platform, to board the train. As I found a window side single seat and plonked myself into it, the train had begun to move out of the station.....it was, thus, a touch and go sort of a situation!

Completely upsetting my assumption, the train was full of people but it was not packed as it would have been, on a working day. The journey was uneventful and I reached the destination at 1400 hrs where the caretaker was waiting with the auto rickshaw - my phone was on its last leg of charge as the train's carriage was of vintage and consequently, did not have charging points! Earlier, breakfast was had at Ernakulam Town around a quarter past 8 and lunch, at Kollam by a half past 1. On fetching up at Raj Nivas, without much ado, I had gone into the rubber plantation and could not but marvel at the beautiful work done by the 23 men @ Rs.700/- per day. Two labourers, Unni and Philip, were still on the grind, sorting out the last patch of unkempt growth.

I did spend time at my parents' resting place and updated them about the purpose of my visit and the duration of stay. The caretaker, the lead worker and I, then, discussed and finalised the subsequent activities that were to be carried out within the coming week. After a quick wash and a change of clothes, I was off for Kollam by bus but not before having a piping hot mug of tea, from the caretaker's house! The Intercity Express to Guruvayur was on time and by 1840 hrs, I was on my return journey, satisfied with the day's proceedings. I'd sufficient reading material from the book stall on the platform. Met Suresh, an ex-cashier at the Guruvayur SBI and also, befriended his wife and as they're getting off at Aluva waved a hearty goodbye.



Tailpiece.

There was no rain anywhere, enroute and Lekha had confirmed that Guruvayur had also not had rain throughout the day, except for the early morning downpour. Pushpaakaran, had fetched up for the half yearly spring cleaning! 

A case for the Bullet Trains.

There has been a few echoes, from certain quarters, that the country needs no 'Bullet Trains'. It's easy to establish as to who the proponents are and I shan't waste my time doing so because it's immaterial and inconsequential as they're simply trying to score brownie points. What I have not been able to understand is the argument behind the suggestion or in other words, is there any substance at all, in the first place?

The sad tragedy of the loss of 27 lives at Bombay's Elphinstone Road Metro Station's foot over bridge, in a stampede, has been the latest triggering point for the naysayers. Raj Thackeray has gone one step further saying that it's the outsiders who've come into the state in search of work that have caused the accident. A bizarre reason, indeed! And what's the Congress party finding fault with?

Having been in power, at the center and in the states for over 60 years, it should have ensured its successive governments to institutionalise systematic maintenance of the railways' infrastructure as a matter of course. Instead, new trains were announced year after year during each railway budget with scant attention to the safety factor! Every railway minister made sure that the railways serviced his constituency to satisfy his vote banks.

So, I would like to sum up the reasons for the abhorrence of the Bullet Trains which are:-

    (a) It's a Modi initiative and therefore, it has to be opposed tooth and nail.
    (b) The existing infrastructure of the railways need renewal/overhauling. What the naysayers forget
          is that the lines used by the Bullet Trains will have to be be upgraded to facilitate higher speeds
          and increase efficiency
    (c) The running costs of the Bullet Trains are high which will translate into the fares being high
          and the facility cannot be afforded by the poor.
    (d) It will serve only a few corridors leaving the remainder of the existing rail network out of
          its purview.

The argument against will, necessarily, have to take into consideration certain opposing points that would not have a direct connection with the railways and here I go:-

     (a) In the '80s and the '90s, the then government was at a loss as to how to go about modernising
          the telecommunication system of the country. Was it by the repair by replacement system or by
          marrying the latest technology with the existing one, replacing the defective ones in a phased
          manner? That the second option was accepted is now history and it has worked well.
     (b)Why was air travel permitted to come in when everyone was aware of the fact that it could
          never be afforded by the poor? By the arguments that are being bandied about today against
          the Bullet Trains, the airline industry would have never taken off in India - the bitter fact is
          that a guy like P Chidambaram  is saying 'nay' to score brownie points!
     (c) Japan is assisting us in its implementation against a soft loan thanks to the personal rapport
          between the two Prime Ministers.
     (d) It's gonna generate job opportunities which is a significant factor.

So, let's have the Bullet trains please.



Tailpiece.

Am off to my parents' place early morning tomorrow. The caretaker had wanted me to survey the removal of the overgrowth of weeds, around the rubber saplings, over the last one week by 23 farm labourers. Will go from here by the early morning Fast Passenger train to Punalur and return by the Thiruvananthapuram-Guruvayur Intercity Express by midnight tomorrow. A long day indeed! Meanwhile, Lekha is gonna get work done here as Pushpaakaran, the farmhand has told me that he's coming in tomorrow for work.