Back at 'The Quarterdeck'.

Had got up a trifle late and consequently, reached the restaurant at a half past 8 when a couple of the classmates had left. It was a loss that we weren't at hand to see them off. Bad show, Rajeev! We'd a cake cutting ceremony - the cake used for the purpose was a small cup cake, which was Saly's idea - on the occasion of Anil and Radha's wedding anniversary and the gesture did floor the couple. We bade good bye to the crowd and kicked off for home by 1000 hrs.

Enroute, we'd dropped in at Radha's cousin's place in Thrissur to drop her suitcase which was a welcome break. We're at 'The Quarterdeck' by lunchtime and Preetha had laid out a scrumptious lunch for us, bringing down the curtains on another nostalgic edition of a classmates' get together. The intensity of the melancholia, caused by the parting, was reduced to an extent by my sister's call from Palakkad to say that she and Achu would be fetching up this evening and spend the night here.

During the drive from Thrissur to Guruvayur, there was this closed auto rickshaw carrier which was following my Chevy uncomfortably close. Any harsh braking on my part, in case of an emergency, would entail his ramming into the rear of my vehicle for sure as I was doing good speeds, over 70 kmph, on certain stretches. It was an uncomfortable situation and I realised that the vehicle's driver either wasn't aware of the potential danger that could befall upon him or he was doing it rashly, deliberately. I stopped at a particular point and walked over to impress upon him about maintaining a vehicle's length of space from the forward vehicle as a safety factor. He seemed to be confused as to whether I was cautioning or threatening him. Anyways, from then on, he stayed a respectable distance away from my Chevy! Do I look mean, I wonder?

The evening walk was nice and we're watching the serial, 'Sree Ganesh' on the Sony Television channel when there was a power interruption and at that precise moment, Achu had driven into our porch through the temporary darkness! Rema expressed her shock at the passing away of Ikka despite the fact that she'd only heard quite a lot from us but had never seen!!



Tailpiece.

I must make a determined effort to reduce the flab that has crept in, without diet restrictions......it's not a tall order.    

On the Muziris trail.

The day had begun at 5 AM and we'd hurried through the morning chores so that we could have the maximum time with the others. today's programme was centered on our excursion on the Muziris trail. The bus had arrived well in time and by about 9, we'd set off on our course to Kodungalloor, the start point of our journey by boat in the backwaters.

The synagogue, built in the 16th century(Now in a state of neglect), is the oldest in India. The cruise that followed was along the Paravur backwaters, which is a part of the state's Kollam - Kottappuram waterway. Sahodaran Ayyappan museum where he'd organised the famous combined feast for the Ezhavas and the lower castes on the basis of his argument, "You complain about being demeaned by the upper castes but you behave in a similar fashion with the people of the castes lower to yours which should be shunned". The guide, Shibu, himself a renowned musician was very enthusiastic in conducting us through the tour and had given me a brochure that spoke of his personal achievements but I'd forgotten it in the boat which was an irreverent act on my part. Apologies, young man, will make up for it.

Incidentally, Pandit Karuppan and KP Vallon were contemporary social reformers. Chattambi Swamikal and Sree Narayana Guru were the trail blazers.

We, then, visited the Manju Matha church at Kottappuram. The name was given based on the belief that in 1791, when Tippu Sultan attacked this place, this church and the adjoining places were saved by a miraculously formed fog due to which he was forced to abandon his plans and set off in a different direction. The next in the itinerary was the Marthoma church at Azhikode. This church has a bone, believed to be from the hand of St Thomas, the disciple of Christ who'd come to Kodungalloor in the year 92 AD.

After a lip smacking lunch, we also visited the Paliyam palace where the Paliyathu Achhan resided. He and his followers were traditionally the prime ministers to the Kochi kings. We went through their 'naalukettu' and certain other buildings which are of gigantic proportions and dimensions! The buildings' interiors. the beams that held the roof, staircases, furniture, cooking utensils, implements, weapons and such rare artefacts on display were awe inspiring and a rare sight to behold. Considering the period of their construction, it was an educative trip for me who got a fleeting glimpse of Kerala's history which I'd, unfortunately, missed during my school days as the focus was on world history.

We'd returned to our hotel by about 5 and after a quick wash and change, we're back in room 222 for a great meeting. The interaction was superb as it was the last evening together and I, even, sang the 'Pakalkinaavin sundaramaakum' on the karaoke during the impromptu entertainment put up by us! It was a great interaction.


Tailpiece.

Mohanachandran's medical bulletin. 

"Sitrep......''In ICCU and in 'Dangerously ill list'.......his Hb had dropped to 7.8 and was given a bottle of blood. Opened eyes in the morning for a short duration. For the first time his right leg twitched and reacted to pain. Needs to be more stable to be moved out of the ICCU to the stroke ICU". From Suresh Laxman. 

Our get together is slowly coming to an end. A few of us are leaving by the early morning flight! Thanks Vipin, for the flawless arrangements.

Off to a great start.

The morning weather was nice and nippy as I went on my walk. The familiar cluster of walkers was missing today - was it because of the weekend? The shutting down of 'The Quarterdeck' was done progressively. Couldn't meet the newspaper boy today too; I'd wanted to tell him about the calendars and Lekha's copy of the 'Vanitha' magazine.

We're out of the house by 10, our first stop being the petrol bunk nearby. Krevka, as usual, filled up the tank and checked the tyre pressure with her trademark efficiency, coupled with a smile. Our drive to Radha's cousin's place near Patturaickal took about an hour through directions given by her over the cellphone. Met up her Parkinson's Syndrome ridden cousin, Usha and her 89 year old mother. The house had an array of dogs because Usha's daughter runs an NGO that provides shelter for the stray dogs!

We're off to Kochi soon after. Lunch was at Ananda Bhavan, a new eatery on the NH with adequate parking space, a nice ambience and I shall never forget the soft chappathies that they'd served us. Thankachan, the person on security duties, was an eager attendant who guided the guests adequately well, giving tips regarding the choice of parking slots and consequently, I managed a naturally shaded one. The trip onward was a short one with us fetching up at the Hotel Golf View by about a half past 2. There were already a few of my classmates who'd fetched up and slowly, over the next couple of hours, the quorum was complete. Savio's - from Chicago - conversation with each one of us was nice that had a personal touch!

As I'd said earlier, the numbers could have been more but it didn't dampen the conglomeration's enthusiasm. The beginning of our get together began with the 'breaking-the-ice step' where we prayed for Mohanachandran's early recovery and the participants were briefed about his latest medical position. The interaction from then on was enriching and helped us to update ourselves about each other. The first decision taken was to have the get together once every year instead of the existing 'once-in-two-years' frequency. Lekha gave us her memorable, 'Chandrakalaabham chaarthividarum theeram....' and I'd everyone sing, "Periyare, periyare.....' along with me! Jojy and Josekutty had us in splits with their skit.

Our room is 204 which has a west end view from the hotel of the traffic and we could see the continuous, fast moving, incoming traffic to the airport which seemed to be more voluminous compared to the outgoing one. Or was it an illusion?


Tailpiece.

A great start to a reunion that was eagerly looked forward to!
   

Thoroughly excited!

Had got up with the lark, gone through my chores and was out for the walk by 6. It was still dark and there was a nip in the air! Met my course mate, KR Nair, on his walk. He has had both his knees replaced recently and walks about 5 kms every morning. But for an exaggerated swagger in his walk, his gait is almost normal. Our walking circuits meet for a short stretch on the main road that leads to the elephant resort. We waved at each other, exchanged information and continued our walks in the opposite directions!

Am thoroughly excited about this weekend's get together of our classmates at Kochi. We'd decided at our get together in '15 - when we'd celebrated our 60th birthday together - to meet up once every two years and this is the first of the series. Lekha and I leave for Kochi by 10, tomorrow morning and Radha, my classmate, Anil's wife will be joining us from Thrissur. The stay would be at the Hotel Golf View near the airport and a trip on the Muziris trail from Kodungalloor, along with a boat trip in the backwaters, will be the highlight apart from the non stop interaction with the ones that one had grown up with during those halcyon days at the Sainik School, during the late '60s and early '70s!

There's a sad tinge to it, in that, one of our friends is lying seriously ill at the KIMS, Hospital at Thiruvananthapuram. The numbers attending could have been better - lesser than the quorum of '15 - but I suppose that all those who aren't able to attend have valid reasons to stay away! We shall pray for Mohanachandran, connecting up with everyone as we'd done twice, by now. We believe that our collective prayers will get Mohanachandran, hale and hearty and back in our fold very soon.

I've touched upon this aspect earlier. The wives of the gentlemen of the class of '72 also enjoy these occasions and on our part, we restrict the conversations about our school days, the masters and many of the incidents - some humorous and others, not so humorous - to ourselves when the ladies aren't around! But I believe that even they are keen to know as to  how their spouses were, at school!!



Tailpiece.

Mohanachandran's medical bulletin.

"Mohan has been shifted back to the ICCU because a surgery was performed to stop the bleeding observed from the tracheotomy tube. He is stable presently". From Suresh Laxman.  

All about 'Oonch neech' and other stories.

Rounding up of the news bytes as usual.

 (a) Aiyar Can't Hold It, As Usual.

       Mani Shankar Aiyar has done it again. He could be seen to be spewing venom at Narendra
       Modi. O, what hatred does he have towards the Prime Minister is to be seen to be believed. This
       was in response to Modi's taunt that the "Congress was seeking votes in BR Ambedkar's name
       but trying to erase his contribution to nation building".

       Aiyar was quick to respond, "Modi is a 'neech kism ka aadmi'(a vile man) who has no 'sabhyata'
       (civility). Since he's originally from the civil services, his deep disdain for the poor and the
       backward is very much real! But I heard several news channels saying that the Congress has lost
       its quest for recapturing the Gujarat Assembly by this singular remark.

       That, I suppose, is an exaggerated statement. Even after the opposition, despite major differences
       among themselves, having cobbled together a rainbow alliance, the guys on the ground say that
       Gujarat is gonna go the BJP way, the only thing to be ascertained is the margin of victory! No
       anti-incumbency fatigue? The governance has been goal oriented?

 (b) Was Recognising Jerusalem as Israel's Capital Necessary?

        All these years, we have been in the know how of all that are mentioned below:-

            (a) The US was always pro-Israel. The strong Jewish lobby in every aspect of life which
                  covered all the departments of its administration ensured such an unambiguous stance.

            (b) The US has been covertly at it, thus far, lest it antagonised the Arabs, especially the 
                  Palestinians!

            (c)  Donald Trump had included it as one of his priority actions on becoming President. He'd
                   very less achievements to show as he completes his first year in office. He seems to be
                   determined to erase that 'no score' issue and he's buoyed up with the successes of the
                   travel ban that he'd clamped on slowly breaking out of its judicial restrictions and the 
                   tax legislation going through!

          Perhaps, it's just as well that the move has been made public because it removes the
          tremendous strain on the US foreign policy that provides a no-holds-barred-support to Israel
          without antagonising the Palestinians or the Arabs! The initial reactions from the Muslim
          world might lose steam as they're a badly divided lot!

          India, considering its delicate position, has taken a neutral stand for the time being which is
          sound thinking.

  (c) The Numbers Just Don't Seem to Tally.

        The dance of the cyclone 'Ockhi' has long since been played out but the dichotomy about the
        actual number of the fisher folk who're still to return persists. There are two lists now in
        circulation, the government's and that of the archdiocese:-

          Type of boat         Government       Archdiocese

           Small boats                  96                      103
           Big boats                    301                      156

          The government has now put out that a total of 397 fisher folk are missing while the
           Archdiocese is pretty sure that only 259 are left to return. There have been reports that quite
           a few boats from Kerala's coast have drifted onto the shores of Maharashtra and Gujarat! But
           the harsh fact is that the government does not have an accurate registry of the entire lot of its
           people living in the state's coastal belt.

           The state government has been criticised for its slow reaction upon the receipt of the cyclone
           warnings. The retort was comical:-

                (i) Reiterates that the government did not receive any warning despite the fact that the
                     media was reporting it minute-to-minute. It was a feeble attempt to put the blame on the
                     central government.
               (ii) The chief minister went up a step further, saying that Tamilnadu's press had said things
                     in praise of his government's 'timely' action!

            If affirmative, why does the dichotomy in numbers persist? And the initial reaction was there
            for all to see. Sad!


Tailpiece.

Mohanachandran's medical bulletin.

"There isn't much of a change in his condition. Meanwhile, the family's reps have met the concerned doctors at the CMC, Vellore and an action plan has been made out to shift him and commence the PMR at the earliest".
             

                    

Adieu Ikka.

It was in the morning, when our maid told us, that we'd come to know that Abdul Rahim Rajah - our immediate neighbour, all of 77 years - had passed into the mist of time, last Sunday. I still can't believe it! He was fond of us and that too, immensely!!

I'd spoken to him on 24 Nov but since the coverage was patchy, he'd said that he'd call back which he did the next day. I was surprised to know that he was in Madras and I told him briefly about my itinerary for the following 10 days. I never knew, in the wildest of my dreams, that I was speaking to him for the last time, then. This evening, I gathered that he'd gone to Madras, by road, for a medical check up regarding a swelling of his hand and on the return trip, had expressed a desire to see his factory - an 'activated Carbon' producing unit - at Madurai. In the evening while at his guest house, he'd developed respiratory difficulties and the doctor, in attendance, had asked him to avoid travel. On Sunday morning, by about a half past 6, he'd developed complications from which he never recovered!

Our friendship had begun sometime in 2010, when Lekha and I had gone to visit our prospective neighbours, after buying our house at Guruvayur in end 2009. There was a cattle shed - which housed a combination of over 10 cows and buffaloes - just across our boundary wall within his compound and the associated smells along with a few typical insects that were overwhelming and I'd silently told myself that I'd request him to do something about it once we shifted into our house - lock, stock and barrel!

By 2013, once we'd the date of shifting fixed, we'd paid yet another visit to the Rajahs. After a conversation that lasted for almost an hour on various subjects and over an exquisite 'sherbet', he'd said all of a sudden even before I could broach the topic, "I'll have the cattle shed along with the livestock removed to my elder son's house where a dairy is being set up. You can also order fresh milk for use". His visit to our house during the housewarming made ripples because he rarely made social calls and we realised that, for us, he'd made an exception!

Mr. Rajah was a renowned industrialist and philanthropist who had a massive empire consisting of diverse activities. Beginning with tile factories, ayurvedic spa, a hospital - my mom had spent her last few hours at the Rajah hospital - a vineyard at Kolhapur, the list is endless. But the key industry was the famous 'Kajah Beedi', started by his father, which provides employment to thousands. He'd been wanting to take us to the spa at Chettuva, a few kilometers from here, for a weekend!

He has left for his eternal life leaving behind a host of memories which I'd like to share with you to show his kindness towards us:-

    * He used to address me as Captain sir. And I used to call him 'Ikka'(Elder brother) after taking
       his permission. Respecting his age, addressing him as 'sir' would have been right but my take
       was that it would sound too formal and distant!
    * One day he'd called up to ask whether we'd mind having food prepared by them. I'd told him
       in no uncertain terms that in my house we're never taught religion and I simply loved their
       cuisine. From then on food used to be sent across on every festival and bananas from the
       organic farm, grapes from the vineyard etc became a continuous trickle.
    * I'd called him up when mom was unwell and it happened to be a Sunday. The ambulance was
       arranged, the Medical specialist and the Cardiologist were standing by when mom was wheeled
       in. When it was all over, he'd insisted that no bill would be given, sent his wife, sister-in-law
       and daughter to pay the last respects as he was indisposed and arranged for an ambulance to
       take mom's body home.
    * He'd called up once while I was away at my parents' place, asking as to where we were and the
       duration for which we'd be absent. I remember him saying that he hated the sight of
       our closed, silent house. It was then that we'd established a covenant that I'd keep him informed           about my whereabouts from then on.
    * He, even, kept a track of my walks everyday and was fascinated with our frequent forays out of
       Guruvayur for meeting up with friends and family. He used to pass on this information to his
       children!
    * After hearing about my throat congestion, he'd a vial of 'Dasamoola Rasayanam' sent across to
       me and wouldn't take money for it. Further, he'd told me that I should ask him for replenishment
       because the ones that are sold have a commercial twang!"

RIP Ikka. My tears, prayers and salute to a fine gentleman and a fantastic human being who gave me kindness and love, in abundance. I'm sure there must have been a connection between us in our previous birth. Here's wishing that god gives strength to your family to tide over these stressful times.

Lekha and I had gone across, in the evening, to offer our condolences to the family and it was then that his daughters told her about every snatch of conversation between the two of us having been meticulously passed on to them! I felt humbled as I was too small a person to be covered so extensively. I did make a faux pas when I asked his son as to whether I could meet his mom and speak to her personally when he reminded me that the custom demanded that she didn't meet any man, outside the family, for thirty days!.......And I shall do so after those thirty days are over. Meanwhile, his daughters have requested Lekha to visit their mom more often, once they leave for their respective destinations after the mourning period was over.



Tailpiece.

Mohanachandran's medical bulletin.

"There's not much of a change from the last sitrep. The family is planning to shift him to CMC, Vellore for PMR(Physical Medical Rehabilitation) after discharge.....not as a referral". From Suresh Laxman,
         

Adieu Shashi Kapoor.

Yesterday evening Shashi Kapoor, the handsomest actor of the Hindi movies, passed into the mist of time. He was 79 years of age. A versatile actor who had stood his ground while acting with the other lead actors of his time. I can never forget Shashi Kapoor as a young, dashing Captain of the Indian Army in the movie, 'Sharmilee' opposite Rakhee. I don't think that I'd be wrong if I were to say that all the songs picturised on him and his heroine were immortalised just because of his personal charm in that movie.

I was sad and didn't really recover from it after hearing the news. It was as though I'd lost someone from the family! I shan't be listing his accomplishments as there are enough competent people who knew him personally and would be doing the needful.

RIP Shashi Kapoor. You'd enthralled an entire generation with your versatile acting and striking good looks. You shall always remain in the hearts of the people and I shall carry my personal grief along with me till my end!

        *                                         *                                       *

The day had begun, for us, at a quarter past 4. Packing had to be done, every item that had been taken out for use, had to be put back into its place and furniture and beds had to be covered to beat the dust. Finally, we could start off by by a half past 6. Passing through Adoor, I'd taken a wrong turn and was headed southward when Lekha had pointed out the error and I, too, belatedly noticed that the morning sun was to my left! Made the course correction quickly to avoid further loss of time and ground lost.

Breakfast was at our haunt, the Kalpakavadi Inn and the steaming 'appam and egg masala' were good. Praveen had looked after us and in my usual style, had asked him about himself. He's from the orphanage at Koonammaavu in Ernakulam. All of 25 years, he had a perceptible limp that he'd got while doing his earlier job of sales representative of a company. By his brisk service, he'd ensured that we spent the minimal time at the restaurant! Damn sweet of him.

At Alappuzha, there was a lot of time wasted in getting clearance at the 'Savakkotta Palam' as there was a long line of vehicles, waiting in queue. We reached 'Shenoy Care' by a half past 10 and after the initial administrative requirements of registering Lekha's name, paying up the consulting fees, meeting up with the junior doctor who'd inquired if she'd any difficulty and punched in the lab results into the computer, we could meet up with Dr. Padmanabha Shenoy who was pleased with Lekha's progress. We've decided to continue with the existing dosage of Folitrax. He wished us an advance 'happy new year' and we've taken up her next appointment on the 5th of March.

Since it was lunchtime, we'd gone to 'Sarovaram'. A nice place with plenty of parking space...and of course, it had a good ambiance! Our next stop was at the Naval canteen to buy our monthly requirement of grocery. We'd to wait for about half an hour before it opened its shutters for the afternoon session and in the course of our stay there, we met a few people whom we knew. And after about half an hour we made an exit through the rising number of vehicles that had come to pick up the children who were coming out of the Kendriya Vidyalaya at Katari Bagh.

The air conditioning system of the Chevy seems to be having a problem and I'd called up the customer adviser to tell him that I would be getting the vehicle tomorrow for the defect rectification. The journey was fine and we'd a tea break at the wayside facility, 10 kms north of Angamali. The Paliyekkara toll seemed to have the same problem that we'd encountered on our onward journey. They'd canceled a lane, creating confusion among the vehicles, in that lane, trying to scamper and squeeze into the nearby lanes!

We reached 'The Quarterdeck' by about a half past 6 and went about the unpacking process without delay. Meanwhile, my colleague at the Naval Headquarters, Narayanan and two other organisers of the '16 Dec - Vijay Diwas celebrations had called on to confirm my participation in the event. Thereafter, it was a quiet evening, as usual.


Tailpiece.

Mohanachandran's medical bulletin.

"Mohananchandran continues to be in the same condition as he was after the last sitrep. To begin physiotherapy, at the earliest, seems to be what everyone wants".

PS.
Was able to accomplish most of the things that I'd planned to undertake and we could meet up with all the elders while accomplishing other social necessities. We'd covered a total distance of 1,178.6 kms during the period!