Lekha's medical review.

Lekha and Rema had got up earlier than normal in preparation for their trip. I followed them about half an hour later and went through the morning chores. Vineesh had come about 10' before departure time and Lekha and Rema had left, on the dot, at 7. It was after they'd left that I realised that Vineesh had left me with a task - a metallic wheel of the massive moving gate had come off the rail and I'd sought the help of the workers next door to put it back in place.

Vineesh complained about the tightness of the clutch and the consequent difficulty in shifting gears while driving our Chevy. The problem was felt more at Vyttila and Kundannoor where there was a massive traffic snarl. They could reach Shenoy Care well in time, though. Though the time given for meeting the doctor was at 1, he finally, saw her at a quarter to 3 and that too, while being busy on his phone. Sad! Dedication and earnestness suffer a setback as fame and income increase, paradoxically acquired from the patients...the end result being that the doctor loses his personal touch and doesn't have time for those very same patients!!

Lekha's next review is towards the first week of May and I hope to take her then. Rema has been a great help in taking her for the last two reviews.

Reji had promised to come by for the replacement of the heart of the Grandmother clock but alas, his assurances remained but a promise. He has, now, said that he'd come by early in the morning, between 5 and 6, to collect the piece for its onward transportation to Kochi. Xavier, finally, fetched up at 5 to reinstall the geyser. Phew, the problem seems to have been licked though I must admit that I don't have faith in his workmanship as he reeks of liquor right from the morning. I would, go with him for this lone electrical work as money has been invested!

Lekha and Rema had returned by 7, in the evening. Vineesh seemed to be a happy man, having run the errand and has promised to help me subsequently, whenever required.


Tailpiece.

The Prime Minister was at his best in the Parliament where he showcased his government's achievements of the past 55 months comparing it with the 55 years of achievements of the successive Congress governments! The opposition was left tongue tied!! I liked his calling the 'mahagathbandhan' as the 'mahamilavat'!

So, what did Rahul Gandhi do in return. At a meeting, he makes a statement to, "Darpok Modiji ko mere saamne khada kar do aur mein usko demolish karoonga about the Rafael deal". The same empty bluster that saw the then PM, Dr. Manmohan Singh close to tears when he tore a piece of his government's legislation in public. Wonder what gives him the right to disregard and pooh pooh age and experience? A childish guy who's taking advantage of the accident of his birth!     

My sister comes by.

We'd got up at our usual time of 6, went about our chores and were ready well in time. The walk and the prayers went off without any hitch.

The review pleas on the Sabarimala verdict of 28 Sep 18 were heard in the Supreme Court today. After hearing them, the court has reserved its judgement. It would be appropriate to visit the background of the case and here I go:-

The Impasse.

The Sabarimala is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, situated at the Sabarimala Hills in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala. In the past, women devotees of menstruating age - between 10 and 50 yrs of age - were not permitted as pilgrims due to the celibate nature of the deity in the temple. A Kerala High Court judgement had legalised this interpretation in 1991. It was this practice that was upturned by the Supreme Court on 28 Sep '18 stating equality of the sexes assured by the Constitution!

Massive protests took place all over Kerala when the state government tried to enforce the verdict. Of course, its view was that the protests were perpetuated by the goons of the RSS and the BJP. Some time in between the Nov-Dec pilgrimage season, two women were dramatically whisked through the sanctum sanctorum without the mandatory packed offerings on their heads - through a gate exclusively meant for the staff without negotiating the mandatory 18 steps while being fully wrapped up in black sheets. This stealthy performance was carried out by the police and exposed the diabolic approach of the state government where it said something and did something different. At the end of the Sabarimala season, The Kerala Police had submitted a list of 51 women - later found to have names of men and many women who'd reached menopause in it - it's but natural that it had the blessings of the state government! Consequently, in the current session of the state's Legislative Assembly, the government has proclaimed that only two women had entered the temple.

The Parties That had Asked For A Review Of The Verdict.

The parties that have asked for a review of the verdict along with their advocates are as follows:-

 * Nair Service Society(NSS)              -              K Parasaran.
 * Tantri Kantharar Rajeevaru             -              V Giri.
 * Prayar Gopalakrishnan                    -               Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
 * Kerala Government                         -               Jaideep Gupta.
 * Devaswom Board                            -                 Rakesh Dwivedi.
 * Ms. Bindu, Kanakadurga                -               Indira Jaisingh.

Seven more days have been given by the Court for further reviews, for or against, to be given in writing.


Tailpiece.

1. My sister, Rema, had fetched up from Palakkad by teatime to accompany Lekha to Kochi tomorrow for her medical review. Meanwhile, Lekha's cough has gone up in intensity!

2. Vineesh, an ever smiling youngster, was sent by Sajid - our chauffeur -  for tomorrow's trip to Kochi as he was attending to his brother-in-law who was seriously ill and admitted in the hospital. He was told to reach us by 0700 hrs.

 

A long power interruption.

We'd got up about 20' after the alarm but had gone through our chores with gusto and were ready well in time. The walk and the prayers had gone off well and I'd my morning cuppa by 8. It was before going for my bath that I realised that the geyser had again gone blink.

It was our maid, Preetha's birthday and we wished her many happy returns on arrival. Lekha had given special instructions to make a 'high lunch' with 'parippum pappadavum' and 'paayasam'! Selvam, who'd come by for pressing the clothes also partook the goodies.

On inquiry about his son, Raja's tryst with Pandian, his would-be-employer at Pondicherry, his reply was, "Sir, when my son was asked as to how much pay he would like to get, the boy was taken by surprise and had timidly answered that he would be satisfied with Rs.9,000/-!" I was amused and told him to tell his son that since he was an engineer, he could seek a higher remuneration.

Xavier and his mate came by about a half past 12 but the power interruption prevented them from embarking on their work and consequently, had to return. The power had returned only by about 1800 hrs!

Lekha's cough seems to be persistent and it needs to be tackled at the earliest before it shows a tendency to intensify. She meets Padmanabha Shenoy on Thursday who should prescribe the antidote. Such situations are always a cause for worry!


Tailpiece.

The Supreme Court has cleared the interrogation of Calcutta's Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar by the CBI at Shillong, a neutral territory. Mamata Banerjee has claimed it as a moral victory, wonder how? She has got her head off the self applied noose by calling off the 'dharna'.   

Limbering up for the medical review.

We were up at a half past 5 - though I wasn't aware - thanks to the alarm on Lekha's cellphone. She'd wanted that half an hour head start so that she could give me breakfast by a half past 7. The Rajah team had come promptly at 7 to draw our blood/urine samples. The girls took a bit of time to locate Lekha's vein and the entire process took about 15'!

Lekha and Preetha had gone to the Mammiyoor Siva kshethram for their weekly tryst. Meanwhile, the Rajah team had come in for the second time to collect my blood sample to ascertain 'blood sugar - post prandial'!

The results were brought in a trifle before lunchtime. Lekha's results are okay and she is slated for her review with her doctor on 07 Feb. But mine had spikes in the sugar readings as well as the SGOT/SGPT readings. The changes have to be observed in the next set of readings after a fortnight or so!

After almost a fortnight, an electrician by the name of Xavier had come by to rectify the geyser in one of the bathrooms. He got it going and thankfully, it was a defective circuit breaker that needed to be replaced! However, I,  feel that the problem has not been licked entirely thanks to a water drip from an inlet point in the geyser. I'd also got him and his mate to recharge the distilled water in the batteries of the inverter and the solar powered light in front of the house.


Tailpiece.

1. The drama at Calcutta is going on without respite. Perhaps, the logjam will be brought to an end          after the hearing of the case by the Supreme Court tomorrow morning.

2. The Kerala Government had announced that only two women had entered the Sabarimala temple
    in the Legislative Assembly, today. So, why was that bogus list of 51 ladies - under 50 years -
    submitted in the Kerala High Court by the same government some time back?

  

Has the CBI got closer to Mamata Banerjee's involvement in the scam?

The Midnight Drama In Calcutta.

* West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sat on an overnight 'Save the Constitution' dharna 
   at Calcutta's Metro Channel late night this Sunday, 03 Feb along with Calcutta's Police
   Commissioner Rajeev Kumar as the state plunged into an unprecedented crisis.

* A CBI team, had earlier, gone to the Calcutta police chief's residence to question him in connection
   with the 'ponzi scam cases' but was detained by the police only to be released later.

* The opposition leaders have extended their full support(For what; her corruption?) to Mamata.

* The CBI will be approaching the Supreme Court tomorrow morning for an urgent hearing
   regarding the ongoing stand off between the CBI and the government of West Bengal.

So, has the CBI gotten closer to Mamata Banerjee's involvement in the scam? Otherwise, why should she lose her cool?


Tailpiece.  

This morning, Vichani kunjamma's ashes were immersed at Papanasham in Varkala by close family members. So, she has finally joined Achhan, Amma, Leela kunjamma and Santhan kochachhan and I'm sure, must be telling her tearful story to the others.

Had got up about 15' after the alarm, gone through our chores and we were ready on time. Pushpaakaran was working on the piece of land in front of our house and he has been booked for the bimonthly cleanship within the house on the 17th. His wife was in the Rajah hospital - I'd spoken earlier as to how both her kidneys have failed and she is on dialysis thrice a week - because her Potassium levels were high at a count of 6. Today, she has been brought back home with the 'K' level at 4.

Had called up the Rajah hospital's lab and fixed up our appointment for collection of our blood/urine samples tomorrow morning at 7 AM. Lekha is scheduled to visit Dr. Padmanabha Shenoy, this Thursday and I'm keen to know as to what my liver readings are.   

Finally, at the Amigos.

Had heard the alarm in the morning at 6 but both of us had turned back to sleep for some more time. But we shook ourselves off the lethargy and went about our chores by a quarter past 6. Had decided to go for a haircut - my first one at the nearby 'Amigos' after October. In between, one of the boys had come home to style my hair because of my medical condition.

So, breakfast was had without having a bath! Lekha and Preetha had gone to the supermarket, nearby, to buy grocery, vegetables and fruits. By about a half past 10, before they returned, I was off because Sajish, the boy who took care of my hairstyle needs, was free. It was a nice three quarters of an hour with a massage thrown in that relaxed me considerably!

What saddened me was the news of the two Air Force test pilots, who'd passed into the mist of time yesterday, at the Bangalore airport. They were test flying a Jaguar made by the HAL which seemed to have all sorts of problems - one of its oleos had sheared off immediately on take off. Both the pilots had ejected but their parachutes had caught fire by the aircraft's debris - one died instantaneously while the second died, sometime later at the hospital! And this was the organisation, along with the Congress party, which was making a lot of allegations against the Modi government for overlooking it in the manufacture of the subsequent Rafael aircraft under the Offset Agreement of the main contract!

Vipinachandran(Roll no.432), my classmate from school and a forester, along with his wife, Leena had reached Guruvayur this afternoon in connection with a wedding in their family. They'd dropped by at 'The Quarterdeck' in the evening and were with us for about an hour and a half. I was on lime juice, along with Lekha and Leena, while he sipped his brandy - I was on a sabbatical from hard drinks thanks to a restriction in intakes, post-jaundice. Their son - Unni is his pet name - was off to Canada and was boarding the flight in the wee hours of tomorrow morning to attend a meeting. He will return after a week. He works for the company, IBS and writes programs that move the ailerons and the fins of an aircraft that help in its motion in air as well as on the ground and the youngster is deputed for most of the interactions abroad thanks to his proficiency in English.Must interact with him to know more about his work!


Tailpiece.

The selection committee comprising the PM, the CJI and Mr. Mallikarjun Kharge has selected former Madhya Pradesh DGP, Rishi Kumar Shukla as the new director of the CBI. He was recently removed from the post of DGP by the Kamalnath government, soon after taking over. Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, has come up with a dissent note that all three aspects of seniority, integrity and investigative experience in investigation of anti-corruption cases should be given equal weightage and that RK Shukla lacked the third aspect!

Isn't that a joke? It's like insisting that the CMD and Managing Director of the Air India must be a pilot too!

The union budget - 2019.

The interim budget was presented in the Lok Sabha, today, by Mr. Piyush Goel, the minister of railways standing in as the FM, in place of Arun Jaitley away in the US for treatment. The highlights are:-

   1. Within two years, tax assessment will be done electronically.
   2. IT returns processing in just 24 hrs.
   3. Minimum 14% revenue of GST to states by the central government.
   4. Customs duty abolished from 36 capital goods.
   5. Recommendations to GST council for reducing GST rates for home buyers.
   6. Full tax rebate up to Rs.5 lakh annual income after all deductions.
   7. Standard deduction increased from Rs.40,000/- to Rs.50,000/-.
   8. Exempt on tax on second self occupied house.
   9. Ceiling limit of TDS u/s 194A increased from Rs.10,000/- to Rs.40,000/-.
 10. Ceiling limit of TDS u/s 194I increased from Rs.1,80,000/- to Rs.2,40,000/-.
 11. Capital tax benefit u/s 54 increased from investment in one residential house to two residential
       houses.
 12. Benefit u/s 801B increased to one more year ie. 2000.
 13. Benefit given to unsold inventory increased  to one to two years.

Other areas.

 14. State share increased to 42%.
 15. PCA restriction abolished from three banks.
 16. 2 lakh seats increase for the economic downtrodden reservation of 10%.
 17. Rs.60,000 crores for MANREGA.
 18. Rs.1.7 lakh crore to ensure food for all.
 19. 22nd AIIMS to be opened in Haryana.
 20. Approval for PM Kisan Yojana.
 21. Rs.6,000/- per annum to be given to every farmer having up to 2 hectare land. Applicable from
       Sep '18. Amount to be transferred in three installments.
 22. National kamdhenu ayog for cows. Rs.750 crores for National Gokul Mission.
 23. 2% interest subvention for farmers pursuing animal husbandry and also create separate
       department for fisheries.
 24. 2% interest subvention for farmers affected by natural calamities and additional 3% interest
       subvention for timely payment.
 25. Tax free gratuity limit increase to 20 lakhs from 10 lakhs.
 26. Bonus will be applicable for workers earning Rs.21,000/- monthly.
 27. The scheme called Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan will provide assured monthly pension
       of Rs.3,000/- with contribution of Rs.100/- per month for workers in unorganised sector after 60
       after 60 years of age.
 28. Our government delivered 6 crores free LPG connections under Ujjwala scheme.
 29. 2% interest relief for MSME GST registered person.
 30. 26 weeks of maternity leave to empower women.
 31. More than Rs.3 lakh crores for defence.
 32. One lakh digital villages in next 5 years.
 33. Single window for approval of India film makers.


Tailpiece.

1. Well, a good budget that looks for long term development. The sickening farm loan waivers have been done away with, the farmers will get their benefits by direct bank transfer. The budget has also catered for the middle class.

2. Our coconut palm has flowered for the first time after a five year wait!

PS.
Today was Vichani kunjamma's 13th day ceremony. Everyone of the family had conglomerated at the place where she'd spent her last days to be part of the proceedings. I've included her in my morning prayers.