The year 2024 is closing in on all of us and we are all ushering into 2025!
Our heart felt condolences and prayers for all those who could not make it
to the end of this year for various unfortunate reasons which we are told from
time to time by all kinds of media.
A word of Congratulations to all of us who could make it and are entering
2025! Let us all try and strive to make 2025 a beautiful year of brotherhood
and friendliness!
May God Bless one and all...!
July is rainy season in Kerala. That doesn't mean it rains all the time. Only it remains mostly rainy. But today it changed to a rain fury, a non stop rain from the early hours of the morning.
By ten o clock the morning, the roads got partly submerged and where they did the road and the side canal, which is the normal water exit, were one with the road flow. This makes it lethal to small children, elderly or people not used to the place to walk there on the road until the water exits.
It takes usually three to four hours for the water to flow out to the lake after the rain stops. But here, today the rain is not stopping. We all wait for the rains to stop.
Rains in different parts of the country and rain fury in other parts of the globe make one uneasy when faced with such continuous rain. Hope it will stop soon..!
Bathroom stories:
The '30 per cent free' is a must see in the corner of the bath room. It is a usage seen these days in all malls and supermarkets. The eyes goes to such flags on the covers in the shops. As prices go up the search also intensifies.
There are other kinds of attractions too, '50 per cent off', 'buy one get one free', and the ubiquitous 'sale, sale, sale'. Coming back to my bath room this is only a shaving cream tube with its cover with 30 per cent free.
The shaving puff always gave a cosy feeling every time the eyes fell on the 30 per cent free. As all common people I also fall into it. The shaving lather with the lemon fragrance is an add on or extra.
The prices of things kept on went up, so did the shaving creams. It is a matter of nostalgia to have the old shaving round back. The old Godrej round was the lowest in prices and best in usage. Then came the great TV entertainments and eye catching advertisements. The Godrej went out and came in shaving cream tubes at a very higher cost. We have to go with the advertisements in the TV.
After a long time I came back to the old Godrej round and it is a special feelings, my friends!
It is not easy to get back from back pain. As long as one does not have it, one does not know the pain of it. It is like people going to church not understanding the pain of the one on the cross.
The day I got it is vivid in my memory. Can't move in the bed either to the left or to the right. Next is the pain to get up It will hurt at the girdle joining the backbone and shoot up to the right shoulder. I can't sneeze or cough. Careful me avoid doing both. Slowly I crawl out of bed and move around with pain at every step.A long search brings out the ayurvedic oil in my stock and it is applied in the area of pain and gives some relief. Quick relief. Then is some hot water treatment which alleviates a little more pain. At that point I am exhausted and crawl back to my bed and take rest. Reason enough for not writing or sitting at the computer.
Of course, walking and driving is out of question. Can ruminate, read and watch the rains which is plenty in Kerala this time of the year!
The rain slowly stopped. Slowly my pain also got off. The sallaki tablets and the dashamoolam kashayam were working on me along with the oil massage which was done at the point of pain to alleviate the painful catch.
The hot water baths after the massage also helped. Now I am some what back on the rail.
Thank God! It is really something to be in pain and be back.
The father came to the end. The situation was pensive and people including the family members of the departed old lady sat around her coffin. The perfume of frankincence wafted from a thurible being swung for the occasion. Most of the known people men, women and children kept on standing around. Those who were around the coffin took part in the prayers which was led by the priest.
The short service ended in a few minutes and the coffin was lifted to be put into the hearse van which is mostly available in churches in Kerala these days. In earlier days the dead body is carried by people, generally the family members and near and dear. Now only procession is attended by all attending and the body goes in the hearse and the priest and a few people follow is the church is near and in other cases they follow in other vehicles.
My wife and I attended as theirs were a dear family near to us and the deceased were well and good when we settled in the area. But after a few years, her health started to dwindle and slowly she was bed ridden. Many women in Kerala go down the lane in health once they get bed ridden. Here also, it was not different. Of course, friends and neighbours make visits from time to time but that is not enough for a good recovery if at all a recovery is possible. Many a time, these days, a recovery is not possible due to high sugar, blood pressure or heart stroke etc.
We started walking to the church which is near by. Within half an hour we were attending the service in the church followed by the burial. All ended in a few more minutes. All prayed for the departed which is now a relief as this was not possible in the last two years which just passed due to the Corona pandemic. Now, God's grace, all are able to take part in the services! All returned home after the services.
Was picking up wooden pieces to put them in the bright sun to warm them before using them for firewood..! In this November when rain is expected on and off, it is worth while to warm them in the bright sun whenever available. The activity brought out a little frog hiding in the wood pieces. Normally, they are shooed away. But not now, as the remembrance of Kovilan came to mind. He described the old saying in and around his place that the frogs around the house as the souls of the old forefathers who are coming to see the welfare of the present day followers!
At every pick of the dry woods, the little frog moved a little to go under another piece and when they are picked to yet again to another wood piece. At last, all the pieces were over and the little frog is now without any hiding place. Yet, it slowly moved to a corner side of two walls joining and sat there as if it is a hiding place.
There was a large frog the day before which was jumping around the day before in the evening. They do so to find the places where there are insects and worms which are edible to them. But they are sensible enough to hide during the day away from the houses!
When all the pieces were over the little frog was left to its wise decision. When Kovilan wrote that the frogs, he called them 'Muthappans' in his novel 'Thattakom' , were believed to the the forefathers, coming up again it started me thinking. Even if we did not believe it, one thing for sure, they need for consideration and a loving look from all of us! After a while I looked up the little frog. It was long gone. They find their own safe places, if not picked up by other preying birds!
The corona years from March 2020 to 2022 was a numbing period. Travel became difficult. Moving around in the village became difficult. The mask and sanitizer descended on us! An affidavit was required to move around to go and buy rations from the corner shop. Some how, we out lived all that. In between a number of our near and dear left this world unceremoniously. Some did not even get a good funeral. Many could not see the near and dear at the end hours and after that they went to polythene coverings and straight to the burning ghats! Many could not get that too as we heard in the news.
Tough times prevailed for those who travelled. RTPCR and PPE kits were unavoidable in journeys! That is how we all were numbed. Now things are slowly back to normal. Only face mask and sanitizer are the only need now.
All have a sigh of relief now.
One or two instruments helped all at those times were the Mobile phone and the television. Those inventions really helped us to keep us abreast of most of the happenings around and to contact near and dear!
Let us all take a sigh of relief..!
