The Muthappans in the Thattakams!

 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!

A sigh of relief after the Corona period..!

 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..!

The train journey

 There he was to go to Chennai. The usual journey between Chennai and Thrissur. Car pulled up at the old entrance, that is. Due to various accidents, the entry has been shut fast with wire mesh. We travelled back again to an open staircase to the station for entry.

Here, four sets of steps staired at us. A climb with two suit cases and two bags is a thorough TMT test. I drank water at the top of the stairs and waited for the breath to be normal.

A walk on the overhead bridge was pleasant but there comes another four steps. Overcame that too. I had done twenty steps a little before, four steps are child play. But with two suit cases and one bag it is not that pleasant.

Before the thought of my age I glance upon an escalator. My heart jumped. I pulled my cases straight to it to be greeted with the huge sign board saying the escalator is not allowed for down journeys. My heart sank. I took the deep breath exercise again. 

Now the down journey to the platform.  Twenty steps down. Bags and suit cases down one by one. Then pull them on the platform, thanks to the suit wheels. On a bench, the mosquitoes of Thrissur sign us off.

The Alleppey Chennai Express is a majestic one. Slight late coming always agreed with us.

The pilot stopped the train. Our coach number 8 was on the dotted position of number 18. On the waiting bench we got a great companion, a professor of IT. We spent 25 minutes in great friendly talk and entrained. The professor was a great help to get in. 

Once in Alleppey Chennai Express one can relax. The coaches are old, but have an elegance of their own! I would sleep through the night, but for my prostrate making get up for urinal visits at nights. But I am used to it now. With time, anybody get used to any thing. 

It is getting late friends. All my co travellers have gone to bed and put off the lights. Time to retire now. Good Night until we see in Chennai tomorrow. Hope for a cloudy sky. May God Bless!

The Corona Times!

 

The Corona Times!

The days were running fine with the news broadcasts about a virus in the air!   People were all busy as is usual on any given day.  Still it struck some as something unusual as a subject to come through the television sets.

Many news items and many movies are always telecast.  Mostly matters connected with the day to day living and some accidents etc.  But a virus thing was not there.

This was making us apprehensive.  Over and above a symbolic one day curfew was being mentioned on the third or fourth Sunday of March of 2020.  Since we were to reach Kerala before that, I argued with my son, "We are just going on time.  We don't know when we can travel back to Chennai".  He was confident and said: "Oh..you can e a ticket after Sunday.  The curfew is only for one day, that too as a sample"

There he was right.  But once in Kerala, we were stay put to hear the random spread of virus and there by a halt in all kinds of traffic, announced by Governments and local bodies, afterwards. At times roads were blocked in the name of containment zone activation and so on. It took us one and a half years to travel back to Chennai again!   By that time, things had improved a lot.  In between, there was a total stoppage of travel including rail travel and air travel.  We read in newspapers that people walked kilometers and kilometers to reach their loved ones in far off places.  Daily deaths were reported in the TV and papers.  The news all through the day almost made us sick.  However, a strong faith in God and prayers acted as an energizer all through those tough times.

The State Government saw to it that all got food kits which was a real blessing when movement were totally banned and all were asked to be at home and not to come out except for rations or emergency occasions.  The only places we went were the ration shop and the groceries.   Oh..those times, was an eye opener from the earlier free free times.