Life beyond .C"OM" (Part 1)
The bus to Kochi started late by 30 min.. I called up mami and was asked to take an auto from Jos Junction to Mattancherry. "Be careful.. Not more than 70 rupees", I was told. I had my dinner packed from Dell. Veg Burger and Fruit Bowl. As i was having my dinner, i just realised that its an AC bus which I have boarded. Bangalore cold has already done enough to my heels. The cracks on the heels have already been giving me sleepless nights for some time now. Immense Pain! One more sleepless night, huh? The DVD player started playing and I was watching Mallu songs, with 80% of the lyrics, barely I could understand... The video was played for more than 2 hrs! Cmon guys, already something is gonna spoil my sleep! Dont add something more to it! Anyway, they gave all of us a shawl and it was very much soothing.. Somehow, I didnt feel any pain on my heels that night and I slept properly and continously after a long time..
Got up at around 7 AM. I was told the bus would reach Ernakulam by this time, but it didnt.. Was stopping at every possible stop! Shit! When am i gonna reach Kochi? Was getting irritated and finally reached Kochi at around 8. Mama asked me to call me up as soon as i get down the bus so that he can tell the auto-driver the route.. I did the same.. There were lot of autos and not even a single person was willing to take me in!? Huh? whats with this? Mama, whats happening here? He asked me to wait and said that i would be picked up in 15-20 min.. I told him, I was standing near 'Woodlands' and I started waiting.. Was 8.30 and no signs of nobody coming! Then came the Kinteic Honda.. The familiar scooter and the very familiar face. The first person(familiar person i mean) whom I saw just now gave me indications of how things are gonna be for the next three days! I was standing on the opposite side of 'Woodlands' and he was coming on the other side. He didnt spot me though I spotted him instantaneously... He was searching for me all over there, still didnt spot me! He lifted his cell phone and started making call to someone.. I thought the call would come to me and was looking at my cell, but no it was not to me ! "Mama, woodlands dhaane!? Inga Avanai Kaanallai". Just as he was giving the news of me not there to Mama, he looked around and I was waving my hands all over the place.. And then, that majestic smile!
How are you Sreeram? More than 1 year and still the same Sreeram. I was happy that I saw him first than any other person there.. I mean, there are certain people, who leave ever lasting impression(good one, i mean) within very less time you have been with them and hes one among those.. Everyone in Thekkemadom loves him and why not!? Where can you find such a soft-spoken, helping, caring, kind.. ok, am stopping the adjectives here... Jike, hes one of the persons whom you have to meet in your life. So on my way to Thekkemadom I was confirming the route with him: MG Road, exit it and you enter the Kochi Shipyard, exit it and you get on to the first bridge, exit it and after sometime travelling with the railway track on the side, the second bridge and exit it and travel through a zig-zag route(which i can hardly remmeber) and you hit Mattancherry. I saw the Palace Road and told him, "I know the route from now onwards!" Reply : smile... And it seems there was an auto strike that day in that particular area! Thank you very much, auto-stike! Asked him why he hasnt got ready for Pongal yet... He said that he just got up and when was having coffee, mama called him up and asked to pick me up and so he didnt have time! Typical sreeram stuff!
So finally I entered Thekkemadom.. Said my morning wish to his father, then on my way to VI/1736...Enter it and there was tharpanam going on in the hall and i saw one more elderly person with mama doing it... Didnt disturb them. Crossed the hall and there were three enthusiastic people waiting in the kitchen for me: Mami, Santosh(these 2 i know) and i was introduced to the third person as Vinish(forgive me if have spelled it wrong :) )...He was Santosh's cousin. Santosh, btw, jike is mami's second son.. My lover boy, doin his 12th class in TN.. Vinish, btw, seems is studying in blore, wow, and is doing his PhD there..
This was the day am gonna spend with Santosh. He was the first one now to acknoedge the fact that my tummy has reduced a lot. Yipeeeee! So we were talking abt my Gym adventures, btw, and also abt my ill-fate with girls i get close to :(... So, it was Pongal and the atmosphere was great. I got myself ready... We all had bit of pongal and vada and left for the temple. The elderly person whom i mentioned with mama, by the way was mama's elder brother who has come down from mumbai for the fest.
Saastha Temple at Thekkemadom is indeed a marvel in itself.. Has got every bit of the classic Mallu temple in it: the way it has been built, the pond at the side, the trees that surround! Shirts, baniyans, lungies all barred... Have to be on dhotis! And me, i dont feel like comfortable in a dhothi at all(Dont even know to tie one, in the first place)! There is always a sense of insecurity... Santosh helped me in tying one and off we left to see Him. Morning, it was the time for Abhishekam and men were all chanting mantras. Its really nice to hear these mantras.. I dont get a chance to hear them that often. Felt like the odd-man out... Every other person seem to be knowing every bit of all mantras and i seem to be a big zero... Was atleast happy that got a chance to hear it.. Many dont even have chance to hear it in the first place. When all this was going on one side, Sreeram and Co were busy with their preparation for the evening...I was introduced to the group and man, every second guy in Thekkemadom seems to be named as Sriram. I had so many Srirams around me!!Anyway, Its the youth who organise, who take care of finance and everything and elders pitch in as and when needed. Like, seems the lord would be decorated with flowers in the evening before Maharajyoti and elders were now advicing these guys as to where to get the flowers of good quality and also in affordable rates.. This is what makes any fest in kochi great.. Everybody takes part in it and everybody, be it a child, a youth or a old person, equally contribute and equally enjoy.
Coming back from the temple, had a great lunch which mami had prepared. Then it was all left between me and Santosh. We played with the Big Brother on YM for some time and then after that, all of them had the afternoon nap, we two were all alone awake.. The greatest thing I think, I have done so far in my life is to stand first in my state during my class 12 exam and so I was more than happy to share the tricks of the trade with my lover boy. What to write,what not to write, how to write,where to write, what would you do to boost your scores, things like that. Then, we both also started filling santosh's application form for the engineering entrance exam... He slept off halfway through it and his friends also came for his help to decorate the temple for the evening, but NO he wont get up. After much of struggle, we then woke him up finally.. By then, evening had come...
Santosh had his sanskrit exam the next day and so he was not staying for Saasthapreethi and was visibly upset. All his friends started scolding him for not staying for the main fest. he even asked mama whether we can get a medical cert stating his illness :), but NO, mama wont bulge. For him, the test means a lot for his son's career ahead and he didnt wanna take any risk with that. So, myself and Santosh went out for shopping now, which included getting things for his stay at the hostel(The purchase also had pickles made of prawns and we as veggies dont have it. Santosh explained me and and his mom that he had to do it as a result of his 'commitment' to his friends). While all this was happening, my advice session continued and both of us even didnt miss to go to a "Bhel Puri" stall. Santosh said, he likes it very much there and whenever hes there at Kochi, he always has chat items from there. Yeah, the taste was perfect. :)
Evening, we all left to the temple. Saastha was beautifully decorated with lots and lots of flowers. There was singing and chanting all over.. The singing group, i noticed even had a child of not more than 8 or 9, playing Mridangam. See, these are all the things that makes you wonder. Not only are the elders keeping up with the age old tradition and values, they make sure that they pass it out to the next geneartion and the younger generation is very receptive and accepts whatever is passed on to them. Amazing stuff.. So we have the jyoti lit and its time for dinner now. Dinner cooked for everyone from the area at the temple and served at the temple.
But, we all returned home for it was the time for my lover boy to leave. He didnt have food at the temple for it was getting late for him, and so he had it at home. mama was angry with him and mami for this and santosh responded back: "Anyway, am not staying here tomorrow for Saasthapreethi , so what is the big deal?." Mama insisted on him taking atleast some prasadam before leaving and so he had little payasam for santosh from the temple. A person working with mama had come to drop santosh at the bus stop. So we all wished him all the very best for his exams and bid farewell(mami, a tear-filled farewell, cant change mothers, can we?) to him and then left to the temple for dinner.
Now that santosh is gone, vinish was gonna be my company for the next two days... he was sitting besides me and we were having the dinner together. After the dinner was over, I thought the eventful day is finally over.. But NO.. That was not to the case.. I had no idea of whats there in store for me, the very same night. Because, the action hasnt begin yet !!!
Got up at around 7 AM. I was told the bus would reach Ernakulam by this time, but it didnt.. Was stopping at every possible stop! Shit! When am i gonna reach Kochi? Was getting irritated and finally reached Kochi at around 8. Mama asked me to call me up as soon as i get down the bus so that he can tell the auto-driver the route.. I did the same.. There were lot of autos and not even a single person was willing to take me in!? Huh? whats with this? Mama, whats happening here? He asked me to wait and said that i would be picked up in 15-20 min.. I told him, I was standing near 'Woodlands' and I started waiting.. Was 8.30 and no signs of nobody coming! Then came the Kinteic Honda.. The familiar scooter and the very familiar face. The first person(familiar person i mean) whom I saw just now gave me indications of how things are gonna be for the next three days! I was standing on the opposite side of 'Woodlands' and he was coming on the other side. He didnt spot me though I spotted him instantaneously... He was searching for me all over there, still didnt spot me! He lifted his cell phone and started making call to someone.. I thought the call would come to me and was looking at my cell, but no it was not to me ! "Mama, woodlands dhaane!? Inga Avanai Kaanallai". Just as he was giving the news of me not there to Mama, he looked around and I was waving my hands all over the place.. And then, that majestic smile!
How are you Sreeram? More than 1 year and still the same Sreeram. I was happy that I saw him first than any other person there.. I mean, there are certain people, who leave ever lasting impression(good one, i mean) within very less time you have been with them and hes one among those.. Everyone in Thekkemadom loves him and why not!? Where can you find such a soft-spoken, helping, caring, kind.. ok, am stopping the adjectives here... Jike, hes one of the persons whom you have to meet in your life. So on my way to Thekkemadom I was confirming the route with him: MG Road, exit it and you enter the Kochi Shipyard, exit it and you get on to the first bridge, exit it and after sometime travelling with the railway track on the side, the second bridge and exit it and travel through a zig-zag route(which i can hardly remmeber) and you hit Mattancherry. I saw the Palace Road and told him, "I know the route from now onwards!" Reply : smile... And it seems there was an auto strike that day in that particular area! Thank you very much, auto-stike! Asked him why he hasnt got ready for Pongal yet... He said that he just got up and when was having coffee, mama called him up and asked to pick me up and so he didnt have time! Typical sreeram stuff!
So finally I entered Thekkemadom.. Said my morning wish to his father, then on my way to VI/1736...Enter it and there was tharpanam going on in the hall and i saw one more elderly person with mama doing it... Didnt disturb them. Crossed the hall and there were three enthusiastic people waiting in the kitchen for me: Mami, Santosh(these 2 i know) and i was introduced to the third person as Vinish(forgive me if have spelled it wrong :) )...He was Santosh's cousin. Santosh, btw, jike is mami's second son.. My lover boy, doin his 12th class in TN.. Vinish, btw, seems is studying in blore, wow, and is doing his PhD there..
This was the day am gonna spend with Santosh. He was the first one now to acknoedge the fact that my tummy has reduced a lot. Yipeeeee! So we were talking abt my Gym adventures, btw, and also abt my ill-fate with girls i get close to :(... So, it was Pongal and the atmosphere was great. I got myself ready... We all had bit of pongal and vada and left for the temple. The elderly person whom i mentioned with mama, by the way was mama's elder brother who has come down from mumbai for the fest.
Saastha Temple at Thekkemadom is indeed a marvel in itself.. Has got every bit of the classic Mallu temple in it: the way it has been built, the pond at the side, the trees that surround! Shirts, baniyans, lungies all barred... Have to be on dhotis! And me, i dont feel like comfortable in a dhothi at all(Dont even know to tie one, in the first place)! There is always a sense of insecurity... Santosh helped me in tying one and off we left to see Him. Morning, it was the time for Abhishekam and men were all chanting mantras. Its really nice to hear these mantras.. I dont get a chance to hear them that often. Felt like the odd-man out... Every other person seem to be knowing every bit of all mantras and i seem to be a big zero... Was atleast happy that got a chance to hear it.. Many dont even have chance to hear it in the first place. When all this was going on one side, Sreeram and Co were busy with their preparation for the evening...I was introduced to the group and man, every second guy in Thekkemadom seems to be named as Sriram. I had so many Srirams around me!!Anyway, Its the youth who organise, who take care of finance and everything and elders pitch in as and when needed. Like, seems the lord would be decorated with flowers in the evening before Maharajyoti and elders were now advicing these guys as to where to get the flowers of good quality and also in affordable rates.. This is what makes any fest in kochi great.. Everybody takes part in it and everybody, be it a child, a youth or a old person, equally contribute and equally enjoy.
Coming back from the temple, had a great lunch which mami had prepared. Then it was all left between me and Santosh. We played with the Big Brother on YM for some time and then after that, all of them had the afternoon nap, we two were all alone awake.. The greatest thing I think, I have done so far in my life is to stand first in my state during my class 12 exam and so I was more than happy to share the tricks of the trade with my lover boy. What to write,what not to write, how to write,where to write, what would you do to boost your scores, things like that. Then, we both also started filling santosh's application form for the engineering entrance exam... He slept off halfway through it and his friends also came for his help to decorate the temple for the evening, but NO he wont get up. After much of struggle, we then woke him up finally.. By then, evening had come...
Santosh had his sanskrit exam the next day and so he was not staying for Saasthapreethi and was visibly upset. All his friends started scolding him for not staying for the main fest. he even asked mama whether we can get a medical cert stating his illness :), but NO, mama wont bulge. For him, the test means a lot for his son's career ahead and he didnt wanna take any risk with that. So, myself and Santosh went out for shopping now, which included getting things for his stay at the hostel(The purchase also had pickles made of prawns and we as veggies dont have it. Santosh explained me and and his mom that he had to do it as a result of his 'commitment' to his friends). While all this was happening, my advice session continued and both of us even didnt miss to go to a "Bhel Puri" stall. Santosh said, he likes it very much there and whenever hes there at Kochi, he always has chat items from there. Yeah, the taste was perfect. :)
Evening, we all left to the temple. Saastha was beautifully decorated with lots and lots of flowers. There was singing and chanting all over.. The singing group, i noticed even had a child of not more than 8 or 9, playing Mridangam. See, these are all the things that makes you wonder. Not only are the elders keeping up with the age old tradition and values, they make sure that they pass it out to the next geneartion and the younger generation is very receptive and accepts whatever is passed on to them. Amazing stuff.. So we have the jyoti lit and its time for dinner now. Dinner cooked for everyone from the area at the temple and served at the temple.
But, we all returned home for it was the time for my lover boy to leave. He didnt have food at the temple for it was getting late for him, and so he had it at home. mama was angry with him and mami for this and santosh responded back: "Anyway, am not staying here tomorrow for Saasthapreethi , so what is the big deal?." Mama insisted on him taking atleast some prasadam before leaving and so he had little payasam for santosh from the temple. A person working with mama had come to drop santosh at the bus stop. So we all wished him all the very best for his exams and bid farewell(mami, a tear-filled farewell, cant change mothers, can we?) to him and then left to the temple for dinner.
Now that santosh is gone, vinish was gonna be my company for the next two days... he was sitting besides me and we were having the dinner together. After the dinner was over, I thought the eventful day is finally over.. But NO.. That was not to the case.. I had no idea of whats there in store for me, the very same night. Because, the action hasnt begin yet !!!
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