20120404

That's hot! (BH:D213)

March 2, 2012


Gone are the days I could return from the morning walk and delay the shower for an hour or so. These days, I come back totally drenched. All the sitting under the fan whole day cannot prevent another necessary shower in the evening. It is hot and humid. And it has only been two days into March.

I wonder how many days a spring season, if at all it is there in Thiruvananthapuram, is supposed to last. A spotted koel had delivered extra loud wake up calls for a fortnight, but couple of days ago, he got an answer. Dawns have been relatively silent since then. Despite dropping numerous still borns, the jackfruit tree close to the house gate has managed to hold on to a few fruits that look promising. Naked, dry golden shower cassias stand like shadows outside the Nishagandhi open air theater. We are a month and a half away from the Vishu festival. That means gorgeous golden showers of flowers should appear on those scaled up twig looking trees in the next few weeks.

The adopted stray dog of our colony that provides unconditional guard service to the trash collecting ladies in the mornings and pretends to be a road dividing sphinx statue during the rest of the day was spotted last weekend with his girlfriend. As is customary, he did take her to the neighborhood watering hole which in his case happens to be an open kitchen drain. Lest you might consider him a player, I must mention that I have seen him bring other studs as well for the occasional drink to that location. He is quite the humanitarian.

Nothing to do with spring, but Amma leaves for Lakshadweep on official duty tomorrow. She'll be back on Tuesday after helicopter-hopping the islands. That should bring to a close her hectic travel schedule for the time being. Since she came back from Sri Lanka, she has been to Sabarimala, Guruvayoor, Delhi, Agra and Bangalore in February. March 1st marked 36 years of her service to the Reserve Bank of India. A movie poster for the Malayalam film, 'Second Show' mentions that the all time blockbuster Hindi movie, Sholay, was released 36 years ago.

Baby steps are being taken to welcome my sister back to the house. She will be here after the ides of March. During the preparatory clearing of cupboards and dusting of book shelves, some old diaries with browned documents preserved between their pages were discovered. 
The receipt for the application fee Achan had paid the Central Bank of India in the 70s. A taxi fare of Rs. 25 noted in a diary from 1980. "Sumeet" mixer with guaranty purchased in 1981. Mixer is long gone but the brochure still looks new. Xerox copy of a newspaper article from the 90s about a Japanese water treatment. Not a torture, this apparently healing and holistic technique demands drinking 4 cups of water in empty stomach as soon as one wakes up and no breakfast till two hours later. 

Filling up oneself full tank with water first thing in the morning reminds me of the wonderful experience today of being on a motorbike running empty. With the few final drops of petrol and nearly a kilometer to the nearest petrol bunk, loud speeding through the main road. At one point, the nearly dead vehicle was rested on its side in a desparate attempt to cajole the fuel ghosts left in the tank to possess its nerves. 

The fisherman who had reported the killing of two fisherman 16 days ago by marines of an Italian ship, was killed in a freak accident yesterday. An unidentified ship, suspected to be an oil tanker, rammed through his ship in the middle of the night. Two others have been injured and three are missing. The Kerala coast guard has sophisticated high tech speed boats worth Rs. 50 crores but none of them were used for the rescue because they don't have drivers and the batteries of the engine haven't been charged! In a land of severe unemployment, apparently drivers couldn't be hired! 

The fisherman, Xavier, died because he wasn't brought to the shore faster and no care was administered to him on the way. It is pretty obvious that his death weakens the case against the Italian marines now in custody. 

On an average 13 international ships pass by the Alapuzha coast every night at a distance of about 25 nautical miles. Hundreds of fishing boats operate in the area too. The "accident" is a great coincidence indeed. And even more bizarrely, the coast guard and navy claim that it is nearly impossible to identify the responsible ship. This is how safe Indian borders are. Is it any wonder that China threatens India's defense minister, who sits in a hacked office in Delhi, from visiting Arunachal Pradesh?!
'Speechless' is not only what the common man is supposed to become on seeing what unfolds in this nation, but it is also the right attitude to have if one wants to stay alive!

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