SITREP_jyo: 05/04/10

SITREP_20100504

last modified 20100505

well it is 20100504 and exactly mid day over here in thiruvananthapuram. I woke up at 0730 hrs or so, had a hot cuppa and later on had a bowl of cereal and thought of doing some work on the puter when the power supply was cut off. I was feeling tired as well for I am not in the habit of getting up this early especially so after keeping awake past midnight and so went to bed again and by the time I got up it was past 1000 hrs.

the first few days of may 2010

during the first few days of the month, I was busy

From pBird IPS

20100501: trip to aluva – the first time I have crossed over beyond ernakulam in the last so many years.

It was day time when I started off on my bike - I was certain that by the time I reach back there wont be any public transport to come back home and so as is my usual wont kept the vehicle in the parking lot at the railway station so that I can drive back.

But when at around 2330 hrs I reached back i found that the head lights of my bike were not working. When I brought it back home the previous night the head lights were working. And in the morning when I was coming to the station, the traffic was not heavy, it being a holiday (may day ); also it was the early hours of the morning – past 0600 hrs only – and so I was not keeping the headlights on while driving as is my usual wont – driving a two wheeler with head lights on during the day time ? The “intelligentsia” that is the doctor sujathans of thiruvananthapuram, had taken it as another sign of insanity - “budhi illa” . but the mandabudhi does not care a hoot about it ! He sure is going to end up in an asylum - my usual wont As such it is most unlikely that the head light was not working when i left it at the parking lot.

Now the problem was how to get back with no head lights. Well; I managed a make shift headlight. I had a torch light with me in the back-pack ( I brought the backpack while I was on crutches so that I can spare both hands for the crutches and still carry few things along ) and there was a piece of coir in the toolbox that I was using to hook the water pots on to the side of the bike while I fetch drinking/cooking water from the roadside tap some 1500 meters from my house. So I tied the torch on to the handle bar and drove off and reached home without any untoward incident; except for meeting two police patrol vehicles enroute - but I had a head light on !

( by the way the screw used to close the tool box on one side of my bike was also gone. Now a days the old model of enfield bullet like the ones I have has become a fad with a group of people and they want every thing the way it was with the older model – one fellow was eying the original top of the petrol tank of my vehicle when I last time took it to a mechanic. )

20100501 however turned out to be a special day – purampokkil jyothi had a home meal after more than a decade!

Yatheemin kai pitichu sappad kotukkunnavan,

uttaman, allahuvin puthran!

“Par thoo to upne aap bana ke khana khatha hei na, daily?”

“voh khana bhee koyi khana hai lalloo ?”

( with apologies to amit bhayya )

20100502: turned out to be a lucky day.

Now a days there is a lot of activity by the pbirds – a sign of panic on the part of the gestapi - and they start early in the morning and disturb my sleep. And on 20100502 also I was made to get up at around 0700hrs.

I went out with the gun and as usual the pbirds started taking cover and ultimately flying away. But one remained on the tree top and was screeching away to glory - the gestapi was under the impression that at that hight the coveted pbird the spotted ones was safe.