Yes, the relief of finishing four years of engineering! The external project demonstration was the last step towards graduating with a B. E. degree. Then came the realisation that it was time to bid goodbye to our dearest friends who made so many memories with us in these four years which we will never erase!
It was half-heartedly that I decided to escape the pain of parting by travelling to my native place with my mother. I believed that the monsoon in Kerala and the joy of meeting relatives would help me forget that I will miss my friends, at least for a few days.
At 10:30 AM on the day before yesterday, we arrived at 'Ammath' - which translates to 'Mother's house'. My grandfather who is now 86, has trouble remembering things. At least three times in a day, he asks me what I am studying, which is a relief considering that he usually forgets that he has any grandchildren at all! I spent the rest of the day recovering from the fatigue of travelling and catching up with friends on WhatsApp.
It was a mild shock when I realised that my phone charger was not working. I erupted like a volcano and caused discomfort to everybody around. It is only after some careful thinking that I came to my senses and accepted it as a blessing in disguise.
A good night's sleep did me a great deal of good. I decided to kick start the day after posting an update on Facebook about the present scenario, using my mother's phone. It helped deprive me of the guilt of not responding to any messages.
It was rather ironic that we had a homa (pooja) here yesterday, meant to ask God to bless my grandfather with a long life. Every now and then, he says he is feeling all alone, he is going to die soon and makes some far-fetched requests - to hit him with a stick and kill him! "One foot in the grave" is how he describes his condition.
Amidst all these, one of my mother's many cousins arrived at home. He was in charge of executing the Mruthyunjaya (winning against death) homa to perfection. I do not remember seeing him before and was awestruck that he remembers my name. Some sort of peace lingered on in the air after the completion of the pooja. It was a good sign that my grandfather sat quietly throughout the proceedings.
I ventured to enjoy the closeness to nature by stepping outside for a while. Everything that unfolded in front of my eyes made me want to click photographs and make my friends jealous. The pond, the 'Ayyappan kaavu' cloistered amidst trees with beautiful white flowers, made me feel so lucky I was here rather than anywhere else in the world. I was dreaming about building a house and spending the rest of my life here, a prospect that delighted my grandmother. It was interesting to be stared at by a mongoose, which seemed to look for signs of familiarity on my face for a couple of minutes.
Later, the single worry on my mind disappeared when I bought a charger for my phone from the nearby town. I was back on WhatsApp before the day ended, finding pleasure in reading few messages which seemed to indicate some people missed me slightly. The fascinating conversations my mother and her sister had about their school days and the hearty laughter took my mind off the phone too! My grandfather clearly remembers the days long gone by, when elders forbade him from educating his daughters. We have clearly come a long way, haven't we?
