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Jayanthi has been here all the time we have been here. She is
leaving for Bangalore by train tonight (to visit Venkat's family) and
then fly from there to Hyderabad. Her school starts Monday. She has
received a very prestigious award from the Government of the Andhra
Pradesh state as the scientist with the most significant
contributions. She didn't tell me that of course; Tulasi did. Having
Jayanthi around made so much difference. She and Sara did a fair
amount of shopping today at Lakshmi Silk House and Saratha's in the
town. Saris, blouse, salwar kameez.

This morning, we went and picked up Kalyanam then went to Woriur.
The outside of the house is exactly the same except for a new coat of
paint (light cream color). The octagonal living room and the upstairs
room are left untouched, but just about everything else is being
totally redone. Lot of people working on it. The entrance to the left
half portion (where my mother used to live) has been blocked off with
a new wall. The owners have rented it out to an orthopedist (a "bone
doctor" as he is called) but he has not moved in.
Then we went to the bank. I was able to withdraw enough money to
pay for our van rental. The manager was very nice and extremely
helpful.
Around 11:15 we left the bank, being late to reach Kannan's house
by a mere half an hour. One gets used to not worrying about being
punctual. Earlier I had contacted Jayanthi (by phone) to ask her
whether she wanted to go to Kannan's for lunch; she said no because
she was going to have lunch with her mother (being her last day in
Trichy)! So, imagine my astonishment on entering Kannan's house and
seeing Tulasi there. She was invited by Rajee (Kannan's wife) and
decided to come. Jayanthi did not, however. We had a most excellent
meal. Rajee is an outstanding cook of traditional South Indian
brahmin food.
After lunch, we drove to Tulasi's, dropped her off and picked up
Jayanthi and went into the center where all the shops are. Chandran
took the twins to somewhere where they could run around, while the
remaining four of us went shopping. After shopping, we drove back to
Tulasi's. Tulasi's sister in law came for a visit; she is so nice.
We stayed for a short time and then we returned to the hotel.
The Tamil Nadu Kerala border situation seems to have eased and so
we will be going to Kerala tomorrow.