A lucky Friday the Thirteenth!!!!!

Whenever the 13th of a month and a Friday come together, I give a day's holiday to my computer. It started out of the notorious virus scare and since then has become a sort of holiday for my comp. This Friday was no different. I disconnected myself from the virtual world and concentrated on some long-due chores and rearrangements in Karthi.

On Saturday, we made an early morning trip to our neighboring Ayyappa Swamy temple. Our breakfast was a bit late than usual and before starting lunch prep, I decided to check my email. What I saw in my blog mail folder made my jaw drop and I set up such a holler that poor DH who had just arranged himself on the bed for a leisurely newspaper read came running. 

My mailbox contained a message (sent on the thirteenth) from a member of the Travancore royal family who had seen my write-up on Princess Aswathi Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi Bayi's book Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple and had brought it to her notice. She had requested that a message should be sent to me! The mail included a brief message of appreciation from the Princess thanking me for my "views and evaluation" of her work. I've often read of people feeling buffeted by completely contradictory emotions, and I personally went through it just then. I felt on top of the world and totally humble at the same time. For a scholarly writer of her immense stature to notice and send a message to a teeny, tiny dilettante like me showcases her beautiful personality.

I've been having a lot of fun just writing this blog. It's an even greater pleasure when my friends read and comment on it. But this message of appreciation? It's the icing on the cake. Thank you, dear Madam, once again for your notice and your gracious response.

Lucky Friday the thirteenth indeed!

Edited to add: See my new blog header? That's a view of the roof of the Padmanabhapuram Palace and the hills behind. So appropriate, don't you think?!