Family Matters!

A Big Hello from Hongkong and Hangzhou!

2011-05-27T23:29:00.000-07:00

Dear Loved Ones:)

There has been an unusual lull in the blogging space of 9over90 since the post last year. The regulars of this blogging space seem to be absorbed in their hectic lives - Dhanya hopping on from Bangalore to Delhi to Canada to God knows where next, Ravi, still busy hobnobbing with prospective girls, the rumor mills busy figuring out who the next “bakra” (or “bakri”?) is, Arun, taking his new DOF role a tad too seriously and Karthik, busy at the casinos!

So, I have taken it upon myself, the new bahu (I’m entitled to this title till the time that Ravi doesn’t get home the new bride!!) the task of creating some flutter here (with a long post).

We are back from a weeklong trip to Hongkong and Hangzhou!

Hongkong- Love it, Live it!

If you put aside the nauseating odor of the Chinese food and the markets, Hongkong is a rather charming place. Extremely clean, systematic and well organized, with a great public transport system, it was not hard to see why Arun considers Hongkong his second home! We did all that we could in our 3 day stay- Hongkong University(which had Arun hopping around like a kid), Disneyland, the giant Buddha in Lantau, the Star Ferry(and the symphony of lights) and of course, how could we miss the delicious food of the langar in wan chai. For those of you who are planning a trip to HK any time in the future, DO NOT miss Disneyland (if you haven’t already done it in the US/Paris). You absolutely don’t need to be a kid to enjoy it! The symphony of lights is also a beautiful light and sound show. The light beam from the sky scrapers along the Victoria harbor in perfect synchronization with the music is a sight which cannot be missed! And the best part? The show is for free!! :)

Below are some snaps from HKU and Lantau Island

The Enigma of Hangzhou

From Hongkong, we proceeded towards the city of Hangzhou (pronounced as Hung-Jo).
I had my first panic attack on the way from the airport to the hotel, a good 45 min drive, when I noticed that not one sign board/shop name/street name was in English! To think that I would have to spend 4 solitary days in this strange land with strange people (who kept giving you even stranger stares!) speaking an unknown language was a little unnerving, I was relieved to find some of the hotel staff did speak broken English, though the only words the house keeping staff, kitchen, and room service staff seemed to know in English were “hello”, “thank you” and “Sorry”! I had no choice but to communicate with them in sign language for the rest of our stay.
Hangzhou is considered one of the most scenic places in China, renowned for the “West Lake”. The West Lake is in the centre of the city and as painstakingly explained by the concierge at the hotel, was only a km from the hotel

I wanted to acclimatize myself to the surrounding before venturing too far all by myself. So armed with a map of Hangzhou city, and a note of “West Lake” written in Mandarin, I set out on foot to find the west lake. Once into the streets, i realized there was no point carrying the map because none of the landmarks or road signs was in English (which, though I had noticed before, still amazed me!). Nevertheless, I did make it to West Lake (which was definitely more than the 1 km distance) not before encountering loads of curious stares, some non cooperative, even hostile people who refused to even acknowledge my “hello”, some of the more friendlier people who helped me out with the directions and some people even clicking random snaps of a strange looking woman in the streets!

The West Lake is supposed to have ten scenes or scenic spots. It did turn out to be a very scenic place and a HUGE lake. After walking around for more than 2.5 hours, I realized that I had only covered one of the 10 scenes; hence I decided to walk back to the hotel. After all I still had 4 days to explore the lake. I walked half way to the hotel and took a Chinese version of an Indian auto the rest of the distance (Taxis are invariably ALWAYS full in HZ). Attached are some snaps from the west lake.

I was pleasantly surprised and hugely relieved to discover the next day that another DOF wife was also in the hotel. I finally had company! Thankfully, we got along like a house on fire!

The highlight of the trip to Hangzhou, was the visit to the Song Village and in particular, a spectacular show, called the “Romance of the Song Dynasty”.

The Song dynasty ruled China for more than 100 years and during their rule the capital was moved to Hangzhou. The song village is depiction of what life looked like during the rule of the Song dynasty.

The show “Romance of the song dynasty” is supposedly compared to the “Moulin rouge” of Paris. The sheer opulence of the show, the huge stage, the brilliant performers, the psychedelic colours, the beautiful costumes (and the girls!), the digital images, the 3-D effects, it all took my breath away.

The show was divided into 4 parts. The first part showed the culture of the China or more specifically the Song culture. The second was the celebration of the emperor’s birthday. The second part had beautiful forms of dance, belly dancing, the traditional Song dynasty dance and acrobatics.

The third part was called “the armored cavalry”. The props, the digital images, the 3-D effects on the stage could have put any Bollywood movie set to shame. The Battle had some breath taking moments with cannons and bomb blasts and horses running across the stage. the photos below show the enemy soldiers attack a child, the child is saved by a soldier. The soldier ties the child around his waist and fights his way valiantly through the enemies. The part is beautifully concluded with the mother looking frantically for her baby and finding him safe in the soldier’s arms.

The next part is the “West Lake Legend”. Towards the end of the battle, when the lights were dimmed, I suddenly felt the auditorium temperature decrease by a couple of degrees. Just when I was wondering what was on the stage this time, the lights are turned on, and Lo!! What a sight! Half the stage is filled with water flowing from the roof! And just so we feel that we are part of the entire atmosphere, there are light showers through the entire auditorium! Speechless! This is followed by graceful ballet by the dancers.

The last part of the show is the Flourishing Song Dynasty. All of a sudden, the rain stops, the water recedes and the stage is full of tea plantations and tea pickers. The dancers emerge from all over, from within the audience, from backstage, from some area below the stage! The show concludes with memorable scenes - dancers dressed as butterflies, depicting sea life, the greenery of Hangzhou and the beautiful west lake.

Though the return back to the hotel from the Song Village was a nightmare, with none of the taxis willing to take us back (a Pakistani guy with a driver and interpreter finally came to our rescue), I would still say it was the high point of the trip!

I also made it to the West Lake impression show (a light and sound show apparently also depicting a love story which I found difficult to understand), this time with the DOF’s. And though the rest of the group thoroughly enjoyed the show, it would not be hard to imagine why I kept comparing it with the “Romance of the Song Dynasty” and felt it fell short on a number of counts. However, the West lake impression show did have its moments, the enormous structures emerging from the lake and the play of colors, the synchronization and the grace of the dancers and the beauty of the west lake in the background.

The Song village, according to me, wins hands down! It’s a pity that it is not as widely advertised in Hangzhou as the West Lake.

More snaps from the trip coming soon!

In case anyone has managed to survive through my maiden marathon post, do throw in some comments!
Love,
Mekhala

Voting lines are open

2010-11-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

Girl -
Brithika -
Sanvi - Goddess Lakshmi
Mishika - Gift of Love

Boy -
Srijan - Creation
Stavya - Lord Vishnu
Ratchit - Creation

A Run to Mekh

2009-10-27T06:12:00.000-07:00

Guys,

I have uploaded some pics http://picasaweb.google.co.in/dhanya.p/ARunToMekh#

p.s this pic is by Mekala's mama.

more photos, Jayanti Manni's
http://picasaweb.google.com/rjayanthi1804/ArunsWedding?feat=email#

Mekala's mama's pics
http://picasaweb.google.com/sattanathravi/ARunToMekh2?feat=email#

Calendar 2010

2009-09-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

Calendar 2008 saw an unprecendented level of acceptance in the family and we would like someone to pick up the baton and try to better it. So, i have put up another poll on this blog and it is mandatory that the winning combo takes up the responsibility.

No excuses will be accepted. So, contestants, please start itching your brains for a neat creative idea.

Negative votes are available for certain combos :P

And yes, i would be travelling to India in December. As much as i am happy saying this, i am feeling sad that i wont be able to make it for the big wedding. Yes, i know, its a huge thing and i yes, i have tried to work around my options. So, jillu and Mekhala, here is a public apology from my side. Will miss being there on the big day, will miss pulling arun's leg, his manly blushes, and his "sand not sticking to his mustache on falling down" attitude so much.

Love ya all! Please do cast your vote.

Please vote - young and old

2009-09-21T03:48:00.000-07:00

Dear 9 (us) + 3(old-joinees) + 3/4 (mekhs, you already have a foot in the door) + 1/2 (Dr J),

Ravi will give us the pleasure of his esteemed presence for a few days in December. So before his parents book his time (to seal his future:-)), let us.

Date - 02-03rd Jan 2010. (weekend guys)
Place - (Look to the right and vote) --> if you have better suggestion please comment/mail me and i will include it. One vote per person.

No excuses will be entertained (especially doctors)!

Shweta/Satish please plan your bi-annual trip then.
And please confirm your booking ....

FUN GUARANTEED!

yenikku camera ishtama

2009-08-08T23:25:00.000-07:00

one year old advika in mumbai (showing off her hair, before the chopping ceremony)

Click on me below to see a few more pics -->

Advika_close up

Welcome Dr.Jaggu and Meghala.....

2009-06-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome Meghala/Jaggu....

Within a span of 3 days, the number of Singles in 9Over90 has become a Minority now :)

Luv,
karthyk

Arun anchored!

2009-06-26T04:08:00.000-07:00

This is a stale piece of news for most of you but its still important for me to stand on the roof top and shout that I am ENGAGED!

For those of you who have not caught up on the 9 over 90 news reports please read on.

Parents played cupid but I would like to believe that I courted & wooed her to say yes :) & when she said Yes, I didnt hear it right & when it really sunk in I remained dazed for most part of the day as the photos would reveal.

The ring in my finger continues to distract me (its not the only reason for distraction though!)

My special thanks goes to Soum & Jaggu for showing up for the event. They were the only 9over 90 members apart from from my brethren to be out there on my important day!

Mekhala continues to be flummoxed by the continuous barrage of names that is thrown at her every now & then. Give her time to get used to all of you & please be nice to her! Yes yes I have told her about the false allegations of snoring. :) She is not going to believe it!

for now I clearly feel blessed & excited & dazed & bewildered & shocked & blessed & excited & dazed & excited ............

Sheikh who Shakes

2009-03-30T04:30:00.000-07:00

Princess of Arabia

2009-03-30T03:41:00.000-07:00

and if that is not enough .... see advi reaching out for the finish line

Story of Us

2008-12-11T07:57:00.001-08:00

Going back in time almost 200 years, going back in space to Tanjavore is as far as I can imagine today. A terrible famine hit Tanjavore and drove many Brahmin families, mostly cultivating land, to flee to nearby places where there was easy food. One such person was Parameshwaran (the First). He was Anna Thatha's great-grand dad, i.e Kiki's & Advika's great-great-great-great-grand-dad!!

Parameshwaran (the First) was a very shrewd person. He came to Tiruvarpu, Kottayam district, Kerala and started a series of businesses. By the time he was 80 (and dying), he owned many acres of cocunut farms, mortgage business.... (shhhhh! also lots of tobacco farms). He lent money and ultimately confisicated many acres of land. Sources say that he lent Rs 2000 and by the end of 5 years, he was the owner of 5 acres of land. He managed to evade many excise officers under the umbrella of Namboodris. In any case, he left behind a great legacy and his wife, Parvathi to his 3 sons.

Eldest of the 3 sons was Subramoney (the First) who was a paavam mercenery thatha. Krishnan and Ananthan were the other two sons - three of them shared the 'burden' of their blind mother. Subramoney (the First) continued to lend and collect money. He married Rukmani (which we suspect was a inter-family marriage) to give birth to Lakshmi (well-known as Athai) and Parameshwaran (the Second) Thatha. Both Athai and Parameshwaran (the Second) Thatha had glowing white hair, rolling eyeballs, less pigmented skin from birth. Parameshwaran (the Second) Thatha was a very helpful, generous person. He continued selling cocunuts to make a comfortable living. He married late, to our very own Tiruvarpu Pati. I guess many of us know the story hence ....

There are still many gaps in my understanding of our ancestors. I request everyone to add titbits/anecdotes about our ancestors.

From Saigon, with Love

2008-11-15T22:10:00.001-08:00

I have been meaning to right here for a very long time. Most of you would know that I have moved on from the “those were the best days of my life” phase to a more mundane and routine job of a banker in a not so mundane & routine country. This country has a history that was the tumultuous, Geography shapeless & economics ridiculous!

Good morning Vietnam – Factiva for the uninitiated

This is my 3 rd month in Vietnam. On the exterior Vietnam would remind you of India in more ways than one but the façade is misleading! Through the best part of the 20^th century the country’s main occupation was to fight. Vietnam is the only country that can boast of warring 3 permanent members of the UN Security Council and “Supposedly” winning all of them. Vietnam was America’s first nemesis.

The story of the Impossible – “Yes we can”

Vietnam was the Afghanistan of the 1980’s. Predicted to be in the darkest doldrums of the world civilization forever. Vietnam took its time to understand that there is no glory & no winner in a war. In 1980’s Vietnam chose the flawed but still appropriate path of communism. Out of the blues people were asked to swap the guns with sickle. Through the 80’s it suffered the infant pains of communist policies. All the men were back home with no war to fight and no knowledge of business. When normalcy was restored and commerce took its roots, people were evidently happy. It seems happy people produce a lot of babies and so did the Vietnamese. There was a baby boom in 90’s. Quite strangely the chromosome combination defied the law of averages and remained stubbornly XX. Women outnumber men by almost 1.5:1. When you go to shops and restaurants you can’t help but wonder “Where are the Men!”

To me, Vietnam was the underdog of Underdogs. From a war ravaged country in the 80’s to a haven of economic activity in 30 years. It’s been a determined journey for this young country with brimming optimism & unbridled ambitions for the future. Rocky said “It’s not how much you can take but how much you can take & still move forward. That’s how winning is done”. Only Vietnam and Barack Obama epitomize that spirit. At the moment I am sitting in one and watching the other!

It’s the economy stupid- On the work front

I work for a Vietnamese conglomerate akin to TATA’s (Not as big though) who want to start a financial services business. They Hired an Indian CEO, who hired some Indian BU Heads, who in turn hired some Indian Business Analysts. Needless to say I am the last one in the chain. There has been a decent amount of starting troubles and learning opportunities. By now I am very comfortable in the clothes of a banker. My entry into the world of banking is certainly not well timed. “A banker is a fellow who lends his umbrella when the sun is shining and wants it back the minute it begins to rain.” At the moment we are just waiting for the sun to shine to lend out umbrellas. Some of the banking statistics is clearly absurd in Vietnam. You get close to 20 % int. rate for a FD. That means if you put 10 Lakhs in a Bank. In a year you get 12 Lakhs back! (Now figure out how much you pay when you borrow). That’s some thing even the sensex can’t assure. Only 8 % of 65 million people have a bank account. The rest of them put the money under their beds! Only 100,000 credit cards exist in the whole of Vietnam. A decent meal in Saigon costs 2 Lakh Dongs and you pay your servant maid a few million Dongs! That’s 300 dongs to a rupee.

10 million people are going to come out of school this year and join the work force,

and that’s where the opportunity beckons.

And if any of you want to check this place out, you have got a warm host to welcome you in Saigon. Good morning Vietnam!

that rainy day I married ....

2008-09-30T21:48:00.000-07:00

dear 9over90 ... thanks to you guys, this wedding could happen! right from secret meetings, to making mapallai likable to SP & GT, and standing by right through the wedding ...

i am just uploading 2 collages.... after almost 3 months of being married

Thatha Talks

2008-04-27T05:06:00.001-07:00

Visit my blog, my views and opinions and give me your comments!
thathatalks.blogspot.com
Thanks
Anna Thatha

FAMILY CALENDER

2008-01-12T21:49:00.000-08:00

DEAR 9 OVER 90,

The Family Calender is indeed very cute and funny. All of enjoyed every bit of it.
This is a very good link to keep our family one and a UNIQUE FAMILY. Hats off to each one of
9 over 90 for the best calender we have ever seen.
Wish all a very happy 2008. The reply postings of the Calender are also very good.
We enjoyed reading them also a lot. Keep writing Kannan, Arun, Ravi and Dhan whose writings
we enjoy the most. Kathik's photos are very nice which make us go to our younger days.Keep posting photos, Karthik. Best of Luck to your INFOSYS entry.

Nattu Thangam.

Operation Desert storm

2008-01-11T11:04:00.000-08:00

A word of caution to all non-9over90 members - a dangerous species called "9 over 90" is on the prowl. It can eavesdrop, take photos on the sly, dig up one's dirty past, put words into others mouth and plays practical jokes! Highly venomous and can strike when least expected to. So please watch out and stay away as far as possible. Their so called work of arts are generally "designed to send the dead scurrying for their pajamas". So I have taken up the responsibility to pitch in for the "Gen-Now" in its battle against the "Gen-Next".

Dig apart, it was one hell of a creative work! Congratulation to Kaks, Ravi, Dhan and Arun for this work of art. Neat job. And thanks for the world tourers of the year award. It is an altogether different matter that I have a very big hole in my pocket now. Nonetheless we would strive hard year after year to retain this award. We solicit generous contributions from high value "about to earn green stuff" members Jillu, Ravi and the Mappilai-in-waiting, to fund our trip to the West Indies and New Zealand! Hopefully we can celebrate the next New year in Jamaica.

Dreamer of the year award would have been an obvious choice - who else but Ramesh. The man's energy is amazing and time management is his forte. Worth taking a leaf out of his book. But whom did God give as a wife to him - someone who would sleep on 11th night, get up on 13th morning and ask innocently "what happened to 12th" !! That is a paradox and that's what makes life interesting. Am sure my dear brother would have run him very close for this award. I would have loved to see a "Self-less person of the year award" and the "Most hard working person of the year"category and Nattu would have won both the awards hands down. I think Robert Frost wrote the following lines for Nattu:

"The Woods are lovely dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before I sleep"

I was hoping to qualify for the Sports person of the year category award what with a "world record" of 14 minutes (3 kms) finish in the Bahrain International Relay marathon! But am sure clumsy Jillu would have shot down the proposal, the 15-Love bashing during Hacienda club badminton sessions weighing heavily in his mind. Come on Jillu, be a sport if not a sportsman!!

Had there been a Whinge of the year award, guess who would have got it? Piece of cake, who else but Varsha Ramesh. She has everything going for her - great intellect, God given talent, adoring parents - but still whinges. The Whinge goes like this; I don't like this college and I want to change, after some days it becomes I don't like the teacher and again after a few more days it becomes I don't like the bench on which I am sitting! Keep Whingeing Varsha, we all love you in spite of that. Her competition for this award would come from Soum but she would finish a distant second.

Raja anna is some one who would "squeeze the penny till it begs for mercy". Hence we are not surprised with that award. He understands the value of money unlike his 9over90 brethren. He would be my first nomination for a "Fighting against all odds" award next year. Keep ticking Raja anna and you have an indefatigable Jayanthi backing you all the time.

Had there been an award for "Great Escape" (Escape as in Tamil Comedian Vivek's dictionary) it had to go to Ravi, presently cooling his heels in the Uncle Sam's land. Few conversations with Ravi went like this; Before our trip to the US. Sudha chithi to Ravi " Hey Ravi we are coming to the US on 15th Dec" Ravi in reply " Hey that's great news. Am excited (in full josh). I have holidays during that time and I would be with you full time" After we landed in Atlanta on 15th Dec. Sudha chithi to Ravi " You know, we have actually landed in your country" Ravi in reply "When? (or was it why?). Sudha chithi "We want to come to Raleigh to see you and your surroundings" Ravi in reply" Yeah Yeah that's possible. But actually few of my friends are coming over to my place during Christmas and I won't be able to spent much time with all of you" Sudha chithi "That's ok but whose is that female voice in the background??. The line goes bust all of a sudden. After that for the next couple of days Sudha chithi was frantically trying to call Ravi but could hear only a voice recording "Hi this is Ravi and am presently not reachable. Please leave your name & number and I would get back to you if you do not happen to be my Uncle and Aunt from Bahrain"!! On a more serious note - we are now confident that he is going to hit stratospheric heights in his career. All the best Ravi.

We could have qualified Kaks for the the "Predicament of the year" category. The kid has 3 appointment letters with him but still still claims that he is without a job. Last heard Infosys came knocking on his doors. Will he or won't he? And what's his brother Sathish and Bhabi Shwetha upto these days other than procreation?? Wish you a very safe delivery, Shwetha.

That's been a very long one. Let us know if you enjoyed reading it. All in good jest and humour. Except for the one on Jillu. That was as close to reality as possible!! The theme of the day was "Make believe". Hope Walt Disney Inc. don't sue me for copyrights violation!

Khuda hafiz.

2008 9over90 Awards

2008-01-06T23:26:00.000-08:00

We have decided on making this an yearly event and this year’s outcome is a youthful response from Ravi and Dhanya to a challenge thrown on the open by Arun Ram. We hope all of you find this as exciting as we felt compiling this stuff.

‘Momma’s Boy/Girl’ of the Year
Kiki-Jayantee pair was the clear favourite for this one and this was not a difficult one for the judges. The pair has given the family some very sweet memories in the past year and let us see how they handle this burden of this tag in the following year. Neither the “ummas” of Varsha-Santhy nor the special bonding between Sudha and Pranit nor the down-to-earth mom-son behavior of Mohana-Arun could give any competition to Kikee-Jayanti.

Varsha's reaction to this: "How many more Ummas can give us this award?? :( "

‘Noise-maker of the year’
Nothing can be louder than Nattu’s “What’s your plan?”. However Arun deserves a sound applause for his mellifluous emails that made many a great fan of his writings. You have a long way to go dear Jillu.

‘World-Tourers of the year’
Swamis….
Honeymoon in forties…..
Now, the US; Will the next be to the West Indies…..
Swamis walked away with this award for the youthful spirit they show time and again. Can anyone give them some competition please ?

“Dreamer of the year”
Not only a dreamer was Mr.Ramesh especially in the last year. He is that kind of a person who has 25 hours a day and who sleeps only during that extra hour he has. He thoroughly deserves this award. 9over90 wishes you luck with all your ventures.

'Toughest-Decision’ Maker of the Year
Ahem Ahem…..That was a real toughie. Rajanna’s confusions on how to spend HP’s gold pots.And Varsha, who in the family thought she would decide on taking up this profession where she has to talk a lot to strangers. It would be interesting to see if the patients make her talk or she talks on her own. Kaks also had to take some tough decisions regarding his jobs. However, Nattu-Thangam made NEWS and the newsmaker with their decision. 9over90 is just happy about it!

‘Cooker of the Year’
Close competition within the family - I wanted to give it jointly to Chaithan-Ki-Bacha and the five flavored Pani Puri that had satisfied the taste-buds of many in the last year. Jammu’s Fried Rice will always be in the nominations. However, the low-availability did not take it to the distance that it would otherwise. Finally, the judges decided to give this one to Soum despite the fact that she has not done anything great in the kitchen to get her involved into the association’s activities. Everybody feels she seems to be in her own world always.

Santy's reaction to this: "It is a surprise that my tea did not even make it to the list of nominations !! "

Kanjoos of the Year
Arun preference to curd rice over a dinner at BBQ nation and Soum’s frugality with her wallet has been entertaining for the guests to discuss upon. Rajanna’s clever deaf and dumb acts won him this prestigious award.

Fastest Grower of the Year
The famous meeshai of Kittu has been grown by leaps and bounds in the last year giving him the AK-47 tag in the family. This was a clear winner over Nattu’s thoppay.

'Can't keep our eyes off each other'
The secretive 306 love affair ( Ravi’s N70 managed to catch some nice snaps of this couple. Look into the snap below) and Trivandrum’s Romeo-Juliat could not shake Radha Balu from stealing the limelight in the last year.

'News-maker of the year'
Ahem Ahem ….Shweta-Satish has made some fast progress and Jillu never fails to make some news now and then. The winner is an impending entrant into the family and thanks to him for contributing to some hot news that had been flowing through the family in the last year.
“Nayar chayaa….Enjooooy…” !

‘Blunder of the Year’ Award
No other nominations and the winner is Arun Ram !!

And Arun Ram gets a special award "Mr.9over90" for having been making his presence felt in the family throughout the year. Be it be his funny mistakes, Arun Ram's presence has made a big difference in every get-together that we have had in the last year. He has been the favourite chap amongst the elders and the youngsters and his affability deserves a mention at this time of giving away the awards.

Compilers - Ravi and Dhanya

Hope everybody likes the calendar and please use it and then treasure it. Everybody would receive a hard copy soon. Luv ya all.

9 over 90 awards

2007-12-17T09:56:00.000-08:00

I wrote this award nominations last year... nothing much has happened this year that would change the award nominations altogether.

Apart from one more of Dhanya's entrepreneurial ideas coming into life. Varsha's volte face in choing MBBS as her life's calling, Kaks shift of fortunes to his current confused state , Sathish big marriage chaos, Arun and Ravi's packing bags to go abroad.

Soumya as usual is still comfy in her cast away role, makes no effort to reach out, Raja Anna complaining abt the recurring deposits and house hold expenses. Pranith, well well nobody knows whats up with him or his parents !! Last heard they were in some forests of florida :). Srishti has been the center of gravity for this 9 over 90 for this year and she will continue to keep that locus for some more years !!

No breaking news, no sensations, no adventures... what a lousy year it was...
Dhanya & Ravi... I am calling (Challenging) you out to be the Master of ceremonies for this years awards... If all the claims of youthful thinking is even partially true then lay it out in the open !!

I am coming home and dying to see some of you .... I am looking forward to

1)speak a lot of tamil
2)drive the two wheeler,
3)have my mom's world class tea
4) Play with and talk to dearest kikee
5) Gossip with my aunts
6) Eat Bhabi's Pani poori
7) Get scoldings from dad

and then I know it will be time to leave for HK :)

Love you all
Arun/ Jillu

_______________________________________________________________

Hi Guys

I am planning to Instate the 9 over 90 Awards series.
These are truly interesting times for 9 over 90. Most of us are out of those dreary school days and the lovely college days, the eldest in the group is above 30 !! Most of us are in the bread winners group and some are on the cusp of it. Its time to recognize the man of the innings . Without any preamble lets jump right into it

The Best Bahu Award : This is an easy one, and I believe there is absolute unanimity in this. As the first Bahu, this lady made a cracker of a start. Raja after Marriage is totally anew from Raja before Marriage. She cements the fact that there is a woman behind a successful man. She swarmed all the biggies that matter in this house. She is the reference material for all new bride hunt !! Finally she is the mother of the cutest baby in this universe. JAYANTHEE deserves all these acclaim every bit... There will be many other bahus entering this household in days to come but no body can come even an inch close.... Bhabi you are the best. Many of us look up to you. we truly love you !!!

Be a Rebel Award : This one is slisha controversy but nevertheless true. In a Brahmin house hold like ours not many of us tend to get rebellious but this women does !! From making Atheist(Read Anti Brahminical) remarks to playing cricket with boys in early days to calling a spade a spade to going for a post doc when she had shinning cash offers in hand to looking for a boy herself outside the community she has done it all. A Rebel at Heart and a rebel in Deed.... DHANYA PARAMESHWARAN walks away with this award. All of us love you for your rebellious spirit. You show us hope to Rebel :). While we all love you for all of your rebellious stance and more , I also want to use this forum to berate you for any atheist remarks that you may have made. The coming year is going to be interesting for you and for all of us. It will be nice to see how you measure up to the Granny's. We will have fun watching U. Until then the rumor mills can work over night. Dhanya, All of us look up to you. You just BE A REBEL!!

Every Mommas boy Award : Every mom will dream to have a boy like this. Truly a mommas kid. Not one step wrong so far. From great marks in School days to doing the Sandhyavandhanam, Madhayanam promptly, to getting a fine college admit and bagging a great job he has been a nice boy all the time. Not one step wrong. When he was in Srirangam he played to the gallery there with his regular prayers. Kept his parents happy with his brilliant scores. Kept his friends in good stead with his fine sense of humor, Kept his cousins happy with timely help, Earned laurels at work and kept the bosses happy. Not one step wrong. Ravi Shankar B - you are truly every Mommas pride. All of us would have wanted to be like you at some stage.
I don't remember one blemish in your scorecard till date. However 9 over 90 unanimously feels that there is something abt you that you are hiding from all of us :). No Secrets in 9 over 90 please.

Best Debutante and Mr Popular : Easy one again. A Quick poll of 9 over 90 members will tell you that if there is a help anybody needs then there is only one guy they can go to. Parents Association know him as Dependable Kid, Some of them call him the most responsible kid. Boys of 9 over 90 often bash him for making us look bad :). Karthyk Anantha Krishnan deserves every inch of the Mr Popular Status. He is also anointed with Best Debutante award for bagging a nice job before completion of his BE. When he started his innings in BE,It was quiet a Shaky Start but just like his Idol Sourav, recovered Quickly to come out clean. A lot of us are going to bet on him for his indomitable spirit in life. He is truly a go getter. In years to come he is the horse that you should be betting on. He is the Stock that you should be buying in bulk. All the very best to you Karthyk.

Young Achiever Award : Easy one, How many of us have had there Hoardings in mount road at age 15 ? How many of us have performed in the stage at age 12 ? How many of us make an appearance in TV with Such fine Elan that it looks like were born for it ? How many of us have CDs and cassettes released ? How many of us have received Zillions of awards from performing arts gurus. Varsha you are truly the 1 among the 9. Varsha only advise - Come out of Neyveli and live a life.

Style Bhai and Dark Horse Award : Literally and thematically he is the dark horse :) The guy in Dubai is the Bride groom in Waiting. Lives life king Size . Owns a Chevrolet, naya Ghar, Soon a Nayi Biwi ... Badiya Hain . Satish Congratulations on your marriage.

Walk the Talk Award : This one goes to a Non Member. As a couple they have always walked the Talk. They Only Preach what they practice. Adorable couple. All of us look up to them. A lot of us want to be them. I seem to fail to capture the exact words to anoint them. There are a few things that's best left unsaid. Leave it to the readers imagination.
Nattu Mama and janaki Manni walk away with the Walk the talk Award. You are really an Awesome couple. All of us love you from the bottom of our heart !

Dhanya has bowled a googly at them, lets see how they face this ball. We are watching every step you take nattu mama and we will quote you as precedence. Good luck to you. :)

We are winding up this ceremony with a quick prelude.

Last Year - The come Back kid award must have gone to Raja Anna. For a cracker of a comeback. He Started the race 500 m behind the start line and is now 1000 m ahead of all of us!

Soumya is almost Qualified for a Udaan Award - I don't know how many of you have seen the serial but its a story of a women who fights it out to achieve her dream. Soumya has, From the days i can remember , I have only heard her talking abt being a doctor. And fiught yea she did, I remember her crying coming out of the exam hall every time. She truly made it look like a fight :)
Soumya also should get the Miss 9 over 90 Award - She is the prettiest one in the group without a doubt. All of this will have to wait for her to graduate from college.

Pranith belongs to the Srishti Gang and will need form his own club there :) But all of us have no doubt that he is going to be a Casanova...

2007-11-28T00:56:00.000-08:00

After seeing the mottai foto arun asked me to upload his childhood foto...
With lot of pressure from Arun.... leaving away all my works.. i searched the cartons and i cud get hold of one which has all the albums.... and i found an interesting album which was taken during that mottai trip... the album includes the foto taken on my first bday followed by the trip to mottai.... the album had some really coool fots which i thot will upload and the purpose for my search was also solved.... yes i got a foto of arooooooon's...

before we seee the fotos in the trip lets seee how arooon is in the early 1980's

Here we go..............

Now comes the mottai trip fotos...

First the star of the day....

Now comes a group foto....

Ravi more or less manages to have a distinct posethroughout the trip..... u will notice in the coming fotos....

As usual soum nd pattti share a special bond......

The Journey to MOTTTAI....

Soum before Mottai...

All of us after MOTTAI..
and the stunnning solo pose from our raleigh raveee

wat was i doing when this foto was taken......

The post does not ends here......
i cud also find the fotos of today's oldies in late 1970's.....

the one solo foto which is misssing..... our raja ram's solo foto.....

Here comes Mr. and Mrs Money.....

They cud manage to get the Ariel view of mithila

i also found a foto of varsha in which she is not in dance dress.... no eye liners...no make up....

If someone had thot one star was missing in the whole foto.... its our pranit....How can i miss him though he is in Bahrain???

This ends the fotos.....

KARTHIGAI CELEBRATIONS AT TRICHY FOR ALL THE TOO GOOD BROTHERS

2007-11-26T19:18:00.000-08:00

Here is the blog represnting the oldies
Kartigai was celebrated in a grand scale in Trichy. All the three generations (representatives)were assembled there. Anna manni, Radha, balu, Self and Varsh (ofcourse bunking strike from Tveli).
sat morn till noon: Radhu was struggling with the Pori, to bring in to a shape scolding the other oldies who made this tradition. And finally she succeeded.
The the Appam, Radhu tried and the appam was in pieces (as per varsh 'kothrals'). manni got tensed and she did some adjustments and here it came in good shape.
Then my self and varsh were eagerly waiitng for the Uppu appam and ya it didnt gave any trouble. But only to find out (after naivadyam) that she forgot to put salt in it. (Soory kungakka)
Again Manni came for rescue. Varsh was sitting in the Dining table near all these 'palaharams' and balu athim was tensed and had a tough time saving the eatables form varsh till 6 clock eve.
And Aswathy was lighed with deepam (sorry the live cast will follow later). manni was busy praying for her brothers (Akka Radhu duly handed over Jayannas money to manni, just in time)
My self and Radhu, you know how sincere we are!!!! so not eloborating and Varsh praying too sincere for all his BIG BROTHERS AND KUTTAN (Ravi black mailed her reminding her abt the car he is going to presnt her for her wedding). Anna was supervising everything
Sunday: Manni it was feast all the Pattis (lakshmi, Rukmani and Parvathy) and everything went on well. The after noon varsh started getting tensed, my prog postponed from 3.30 to 6.30. The things became more worse and again with Ahtimbars suggestion it was again postponed to Monday morning (ofcourse no more postponement). Varsha also postponed her trip to monday and ofourse after receiving phone calls from her seniors, ofourse banging)
Another thing Varsh and Balu athimbar had a good time enjoying varshs sms jokes.
Sorry this blog is a liitle longer sorry .....................

2007-11-26T03:41:00.000-08:00

Couple of days bak we saw how the transition was frm late mid 80's to mid 2000's............
Now let us quickly see what are the members of 9over90 are busy doin in these days............

This post is just to make fun of what people are busy doin in these days and any similarities to the real life happenings is purely coincidental...

First as usual let us see wat rajjannna does.....

Now let us see what our new couple is doing in DUBAI.....

Now comes Mr.Arun RAMMMMMMMMMMMM
lets seee how ourt jilllu manages his MBA Studies.....

NO COMMMMENTS..........

We have already seen what Raviii was busy doin and so we move on to Karthik

Live Coverage from Bahrain,Bangalore,Tumkur and Tirunelveli could not be updated due to technical reasons...
But here are some latest news......

latest news from tirunelveli....
we all have bunked the classes to participate in strike.....
Our Varsha who is exceptionally unique than all of us is unique here also and bunks the STRIKE to have a goood time with her mom @ Trichy......

latest news from dhanya.....
She is busy in writing blog for nayainvestors... check out her blog .. www.nayainvestor.blogspot.com

Latest news from Bahrain...
The subscriber cannot be reached at the moment.. so lets try later......

Before we wind up this let me put to u that soum is busy in tumkur learning the tricks in trade and is wondering where her village posting would be....

we would all like to hear more from the oldies.....

Luv u all people...

sweeet MOTTAI Memories....

2007-11-23T00:52:00.000-08:00

For people wondering how are these ppl now.... a sample....

SCROOOOOOOOOOL DOWNNNNNNNNNNN

SCROOOOOOOL

SCROOOOL

SCROOL

SCROLLL SOME MORE....

Quarter century at Trichy ...contd

2007-11-08T04:57:00.000-08:00

the questionnaire ...

and the people

Quarter century at Trichy

2007-11-05T05:36:00.000-08:00

First of all, I want to express my disappointment - only 3/11 showed up at the Tiruchirapalli. The 5/11 outside country premises can be excused (provided they make-up with huge treats when they come here), but where are the rest of you 3/11 - Kaks, Soum and Varsh??

For all those who missed the party along the banks of river Kaveri, here goes. . . . .

Once upon a time, there was this young couple who got married on November 5th, 1982 and settled down along the banks of Kaveri. Soon, a 'sun' rose in their home and they lived happily ever after .... Now, that would have been quite a boring fairy-tale. EVIL-THAT-WE-ARE some spicy inside-stories were exposed 25 years later!

The audience colluded against the couple and few tricky questions were thrown at them ... But before the questions started - two chairs were put in the middle of the room and on wise suggestions from elders (Sundu mama and Big J), one was removed. This was the first test thrown at them ...

Q: (to both) Now lets see how you guys adjust?
A: Within a few seconds both of them were huddling on the tiny chair cutely. Unbelievable, almost!

Q: (to both) what was your FIRST impression when you saw each other?
A: (B) Anndha Kannadi onne than! (only thing i could see were those spectacles)
A: (R) Meesha illeye nennachen! (oh no! he doesn't have a mushie)

Q: (to both) what was your FIRST outing together?
A: (B) " Ore ... payyan " . And I paid for it!
A: (R) I was studying then and I didn't earn!

Q: (to both) One thing you would want to change in each other?
A: (R) refusing to answer... crowd pushing her along, till ...
A: (B) Koncham peshu kammi panninum ;-) (she has to reduce her blabbering)
A: (R retorting, support from Big J) Neenga koncham kooda payechanum! ( and you have to speak a little more)

By now, the crowd were on their feet ...cheering and jeering them along. Special mention : Sundu mama!

Q: (to both) Easy question. Will you want to be with each other in the next generation also?
A: (almost in chorus) Ofcourse YES!

Then, the toughest question was thrown at them. Hold your breath, Ravi ....

Q: (to both) What will your reaction be - i.e will you accept or reject, if Ravi wants a love marriage.
The reaction to the question was unbelievable. Many in the crowd got agitated, but the couple in focus started discussing. This was a big moment, considering they had to answer in front of a whole lot of people....

And, now I am going to get EVIL again (Especially to you Ravi) .... I am not telling you the answer. Better wait and find for yourself ;-)

p.s Jayanthee, pls add if i have missed something

On Top of the World!

2007-10-26T08:39:00.001-07:00

Yes, I am back from the Himalayas ... and what a trip it was!

For the oldies ....
I went for a pilgrimage to the most holy Hindu places. Our trip started off at Gangotri, where I visited the pious Ganga Mandir. It is a must visit - it is everything most religious places are NOT - very few piligrims and very clean. Only problem - oxygen. Then we trekked to the place where the Ganga is actually born - Gaumukh or Cow's Mouth. There is a huge block of ice 35 kms long and the good news is - I have brought back 500ml of the most pure mineral water in the world - for everyone to wash your sins away!! Then, we came back to sea-level and went to the more commonly visited, crowded Ganga Mandir at Haridwar. Here, one special thing to watch for is the Aarathi with all piligrims putting Diya into the Ganga, its quite a scene.

For those who are still young at heart ....
Last two weeks I was off to the monstrous Himalayas. We started our trek at Gangotri - first a steep climb to a place called Chirwasa. On route, we saw lush greenery, rocky mountains, and busy streams. We stopped at streams to fill our bottles with the ultimate mineral water. We had to climb many flimsy bridges(mostly just a log of wood) and walk through streams(mostly close to zero temperature). From Chirwasa it was a scenic easier trek to Bhojwasa. Here we experienced snow fall and some falling rocks too. All along the way the Ganges was flowing besides us. At Bhojwasa, we camped in tents. It was a clear evening and the sky was so densely packed with stars that I thought I was in Kiki's room! We slept in our sleeping bags and when we woke up - surprise surprise! Our tent is fully submerged in snow, the mountains are fully covered in snow, Bhojwasa was white-washed. It was simply awesome ... ! From Bhojwasa, we trekked higher up to gaumukh or Cow's Mouth. It was a hard steep trek between rocks and involved lots of climbing. Gaumukh is this huge single block of ice. It almost looked like marble to me. And here we could see the Ganga emerging - pristine in every possible way!! The same day we had to trek back all the way to Gangotri - since it was beginning to snow heavily by afternoon itself.

More, in person!

Iyer veet style ...

2007-10-11T22:13:00.000-07:00

I am posting some Golu pictures... just the beginning, more to come :-)

Happy Puja Holidays!

http://picasaweb.google.com/dhanya.p/IyerVeetIshtyle

……. My F1 Assignment…..

2007-09-09T01:26:00.000-07:00

I am keeping up the promise and I am not even changing the title. Blogging on something that is not the in-thing is somewhat odd but then here I go unleashing on what has been happening with me since I quit INFA and left India on an F1 Assignment.

The JET journey does not have any complaints and I can only say that they have caught students big time. Every second passenger was an INDIAN student going to some school in the US for their masters. I was bemused to see so many of them and for a moment felt like just yet another guy. But then I heard people going to universities that I have never heard of ( Ferris State University, Kennesaw State University, University of Texas in Pan America to name a few), I got back my senses and said to myself “Dude, NCState rrrrrocks !!!”. Throughout the journey, I was just thinking of all my dear ones back home. I love my folks and was contemplating on when would I meet them again. Two years is not a big time. However, two years is not a short time too. I will miss playing tennis with my dear cousins. I will miss making fun of and being made fun of by my dear folks. I will miss parental care. I will miss my long phone calls with my dear friends. I will miss my not-so-bad salary. I will miss playing with my nieces. I will miss my sister-in-law’s five flavored pani poori. Above all, I will miss being an IRRESPONSIBLE BLOKE.

Carolina Style In Amreeka
After arriving at Raleigh,NC, I was promptly picked up by my aunt who is next in turn in their family to put up with me after my aunt in Bangalore. (Is it gona be Australia or Coimbatore or Haripad next? ) The first few days in their place was nothing less than luxurious and it was a home away from home. I am sorry if I am turning on the fire alarms in HongKong. I know somebody’s stomache in Hong Kong will burn on reading this. Anyways, take that from me my dear bro. However, after moving in to my apartment, I was made to realize the fact that being in America means you have to fend and defend for yourself. You are completely on your own.
Raleigh is a very quiet capital city and it belongs to the Wake County, one of the 100 counties in North Carolina. Famous for it’s lakes and oak trees and of course NCSU ! Nothing more and nothing less. People here love the summer and Raleigh is rated one of the fastest growing cities in the USA. People pay lesser tax here than some of the neighboring cities and that is one major reason for a lot of people moving in to this city. Huh, I have collected enough information to put it up here 

After my classes started, my life was on a fubar for the initial few days. The education system here is a way too different than what most of the institutions in India have. Assignments (that you should do on your own), pop-quizzes etc etc were all too new to me and it took around two weeks to get a glimpse of what is happening around me. It all sounded a little scary and me and my friend were discussing of doing something illegal and get deported to India so that we get our return tickets free of cost . I crossed that phase and now I am kinda settled out here. And now, I need to mention about the profs I met here. The profs are so damn intelligent and are completely against the picture I had about them before I came here. I was thinking of bespectacled, wrinkled people as profs. The truth is they are just a little elder to my old cousin in Hong Kong (I am sorry again. I cannot stop pulling your leg! ). One guy had been with the US Army before he became a doctorate and one guy is a down to earth cool dude who is a big shot in the industry and wears a blazer to the class that does not match a shade with his inners. Some characters they are.

Before the classes started, we had at least three different orientation programmes that were monotonously boring. We were taught not to plagiarize ( a word that I very often hear in NCState) and we were taught not to call lady profs / staffs for a date. The best thing however was that I got to meet and make friends with a lot of international students and even better was “FREE FOOD” (my Indian mentality will never die down in me). We had a get-together at a church and we were made to dance for famous numbers like “Do the hokey pokey”. I was reminded of my sweetheart niece “Srishti” back home who used to dance so cutely to this rhyme and it was an irony to see fatsos dancing for this.

Another thing interesting that happened was the nightout @ Yard Sale. You spend the whole night out of a church to buy stuff for cheap for your apartment. This is not crazy as you may think. This is the way of life of the Indian student’s community @ NCState. The amusing or not so amusing thing about this is that all the students who was there the night before were Indians. And what you juxtapose with an Indian crowd is quarelling, cursing, abusing and a lot of commotion. All this happened outside a church in a city called Raleigh in United States Of America. Indians are always Indians and we don’t believe in “Be a Roman while in Rome”. After spending the whole night out there, the sale started in the morning and we grabbed a dining table and some rocking chairs for our apartment.

On the entirety, following is what I have understood as to what it means to live a student life in America. It means:

• You cook for yourself. You make sambhar that does not taste nearly like it. And you even try Bainghan ka Bartha which comes out good out of the blue. You clean the dishes and the kitchen. It also means Dosas are not round in shape and omlette is a semi-solid dish.

• Capsicum is Green Pepper and Brinjal is EggPlant.

• You have to follow traffic rules even while walking. You cannot do “Jaywalking” ( an American word for crossing the road without signals) which you always do in India.

• The prof gave me work up the butt does not mean something bad. It just means that he gave you too much work to do.

• You have to keep distance with the car in the front and cannot tailgate (another American word added to my vocabulary) cars while driving. This is also something we always do in India.

• You have to look at your left side while crossing the road.

• You buy the cheapest stuff and rather than the famous stuff. I use “Gazz” soaps. Have you heard of it?

• Football is played with hand and not legs.

• We are called P.I.G.S ( Poor Indian Graduate Students).

• And finally, it means you use tissue paper to wipe your *** and not your face.

I will add more to this list later on.

Sorry for putting up this after a long delay. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Finally, I am signing off with a plagiarism of a thought from an advertising company:

My house rent – $200 per head. My monthly expenses – $400 . The laptop bag I bought recently – $25. A big sliced pizza @ NY Pizza – $4 A chocolate muffin - $1.
Spending time with my wonderful cousins and awesome friends – Priceless ! ! !

We are P.I.G.S. (These are the fundo guys i am staying with).

My INFA World

2007-08-18T17:54:00.000-07:00

"Exposure to great software, working with elite people, making some real good friends, awesome and awful shots in the TT room, raucous birthday bumps, delicious treats…….Life @ INFA has made me deliriously happy very often in the last two years. And I am sure my stint here has taken me to the next rung in the ladder.

The vicissitude of life has made me take this really difficult decision to move on from a place that has given me so much. I am “revisiting (INFA jargon!!)” school in pursuit of an MS in Computer Science from the North Carolina State University.

"Thanks a Ton” to all of you for the wonderful times and continual help, support and encouragement that has definitely made my time here a pleasant experience.
"
This is the mail that terminated all my official connections with Informatica Business solutions. My last day at Informatica was more than an eventful one. Backing up all my personal data on the computer and packing up all my INFA memories, that was a first-time experience for me to quit a job and trust me, it was not as easy as I thought it would be when I submitted my resignation. May be, I will get used to it later on in my life, I suppose.

A lot of friends are lost and the perception that was filling my mind was that things are never going to be the same again. As I moved around, thanking and meeting people who shaped my nascent career, people who had put something in my brains, people who were really kind in helping me overlooking my inexperience and people who steered my thinking and energy into meaningful directions, I felt satisfied with the work lessons I have had during my stint @ INFA. I was not sure about who all will still stand to fight another day and now that some days have passed, I feel happy that some are still fighting 

INFA has a tradition of getting together at the cafeteria for sending off people quitting. I was a little overwhelmed to see a lota people at the cafeteria who had come to see me off. But then, I was a little bemused to see a lot of amused faces over there. “ Is everybody happy that I am leaving ? “ Mine was a little different than the other see-offs I have seen. I was brought to the centre of the crowd and was asked to give a speech which was the last thing I wanted to do on that day. I made them understand that my writing skills is a shade better than my speaking skills and got away with that. However I could not escape the ragging session that followed and worse the bumps that I got. (Though only one guy was so interested in hitting me. I found a good enemy in a good friend.). My dumb answers made them disinterested and it was curtains soon with the send off gifts that really overwhelmed me.

It really was a day to savor and moments that I will cherish forever. Thank you guys.

So, what next ? I had clearly envisioned the answer – “My F1 assignment” .

Whats Happening back home ?

2007-07-29T06:52:00.000-07:00

Dear loved ones back home (That's my patented greetings)

I am sure there is lot going on back home. The Swamis are in town. They are already complaining abt the poor roads in b'lore. Dhanya did a Erin Bronkovich kind of stunt at the french embassy to clinch a visa (Nattus are going thru a Bad Visa phase). Ravi is getting ready to go to the US with Stars in his eyes. Karthik is going thru some rough phase post college, That's good in a way. Soum.... well no body knows what she is exactly doing . she never makes much of an effort to communicate .Last I heard she was working with HIV Patients and Blackmailing her dad for more money. Satish the Dude is just married and must be waiting for his Bride to come to Dubai. Raja Anna he was unwell in thelast few days, we will talk abt Kikee .... She is enjoying her days in Eurokids. She has a lot of poems in her kitty and I am missing the days of dropping her to School. Enjoyed that responsibility a lot. VARSHA... What a turn around.... They say Big Decisions in life often are taken in jest... Quiet true with her. Cant fancy her working with/for patients! Can she even communicate except to her mother (and that ludicrous Athai of hers ). But they say necessity is the mother of Invention. She Will learn but she like soum will make a sexy doctor. Heard Manni amma is already claiming that all her Grand daughters are Doctors !! She is like wily politician makes the best phrases out of absolute chance situations. That stmt did not go well with the grand sons!

As for me, I am learning and unlearning a lot of things. Interestingly I feel more responsible these days. Very unlike my laid back life back in B'lore. I cook, I wash, I clean and I love doing all this. In fact I was teaching a Russian student how to scrub the collar before u dump the clothes in the washing machine !! TAKE THAT ! I sometimes get annoyed when others around me are not as systematic as I AM. TAKE THAT AGAIN !

I hope you are taking some time to read out my weekly diary. I would love to receive some responses from you. That's my big motivation. I have to say Swamis and GPS Thangam have been sent me some lovely responses and updates of whats happening back home. I would love to read more of such mails.

As always I love you all.

Arun/Jillu

Take time to view this video clip....

Even an MBA can do this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vx1BTBhg4c

Check out my foto album... dedicated to all you guys

2007-07-29T01:16:00.000-07:00

ENJOY!
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/dhanya.p/FamilyMatters03

French Revolution in India

2007-07-21T23:44:00.000-07:00

state of mind, 11 th July 2007 : cool, composed, relaxed
I was roaming in the wonderful British paved streets of Mumbai. I had just submitted my documents in the outsourced VFS French Consulate building. The last words which the outsourced personnel told me was "your VISA fees will be reimbursed if you are not given the VISA". I believed it was just the norm followed by these people....

Chill, meet the Nairs, do some socializing with new sis-in-law - on a whole IT WAS WONDERFUL TIMEPASS!

state of mind, 12th July 2007 morning : a little nervous, but no tension. Go to VISA consulate after a thorough searching of Backbay - managing to reach the consulate a few minutes before the clock struck 11! Quick process, finish a clean interview and wait for my VISA and passport to come. I was quite excited - it was the 4th stamp on my passport in the last one year ... All I was thinking then was "I am gonna beat Ravi clean, with this stamp!"

The VISA issuing officer calls me, and asks - do you have any other intimation letter from the French organisers. I show him the invitation letter - and the comment he makes is "This cannot be the real invitation. And this is not how the FRENCH give invitations" .... I was bemused. Few seconds later - much before I realised what was happening, the VISA officer was nodding his head in disgust and stamping REJECTION!

State of Mind: 12th July 2007, Noon : pissed, irritated, annoyed, helpless, desperate!
Soon the security comes and asks me to leave the Consulate immediately. I tell them "This is not fair, the grounds on which you are rejecting my vISA" ... they threaten me saying ... "Now, we will call the lady security and throw you out Madam" ... so I say in anger " At least give my money back"... "Sorry madam... just mail to this email address, we cannot do anything" .....

Sadly, with a rejected passport I leave to meet Saranya for lunch. This person called A2D, calls all the people he knows, encourages me to go back to the Consulate like its the most obvious thing to do.

Meanwhile, I just mail the consulate the links to the course and my page on the course webpage.

State of Mind: 12th July 2007, 3pm : relaxed & non-chalant !
This time I speak to the security guys in a more proficient way and explain to them how the VISA officer will be keen to meet me, after he reads my mail. I explain it to them in my spitter-spatter Hindi! It was just a shot in the dark - luckily they believe me and go talk to the officer(JMR) abt it. JMR agrees to meet me! What luck! Still I was sure of not getting the Visa.

I manage to get into the Consulate and wait there ...

State of Mind: 12th July 2007, 4pm : relaxed & tensed ... and bored !
Finally, JMR comes out and tells me he wants to see an intimation from them saying they expect me in France. "What crap!!". I again tell him to look at the invitation letter.

JMR goes back in, and makes me wait longer

State of Mind: 12th July 2007, 4.30pm : relaxed & bored ... and very bored !
This time JMR comes out with my documents and and tells me the same things and asks me for more documents... the consulate closes at 5.00pm... i only have 30 minutes to prove whatever i have to - to him....

State of Mind: 12th July 2007, 4.40pm : excited, tensed and determined
I quickly chekc my mailbox... find some mails and manage to pay 20 bucks and get the printout and hurry back with 5 mins. GIve the printout to the security to give it to JMR and WAIT....

State of Mind: 12th July 2007, 4.50pm : fingers crossed!
He comes out quickly this time and tells me .... this is not enough(expected!) ... but(luckily there was a but) I will wait for an intimation directly from the course organisers and then decide whether to give you the visa. He is angry with me for wasting 2 hours of his(all i was thinking was - "what abt my 2 days!!"). But I was sure, that I had managed to convince him abt my integrity!!

Then it was almost peaceful after that...

I directly called the course organiser who was really nice to mail the VISA ppl (in french ;-)) 3 minutes after i spoke to him.

Then, I mailed the all-feared JMR.... who replied typically "The Visa 'can' be issued" ... whatever that meant....

Again, I respectfully wait for 2 days for the passport to reach home.... which didnt come. Again I mail him ....this time another typical laconic response "Somebody should come and collect it"

Then I bug Saranya to go and collect the Visa and all she told me was "I don't know what you did to the security guards, they were desperate to talk to you" ....

and guess what the security guard told me "we have never seen this happen before, you better give us sweets" ...

How the oldies tried to imitate R&J "differently" :)

2007-07-09T11:17:00.000-07:00

Combo 1:

Combo 2:

PS: JUST FOR FUN

...LEO li(o)ning in....

2007-07-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

I am just out of a bad state called “Blogger’s block” and that was the reason for the delay in putting up my first blog here. To outsiders, let me introduce myself as the “LEO” of 9over90, shouldering the responsibilities of taking care of beautiful sisters and smart bros and also the added responsibility of taking care of “Handsome ME” J .
This blog as already stated, is a space on the web exclusively meant for us to put up our memories and to reminisce the wonderful times we had spent together.

This is a big time in our family when we are getting truly internationalized. With our JILLU already in HK for an MBA, me having my one foot in the US and Dhanya’s French revolution about to happen, our family newspaper’s international section is demanding a lot of space these days. Nevertheless, Dr. Soum’s terrible treatments in a village called “Tumkoor” and Mr.Kaka’s full-time romance in Chennai is having the local section equally interesting.

The personal “ME” is counting his last few days in Bangalore….He has got emotionally attached to this place and “#306, 7th CROSS” in particular and is finding it a lil difficult to step onto his next endeavor in life. He is at least satisfied that his time here has taken him to the next rung in the ladder.

…….And the news from centre court, NCBS is that the Dhanya-Ravi finals is equally poised at 7-6 5-5 with Dhanya taking the first set in the breaker. This is after the champions knocked out the “UNDER-DOG” from the competition, who at present is covering himself in HK. Tennis has become the family game for us now and this is manifested by the facts that our grandpa has developed a recent crush on Venus Williams and Mrs SP is continuously getting bewitch’d by Djokovic.

Kannappas are coming to India next week and “Salam Ale Gum” to them. We are all pretty excited about the goodies that they will bring along J . …..

Lots more coming up on the other side of the break…..Stay tuned for more fun….

How the monkeys imitated R&J...

2007-07-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

'Swet' it out!

2007-06-13T22:42:00.000-07:00

26-27th May 2007, Sunday ...

Its hot, hot, hot in Mumbai! And the ultimate family get-together is happening at few thousands of kilometres away from home. I call it ultimate because the attendance is well over 90%! Four prominent people were missing though ... the Swamis and Soumi.

And we were all there to swet it out! What I mean is, we were all there to give a warm (frying hot is a more accurate description) welcome our new bride Swetha. 9over90 in its usual dynamic self, came up with a flurry of ideas to accomplish the same (although, its a separate matter that none of them worked). Satish and Swetha went through the complete array of ceremonies, which I probably will discuss more in detail after the 'next family wedding'. One of the highlights being the 'ladoo-chucking' done by the MAMIS after 'oonjaal' to identify the next bride-groom, repeatedly fell on Mr SP!

Another incident which kept the spirit of the wedding soaring high, was the reson-ating high pitch, low frequency rhythms from our very own Jillu. I just wish Ravi or Karthik share this piece with us. Also, another entertaining theme was the sportive(i hope) competition between these three for the hot-seat of the next bride-groom. Open for betting.

Also, some oldies got 'lucky' over the weekend too. Ravi, please upload pics for reference.

Overall, we spent a hot, fun filled weekend at Chembur Temple, Mumbai.

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, ....GONE
SEVEN MORE TO GO!

Opening blog

2007-06-13T05:38:00.000-07:00

Let me have the honor of kick starting the blog.

This is another one of those many attempts that we have made to kind of tie up the disparaged unit of 9 over 90 together!! Its often an envy for a lot of outsiders (Read elders of 9 over 90) to see us a cohesive unit. I hope this forum serves the purpose of keeping all of us together and be updated with whats happening in each of our lives.

These are Interesting times for all of us. Don't know of any other family that will get this global in the coming year (And I hope to say - so global and yet so local). I urge each of you to use this blog to share your thoughts, important moments, fotos et al. Who knows when Raja Anna celebrates his golden jubilee of marriage or during Pranith's wedding, we could make a nice collage of all of us and share it with our kiddos. Feel free to narrate all my goof ups - petrol gulps to disastrous driving and singing skills :)

Quick sum up on my state of mind... Leaving to HK for my MBA.... Hell a lot excited, A lil Skeptical, lil Anxious and a pinch scared of the looming uncertainty. What I am sure about is, My Stint at HK could be anything but boring, and that's a positive note.

Signing of the first post with my favorite poem from Munna Bhai

Kitne sapne dekhe, dil main hi mar gaye
Chadne ke pehle hi parvat se dar gaye.
Ab tho chadenge, girenge, dekhenge
Kya hai parvato ke paar.

This is Arun Ram
reporting for the 9 over 90 blog.