Sheikh who Shakes

Princess of Arabia

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

Story of Us

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

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 ....

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

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

FAMILY CALENDER

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.