Godfather of Soul - James Brown

James Brown, a great musician, known as the Godfather of Soul, passed away yesterday at the age of 73. Ramesh introduced me to his songs soon after we met and I thought that I'd put one up here as a remembrance.

Freedom of expression

Most of you will have seen Sangeeta's email update by now where she's talked about writing and painting. Sangeeta writes about recent events and subjects that move her for The Afternoon, Mumbai. I thought I'd add to her email by posting excerpts from two of her most recent articles, Maqbool Fida Hindustan Par...! and The Afzal hanging.... with a link to the rest that have appeared till date

Maqbool Fida Hindustan Par…!
Saturday, November 25, 2006 8:50:6 IST

I felt really bad reading about Hussain being trapped in London, pining for home, longing to walk through the streets of Byculla and Grant Road but being advised not to return thanks to the nine hundred cases filed against him! Couldn’t help thinking of Bahadur Shah Zafar similarly home sick and exiled in Burma writing poignantly about not getting even two yards in his homeland for a burial! The man is ninety-one years old. If he does not come home now when will he come? He has apologised for unintentionally hurting the sentiments of people and even offered to destroy work that a three-member committee comprising a VHP member an art critic and a lawyer might find objectionable. But for the twenty nine thousand people who have signed a petition against him on the net this is not good enough.

The Afzal hanging....
20th Oct 2006

The Afzal hanging has generated much debate and hysteria in the last couple of weeks gaining momentum with each day. It is a relief for the moment that October 20th has come and gone without a hanging. Apart from anything else both religions can afford to be spared the distress and drama of a controversial hanging bang in the middle of the festive season!

I too was one of the signatories in the ‘Save Afzal Petition’ on the net. My comment was simply when in doubt say no. Don’t hang Afzal till you are certain that it is the right thing to do. Having done that, the truth is that all this doubt over the sentence has arisen thanks to a flurry of activity and media coverage that has unfortunately come a little too late in the day. Why did all these activists remain silent for so long? If Afzal’s defense was inadequate or even nonexistent why are people organizing morchas now and not more appropriately at the time. Public opinion is a vital factor in a Democracy why was this tool not used to it’s fullest earlier instead of leaving it till days before the execution of the sentence and the culprit!

and the photograph above is of a painting of hers that I like very much.

You can read the rest of the first article on the web and the 2nd article is an exclusive and has been posted only to the yahoo group folders. Another incentive to join up :D

Paint a Mural

During my recent visit to Bangalore, Tea at Sangita Ohri's was very exciting as along with the fabulous chaat I got to see her art. One of these was a beautiful Trompe L'Oiel she'd painted into a niche in her dining room. I looked it up :P they are murals that create an illusion of a three dimensional space and I think translated it means Fool the Eye. If you ask I'm sure she'll put up a photograph :D When I saw this article over a month ago, on my current favourite site, Lifehacker, I immediately thought of her. I dont think she needs this article she's already an expert but it's for all those of you who might want to be adventurous.

About 10 days ago Sangeeta Bukshi wrote me about her daughter painting a wall in her room and how a while later she was sorely tempted and followed suit. I got all excited about it and remembered this post that I'd saved up as a draft :D I need to get my head fixed, I keep forgeting things! Putting it on record so that I'm forgiven for all the things that I might forget henceforth :D

Both Sangita and Sangeeta do share photographs. I for one am mighty interested. I sounded out Ramesh who said that it would be my responsibility to get it cleared by the landlady :D I'm already thinking of painting the wall in the balcony. People on the lake will get to see and enjoy it and me of course :D Now I have to come up with the idea :D I like being a copy cat :D Maybe I'll do cats :D

Anybody want to join me? Remember, we now have 3 experts to consult :D

13 December : A Reader

Penguin India is organizing an event to launch the book 13 December: A Reader, to which Sonia Jabbar has contributed. The event will be held at Gulmohar in the India Habitat Centre New Delhi, at 4 pm on 12th December. Read Hang The Truth by Sonia which appeared first in the Hindustan Times on October 17, 2006. And here's the introduction to the book by Arundhati Roy. Those who are in Delhi might be able to make it for the book launch. And don't forget to go out and buy a few copies for yourselves and friends.

Did some surfing on the Net and here is a write-up on a film that she had made earlier
Read a review by Beena Sarwar on Chowk on Sonia's film Autumn's Final Country on the suffering of 4 displaced women living in Kashmir.

This post is about a much more serious side of Sonia. Dont be disappointed thinking that she's changed completely because the Mad Hatter still exists. To catch up here's a bit of background on what she's been up to in these past two decades. I've shamelessly copied the write-up from a review on this very film on Asia Source

Sonia Jabbar has been politically active since the early 1990s and has worked on Kashmir issues as a rights activist, journalist, photographer and filmmaker since 1995. She has founded several Indian movements for nuclear disarmament, and after the 2002 Gujarat riots she co-founded Aman Ekta Manch, a citizens' group in New Delhi that worked for peace between the communities. She has initiated Indian-Pakistan peoples' conferences at the grassroots level and in 2000 she received a research grant from WISCOMP (Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace), founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner HH The Dalai Lama.

Keep a track at Traineo

You guys have heard me complain about the excess weight that I'm carrying around. I've signed up at Traineo to keep a track of my weight loss goal. I want to lose 15kgs in a year. I've signed up Ramesh as my motivator and he'll get weekly progress reports on how I'm faring. Hope to have fun along with losing weight! Anyone joining me at Traineo? We could have a LMOG group :D

Million memories tease my heart!

Credit goes to Kshitija, a friend of mine, for finding this gem. She sent it out a few months ago and it has been enjoyed by many. Hope it makes you smile and if you catch yourself humming.... eeef you come today... dont blame me, blame Kshiti!!

Kya haal hai?

Hi Everyone,
Have not heard from you all in a while. Life has been going at full speed here (is there any other way for us working women/moms?)!! We are going to Vegas next week for the Thanksgiving break. Hubby feels that I may not want to come back home!! Very tempting... Will keep you posted and try to get some good photos! Take Care Gang!!

Chinese and Indians

Friends of ours introduced us to Russell Peters sometime last year. The guy is ridiculously funny. I hope most of you havent seen this excerpt already. And if you like it you can find many more on Youtube.

Online Safety Measures for Children

This article has a bunch of steps that you can take to increase the safety of your children online. One of them was to be there when they are online and I think that this would be the best way - to be in the same room when they choose to go online. Schools have their own filters in place, you need to have some at home. Feeling technically challenged is not going to help :P Have a look and take some steps if you havent already.

Source: Cool Cat Teacher's site has this and many other interesting articles. Found the link on Lifehacker.


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Esther Roshni Chandy

Dont know how I missed posting this one. It got left as a draft in my attempts at spacing out the posts.

Esther as always spoiled me silly with dinner at her place after she'd had a hard day at work. I was keenest on meeting up with her as she'll soon be moving out of Bangalore. Here are a bunch of photos of Esther, Rebecca, Philip and Gertrude or was it Griselda?? Esther help me out here I've forgotten your doggie's name.

So much hasnt changed!

Got the link to this site from an old friend Subha. There are 60 odd photographs taken between 1946-47 by American Military Personnel based in Kolkata. These have been acquired recently by the University of Pennsylvania and uploaded to their library. Thought that you guys might also enjoy them too.

Looks like a lot hasn't changed - the photographer was complaining of traffic jams - people as well as buffaloes. :D Burrabazaar and the signages. Overloading of public transportation. Makes me want to rush back home to old familiar sights! There are others of the Hooghly without the bridge. A Chowringhee square that I did not recognize and other gems. Enjoy!


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Sell by, Use by, Best before

I have so far treated all 3 as expiration dates, this article explains why they're not. The other new thing that I learnt was that the temperature of the freezer within our refrigerators is not sufficient for long term storage of food. Read more in this Business Week article on The Truth About Food Expiration Dates.


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At the Baseball Game

At the baseball game, the Oakland Athletics beat the reigning champions, the Chicago White Sox. It was a great afternoon to be at the ballpark with the family. It reminds of the times I went with my father to watch a cricket match in Chepauk and Eden Gardens. I still remmeber, Eden gardenswith great fondness. One of the most awesome sights was when you came up the stairs and the whole stadium opened out in front of you! These are times when man made structures inspire great admiration.

Art, artists and inspiration

It is a known fact that artists are inspired by the work of others - past and present. "Good artists copy, great artists steal", a quote attributed to Picasso. And why am I talking about it? Because of the recent debate about the songs in Bob Dylan's new album Modern Times having words identical to another poet from the past, Henry Timrod. Two articles that I thought you might like to read regarding this subject

Translations - Creative Copying and Originality and
The Magpie Tendencies of Genius - read the comments that follow too.

Would love to hear how you feel about it?

Reading bit by bit

Technology and gadgets seem to be taking away our leisure time instead of giving us more. Catching up on reading for pleasure seems to have taken a back seat. Here's a novel way of getting some reading done. Reading Classics that you did not manage to do in college or since.

I recently read an article on LifeHacker where the blurb said " No time to read? Email service Daily Lit sends you a bite-sized chunk of a novel to your inbox every day". This site will email you a page or so of your favorite classic to you everyday, Monday to Friday. I signed up immediately :D

It's not as if I don't have the time to read. I have a lot of time but can't seem to get around to knocking off a few from my list that have been there for years. Ones that I keep there because I still want to read them. Instead I find that I read books that catch my eye in the shop or ones recommended to me recently or whose review I have liked. As you must've gathered from the header and the excerpt, Sons and Lovers is a book that I had wanted to read when I was in school (!) and I still have not got around to it.

This book will be sent to me in 218 installments. Each will take about 5 minutes to read. And if the experiment proves successful, I shall sign on for another. Today I got my first installment. Here is an excerpt from the book.
___________________________________
Sons and Lovers (1 of 218)

By D. H. LAWRENCE

PART ONE

CHAPTER I

THE EARLY MARRIED LIFE OF THE MORELS

"THE BOTTOMS" succeeded to "Hell Row". Hell Row was a block of thatched, bulging cottages that stood by the brookside on Greenhill Lane. There lived the colliers who worked in the little gin-pits two fields away. The brook ran under the alder trees, scarcely soiled by these small mines, whose coal was drawn to the surface by donkeys that plodded wearily in a circle round a gin. And all over the countryside were these same pits, some of which had been worked in the time of Charles II, the few colliers and the donkeys burrowing down like ants into the earth, making queer mounds and little black places among the corn-fields and the meadows. And the cottages of these coal-miners, in blocks and pairs here and there, together with odd farms and homes of the stockingers, straying over the parish, formed the village of Bestwood.
___________________________________

Daily Lit has a selection of 93 classics, from the public domain, available for you to choose from. So whether like me you have the time or like most others life's keeping you a bit too busy and you want to catch up on some reading here's a new way to have a go at it.

You'll find quite a range of reading material from Emma, Christmas Carol to Freud's Dream Psychology all sent to you in small installments. And if on a particular day you have the time to read more or you just have to know what comes next just ask for more and you'll get the next installment sent to you immediately. You wont have to wait! I'm sure you'll find something you'd like to try out. If it works for you do let me know.

4 Generations!

I've been in touch with Dipali right through the years and we meet up regularly. This time was no different.

I was meeting Diya for the first time though. She was shooting all over the place, a bundle of energy and absolutely adorable. Managed to grab her for a few seconds for a photograph but she wriggled right out. She has everyone wrapped around her little finger especially her mother. Aditya is much taller than when I saw him two years ago and is very gentle with his little sister. Rajeev is still the same, still spoiling Dipu silly. And her friends too :d Fellow Aquarian like me need I say more?? :D

Meera Aunty had come over for dinner. Meeting up with her was an added bonus :D She's still keeping busy. Has an exciting job that keeps her on her toes. Khana has always been superb at the Sikand's and the tradition continues at Dipu's.

Something that I discovered this visit. The Sikand's have almost taken over Oakwood. Meera Aunty's mother has recently moved in and lives there on her own as she's very independent. So is Meera Aunty who was the first to move in there and has maintained her own place. And Dipu has her own. 4 generations practically under the same roof. They have their independence but yet are close enough to run into each other homes and do dinner regularly. I think it's fabulous!

Choopa Rustom

How many more of these out there?

During my recent visit to Bangalore, I met up with Sangita Ohri now Jain. It was a pleasure catching up with my first friend at LMC, all the way back in '76. We happily managed to meet up on 3 occasions during those 10 days - a pub, a chinese restaurant and chaat at her place. She did not let me dig up any more details about her years since school than those that I had already gleaned from a common friend, Kshitija.

Sangita is a gold medalist from NIFT, the first batch. Before that she got into NID and left to join NIFT . Sangita then spent some time becoming famous in the world of fashion, got married, had two kids and like a lot of other people I know, gave up her job to bring up the kids. Recently, with a bit more time in hand, she has started painting again and the few that I got to see are truly lovely.

Leave me a comment if you want to know what she looks like now :D

After a break

Sangeeta (Bukshi) has started writing again, for the Afternoon, after a break of a few months. Check out her latest article "Why is everyone up in arms against poor Pratibha Nathani?" I'm sure you'll agree with her take on the subject against exposing children to violence and adult content. This is not her first article on this subject.


Archive of Sangeeta's articles

Daily Horoscopes and such like

Ok, before you go any further let me confess that most of you will find this to be a silly one! It's after 1 in the morning and I tend to do silly things if I'm awake at around this time. Proceed at your own risk. :D

I have been a daily horoscope reader for years :D Didn't really believe it (honest! :D). I guess because most of it didn't apply to me. I haven't been so good about reading them recently given the bad internet access, travelling etc. . But lately, I've noticed that the one that I subscribe to online is pretty accurate.

Background thoda toh dena padega. I have been complaining to (all who within reach mostly ramesh :P) about feeling rushed all the time. I even refused a trip to Delhi this week because I just wanted to be in one place and not travel for a while.

My horoscope says "No wonder everything is such a blur -- you've been moving so quickly. It's time to chew your food, rather than gulping it whole. Be calm and focused and perform actions mindfully, and you won't feel at the mercy of the fate"

Maybe I'm am now, after years of reading them, able to imagine :P, extrapolate, extend anything that is written and make it applicable or maybe this method of forecasting works for me. Whenever I come across them I enjoy reading them. Mostly I find them efficiently filed as "Junk" Mail by gmail.

If you feel like checking it out. Choose the daily horoscope option on this page. Unsubscribe after a couple of days of checking it out and dont forget to give me feedback!

From Dakshin Chitra

This one is for you Ujwala. I am sure that most of you have heard of Dakshin Chitra, outside Chennai. This is from their Karnataka home. I was in love with all the old doors and woodwork there. The children enjoyed the arts and crafts. If you have a chance you must visit it!

howdy folks

Hi Everyone
Just got back a few days ago. Still jet lagging! International travel was a huge hassle specially security. It gets worse when you travel with children. Have any of you travelled recently (after the UK scare)? Our trip was very enjoyable. The weather cooperated as well.
Uj- I hope you have settled down to your Dhaka routine.
Arti- big Hi.
Geetanjali- big Hi
keep the posts coming.

Zazame

zazame.jpg
Originally uploaded by HughPee.

Zazame, the sound of rain, is a range of exclusive fashionware for women designed by none other than Nilufer Bose and Premika Posaw of the batch of '88. Have a look at their current collection and be prepared to be dazzled :D

How to Fold a Shirt

I know you guys can do it well but this lady is amazing and it's certainly a method that I want to pick up. Hope you like it

Hong Kong...

Hi Everybody
We landed in Hong Kong yesterday and I am amazed by this city. The energy in the air is tangible. People are running around constantly but don't seem rushed. Shopping is incredible. I went to a bazaar called Ladies Market in Mongkok. It has a large variety of everything imitation. I think I was a little overwhelmed and did not buy much. My kids on the other hand had no such inhibitions. There was one small hat stall where the lady grabbed me by the arm and pulled me inside hoping to make a sale, when Aditi (my older one), got totally freaked out and yelled 'Run Mom run, she is trying to get you!". It was hilarious! The food is very very good. Hong Kong apparently has more restaurants per person than any other place in the world. We ate at a chinese restaurant which is completely vegetarian and had dishes like shrimp, abalone etc made out of gluten and tofu- totally delish!
Wish you all were here... you know I am thinking about you all... blogging on vacation!

Pinhole Camera

Linatree is providing a template to make your own pinhole camera. Have a look at the "Download a Camera" sub header on the main home page, I'm sure your kids will definitely want to have a go.

An old photo

This is an old photograph from 1975- my birthday luncheon (I think!)
Floor (L to R)- My sister, Me, Chandra, Arti,
Sofa (L to R) Nomita , Poonam (non LMC), Anita, Seema, Deepanjali.

India censors sites!!

Apparently the Indian Govt. is censoring domains. For example the domain blogspot on which lmog exists has been blocked by various ISP's. I had heard of a similar block quite a while ago but that it is still happening is news to me!

Have a look at the details at
http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/06/07/17/1732209.shtml

UPDATE: July 22, 2006: I believe that the domain is no longer being blocked.

Reservation in India

I have for many years firmly believed that there should be reservation but at the primary school level. Bringing everyone to the same level field or almost and then basing admission especially in fields like engineering, medicine on merit. Esther forwarded me this note and it made me rethink my stand. It made me feel quite miserable and now for the first time I'm beginning to feel that reservation and that too a higher percentage is what we need. But I wish there would be some benchmarks so that the there is accountability and when the need for these measures reduces the reservation percentages should be reduced too.

Written by: Barkha Dutt, NDTV 24*7

Saturday, June 24, 2006:

One of the most awkward - and yet, strangely compelling - things about journalism is that sometimes your work makes you hold a mirror to your own life.

This past week, a quiet, but determined 16-year-old became an unexpected reflection of my education. I have always believed that my school and college years were the first architects of my personality; like every middle-class Indian, I take pride in where I studied and what I was taught. And yet, the gentle idealism of this young girl made me pause to wonder: Had my public-school education been shamefully elitist?

At first, the story seemed straightforward enough. Garima Godara, a CBSE topper, with an astonishing 97.6 per cent had taken the entrance exam for the Delhi Public School (Dwarka), the school closest to her village.

The daughter of a police constable who earned less than Rs 6,000 a month, the school's fees would have been a problem. But the family was undeterred; perhaps there would be a scholarship or a loan; surely the school would be keen to admit the girl who had topped the national capital's merit list.

Garima's proud father had spent months battling the entrenched patriarchy of his peers, fending off nosy neighbours who gossiped about why she didn't spend enough time in the kitchen. Now, he was even more determined to give his daughter the best education her marks could buy.

This could have been the story of New India and its emerging, self-made middle class; a proud milestone for a country that dares to dream. Instead, here's what happened: DPS turned her down. Her results were good, it conceded. But marks aren't everything, said the school principal to NDTV, and besides, her English was poor, and just didn't cut the grade.

Later, listening to Garima in the studio, it was hard not to feel both angry and moved. Angry because of the obvious injustice: not only was she as bright as her results indicated; there was nothing about her spoken English that suggested that she would have been unable to keep pace with the syllabus.

Yes, she spoke with a regional accent that some would consider insufficiently sophisticated. But there was no doubt that she could not only follow a complex argument, she could also make herself understood to any English speaker. But it was her calm that was almost heart breaking; a quiet courage that belied her teen years. It was almost as if we were more outraged and indignant than she was. During the course of the programme, a principalfrom a well-known school in Dehradun called in, offering her admission and a scholarship; others promised to get DPS to change its mind.

But betraying only the slightest sense of hurt, she said firmly that her aim now was to show DPS that she would do better than any of its students. She had already got herself admitted to another school, and DPS could quite simply, take a walk.

As she spoke, viewers clearly shared my anger. The online poll showed that 90 per cent of viewers believed that the English language exerted a disproportionate influence over the education system. Yet, were we all being hypocritical and dishonest? This time it was DPS under the microscope, but were any of us any different? Let's say she continued to do outstandingly well in school. The next stage would be college. I pictured her trying to take the entrance interview at my old college, Delhi's St Stephen's. Would she get in? And even if she made the cut, how would other students react to her presence? Would they admire her for her academic brilliance? Or would they snigger at heraccent, titter each time she made a grammatical error and then, melt away, leaving her alone to find her own friends?

Garima's story is a metaphor for India's twisted tryst with the future. I learnt after the programme was over - and it is significant that neither she nor her parents brought this up themselves - that she is an OBC.

For some months now, as the debate over reservation has raged, opponents of the quotas have made the same point again and again: we should be a society where merit matters. It's a compelling argument, and one that I have personally supported.

But what do the anti-quota street fighters have to say now? Here's a girl who competed in the mainstream, her own Hindi medium DAV pitched against the trendier, richer, big names. But her merit was swallowed up by prejudice.

Is it any wonder then that supporters of reservation believe that the system is stacked against them, and that merit is a con-word used by upper-caste tricksters? Her story is also a scathing comment on the class divide in India. It is fashionable for marketeers and economists to talk about the burgeoning middle class. Each day a new figure is conjured up to demonstrate the size of the Indian market, and the clout of the new middle class; is it 250 million this week or has it already reached 300 million?

We embrace these statistics, because we like the idea of India as this century's favourite financial destination. We feel flattered when Time magazine puts our country on its cover, and we talk glibly, especially to foreigners, of social mobility and how the gap between the rich and poor is closing; we argue that India's tomorrow is being built by its industrious and enterprising middle class, and we feel like the future is unfolding, right here and right now.

But here's what we never admit. We're just the worst sorts of snobs. The social mobility of the last decade has meant that the new middle class does not consist of people like us. Instead, it is made up of people like Garima, who we still find excuses to exclude; we sneer at their lack of Westernized sophistication; make fun of their accents, and we try and ensure that our children have nothing to do with theirs. Finally, Garima's story exposes India's paradoxical relationship with the English-language. Nobody in the world speaks English like us. We have our own idioms, our own words and our own accents.

We pretend to love our own English and brag about how it is India's great selling point; the reason we dominate the global outsourcing business. But of course deep down we know that our English is not the English that the West really wants. And so, each time we talk to Britons or Americans, we subtly alter our diction and inflection. When we set up our call centers, we drop the subtlety entirely and start accent classes to teach our young people to abandon the speech patterns of our own society and to migrate to a virtual, linguistic middle America, where they become impersonators of people they will never meet and never know.

But within India, we still treat our own English as the great social decider. We laugh at regional accents, smirk at those who make grammatical errors and feel most at home with those who talk like us. Everyone else belongs on the other side of the English divide. And as it turns out, the other side of the class and caste divide as well.

Maybe we cling so tightly to this tiny community because secretly we are just insecure. Outside of our little bubble, India is changing. Every major institution in recent times - Parliament, the bureaucracy, the military, our colleges and schools - is being forced to re-write the rules.

A new breed of Indians who no longer look towards the West for self-affirmation, is making its presence felt. We like to call this a decline in quality. But actually, it's the rest of India waiting to get in.

How long are we going to keep the gates shut?

From a Mumbiaker.....

Dear Terrorist,

Even if you are not reading this we don't care. Time and again you tried to disturb us and disrupt our life - killing innocent civilians by planting bombs in trains, buses and cars. You have tried hard to bring death and destruction, cause panic and fear and create communal disharmony but everytime you were disgustingly unsuccessful. Do you know how we pass our life in Mumbai? How much it takes for us to earn that single rupee? If you wanted to give us a shock then we are sorry to say that you failed miserably in your ulterior motives. Better look elsewere, not here.

We are not Hindus and Muslims or Gujaratis and Marathis or Punjabis and Bengaliies. Nor do we distinguish ourselves as owners or workers, govt.

employees or private employees. WE ARE MUMBAIKERS (Bombay-ites, if you like). We will not allow you to disrupt our life like this. On the last few occassions when you struck (including the 7 deadly blasts in a single day killing over 250 people and injuring 500+ in 1993), we went to work next day in full strength. This time we cleared everything within a few hours and were back to normal - the vendors placing their next order, businessmen finalizing the next deals and the office workers rushing to catch the next train. (Yes the same train you targetted).Fathom this: Within 3 hours of the blasts, long queues of blood donating volunteers were seen outside various hospital, where most of the injured were admitted. By 12 midnight, the hospital had to issue a notification that blood banks were full and they didn't require any more blood. The next day, attendance at schools and office was close to 100%, trains & buses were packed to the brim, the crowds were back. The city has simply dusted itself off and moved one - perhaps with greater vigour. Plus, unlike other countries, other people don’t go on the rampage plundering, looting, stealing and raping at such times.

We are Mumbaikers and we live like brothers in times like this. So, do not dare to threaten us with your crackers. The spirit of Mumbai is very strong and can not be harmed.

Please forward this to others. U never know, by chance it may come to hands of a terrorist in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Iraq and he can then read this message which is specially meant for him!!!

With Love,

From the people of Mumbai (Bombay)

FIFA World Cup Finals

Was that awesome or what? ! It was a fabulous match with both France and Italy playing their hearts out. Zidane's red card performance was shocking, especially since this was his last world cup appearance! I guess the best team won. Hats Off to the Italians!

For Ro the Footer Fan

Art Rage 2.0

I stumbled across this application a few months ago. Art Rage is an drawing, painting software programme. It is super easy and great fun to use. And unlike a lot of other software it isn't disabled in any way. It does have more features in the paid version. I've been using the free (basic) version. This is my second attempt at painting. I havent yet mastered using the mouse with suitable dexterity as yet :D

Since Summer Holidays are round the corner, I thought that your kids might enjoy using this and/or that you might too. In any case, in todays digital world even art is made on a digital canvas so you'll might as well make an attempt to learn :D I had great fun making this painting in the morning and quite a lot of it was because i could just start and didnt have to go running around for a canvas, brushes, turpentine or even a rag cloth!

Hope you guys do try this out and enjoy it as much as I do. Honest, this one gets a 10 on 10 rating from me. And have you heard me rave about something like this?

One bit of exciting news is that for the first time I shall have a room to myself for my art!! I'm very excited about the "studio" and I'm hoping that it will get me to spend sometime everyday drawing, painting or just reading. Well, I can hope, cant I?

website : http://www.ambientdesign.com

Summer is Here

Hello Everyone,
How are you all?
What are you doing for the summer?
Do Share....
I am posting a picture of the coast of Hawaii's Big island.
It is a beautiful place with enormous amount of volacnic activity.
What you see here is solidified lava.
Please click on the picture to make it bigger.

Tolly

I had a lovely holiday with my a parents in Kolkata. It was a bit hectic but we still managed to squeeze in quite a few things - My Fair Lady - Musical put up by Calcutta Club, several new restaurants - The food at Tajas which we stumbled upon as Banana Leaf wouldnt allow reservations was very good. Food in Tolly is vastly improved from our school days. But sadly a trip to school wasnt one of them. :(

I hope to convince those living in Kolkata to post new pictures of school and the teachers with their comments. Abha, if you're reading this please take a picture of Subhag Aunty for the blog and get her comments too!

Tags:

• kolkata
• club
• tollygunge
• ujwala

What was your favorite poem?

Remember all the poems we learned? Some good, some great and some downright boring.My very first poem was 'Someone came knocking' by Walter de la Mare.
I loved 'Lochinvar' ( Sango, remember?). Also remember 'Lord Ullin's daughter" which was really depressing! I also remember the one about Queen Gulnar (? name of the poem?). Enjoyed the 'Ballad of East and West'. I had a really hard time with Julius Caesar in 9th and 10th- when there were so may other ones that they could have picked. Which ones did you gals like?

Tags:

• poem
• rohini

Hearst Castle

This was taken when we visited the Hearst Castle in California. On a hot day like today, sure would be good to jump in!

Tags:

• holiday
• rohini
• castle
• swimming+pool

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

Sunday the 14th is celebrated as Mother's Day here in the US.
I wanted to wish all my dear friends a VERY HAPPY MOTHERS DAY.
Hope you have a day of peace, love and hapiness that will carry through the rest of the year.

Tags:

• mothers+day
• rohini

Mishti Dohi....Anyone?

We have been talking back and forth on the wonders of Mishti Dohi. Does anyone have an original recipe? I have been dying to make this over the past years and have never had great success. Please post your recipes here- do share. I love the stuff!!

Tags:

• mishti+doi
• rohini
• geetanjali
• dipali
• recipes

My friend the budding Poetess

Dipa's delightful little rhyme was hidden away in the comments of another post. If you want to see more of what she had to say, click here

My clearest memories of days of school
Include only those where FUN would rule.
Mrs.Mathews chemistry Class
Oh how much we would her harass
While she climbed one we would run down the other flight of stairs
Throw our books in ryhthm and turn around our chairs.
We would bribe Sulaiman to ring the bell early
Never Abdul for he was too surly.
Steal aloo bombs and eat 30 paise hot chips and orange bar
Wait outside on the road to see the dudes directing our car
Once we went to see a movie in a hall
We all got into such a squall
Piya sprayed the hall with birds of paradise scent
And UP and I under our chairs went.
Samiya would always be with a book
Roopa would dream of a new brawn to cook.
Abha would eat and yet remain skinny
Ham sandwisches were a speciality of Vini.
Dosas and idlis were Rohini's treat
Geetanjali would rule the roost on Park Street.
Arti would sit an continuously giggle
While UP from a new escapade try and wriggle.
Chidiya , Sreela, Madhumita, Sangeetas five
Around the class they would jive
I remember teaching them to hum loudly like a bee
So that Mrs. Malhotra would give us time off from Hindi.
And UP shouted "Horatious" one elocution day
"Coffee with the meal" I said and fainted away.
Fan dance, pet shows , carnivals and more
We really had a good time : guess that was in store
Shucks the more i think of things the more I smile
for the sequel of this poem you may have to wait a while

DS

Tags:

• dipali
• verse
• rhyme
• school

Tranquility

Aditi was cleaning up trash in a local park as part of the Earth Day celebrations when we came upon this tranquil spot. Thought I would share it with all of you.

Mediterranean Blue

Even though Meera D'd told me about Borg El Arab and how blue the sea was I did'nt figure just how blue that blue could be! Borg el Arab is about an hours drive from Alex.

Have a great weekend!

Tags:

• mediterranean
• blue
• alexandria
• meera
• ujwala

To all my Compadres....

Hello Everyone,
Hope all is going well in your lives. We have not heard from too many of you recently. We are soon going to have big gap here 'cos Ujawala will not have internet access for a while at home. How about we all step up to the plate and a make a post or two? Otherwise you will have to hear the boring details of my life on a daily basis!
Easy steps.....
1. Accept the invitation that Ujwala sent you.(if you have not already)
2. Go to the log in page- the little button at the left hand top corner which says blogger. Click on it.
3. Type in your name and password to log in.
4. Press the green '+' sign
5. Type whatever you want in the box that appears. Type a title in the title box.
6. Press Publish Post
Viola! it then it gets posted!

Which house were you in?

Ok folks I want to know who was in which house at school?
I was in Martin House which did very well for the long spell that I was there.

Martin
Rohini
Arti
Roopa
Abha

Macaulay
Ujwala
Meera D
Linda

Charnock
Dipali
Samiya
Vinita Kapoor
Sangeeta Bukshi
Rahat
Archana Goenka

Hastings.
Geetanjali

Where are the rest of Hastings and Macaulay ?

Lets find out from the rest of you as well...
All you have to do is add a comment at the end of this blog.
You don't need to sign in, just write a comment anonymously if it is easier and just sign your first name at the end.
I will update it.

It only takes a spark.....

500 miles, Amazing Grace - John Newton, All things bright and beautiful, Away in the Manger, Beautiful Dreamer, Billy Boy,
Blessed are the Pure in Heart - Bible songs, Blowin in the wind, Brown Girl in the Ring, Can it be true?, Clementine, Count your blessings - John Oatman, Down by the Riverside, Ducks, Finniculi Finnicula, Give me oil in my Lamp - Karen Mitzo Hilderbrand, Go tell it on the mountain, He's got the whole world, Hevenu Shalom Allekum, If I were a rich man, It's a long road to freedom, Jambalaya, Jesus stand among us, Joshua fought the battle of Jericho - Paul Robeson, Kookaburra, 
La Cucuracha, Love is like a Magic Penny, My Grandfather's Clock, Nina Pretty Ballerina, O Come All Ye Faithful - John Wade, O Susana - Stephen Foster, Obladi Oblada, Oh Sinner Man, Pass It On - Kurt Kaiser, Polly Wolly Doodle, Scarborough Fair, Skip to my Lou, Tie a Yellow Ribbon, Tom Dooley, The Wayfaring Pilgrim, Una Paloma Blanca, We shall overcome, When the Saints Go Marching In.

These are the ones that I could remember. I'm sure you guys will remember plenty more. Please add in the comments and I'll find links for them. UPDATE : i've put in the ones that Rohini,Dipa and Sangeeta named. And for Arti - Malaika - but i dont think we learnt it in school or did we?

Tags:

• hymns
• songs
• sangeeta
• arti
• rohini
• dipali
• ujwala

More photos...

This is Class 5 - 1975 . Class Teacher was Miss D'Souza. This was a while ago. Brings back so many memories.

This is Mrs Jacobs' Class 3 at LMC- 1973. How amazing is this! My son is in 3rd grade now and wow does time fly!

Thats Life...

I took this picture while driving back from the Florida Keys over the winter break. Thought it was cute.
CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO ENLARGE AND VIEW BETTER.

For Indira Velukutty

From her sister Archana:
For Indira...
This is a post different from the previous ones since it is being sent on behalf of a member of the LMOG 1983 batch.
It 's in memory of my sister Indira (Indu) Velukutty who passed away on April 29th, 2005 after a long battle with breast cancer. She and her husband Rajeev Menon moved to the US in 1987. She lived in Fremont, California & raised three beautiful children; Viraj (15) Vishak (10) and Kamini (6). Indu's courage and determination in the face of all odds is an inspiration to the many lives she touched during her short lifetime.
My sincere thanks to Ujwala & the rest of you who have connected so many people through this blog... for me it's a link to Indu's childhood & many fond memories.

Archana Velukutty (LMOG - 1987)
Berkeley Heights -NJ

LMOG - La Martiniere Old Girls '83, Kolkata

LMOG - La Martiniere Old Girls '83, Kolkata
We need more juice here. I know its the middle of the week and everyone is extra busy but....
Chennai is very hot right now. Not able to run the 20 miles that I usually do- (yeah right- Ok who believed that?)
Have you folks seen any good movies recently- regular /independent/ TV etc?
I am glad to see so many Indian authors on the horizon as well as fabulous art locally. Also have been able to catch up on cricket. It is good to see ODIs live instead of taping them watching them in fast forward!
Don't want to sound too domesticated but can each of you post your favorite recipes here?
Keep on blogging..

Nonu, the skating Squirrel

For those who havent got a copy of Nonu, the Skating Squirrel, you might want to do so now - because Vinita is the illustrator for this book by Anita Nair. I found this on the ndtv shopping site a few days back and Vinita sent me some more images of just Nonu, yesterday. All have been put up on the lmog Zoto site. She also illustrates for Verve and I'd put a link to one of the articles, with her illustration, in the sidebar on the right. Way to go Vinita! Hope to see many more.

Hi Everyone...From Rohini

This is so much fun. Ujwala, thanks a ton for doing this.
I am in Chennai for a short while and then head back to the US.
I live in San Jose, California and am practising medicine there.
I have 2 children, a wonderful husband and a great big labrador.
I saw all the photos and is wonderful to see everyone again. I have 2 old photos- one from Mrs Jacobs' 3 grade and one from Mrs D'souza'a 5th grade. I will scan and post them when I get back.
I talked to Samiya (after centuries)- she is in Columbia University in NY.
It was good to see LMC- with brand new paint and all! They have not changed the PT uniform (in 25 years)!
Guys, keep the posts coming... Rohini .

27

and counting.

I've left out Samiya as, even though the mails havent bounced back, we've recieved no confirmation. Rohini Raghunathan got in touch leaving a comment on the blog and I'm hoping to get her email id to add her to this list. Lastly, Smeeta, who I've met often in the recent past, including dinner in Dhaka! I've realised that I dont have her email id. She did give it to me but I guess it was verbal and I forgot to note it down thinking hey, it's so simple how can i forget?? Looks like I did!

Without them the count is at 27. I've put the names in a box in the sidebar on the right. Have a quick look and let me know if you know of others that i've missed or can get in touch with and any other errors that you spot or blanks that you can fill. please email me the details.

And for those who are in the least bit curious, I've used an online database app, Lazybase to host this information.

Writely - Word on the Net

Sango, this one is especially for you. There's this new buzz called Web 2.0. Basically it's about online applications. One of the applications that is already available and quite effective even though it's in the beta stage is Writely. It is basically a chota bhai of MS Word. It is available online and it is free. 90% of the tools provided by Word are not used by people working on regular office documents - Microsoft is just a very good marketeer and has practically everyone using their applications. All that is about to change :P.

Realised that I've spent more time talking about Word than Writely so here goes. Click on the header above. It will take you to the Writely website. Register and start a document. Now you can update it, collaborate with someone, work on it offline or online. It is simply fabulous. And Sango you will not need a laptop coz wherever you go you will have access to a computer and the net.

Got into Dhaka a few days back. House hunting has started in earnest. Smeeta was here in Dhaka on work. Had dinner with her last night. Wonderful to have had someone familiar over so soon. The rest of you plot and plan and get here. Will suss out all the shopping haunts and restaurants by then. Keep posting!

Finally moved out of the house!

Esy wonderful to have you on board. Dont stop posting. And the rest of you buck up!

It took the packers 5 whole days!! Considering that we have less now than our earlier moves and it took us at most 3 days, I still cannot understand what happened!?W$@#%$# Anyway, it's over!

It's good that I took that long holiday earlier last month and did not have regular access to the net coz now that has become even more limited, luckily, I'm not getting my usual withdrawal pangs.

So it's up to you to make some posts. Looks like we're going to be here till the 17th of this month.

It Feb 22nd and it's Abha's Birthday

Just thought that I'd let you guys know that it is Abha's birthday today and she too like me has turned 41 :P And yes, I know, I should've put this up a day earlier.

Happy Birthday Abha! I'm sure all the rest join me in wishing you a wonderful year ahead!

A little bit about what Abha's been up to in her own words....
i take each day as it comes and with teaching 18 year olds i now remember their lives more than my past!!! i have married ranjit he is about 8 years older than me has the biggest heart and a great sense of humour , n i have a 13yr old and a 8 yr old 2 boys and i am working at a well known delhi school, its the closest i cud make it to the civil servicrs!!! its their school!!!

---------------------

This snap was taken few days back and the beautiful Pen and Ink works that you see Abha admiring have been made by Vinita.

Lunch at Vinita Chand's

We had lunch with Vinita yesterday. Her home is beautifully done up. I especially loved all the greenery. Now that we have met each other a few times the sessions are getting noisier. Good fun though. We even got to meet Vinita's daughter Shimone (sp?) who is a cutie. She wanted to eat only the lamb chops. Sounded just like quite a few of you did when you were growing up. :D

I'm sure the rest of you are meeting up too. How about some snaps??

Abha dropped by a short while ago and while talking I discovered that she had not seen most of the photographs put up. I hope you guys are clicking on the header of each post. This one will take you to a page which will have 4 other snaps.

School Picts - wish I had taken more...

We've been out on a holiday for the last two weeks and we leave again tomorrow morning for another 5 days. Maid has ditched, have spent the morning washing clothes!! All these excuses for keeping this short. Went for a morning walk, in Kol, with Ramesh. Decided to sneak into school to take a couple of photos. Bumped into Mrs Ganges and Mrs Sengupta. Really nice to see them again. They were busy with rehearsals for Junior School Sports Day. So just took a couple of picts and ran :P. Click on the header to see the rest of the picture or click here.

Sloth Bear

Just wanted to let you know that you guys could also put up short videos if you like. Here's one that Ramesh took on our recent visit to Ranthambore. All you need to do is get your video onto your desktop, compress it and then upload it to a site like YouTube. That's just what i've done. In fact the short videos from you mobile phone or your digital camera are easier to get onto your desktop than from the video cam. I guess a web cam would be the easiest.

Dont know why we didnt think of capturing the moment when we got to see the tigress and her cub. Well never mind, next time.

Unexpected Publicity

Jan 15, 2006
And one more bit of news, I was surprised to see a write-up about our blog. here's what Rana had to say in his post La Martiniere old girls' blog

Update - Jan 21, 2006
We've been covered by desipundit too. I'm hoping that with this unexpected publicity some of the missing batchmates stumble across this site and locate us. You can read the post My Classmate From 2 Decades Ago by clicking here.

Vinita Chand

Got Vinita's no. from one of my younger sisters friend. It was great talking to her and catching up. She claims that she is no longer the shy girl that she used to be in school and of course I believed her till I saw the pictures that she had sent - they've all been digitally altered so you cannot see her too clearly. I guess she still is a bit shy :D

Vinita went to Wellhams from LMC and from there to Delhi College of Art. She then went to the Parson School of Design and i think stayed on for a few years. She now works with a design firm in Delhi.

The girl with a big grin in the background is Anjila Puri and she still looks the same.

Clicking on either the Headline of this post or the photograph itself will take you to the photo site which has a few more photographs from Vinita.

Update: Vinita runs her own design firm.

Old Friends

came across this post while surfing :D and it made me think of just that my "old friends" and the song by simon and garf. thought that you too might like to read it. Click on the header to go straight to the "Old Friends" article by Megha.

Update from Meera D

I met up with Meera in Alexandria and we were together for the first year that I was there and then they moved to Toronto.   Hats off to Meera she put up with me, in fact very well, helping me settle in quickly and allowing me to adopt her friends.   My stay in Alex was painless because of her.

She's sent me links to 2 photoalbums - I tried copying the photographs with not much luck so i've put the links below
Flying Visit
5th & 25th December (btw Dec 5th - Meera D's b'day)
(meera if you see this send me the pictures as i'd like to upload them to the photo site. tks)

Got a note from her a couple of days ago and i've put part of it below.  The rest were nice things re the blog and I dont want you guys to think I have a swollen head already :P.

"Just wanted to say that if there is anybody you know who is here in Canada I would love to be able to contact them . . . I know of no one so far. As for me, am going back to school for about 6 months starting tomorrow. . . am really looking forward to it. Getting my Montessori diploma accredited so that I can start teaching again. Kids are getting older and more independent. Vidhur is 13 and Varsha will be 11 in April. Need to do something for myself now !!! "

Yahoo - Get an Alias for your email id

Many of you have id's on Yahoo that you are not totally satisfied with. And you couldnt do anything about it 'cause what you wanted was taken. Well, here's another chance. Yahoo is allowing the use of "." and so you can try for your name again or use something interesting.
eg original id hemae2005@yahoo.com
Hema.Whatever@yahoo.com
or
Ilookgood@yahoo.com
For those of you who dont know what an alias is... the second email id will also be linked to your first one so all mail addressed to this new id will also go straight to your original InBox.

Piya Pal

Dipu managed to get hold of Piya's email id from somewhere. I thought that I'd write and surprise her but she was up-to-date having spent the weekend with Sharmi.

Here's a recent picture of her. Piya is currently a Professor at the Bowling Green State University, Ohio teaching English and Cultural Studies/Theory. She's finished publishing her first book in December and is currently working on a second one on terrorism.

I'm sure she'll add to this brief write-up soon when she starts to post. Sango has also shown an interest. Any other takers?

Also see if you can spot Piya in the "1973" photograph.