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!!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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

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.

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.

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..