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Our Bangalore visit - Nov 2010

Earlier this year, we went to bangalore during 25 March -31 March 2010, for the Satyanarayana Poojai that Ashok-Neeraja performed on 29th March. Now, we left Chennai on 19 Nov by the 1-35PM train for Bangalore. Ashok received us at Cantonment station at 8 PM. Karthikai Deepam was celebrated on 21 Nov, with appam, and two different Poris. HOSUR :: On 23rd (Tue) morning at 7-30 AM we went to Hosur to attend the Poojai performed by Savithri ( full details here) . We were in Hosur for 2 days and returned to Bangalore on 25th by 1130 AM. GET-TOGETHER :: There was a get-together on Saturday the 27th at Ashok's house. Lalita, Kumar, Janani, Pradyun, Ranjani, her child Sahasra, Anand, Aishwarya, child Aditya came. Ashok brought Bise bele bath, Vangi bath, Carrot halwa, beans curry from Namma Ura and Neeraja prepared white rice, Rasam, aloo curry. It was a great occasion. SRIVIDYA'S HOUSE :: KVS athimber's sraththa thithi was on 28th Nov (Sun) and we two went by bus to S...

Our Visit to Hosur (Nov 2010)

Last time we went to Hosur was on 14 Feb 2010 (read here) , that was the occasion of Naarayaniiyam. Now we went there on Tuesday, 23 Nov 2010. We left Ashok's house at Bangalore by 07-30 and reached Savithri's house by 08-40. Savithri was performing a poojai in general. Added to it, that day (23 Nov) was the birthday of Puttabarthi Sri SaiBaba. She had made an elaborate arrangement with floral decoration etc. She had purchased a large quantity of fresh flowers and lots of Thulasi(for Rs 850 and above).  About 30-35 persons were expected and Savithri had prepared 108 milagu vadais (anjaneyar vadais) and 93 laddus two days before. Today she got up early and prepared Sakkarai Pongal and Sundal for the devotees. Poojai started by 10-15 and ended at 12-45. Vishnu sahasranamam paaraayanam, Gita 12th chapter, Hanuman Chalisa, Sri Rama bhajan, Baba bhajan, Govindan Bhajani were all chanted. It was great. The devotees, about 35, were given milk, and the Prasadams. Also veththa...

We Went to Tiruchy

We two went to Tiruchy on 10th November 2010. Vijaya's chiththappa's grandson DEEPAK (s/o GV Kumar) got married to Aarthee there. We took Pallavan Exp on 10th afternoon to go to Tiruchy where we stayed at a hotel nearby Railway station. Next morning (11th Nov), we went to Srirangam koil by 7-30AM. Srirangam koil is a very large koil with many Sannadhis.  We worshipped at all sannadhies incl Thaayaar Sannadhi. At Srirangam, we went to Gayathri's mama's (Sundaresan) house also.  From there we went to Thiruvanaikoil and worshipped Sri Jambukeshwarar - Akhilandeswari Amman.  One of the Panchabootha Stalams, this also  is a very large and ancient koil. It represents water (Neer) and even today, water oozes out near the Lingam.Then back to hotel.  Akilandeswari Amman  Thiruvanaikoil Meanwhile, the bridegroom's party had arrived in the marriage hall and we went there. Vratham, lunch, evening Nichchayathaartham. Next day (12th Nov, Friday) was the muhurtham...

Abu Ben Adam

ABOU ben ADAM Abou ben Adam (may his tribe increase!) awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, And saw, within the moonlight of his room, Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom, an angel, writing in a book of of gold. Exceeding peace had made Ben Adam bold, And to the Prescence in the room he said: "What writest thou?" The vision raised its head, And, with a look made of all sweet accord, Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord." "And is mine one?"said Abou, "Nay, not so," Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low, But cheerily still, and said, "I pray thee, then, Write me as one who loves his fellow men." The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night It came again, with a great awakening light, And showed the names whom love of God had blest, And lo! Ben adam's name led all the rest. -- Written by the 19th century poet LEIGH HUNT. This immortal poem suddenly popped out in my mind last night (3rd ...

POMIS

Six years ago this day, I opened a Monthly Interest Scheme account at Kilpauk Post office. Since that day in Nov 2004, Vijaya and I used to visit the PO in the first week of every month religiously and fill, sign, and submit the necessary form and collect the monthly interest in cash. Later when I shifted to Raja Annamalaipuram, we got the account transferred to the local PO. This office was quite nearby, unlike Kilpauk. However, we didn't transfer it to Besantnagar when we shifted here. We used to go Mandaveli by bus to do this monthly chore for the past one year. Yesterday (03rd) i closed the account (matured after 6 years) but we plan to open a fresh a/c at the same RA Puram office. Did you know that one can now deposit 4.5 lakhs in this a/c (9 lakhs for a joint account)? Rajappa 10:15 AM 4 Nov 2010

A more Dangerous Strain of Corruption.

From VIR SANGHVI's article in today's (Sunday, 31 Oct 2010) Indian Express: In the old days, corruption scandals would follow a familiar pattern - a minister taking a bribe from a businessman for some favour. But now a new pattern of corruption is emerging. The CWG Loot and Adarsh Building Society scam. Distinctive features of the new scams and corruption are : # Nothing is sacred any longer. People will make money out of anything with a complete absence of shame. Nothing is sacred, not the CWG and India's prestige, not the sacrifices of our martyrs. # The hallmark of the new corruption is that people will defile anything in their greed for big bucks. # Once upon a time it was the politicians who had a monopoly on corruption. Now people from all fields - sports administrators, local Govt officials, bureaucrats in case of CWG, and Generals, and Admirals in case of ABS. Gs and As felt no shame in misusing the names of Kargil martyrs to get flats worth crores allot...

Story Telling

Now, here's a good story to tell .. Story telling has been in vogue from time long ago. Particularly in our country. Our paatis, thathas, ammas, appas used to tell stories, especially from our puranas and ithihasas to us when we were small kids. This is the way we learnt about Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, Shiva and many other Gods and their deeds. Prahlad, Dhruv, Hanuman, Bheem, Arjun became our close friends. We disliked Raavan, Kamsan, Hiranyakasibu, and other bad characters. We remember these stories even today because we listened to these in our very young days, with intent, interest, and dedication. Bhakti was always embedded in such narrations. In our childhood there was no Amar Chitra Katha books, or TV channels, or VCDs/DVDs to learn the Mythology. It was only our Paatties and ammas who inculcated the habit of listening to stories. These women were gems in story-telling. With a paththiram full of paruppu Satham or Thayir Satham and surrounded by a few grandchildren, these...

KOLU - 2010

I had written my first and only blog on KOLU in 2004 - read here . From then on we used to celebrate Kolu every year except for 2008 when Girija had passed away. This year, 2010, we started the preparations on 7th Oct when the slotted-angles and sheets were taken down from the attic and steps (படி) were erected. The dolls were also taken from the attic, dusted, and generally cleaned. With this step over, Krithika decorated the place and arranged the dolls. Arvind took care of serial lights. Thus the Kolu started this year. Guests started coming from the next day, that is 8th Oct. Aditi was ecstatic and excited. UPDATE on 17 Oct 2010. Today (17 Oct) is Vijaya Dasami Day. The day auspicious for commencing education / music etc. Chi Sriram, (2 1/2 years young), s/o Arun is going to school from today. Yesterday, Saturday the 16th, was Sri Saraswati Poojai. We performed it from 10-45 to 11-40 AM. Aditi's books were kept predominantly. Thus ended this year's Na...

Thanjavur Big Temple - 1000 years

The Brihadiswarar Temple at Thanjavur (The Big Temple) was built by the Chola Emperor Raja Raja Chozhan, in the year 1010. It has been built entirely on granite and statues sculpted. It is a marvel of art and is extremely fascinating to behold. You know all the facts. The temple reflecting Tamil culture, ethos, and Tamil way of life has completed One Thousand years this month and Mu Ka and the Tamilnadu Govt decided to have a grand celebration of the event - a 1000 years of Raja Rajeswaram. Celebrations commenced on 22nd Sep, the Thanjavur town and the Temple wore a festive look. Many literary sessions and orations later, there was a grand sight on 25th evening - there was a Dance program in which 1000 dancers took part! The legendary Padma Subramaniam led these 1000 artistes and arranged, managed the spectacular show. The dancers were from all parts of Tamilnadu and other Indian states, and many had come from foreign countries also ! Everyone of them came to Thanjavur on their own...

Un-Planned Chain of Actions

Five years ago, i opened a SCSS (Sr Citzn Savgs Scheme) account at a local PO. They pay the interest every 3 months. I draw this intr thru cheque and deposit in another bank. This went on for years. My next chq is due on 4th Oct. Yesterday (22nd Sep) Vijaya and I went to that HPO to update the passbooks. The decision to go was intuitive and not pre-planned. The special counter (for updation) at the PO was facing some problem; so i decided to go to the Cash counter and draw some cash, so that the clerk has to update !! This decision was another un-planned move. The clerk duly updated the book and told there was a decent balance in the a/c. i was surprised and drew that amount also, leaving just the minm balance. My curiosity was aroused - how come this much of balance could be in my a/c ? not possible - i was perplexed. So i took the third un-planned decision of going to the SCSS counter to get the book updated there. The lady there made a cursory look at the book, asked me ...

MS Subbulakshmi amma

மதுரை சண்முகவடிவு சுப்புலக்ஷ்மி (அம்மா), "MS" in short, needs no introduction. She was born on Sept 16,1916 (D: 11-12-2004), today is amma's 94th birth anniversary. On the eve of the great musician's birth anniversary, The HINDU joined with SaReGaMa and RmKv to institute a Music award in Amma's name, "The Hindu-Saregama MS Subbulakshmi Award" to be given to the Best Young Carnatic Vocalist from this year 2010-11 particularly the Marghazi Isai Vizha (December kutcheries) annually. The initiative is very laudable. During the launch of this Award yesterday at Chennai, Saregama brought out "MS Subbulakshmi songs on Tirupati Lord Balaji" , a seven-pack music album. Speaking at this function, Shri KS Raghunathan, recording engineer for MS's albums for over 20 years recalled many interesting things about MS amma and re-lived Amma's Shraddha and Sadhana. The little girl in pavadai chattai, oiled curls pressed into a tight braid, was too ...

Dr Guruvayoor Appan, MD

கடவுள் அன்றாடம் பல அற்புதங்களை நிகழ்த்திக் கொண்டிருக்கிறார். அன்றாடம் நடந்து கொண்டிருப்பதால் நாம் அவைகளுக்கு அதிக மதிப்பு தருவதில்லை. கடவுள் தன் பணியை தொடர்ந்து செய்து கொண்டுதான் இருக்கிறார்.. எனக்கு மிகவும் வேண்டிய பெண்மணியின் வாழ்க்கையில் நடந்த, ஆனால் எளிதில் நம்ப முடியாத அற்புதத்தைப் பற்றி எழுதப் போகிறேன். இது நான் நேரிலேயே பார்த்தது என்று முதலிலேயே கூறி விடுகிறேன். சில வருஷங்களுக்கு முன்பு - 1995ல்- நாங்கள் எட்டு பேர் குருவாயூர் போகக் கிளம்பினோம். அது வரை நான் குருவாயூர் போனதில்லை. எங்களுடன் ஒரு பெண்மணியும் வந்திருந்தார். ரயில் ஏறியதும் அவர் ”அம்மாடி.. என்னாலே அதிக நேரம் நிற்கவோ உட்காரவோ முடியாது. நான் படுத்துக் கொள்கிறேன்.” என்று சொல்லியபடியே, தன் இடுப்பிலிருந்து ஒரு பட்டையான பெல்ட்டைக் கழட்டினார். “ என்ன மாமி..இது? இத்தனை பட்டையாக இருக்கிறது இந்த பெல்ட்?” எங்களில் ஒருத்தர் கேட்டார். ”அதுவா .... இந்த பெல்ட் இல்லாவிட்டால் என்னால் ஒரு நிமிஷம் கூட நிற்கமுடியாது. என் முதுகு எலும்பில் இரண்டு இணைப்புகள் சரியாக இல்லை. L- 4, மற்றும் L - 5 இல் தேய்மானம் ஆகிவிட்டதால், அந்த இடத்தில் உடல்...

Marriage in the family

Vijaya's elder sister Indira's grand-daughter APARNA got married on 3rd Sept at Chennai. We reached the Kalyana Mandapam at 6-30AM on 2nd for the Vratham etc. After Vratham and breakfast, there was simply nothing to do. Just idling. Nichchaya thaartham was at 4PM and reception at 7PM. As I have written in my earlier posts the habit of having "Reception" a day before the actual marriage is becoming a fashion these days. Utterly non-sensical, in my view. The usual Reception Menu for dinner. Tamilians are fast turning into North Indians in culture !! Next day, the marriage function started by 7 and was over by 9 AM. What to do then? Idling ! Waste of time and waste of money for everyone. We returned home by 8PM that night. Slowly but surely the Brahmin marriages are becoming a bore. Extra lavish expenses, intrusive and all-pervasive north indian culture (Mehendi function etc),அளவுக்கு மீறிய தாம் தூம் டாம்பீகம் (there were over 50 varieties of supari in North India...

Gokulashtami

This year (2010) Gokulashtami or Janmashtami was celebrated on 1 Sep. Iyers celebrate this festival on Ashtami thithi whereas Iyengars celebrate on Rohini star. The preparations start the previous day; if not, at least on the morning of the festival day. As the evening approaches, the small footprints of Sri Krishna (as a child) are "drawn" from the doorstep to the place of poojai - we are "receiving" the child Krishna. Seedai (both salty and sweet), murukku, Aval and many other things are prepared for Neivethyam. "Uppu Seedai uruttuthal" is itself an interesting task. Aditi was so enthusiastic this year and she participated eagerly in all "activities" along with her Paatti. ”பாட்டி, நான் மாவு பிசையறேன் பாட்டி, சீடை உருட்டறேன் பாட்டி” என எல்லாவற்றிலும் அதிதி சுறுசுறுவென பங்கேற்றாள். சீடை முதல் “ஈடு” பண்ணியதும், அதிதி ஒரு சீடையை எடுத்து சாப்பிட்டாள். ”உம்மாச்சிக்கு நைவேத்யம் பண்ணிட்டுத்தான் சாப்பிடணும்னு” பாட்டி சொன்னதற்கு, “பாட்டி, கிருஷ்ண...

Appa's Sraththam - 2010

Appa's Sraththam - 2010 Appa's Thithi is Aavani, Sukla, Dwadasi. This year (2010) appa's thithi came on Saturday, 21 August. This is the second sraththam we performed at Besantnagar house. Sraththam followed Varalakshmi Poojai, on the very next day. Hectic work, naturally. Vijaya and I purchased all the items  like grocery, vegetables, fruits, Vetrilai, pushpam, Vennai, and particularly Vazhai Ilai  from around Besantnagar. This time we could get the long variety of pudalangkaai from KPN. For Amma's sraththam, we couldn't get. I had ordered Vazhai Ilai from the beach-front cartwala who promptly delivered on the morning of sraththam. The Ilais were large sized and cheap. I and Vijaya cut all the vegetables by 8PM the previous day. We were all set. On 21st, we got up by 4-45 in the morning and Vijaya started work. Jayaraman, Kalyani, Purnima came by 6-30. Then Gayathri and later Sugavanam. Sruti was already in the house. This sraththam was "notable...

Manni - A Remembrance

July 31st was the Varalakshmi Vratham and we celebrated it grandly. So did our other family members at their houses. At Delhi, Vasu and others celebrated it at Srikanth's place. Manni had been earlier admitted to hospital on 21 July, but she was improving and was, in fact, brought to the recovery room on Aug 1. On July 31, we didn't know what was to happen the next day. At 8-15PM on 1 Aug we got the first news that Manni was again taken to ICU because she developed some complications. Everyone rushed to the hospital to be near Manni. However, her multiple organs started collapsing, her end was near. I was in continuous telephone contact with the grief-stricken family. At 12-10 midnight, Srikanth phoned us the shocking news that Manni has passed away. He and others were inconsolable. They had lost their mother, their guide, beacon of their lives. We at Karpagam Avenue didn't sleep that night, Arvind-Krithika were very busy in booking our flight tickets and Vijaya, I, and...

Rajdhani Express

Introduced in 1993, the Rajdhani Express from Chennai to Delhi (Hazrat Nizamuddin) run on two days a week, on Fridays and Sundays. Starts at 0610 from Chennai and after stopping at six or seven stations, like Vijayawada, Warangal, Nagpur, Jhansi, Bhopal, Agra it reaches HZM next day at 1020. Vijaya and I have travelled by the Rajdhani Express from Delhi to Hyderabad earlier in the 1990s. From Chennai too we have travelled once to Delhi. Recently on July 16, 2010 we travelled yet again, returning on 23 July 2010 from Delhi. Fully airconditioned, the train has I AC, 2 AC, and 3 AC coaches. Complimentary meals are provided. With concessions for both of us, the fare is around 2500.00 for we two. Though it is supposed to be a "prestigious" train, the facilities are not upto the mark. Stinking, waterless toilets, dirty liveries are the order of the day. Food is so-so. Why can't they provide South Indian food like Sambhar Saadam, Thayir Saadam in this train starting from Che...

Varusha Aaptikam - Manni

மன்னியின் ஆப்தீக ஸ்ராத்தம். பெரிய மன்னி (மைதிலி) சென்ற ஆண்டு 2009 ஆகஸ்ட் மாஸம் 1-2 ஆம் தேதி நடு இரவில் காலமானார். அவரது ஆப்தீக ஸ்ராத்தம் இந்த வருஷம் 2010 ஜூலை 22-ஆம் தேதி தில்லியில் நடந்தது. அதற்கு விஜயாவும் நானும் ஜூலை 16 காலை ராஜதானி எக்ஸ்பிரஸில் சென்னையிலிருந்து கிளம்பினோம். அர்விந்த் காரில் சென்ட்ரல் ஸ்டேஷன் வந்தோம். தில்லியில் வாசுவும், அபிலாஷும் வந்து எங்களைக் கூட்டிச் சென்றனர்; ஸ்ரீகாந்த் வீட்டில் காரியங்கள் நடந்தன. நாங்கள் அங்குதான் இருந்தோம். ஞாயிறு, ஜூலை 18 ஊன மாஸிகம் நடைபெற்றது.இதுதான் 4வதும் இந்த வருஷத்தில் செய்யப்படும் கடைசியுமான மாஸிகம். வாசு, ஸ்ரீதர், ஸ்ரீகாந்த், ரவி நால்வரும் கலந்து கொண்டனர். சாஸ்திரிகள் 11-30 மணிக்கு வந்து, காரியத்தை ஆரம்பித்தார். மதியம் 1-30க்கு முடிந்தது. 2-45 க்கு சாப்பாடு முடிந்தது. தயிர் பச்சடி, பழப் பச்சடி, வாழைக்காய், சேப்பங்கிழங்கு, பாகற்காய் என 3 கறிகள், (எல்லா கறிகளிலும் நிறைய தேங்காய்) , கொத்தவரங்காய் கூட்டு, வாழைத்தண்டு மோர்க்குழம்பு, ரசம், தயிர், எள் உருண்டை, பயத்தம் உருண்டை, அதிரஸம், வடை, பயத்தம் பருப்பு பாயஸம் என திவஸ சமையல்தா...

Our Residences at Chennai

Vijaya and I shifted to Chennai from Hyderabad in December 2001. I had retired on 31 August 2001 from Defence Research. # 1 Mandapam Road, Kilpauk - Dec 2001 to Feb 2002. Arun- Gayathri and Arvind were living at Mandapam Road, Kilpauk near the waterworks and we moved in with them. From day 1, we were on the lookout for a new, more spacious house. We (Arun) saw a hand-written ad in a supermarket that a house is vacant. # 2 Aspiran Gardens, Kilpauk - Feb 2002 to 30 August 2005 We were satisfied with this house (3 BHK) and we shifted there - 77/85 Aspiran Gardens, 2nd Street, Kilpauk, Chennai 600010 in Feb 2002. Tel number 2644 4995. House owner Mr Ratnakar Shenoy lived on the GF and we in the I floor. The house was very convenient in all respects. Before Arvind got married in June 2004, ARUN-GAYATHRI shifted to another house nearby. That was in May 2004. Within months, Krithika Arvind found it "difficult" to commute to Thiruvanmiyur to her music classes etc. So we sh...

Football World Cup - 2010

The football (soccer) world cup 2010 started on 11 June 2010 at Johannesburg, South Africa. There were 32 teams in all, divided into 8 groups. Brazil, Spain, Argentina, England were the favourites at the start. Group A: Uruguay, Mexico, South Africa, France Group B: Argentina, Korea Republic, Greece, Nigeria Group C: USA, England, Slovenia, Algeria Group D: Germany, Ghana, Australia, Serbia Group E: Netherlands, Japan, Denmark, Cameroon Group F: Paraguay, Slovakia, New Zealand, Italy Group G: Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast, Korea DPR Group H: Spain, Chile, Switzerland, Honduras Last edition's (2006) champions (Italy) and runners-up (France) were among those teams that were eliminated in the Group stages. Uruguay, Mexico, Argentina, South Korea, USA, England, Germany, Ghana, Netherlands, Japan, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Chile progressed to the Round of 16. At this stage, Argentina, Brazil were the favourites. Round of 16 started on 26 June and ended on 29 June with tw...

Filing of Incometax Returns

This morning, Friday the 9th July 2010, I went to Aayakar Bhavan at Nungambakkam, Chennai and filed personally the Returns for the AY 2010-11. New SARAL - II form. The section is in the New Block, 4th floor, Room No 423 (for Govt Pensioners). We had to locate it with a bit difficulty. Vijaya came with me to the Aayakar Bhavan. Rajappa 09 July 2010 12:05 noon

Amma's Sraththam - 2010

Amma's Sraththam - 2010 We three brothers (Sugavanam, Jayaraman, and self) perform the sraththams of our parents every year at Chennai; our elder brother Sundaresan performs at Dapodi, Pune. Amma's Thithi is Aani, Krishna Paksham, Ashtami. This year (2010) amma's thithi came on Sunday, 4th July . This is the first sraththam that we are performing at our Besantnagar house (22nd Cross street) Vijaya and I purchased the grocery items, Vaathiyar Saamaankal like Varatti four days before, from Ambika Appalam Depot Mylapore. Some grocery items especially the paruppukal we purchased from Kamadenu, Besantnagar. A day before the thithi, we purchased all the vegetables, fruits incl vaazhaipazham from nearby Besantnagar Veg shop. On 4th morning Sugavanam purchased Vaazhai Ilai and Pushpam from Thiruvanmiyur. This year i missed the South Mada street ambience. Preparations started on 2nd itself; on 3rd July evening Vijaya and I cut vegetables. On 4th, the day of Sraththam, w...

Two functions on the Same Day - Part 2

Recently I wrote about two functions on the same day (Read here) . That was on 02 June. This happened again on 17th and 21 June. 17th (Thursday) was the 4th birthday of Aditi which we celebrated in the evening (Read) . In the morning, there was the marriage of the daughter of Mr TS Jayaraman, my former colleague at DRDL Hyderabad. I know TSJ since 1969 from my Poona days. The marriage was at Hotel Swagath, Royapettah High Road. At the venue, I met a few of my old, almost-forgotten colleagues of 1960s to 2001. It was a pleasure to see them again after 40 or 10 years! I had worked "under" Mr Prabhakar from 1963 to 1974 in Poona. We two went to Yugoslavia in Sept - Oct 1969 for 35 days and stayed together in Hotel Slav, Beograd (Belgrade). Those and other memories rushed when I saw him. Today he is in his late 70s and a frail man. Lives alone in Tiruvallikkeni. On 21 June (Monday), it was a Upanayanam in the early hours (6-7.30AM). Neeraja's cousin (he is in US). Neera...

Railway Reservation

Since the day IRCTC started its website (their latest being the more-friendly BETA version), I had stopped going to any Railway Reservation Complex for reserving my train tickets. Two years (or is it three years?) back I went to Mylapore RRC to book tickets. That was the last time i guess. This (14 May 2010) morning, I took a fancy to go to the Rajaji Bhavan RRC to book. There was a long Q at 8-00 Am and I joined it. As the queue started inching inside the complex, I too tailed it; not aware that Senior Citizens need not stand in this Q ! After a tortuos standing for over 30 minutes, someone told me, "why are you standing in the Q, sir? Enter the complex, as you are a sr. citz." I entered and there was a seperate counter for sr citzs where there were three more elders. My turn came within 10 minutes and i came out by 8-45 Am after a successful mission. Thank you Railways. Rajappa 8-45 PM 14 May 2010

Two functions on the same day

Sunday, May 02nd, 2010 happened to be a "special" day in my life. There were two functions on this day; but the significant part is that all ELEVEN of us - Vijaya and I, Arun-Gayathri, Ashok-Neeraja, Arvind-Krithika and the three children Sowmya, Aditi, and Sriram attended both the functions together! This is very unique and rare because clubbing all eleven is a difficult proposition - work pressure, holiday/leave problems and similar other reasons precludes such a gathering. But today it happened. First function was in the morning at Valasarawkkam, near Akila's house - the marriage of Bharathy d/o Lakshmi - Janakiraman. Lakshmi is the cousin of Vijaya (her chiththappa's daughter). We went there in Arvind's and Arun's car. Later, in the evening it was the Nichchaya thaartham function of Aparna d/o Akila-Raja. Akila is the d/o Indira, eldest sister of Vijaya. It was at Nungambakkam. Vasanth is the name of the "boy" and the marriage is proposed o...

Our Bangalore Visit - March 2010

 Last time we visited Bangalore during Feb 2010 and we returned to Chennai on 6 March. We came again to Bangalore yesterday (25 March) night by Bangalore Express (dep 13:30 hrs). Arun dropped us at the station in his Santro. We could see the new complex of TN Assembly-Secretariat. When I browsed the position online, there were 4 seats. I booked. When we saw the chart in the train, Vijaya's name was not to be found ! Took out the ticket - oh God, her seat was in a different coach! How did I miss this? She sat in C1 and I in C2. After the ticket Examiner checked all the passengers, there was quite a shuffle among passengers. It seemed 50% of the passengers were exchanging seats ! Vijaya too "exchanged" and she came to C2. It was an experience .. We carried sugarless coffee in the recently-purchased flask, and thayir saadam in two packs. First time we are doing this. The train reached Bangalore by 8-25PM, we took a pre-paid auto to Meenakshi temple where Neeraja and Ash...