A surprise baby shower day!

Everybody in this world loves a surprise once in a while, and what better when your most loved ones give that surprise to you when you least expect them to. The unexpected joy compounded with the knowledge that so many people wish well for you is such a great feeling.


 The plan: Couple of weeks ago, Madhavi Angara garu and Annu Ganti garu (close family friends to Girija and me) called me and asked me about plans for a baby shower for Girija. As we had not planned anything, I was not sure about it. We had been thinking that we would wait for Girija's mom to come and then have a traditional baby shower in the ninth month of her pregnancy. But, deep down somewhere I knew that she was feeling lonely and was missing out on the celebrations associated with a pregnant lady in the seventh month. I therefore went ahead with their idea of organizing a surprise baby shower for her.


We went ahead full steam, I spoke to them on the phone from office, sent them mails from my office address, and kept things as discrete as possible. I called up all common friends (who became the invitees) and then planned to have the baby shower on Saturday April 10th 2010. I was excited and terrified at the same time because I did not know how Girija would react if she got to know that we were planning this event. It got to my head so much that I could not sleep properly on Friday night.


Sai and Neelima (Girija's cousins who stay close to our place in Chicago), were accomplices in this mischief surprise event too. They jumped up on the idea of this surprise and were awesome in hiding it. They played along nicely and kept the secret till the end. It helps so much to have close family members who really care for you and we can only thank our stars for sending such angels around us.


The trick: I had to think too hard to convince Girija with a genuine sounding plan - one that she could not say 'no' to, and one that she would not doubt. After a lot of thought and discussion with Madhavi garu, I told Girija that we were being invited to a friend's house for a lunch party as they had recently finished the construction and decoration of their house's basement. I also made up the story that Sai & Neelu would give us a ride to Aurora as they were going to the temple the same day. To add a little more weight around it, I told her that it would be a nice occasion to meet up the Angara family, who would then go away on a vacation to India and wont be around during the birth of our baby. She agreed to it initially, but was hesitant to come on Saturday as she did not sleep well on Friday night. I somehow persuaded her to come along and she half-heartedly got dressed. I held on to my nerves till we reached Annu garu's house.


The execution: As we reached Annu garu's house, I saw Suneel Muppana's car following behind our car and was scared that Girija might find out earlier than I thought. However, she was perplexed and did not know what was happening around her. And as we rang the bell to their house and the door opened, there was a chorus "S U R P R I S E ! ! !" from the people inside. For a minute, Girija could not comprehend what was going on and then it struck her that we were all gathered there for her baby shower party. The look on her face at that moment was more than enough to tell the tale and I sighed a huge sigh of relief on a successful surprise.


The arrangements were as elaborate as one would expect at a great party and I was overwhelmed by the caring touches given to it. I loved the fact that everything was thought out and planned so well. Madhavi and Annu garu prepared for the event till 3 am the previous night and spent the time in cooking (yummy to the tummy pulihora, perugu vadas, vankaya kura, carrot beans kura with grated coconut, payasam, chalividi, mavidikaya pappu, sambar, chutney, ooru mirapakaayalu), making goody bags, decorations, cleaning and organizing all other stuff! So much effort, and a lot more care and affection. Having organized events various events myself, I know how much hard work goes in to it. Sometimes, even parents don't do that much for their own kids.


The surprise will remain one of the best that I would have ever pulled off on anyone and it was even more special because it was on Girija. While I am totally thankful to Madhavi garu, Annu garu for being so nice and affectionate and caring to make the day so memorable for both of us, I cannot really weigh down the contribution of all our other good friends who helped make this day so sweet. The entire party was so enjoyable and we never felt for a moment that we were this distant from home.


We were exhausted, more from the celebrations and the overwhelming emotions than anything else, and when we headed out from the party in the evening, we were still lost in the thoughts of the party and the way it was organized. I could see that little smile in the corner of Girija's face still in tact, despite her physical exhaustion too. To say that she loved it would have been an understatement. I could see that despite her shyness at all the attention, she was enjoying her moment of celebration.

Photos of the baby shower

Scene 2: Girija thought that we were done for the day with surprises. But little did she know that there was another surprise waiting for her. Rama - one of her closest friends in town (even literally), had invited us over for a small get together of friends that included a game night as well. It was just an occasion to meet up with a new bunch of friends (Gayatri and Pradeep Sadhu) and have some fun together. Sai and Neelima were invited as well, but Girija did not know.


Tired, exhausted and late from the first party, we headed straight to Rama's house. Girija requested Sai/ Neelima to drop us off at their place and they obliged without hesitation. Sai and I had a quiet chuckle at that and gave a condescending smile. When we got off the car, I asked Sai and Neelu to come upstairs to get introduced to Rama and Ramesh and then leave. Girija was perplexed again as she could not understand why I did that. It was only when she entered the house that she got to know that we were celebrating the coming of a new one. She was filled with joy once more and despite the physical exhaustion, she continued to be in a land of surprises the rest of the evening.


Rama and Ramesh brought a beautiful cake for her and had decorated the wall of their living room. It was so sweet of them to think of such things that bring so much joy. Rama and Ramesh are so adorable that they have become more of an elder brother and sister to us than friends and it was evident in the way they thought about these things. It was therefore understandable that Girija expected them to be there in the morning party too, but had that happened, she would not have had a surprise in the evening.We had sumptuous food (again yummy to the tummy cauliflower manchurian, cabbage kura, vankaya kura, pappu pulusu and appadams)! We were so exhausted by then that we gave the gaming a skip. We decided that we would come back again another day.While the evening get together was not as big as the one in the morning, the hearts behind the event were equally as big, no doubt.

Photos of the second baby shower

Sai, Neelima and Inesh, over the last couple of years have become so close to us that people naturally ask Sai and me if we are brothers. They accompanied us all day long and helped to keep this a tight suspense! It must have been a tiring day for them too, but not at one moment did they express it. I owe it to them too for seeing us through a lovely day.


It is so good to see how people can make your day when you least expect them to. And 'o boy', they did in splendid fashion that it will remain etched in our memories for eternity!

The Indian Student Pledge

Long time ago, back in school, we used to recite this every single morning. It became a habit, a routine. But this morning, out of nowhere, I recollected it and Girija and I could not remember the full text. Immediately, we looked up on the internet and found this fond pledge, which I never want to forget.

India is my country and all Indians are my brothers and sisters.

I love my country and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage.

I shall always strive to be worthy of it.

I shall give my parents, teachers and all elders, respect, and treat everyone with courtesy.

To my country and my people, I pledge my devotion.

In their well being and prosperity alone, lies my happiness.

JAI HIND
Written by the great Swami Vivekananda, I never thought I will be staying in the same city where he made the biggest international speech of his lifetime.

Complain, we do!

I am busy - I complain.
I don't have work - I complain.

Hmmm... interesting, isn't it? Interesting, my foot! I say "disgusting". Life can never be just right! We find ways to complain and make our life stressful that we forget to enjoy how involved we are with an activity or how much time we have on hands to do something which means a lot to us. Complain, we do!

So much so that it becomes a cliche. So much so that the other person is bored to listen to us. So much so that we procrastinate things. So much so that we create our own mental blocks to under perform.

I say let's get a move on and go finish those unfinished tasks, those things which matter to us. Those things of which we are scared in life. Those things that we wanted to save for another day. Life is limited, make the most of it. If you are busy, then how did we get the time to complain? If we have all the time in the world, why do we complain? We don't count our blessings. But yes, complain, we do!

Grit and Determination

Yesterday, I saw a football game between Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots. Two great teams and two great quarterbacks. Both have a great record this year in the NFL and going into this game, I could not have guessed who would win. Looking at the colts record I thought that they might win the match. But two quarters into the game and I felt that the colts were slightly underprepared for this match. But as with many great teams and great players, these guys never gave up. They were trailing by 14 points in the last quarter and went on to win the game 35-34 in the dying moments of the game! Such was their determination to win and their never give up attitude that they continued to grind and eat away at the Patriot's lead.

Only if there were more people who could learn from it!

Telugu Associations

When I had not stepped out of India, if someone had told me that America was a land full of Indians, I would have laughed at them. I had always thought that it was a country with a few hundred thousand Indians spread across the country. That was my impression until I came to Chicago, my first point of entry in the US. I could see that this country had a very high mix of people from all continents, races and religions. And Indians were all over! There were so many Telugu people in the school to which Girija went that I felt as if I had come to Hyderabad or any other city in Andhra. They were all nice and caring people, but this was not how I had pictured America to be. As I took my time to adjust, I realized that these people were necessary to hang out with because they were the only link to what we spoke back home and what we did. We went out to parties together, watched movies, went on long drives and even shared the same tastes. We had pretty much formed a group of our own that we did not want anyone else's company.

Then slowly, as time passed, we got introduced to more and more Indians, many of whom were Telugu. Some were long lost friends and people whom we met on chance. Some were new acquaintances. But it was all good. Then one fine day, we were introduced to a family who were deep into cultural activities. That was when we got to know about some Telugu Associations like TANA, TTA, TAGC, CTA, ATA, TANTEX, BATA that catered to Telugu people within America. We had heard of some of them, but never did we know about them in detail. And once we got to know about them, we did not want to hear anymore.

One would believe that politics and lobbying would happen only in India. But we could not digest that there was not much of a difference in the way some of the things were run here. Infighting, bickering, politics - I was surprised that all the dirt from Indian politics was carried over here too. Event slots are debatable most of the time as it defies logic. Good programmes and artistes get raw deal, people tend to become arrogant and thick skinned. So much so that, people like me would be happy to just participate and turn a blind eye to what is happening with respect to the association. Recently a new association was formed as well due to a fall out with the existing associations.

If such things happen, the very purpose of why these associations came in to existence is defeated. Every family, neighborhood and region will come up with their own association and the oneness of the community will be lost.

The Train

While I wrote the below when I was on the train, I got time to upload it only today

Train journeys are one of the best that I can think of any day. Better than the bus, the car or even the flight. Time does not matter when travelling. Place does not matter too, although it does to a little extent. I am on a train to Naperville (Route 59) right now where I will be getting down to go to a Telugu drama practice. I am playing the role of Indra, a mythological God who ruled Swargalokam. It will be the first time that I will be acting in a pauranika naatakam (mythological drama). While the experience is rich, it requires a lot of preparation and hardwork.

It takes about an hour on the train from Union Station Chicago to Route 59 on a weekend. Adding the time it takes to reach Union Station and from Route 59 to the venue, the total journey is about 2 hrs. Yet, Girija and I have made several trips this year to participate in various events or just to pay friends a visit. It can be quite painful sometimes because it takes away your entire day from you. But then such experiences dont come knocking everyday at your doorstep. And the travel itself becomes quite beautiful with vibrant people all around.

Yesterday, there was a girl seated in front of me who had gotten onto the train just in time, but could not buy her ticket at the counter. So she paid an extra 2 dollars to buy it on the train. It reminded me of myself - the last minute man. I would usually catch the train running mostly just as the doors would close. Sometimes it is fun to watch game goers climb on to the train and make a lot of noise. Every time you get onto a train, you find different stories, meet different people and pretty much see a reflection of yourself in more than one person. That is the kind of atmosphere that the train has.

Then, compare that to a bus or a flight where every person either sleeps as soon as they board or at the max speak to the person next to them. The degree of freedom to move around is just not there. Moreover, if you get stuck in traffic, it is even more painful waiting there in the bus. Indian train travels, especially those in the second class (3-tier sleeper), are the best that I can think of. They cannot be compared with any other kind of travel on this world. That's better than a facebook, orkut, a flight, a bus or any other socializing place. To me, that provides the most vibrant way to travel from one city to another. People make friends in a very short period of time and you never know what surprises are in store. Second class travel is so famous and fondly remembered for the guys selling pallis (peanuts), samosas, Idlis, omelettes, dosas,ummm...just yummm! Thinking back of even the beggars and eunuchs evokes a faint smile. I could go on with stories of my travels on the train while I was in India, but it would need to be split like a TV serial. So, for this time I will not go in to that detail.

I would be getting down in a few mins and therefore I have to close my laptop now. Bye for now!

Beer Vs Biryani

What-a-tension-filled-match!

The first two editions of the IPL have brought an Australian captain and an Indian captain face to face. While it was Warne and Dhoni last year, it is Gili and Jumbo.

My heart is racing as I witnesss an absolute thriller. Two teams who were down in the dust had something to prove this year and how they have done! There is absolutely no regrets for the losing team for both the teams have played as champions. The intensity never dipped, the shoulders never drooped and the enthusiasm has been ecstatic!

Kudos to Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore!