MRS CHENNAI FINALE....A MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE

An event which I had been hearing about for the last couple of years but never had the chance to witness has to be the Mrs Chennai. Last year I went for the prelimary rounds but did not watch the finale! This year I decided to go. I had 2 reasons- My friend Rashmi Bothra being a finalist and of course Nina being honoured with the honorary Mrs Chennai crown this year! The latter is probably what drew me more to it as my mom said! I managed a press pass and was there on the dot at 6.30. But when do events begin on time? Yeah they began an hour late. The show started with a curtain raiser dance by all the finalists. Then came the question answer round which went well. Dr Kamala selvaraj released a brochure on the 10 years of Mrs Chennai. Just before the talent round Nina was crowned the honorary mrs chennai by actor Vivek. It was amazing to see her on stage with the crown and the sash! I could hear people behind me saying - " she looks cute." This was followed by the talent round. My friend Rashmi danced well. She made it to the final 6. The question answer round here messed up her chance. she is not someone who follows current affairs. the question put to her was " was it a wise and correct decision to give obama the nobel peace prize?
and she said yes!! Sadly she didnt feature among the winners! But no regrets! Am sure she has a good learning experience! This year they had a seperate competition for the forty plus and 50 plus as well! The event ended as late as 11 PM. After this we managed to take pics with Nina. Was a great evening and was amazing to see that so many of us had turned up there just to see Nina being crowned! It was indeed a befitting honour for her!

Celebration of Good life!

Two weeks ago I received this beautiful invitation from a well known doctor in Chennai. Amazed at the beauty of the thought of organizing such a programme I immediately accepted to attend the party!

Dear Friend

Every once in a while someone comes along in our lives
Whose touch, smile, hug, helping hand or kind word sinks deep into our hearts
Leaving an indelible mark which warms the soul
Parties,Get togethers, Conferences, Associations, sms, Email,Phones
We hang on to these activities for this very reason
We all need somebody to back us up
This is the GOOD LIFE
Each one of you have performed that service to me over the years and I would like you to join me to celebrate my Good Life.
This is just my way of acknowledging, appreciating and thanking each of you for your love and support.
I need you to be there for me in all that I do.
Please join me for a celebration of the GOOD LIFE
Note : It is not my birthday or anniversary, so just bring yourself and your good heart. No presents please.

As I walked into the party hall I was asked to write my contact details in a notebook. The fellowship and high tea was on and I met lots of new people. All of us were curious to know what the good life celebrations was all about! Sharp at 8, with our plates in hand, we sat and watched the presentation given my doc! An amazing PPT she had different thoughts about how all of us had given her a good life! Some by being good friends, some by giving her compliments when she needed them, Some my sending her emails which left her laughing and pondering and of course by just being our good selves! She thanked all of us! And then came the part which really left us pondering. She wanted us to do something for Caregivers. She told us how people who have parents, spouses, children with disabilities or disorders which require constant care are bound to their houses. they have no space,no opportunity for an outing, no one to speak to and how helpless they are. One gentleman whose wife has alzheiemers shared his experience with us. It was indeed touching. We decided to form an egroup and start brain storming on this. Each one of us can make a difference to these care givers. A small outing once a month can make a huge difference to someone who is stuck in the 4 walls of the house! Aloha our e group is all ready to act and to make a difference!

FOUR IN A ROW

20th of November.....the day my long standing dream came true! Yes I finally watched surgery! I might sound crazy, but my childhood dream was to be an obstetrician and deliver babies!! That never happened! But over the years I've always wanted to see a surgery. My friend Dr Priya Selvaraj made that possible today! I walked into G G hospital wondering if I will be able to watch the surgery or will I faint! With butteflies in my stomach I changed into the gown, wore the mask, the surgery cap, sterlized foot wear and stepped into the OT! The patient was on the table and all I could see was a huge stomach covered with transparent surgical paper and ready to be cut open! She made the first incision and blood gushed out! and then multiple incisions were made and finally when she cut open the placenta, tonnes of fluid and blood gushed out which was removed with a suction. And then came the big moment when she put her hand in and pulled out the baby. It came out and along with it came a long umblical cord! She quickly cut it and handed over the baby to the paediatrician. Then she removed the placenta- a huge lump of gooey stuff! The whole process took 5 minutes!! Then started the tedious job of suturing! She sutured layer by layer and it took over 15 minutes and the patient was cleaned up and wheeled out on a stretcher! The baby is given to the paediatrician who cleans up, gives it some oxygen, and checks the baby thoroughly. I saw tubes being put into the nostrils,mouth and rectum! Poor baby was bawling! I managed to watch 4 surgeries in a row and all the babies were girls!! I am proud of myself for not fainting, puking or reacting adversely to the scenario. I truly enjoyed it! Thanks Doc for making my dream come true!

CHETAN BHAGAT'S NEW LOVE

As I went on a lazy Sunday evening stroll into the near by Odyssey store the big board at the entrance welcomed me......." Chetan Bhagat's 2 states" released on 9th October. The die hard Chetan Bhagat fan in me was tempted to buy the new book. A bright red cover and the excerpt of the book which said marriage between people of different communities totally convinced me that I would love reading it. Armed with the book I returned home, poured myself a glass of chilled milk and sat down to read the book. The cute lil love story of Krish and Ananya was exhilrating! The way they first meet and how Krish describes Ananya's looks. A fair South Indian!! he he! and How he begins teaching her economics and in the process they fall in love. Their days at IIM Ahemadabad. Their first smooch, the first time they sleep together..all vividly described. Then comes the time for their placements. Ananya chooses HLL and Krish Citibank. Krish does not get along with his dad and wants to live close to Ananya and chooses a posting in Chennai. His saga of convincing Anusha's parents- teaching her brother Manju for IIT, helping her dad with his presentation and giving her mom, an aspiring singer to perform with SPB! Finally they are convinced that he is their prospective son in law. Then it is Ananya's turn to go to Delhi and convince Krish's parents. She intervenes and saves his cousin Minti's marriage. Now that both parents were conviced they wonder who to make the families gel. A trip to Goa and things only get worse. Finally it is Krish's dad- the bad father all the while- who turns good at the end and makes the wedding happen. A typical South Indian wedding in a mandapam at Mylapore marks a new beginning for Krish and Ananya! The last page tells us that Krish and Ananya are blessed with twin boys!!
I couldnt put the book down until and finished and having read such a cute love story I went to bed with a lovely smile on my face :-)

THE JOY OF GIVING WEEK

September 27th to Oct 3rd was called the Joy of giving week and across the country various events were organized during the week. I decided to be part of this week and share my joy with everyone. I first took part in the I love Chennai run on sunday morning which was part of the Chennai marathon. What an experience it was to run with 70,000 people. the heavens were pouring but did not deter the spirit of the runners. we knew we were running for a good cause- to educate 14,600 underpriveleged children. The second event that I was part of was the Battle of the Buffet. The brain child of Mahadevan of Oriental Cuisines. Savera, Raintree, Residency, GRT and Taj supported him and they served a lavish buffet to the donors. We paid 5000 each which is given in full to the NGO we support. I supported Tanker foundation and indeed Tanker sold the highest number of passes- a whopping 100! and I also got a free pass for Mom. so we both went for the event. It was a great evening. Suhasini Manirathnam was the compere and we got to hear a melodious kutchery by Sudha Raghunathan. I enjoyed listening to Brahma Mukute and Kurai Ondrum Illai! and then we headed off for dinner. The Strawberry mocktail was amazing. I chose to eat Chinese and the Oriental and Lebanese cuisine. The food was ok! The dessert very mediocre. I missed having a fresh fruit trifle. I did not indulge much in dessert because I am trying to get in shape! and Nina has just complimented me on my looks! Truly she keeps me motivated to get in shape! And other than mom she has taught me the Joy of giving! and it feels great to have been part of this lovely week! and now that I have learnt the Joy of giving, the Joy of touching lives and seeing a smile on someone's face, there is going to be no looking back! I will always share a smile, a hug and all that I can...because it means so much to be able to touch someone's life :-)

TEACHERS DAY

Today is the 5th of September! Teachers day! I remember the days in school and college when we would scurry around to buy cards and roses for our teachers and try and entertain them a bit and make them feel pleased that one day of the year. but yeah along the years I have had some great teachers! All of whom have made such a big difference to my life! My childhood dream teacher was Radha at Bambino! I dont remember by fascination for her though people around me say how much I adored her! Shobhana Jayanth my class teacher in Class 5 when I joined Adarsh was another joy to learn from! Sad that she passed away suddenly but I do miss that great lady! Mythili Venkat, my neighbour first and then my english teacher in class 10 was a total fascination for me! I loved her english classes, her singing and her spirit totally! enjoyed my trip to Ooty with her! and sadness when she moved to Mumbai! I do remember crying when she left school! and now we are back in touch after a good 11 years thanks to the world of internet and of course by PR Skills! In college Dr Patricia Gabriel was the greatest professor one could have. Absolutely gritty, a typical scorpio she would sting and yet teach us to be on time! her lectures at super sonic speed were initially difficult to keep pace with! but later I enjoyed them the most! She would know my marks in every subject and keep track of me all the time! Had a ball with her during our trip to Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. I still do keep in touch with her and cherish all the memories of my days at Stella Maris. Kudos to all my teachers whom I have loved and adored over the years! Each one in their own special way has shaped my life and made me what I am today! Happy teachers day to all of them!

CONFIDENT KIDS ON STAGE- THE GRAND FINALE OF HONEY I SHRUNK MYSELF

After weeks of following the Honey I shrunk myself programme which was a joint intiaitive of the Hindu next G, Acme Fitness and O2 in the papers, I was pleasantly surprised when Nina invited me for the grand finale at Savera. The event was well planned and I entered a hall, with a stage and ramp all done up and I was wondering what I was going to watch. After a speech by Mr N Ram, the fun part of the event started. The 11 kids who made it to the finals were on stage. They began with giving a yoga demo, then a step exercise demo, then they grooved to a bollywood number! mind blowing performance by all of them! The lost weight but regained all the confidence they had lost due to ther obesity! each of them was having a blast on stage. Then a small film shot at savera was screened in which each of one of these participants shared their experience and almost sounded like brand ambassadors for O2 :-). They all got clothes from the Institite of design and make overs from a Cut Above and walked the ramp! was amazing to see their confidence levels. Nina's speech was the icing on the cake, when she shared details of how people made friends during the course of the 8 weeks and of course she was a boy chasing a girl!She also hinted she was going to reveal her age 'cos he kids had been asking her- n smartly said " I am as young as you in energy n spirit but my real age I will reveal after you lose the next 10 kilos!!" 8 weeks of rigorous diet and exercise coupled with fun helped these 11 lose weight. The maximum a guy lost was around 13.5 kilos! The winners were the ones who lost maximum fat percentage and not maximum weight. The winners walked away with cash prizes and O2 memberships. The evening was great fun and I think I was lucky to be part of the audience! Thanks a ton Nina for having me there! I am sure you were one major inspiration for all the kids! They are fortunate to have started their fitness journey with you! Keep rocking!