IL'ites meet in Chennai - 7th June 2006

I am back here after a long gap...was too busy putting my son in daycare.

Great idea...I too want to see the photos...pls do post them!A webcam picture is a great idea too!

Varloo,how many ilites are in Chennai...I seem to know Chitvish,Varloo,jana....I don't remember seeing any others....Pls let me know.

Dear Varloo:

Wish you all a great time with Chithraji. Have fun! Awaiting the details!!

Seetha

Dear I'lites
We had a wonderful get together in mami's house this evening.
It was pleasant to meet Laxmi our moderator,Varloo,her husband,her son Aravind,Archana and Shanthi. We had endearing daughter and daughter inlaw of mami to give us company.
We were welcomed in traditional style with malli poo brought in a tray by mami's grand daughter.We were served fruit punch by our hostess which had a ting ling taste.
We had cosy conversation and spent time getting to know each other and i even showed my flat fm mami's balcony and introduced my son Bharat to other I'lates.
Then we were graciously led by mami into a magical world.We were taken to her dining room and all of us were dumbstruck seeing the array of dishes and the decoration on them.All of us were transported to a diffrent world.All these days i was thinking that sabudana tasted good only in vadams and payasams but mami had made an excellent dish out of it.There were soft melting idiappams with stew,dokhlas dancing in its decoration.lovely chaat items .Along with it were an assortment of chutneys.The sweet dishes particularly the pinapple pudding and lapsi dish were simply yummy and out of the world.
As i was devouring the food items and could not help appreciating the meticulous planning,effort,labour,love and zeal of our hostess.She was such a perfect hostess indulging every guest and personally supervising everything.There was also wonderful pal Kozhakattai made by Laxmi and it was very nice of varloo to share her home grown mangoes with us.The evening ended with a nice gift and touching personal note along with it, from mami.Wat a telepathy,i was actually scouting for the same kind of piece everywhere and i could not locate a perfect one like yours.Now your gift is adorning my kitchen.
Mr Varalotti you have really missed out on a wonderful evening.
As i left mami's house i was in a total trance and did not know how i reached my place.Mami,if i could emulate you in a smallest way it would be a great achievement for me.
Mami has set the ball rolling for I'llites meeting, i hope to meet all and more of you often in each other's place from now on.
Luv
Bhugan

Dear Bhuvana,

Just as Mrs Chithra transported all of you into a magical world, so have you transported the rest of us to a happy place with your write up. It is really nice to read abt the fragrant welcome, all the yummy dishes, and above all the warm conversation and friendship you all enjoyed. I pray that I can join in the next one.

Great write up Bhuvana, as I say of another great writer, u write best when u write sponaneously from the heart.

cheers
Vidya

wow..so good to just hear about the evening meeting. I can only imagine the good time you all had together..

Looking forward to see some pictures of you wonderful people. Would be nice to have faces for all the words I read everyday...


Selvi.

Dear all,
We had an enjoyable get togather last evening.
We were 9 IL ites - 4 from my family, Varloo, Archukoratty, Laxmi, Bhugan & Shanti Narayan. Varloo's husband Sri Raghavan was kind enough to accept my invitation & was a silent spectator to all the noise we made ! He occasionally joined us with a quip here & there. Varloo's very smart looking son Arvindh & Laxmi's sweet daughters Apurva & Aditi were also there.
Our talk inevitably centred around our IL - the connecting bond between all of us !
I am posting a photo of the spread - I hope that will tempt more people to visit me in the future. I look forward to more such delightful meetings in the days to come.
Love & regards,
Chithra.

Dear all,
First of all, let me ask your pardon for being late in letting you all know about our Evening with Chithra - II. It was late when we reached Ambattur and I had to assist my son in his studies. I was thinking of the time we spend together and trying to organise my thoughts and experiences, so that I could share it with all of you.
Myself along with my hubby, Aravindh and Archana reached Chithra's home late by one hour due to traffic. (Indian puncutality?) On the way, Laxmi called to say she was also caught in traffic and would be late.
We found the place without any difficulty, the place is easy to locate. A very calm and quite area, just off the busy Radhakrishnan Road. I would also like to mention that we were allowed to park inside the compound, which is nearly immpossible in almost all the apartment complexes.
We ascended by lift to the second floor. When the lift opened, we were greeted by a beautiful kolam on the threshold of the house. On both sides of the entrance, tere were brass urulis with lotus in them. This itself gave a very holy look, that we did not feel like entering with our footwear.
Chithra came to the entrance to welcome us, each one of us. Just inside, in the foyer, was a laughing Buddha and some other trinkets, welcoming us. When we turned left to enter the drawing room, we saw the Mahalakshmi with elephants on both sides and lamps adorning- on a beautiful wooden stand.
In the drawing room, we were greeted by Bhuvana Ganesh (Bhugan), Shanta Narayanan (new ILite and Chithra's friend), Chithra's daughter, dil and Manaswini (GD). My hubby and Aravindh sat on the swing together, they were the minority. Mr.V had not returned from his walk.
We introduced ourselves and were greeted by fresh mallipoo, Manasvini offered it. We went on chatting about how we all joined IL and about our interests and family.
Bhugan showd us her beautiful flat from Chithra's balcony and we said hi to her son Bharat. She also invited us to her home but due to lack of time, we postpned to another day.
As we were chatting, Laxmi arrived with her daughters, cute little ones. The younger one was very shy and hid her face in her mother's dress. We were offered a fruit punch, very delicious and welcome in the hot weather.
We went on and on about IL and other things. Poor hubby and Aravindh had to bear the bantering without interuption patiently.
We were waiting for AGR and were giving up on her. Then she called to say that she was stuck up in the office and will not be able to make it this time. Just then Mr.V came home after his walk. We chatted for a while with him.
Then, we were led to the dining room and our eyes fell on the circular dining table, laden with food that ws very inviting. There was idiyappam and stew, dhokla and sweet chutney, pakoda and kara chutney, sabudana kichadi, chat, lapsi halwa, pineapple pudding, apple pie with ice cream. laxmi had brought pal kozhukkatai also.
Chithra and her family very lovingly assisted us in helping ourselves to the food. She personally saw to it that we had everything.
Idiyappam and stew was very delicious and I enjoyed the dhokla, my favourite. Sabudana was excellent, not kozha kozha only uthir uthir. The lapsi halwa was out of this world, it was divine. I am mentioned only some specially because they are my favourites, all the dishes were par excellence.
Laxmi's pal kozhakkatais were also very tasty, she had made them very well. We could make perfect dishes, with Chithra's recipe.
Laxmi's younger daughter Aditi was shy and wanted to go home from the time she entered the house. But when she came to the dining room and saw the beautifully garnished dishes, she was dumbstruck. When asked which dish she wanted, she pointed to the very colourful pineapple pudding. Laxmi says she is difficult to feed. This proves that when presented in the right way, even such children would be drawn towards food.
I would say all the dishes were well garnished, the dhokla with coriander leaves and coconut, the sabudana with coriander leaves and curry leaves, the chat with coriander leaves and omapodi, the pudding with pineapple rings and cherry, the lapsi halwa with blanched almonds which was contrast to the light brown halwa. You could see in the photo.
With all these fabulous dishes, the kitchen looked like it was not used at all. We have to learn many other things from Chithra.
I had taken raw mangoes from my home for all. They all accepted that very graciously.
Now it was time to say bye. We all parted with joy in our hearts on meeting our fellow ILites. There was also possibiity of more such meetings, so we did not feel sad. Chithra gave us momentoes, spiritual ones that we will keep in places of worship. We said good bye to each other, promising to meet more ILites soon.
We did not feel like strangers to each other because of our interaction throu IL. We felt we were all close friends, meeting after a long time. Chithra and her family made us feel at home. She welcomed us very warmly into her home and made us relax. I feel very rejenuvated after the meeting. Next time , we could organise with more people.
What more to say, the heart is brimming with joy and contentment. I shall be going over this meeting for sometime now.
With warm wishes,
varloo

Dear Vidya
Thanks for yr prompt reply and its nice to hear fm u that my write up was good . I always tell mami that yr lang is fantastic. I 've read most of ur articles. I'm an ardent fan of yr slokas and it is nice to read more about our religion. The navagraha slokas sent by u r a must in my daily slokas recital.
luv
bhugan(bhuvana)

Dear Bhugan and Varloo,

Thanks for the great write up on the meeting you all had just today , a few hours earlier in Madras. Also, thank you Chitra for the instant visual treat :) It was sweet of you all to think of IL and bring the details to us at once.

The get together sounded wonderful with all of you like minded and lovely IL'ites contributing to the friendly atmosphere. It must have been magical to see and taste the spread that magical Chitra prepares! I was especially impressed by what Varloo mentioned, that the kitchen looked like it was never used!! Yes Chitra, you must be having a magic wand! I have heard about people in Madras having difficulties to run a household smoothly due to water problem, electricity failures and ofcourse, the heat. And here you are! I am amazed that you bring rows and rows of dishes to your table to please your online friends that you are meeting the very first time. You have added your special appealing touch with Malligaipoo and Momentoes. Yes, there is a LOT to learn from you.

I am glad that there are so many generous IL'ites who are openly appreciating and acknowledging the talents, warmth and friendship of each other. I think we have got something very special going here.

L, Kamla

Hai,
It goes without saying that we had a whale of a time with Chithra. I have posted the details in ILites meet in Chennai thread.
With warm wishes,
varloo