I L ites lunch on 11th august 2007 & 13th Sep in Chennai

Dear Pushpavalli,
I am scared now to meet you next time because you want to settle scores with me! - God save me from, my kind, sweet friend !
In spite of my best efforts to change my nature, I am the type whom we call "Rishi garbham raa thangathu" !
My MIL used to joke that I must have been born even before my mother completed her full term prgnancy !
Well, I am not going to say sorry for not allowing you to create a suspense, calling this a secret meeting .
You never shared that with me !
Well, jokes apart, it was a pleasure to meet you & Malathi, two "emeging pillars" of I L !
Love,
Chithra.

Hi Everybody!
I see that I am one of the late-comers to this thread! Being one of the ilites to have been blessed to bask in the warmth of our dear Chithra's hospitality and to have had a great day with Latha Sasi, Ramya, Varloo, Laxmi and her 2 lovely daughters, Sriniketan (and her sweet kids) Mrs. Cheeniya( both Sriniketan and Mrs. Cheeniya seemed to be the quietest of the lot !), and Kripashankari with her cute daughter and ofcourse Chithra and her sweet grand daughter Maanasvini (with her mischivous smile!), I should have posted a thread much earlier! But better late than never!
It is sad that we missed out the aRRattai session since we were a little late for the get-together.
Archana and Suba (Sriniketan's daughters sang wonderfully and kept us mesmerised.If we had more time we could have made them sing more songs but Naan kaalil kanjiyai kottik kondu senrirunden! The future events for the evening nagging my mind, I could not cherish the moment to the fullest. Actually I had earlier declined the invitation from Chithra because of some other programme for the day, but on 2nd thoughts decided to take this opportunity to meet the other ILites.In fact after returning home and relaxing for the day, I realised that I had not enquired anything about Latha Sasi except that she was from Kumbakonam! Thanks to Varloo for having filled in some details about Latha in her post.
If the songs of Archana and Suba were a treat to our ears, Chithra's lavish dishes were a treat to our tongue and eyes too! The dishes I relished and enjoyed most were Tandoori potatoes, Chilly bajjis , party karela, cauliflower paal kootu and ofcourse bread dahi vada, the last being my most sought after, not that the other dishes were less tasty.
On the whole it was a wonderful day, most beautifully spent with new faces yet seeming very familiar as though friends for ages and a one I would have regretted if I had missed.
A very special thanks to Indusladies Malathy for having created such a wonderful website and brought all like-thinking people from various backgrounds to meet at one place and exchange pleasantries. I eagerly wait to see that beautiful face in person. Hope that happens soon.

Originally Posted by Chitvish

Dear Pushpavalli,
I am scared now to meet you next time because you want to settle scores with me! - God save me from, my kind, sweet friend !
In spite of my best efforts to change my nature, I am the type whom we call "Rishi garbham raa thangathu" !
My MIL used to joke that I must have been born even before my mother completed her full term prgnancy !
Well, I am not going to say sorry for not allowing you to create a suspense, calling this a secret meeting .
You never shared that with me !
Well, jokes apart, it was a pleasure to meet you & Malathi, two "emeging pillars" of I L !
Love,
Chithra.

Oh dear me! I am sneezing, my nose is watering and having all the signs of severe cold. !'ll leave it to your imagination the reason for my ailment.
Ha ha! I had a hearty good laugh when I read your description,"emerging pillars' of IL.
Malathi had posted all I wanted to say about the lunch and everything. I didn't get the opportunity to talk to Maanasvini as she had left soon after our arrival.
Regarding "Rishi garbam raa thangathu" I should say that will suit my hubby.
I am just opposite and a person of "wait and watch," type.
Well, waiting to meet you at my place.
Love,
Pushpavalli

Dear Malathijagan,
So truly said.Yes ,it was a wonderful and unforgetable meet at Chitvish's. She indeed has a big heart where there is room for everybody.I am glad and blessed that I was there to enjoy her warmth and friendliness.And above all A Big Thank you to Malathy for bringing in Indusladies into the world..........It's a Beautiful World Indeed !!!!!!!!

Regards
Latha Sasidharan

dear Ladies,
The reason behind my late response to this, is that I am in search of words to describe the meet. Mrs. Chitvish, MalathiJagan, Mrs. Pushpavalli, Varloo, Latha Sasi, were all to my rescue, in describing the event.
But I had to thank Mrs.Chitvish and other ilites who made this meet possible.
Highlight of this meet is that my daughters liked it very much and also asked me to cook just like Mrs. Chitvish. You can expect more queries in the recipe section by me.
It was nice to meet the ilities and know their "real faces" behind their screen name. I enjoyed it very much and not but not the least, the enthusiaism from Mrs. Chitvish and other ilites made me humble. I really enjoyed their company.

what more to say about Mrs. Chitvish's menu? It was superb and she proved that we can entertain masses with traditional recipes too.
thanks Malathy for starting this website.
I am looking forward for another meet next year!
Sriniketan

Dear chitra
Your post was great.Reminded me of the great get together of June.I really missed this.Anyway nice looking at the snaps of ILites and your sumptous spread.You have a really large heart and a zest for life.I pray the Lord to give you long and healthy life to continue the good work.I will visit you when I come to Chennai.I must bring my daughter to meet you when I visit you next time.She loves meeting people who live each day with lot of enthu........

Dear Latha sasi
Your post was great.My co sister did her schooling in Vidyodaya and later on in WCC.Which year did you finish.Her name is Jayanthi.She is at present working in Padma Seshadri school.

Hello ILites

I was little late for the lunch meet and now here in this thread too.
We had such a wonderful time and my special appreciation goes to Sriniketan and her daughters Shubha and Archana. They were really unspoilt of their lifestyle in US, looked every bit rooted deep in our rich Indian culture. Nice to see such genuine people who love their roots. Archana and Shubha had wonderful singing talent and they entertained us with their rendering of Carnatic music.
Latha sasi reminds me of Chithru ( Chitvish's DIL) in feature and looks. Apuurva has special appreciation for Ramya aunty as she was very friendly with the kids and having good time with them.
Varloo gave shock of my life with her new hair style that too a very short one till shoulder length. Varloo in all her enthu to meet Chitvish had left her Scooty keys in the vehicle itself. But thank God for the apartment security, who had kept it safely and gave it to her.
With Pushpavalli and Malathijagan we had a very nice interaction and learnt a lot about the volunteer service Malathijagan is doing. Great going Malathi, keep up with your service work. I could gather from her talk that there are lot of people benefitted from the social group formed by the wives of those working in L&T. ( Malathi's husband is in L&T).
Mrs. Indira ( Cheeniya's wife) had come early to Chitvish's place to help her out with this sumptuous lunch spread. Indira was the quietest person and I encouraged her to become a member of IL. Indira, we are looking forward to you being here in this virtual meet too.
Kripa shankari came very late but easily mingled with us. Aditi and her daughter became friends immediately and were happy to share the jhula between them.
We were talking about everyhting under the sun like when and why did each of us cut our hair to how IL is an addiction with us.
Said a brief hi to Manasvani, she is a sweet little darling who came all the way to help her grandma in arranging the spread. She was in a hurry to go for a function where she was called to judge the event. As usual she was with her trademark smile that enlivens the place.

Last but not the least, eveyone who was there in the meet did talk abt Chithra's hospitality and her energy and zest to entertain people. Here is my own:

Chitvish, I felt like as though I was visiting my Mom's place what with fabulous home cooked food, jovial company and extremely caring attention that you showered on me and my kids. I would not just say a Thank you but it means more than that for such a deserving person who could only shower all the love and affection for her friends. Praying God that you are blessed with good health and lot more years in your life.

BTW , Chithra I definitely need the recipe for Tandoori potatoes ( for Apuurva and Aditi) and Shrikand ( for myself). Or shld I make the request in your forum. Catch u there, okay.

Hi everyone - wow! Looks like the latest IL meet was a huge hit. Chith - your wonderful spread was mouth watering. And another awesome "oonjal photo". Reading through the thread, I felt like I was there! Thanks for posting the photos.

Shobana

Hi all,
Looks like im the one unblessed soul missing the Ilites meet up everytime. I was logged in all day on 10th AUG , but not knowing of the meet up.Curse me .

Reading all your experiences was an immense pleasure !.

Dear Chithra,
You are such a great soul! So much hospitality and zest and cheerfulness with which you host a party everytime at ur place is remarkable.