Welcome to my June Newsletter, in a new format (thanks to Prasad's feedback). Some of you may recall that I had used this format for the abridged version in February. From now on, this will be the format for the next few issues (in 2002, definitely).

The first feature, as usual, are the old photos.

MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THESE

The first photo is that of Santhanam (in 1970 or so) and the second is that of Rahul, Vidya and Shoba with their grandparents (in 1985 or so).

MY DIARY FOR MAY 2002 (upto June 4th)
One feels happy to occupy a big house. But it becomes a very big hassle when you are transferred. The law for all Government (particularly Railway ) officers is 'Luggage expands to fill the space available.' In 1973, Amritha and I started with things which could be transported in a jeep. Now we have luggage that needs more than three 5-tonne trucks. So May 2002 was a hectic month for Amritha and me.
Aarthi came with me from Bangalore to Chennai on 30th April and we left for Mumbai after spending a couple of days here. I came back in a couple of days. I had brought 11 cartons and a statue of Anjaneya (bought by us in Ujjain) with me in the two trips I made to Mumbai before the final shifting. One of my colleagues thought that was 25% of my total luggage and was amazed when I told him it was only 1% of my luggage.
After a week in Chennai, I left for Mumbai on 15th May. The period frrom 16th to 22nd was very hectic, with a host of people performing different functions in the house, which looked like a cyclone-affected area. Times like these, one feels happy to have joined the Railways, as our job was mainly supervising and ensuring that things are done in an orderly fashion (of course you feel the tension of a transfer) .Hats off to Amritha, who was making tea for all workers every day as well as making all meals till lunch on 22nd . In between, we visited my cousin as well as some of my colleagues for lunch/dinner.On 22nd, we loaded the major luggage in the wagon. We still had about 50 pieces with us (TV, Music system, PC, jewels, silverware, clothes and 10 pieces of Harish). We left by a special carriage by Chennai Express on 22nd, while our kit-wagon was attached by Mail on the same day. Harish accompanied us upto Pune.The journey was uncomfortably hot between Guntakal and Renigunta, but the carriage was ideal for carrying all the luggage.
We spent two nights in the Guest House, adjacent to our house. The house is excellent, though there were initial problems.It has a living room, dining room, a smaller hall and two bed-rooms (with attached bath) on the ground floor with two bed-rooms (with attached bath) on the first floor. The room selected by Aarthi (and guest-room) is the biggest that I have occupied so far at 38feetX22 feet. There is also a big garden area, with a number of trees and enough space to play shuttle.The flip side is that pigs (yes, PIGS) roam around freely in the garden. Our luggage came on 24th and was unloaded the same day, though unpacking is still not over. For the quantity of luggage, the damage was minimal (Amritha felt sorry that the fish-tank broke). Again hats off to Amritha, who started making all meals from breakfast of 24th.
We were reasonably settled when Hema and my mother-in-law came on 28th, after vacating their flat at Tiruvanmiyur . Raghu also came on 28th. So we decided to host our first-ever function with all (almost all) close relatives on 1st June. Since we wanted him to be here, Harish came on two days' leave- by air on 1st and left by train on 4th.
The get-together was good. The catering was OK. We had organised a few games including Housie & Quiz and everybody enjoyed them. My brother brought my mother from the hospital to our house on 1st . Raghu left on 3rd, Hema and Harish on 4th. Only from 5th or 6th (after most problems in the house are over), I feel comfortable in Chennai and am not thinking about Mumbai. But Aarthi is still unhappy about leaving Mumbai.
We have not been able to see much of world cup football due to the difficult attitude of cable operators.But Senegal seems to be a revelation so far. Cricket was interesting in WI and let's hope India does well in England.
I found time to read two novels- one by Alister McLean and another by Sue Grafton ( famous for all her alphabet novels).
As usual, I am asking all of you to reply, though Prasad and Raghu are the only regular correspondents.
anbudan,
Parthasarathy
12th June 2002

PS: Since I was busy, I could only add 'HUMOUR' to the subject-wise archives.