9 Nov'06 :
Shobha & I left on the next leg of our tour in the US - a visit to the East Coast ! We left San Francisco for Newark around 9 am by United airways. The flight took approx. 5 hrs & we touched down at Newark Airport @ 4.45 pm local time,the time difference between West & East coast being @3hrs.(difference between PacificTimeZone & EasternTime Zone). Were served the customary coffee/tea/cookies/nuts aboard flight. Breakfast was on offer for $.5/-which we politely declined. Shobha had carried idlis smeared generously with molaka podi/ennai mix(chilli powder/sesame oil) & we deliciously devoured them. We were received at Newark by Ravi Subramaniam. Ravi works for Colgate in their R & D. We drove to Montgomery Dist. of New Jersey where Ravi & Sujatha live.(Su is Shobha's cousin) The drive took almost an hour & 45 mts. There was heavy traffic due a big Rutgers football match that was scheduled that night. We reached their house @ 8.00 pm. Only Lalitha Amma (Su's mother) & Ambika were at home. Ravi & Su have 2 daughters - Anusha & Ambika. Anusha is in her undergrad at Colombia while Ambika is in High School. Lalitha Amma was delighted to see us after almost 10 years. She had aged considerably during this period(she was now 80 plus). But her enthusiasm & affection has remained undiminished.She asked endless questions, reminisced about old times,kept on her endless chatter. Su trooped in after her hospital duty around 10 pm. The two cousins who were meeting after nearly 16 yrs. - whooped delightfully & hugged. Su is a general practitioner in emergency medicine. Ravi & I retired to bed early.The other 3 continued chattering till late into the night.
Su,Shobha & I were booked to take the Grayline tour of New York next day.
11 Novemebr'06 :
Visited an ex-colleague of mine Sanjoy Purohit who recently landed a job in New Jersey. Was treated to a nice Bengali-Punjabi lunch prepared by his wife Shikha.
Shobha & I left on the next leg of our tour in the US - a visit to the East Coast ! We left San Francisco for Newark around 9 am by United airways. The flight took approx. 5 hrs & we touched down at Newark Airport @ 4.45 pm local time,the time difference between West & East coast being @3hrs.(difference between PacificTimeZone & EasternTime Zone). Were served the customary coffee/tea/cookies/nuts aboard flight. Breakfast was on offer for $.5/-which we politely declined. Shobha had carried idlis smeared generously with molaka podi/ennai mix(chilli powder/sesame oil) & we deliciously devoured them. We were received at Newark by Ravi Subramaniam. Ravi works for Colgate in their R & D. We drove to Montgomery Dist. of New Jersey where Ravi & Sujatha live.(Su is Shobha's cousin) The drive took almost an hour & 45 mts. There was heavy traffic due a big Rutgers football match that was scheduled that night. We reached their house @ 8.00 pm. Only Lalitha Amma (Su's mother) & Ambika were at home. Ravi & Su have 2 daughters - Anusha & Ambika. Anusha is in her undergrad at Colombia while Ambika is in High School. Lalitha Amma was delighted to see us after almost 10 years. She had aged considerably during this period(she was now 80 plus). But her enthusiasm & affection has remained undiminished.She asked endless questions, reminisced about old times,kept on her endless chatter. Su trooped in after her hospital duty around 10 pm. The two cousins who were meeting after nearly 16 yrs. - whooped delightfully & hugged. Su is a general practitioner in emergency medicine. Ravi & I retired to bed early.The other 3 continued chattering till late into the night.
Su,Shobha & I were booked to take the Grayline tour of New York next day.
11 Novemebr'06 :
Visited an ex-colleague of mine Sanjoy Purohit who recently landed a job in New Jersey. Was treated to a nice Bengali-Punjabi lunch prepared by his wife Shikha.
In the evening Nirmal Singh & Jas Kiran,who live in Hobokken, landed up in Su's place. He had some diificulty in locating the place but ultimately made it successfully with some tele navigation provided by Su. Shobha & I joined them and we drove to Red Oak Diner, a Greek restaurant in Princeton for dinner. We had a very lively evening -subjects varied from how Nirmal manages to remain in the US for so long on a student visa to his son marrying an Italian girl. Wine was served for Nirmal & I, soft drinks for the ladies. The Greek steward taught us to say "thank you" in Greek. Jas Kiran was in great distress due to her arthritis - but nevetheless endured the long drive from Hoboken -50 miles either way. (Incidentally Nirmal & I were together for 5 yrs at IIT,Delhi). Nirmal then dropped us back at Su's before returning home.
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