SIGNIFICANT OTHERS |
FAMILY AND OTHER ANIMALS
My father retired as Additional Secretary to the Govt. of Kerala. Well-read and widely travelled, had he not chosen ambition over farming, I wouldn�t even have heard of a home page. Mother is a loving, resourceful, patient and witty housewife. Younger sis Thara, is a famous(by her own account) editor who oversees medical, financial and legal transcription in Seaview Support Systems. She is well read, sensible, witty and is not afraid of snakes. (I should warn you that witticism runs in my family)
Father�s name is Sankaran, which means Lord Shiva, and mother�s Sankari, which means Goddess Parvathy . Maybe that is why I look like Ganapati from neck down.
Besides sis and me, my parents keep three dogs and two cats.
REJI: Officially honored with the title of �best friend� in 1986. (I actually went without one for about 13 years). My looking glass self. A wonderful shared past. Fitness fanatic (hypochondriac?), and black belt holder in karate, Reji is now an engineer with Intel. Legend has it that he got his first job after (mistakenly) introducing himself as Jayasankar.
ANIL: Erratic, unorganised and brainy. Has the most patient ear imaginable. In all these years I haven�t seen him lose his temper even once. Has a great knack of rousing his friends to inaction. In the US now, he dabbles in marathon, capoeira, salsa, acting, swimming(I suspect it was the breast stroke).
MADHAV: My oldest friend and partner in merrymaking. Extremely creative, well read and handsome (not necessarily in that order). Shares my passion for books, movies, music, cricket, crosswords, trivia and above all, food. Has a never ending ensemble of uncles, aunts and cousins. Married to the lovely Dr. Sindha after what must be the most enduring romance in recorded history. Madhav is now an engineer with i2 technologies, Bangalore.
SREEJI: Confident, adventurous, globetrotting go-getter. Has spread his essence atop the Eiffel tower, the pyramids of Egypt and on the beaches of Cyprus. Greatest patron of his own brand of humor (butt, naturally). Reformed commie. Wonderful company and man for all seasons. Crisis manager. Currently in the UK with Procter and Gamble. Married to Divya.
SOMAN:One of the major landmarks of Bangalore. Good-humored, helpful, athletic and smart,Soman is an engineer with Asea Brown Boveri. Married to the other Divya.
JOHN J: Probably the sanest person on earth(except when he is awake). Extremely brainy(even when he is awake). An engineer in US. Married to Sneha.
ASHOK PAUL: The guy who�ll do anything, and I mean anything, for his friends. Sensitive, intelligent and loyal to a fault. Employed with Danway, in the cool climes of Dubai. Married to Renee.
BALDEV: Captain courageous.(soon to be Major Courageous). Great fun to be with any time of the day. Married to Surya.
NIKITA: The greatest girl I know. Wonderful, lively, caring and acid-tongued. Friend, companion and muse. If she didn�t exist, I�d probably have had to invent her. Now peacefully settled.
JOSEPH: Sword arm to my stiletto (and vice versa). The only reason I didn't get full blame for anything during my days in Ghaziabad was because part of the blame was granted to him. A Mizo who doesn�t smoke, drink or play guitar. Rara avis. Extremely well-informed.
VIRENDER: My great room mate in Mussoorie. Delivers the funniest of lines with the most deadpan of exprressions. Admirably brave, and an admirer of my singing. Civil Servant in Delhi. Married to Manisha Jolly.
KULWANT: Gregarious. Highly resourceful. Never says no to a drink and never lets anybody say no either. Civil Servant in Jaipur. Married to Satyapriya, a top cop in Rajasthan, after a lovely romance in Mussoorie.
MUKUL: The quintessential sportsman. The only vegetarian guy I�d want to be seen with. But then, only his food habits are veg. Game for anything and eveything.Civil Servant in Haryana. Married to Arshita.
SUSHIL: The handsome version of Sunjay Dutt. Heavily into passive smoking and drinking. Beneath that movie star exterior lurks one of the classiest and most lovable persons I've ever met. Civil Servant in Delhi. Wife Nandini.
SOPHIA: Great friend. Dazzling smile. Woman of substance.Civil Servant in Trivandrum.
BEENA: My conscience keeper in Mussoorie. Fed me at all odd hours. Cute roomie, Monica. Beena is a powerful bureaucrat in Kerala, and married to the cop with the tough exterior and soft interior- the self-made Vijayan.
BINDU: For long, my dearest friend, finance minister and shoulder to cry on.
MUJIB: A remarkable bundle of talents. One of the best contemporary users of the English language, Mujib is my favorite search engine too. Wife to the wonderful Shahina.