The Weekend

I'm sure you're all curious to know how the Class of 1998 Reunion went this weekend. Well, stay tuned because at the end of this week, we'll be posting pictures from the Reunion!

Subway System

For those visiting New York for the first time, getting around the city might seem very difficult. Here is a link to the New York subway map to help you figure out your path. The events are all planned close to subway stops, and closest subway stops for each event are listed to guide you.

http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/maps/submap.htm

Itinerary for this weekend!

Hello everyone,
We're so excited about our reunion. The events are below. Please email Kodai_98@yahoo.com if you have any questions. Those who are planning on attending should also be receiving an email with this itinerary. If you don't receive this email, it means we haven't heard from you yet regarding your attendance (or, worse, we inadvertently left you off the mailing list), so please let us know if that is the case.

Friday night (May 27)
Come relive Tibs Momos at this Tibetan restaurant.
Where: TIBETAN KITCHEN
When: 830pm
Location: 444 Third Avenue (Between 30th and 31st Streets), Tel. No. 212.679.6286.
How to get there: Closest subways are the 6 Train (Green Line) at 33rd Street Station; N or R Trains (Yellow Line) at 28th Street.

Friday night (May 27)
You don't have to drink furtively in the corner during Canteen. Drink openly (and legally)!
Where: BAR 515
When: 1030pm onwards
Location: 515 Third Avenue (Between 34th and 35th Streets), Tel. No. 212.532.3300.
How to get there: Closest subway is the 6 Train (Green Line) at 33rd Street Station, or a short walk from the Tibetan Kitchen.

Saturday Afternoon (May 28)
Even if you can't laze in the sun on Flag Green anymore, you can still enjoy Central Park!
Where: Strawberry Fields, Central Park. Closest subways are C Train (Blue Line) at 72nd Street; B Train (Orange Line) at 72nd Street.
When: 2pm onwards
Location: Enter Central Park at 72nd Street and Central Park West. Now, finding the picnic spot might seem complicated but follow these directions:
- Choose the Strawberry Fields entrance at 72nd Street and Central Park West.
- Follow the path through the park.
- When you reach the "Imagine" Circle, go on the left path.
- Follow this path till it intersects with a road.
- Cross the road towards the statute of Daniel Webster.
- Continue straight on the path past the statue.
- The Central Park Lake appears on your left. Stick to the sidewalk, with the lake to your left.
- When you reach a fork on the road, choose the left path again.
- Keep following the path until you reach a roundabout with a fountain in the lake.
- Take the first left exit, and follow the path towards the edge of the lake.
Yes, we know! This sounds very confusing. Trust us, the entire walk is only about 5 to 10 minutes, and you basically need to remember to keep the lake to your left. The Reunion Committee (Anjali, Dipti and Viren) will be waiting at the Strawberry Fields entrance from 2pm to 215pm to guide you!

However, in Kodai we knew better than to rely on bright sunshine! The weather forecast predicts rain on Saturday. So, if the skies are grey, then we have a back-up rain location!
Where: Cafe La Fortuna
When: 2:30pm (THIS IS THE RAIN LOCATION ONLY).
Location: 69 W. 71st Street (Between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West) , Tel. No. 212.724.5846.
How to get there: Closest subways are 1, 2, 3 or 9 Trains (Red Line) at 72nd Street; B Train (Orange Line) at 72nd Street, C Train (Blue Line) at 72nd Street.

Saturday night (May 28):
We have a long canteen night planned for you! First, we will be joining the Class of 1995 for their reunion, as well as other members of the Classes of 1996, 1997 and 1999 so that you can meet Kodai-ites who are not from the Class of 1998.
Where: Glass Lounge
When: 9pm
Location: 287 10th Ave. (Between 26th and 27th Streets), Tel. No. 212.904.1580.
How to get there: Closest subways are the C and E Trains (Blue Line) at 23rd Street.

As much as we want everyone to meet New York Kodai-ites from other classes, we also want our reunion to be solely about us. The Class of 1998 enjoys basking in its own glory. Thus, we have arranged an after-party!
Where: The Park Lounge
When: 11pm
Location: 118th 10th Ave. (Between 17th and 18th Streets), Tel. No. 212.352.3313.
How to get there: Just a mere 9-10 block walk south from Glass.

Sunday lunch (May 29)
Missing South Indian food?
Where: Dosa Hut
When: 12pm
Location: 102 Lexington Avenue (Between 27th and 28th Streets), Tel. No. 212.400.0812.
How to get there: 6 Train (Green Line) at 28th Street.

Sunday night (May 29)
Where: B-Bar & Grill
When: 9pm
Location: 40 E. Fourth Street (Between Bowery and Lafayette Street), Tel. No. 212.475.2220.
How to get there: Closest subways are the B, D, F and V Trains (Orange Lines) at Broadway-Lafayette Streets.

* Remember that New York clubs and bars sometimes enforce a dress code, so avoid wearing sneakers and very casual clothes!

Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

Itinerary

We know many of you are curious about the itinerary for the reunion (which is THIS COMING WEEKEND!!!). We've finalized the details, so everything will be up on the blog tomorrow morning. Sorry for the delay. We're really looking forward to seeing everyone!

Congratulations to Anjali!
Anjali graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design! Congratulations, Anjali, and we're glad that you will be our official photographer during the Reunion!

Shubhra

Shubhra and her husband Sandeep!

An old-timer from Kodai, Shubhra -- who left in eight grade -- wrote to us recently. After finishing university three years ago in Hospitality and Tourism, she got married to Sandeep. The two of them are living in Calgary, Canada. Sandeep has his own business (retail stores supplying camera products) and she has her own business too (no surprise there) supplying jewellery to retail shops in Canada.
Sadly, Shubhra and Sandeep will not be coming to the reunion. However, they write that if anyone is coming to Alberta, Canada, please call or email them.*

*Instead of posting their email and phone number on this public domain (Spammers!), email kodai_98@yahoo.com and we can send you their contact information.

Venkatesh!

Venkatesh! (With Mano and Aravinda at a 2004 reunion in London)

We got in touch with Venkatesh, who's pictured with Mano and Aravinda (see the archives for write-ups of Mano and Aravinda). After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Venkatesh completed his MBA at the Indian School of Business. Now he is working for the ICICI Group in Bombay in their investment banking division. He's been doing some interesting M&A projects in agri-business and BPO space (We're not entirely sure what that means, but it sounds very fancy!). He's also taking French lessons, and volunteers with street children on weekends.

Venkatesh says that most people would be surprised to know that he came back to India almost immediately after graduating from college. He misses Penryn Dorm and Flag Green the most, and he notes that the conversations that we used to have in Kodai were all very memorable . . .

Abirami!

We got in touch with an old-timer from Kodai: Abirami! Abirami is doing extremely well for herself. She has settled in Melbourne, Australia, and she works in product development with a sports medicine company. She is planning to start her Masters Degree in Public Health in the next 6 months. She has also started Bharatha Natyam again, and is actually going to be taking part in a dance production in Melbourne in August and September. In addition to all of this, Abi is learning First Aid so that she can volunteer with the local First Aid organization. Furthermore, she is working with a charity organization that assists the tsunami victims in Sri Lanka. She concludes her email saying, "All in life is good and I am extremely happy."

Abirami, we're happy to hear that you're doing so well, and we wish you the very best!

Samvit

Samvit!

Samvit, who is intending to attend the NYC Reunion, succumbed to our requests for his picture and write-up! Samvit's been living in Stamford, Connecticut for the past two years. He works for a small design/ intellectual property firm in Stamford, where he invents and designs new products, which are then pitched to large manufacturing companies. The goal of this process is to collect royalties on the design! The firm's designs range from "ultra-modern, stupidly expensive buildings to cool hi-tech gadgets to practical hardware appliances!" Sounds like your work keeps you on your toes, Sam!

Besides working and going to the beach, Samvit says that there isn't too much to do in Stamford, and so he spends a lot of his free time in Boston and NYC. He looks forward to seeing everyone at the upcoming reunion!

Aravinda + Pavan! 

We promised you another baby picture: Here's a very proud mother, Aravinda, with her son, Pavan, who was born about 6 months ago.

Tanushri!

Tanushri and her husband Trond 


Tanushri and her daughter Téa
 

We at the Reunion Committeee Headquarters are super excited because we have a wonderful post for you today. Tanushri (married name Tan Wøien) got in touch with us recently, and gave us some exciting news. Congratulations to Tanushri who got married to Trond (see the picture) in Kampala, Uganda in December 2001. Then, Tanushri and her husband had their first child -- a beautiful daughter named Téa Leela Wøien -- in December 2003. From the picture, we can tell that Téa is simply beautiful! Congratulations Tanushri, we wish you and your family the very best.

Tanushri has been very busy over the last few years. After graduating from Kodai, she went to Switzerland to study Hotel Management. She finished her degree in December 2000, and moved to Indianapolis with Trond (her boyfriend at the time). The two of them got married in December 2001. Her husband, Trond, is from Norway, and they moved there in June 2002, and have been living in Kristiansand, Southern Norway, ever since! Her husband works at the Radisson SAS Caledonien Hotel as the Food and Beverage Director.

After the birth of her daughter Téa in December 2003, Tanushri decided that the hotel business was too demanding, and that her heart was not into it. So, she's back to studying. She is currently pursuing a Degree in Business Administration, with a minor in Development Studies. She plans on ending up with a Masters Degree in Development Management, and then she wants to move to Asia or Africa and work with disadvantaged children in the Third World.

This news is super exciting. Unfortunately, Tanushri will not be able to make it to New York for the reunion with her husband and daughter because she has exams during the same time. She says, though, "I'll try to make it to a reunion in London, the next time there is one!" You hear that, you London folk, you have got to put together a reunion soon! Maybe Téa and Pavan, Aravinda's son, can play together! (Speaking of which, we have managed to get hold of a picture of Pavan, so check back again to see another adorable baby).

And Vahbiz again...

For all of you who didn't get the joke about Vahbiz's fictitious pregnancy - that's just what it is (fictitious)! A bit of humour and a bit of sensationalism to create a stir! Hey, it got you reading, and getting in touch with each other, right? ;)

Before you begin to think that this entire blog is a bunch of lies, we would like to point out two things: (1) Everything else is true (trust us!) and (2) Vahbiz herself sanctioned this joke (she might not have realized how far we would run with it, though!).

Well, our attempt at humor has backfired slightly. Vahbiz has been inundated with callers congratulating her. So, please don't believe our joke, and don't spread any rumors. As Vahbiz herself said to us, "If my parents find out about it in Bombay, they'll fly me back, heh heh."

Housing

A bunch of you have emailed us about housing. Rather than choosing one particular hotel for everyone to stay, we've decided to keep it open so that you all can flexibly make your plans. We've posted previously on websites about New York and New York accommodation, so please scroll through the archives for that information.

If anyone wants to share a hotel room, please email us at kodai_98@yahoo.com or leave a comment below this post. That way we can get you in touch with other like-minded people.

Nayma

Nayma! 

We've got another New Yorker coming to the reunion. NAYMA started off her email to us on a nostalgic note. She says, "Talking to Anjali yesterday got me thinking about the numerous times we'd sit and talk about how life will turn out five, ten years down the line, and here we are!" Well, Nayma, the Reunion Committee is glad that you're getting into the mood of nostalgia and reminiscing!

Nayma graduated from Colgate University and moved straight to New York. She finished her Masters Degree in International Relations from City College, New York. For the past year and a half, she has been working for the United Nations Development Program on issues related to the governance transition in Iraq. She finished this assignment about a month ago, and she is ready to start her Ph.D. in Political Science in September at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Can't wait until May 28, Nayma!

Archives feature

It's yet another month (May 2!) so March and part of April have become archived in the blog's history. You can read postings from those months (which contain lots of pictures and write-ups) by clicking on the archive links on the right hand side of the blog.

Have fun browsing!

Krishna 

KRISHNA has been working for the last two and a half years for The Marriott International in Beijing, China!