Sri Lanka's Condeleesa Rice (Konde Nisa Nice)

Chandrika's new hair cut

Does it make her look any better ?

Reunion - Jan 5, 2007

Please click on this to enlarge....

Summary of comments -

Balas Pictures – Reunion - Jan 5, 2007

 
  

Balas Pictures – Reunion - Jan 5, 2007

 
 
 
  

Balas Pictures – Reunion - Jan 5, 2007

 
 
  

Balas Pictures – Reunion - Jan 5, 2007

 
 
 
  

Balas Pictures – Reunion - Jan 5, 2007

 
 
 
  

Balas Pictures – Reunion - Jan 5, 2007

 
 
 
  

Omer's son's wedding - Jan 12, 2007 - by Bala

 
 
 
  

Omer's son's wedding - Jan 12, 2007 - by Bala

 
 
 
  

Warren Buffet- isms

 
There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second richest man who has donated $ 31 billion to charity. Here are some very interesting aspects of his life:   1) He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late !   2) He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.   3) He still lives in the same small 3 bedroom house in mid-town Omaha , that he bought after he got married 50  years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a compound wall or a fence.   4) He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.   5) He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.   6) His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of  these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis .   7) He has given his CEO's only two rules. Rule number 1: do not lose any of your share holder's money. Rule  number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.   8) He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch television.   9) Bill Gates, the world's richest man, met him for  the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half an hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten  hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.   10) Warren Buffet does not carry a mobile phone, nor has a computer on his desk.   11) His advice to young people: Stay away from credit  cards and invest in yourself.

Comments by Eric M

16 Jan. 07

Thank you Bala, Rifky, Delano and Chaman for the great photos and
accounts of the Reunion. We unfortunate expatriate guys have to depend
on your accounts and pix to at least vicariously enjoy the party. So
everyone who was there - write in with your perspectives on the
re-union. The more the merrier. They can all be filed in the Blog to
make great memories for posterity. We haven't heard from the other
guys living abroad, probably because they are too disappointed to
write.

Bala, I know what you mean by being disappointed that there was no
video. I sent e-mails and made phone calls asking that a video be
made, so those who weren't there could purchase one. As you say, it
would have been nice to have Woutersz and everyone else on video.

Sam has been suspiciously silent ever since the re-union. I figured he
was busy wring a long account of the party, but he just sent an e-mail
saying he is sick. I am sure he will eventually get around to writing
a great account of the re-union. I am very, very sorry that Sam our
leader had the sheer bad luck to get sick at just the wrong time and
miss Omar's son's wedding. Don't worry Sam, it could be worse. At
least you did not end up in hospital like me. Get well soon!

Best wishes,

Eric

Reunion

Hi guys
Back at work after a wonderful few days in Colombo. Rifky has given a graphic description of the evening. And thanks for the photographs Rifky and Bala. Rifky's resplescent crimson out fit, well brought out by the photographs, stood out in stark contrast to the rather drab sartorial tastes of the rest of us.
Yes, it was an evening to treasure. Well worth travelling miles to be a part of. Most of the guys who turned up I was seeing after four decades!! Man, you guys have aged well and graciously. But only physically. The evening was sufficient evidence that we are all still very much young at heart, perhaps even juvenile. Moin's standout performance of Michael's demonstration of his family jewels had us all in splits. As Bala has said, its a pity we did not have a video. Food for thought for the next reunion. Missed Jaldeen, Refai and Moosa.
Rifky, the birthday cake was Sam's own, gifted by his better half. I had the honour to carry it in, with strict instructions not to nibble. Sam was kind enough to offer transport for Bala, Zaranai and myself to and from Firoze's place.
Come to think of it we did not get to taste the cake. We only helped Sam to cut it. And the singing of the school song brought a lump to my throat. I was hearing it after 40 years and at first I could not remember the words. And then it all came back to me, in waves. What a moment!
Whom do we thank for this special evening? All those who Rifky, Bala and Delano have mentioned, but also everyone one of you who thought it worthwhile to be there and part of a special crowd. And Eric, who was there in all but the flesh. But some are of course more equal than the others. Sam and Fi and all you other guys, thanks a million.
I missed out on Omer's son's wedding. I was travelling upcountry on the 11th and 12th and had planned to be back by the eveing of the 12th. But the heavy rains and the landslides delayed my return and it was late evening by the time I got back. So, I missed out on seeing some of your families. But compensation came in the way of Bala's photographs. Who would have thought that the unruly mob on the 5th evening could appear so dignified in suit and ties. I can understand Bala's embarrassment. But if I had turned up I would probably have come in a t-shirt. Receptions are quite informal here in Madras. Omer, my apologies for not being present on the occasion and my very best wishes to your son and his new bride. May Allah bless them with all that is best in life.
Sam, I'm glad Bala and I had another opportunity to dine with you on the 9th, a day after your birthday. But perhaps it was the surfeit of good and glorious times that laid you low the next day. I trust you and also your dear wife, who we were unfortunate enough not to get to meet, are now fully recovered.
Jawahar

Balas - comments and pictures on the Reunion

Rifky,

Here are the second shots of the re-union. I ruefully regret for not taking the videos, very specially towards the end, when Wowtersz was at his best and also performing continuously. This was my son's digital and as such I am not very familiar with it. By mistake there is one, but without light.

Well folks, it was one of those memorable trips I have ever made to S.L.

The next day that I landed, we had the Re-union and the day before I left, I had the pleasure of seeing some of you with your family at the wedding, which I would not have had otherwise. I never had the thought that I would attend this wedding and I was certainly the odd man in the gathering, without a suit. I was feeling so awkward when I entered the hall. I sat quietly by the side of Mr. and Mrs. Delano and watched the guests trooping inside, at least to see whether someone would come like me. I suddenly saw two men walking in without a suit and was relieved. But my joy was short lived as they were adjusting the lights and were the videographers.

Soon Sarani came to our table and called me out to sit with our clique. There again all our guys were at their best, immaculately dressed. But very soon our guys made me feel at home once we started chatting and I forgot about my suit. Fi, thanks for seeing me through with Izza back to my place. I was feeling much for Sam, who could not be there due to sheer bad luck.

Rifky, you have thanked those who made this Re-union possible. But let me tell you that you were the prime mover behind this. If not for you taking the initiative and the rest moving in at the appropriate time, I don't think we would have ever met. You were the key and the rest like Delano, Sam, Fi and Izza came in and held everything together and I really appreciate what they have done. So, we have met and are moving on as Chaman said like brothers in a family. We hope this will motivate the rest who were not present, to make it in 2011.

By the way, Refai is a nice guy and did not look like a man up from the sick bed and I feel his wife would not have wanted to risk him joining us, having seen some of our mails.

Cheers

Bala

Click here ( for the pictures)

Nostalgia in the New Year

It was certainly a night the 23 stalwarts from the Royal College English medium class of 1961 remembered. Meeting at the gorgeous house (nay mansion) of Fi Nathani in appropriately termed Royal Gardens in Rajagiriya on January 5, 2007 were classmates who had not met; some for 30/40 years.

Whilst the a bulk of the credit for collating names and contact details of the class goes to Firoze Sameer; the credit for initiating the event should go to Delano Uduman who was astute enough to focus on a meeting if at least “three could turn up”. The numbers committing attendance were many more. Sam also celebrated his 57th year at the crease of life on the Monday following and a cake (I believe brought by Jawahar) was cut in recognition more of the man behind getting the group together than for the years he was celebrating.

For those not at the party and even for some who were; there were some niceties which were not overtly evident (to use an oxymoron for emphasis) making me have a warm fuzzy feeling which was not Johnny Walker induced. For instance one could see a few of the stalwarts (names being suppressed to prevent any embarrassment) passing cash to cover some of the costs. It had to be for this unless they were paying for some other services of which we were unaware. The four of us from overseas were not included in this arrangement and were really treated as guests. So were many others who were present but who were not asked to contribute to the pot.

Another nicety was the transport arrangements made for all (which was coordinated by Fazal); including paying for getting to the party and more importantly getting back home. These costs were also discreetly shared by the inner group. This especially made sense for guys like Hamish to get a ride home. He was so inebriated that he was making romantic overtures to all and everyone at the end of the evening. (I believe that he successfully fertilized the large tree standing near the door firmly believing that this was Munam Refai who would have resembled one if he had come – more later) .This also appropriate for non drinkers like Habeebullah who had a long way to go after attending the function.

Well done the inner circle who arranged all of this. Nicely done.

Fi had also made sure that the drinks had been separated in two distinct areas – one for softies and the other for hard alcohol. I am sure this was much appreciated by the likes of Tariq, Habeebullah et al who are hard core non- drinkers who may otherwise have found it offensive to have served themselves from the same table. Nice touch. However, making a bed available for the night (next to the toilet) did not play out too well as Sam forgot to bring the birdie num num to the party much to the chagrin of Fazal, Moin and co.

Hats off to two of the four ( the others being Rafil and Rifky) from overseas for making the trip ESPECIALLY for the party. Dr Jawahar and Bala flew down just for this event all the way from Chennai (Madras for the geographically challenged) and I for one will not forget this. Contrariwise, that fat fcuk-er from Horton Place, Munam (Thakkali) Refai was suddenly felled with a life threatening disease (no – it was not related to his pimply face or constitution) and despite previously confirming his attendance did not even have the decency to call and apologize. His wife had to provide/make up the excuse. Bear in mind that he lives literally five minutes away. Abdul Moosa also could not attend and I am unsure of the status quo in this case to criticize the man – who probably has some issues which I am unaware.

Also making it to the event, albeit virtually was young (looking) Eric Gnanasihamany (now Manny for short) who called from Canada and spoke to each and every person. I still remember his email saying that cost was not an issue as this was a reunion he would have liked to have attended and making an overseas call was worth it both in terms of cost and time. Well done Eric.

Ifthikar and Omer (who the hell renamed him Omar) had to come a little late as they had a wedding to attend; but they still did. As a consequence Omer is missing from most of the pictures but I still managed to get him in one shot when the cake was being cut. Omer’s older son is getting married in a week from the party ( to a gorgeous air hostess) and we congratulate him on raising two fine young men whom I had the pleasure of meeting during my short trip.

The pictures recording all of this are posted in the Blog for posterity with more to follow from the lenses of Bala and Rafil. All are easily recognizable except perhaps for two notables – one is Tariq and the other is Bala. Boy. Have these guys changed. Tariq in particular. If he comes to the USA he will definitely be detained for body cavity search as his resemblance to U.B.L is uncanny. Bala still has those innocent eyes but his demeanor and physique are such that he is not someone you want to run into on a dark and stormy night. Most others have changed primarily in girth and hair color but can still be identified without any difficulty. Chaman really needs to tell us the secret of his youthful looks. ”Alvis Amarasekera” looks so delightfully young that Priscilla (Presley) will probably take him on anytime. Bottle the secret ingredient and sell it man. Use it on Munam first to see if it will work. If anything can change that fcuk-er; it will work on all (as you can guess – I am really annoyed as I was looking forward to meeting him).

Will leave it to the others to comment (and please do as what you have observed during the re-union should be recorded).

Just a reminder. While we will meet at all and anytime possible in the future; please keep 2011 free for our 50th reunion with date, time and place to be announced. Hopefully all will be alive and kicking in 4 years or so. For those requiring it; walking sticks, wheel chairs and wiagra ( Sri Lanka version spelt as such consisting of gotukola, ground elephant testicles and robin blue for color) will be provided.

My best to all for a happy, healthy and horny 2007.

Regards

Rifky

Reunion - January 5, 2007

 

Reunion - January 5, 2007

 

Reunion - January 5, 2007