The Finish Line

Having decided to run a half -marathon here in Chennai I  immediately started preparing by watching movies which deal with marathons. The Marathon Man is a great movie, but Dustin Hoffman runs too fast . Then I came across the movie- Run, Fat Boy, Run  which is an OK movie but  has great running tips. Perseverance was the key ingredient.

On a pleasant rainy day (Sept 27th) about 300 runner participated in  the race. I ran the race (without Stopping)  in 2hrs and 50 minutes. Post marathon there were celebrations, a carnival type atmosphere ,  a full food court and the Masala Dosai tasted  particularly good .

The winners were;

Men- John Wembusa(KENYA) 1:04.04

Women- Nelly Jepkurui(KENYA) 1:15.53

Wembusa has a world ranking of 42 and was awarded 5 Lakhs prize money.

Prabhakar

Happy Birthday Priya!

Reedemer's Church English Choir

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On Sunday , August 2nd, we celebrated Priya's birthday and had a little farewell gathering for Leann, Ashwin and Priya. It was great to have so many of our friends and family who have been such a great help and support over the past year in India. We all had a wonderful time and only one kid fell into the pool(and was promptly pulled out!). Though we did not plan for any games, an impromptu food fight kept Ashwin and his friends entertained. A highlight was a special farewell song by The Redeemer's Church Choir , the choir which Leann has been past of, for most of the year.

Priya really enjoyed her party and we all feel blessed to have made such wonderful group of friends this year.

Home Alone

As most of you know Leann, Ashwin and Priya are back in Boston, preparing for the new school year. Here in Chennai, I have been trying to keep busy with work and other things. The summer appears to be over with some wonderful rainfall for the past 3  days. So with this we are getting ready for all the holidays(religious and regional) which follow. Most national and regional festivals are school and work holidays. Today is Onam, a harvest festival for Kerala natives. This is a good time to visit Kerala, where they have snake boat races and of course lots of good food.

I have included some photos - Onam flower arrangement from our neighbour's flat (usually arranged near the door step, artificial flowers are strictly prohibited),my trip to Periamalai (a medical camp), Helen's birthday(Ashwin/Priya's Cousin) and my new helmet. My old one was stolen by someone who believes in safety first. 

Prabhakar