Shri's Friends at Syracuse


Born we were, in pink and joy we brought. We defined the brewing of a new storm. Growing up was an experience, gilded in gold. And today we have learnt to spell independence right. The caring eyes of my mother, and the strong arms of my father no longer are there for me. For I have dared into this wide world all on my own. We look around, hoping to discover one of our kind. As we walked that long corridor to oblivion, we met, as strangers, thrown together rather by twisted fate. We walk along the blue-grey walls, that seem to be painted with the silence of a grave.But here we are, marching towards the light, hearts brimmed with hope, and our souls overjoyed by our company. We grew up together, learnt from each other. Taught and fought, but never did we, give up on one another. Always there to lend a hand or the comforting shoulder. Moments of victory we celebrated and laughed until dawn. The days pass along like a flowing river to the sea. Life today is a forking road, of thorns and pebbles. Flower beds we do not find. The horizon looks so beautiful, adorned in crimsom and blue. And our ship sails along, skimming the waves. Friends we are, friends we shall remain. Like shamans we live on, seeking the calm waters of life all over again.

My roomy Maggs...



Deepak Ramanathan:
"Bidu" (Buddy in Hindi), happens to be the tallest amongst us (6' 3-1/2"), and yes we happen to be from the same city back home (Bombay). A guy with a natural flair for music, he's one who has a terrific smile especially after he's pulled a fast one on someone. If there's someone who knows how to irritate me its him .... In the kitchen, we happen to be alternating between our departments i.e. the "Washing Utensils Dept" or "Vegetable cutting Dept" . There is one thing over which we vehementaly differ, and thats Bill Gates... I happen to be a JAVA fan & the rest needn't be stated. Over the weekend's both of us indulge in the fine art of being absoulutely busy doing nothin...just chilling out (as he aptly describes it). Its great fun to watch movies (Hindi ones ) with his commentary incorporated.




Mahesh RengasSwamy:
"Maggie", is the one who runs the place. Groceries,Tel, Utilities, Rent name it he's incharge or should I say in command. Maggie happens to Love driving, no small wonder that he's got the keys to all the three cars at our place. Stories about Maggies passion for driving are lengendary.
He's fabled to
have been born with a steering-wheel in his hands,
have driven each desi on campus to WEGMAN's
have driven from Coimbatore (or rather Bangalore) to Syracuse.

Maggie happens to be the most adjusting of guys & yes the most helpful too. An impeccable command over the language & expectional presentation skills are a hallmark of his writings & works. Take any game Pool, tennis, cricket or racketball & Maggie is good at it.


Gopi Sundaram:
With Gopi my association has been a really long one, 6 years of close interaction. Over these years I have realised that he's very passionate & voiceferous too about his opinions to such an extent that even if I had disagreements with him I have seldom voiced them. If there's one guy who is absolutely in love with his wife, its him (its been 7 long years). He's still pissed at me for an episode that happened between me & him. It goes something like this... Gopi & I are sitting in Napoo gardens, after a successful GT session. He starts talking about Sathya, and your's truly remarks in a very matter-of-fact way "Hey Gopi don't tell me you are planning to get married to her". BOOOM!!! our guys flares up & thats the last time I have ever made such a statement.....he's still pissed nevertheless.



Kemal :
The guy with the most contagious smile around, smiles to compensate others not smiling :-). We used to embark on carcinogenic expeditions usually together, to do this we had devised our own mnemonics to avoid being caught by Meryem, Kemals sis. These days its "humlog sutta martae hain" ... FYI Meryem.


Meryem :
The chocolate queen, she would be pretty pleased to see that I have spelled chocolate right. Meryem sometimes wonders why her Graduate Assistantship is not in chocolates... "Little tornado" as I usually refer to her happens to be an RA to one of the greatest minds ever in Parallel Computing .. Dr. Geoffrey Fox. Make the cardinal sin of complimenting her & you had it, its usually a good idea to have a comprehensive medical insurance ..... just in case. Picturing Meryem ain't too difficult nonetheless... a chocolate in hand, two in her overcoats, hair left in careful disarray complete with a smile of contentment running from ear-to-ear.


Tom Pulikal : The quint-essential gentleman...Taaam as we call him, never seems to have lost his temper. Never make the cardinal sin of dozing off when Taams driving the car, during long drives. Reason he goes ballistic i.e. he starts speeding, usually at 100 m.p.h. But that doesn't mean that he's brash ... infact thats the last thing that he is. Taam, Bidu, Maggs & me have had some great times at the Inn-complete, lotsa beer and pool, where he & I usually team up against Bidu & Maggs.