Of Forgotten Friends and Birthdays Remembered

We once had a Mallu colleague by the name of Salu,
Whither he vanished, we still haven't a clue,
Last heard, the dude was somewhere in the UK,
Anyways, on your birthday, we remember you.

Indeed, we remembered you on your birthday today. We have no idea if you are still reading our news updates. Our phone calls and emails have gone unrequited. But Salu T J, wherever you are, we wish you all the very best.

Of Amoebiasis and Rang De Basanti

BBC gal Upasana Bhat is going great guns. With four bylines already, the Kashmiri lass is creating waves with her stories - the latest being the Rang de Basanti controversy.

She's just watched the Aamir Khan-starrer and found the denouement a tad too violent for her liking.

On the personal front, Upasana is recovering from a bout of amoebiasis. Hey UB, we wish you a rocking February.

Of River Rafting and Mount Everest

It is difficult to imagine Aparna Nair with safety harness et al perched precariously on a clifftop.

Well, she hasn't climbed Mount Everest yet but would love to do so if she got the chance. Aparna professes a love for trekking and in her own words has "done quite a lot of it".

And she's really jealous her younger brother is presently in Rishikesh having a go at river-rafting. Her lifetime ambition - trekking all the way to Kailash Mansoravar.

Of Secret Flings and Refused Assignments

Thud! That was the sound of six people hitting the ground in a dead faint. Shemin Joy had just refused an assignment. 'I am a bit busy today' was the excuse.

Later, the 'Breaking News' guy was spotted in a restaurant coochie-cooing with a girl.

Well, Shemin is not in Delhi right now. But when he comes back from Kerala, you better be prepared for the worst.

Of Bouncy Hair and Hairline Fractures

Swaty Prakash, whose haemoglobin count had gone for a toss just a few months back, has resigned from Hindustan Times and is presently nursing a hairline fracture in hometown Patna.

Don't fret, Swaty says she will be back in apna Dilli by February.

Meanwhile, reports of the Bihari lass being spotted in the office are absolutely baseless. The truth is one of our new trainees is the spitting image of Swaty - with bouncy hair and disarming smile to boot.

Wotsay Swaty - wanna come and meet your doppelganger?

Of Holidaying Mallus and God's Own Country

Remember how Mallus stick together? Well, they also seem to holiday together.

December saw a mass exodus of office Keralites wending their way to God's own country. While yours truly was holidaying in Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram, Annie Samson was sharing the Christmas spirit in Kochi.

Once his tsunami assignment in Tamil Nadu was over, Sovi Vidyadharan also made a beeline for Kollam to snatch some precious moments with his family.

And don't forget The Hindu girl Anima Balakrishnan, who left the confines of Coimbatore to catch up on what's hot back home in Kozhikode.

Aparna Nair was also in south India, although for different reasons. What with hubby Ananth recovering from hepatitis, she spent most of the month in a Chennai hospital. Sangeeta was there too, albeit busy setting up house after her recent
transfer to the city.

The only exception - Shemin Joy - who left for Kerala earlier this month and will only be back in Delhi on February 7.