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Got back pretty late from our monthly quiz yesterday, and had to drag ourselves out of bed to attend the “valaikaappu/sheemantham” (ceremonies done during the first pregnancy) of a close friends’ daughter…but once we reached there, it was such fun. A group of us, all of whom love singing, got together and sang for HOURS between the end of the ceremonies/ breakfast, and lunch. Normally, in deference to the north Indians who are present, it would mainly be Hindi songs…but this time all of us got inspired and with several Carnatic music interspersions, there were literally hundreds of Tamizh songs; one lady, Devika, knew the words to an amazing number of new and old songs…we really had a blast!

I caught up with my gang of friends after a fairly longish time and felt wonderful about it. It was also lovely to see so many well-dressed ladies, well-groomed and looking pretty.  I am not a great “dresser-up” myself but enjoy the sight of a well-turned out, elegant woman, dressed in fine silks, with beautiful jewellery!

Our host and hostess are excellent at entertaining and took a lot of trouble while the rest of us had a gala time. My hostess, Usha, has a 90 year old father who doesn’t appear a day older than 60…he actually gave us a GREAT song too! He is so mentally sharp and in great fettle…he is one of the most impressive people I have seen!

The food was superb, the music excellent, the company enjoyable…what more could one want! Only after I came back did I realize that it was Friendship Day (every day of the year is earmarked for something now…tomorrow could be Friend’s Nephew’s Ear-Piercing Day or it could be Grandmother’s Arthritic Knee Day!)….well, I had a great time with friends, and feel so very lucky to have them…if a fairy came up to me and asked me to make three wishes, I wouldn’t be able to think of anything to wish for. We are in good health, we have enough money to live on, we have the most wonderful friends in the world…life is as perfect as it can be.

Our monthly quiz group, which I moderate, called QuizFamilies, is another such heterogeneous, wonderful group of people…will post about them later!

To each and every one of my LJ friends, some of whom I may or may not meet in person…thank you for the warmth, the different points of view, and the rainbow of personalities you have brought into my life!…Happy Friendship Day, not just today, but every day of the year….