Bugs [ aka Bharath Kumar ]

                I and Sweethaa have become very close to him after we met in the Bay Area, CA. He is my friend from Undergraduate school. He is the most jovial guy and has an excellent sense of humor. He was a lot more fun in school than now. He can pull any one's leg whenever he feels like it. It is always nice to be on his side though. We had a lot of misunderstanding in our relationship during the last few months of our undergraduate program. But nothing about the way I felt about him had changed. And as destiny would have it. We met again the Bay Area, CA and we became much closer friends than before. He is very special to me. We have spent a lot of moments together which I shall never forget. I still remember the day he came with me and my dad for dinner. My dad told me that I should learn to eat like him. Bharath was an healthy eater. He is even now. He is my inspiration as far as academics go. He hardly used to study. I can even think of so many days when he used to cut class and sleep in his hostel room. Yet  he used to be the second in the class and had a very high GPA.  I have always wondered how he manages to do it. He was very intelligent and hard working too. There were so many days I used to go to him for help on studies. He did his masters at Ohio State University on a fellowship. He deserved it. - Aug '99

Ritesh [ aka Ritesh Jain ]

 

                To describe him in a few words is going to be tough. But let me try. He is a wonderful person. He can be whacky & a splendid companion. I have never seen him sad or unhappy. He is always having fun. I discovered his friendship during the course of my teaching assistantship at Illinois. He was my co-TA. He is always ready to help.  I found him close to perfect. He is hard working and sometimes used to be the driving force for me. He pushed me to my limits. I wanted to emulate him in many ways. Especially his punctuality and his planning. I don't know what I would have done had it not been for him. He was there for me when I needed him. He never advises me. But he is always there to listen to my problems and worries. He is one of my closest friends. Even he does not realize how much he means to me. I would do anything for him. We have always been together - whether it is a trip to Florida, Seattle, LA or driving license office or renting a car or something as small as posing for a photograph. We have seen them all together.  The trust & faith I have in him & in his friendship cannot be expressed in words. He is one of the few guys I  share my personal life with. Ritesh is someone I will miss very much after I graduate. - Dec '00

 

Shradha [ aka Shradha Tibrewal ]

 

                She has been my friend, my sister and my guardian here in USA. In short, her residence in Illinois was what I used to call home during my graduate program. A home far away from home.  She has been my guide and my sister here in USA.  Had it not been for her, I may have not been here in USA for so long. She was there by my side when I was going through the worst phase of my life.  She has always been there by my side to share my happiness and sorrows. She doesn't hesitate to yell at me when I do something wrong. She was the first person I used to go to when I got stuck with something.  She graduated in Summer 2000 and took up a faculty position in Modesto, California. - May '00

 

Ashish [ aka Ashish Agarwal ]

 

                He is one of my friends. We met here in USA during graduate school. We clicked together the first time we met. He is a fun loving person. We both love music & had a lot of fun together. Our friendship has been through rough weather but we have always managed to stick together. We were roommates during my entire graduate program. He too moved to the Bay Area after he graduated and we used to play tennis together almost every other day. We both were on the same level (unlike Ritesh who played like a pro), so we had some good games among us. I enjoy his very presence and I miss him a lot here in Washington. - Aug '02

 

Roops [ aka Roopesh Kumar ]

 

                He is the kind of person who could make you feel comfortable just with his presence. He is a very good person to have during times of crisis. He can make you feel on top of the world. He is always there to encourage you. He gets along well with one and all -  especially with the girls. He has a charm over them. I still cant figure out how he manages to start a conversation with them whenever he feels like it. I was initially jealous of the way he could talk on almost any and every topic under the sun. Being with him earned me a few more friends than I would have had. He was the first person who spoke to me when I first entered my class on the first day of classes at Anna University. The relation which began there has come a long way indeed. I spent my entire college days with him. He was always there for me when I needed him. I don't know what I would have done without him. You don't get a friend like him everyday. He is for keeps. - Aug '99

 

Rev [ aka Revati ]

 

                She is the kind of person who always wanted to have fun. She is always smiling and fooling around and great fun to be with. I came to know her thru a small misunderstanding over birthdays of class mates. Initially I was not much comfortable talking with her. It was Roops who helped me overcome my initial inhibition. We three clicked together and we ended up spending the entire four years of our college life together. We shared jokes, laughed together, ate together, had all our fun together. Those 4 years of college were made memorable due to these two friends of mine - Rev and Roops. Rev is a very warm person and very passionate about animals. She always does what she feels like doing. There is no two ways about that. That is what makes her so very special. I managed to have a very strong influence over her during the later part of our college days. We did our final year project together. She is a wonderful person to work with. The last I heard about her was that she is working very hard at Future Software. She puts in her complete effort into what she believes in . We two are always at logger heads. There is always something we can fight on. It is fun fighting with her. But every time we fight we patch up. So strong is our friendship. She can make anyone and everyone love her -  ask Gopi's parents, Raji's parents, Gaay's parents, Murali's parents. They can all vouch for it.  She has a very strong intuition which more often than not turns true. She is a wonderful person to be with. She has a kind of charm you don't across everyday. Watch out for her! She is very special. - Aug '99

 

Raji [ aka Rajalakshmi ]

 

                She is the eldest among all of us. She is like an elder sister to all of us because she is so perfect in all her actions. We could never find even one flaw in her actions. I respected her one hell a lot. She is as perfect as you can be. She is very organized in her work and we could always rely upon her to organize any event. She was a part of any major event in college - be it Leo club or Abacus or NSS. No one could match her speed or agility. She has a way of getting things done. She was very very famous in college. Ask Raji about the Umbrella and watch her expression. It will be fun to see that. She got married a few months after my marriage to Dr.Ezhilan in Feb 2001. She is a sister anyone would die to have. She is like a role model for me. It is very comforting to know that whatever happens she will be there for me. - Aug '99

 

Gaay [ aka Gayathri ]

 

                    She is like a kid to all of us. She is so short and puny and being the youngest among us, we always used to command over her. She is very very sweet and cute. She is like a kid sister to me. We all had lots of fun seeing her upset. So we kept pulling her leg. She never used to like many of the topics we spoke about and used to shout at us. So we used to restrict the topics we spoke in her presence. She is very quiet and so tolerant only in the group. Believe me I have seen her in the outside world. I still have'nt forgotten the day she bargained with a flower vendor with such ferocity. Made me wonder whether even this person could have a voice so loud. I had fun picking up a fight with her. I just wish that she gets the best in life. She deserves no less. - Aug '99

 

Muls [ aka Muralidharan ]

 

                He is the philosopher, the thinker, a dreamer who has a whole different outlook towards life. To understand his ideas and his thoughts you need to have a whole different perspective towards life. Unlike many other of his kind, he does not go around preaching what he believes in, instead he practices them quietly. He is not the normal kind of materialistic guy you come across in life. He is fun to be with and funny too. He has a peculiar way of addressing us -  as "Aiye Paiya". He is different and that is what makes him special. He talks about his beliefs only if you ask him to do so or if you are interested in them. He was a very lazy guy when it came to studies in college but he had a lot of high ambitions to achieve. And I know that he will achieve them all. He works hard at what he believes in - his tuition classes are one of them. He is dedicated in what he does. I always respected what he believed in though I could not associate myself with them. I will always respect him and his ideas, for he taught me to see the world from a very different angle. - Aug '99

 

Gopi [ aka Gopinathan ]

 

                    This is a wacky guy. I did not know him much before. He is one of the last persons I became friends with in college. I came to know him through Gayathri. He used to get along with most of the guys in class. He is tall, dark and handsome(?). He has a queer personality.  If you judge him by his looks, he would go unnoticed in a crowd. He is that simple in his dressing; but there is always something about him that makes him different. He is funny too and has a good sense of humor. He is the kind of guy you would love to have as your friend. He can be very supportive and make you relax. He was my other project mate during my final year. He was always so relaxed that I always believed that we would complete the project even if we did not work on it for weeks. I learnt this wonderful quality to remain calm and relaxed at all times from him. I have even started practicing this during my graduate study.  He appears like a lazy guy, but believe me looks can be deceiving. He is a very hard worker. He has a very creative mind and I strongly believe that he will go places. He came here in 2000 to do his Masters at the University of Georgia, Atlanta and then moved to Madison to work at Epic Systems. He got married to one of our undergrad classmates in June 2002. Guess who? Gayathri of course! I never knew that they had fallen in love during our days together and had wanted to get married. - Aug '99

Currently at : Microsoft, Redmond, Washington, USA                                           
 
 

Lali [ aka Lalithambigai ]

 

                She is one person who could talk non stop. We called her a non stop tape recorder. She could even beat Roops at it. At times we had to wait for hours to get a chance to talk. She was in the Applied Geology department. I came to know her through Revati. When they both got together they could set an house on fire with their actions. She is a very special sister. She has an excellent sense of humor, but at times she can be tough to handle too. I think only she could beat Roops on the number of stories they had to tell about themselves and their own Dad. - Aug '99

Then there are other friends like
 
 

Niti   [ aka Niti Yadav ]

           She is a very sweet person. I came to know her better only during the second semester. She doesnt hesitate to get her viewpoint across. She could argue her point really well. At times I have been at a loss for words when I have had an argument with her. There have been times when I have looked up to her and relied purely on her advice. Though she may never know this - I initially viewed her as my elder sister. I don't know why I slot people into certain roles. But I think it is just the way I am. I have always admired her and wished that she gets all that she desires in life. Some wishes do come true. She got married to her undergrad sweetheart Sidharth in May 2001, just after she graduated. They are now settled together in Boston and have their own house. - Dec '01

Ekta [ aka Ekta Manaktala ]

Aish  [ aka Aishwarya Ramaswamy ]

Veena

Indu

Anu Radha