Pravin Richu Meetup
Finding Pravin
Pravin and I were in the same class in school from 1st to 12th and then we did engineering in the same college but in different branches. While in school, he was my best friend. In college, we did not get to interact as much and from then on our lives were going separate ways. Pravin was the model student while in school, mostly for his very matured outlook and behavior and I remember Pravin winning multiple school accolades which underlined that truth.
Then we have Pravin marrying Nisha through a love affair which came as a surprise. In general, Pravin was getting more and more colorful from the super perfect gentleman he used to be in school and I found it slightly hard to connect what I was seeing with my school best friend. So, we went to Richu's home in San Diego and over the long and joyful life reflections, Pravin explained how his life in school was being directed by his parents and how he had a longing for showing his true colors and how he started exercising that and how that momentum is still strong. That is when I found Pravin after all these years.
Karaoke session
So we sang and sang and sang till 5 am may be. I mean Richu and Gowri, Pravin and Nisha, Cinish and Divya - we all sang and sang. Before we started singing, Pravin was on a road trip to the west. So, he came to LA because that is where we live and then we all came to San Diego because that is where Richu and family lives. His home has soundproof walls - so we sang loud and not so clear. We stopped at nothing. We even sang 'Devasabhathalam'. D Sudheeran supplied the karaoke songs. No, he did not study in Bhavans. He is just a youtube channel. We don't know him. He smiles. Last karaoke session was Richu,Anil and me and then the wives had not sung and I had closed that blog with the note that it would have been better if the wives sang as well.
So, this time, the wives sang as well. Divya, who is quite shy sang as well. Just like last time I ended up singing a lot more than others mainly because I would not let go off the mike. I feel guilty but then I take it. I think Richu should have a mike at every single sofa seat in his living area so that whoever feels like singing sings. We did not encourage the kids because we wanted to sing. We wanted to sing super bad. The classic malayalam songs that are lush in meaning and music have a therapeutic effect to them which becomes starkly evident when contrasted with the songs of current times produced by young aspirants who have not seen as much life. We stopped singing because there is more to life than singing - job, distance, time, bills etc.
Torry Pines hike
This was the sight seeing piece in San Diego. Richu took us to Torry Pines and we walked up a short trail with the kids and then hiked down into the beach with a small and beautiful cliff. It was a beautiful time of the evening and we were as much enjoying nature as celebrating family time with couple photography, family photography etc. The beauty of the place saw me switching my phone back on and taking quick footages for an editing exercise that resulted in this video on youtube. After the hike, Richu hosted us a dinner in Old town San Diego where we continued discovering each other over great food and conversations.
LA
So, Pravin landed first in my house at 6 PM, Thursday, December 28th 2017 which is exactly the time I was supposed to stop work. I had a good day at work and could complete everything I had planned on and was in a good spot to take the friday off. Pravin came in with long beard and long hair. We sat around the dining table and chatted. We spoke intimately about Pravin's brother Prasid and his decision to work for NGOs after an IIM MBA and his decision to not marry. Pravin sprang yet another surprise at me by telling me that he is currently an associate director on a film project at New York. I made him recount the story at least three times till I finally assimilated that. I thought I was the one with movie inclinations and here we have Pravin looking and acting like a movie director. Exercising choices.
So I opened up as well and showed him some youtube edits that I had done and I started sharing my editing learnings and he started sharing his filming experiences and information about movie cameras and steadying equipments and we went on. We were supposed to visit LA and I was supposed to be a responsible host and watch time so that we have a productive visit day but I did not because I was enjoying the film talk. Some of the conversations happened at the Santa Monica beach where we had driven to after dinner and the rest happened after our return back from Santa Monica. It was the same conversation and we stopped at 4 am early Friday.
Friday, we started late and had an In-n-Out lunch as it was california special and headed first to Beverly Hills and then to Griffith observatory and after that we set off to Richu's home in San Diego.
Three rings
Shaji, Pravin's classmate and my college mate had gifted his wife three rings. They have a beautiful child and to keep her warm in the chilly San Francisco weather, they got her a nice jacket. Pravin and family had stayed there while in the bay area leg of their west coast trip. On one of the trips, Pravin's son got to use that jacket as Shaji's child had outgrown it and then he got to keep it. On the morning after the Karaoke session, Richu's wife Gowri saw a ring on the walkway as we were all leaving their house. That ring had fallen from that jacket and there were two more rings in the same jacket pocket. These were gold, platinum and diamond rings and these had been missing for three years. Just saying.
Sit around and chat
Friday night. Gowri had prepared biriyani for us. We spiced it up with school stories, dating decades back - vivid and detailed. We spoke, joked and laughed and had a lot of fun at the dinner table. No we did not sing and we did not sleep till 4 am. So we were pretty much set for a late start on Saturday as well. Around noon, we went on the Torry Pines hike.
A great few days. Almost dream like. A full day after, still reeling with the good times.
Pravin and I were in the same class in school from 1st to 12th and then we did engineering in the same college but in different branches. While in school, he was my best friend. In college, we did not get to interact as much and from then on our lives were going separate ways. Pravin was the model student while in school, mostly for his very matured outlook and behavior and I remember Pravin winning multiple school accolades which underlined that truth.
Then we have Pravin marrying Nisha through a love affair which came as a surprise. In general, Pravin was getting more and more colorful from the super perfect gentleman he used to be in school and I found it slightly hard to connect what I was seeing with my school best friend. So, we went to Richu's home in San Diego and over the long and joyful life reflections, Pravin explained how his life in school was being directed by his parents and how he had a longing for showing his true colors and how he started exercising that and how that momentum is still strong. That is when I found Pravin after all these years.
Karaoke session
So we sang and sang and sang till 5 am may be. I mean Richu and Gowri, Pravin and Nisha, Cinish and Divya - we all sang and sang. Before we started singing, Pravin was on a road trip to the west. So, he came to LA because that is where we live and then we all came to San Diego because that is where Richu and family lives. His home has soundproof walls - so we sang loud and not so clear. We stopped at nothing. We even sang 'Devasabhathalam'. D Sudheeran supplied the karaoke songs. No, he did not study in Bhavans. He is just a youtube channel. We don't know him. He smiles. Last karaoke session was Richu,Anil and me and then the wives had not sung and I had closed that blog with the note that it would have been better if the wives sang as well.
So, this time, the wives sang as well. Divya, who is quite shy sang as well. Just like last time I ended up singing a lot more than others mainly because I would not let go off the mike. I feel guilty but then I take it. I think Richu should have a mike at every single sofa seat in his living area so that whoever feels like singing sings. We did not encourage the kids because we wanted to sing. We wanted to sing super bad. The classic malayalam songs that are lush in meaning and music have a therapeutic effect to them which becomes starkly evident when contrasted with the songs of current times produced by young aspirants who have not seen as much life. We stopped singing because there is more to life than singing - job, distance, time, bills etc.
Torry Pines hike
This was the sight seeing piece in San Diego. Richu took us to Torry Pines and we walked up a short trail with the kids and then hiked down into the beach with a small and beautiful cliff. It was a beautiful time of the evening and we were as much enjoying nature as celebrating family time with couple photography, family photography etc. The beauty of the place saw me switching my phone back on and taking quick footages for an editing exercise that resulted in this video on youtube. After the hike, Richu hosted us a dinner in Old town San Diego where we continued discovering each other over great food and conversations.
LA
So, Pravin landed first in my house at 6 PM, Thursday, December 28th 2017 which is exactly the time I was supposed to stop work. I had a good day at work and could complete everything I had planned on and was in a good spot to take the friday off. Pravin came in with long beard and long hair. We sat around the dining table and chatted. We spoke intimately about Pravin's brother Prasid and his decision to work for NGOs after an IIM MBA and his decision to not marry. Pravin sprang yet another surprise at me by telling me that he is currently an associate director on a film project at New York. I made him recount the story at least three times till I finally assimilated that. I thought I was the one with movie inclinations and here we have Pravin looking and acting like a movie director. Exercising choices.
So I opened up as well and showed him some youtube edits that I had done and I started sharing my editing learnings and he started sharing his filming experiences and information about movie cameras and steadying equipments and we went on. We were supposed to visit LA and I was supposed to be a responsible host and watch time so that we have a productive visit day but I did not because I was enjoying the film talk. Some of the conversations happened at the Santa Monica beach where we had driven to after dinner and the rest happened after our return back from Santa Monica. It was the same conversation and we stopped at 4 am early Friday.
Friday, we started late and had an In-n-Out lunch as it was california special and headed first to Beverly Hills and then to Griffith observatory and after that we set off to Richu's home in San Diego.
Three rings
Shaji, Pravin's classmate and my college mate had gifted his wife three rings. They have a beautiful child and to keep her warm in the chilly San Francisco weather, they got her a nice jacket. Pravin and family had stayed there while in the bay area leg of their west coast trip. On one of the trips, Pravin's son got to use that jacket as Shaji's child had outgrown it and then he got to keep it. On the morning after the Karaoke session, Richu's wife Gowri saw a ring on the walkway as we were all leaving their house. That ring had fallen from that jacket and there were two more rings in the same jacket pocket. These were gold, platinum and diamond rings and these had been missing for three years. Just saying.
Sit around and chat
Friday night. Gowri had prepared biriyani for us. We spiced it up with school stories, dating decades back - vivid and detailed. We spoke, joked and laughed and had a lot of fun at the dinner table. No we did not sing and we did not sleep till 4 am. So we were pretty much set for a late start on Saturday as well. Around noon, we went on the Torry Pines hike.
A great few days. Almost dream like. A full day after, still reeling with the good times.
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