Mysore, Return of the Prodigal Sunjay

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My friend Sunjay moved back to India for a few years for work and to spend time with his family and friends in India. His wife Bindu and daughter Maya will be joining him in a few weeks.

My work flew me down to Bangalore for a seminar last week. When Sunjay heard we would be in Bangalore he invited us to spend the weekend with him. I haven't seen Sunjay since we left the USA so the answer was a big yes. We were excited to see his family and friends and where he grew up before moving to the USA at age 14.

The first night we went to dinner at the Olive Beach Restaurant in Bangalore with Bindu's brother Suhas and Suhas's wife Shweta. Sunjay was worried that with four lawyers at the table things would move along slowly, so Sunjay started the evening by saying, "I want to have a fun dinner with old friends and not spend our time posturing, so let me tell you all that I have known all of you for years and we are all a bunch of dumb asses, including me." We all got a good laugh and of course Sunjay was right as usual and we all goofed off and had fun.

The next day we had breakfast at Bindu's family home. Shweta made a delicious traditional South Indian breakfast for all of us and we talked with Shweta's daughter Riya and Sunjay while we enjoyed the meal. After meeting Bindu's father and grand-mother we headed off to Mysore with Sunjay. What a beautiful home and family.

Sunjay's cousin (and childhood friend) Vinay, arranged a guided tour of the Mysore Palace that was over-the-top. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysore_Palace The guide gave us a private tour of the Palace that included a private view of a weapons room and a room full of formerly-living life-sized stuffed wild animals such as lions, tigers, water-buffalo, etc. The palace was built by the Wodeyar dynasty in about 1900. The Wodeyar dynasty ruled Mysore from 1399 until the independence of India in 1947.

We visited the Chamundi Hills temple which is behind the statue of the demon Mahishasura. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahishasura Mahishasura was a demon that terrorized what is currently Mysore, and was (according to legend) killed by the Goddess Chamundeswari (also Chamundi) after a fierce battle. The hills hence got her name and a temple of the goddess was built on the top.

After checking into our hotel, we went to dinner with Sunjay and his childhood friends Vinay, Praveen, Sid, and Suraj. What an incredible bunch of friends. Praveen is a radiologist working in Mysore in a successful family clinic with his father and brother, both radiologists. Suraj owns a wholesale lumber business, and Vinay runs a real-estate agency. Sid owns a software and BPO outsourcing business with 1000 employees and offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Mysore, India. So, my preconceived notions about India are once again all wrong. Sunjay is not the only smart and successful kid from his neighborhood. You know what they say about assuming?

On Sunday morning we had breakfast at Vinay's home which he shares with his parents Ramakrishna and Ambhuja. The conversation and the food was great. Ambhuja is Sunjay's dad's sister. Venay is married to Sureka and they have one son Ankith, aka Spiderman. Sunjay's family says that Sunjay was a mischievous boy and got into trouble all the time when growing up. Again, what a wonderful family. Except for Sunjay, of course, who escaped from India to America at age 14, when he was charged for dancing as "Barbara Streisand" in a cross-dressing review without a permit from the Performing Arts Department of Mysore.

Except for the late night dance reviews starring Sunjay (still kidding kids), Mysore was one of the most beautiful places we have seen in India and reminded us of Hawaii with large trees and dense tropical foliage and palm trees, warm but not hot breezes, year round perfect temperatures, and smiling happy people. South India is a charming place and Sunjay's family and friends are as good as it gets anywhere in the world.

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Photos

Sunjay, Dan, Marty
The Usual Suspects

Comments

[Steve Wight]

troublemakers
Good to see you two troublemakers (Dan and Sunjay) together again. Casey Fitzpatrick regretted just missed seeing Sunjay before he departed Portland. I'm not surprised that Sunjay was the lowest achiever out of his childhood friends. (kidding) Best regards to all.

[A Travel Story]

I wasn't surprised about his low achievement either but I was surprised to discover he could dance and sing like Barbara. Who would have thunk?

[sunjay]

Yeah I am Loser
Steve, You are dead on. I asked Dan to enter this in the blog "In fact, Sunjay is the loser among his friends" but he politely declined.

[A Travel Story]

Casey left too?
Casey left too Steve? At some point you should consider wearing deodorant. So he went back to school for a second graduate degree ... in Europe as I recall?

[Heath Kula]

They were always causing trouble...
Dan - Looks like you and Kim are having a great time. Thanks for the blog so I get to live vicariously through you guys. Sunjay - What's going on my friend?!? It is almost not right for you to be causing trouble without Scott and I.... Take care all.

[Xuan-Giang]

Inmates
So this is what happens with Death Row inmates escape!

[A Travel Story]

IP 15--Death Row
IP 15 Death Row Hommies, Sunjay M, who goes by the street name "Money" and Dan Bell, with street name "Buk Fity" (cuz he is 3 times the man as 50 cent) were spotted in Mysore recently by a passing photographer. Authorities were notified. They are not known to be armed or dangerous and put together they couldn't rap themselves out of a paper bag, so we are not sure why anyone bothered to notify authorities. They escaped from the north side corridor on the 15 floor of KS facilities. They were serving a self-imposed sentence of indeterminate duration when they made their escapes.