Several family members and friends have recently enjoyed participating in celebrations of the 70th birthday of
George and Leela! What is remarkable
is that neither of these individuals look anywhere close to their age - whether it be in terms of their appearance or their
level of physical activity
or mental acuity!
The first of the celebrations occurred in Virginia, in September, 2008 when
George
and Leela were visiting the US. It was to celebrate Leela's
birthday. Present were Rana, Mini,
Peter,
Shiny, Saira, Richard, Amit, DJ, Deepali, Sarah, Susannah and Emmy. Also present were two friends
of George and Leela from England with their two children.
The event was held at an Indian restaurant in Virginia and thereafter we all proceeded
to Peter's house for the cake cutting.
Another celebration of Leela's birthday was held in Toronto with Leela's son, Subash and his wife Eithna and their daughter, Sonia .
Thereafter, in November, 2008 a combined celebration was held in England for
George , Leela and Burjor - a friend of
George's from Kenya days. All three individuals were going to turn/had
turned seventy within several months of each other. This event was attended by many of the friends of the three people and also present were
Rory & Hayley and Holly & Keith with - and the grandchildren, Maya, Tabitha, Petra, Zinzi & Milo! A highlight of this party was a spontaneous
dance performance by Leela!
George turned seventy on February 9, 2009 and another party was held in
Kovalam to celebrate the occasion. Present on this occasion were Rana &
Mini, Rajammakochamma, Babuchayen, Benoy and Maya, Mon & Bibi , Arjun representing
Alex and Tommy - a friend of
George 's from Kenya days - with his wife Ponnamma. The food was typical
Kerala fare cooked at home and there was a great deal of hilarity and laughter much of it prompted by Tommy who regaled everyone with jokes
and his generally good-natured ribbing of George ! The beer flowed freely
and though not everyone imbibed, it just meant more for those who did do so!
A birthday cake - which was Fifi's gift to
George for his birthday - was ordered from Leela Hotel, a five star
facility in Kovalam. The cake was very nicely decorated and delicious - and everyone had their fill of cake because another one was brought
by Mon & Bibi ! In the absence of birthday candles, a single table candle was
substituted and everyone sang "Happy Birthday"! George gave a brief
speech in which he said that his relatively youthful appearance and attitude was a function of having a sprightly wife!
Tommy then sang a couple of Malayalam songs and George gave a rendition of
one of his favorite songs involving Cleopatra which was a shade raunchy though no one seemed to understand those parts!
George also sang the one Malayalam song that he remembers! The highlight
was when Leela started to dance with Tommy singing and the rest of us clapping - and she certainly did a very commendable
job dancing and clearly demonstrated a sprightliness that would be the envy of people twenty years younger than her!
All in all, it was a great way to celebrate a special birthday for George
- the only regret was that other members of the family could not be there to participate in the event!
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
