tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763874640697355100Mon, 07 Oct 2024 06:29:45 +0000http://donuts2dhoklas.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Suneetha G)Blogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763874640697355100.post-7592179184232356618Tue, 06 Oct 2015 04:13:00 +00002015-10-05T21:13:34.292-07:00 It all started with a dream.  A dream of a lifestyle, a picture perfect family with two children and a dog!  A family that would play together, take vacations together, go for long drives on the beach into the sunset blah! blah! blah!............... Stanley came into our lives to fulfill that dream. When this little bundle of joy came into our home, a burst of motherly http://donuts2dhoklas.blogspot.com/2015/10/perils-of-pet-ownership.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suneetha G)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763874640697355100.post-6106936722824266715Fri, 23 May 2014 06:06:00 +00002014-05-22T23:06:37.339-07:00 Hello dear readers I am back with a story of hope, change and a vision that sees a future for the children who would otherwise be a part of the forgotten, the many who slip through the cracks in the system and take to a life of crime, mediocrity or menial jobs. For some months now, I have been volunteering with an NGO called Ashraya Institute for Children, the http://donuts2dhoklas.blogspot.com/2014/05/rays-of-hope.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suneetha G)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763874640697355100.post-7314791837223634665Thu, 20 Feb 2014 08:37:00 +00002014-02-20T00:37:16.707-08:00 Greetings, my dear readers and a very happy new year 2014 to all of you.  May all your wishes, aspirations and desires be fulfilled in this new year.  Now that I have spent a solid 18 months in India, I am slowly beginning to assimilate the customs, practices etc., that were a huge shock in the first few months.  Since I now no longer have a 9- 5 job that keeps me busy duringhttp://donuts2dhoklas.blogspot.com/2014/02/zumbastic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suneetha G)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763874640697355100.post-399145407015701408Thu, 19 Sep 2013 15:12:00 +00002013-09-19T08:12:45.677-07:00 It has been a while since I penned my thoughts.  But this experience is surely worth a few words.  Two weeks ago, I enrolled in a Driving School.  Yes, I  have a drivers license and I drove accident free for 14 years in our very own Detroit.  Many of you may not know this, but I drove a stick shift in India before moving to the US (1998) and I have a drivers license http://donuts2dhoklas.blogspot.com/2013/09/driving-insane.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suneetha G)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763874640697355100.post-6890362541294355281Wed, 10 Jul 2013 03:36:00 +00002013-07-09T20:36:40.637-07:00 Dear readers, We are now on the one year anniversary of our move to India.  Yes, July 7th 2012 was the day we all landed in 92/1, Rakshak Society to make it our home.  I felt I needed to update my blog on this memorable day. As always, I will share an experience that is so unique to India but this time, you will see me pontificating as well. When you have lived in the United States http://donuts2dhoklas.blogspot.com/2013/07/anniversary-special.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suneetha G)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763874640697355100.post-1359977661779774423Sun, 07 Apr 2013 07:57:00 +00002013-04-07T00:57:33.796-07:00 Hello, hello, hello!!  The weather is turning hot, the sun is shining brightly, lawn is turning yellow, all signs that the Indian summer is upon us.  While the ceiling fans run fast and furious, the Giridhar household is seriously contemplating investing in a couple of AC units.  I do admit, all those years of cushy living in the US has made us weak. Life for most of us is as http://donuts2dhoklas.blogspot.com/2013/04/off-beaten-path.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suneetha G)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763874640697355100.post-2412440145430190979Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:48:00 +00002013-02-21T04:48:58.324-08:00 Greetings, dear readers.   It is good to be back with another reflection on the impact of life here in India.  This is going to be a philosophical debate and I am looking forward to getting your observations/comments on this post.  As you have all come to know and envy, I have a wonderful cook who has made my life so much easier.  Everyday we are eating fresh, homemadehttp://donuts2dhoklas.blogspot.com/2013/02/of-aspirations-attachments-and-more.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suneetha G)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763874640697355100.post-8526278251725811820Tue, 11 Dec 2012 02:31:00 +00002012-12-10T18:36:49.615-08:00 Hello dear readers, I am back after a long absence!  We are now five months into our sojourn back into India and the saga continues.  I have realised that to retain your sanity and enjoy life in new India, you have got to have not just a spoonful but a bagfull of patience.  To those who know me as a very calm, collected individual; you should see me now - "a ranting & raving http://donuts2dhoklas.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-bagfull-of-patience.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suneetha G)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763874640697355100.post-6659888123338075970Fri, 10 Aug 2012 13:49:00 +00002012-08-10T06:49:46.013-07:00 The new India is a strange phenomenon!  Dear readers, as a newly returned Indian, I have a different lens with which I view things and boy! o boy!, have things changed!!  This change demands new coping techniques. On the one hand, there is a surge in personal disposable income among the middle class and there is evidence of that in the malls, eating joints and upscale events.  Onhttp://donuts2dhoklas.blogspot.com/2012/08/shopping-scars.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suneetha G)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763874640697355100.post-4414307313226199535Sun, 29 Jul 2012 03:46:00 +00002012-07-28T20:46:18.420-07:00 One of the things that causes my friends in the US envy is the abundance and availability of domestic help which seems like such an extravagant luxury.  Having been here all of 3 weeks, I am seeing both the abundance and availability.  However we underestimate the management aspect of these domestic workers. Let me introduce you to my two housemaids.  They are an interesting duo.http://donuts2dhoklas.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-domain-of-domestic-help.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suneetha G)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763874640697355100.post-5910766217580713203Thu, 12 Jul 2012 15:36:00 +00002012-07-12T08:36:38.866-07:00 Sorry readers.  I have had a longer absence, but when you hear what I have been through, I am sure you will be very sympathetic.  June 29th, 2012 was a very momentous day for us.  Following the lean principles of Just in Time, we closed at 8:30, packers left at 12.30, we cleaned house and handed over the keys at 6:00 pm.  And then we were homeless, just like that!&http://donuts2dhoklas.blogspot.com/2012/07/welcome-to-india.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suneetha G)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763874640697355100.post-7579152702631289567Tue, 26 Jun 2012 20:06:00 +00002012-06-26T13:06:24.113-07:00I promised you that I would write about our customers from Craigslist.  Each one of them has an interesting angle that I am sure you will find interesting. Crony 1:  Here was a guy that wanted to buy our treadmill for his girlfriend. I made sure to tell him that he needed a truck to haul it.  He said he planned to bring his brother who had a truck and it http://donuts2dhoklas.blogspot.com/2012/06/craigs-list-cronies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suneetha G)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763874640697355100.post-2247833993910736328Thu, 21 Jun 2012 02:05:00 +00002012-06-22T06:17:04.582-07:00We are into our second day of packing.  It is unbelievable the amount of stuff (can't call it by any other name)  we have collected in 14 years.  While most of it is coming with us, we did have a few big items that we needed to dispose.  And thus started our close encounters with Craigslist.  My first hurdle was to convince my husband who believes that this is like http://donuts2dhoklas.blogspot.com/2012/06/connecting-with-craigs-list-we-are-into.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suneetha G)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763874640697355100.post-7032846018437218249Mon, 18 Jun 2012 14:50:00 +00002012-06-18T07:50:30.483-07:00In 2011, my husband and I made a monumental decision to pack up and move back to India after spending 14 wonderful years in Michigan.  This was by no means an easy decision with so many concerns and emotional baggage to consider not just for my husband and I but for our two kids aged 16 and 9 who are mostly American. To them India was a crowded, noisy place we visited every other http://donuts2dhoklas.blogspot.com/2012/06/in-2011-my-husband-and-i-made.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Suneetha G)0