Love on the Brink - A fund Raiser

LOVE ON THE BRINK: A Wickedly Satirical & Absurdly Comic Tale, produced & directed by Lilette Dubey. A Fund Raiser Program by CBRT 131 in aid of Shilpa Special School.

The play was staged at JTPac to a full house on Friday, 20th April 2012. All the effort was worth it. The play was definitely a hit. A run away success.

The Set

The Play in Progress

The entire cast with the Director

3 Cheers!!!

All Smiles

Love is truly on the brink!!

Team 131 after the show

Welcome Shower for Baby Leah

Leah Miriam Mathews was the latest entry into the 131 family and the ladies of the table chose to ‘induct’ her into the table with the traditional welcome shower party.

As much as the ladies wanted to meet the baby, her mother was equally excited and looking forward to meeting them after nearly 5 months. Around 4pm on March 22^nd 2012, they dropped in to our flat one after the other. It was like a house warming as well as a welcome shower for us as we’ve never had so many people together ever since we moved in to the new flat a few months back. 
With a lively bunch of 11 ladies and 2 kids, it was non-stop chatter and gossip and leg-pulling session that followed. Mathews and I ensured tummy-full for everyone with a delicious spread of eateries. Baby Leah seemed pretty quiet and amused by all the attention and pampering by the ladies. Before they left, they showered the little one with gifts and blessings. As Mia rightly put it, it was after all, her “Appa’s ladies” all the way. 

 

Fiscal Year-ending Social

Host: Tr. Alex & Nithya

Venue: Hybresal Apartment,Thevara

Date: 31^st March 2012

What a way to end a fiscal year. In spite of the inflation around, CBRT 131 had a smile to end the fiscal year along with Hedge equities. This is what a classic social is all about. It was food, friends, food, alcohol and more food all the way. An exquisite array of delicious seafood flowed through the evening in homemade taste apart from thrilling games and ever flowing high spirits.For a change the ladies did not waste time gossiping but learnt the nuances of gambling instead. Time flew as men and women gambled in two separate tables while eating away to glory. At the end, the party finally wound up when people found they could not even stand because of sudden increase in their body weight!! This is what a tabler had to say at the end of it all: "I don't think we have ever eaten so much prawns,squid,crab meat  pork,pork ribs and duck together. It was divine and yummy." Alex and Nithya surely went the extra mile to ensure an awesome evening for everyone.

 

AREA SPORTS MEET 2012

 

CBRT 131 participated in Area Sports meet in Madurai on 17^th and 18^th of March 2012. Tr. Binu George (BG) our Sports Convener took on the responsibility of 131 representing Area Sports. BG took his job seriously and managed to get the requisite tablers for the sports meet especially for the cricket match. Due to last minutes back out we were in dire straits. Somehow we managed to leave for Madurai in time. With expert navigation and driving we managed to reach within 5 hrs. All of us reached Madurai Heritage and explored the pool villa. After having a shower we all started off to the sports area. 

       

Sports meet started with Table Tennis and Badminton simultaneously. Tr. Rajesh Antony and Hinfas reached Semifinals. However, only Hinfas could reach finals. With his stupendous rally he lost to a national player in finals, Meanwhile HT Bechu (now claims to have a faint coat of ERT 214) went on with his fight in Singles Badminton. Kudos to his grit and determination, in spite of the tough opponent, he won the 3 game finals 2-1. Bechu became the Area 1 Badminton Champion.

 

We returned back to our hotel and prepared ourselves for the cricket in the pool villa. Everyone took a pool plunge and later a much needed nap and relaxation. We started off for our Cricket campaign. Cricket was most scintillating. We found ourselves as a formidable team with Binu, Bechu, Rajesh Antony and Joseph Simon doing the major work. Semifinals with Kollam team was won with Rajesh Antz's all round skill while the finals.......it was a nail biting finish with Kottayam requiring 3 runs in last ball with Rajesh Antony the Bowler and the batsman hitting it and ball seemingly going out of the ground reached right into the Area Chairman BV's hand. The confusion still prevails of how the ball reached his hand......Jokes aside it was a great catch and a great win. Binu's talents were at last being recognized in Area 1 and fittingly given the “Man of the series" award. Bechu in spite of being tired continued to be a shining star amongst us.  CBRT 131 had won all the events except snooker which we did not participate. 
 

 The evening was a great fellowship party with Madurai tablers sparing no effort to make everyone enjoy to the hilt. Next day we decided to forgo the trek and relax in the pool villa. After a luxurious pool bath and breakfast it was time to leave the Heritage and go for the  Paint ball shoot out game. A war game with colour bullets and again we came out with flying colours. All in all a power packed great weekend with driving in fast lanes, great fellowship, and a sporting weekend with loads of trophies.

 

Bekal White Sensation

A group of fun loving 131ers with wives and kids were all bound to catch the train to Bekal, for the Mid Term Meet. We had to take the night train from Cochin and it was like those college day train journeys all over again. They even managed to flush out a couple of love birds having a little quiet time to themselves. Finally one by one they decide to sleep the rest of the morning till the train reaches Kanhangad. The host tablers were there on the platform to receive us and guide us to our transportation, reaching which involved some track events. Breakfast was had at the only place open for business at 7.30 am. Then the group proceeded on to Lalith where we were to stay.

Wow, what a place! Beautifully landscaped grounds, large airy lobby, lots of water bodies and a lovely pool. We couldn’t wait to see the rooms! And they did not disappoint at all: big rooms with an even bigger bathroom with a Jacuzzi and a large airy balcony too. The anticipation was worth it. Finally we split for lunch, literally, with some deciding to have the buffet at the Lalith and the others to hunt down the great food available locally. While the office bearers of 131 went to the Taj for AEX meeting, the  others went to  to Kasargod at 3pm and supposedly have some mouth-watering food.

Visit to Bekal without seeing Bekal fort was not possible and we went to Bekal forte. But the ramparts of the fort were only accessible and Renu decides to get her photo shoot done. The end of the photo shoot was celebrated with tea and bonda at one of the “chayakadas” outside. On getting back to the resort we were happy to see that our evergreen Sq. Leg NHT GG and Tr. Joseph Simon with family had arrived. Tales of their drive to Kanhangad was told and the group broke up to go back to their rooms to prepare for the night party, White Sensation.

 At 9, we meet at the lobby in Whites, take a few photos, especially of GG with his favorite ladies and then finally make our way to the Taj Vivanta  for the Party. The party is in full swing with an aura of white. Everybody looked great in their whites at night. The party goes on late into the night and we all have a good time. The next morning we all wake up late and meet for breakfast. Oh do we have fun and laughter whenever we meet? Yes for sure and we did have a great time at the breakfast table. Soon we realized that it was time to get ready for the Lunch at the Beach and it’s also check-out time.

By 12pm all are packed and ready to leave. We leave Lalith with our luggage and off to Vivanta for the Lunch on the beach. The party was right on the beach as were the food and beverages. We had a variety of yummy dosas and spicy chicken with a live band playing in the background. Lunch was a speedy affair as it was almost time for us to catch our train back to Cochin.

 

All those leaving by the same train are packed into a big bus and dropped at the station. Again there is a round of track events with kids and our luggage. Since there were a lot of us boarding the train at this station and due to the fact that the train supposedly stopped there for only two minutes, there was an intense round of discussions and planning on how this could be achieved. We wait patiently on the platform in the hot sun with no place to sit till the train arrives, cooling off with packets of sambharam, cold water etc. Once everyone settles in, a round of snacking commences which finally results in a fight over the last bottle of cold water between the guys and the gals. Since the accessories for the next activity were with us, a compromise was finally reached where everybody got what they wanted. We all then decided to join together in a game of cards which was interrupted only for a brief while when each one took turns to have a biriyani dinner. The game was so intensely contested by the two teams that time flew and before we knew it was time to get off the train as we had reached Cochin.