Arizona ReUnion Grande ' 70 batch
By Tushar Dutt [1970-BTEE]
 Ben Thomas
single-handedly put on a show for us, the' 70 batch, at Arizona, which
was beyond compare. His project management, logistics and people skills
were to the fore, shepherding the twenty four of us, without a single
hitch, Jun18 thru Jun 22.
Many 'firsts' worth mentioning were:
- It was the first
North America reunion being attended by those from outside: Leo from
Germany, and Subba Rao and myself from India. It was great meeting some
of the guys after almost forty years!
- A spouse and next gen
(Suman and Jhanavi) attended without husband (Ramani), who had to visit
India then. There were fathers who came along with daughters – Rajendran
with Manasa and Anand with Meera, both charming, poised young ladies.
Goes to show we are not just dirty old men!
I was unfortunately not
able to get my daughter Neela along as she was settling down at Duke. I
am sure she would have had a whale of a time at the reunion, like the
others.
- It was an RU thru
Northern Arizona set up entirely as a bus tour --"All Aboard America"
piloted by Jim, who matched our humor all the way.
- We got to visit an
engineering marvel/ major dam (Glen Canyon), and a trading post
(Cameron, where we also stayed two nights and caught up with our 'Velacheri
tales'). We also visited an astronomical observatory (Lowell, where
Pluto was discovered) and the unique 'slot' Antelope canyon, beside the
Grand Canyon itself. The variety and range of the sites/locations were
awesome and unparalleled.
- It was possibly the
'hottest' RU ever at 45C average.The higher elevations and locations
were much cooler, though.
Kudos to Ben for having
executed the RU with military precision, without missing out on the
suspense and creativity element. In particular the dinner cruise at
Wahweap bay followed by the evening next day at the Mexican
restaurant,'La cena a tradiciones' with the 'Mariachi' band serenading,
will remain with me for ever -- the greatest 'two day' birthday bash,
heralding the entry into my sextieth year!
Thank you Ben and all
you guys. For those who were unable to make it, you missed out something
special – aniana!
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