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The Assamese Nepal Trip 2019

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Ne(w)pals! We were supposed to go to Assam.  We were about 11 of us that had agreed to go on the trip.  The destination had been chosen a year ago when the SMHS (Stella Maris High School) trippies went to Vietnam (A trip I was, unfortunately, not able to join).  Plans were set, and then suddenly we were going to Nepal instead. Poonam and Reena had spearheaded the trip itinerary and worked hard along with Subbu to secure the travel arrangements with her agent.  Sangu stepped in and closed the circle by ensuring flight tickets were purchased etc. Pretty soon it was April and time for me to travel to India!  It was going to be a short trip for me to visit and spend a few days with my in-laws, a few days with my father and most importantly a few days with my tripping SMHS friends.  Unlike the previous  trip , I didn't have any apprehension or trepidation.  This time it was pure excitement.  Three of the trippies were girls I had traveled with to Goa.  Three of them had traveled

Six degrees of 'WhatsApp'ing

In this day and age of some instant messaging Apps can surely be found on almost all mobile devices. People have adapted to using one or more apps like WhatsApp, GroupMe, Viber, WeChat or Snapchat, etc. WhatsApp is an instant messaging leader claiming usage in 109 countries (over 55% of the world).  It is definitely the most popular instant messaging App in India.  It makes for an easy way to connect with people as it allows for text, group, and video chats.  It also allows for easy forwarding of messages to various people and groups. Which brings me to the topic of this blog... WhatsApp forwards. It was November 8th, 2016.  Namo (the prime minister of India) had just demonetized Indian currency for the 500 and 1000 notes.  This by itself was newsworthy but what surprised me were the abundance of memes that started making their way quickly into our social spheres starting from pictures that showed the 500 rupee note as toilet paper or the 1000 rupee note as a peanut snack cone