HA! There is no way you middle of the country red state folks can even come close to topping the BEST SM Meetup EVER that we had in Los Angeles last month. Ms. Pac Man? 40+ mutineers? The best post-meetup pancakes ever?

Yeah, what? That's a challenge. I'd like to see you all try to top that! ;-)

And don't forget to take pictures!

C'mon Taz - Chicago has the second largest desi population in the USA! O'Hare airport should be renamed "Om Hari" airport there are so many brown faces there. And that doesn't count students. People indicated that the 28th was the better day for them - I'm sure there will be a HUGE turnout.

Just wait 'till the next Chocolate City meetup, y'all.

Taz, 40 plus, bas ?! All one needs to do is post a little something about the meetup on the desi students' mailing lists for the schools in town and there'll be line to get into Udupi on Saturday. And hwo can you even begin to compare pancakes to dosas?

By the way, you have to see Devon on a weekend! Ennis is not kidding about the desi population in Chicago...

Taz, 40 plus, bas ?! All one needs to do is post a little something about the meetup on the desi students' mailing lists for the schools in town and there'll be line to get into Udupi on Saturday. And hwo can you even begin to compare pancakes to dosas?

Bring it. ;-)

HA! There is no way you middle of the country red state folks can even come close to topping the BEST SM Meetup EVER that we had in Los Angeles last month. Ms. Pac Man? 40+ mutineers? The best post-meetup pancakes ever?

Illinois is a blue state, and we were smart enough not to elect Commando as governor.

I would love to come to this but I'm swamped and I can't make the 2+ hour trek to Chicago. Next time...

The best post-meetup pancakes ever?

After that, he took us in the house, and made us pancakes.

Can't make it, but hope it goes well. Does Udupi still have the Russian waitstaff?

By the way, you have to see Devon on a weekend! Ennis is not kidding about the desi population in Chicago...

Who knows, you may be dining with Musharaff's brother, who lives in suburban Oak Brook.

Bring it. ;-)

Oh.. it's brought!!

Umm.. Ennis, can I add that there will be free food (paid obviously from the SM promotion budget!) for those who show up and stay long enough to be photographed?? :-)

P.S. And please consider this my R.S.V.P for the meetup. I'm looking forward to it, plus I'm all out of achaar.

but you guys don't have the 'bean' in presence nor yo mom and yo dad from the dc meetup in march ;)..too bad, so sad... (HAVE A GREAT TIME Y'ALL!)

I want to come to the meetup, but saturday afternoon I have another appointment.

Ennis, can you move the meeting to the evening (7pm-ish) ?

Chi-diva,

I'm afraid that's not logistically possible for me this Saturday. This is why I asked people last week about what times worked and which ones didn't.

Count me in. masala dosa, sambhar, mmm..

I will drive 400 miles to come there. Count me in.

dude, i'd go just to see if ennis really looks like that grainy picture from our sidebar. ;) AREN'T YOU PEOPLE CURIOUS??? :D he's our sikh-ret agent man; the only way to ever see his face is if you go to a meetup. ask our nyc readers, they'll tell you. his right eyebrown alone is sooo worth it. ;)

i celebrate the dosa,
and i hope you do too.
though from humble beginnings
it makes for a regal meal
and pleasures all senses.

The tongue does rejoice
upon the taste
of the peppered masala
enveloped in crunchy shell
dipped in the chutney
and drenched in the sambhar.

the eye delights
upon view of the long brown shell
carried across the hall
uncontained by boundary
holding all in thrall.

a decadent feast it is
and yet says hairy_d
it is light on the pocket
and fills the belly.
i rejoice because i am cheapo.

I agree with A N N A, meeting Ennis is worth the trek (although, unfortunately, I cannot make it to the Windy City, as I will be in that city for 24 hours on an undoubtedly frigid Friday in November). He made a non-Grecco, sans A N N A SF meetup a blast!

I second Anna & Brimful. Ennis is worth the trek. But if you're a petite, like me, wear heels and be prepared to crane your neck--he's tall!

Well said, hairy_d.

I'll be there Ennis (and the masala dosai).

prolly a really dumb question, but are lurkers allowed to join?

Everybody is welcome, commentors, lurkers, people who are just curious … whatever!

Our erudite sikh-ret agent unwittingly revealed his real identity earlier today and I'm all the more eager to meet the man in person now. Ennis, with a fan base such as this, you're definitely in the wrong profession!

Ah..now that comment kinda makes sense, ANNA. Without that link, I'd have been wary of you, had you shown up for this meetup!

Without that link, I'd have been wary of you, had you shown up for this meetup!

You have nothing to fear. I stay away from flyover country and unless more of you RSVP for this shindig, I'm totally going to be vindicated for doing so. ;) NYC/DC/SF meetups uber-alles, b!tches! (Kindly note that I omitted LA, even though it, too, is left coast-- I'd much rather attend a Chicago meetup than one there. I keed, I keed!) :D

Taz,
Can we have our next LA meetup in browntown (aka - cerritos?

Can we have our next LA meetup in browntown (aka - cerritos?

More specifically, Artesia. And instead of going for pancakes afterwards, can we go see a Hindi film at NAS? Ok, maybe pancakes after THAT.

Can we have our next LA meetup in browntown

Copycats..sheesh..!!!

pioneer blvd? :) next time i'm in town, we gotta do it taz ;)...

i'm disappointed no-one wanted to meet me in belfast.

Ennis:

Something came up for me at 2pm Saturday. I will definitely be at the next one.

why are people leaving/running away from the meetup!!!!

why are people leaving/running away from the meetup!!!!

Perhaps it's time to scour the old comment threads and email the people who were asking for the meetup. They seemed really enthusiastic at the time.

I'll try to make it to the next chicago meetup.

For now, I'll settle for the pictures, unless you are guys are still going to be hanging around in the evening.

How long does the meetup usually last?

Something came up for me at 2pm Saturday. I will definitely be at the next one.

The Mutiny has never had a weak meetup, ever, and it will never have two weak meetups in the same place. That is, if via some bizarre series of coincidences there is poor turnout at a meetup (which has never happened) that place usually wont see a second one.

why are people leaving/running away from the meetup!!!!

-chuckle-

no woman. no fly.

Vinod and I did hold a well attended SF meetup, make of that what you will ;)

The Mutiny has never had a weak meetup, ever, and it will never have two weak meetups in the same place. That is, if via some bizarre series of coincidences there is poor turnout at a meetup (which has never happened) that place usually wont see a second one.

For good reason: meetups take time, effort, MONEY (I've spent $$$ on buses, trains and cabs to get to/from/around in NYC) and a non-trivial amount of preparation-- if you beseeched Ennis for a sepia-sponsored event in the past (and a google search of our site shows up dozens of such requests), either show up or, well, in the future, shut up. Sorry to be so vicious but this is vexing me a smidge.

Almost every meetup thread I've ever written for MY cities ends up attracting some level of "Why can't Chicago have one, too?"-whining; there has never been more begging for a meetup from any other city.

Midwestern mutineers finally get what they supposedly wanted, dates and times are changed in an attempt to be helpful and look at this...a potential turnout so paltry, we might close the Chicago bureau. In order to even host this, Ennis has a bit of a drive to deal with...I hope he's not wasting his time. Blogging here occasionally feels thankless, I don't want our much-loved/enjoyed meetups to start feeling the same way. :(

As much as I enjoyed participating in the BEST SM Meetup EVER! (Copyright Taz), yo Chicago peeps, you gotta represent! I may be all west coast right now, but my heart is all midwestern, Chicago, and Skokie!

Seriously folks, just go. It is fun. I was double fisting beers at a point and saying cheers to anyone that was unfortune to cross my path. Multiple times. And yet everyone as cool and nice.

Just go. EAT. FOOD IS GOOD. Get your directions (just not from Abhi) and haul your asses over.

you chicago people are weak if you don't come out for the meetup...

my dear ennis is working hard to get there..and so should you..

represent your midwest love...

Ive never been to one of these meetups. are they cool? next time one is in NY i might pop by....

meetups are great! you can put a face to a 'handle'... and meet interesting and fun readers and lurkers of SM... (maybe it's just me who likes to meet random people ;)).. the dc meetup was fantastic where i had the lovely chance of meeting anna, barmaid, sriram, prasad, cinnamon rani, mayur, chai... just to name A FEW!
i've only heard of good things.. i mean.. come on...ennis is super cool... who would not want to meet him?

This is a very "chicago" problem.

I think sometimes people don't understand that the Midwest is much more of a non-urban wasteland than the coasts are... so you get much more locked into your area. It's a part of how the Midwest is configured. It's not only cultural but geographical. It's hard to get people together in Chicago, period. So don't dis us please! Midwesterners have unique issues when it comes to being spread out and lacking proper quick transportation.

I wish I could be there. I likes me some dosas, and I likes me some Ennis. Take advantage, Chicagoans!

Can one acertain whether a meetup was successful or not only by the number of the attendees? I think not! No matter how many people show up, I'm sure it'll be a success (whatever that might mean). And Ennis, you can go ahead and order for me already. I'm that certain of showing up!!

yeti:

i managed to throw a super shindig in chicago this past july with over 200 brown people in attendance (and i don't even live there)... no, it's not hard to get people together...and it's definitely not a chicago geographical problem... but where the heck are all those SM readers who have been asking for a meetup? jeez louise...

So don't dis us please! Midwesterners have unique issues when it comes to being spread out and lacking proper quick transportation.

We aren't dissing, per say. We just teasing that y'all are a lot of talk with this whole "wanting a meetup" thing, and when you finally get one, no one follows through! If y'all know you have 'unique issues' then don't be asking for us to throw y'all a party-! It's like the guy that wants to go on a date, but is anti-committal about the ask- it's kind of frustrating to plan around it.

I'm just sayin'...
LA. BEST Meetup EVER.

Masale.Wallah,

Are you hot and single? I think this may turn into a Sepia Destiny one on one date between you and Ennis. I'm just sayin'... when life throws you lemons, you make lemonade... ;-)

a lot of talk with this whole "wanting a meetup" thing, and when you finally get one, no one follows through! If y'all know you have 'unique issues' then don't be asking for us to throw y'all a party-!

word.

Taz,

when life throws you lemons, you make lemonade...

Either you're a fan of Two and a Half Men just like I am, or you're actually quoting something I keep saying here on SM !

Either way, it's a good approach to life ;)

It's hard to get people together in Chicago, period.

If the super-flakes of San Francisco can get it together for more than two meetups, Midwesterners have no excuse. ;)

the last DC meetup was pretty small cheese, 'IMHO'

yes this is sad. although ennis if you shared a pic it would help. especally the one with your green floral shirt and your baingan pug. hasnt your experience on lavalife taught you anything. ;-)

hmm.. maybe i should go to little portugal tonight and get shots of some random desi-ish hotties - and start posting on the board as preti, sonal, kusum etc. from chicago. that'll get you horndogs juiced up.

the last DC meetup was pretty small cheese, 'IMHO'

Small, but quality, son.

the last DC meetup was pretty small cheese, 'IMHO'

hmmm. were you even there? i can't tell from your "handle". whether or not you were, it had TRIPLE the # of people who are "confirmed" for this, so check your facts, playa.

besides, what happened in DC is irrelevant. what's so annoying and egregious about THIS situation is how every commenter near chicago moaned about a lack of midwestern meetups for MONTHS, sullying threads with non-stop whining about how they are sooo ignored-- DC doesn't ask, so even if its last event was "small cheese", it's not analogous.

that and i LIVE here, i'm not driving 100s of miles out of my way to host something after being pestered silly. it takes a lot more out of ennis to host a meetup than it does me-- not all mutineers adore event-planning, schmoozing and kundi-grabbing the way i do...all of that comes naturally to me, not to the boys. finally, brimful is right-- but a) she always is and b) the next time someone calls my beloved "Baghdad-by-the-bay" flaketastic, i'm going to refer them to chicago, instead.

next? >:(

If the super-flakes of San Francisco can get it together for more than two meetups, Midwesterners have no excuse. ;)

The superduper flakes of LA got together too.

Excellent news! I just returned from my conference in New Orleans and find myself waaaaaaay too hungover and tired to go anywhere tonight, so I've cancelled my out of town trip for the next 3 days and am staying in the Windy City this weekend!! I'll be there. Saturday at 2pm, correct? [Though...Udupi doesn't serve alcohol. Plan accordingly.]

LA. BEST Meetup EVER.

So, Taz, here's my question. As you refuse to let us all overlook the fact that...well, see above, and that you organized the meetup, when are you going to just bite the bullet, claim a room in the bunker, and declare yourself a permanent Sepia blogger?

What? Taz isn't permanent?!?

Oh how attached we all get to our female guest bloggers.

[Though...Udupi doesn't serve alcohol. Plan accordingly.]

Apparatus: Plastic cups and one minivan.

Materials: Ice, Bottle of Black Label Scotch, club soda or water.

Procedure:

1) Park minivan on the side streets.
2) All personnel huddle inside the van. (Note: If van capacity is reached, rotate in shifts)
3) Put ice in cup, pour scotch, add water/soda.
4) Enjoy
5) Go to Udipi. Return as necessary.

Warning: One designated driver is required (or multiple if more people show up). Hazardous without qualified personnel operating equipment.

it takes a lot more out of ennis to host a meetup than it does me-- not all mutineers adore event-planning

So here's my personal deal - I love meeting new people but planning an event (even as simply as I did here) is around as much fun as going to the dentist. It's a testament to how many requests we've received for a Chicago meetup that I was coaxed into doing this. I was really encouraged by the comments and emails that I had seen.

Even now I'm blown away that somebody is willing to drive 100s of miles to meet other SM readers. I'm really honored to be part of a community like that.

So I want to encourage you to RSVP if you're at all interested because, and here's the rub, if we hold the meetup on Saturday and there is low turnout, as the intern said, that'll probably be the last meetup I hold in Chicago.

I know people get busy, and I know things come up. But in NYC and SF, where people are equally busy, there's enough people that I know we can get together a meetup of at least 10-15 people at the drop of a hat. There's just strong demand.

It's a non-trivial shlep for me to come to Chicago, and the travel, event, etc. will probably take up most of my Saturday. I'm happy to do that, even though it's a nasty drive for me, because I'm excited about finally meeting people in person.

However, if there is a really low turnout I wont be swayed by people's requests in the future. It's not a punitive thing, it just means that Chicago area readers are either few in number or really not into meetups.

So if you're interested and available, don't wait for the next one because there is no guarantee it'll happen.

Excellent news! I just returned from my conference in New Orleans and find myself waaaaaaay too hungover and tired to go anywhere tonight, so I've cancelled my out of town trip for the next 3 days and am staying in the Windy City this weekend!! I'll be there. Saturday at 2pm, correct? [Though...Udupi doesn't serve alcohol. Plan accordingly.]

Yay! Rupa and her hipflask will be there! Sorry about th Udupi thing - I didn't know and as a non-drinker, I didn't think to ask.

I'm going to rent elephants, employ a free henna tatoo artist, and hire attractive models wearing hindu God and Goddess outfits for the first Houston meetup. Then it will have been brung.

Are there even desis in Houston? I thought there were only Mexicans :P

Midwestern Guys,

I was just talking to Amrita Arora over the phone a few minutes. She tells me that she lurks at SM and may show up at the Chicago meet this weekend with the entire Bollywood crew*. She did not promise, you know she is a busy gal.

Now, take your chances. You can meet her and the backup dancers, or who know maybe, even marry her and/ or backup dancers one day. No risk, no gain.

* They are shooting Jeet:Feel the Force in Chicago. And Siddhartha from Rang de Basanti might tag on with Amrita Arora, who knows. Some bonus for Midwestern Gals.

Taz,

when life throws you lemons, you make lemonade...

Either you're a fan of Two and a Half Men just like I am, or you're actually quoting something I keep saying here on SM !

Jai.

Much worse.I'm ashamed to admit it. But it's kind of funny. "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." Yup. Laugh. It was on Monday.

when are you going to just bite the bullet, claim a room in the bunker, and declare yourself a permanent Sepia blogger?

Huh? What? Hazing? Scary bunker smells? Online crazies? Where am I? How did I get here? Huh?

Ennis,

Great. Will be there.

Excellent news! I just returned from my conference in New Orleans and find myself waaaaaaay too hungover and tired to go anywhere tonight, so I've cancelled my out of town trip for the next 3 days and am staying in the Windy City this weekend!! I'll be there. Saturday at 2pm, correct?

whoohoo... be carefll what you ask for chicagonads, the hotness quotient just went through the roof there!!!

guys, bring your best game to the show - the desi mootch mustn't go limp. hmmm... and ennis must wear a turquoise crown...

heck... i feel like a desi peter pan - think of a bullet headed guy with close cropped hair wearing a wifebeater T and a hairy gut sticking out over a chequered lunghi flitting over your dinner table dinging you with a bamboo lathi. dont look up though. real men dont wear anything under their lunghis.

Hairy_D, you didn't respond that way to news of Amrita Arora ;)

Hairy_D, you didn't respond that way to news of Amrita Arora ;)

i managed to throw a super shindig in chicago this past july with over 200 brown people in attendance (and i don't even live there)... no, it's not hard to get people together...and it's definitely not a chicago geographical problem... but where the heck are all those SM readers who have been asking for a meetup? jeez louise...

your experience vs my experience

anyway. i wasn't one of the people begging for a chicago meetup but I am truly sad that I can't make Saturday. In almost any other circumstance except my current workload/deadlines I would make it.

63.
0.8 miles from Hillcroft. Count me in.

64.
Actually it's one of the few places where they know their desis from their Mexicans :)

@ 63

0.8 miles from Hillcroft. Count me in.

You must be working for Schlumberger. I know, I know it isn't 0.8 miles from Hillcroft. Just joking. Maybe, bouncer for Rick's. That might be 0.8 miles. Again, joking.

PS: I used to live on San Felipe.

Houston. Check.
Shotokan. Check.
San Felipe. Check.

Are you my long lost twin?

Ennis,

I'll be there.

-Manish

Are you my long lost twin?

We are, if you practise Shotokan Karate @ YMCA (San Felipe) under Sensei Shadi. Then you are one of them.

I have many Lav as lost twins. You know Lav-Kush from Ramayana.

We are, if you practise Shotokan Karate @ YMCA (San Felipe) under Sensei Shadi. Then you are one of them.

This man should go to India immediately. Sensei Sha(a)di to the blue courtesy phone please ... he'd be mobbed in an instant!

76.
Shadi, Kyrash and Alan.
BHAIYA. Cue in 86 violins.

77.
He gets mobbed everywhere. Quite a playa.

Masale.Wallah,

Are you hot and single? I think this may turn into a Sepia Destiny one on one date between you and Ennis. I'm just sayin'... when life throws you lemons, you make lemonade... ;-)

Nope...in my world, when life throws you lemons, it means you need to get out the good china as you have some lemon meringue pie coming your way !!

And Kush, you can't just say "I was talking to Amrita Arora" and leave it at that! Remember how you still owe me for that DesiTorrents invite? Well, if you can convince Amrita to make it to the meetup, somehow let it slip into your conversation with her that your best friend/cousin/whatever (i.e. me!) is incidentally free on Saturday and could show her around town if she wants and she takes you up on the offer, we'll call it even. Sounds about fair, right?

And Kush, you can't just say "I was talking to Amrita Arora" and leave it at that! Remember how you still owe me for that DesiTorrents invite? Well, if you can convince Amrita to make it to the meetup, somehow let it slip into your conversation with her that your best friend/cousin/whatever (i.e. me!) is incidentally free on Saturday and could show her around town if she wants and she takes you up on the offer, we'll call it even. Sounds about fair, right?

Definitely. Sounds fair.

If Amrita Arora shows her bhav to you, then Amrita Rao is always up for meeting intelligent fellas from Amreeka. Do let me know next week.

Main Huh Naha

I will be there as long as people are willing to eat lunch with someone who hasn't updated her blog in months . . .

And I will drag a brown friend along.

I will be there as long as people are willing to eat lunch with someone who hasn't updated her blog in months . . .

I don't know bdeshini - you haven't updated either blog in months, I mean .... oh, OK, you can come. And your friend too :)

You guys have a really healthy way of interacting with each other....any one up for an Adelaide, South Australia meetup??

Ennis,

Thanks for putting this together. Please add one more to the list.

If you bring along single Sikh women, I'm sure Ennis would host more Chicago meetups in the future =)

Sonia Kaur : If you bring along single Sikh women, I'm sure Ennis would host more Chicago meetups in the future =)

Arey, there is a gurudwara on Devon Street, very close to Udipi! No dearth of single sikh women there on Sundays and I speak from experience. :-)

Great - that makes 10 RSVP'ed, and based on past experience we should get maybe a 50% increase in last minute turnout. That's great guys - I look forward to meeting you all! I'll call the restaurant and give them a heads up.

mr. ennis: in my absence please eat some idli sambhar for me.. or better yet.. y'all eat some...

enjoy... ennis is awesome!

this thread seems to be on it's last legs. good that 10 have rsvp'ed.

anyway i'm not personally familiar with the chicago area I to have some points in response to #43.
these are just thoughts I have that have formed from online browsing.
chicago has maybe the 2nd or 3rd best city area rail system ie subway lightrail in the us. maybe 4th or even 5th. i wonder how commuter rail is. other ones that come to mind are the best nyc dc maybe 2nd then boston and sf. look at la. it's known for sprawl. traffic. there is some decent public transport but probably not a system like the aforementioned cities. also chi might be the 2nd city in the US as far as desis go.

anyway have fun. who knows maybe there will be more non ne/west coast meetups.

sounds like the chi-town meetup is gonna be good -- with or without starlets! (hopefully with!) hey, maybe the next president of the united states will show up too! you know who i mean...

addendum to #89
non ne/west coast other than chi meetups.

Oops, is it too late to add one more? One of my girlfriends will be coming with me as well.

It's not to late for anybody to join us. Please, stragglers, last minute people - you're all welcome to just show up. I just needed to know our minimum number so that I could make plans. We usually grow far beyond the original count.

At the SF meetup, probably 50% of the people were last minute types who hadn't RSVP'ed - so an equal number.

Please, encourage people to stop by.

non ne/west coast other than chi meetups.

Next one might be Houston, b/c of Abhi. We'll see.

count me in too- unfortunately, i might be a half hour to an hour late because of a work commitment. but i'd still like to join you guys for chai. . .

If you bring your friends "Sari Border" and "Hennaed Hands" we'd have an ABD book cover ;)

Ennis, just a question, where are you driving in from?

dasichist: he's driving down from north dakota and the bunker.

Chick Pea, How about where is he driving in from IRL???

Dasichist - you'd have to come to the meetup to find out ;)

it's too cold to expect desi people to venture out in the Windy City.

To all fellow Mutineers, and above all to Ennis, who took all the pains to host the first ever (hopefully not last) Chicago meetup. I know I was the one expected (being pushing for it in the comments) and one who wasnt present there :(
So folks, lemme tell ya'll. By the time you guys started to trickle into Udipi, smelling the sambhar-sophere, I was going inside a CAT-Scan at a local hospital. Yes. I had to check into ER last night (Friday) and was storming through tests after tests until Saturday evening. Sometimes coming out of the CAT Scan, knowing now that I am allergic to Iodine (dye used for scan), or running on a Treadmill for stressing my heart out.

Well I did remember that I am missing one of the most awaited meetup, but couldnt do much about it.

Ennis, Hopefully things went good. Post some feedback guys !

Ravneet!

That is horrible! I hope you are ok!!!

Ravneet, hope you are well. All those tests sound quite ominous!

It was good, thanks to Ennis for hosting the meet. I probably missed the first 90 minutes of the meet but nevertheless, I got to meet some interesting and knowledgeable people and a flurry of topics were discussed. The ladies, as usual, looked beautiful.

Ennis, muchas gracias for hosting the first Chicago meet-up! And may I add that when it came time to settle the bill, we were $35 over!! I love the Midwest :)

The meetup was great fun (thanks, Ennis!). Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to talk to everyone (the turnout was *that* good). Goes to show Midwesterners can get the job done . . .

Hope all is well with you, Ravneet. FYI, Ennis has promised us atleast another future meetup.

folks, I am fine now. Cant wait for the photographs (if anyone shot) from the meetup though.

Yes, photographs were taken. Shout-out to Ravi: Do send the photos to Ennis so he can post them online. Thanks!

Are there even desis in Houston? I thought there were only Mexicans :P

I thought the meetup was great and I enjoyed meeting all the midwest mutineers. Really appreciate Ennis taking the trouble and organizing the event. Also felt bad for him 'cause he lost his new camera. Prices people pay for fellow Sepians.
I've already sent the pics to Ennis.

Hmm... no one from Seattle here? There are days I hate living here for more than the weather !