Before any of you mutiny-lovin’ right-coasters befoul the L.A. Meetup thread under Abhi’s last post with questions about D.C. events, I thought I’d create a separate and more relevant space for my fellow chocolatiers. If, however, you are befouling the L.A. meetup thread by saying something less than sweet about my least favorite city, foul away with my Northern California-bred blessings. 😉 I keed, I keed.

Anyway, Channukah is almost here and that obviously means it’s time to wear desi clothes to a meetup!

Iron that kanjeevaram, dig up your favorite lengha and find that sherwani your cousin made you buy for his wedding, which you didnÂ’t think youÂ’d get to use again. This is the MutinyÂ’s first holiday party and I want you to glitter as much as the fantastic setting.

Can you picture it? Sepia lovelies in silk, the chime of bangles as crystal flutes are raised and the food…my goodness, you should come, just to try the bhindi and the saag. At YoDad’s request, Msichana showed up to the last DC meetup looking luminous in a sari which fought the sunset for that night’s “Best use of Pinks and Purples”-award, so you may thank her for inspiring this request for your best dress. How down are you with looking brown? :)[linkery]

A month ago, I asked you to save December 16th on your cluttered social calendars and several of you kindly did so. Now I need a final head count so that I can either make reservations or find a different venue— I’m sad to report that I’m having some issues with the luscious, gorgeous Rasika. But, depending on how many of you RSVP, those issues might be moot so hop to it my little bunnies. I need a number and I need it soon! Continue reading →

The time and venue has been set. You have my personal assurance that this might not be the best, but definitely has the potential to be the most scandalous SM meet-up EVER. The last L.A. meet-up was planned by Taz and was a great success (and quite wholesome). This time around…well, I’m in charge. Since we are closing down SM’s Los Angeles Bureau within 10 days, this is a “can’t miss” event.

Who: Bloggers, readers, commenters, lurkers, and…groupies

Where: Nirvana Lounge in Beverly Hills

When: Friday Dec. 15th at 8p.m.

So what does this venue have to offer that isn’t evident from the picture I provide above? I’m telling you, this place has mangoes and peacocks all over the joint (not to mention an enormous Buddha head in the back there). It also provides us with three levels of gastronomical service:

* FOREPLAY
* LOSS OF INNOCENCE
* SENSUOUS PLEASURES

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Social life: Macaques troops average 20 with many males and females. Separate troops may sometimes join to form temporary groups of more than 100. All members in the troop have a well-defined rank. In many, the rank is inherited from the mother. … Females form the permanent core of the group, while males transfer from among groups at least once in their lives, usually before they breed. They are fierce primates and will offer stout resistance to potential predators. [Link]

Your final friendly reminder for the NYC meet-up. Continue reading →

You know, for a meetup which I invited you macacas to with thismuch notice, DC’s third attempt at getting mutinous was as satisfying as the results to a certain Senatorial race, which we toasted by the way, since that was the reason for the season.

Eight of us destroyed the buffet at Heritage India, while discussing everything from breaking gossip (“Wait– HOW did that macaca get his JOB???”) to female infanticide in Punjab (“No, it’s not just a problem for the lower classes…educated people do it, too.”) to who knew a jew (“Have you SEEN the synagogue in Cochin???”). Care to gnash your teeth enviously because of what you missed? Find an entire album of awesome on my Flickr.

Commenter “Vivo” gets a special award for putting up with my non-stop derision after he accidentally made noises which sounded vaguely anti-Kerala (“Ah,” you’re thinking…”NOW these comments make sense”). Kindly be noting that I did not apologize for carrying him relentlessly– I mean, he totally deserved that. I can appreciate his thick skin without relinquishing my right to thenga-flavored chauvinism. 😉

Lurker Leo also deserves massive love for coming to the meetup, since he lives in Raleigh. He and his friend, the unexpected guest star (of David) of brunch both said farewell to me in the middle of Connecticut Avenue while everyone else left for Cosi, since we had closed out Heritage India. I hope they had a safe trip home. 🙂 Did I mention one of them was JEWISH??? 😀

Oh, that reminds me– while everyone else dodged raindrops and bitter cold by running in to s’mores central, DTK chivalrously waited for me as I hugged the North Carolinians farewell. Isn’t he the sweet? I must say, though my man-harem was filled with brilliant, witty, bewitching (bewarlocking?) goodness, nothing makes a girl feel funny in the tummy like a seemingly insignificant gesture like THAT. 😉

Inside Cosi, things REALLY got crazy, as you can see from the picture above. 🙂 It certainly didn’t hurt that three hilarious, very cute girls had joined us after brunch, two of whom were Kenyandesi and Barmaid. Jealous much? You should be. 🙂 I felt like a kid in a conversational candy store– everyone was saying something fascinating and I almost got dizzy from trying to follow all the fast and furious banter. Continue reading →

Eight people are here at Heritage India and I’m thrilled to report that I’m the only girl…FINALLY, I have my man-harem! 😀

Rollcall: Sriram, Prashant, Vivo, Salil, “context-specific” and his friend, DTK…and ME!

I told the story of the birth of the Mutiny…again. This meetup tradition continues.

WE HAVE AN INDIAN JEW AT THE MEETUP!!! I’ve always wanted to meet one (aside from the Baghdadi Jew from Kolkota I met once…who wasn’t very Indian).

Salil’s honeymoon story: the ONLY time the “slippery slope” argument was actually true! Continue reading →

I’m so sorry that I’ve been Arular lately, but I promise that New York (as much as I adore it) won’t be the only Sepia city to get mutinous, especially after the glee-inducing events of this past week. I mean…come on…this victory was all about chocolate, not apples. 😉 Besides, I won’t be able to attend the New York meetup and I want to celebrate just as much as Siddhartha and Vinod do.

I was originally going to propose something different: a meetup/workshop hybrid which would oocur at some cafe as we wrote and read 55s…sort of a mash-up of the Kahani writing gatherings I used to host and our regular SM melas. But, I think that after Tuesday’s triumph of relatively-good over the most-fumbled-cammpaign ever, zimbly hanging out and laughing our kundis off (which we did at the last DC meetup, pictured left) might be a more apposite goal.

So, while I don’t mind getting together Saturday night for potentially scandalous debauchery (especially if it ends in the wee hours with cheese-veggie-burgers at Fuddruckers), I’m wondering if Sunday afternoon will work for more of you?

How about brunch at Heritage India Dupont, on Sunday at 1pm?

Heritage India is near the blue/orange/red lines and it’s bang in the middle of everything, so if we’re having fun, we can sluggishly waddle off somewhere else after being sated by the best ma ki dal in DC. Brunch is served until 2:30pm, so IST can be slightly accomodated. 🙂 RSVP in the comments below, so I can make reservations tomorrow, y’heard?

:+:

If you can’t eat the cutest aloo tikki EVER with us at Heritage this weekend (trust me, the presentation always delights), consider partying with us a month from now, during Sepia Mutiny’s first-ever Hanukkah meetup, on December 16. This could be the meetup to trump all meetups because… Continue reading →

The rumors are true kids, and we have pictures to prove it (need to join as member to view pix). To quote Vinod, last night was “the BEST Sepia Mutiny Meetup EVER!”

GujuDude and his macaca

The quick run down- the place was hip, the people that came were cool, the drama kept at a minimum and the party was a great success. It started at happy hour time, and went late into the wee morning as 15 of us broke bread together at The Pantry at 1am. As you can see from the pictures, everyone was smiling and having a great time. Big ups to all the mutinous (I’d guess we had a posse of 50 throughout the night) that came: Abhi, Vinod, Sumit, Karthik, Rumi, Builder, Vinod (x2), Hanish, GujuDude (+1), Prashant, Lata, Payal, Ravi the lurker, Amar, Gaurav, Pawan, Sharat, Sachin, Rajan, Lavanya, Arun, Deep, Shivani, 1 /26, Satish, Thomas Kurma, Shruti, Dimpal, Vivek, Anu, Ami, Mad Guru, – and all those others that didn’t sign in!

What exactly happened that made it so kick ass?

Though it started at 7pm, people were naturally on IST time. As people joined the mutiny, they had a sepia rakhi tied to their wrist to let them know they were now a ‘part of the mutiny.’ People slowly filtered in, and folks hesitantly approached our table of brown folks. We then loosened folks up (or was it the alcohol?) with an icebreaker. The icebreaker was to a list SM handles that people had to match with real names and on the flip the Sepia Mutiny Trivia (after the jump). First to answer all corrrectly was GujuDude and his prize, as you can see from the picture, was a toy macaca.

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Reservations have been made. Guest list has been compiled. Goodie bags are in the works. Ms. Pac Man practice games polished. We are prepared for the sequel…

Now, the Golden Gopher isn’t your typical bar, and as a non-drinker, it is my favorite Los Angeles bar for two reasons. The best jukebox in town, and they have tabletop Ms. Pac Man scattered throughout.

With that being said, we ask for everyone who is ‘up for it’ to bring rolls of quarters in their pockets for the first ever Mutinous Ms. Pac Man Challenge! Abhi claims he’s the best, I claim to be better, and we both challenge the L.A. mutiny to a death match of Ms Pac Man.

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