About

About Me:

Relocated to Bangalore from California with hub and kids in Oct ‘06. When I started blogging on blogger, I started out blogging our return to India (R2I) experiences. And soon, I realized that it was useful to a lot of people who were in the process of moving/considering a move/weighing their options etc. So I moved to my own site here, and I put all the r2I relevant topics under http://r2blore.chitra-aiyer.com.

My husband and I are in the early to the mid thirties. We have 2 young children - in kindergarten and pre-kindergarten. Because of the children, I have had many opportunities to interact with a lot of other parents and well, mostly the talk revolves around the children, their activities, and schools. So, one of the other things that I try to cover under http://r2blore.chitra-aiyer.com is also about the schools in Bangalore. And when I write about schools, I write either from first hand experience or after talking to parents who have their children in the said schools. This is primarily to help out other parents who are trying to look up information about the schools they are considering.

I also write about topics that the readers ask me info about. So, if there is anything that you want info about, especially about living/moving to Bangalore, working in Bangalore, or schools in Bangalore, feel free to email me at chitra [_] aiyer @ yahoo [.] com .

I enjoy photography and you will find my pics on flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/aiyerchitra . The camera I use is the EOS Digital Rebel XTi / 400D. The lenses I have are the kit lens (18-55mm f/3.5-5.6) and the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM, Sigma EF 24 - 70 MM F/2.8.

Some of the books that I have enjoyed - Ishmael, The Alchemist, Great expectations, Three men in a boat, Interpreter of Maladies, The Namesake, Kahlil Gibran’s, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, George Bernard Shaw’s Plays, The Bridge Across Forever, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Kite Runner, Love story, The Class, The Guide, Fountainhead, Rainmaker, The Witch of Portobello ….

Movies that I love - Matrix, 12 Angry Men, Forrest Gump, Godfather I, Fight Club, Amadeus, Fargo, O Brother where art thou?, Scent of a woman, Bonnie and Clyde, Devil’s Advocate, Hotel Rwanda, Terms of Endearment, How Green was my Valley, Everything is Illuminated, Mouna Ragam, Jaane Bhee Do Yaaron, Dr Zhivago, As good as it gets, Dogfight, Moondram Pirai, Pithamagan, Ijazat, Austin Powers: the Spy Who Shagged Me, Flavors, Bend it Like Beckham, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, The Full Monty, Big Daddy, Seven Years in Tibet, My cousin Vinny, Rainman, Paniamma, Pallavi Anupallavi, Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s, Philadelphia, Garden state, Continental Divide, Shattered Glass, Dor, many lovely Malayalam movies, Older/simpler Hindi movies starring Amol Palekar or Farooq Sheikh, and many many more …

17 Responses to “About”

  1. Kishen, on November 1st, 2007 at 3:55 am Said:

    Hi Chitra,
    I wanted to check the below with you…

    Since your kids are american citizens and possess PIO cards, are they eligible for OCI ?

    This i am asking since you and your husband are indian citizens… Btw we are also in the same situation and planning to R2I.

    thanks!

  2. Vidya, on January 26th, 2008 at 12:12 am Said:

    Hi

    You have some wonderful shots on Filckr. Can you tell me or suggest what DSLR you use ?

    Thanks
    Vidya

  3. Bhupesh, on February 14th, 2008 at 11:39 am Said:

    I’d like to know some good pre schools options in the whitefield are other than Neev, Eurokids, Kidzee.
    I find Neev too good and too expensive. Its annual fee is 2.5x that of others like kidzee, etc.
    Please suggest some school that has the right balance of cost/quality.

  4. Mary, on March 21st, 2008 at 2:08 pm Said:

    Hi Chitra,

    Can you suggest a couple of cos. that handle moving stuff from USA to India, BLR in particular.

    Thank you

  5. Chitra, on March 24th, 2008 at 12:31 am Said:

    Hi Mary,

    Please see these posts - http://r2blore.chitra-aiyer.com/2007/03/r2i-tips-for-an-r2i-move.html and http://r2blore.chitra-aiyer.com/2006/12/r2i-our-boxes-are-here.html

  6. Lakshmi, on April 5th, 2008 at 5:53 pm Said:

    Stumbled upon your blog through a lot of hops and glad I did.
    My husband and I returned to India after having spent seven years in the US, five years ago. The best move we have ever made. I can relate to a lot of your posts.
    Great attempt at educating would-be-movers.

  7. Amrutha, on May 23rd, 2008 at 10:48 pm Said:

    Hi Chitra,

    It is a cool website. We’re abt to return to India & our friend recommended your website. I have a Q.

    I wonder if I can bring the kitchen items like toaster, roti maker etc (110V) and use them in B’lore with an international converter for kitchen. (everything is almost brannd new & if it is worth bringing instead of buying there again, I’d love to ship. (BTW, my company pays for shipping).

    Many thanks!

  8. mush, on July 2nd, 2008 at 1:00 pm Said:

    chitra/…beautiful,amazing photos!!!

    u r an artist!!

    keep it up!

  9. Laxmi Srikanth, on July 6th, 2008 at 4:02 am Said:

    Hello Chitra;

    You have answered a lot of questions about moving from the US to India, mine is the opposite. We were residents fo California for 10years during which my children attended school through 6th grade when we moved back to Bangalore. My son is currently pursuing his 9th IGCSE and we will be moving back to the US next year i.e when he is in his 10th. Will we have any issues with his admissions into the 10th grade there?Look forward to hearing from anyone who has had a similar experience. Thanks
    Laxmi

  10. Sriram Gopalaratnam, on July 21st, 2008 at 4:18 pm Said:

    Hi Chitra,

    A friend of mine relocated to Pune after 10 years in the Bay Area. We were talking the other day about your blogs and he mentioned that he found it useful.

    I have read your blogs when you just started writing. Looks like you have many web sites and blogs now.

    Good work.

    -Sriram

  11. BreatheHyd, on July 29th, 2008 at 3:00 am Said:

    Chitra,

    Love your blog. Have been feeling the India blues lately and came across your blog. Have read it voraciously over the last few days. You are a special person with a gift for the written word and a keen eye for photography. Loved your snaps on Flickr too especially the lotuses and the India portraits. Very well captioned too. Keep up the good work.

    I just started writing a blog too at http://breathehyd.wordpress.com/

    BreatheHyd

  12. Veena, on August 26th, 2008 at 5:02 pm Said:

    Hi Chitra,

    Thanks for the very informative blog! I do have a question. I understand that your kids are US citizens are you and your husband are GC holders. Have you been able to maintain the GC status or did you give up the GC? How difficult is to travel to US (i.e., to get a visa) if you give up your GC.
    I would really appreciate any input you can provide on this.
    Thanks,
    Veena

  13. Robert ( Personalised Gifts Consultant ), on September 19th, 2008 at 8:01 am Said:

    Hi Chitra,
    Your blog is excellent. It will be very helpful when I return back from Australia. Your flickr collection is excellent. I was reading your Foreign affairs office experience too. I can be more prepared for the process. Keep it up.. Keep blogging and keep taking photos.

    thanks,
    Robert

  14. Puttappa, on October 13th, 2008 at 7:10 pm Said:

    Chitra,

    Nice set of blogs. The photos are Excellent!!!! Did you win the Phtot contest??

    I came in ‘90 in US, but want to return to Bangalore in few years. I have some investments in US and may have to wait for the Housing and the overall economy to get better. I guess by them my kids will be in middle school. So I have 2 set of questions..

    1. How are the so called International schools in Bangalore? Will the kids who have studies upto middle school can get adjusted without much frication? Is kannada a complusory any where?

    2.How is the real estate? I saw too much of hype Is it likely to go down? Is it better to move to a community near a Internationsl school?

    Thanks,
    Puttappa

  15. Shilpa, on October 22nd, 2008 at 11:20 am Said:

    Hi Chitra,
    Really informative blog. Thanks for taking the time to do this. I wanted to know if you had a section on doctors or gynaecologists. I am pregnant and went to a very lackadaisical yet popular gynaecologist and wanted to make sure people steer clear of her. Any ideas on how to do something like this.
    Thanks,
    Shilpa

  16. UG, on November 19th, 2008 at 7:29 am Said:

    Hi Chitra,
    A very interstering and informative blog…keep up the good work…
    I am just feeling bad that i had not checked your blog earlier…..am going through the same ordeal as many parents do in scouting for a decent school for my 3 year old son….being november born….he’s does’nt seem to be eligible for nursery in many schools…even if i don’t mind him loosing a year….these schools don’t even give us the application form…how annoying….currently it seems like a herculean task to get his admission going….just hope we will be able to get his admission done….Thanks…

  17. kavitha, on December 3rd, 2008 at 6:22 am Said:

    Hi chitra i wd like to knw abt vidya shilp more for 1 std

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