Special Children's 3-days Camp to Wagoli in Pune

Last week I made a trip to Pune. My family owns a residential home for senior citizens at Wagoli, (near Jain College at Bakodi Phata) and there are many rooms still vacant, so this was a good opportunity to take the special children of Swami Brahmanand Prathisthan for a camp for three days. I went two days prior to their visit to make the arrangements.

35 children and 15 staff enrolled for this camp. I called up my cousins, who was very happy to help. They helped me arrange for a cook and helpers that would be required on hand, since it was not possible for us to take from Mumbai. Seven large rooms were prepared for their accommodations.

The main purpose was to make children's visit as comfortable as possible. “Give them the food that they don’t eat on regular basis.” Said my cousin excitedly. We spent many hours discussing menu and shopping for the things we would require. We tried different flavors of ice-creams. A dish with cottage cheese and chinese too was planned. The menu was planned, different meals each time that included snacks, vegetarian meals, ice creams, fruits and also desserts like Gulab Jamun( that my cousin popped into his mouth, (secretly) more than it was allowed  by his doctors)

The children just loved the food and came personally to my cousin to thank him for the delicious meals. 

There was much activity in the kitchen during those three days, many volunteered during preparation of food and making snack packets for outdoor trips. The gifts kept arriving as the news spread. I had to stop many people from distributing food items (cause there is limit to eating and couldn't risk stomach upset)

Children enjoyed their road trip from Mumbai to Pune, singing and dancing in the bus and yet when they arrived in Wagoli, they didn’t look tired. That same day they spend their evening at Chowki Dhani - a Rajasthani theme park that has various activities to keep people occupied such as pottery, drama, music, singing, dancing. There were different kinds of street food at regular interval and also proper Rajasthani food for dinner.

Children were most eager to take part in all activities

and prouldly posed with their tattooed arms

The staff enjoyed too, for camel rides and many other rides.

The next two days were spent visiting different temples. They visited all the gods during those two days, seeking blessing in every form.  It turned out to be spiritual camp. Because besides visiting different temples, they were also singing and dancing on spiritual hymns. 

They loved the temple activities and came back with beautiful designs done by the priest on their foreheads.

And of course..a group photo is a must

Next day evening was spent going to Sadhu Vaswani mission and then attending a bhajan session by group of visually handicapped children.

They played outdoor games in the ashram compound whenever they were free, they took part in the organized games during late evenings after dinner. I was amazed by their energy level.

The children showed great discipline and took part in all the activities. People who met them, showered much love on them and commented that they were well behaved, much more than normal children, cause none of them were shouting or quarrelling amongst each other. It was remarkable that each child help the weaker one and everybody was alert all times of the day…..

It was the most enjoyable camp.

Rangoli Design At Puducherry

On my first day to Puducherry, I passed by the Beach Road and was surprised to see the whole road filled with Rangoli designs. There were more than 200 rangoli designs on the road. I was informed that the Rangoli competition was held during early hours of the morning whereby 200 people had participated in this event. I thought I would walk, later during the day and look closely at each design but by evening they had all disappeared. People had walked all over them.

Rangoli (also known as kolam) is the folk art, normally the geometrical designs made on the floor with colored sand, turmeric, sindoor (vermillion), rice powder and sometimes flowers too. It is normally done at the entrance of the house. It is considered very auspicious and believed to bring good luck and repel the evil from entering the house. It also has a soothing effect on the nerves and when made at the entrance of the house, it creates positive vibrations.

Some of the designs that I was able to capture from my moving car….

I Am Like This Only

During this month of January, I came across many stories of my friends on Facebook. Actually, it was a chain post where friends spoke freely about who they were and what their interest were, they let their hair loose and revealed what they would never discuss on open forum. It was interesting to read about the secret nuggets that were hidden behind their profile pictures. Most of them happily shared some anecdotes of their lives.

They then tagged all the friends who liked or commented on their post and asked their friends to do the same

I got caught up in the chain too when I commented on my friend's  post. I was tagged by my friend Sangeet Bird to share my story of who I am

So here I go, several little nuggets about me

Born normal (and pretty), at the age of six months, I was struck with polio that left me disfigured and physically weak for the rest of my life.

I was shy, reserved and also stupid. Always stood last in class. Teachers at school often told me I had no inclination to study and that I had no brains and therefore no future.

I was so fed up of being lonely and rejected that I decided to wake up 5am everyday in the morning to steal roses from people’s garden so that I could bribe my teachers and friends to love me.

At age 12, my life changed its course, when I found a friend, who took up the challenge to reform me and prove that everybody has brains, and that there was a trick to use it. That year I graduated to the third position in class.

I can’t drive but I have dreamt many times about driving at full speed and crashing…..

My first job was as a head teacher in a special school, which actually was a big room of severely retarded children with multiple handicaps.

When I migrated to Surinam, I was a social butterfly. Organized a big Diwali program, which was such a success that Embassy of Surinam asked me not to plan such important events on my own, instead I was asked to team up with them in organizing Indian cultural events.

Have travelled a lot, (been all over the world) visiting family and friends; have come to a decision that Mumbai is the best place to live (I wouldn’t like to live anywhere else in the world)

So here I am…not just a lone woman but like every other woman with a heart AND feelings

“This post is a part of #UseYourAnd activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette Venus“.

Some Captured moments In Puducherry

The road never looked so long when I was in good spirit. I could walk miles on end, alone, deep in my thoughts, not realizing how much path I had traversed. I had always loved walking, specially on a smooth path or on a muddy track. It gave me the opportunity to be with self, to think clearly. But today, every step was difficult. The pain in my foot protested. "Stop" it said "I cannot go for long" After every small step, I winced in pain. Should I ignore and move on? Was it worth it? I could take my medicines at night but I must go on…how can one stop living?….Pain was no excuse…..time does not wait……This moment would never arrive again….pain always returned but it had never hijacked my life...….."Stop" said the pain..pulling my nerve till I could acknowledge its presence. "Ouch!"…I turned around to look for a bench…..

What I liked best abt our guest house in #Puducherrywas the rock garden with the waterfall n small pond where colorful fishes swam fearlessly.. The food was good so was the comfort. I went with a big yoga group from Mumbai so we were clubbed into dormitory with ten women, it was like Bigg Boss experience with 50 shades of grey.....all other rooms were occupied so we had no choice but sit back n enjoy the live show of entertainment during early morning hours.

While we fussed around looking for a clean table to have our meals, the group of women sat comfortably on the floor enjoying their meals . There was no fuss over non-availabilty of fork n spoon or over a leaf of tissue paper. A simple Satvic food of ragi juice, lentil soup, pilaf and sprout salad was all they cared. Easily, they sat crossed legs, contentment writ on their face. I admired their attitude of enjoying each morsel of food n thanking Lord for this day.....