Ooty Trip - May' 09

Its been a long time since attended marriages of any relatives, so got a chance to visit Ooty to attend two cousin sister's wedding and engagement occasion on the 17th & 20th May '09.

Its was a refreshing trip for me as after long time, meeting up all relatives in one forum. Wedding & Engagement went very well and almost up to the mark,have to please all guests & relatives as usual.Its a occasion of get together and remembering all old stories, playing games, picnic etc.

As it was a tiring week to attend two weddings & work load at home being from girl's side plus other small & big activities to be taken care for smooth output, which off course went well and admired, so needed a break for all specially people who worked hard, harder.

We planned for a picnic on the 22nd May, just for a break with all Uncle's & Auntie's. The place is - Ralliam Dam, near Kotagiri, Nilgiris. A small dam fulfilling the water needs of Ordnance Factory Arvunkadu built during the British regime, so can find all ideas put in favor with natural aspect.

We had a great time, as brother's & sister's went for trekking to a hill, near to the valley, spend time in water, had lunch & drinks (soft), played tambola, sang songs and returned back smoothly home.

So, again a remembrance picnic till next year tour back !!

Need Support & Help !

Hi Friends,

Good Evening to all of you.

Its a kind gesture to help one human to other with the possible available resources.

Just in a nut shell, i would like to appeal to all my dear & near friends to donate anything in kind, be it old dress, grocery & food items,old school items(books) of your kids to a Orphanage for the needy children staying.

Its for Mother Teresa Foundation Orphanage at Mumbai-Pune old highway road,ahead of Khadki railway station, above Godrej Interno office, personally have donated my kids clothes for two times & also helping my friend Mr.Johnson Varghese,who is running the Orphanage for the last 4 years with 26 needy children's(mix of boys & girls) aged between 5 to 19 years of age.

If you have clothes or school books & would like to share it with the Orphanage kids, do call us or post your thoughts, we will come to collect it from you anytime, just call us on 9823301425.

You could just make a difference to the KIDS....by a small gesture of love & kindness.

Thanking you all.

Sincere Mass Appeal !

Being a true Christian & knowing the real facts of the blown out of proportion happening in St. Joseph High School, Khadki with Sister Jonna being targeted by parents who have been seeking admission to the said school for the following academic session of 2009-10 through various means.

And to whom, all the unwanted social personae & political parties fighting the coming Election to grab this “Said News” and make Headlines with muscle power & disinformation of the event.

True facts – On the 18th March, there were some parents who have not paid the school fees for the current academic session for a varying period of 3 to 12 months duration. The school principal has instructed all parents to pay it before the year-end exams or to meet the school authorities & teachers to clear the dues. Some parents met, paid the fees & took their wards with them, a few kids were waiting in an adjoining room. In the mean time the SSC papers have come through postman, so Sister Jonna was busy in signing the papers & collecting it for the exams to be held .At the time, some parents took the snaps of kids waiting in the room with the help of media, who was on the lookout for some sensational piece of news & supported the parents, without knowing the facts. Nobody bothered about the SSC students appearing for the exams. People should pause and give thought to an important fact. If their electricity, telephone, tuition fees & monthly salary and the like are not paid in time, wouldn’t some action be taken? Was the school wrong in taking action to recover fees due to it? It seems one of the parents who had a grudge for not getting admission to the school took the smooth revenge of involving a parent in the trap whose kid was among the said 25 students, mentioned in Mirror and Times. If the school is not strict in discipline, how can it maintain the high value in education & life standards. Of which one of the parents have said that “These people are not giving admission to our kids, we will see & fix them rightly” (all said in hindi). You must be wondering how this all story is known to me in detail, sorry to say my kid is not studying in the school but we happen to listen to a statement in the church by Sister Jonna with right facts. For which she was arrested for a day, today it is St. Joseph School, tomorrow it would be some other school in your neighborhood, Wake up people and try to realise the facts and support it.

Leave the school to function with their core principles. Do the media have to intervene in all such matters? If fees had been paid in time, all this could have been avoided. Why are these people so adamant to make their wards study in a Christian school & not in a Government school?

I personally appeal to all people in Pune to join the signature campaign in support to Sister Jonna & other schools,preventing the politicization of school administration.

Clover Highlands & Rahul Restaurant.

What a name to the topic choose to pen down.

Its because last two weekends been out meeting old buddy's and expanding my social circle.

First to start with Clover Highlands, awesome place,the view & society, totally clean in Wanworie, my friend's flat was facing NIBM forest area, cool breeze.It was lunch invitation and me with my family visited her place after a long drive,it depends on the road and traffic you face. There were other close friends also visiting to make the event more graceful as we had dhoklas,all gujrathi dishes tasted for the first time with all sort of good combination. We left the place around 5 pm after a tea break, sorry to miss the sweet rasgullas, mouth watering ones....

Second, at Rahul's , with a old colleague worked during my tenure of job as team member, this was a gathering type dinner program with few known friends of the couple, as we chatted & discussed on various topics ,enjoyed the food, but not up to the mark of a good restaurant,ok types.It started off at 7.45 pm and ended dot at 9.30 pm as we tasted chicken curry, roti's, zeera rice,soups with starters.

So, totally two weekend have been fabulous and enjoyable.

Next week, is the ZOO trip with kids..........planning.

Dongergaon Trip - Friends Re-Union

This is Girivan.

A wonder land 400ft above Lonavala. The beautiful bungalows located. In evergreen hills and hillocks of Girivan the farm plots are developed artistically by the plot holders. We have bungalow plots and Horticulture plots on the slopes of the hillocks.

Types of plots
1. Bungalow plots on table land.
2. Horticulture Plots on hill slope.

In Girivan at present 800 plot holders & approx 200 plot holders have constructed their bungalows. MTDC registration approval under ‘Bed & Breakfast Scheme.

We four friends planned for a "Valentine & Re-Union Party " at Dongergoan and stayed for a night, its a drive from Pune via Pirangut & Paud, after Paud bus stand, take a right turn and check the signboards to reach Girivan.Nearby places to see is Walven & Pawana Dam.On our return way we checked in Krushnai Water Park,near Singhagad, The place was not crowded than what I had expected, so it seems it is a well known family hangout on holidays. The entry fee is reasonable - Rs.300/- for adults and Rs.150/- for kids, which includes a vegetarian lunch in their restaurant, food ok types.

The overall management, though not up to the mark, is pretty decent. Though like most public places the security guards and attendants hardly had a voice of their own and did little to maintain order and enforce rules.

The place has enough lockers to store your stuff. There are enough clean (pleasant surprise!) showers, changing rooms, bathrooms and loo's.They do try hard to enforce the only-swimming-costume in the pool rule, and do make swimming costumes available for use, for some nominal fee. The ladies’ costumes include thigh lengh t-shirts and full-length/capris style leggings, in order to make ladies of all age, size, weight, make feel comfortable Unfortunately, you’d still find some ladies splashing around in their salwar suits/ t-shirts etc. and men in their vests, shorts, track pants instead of the mandatory swimming trunks!

The park has been built on some 5 acres of land and has the standard water rides and pools - lazy river, wave pool, many water slides and tunnels, deck for rain dance.

We enjoyed the get together with families, good place to break away.

Dancing in Rain - Collection 8

They introduced the young musician. Welcome...Mr. Patrick Henry Hughes. He was rolled onto the stage in his wheelchair, and began to play the piano. His fingers danced across the keys as he made beautiful music.

He then began to sing as he played, and it was even more beautiful. For some reason, however, I knew that I was seeing something special. There was this aura about him that I really can't explain and the smile...his smile was magic!

About ten minutes into Patrick's performance, someone came on the stage and said..."I'd like to share a 7-minute video titled, The Patrick Henry Hughes story." And the lights went dim.

Patrick Henry Hughes was born with no eyes, and a tightening of the joints which left him crippled for life. However, as a child, he was fitted with artificial eyes and placed in a wheelchair. Before his first birthday, he discovered the piano. His mom said, "I could hit any note on the piano, and within one or two tries, he'd get it." By his second birthday, he was playing requests (You Are My Sunshine, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star). His father was ecstatic. "We might not play baseball, but we can play music together."

Today, Patrick is a junior at the University of Louisville. His father attends classes with him and he's made nearly all A's, with the exception of 3 B's He's also a part of the 214 member marching band. You read it right...the marching band! He's a blind, wheelchair-bound trumpet player; and he and his father do it together. They attend all the band practices and the half-time performance in front of thousands. His father rolls and rotates his son around the field to the cheers of Patrick's fans. In order to attend Patrick's classes and every band practice, his father works the graveyard shift at UPS. Patrick said..."My dad's my hero."

But even more than his unbelievable musical talent, it was Patrick's "attitude of gratitude" that touched my soul. On stage, between songs, he would talk to the audience about his life and about how blessed he was. He said, "God made me blind and unable to walk. BIG DEAL! He gave me the ability...the musical gifts I have...the great opportunity to meet new people."

When his performance was over, Patrick and his father were on the stage together. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered for over five minutes. It gave me giant goose bumps!

My life was ready to meet Patrick Henry Hughes. I needed a hero, and I found one for the ages. If I live to be a hundred, I'll never forget that night, that smile, that music, but most importantly, that wonderful "attitude of gratitude."

I returned to Chicago and shared Patrick's story with my wife, my friends, and our team at work. About two weeks later, I received a letter from a friend. He said, "Mac, I don't know who said it, but I think you'll love this quote."

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...
it's about learning how to dance in the rain!"

I thought...that's it! We all face adversity in our life. However, it's not the adversity, but how we react to it that will determine the joy and happiness in our life. During tough times, do we spend too much time feeling sorry for ourselves, or, can we, with gratitude...learn how to dance in the rain?

It almost sounds too simple to feel important, but one word...gratitude, can change your attitude, thus, your life, forever. Sarah Breathnack said it best...

"When we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present....we experience heaven on earth."

Dad & Son - Collection 7

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'

DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the man.

SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.

SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'If you must know, I make Rs100 an hour.'

SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow Rs50?'

The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.'

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that Rs50 and he really didn't ask for money very often The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.

'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.

'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the Rs50 you asked for.'

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled.

'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.

'Daddy, I have Rs100 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that Rs50 worth of your time with someone you love.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.