My birthday bash

Hola friends.With my birthday coming on 2nd I am already planning to have all the fun in my life.But this time my Bday will be special.2 months ago I read a headline in newspaper "MESSI COMING TO INDIA"and as I read further I came to know that he was coming to play an international friendly on my 2Nd September.Any die hard football fan would want to see Argentina play in India.But my dreams came true when ESPN bought broadcasting rights and not Ten sports(as our cable operator doesn't have that channel in his Catalogue).It would be like a best birthday gift for me as I will watch the South American football gods play in India on my TV.

ashy prinia

common picturewing dragonfly

Waking up early I saw I waited till my sight cleared. I went to the window only to be surprised by the cloudless sky. Rejoicing I after all the morning habits,decided to pay a visit to the gardens near us after a long time...a large part of photographing butterflies started in this garden at juhu church. The new look of the garden was'nt as pleasing as it was before. many plants which attract butterflies were cut short. As i strolled along aisle of lilies I saw a butterfly sailing over a spiral of plants. I cautiously went near it.My guess was proved wrong instead it was a picturewing dragonfly(3rd 4th picture).

Shravan

Dear all,

This is my first attempt to write on this blog. Through this, I am sharing some of my feelings and memorable moments of Anandmeva Shibir during the month of Shravan.

I know some of you may be wondering why I am sharing this on the last day of Shravan but I feel it is always better to be late than Never and incidentally today is the most important day for all mothers as everyone celebrate Matrudin today.

I still remember first day of this year Shravan …… As usual I switched on Radio during early hours of morning as per my usual practice and first song I heard was tuneful song by Padmaja Fenani ‘ Hasara Nachara Jarasa Lajara’ ….and the song took me into my initial years of Anandmeva Shibir. We used to dance alongwith our children on this tune all Saturdays of Shravan. As Shravan is the month of festivals like Nagapanchami, Rakshabandhan, Gopalkala and so on…, we used to have many interesting programs in Shibir and not to forget delicious khau served at the end of program.

As Shravan is month of festivals, nature is also at his best. Rain prefers to dizzle rather than pouring and shower fills the air with coolness. As soon as we step out of Mumbai, everywhere we see our motherland appears green which represents its freshness. Sprouting of grass makes land appear like a green bed sheet spread just for us. Different colours are splashed as variety of flowers bloom during this season. Even markets are filled with fragrances of flowers like Champa, Chameli, Bakuli and so on.. Nature looks so fresh and youthful like our teens.

I am hopeful that every one of us would have experienced various dimensions of Shravan and would have stored great memories of this season . Lets sing together, dance together and say “Thank you Shravan. Come again Soon..”

Priyanka Navare
28th August 2011.

Dear Friends,
It has been a long time since I have posted on the blog. Today I want to share with you an unforgettable experience of my school trek.
Few days before a circular had been circulated in our class for a Trek at Naneghat. Naneghat is one of the difficult mountain, to climb in the Sahyadri ranges. We were informed by our teachers that this trek would not be an easy one as the slope at Naneghat is a difficult one. But many of the students decided to join the trek.
On August 23, Tuesday we all gathered at our school at 6:15 am. We sat in the bus and left for the trek at 7:30 am. We reached at the base of Naneghat at around 10:30 am and started for the trek. We went through the muddy ways, narrow rocky roads and also through the small brooks. Exhausted and perspirating, we reached at plain grassland. There we were about to have our lunch. Surprisingly, no one really was hungry even after an exhaustive climb. After the lunch break (so called), teachers announced that those who have strength and are willing to climb to the top should follow the instructor and remaining students can rest there. Most of the students preferred to stay back and only few of us decided to go further. I along with one of my friend was walking ahead with the instructor very enthusiastically. After panting for some time we realised that it is not that easy to climb the remaining portion of the trek. The drinking water we carried along was over, our legs started aching and for fraction of second we felt that we can’t climb anymore and literally wanted to jump down the valley as there was no place to wait and take the rest. Somehow we reached at the top and ................ we felt as if we have climbed Himalayas and we were on the ninth cloud. The atmosphere was cool and pleasant. We felt that the Earth had dressed in green. We all were extremely thirsty and saw a quite narrow brook coming down the rocks. Everyone ran towards it and started plashing the cool water on their face. We also filled our bottles with the refreshing water of the brook. After resting there for a while we decided to climb down. Surprised as we were, we saw that the atmosphere was filled with thick fog and we could not see anything beneath us. It became difficult for us to come down but we took it as a challenge. Catching hands with each other we started climbing down. No one had worn a watch but at 2:30 pm it seemed as if it was around 7:00 pm. At last we reached the plain grassland where rest of the class was resting. After taking a break for some time we started walking back to where our buses were parked. We felt that this last stretch of our trek is very long as we were totally exhausted. In spite of the tiring hike, we were dancing and singing in the bus on our way back home. Due to the city traffic, we reached back at around 10:00 pm instead of scheduled time of 8:00 pm. Bidding good bye to our classmates we went home carrying lot of excited memories with us.
I must admit that this was my worst as well as the best trek until now.

Letter from Lata aji

Dear parents and children,
It is 5 o'clock in the morning and here I am writing to you.
I am seeing my " NOW". What do I see ?.
In my" Present"I am focussed on my "NOW"i.e.my "Present"is providing a cheerful background.
Mr Anna Hazare's movement has awakened all of us.It has rekindled the fire within us.Candles have become redundant now."Now" is a beautiful moment for a person who respects democracy.This movement , the media say is "Kranti".The kranti these days picturises destruction,revolt,violence in our mind.It is expression of a volcano of emotional turmoil within the being.I feel however this kranti is different.It is kranti of Jagruti.It is an awakening within.So an expression of kranti is going to be different this time.A drop of salted water in the ocean goes up in the sky as gas,vapour ,as high as it could ever reach due to scorching heat. It reaches the skies and jumps back onto the earth totally rejuvenated. It has become sweet. It can enrich life. I am feeling like that drop of water in the ocean.I am small but I "am".I am going up in the sky with my fellowmen.Moment of awakening helps one to shed off ego and selfishness and suddenly one starts living as a part of whole life in the universe.
We all awakened citizens are in our "NOW".This is the moment of action.This is the moment to shoot the arrow from the bow.
How should we shoot ?.It should be a responsible person's action.My action now has to be effective.Democracy is said to be "of"the people.Therefore all of us collectively are going to react to Anna's call rationally,reasonably and respectfully."NOW" is always divine but one seldom realises it to be so.We have got the rarest opportunity to handle the divine "NOW". Divine "NOW" needs to be handled with utmost dignity. I am sure we can do it. First of all let us be careful not to undo it. Any impulsive,rash reaction can be detrimental here.Our actions are in synchrony now.Synchrony enhances the effect.So the impact of our smallest good act will be exaggerated and so will be the impact of our wrong inappropriate action.The smallest reaction from us is very vital.Our action should not disturb peace at any cost. So far the movement has been peaceful.We citizens have to maintain that peace so that the government is able to perceive the proper dimension of our awakened collective conscience. Though the government is a body,it is not inanimate. Everyone there also is a human being like us. "NOW"both the government and the common man are experiencing that bond of collective conscience and hence those persons in the government who are legally responsible for preserving the frame of our democracy must be allowed to work in peace. It is our duty to allow them to be.So also our policemen and security people be allowed to work peacefully.
Democracy is said to be "By" the people. I feel I am the government "NOW". Each one of us is shaping his own destiny through our "action".Our individual destiny "NOW" is going to be part of our future idol of our democracy. So our individual action and reaction is going to affect the future idol.Each one of us is shaping though the tiniest part of our own destiny, it is going to be an integral vital contribution to our future idol of democracy.Let us strive to
make an icon.
Democracy is said to be "for"the people.Let us get to act "NOW".With utmost humility and faith let us honour the privilege of shaping our democracy for us.
Get, set, go.

honeylicious

conjoined swift black banded bee

gram blue male upperside

salmon arab
gram blue female
salmon arab

Hola! here I come introducing few of the honey loving creatures in my garden. On a sunny morning (which a rare sight in monsoon) bees buzz around flowers as butterflies flutter around plants.At the slightest movement they fly only to settle on another flower.

The happiness of a Guava

On a Parsi new year morning ,I woke up,delaying my breakfast by an hour . As I sat by the bed room window having my bit of fresh air,my eyes went wide as I saw a thick fleshy fruit hiding midst the branches of our old guava tree . My heart leaped up to see the fruit . The tree had always been my favourite as it bore delicious red guavas all year round . But I rarely get to eat one of them as a company of Barbets and Parakeets [bird] always gobble all the guavas up as soon as they commence to ripe. Each time I have to fulfill my hunger with some snaps of the Barbet , relishing each tender morsel of the Guava .

Incidentally, Omkar and Sunita Mavshi from Khacche family came home.

''A perfect opportunity'', I thought and took Omkar straight near to where my target was. The guava was unreachable and so we had to get a stool in order to get hold of it . After all our efforts and bearing a couple of mosquito and ant bites,we managed to get an unexpected number of 8 guavas; 1 unripe , 6 ripe but small sized and THE ONE LARGE WHICH I HAD SEEN FROM THE WINDOW . Teasing the Barbets we came home satisfied. While relishing the guavas I felt like sharing the same tasty happiness with all my shibir friends .

This is when we really '' FELT '' the happiness . After taking great efforts and then achieving happiness is really the feeling of happiness is what we got.

I have even seen some papayas and sitaphals hanging low on trees in our compound . Wish to give you all more tempting experiences in future.

Here are just a few photos of that I clicked of the barbet and guavas I'm praising . Hope you all experience the same pleasure that I had,while clicking these snaps.

Thoughts for the Independance Day

Dear parents,

Early in the morning when I opened the newspaper, I was pleased to see the front page. On one side, lay the picture of Mr. Anna Hazare and the news about his proposed fast . By his side lay the Independence day speech to the nation given by our respectable prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, with his picture.

Normally the faces I am forced to see on front page of the newspaper are simply monstrous. They make me feel hopeless early in the morning. So, today's front page was an ultimate breakfast treat.

I gathered that Anna insists on executing the fast and the government thinks just the opposite. Anna feels it is high time people take action and force the government to act. Dr. Manmohan Singh feels that though the issue is grave and urgent, it is all the more vital that one waits and handles with patience.

In your modern language, it is a conflict between `living in the present' and `living in the present moment, i.e. in the moment of action - NOW'. What is the difference between `to be in the present' and `to be in the present moment NOW'? `To be in the present' is while Arjuna is fixing his mind on the bird's eye and at the same time critically watching the bird, the tree and the expanse around. At this time he is trying to concentrate his mind at the eye of the bird totally. `To be in the present moment NOW' is when Arjuna is actually releasing the arrow from the bow.

As far as `to be in the present' is concerned, both Anna and Dr. Manmohan Singh agree that the need of the hour is to act.

But their `NOW' differs. Anna feels, come what may, he must start his fast. Dr. Manmohan Singh feels, at this moment, how you do such a thing is much more important than what you intend to do. This NOW is vital.

At this point, I started viewing my `NOW'. I saw
1. Today was just the day after 15th August. The Delhi police and security staff have been on duty working vigilantly for last 48 hours. They are simply exhausted. If violence breaks, it is physically beyond them to handle it. We must show them `Now' that we care. They are our brothers and a brother must know that the other cares.

2. Anna Hazare, though a thorough Gandhian, is not under his own influence`now'. He is dominated by two lobbies. A lobby of highly intelligent law wizards and other lobby of media savvy socially committed people. The media have blown up the issue without making any effort to educate the people about their responsibility towards offering support to Anna in order to register their protest.

While seeking justice, one must first find out what the truth is. No one who claims to actively support Anna seems to have bothered to get a fair insight of the situation. Democracy is of the people & for the people we know. `NOW' expects us to remember and realise that `Democracy is BY the people'.

`Now' demands an ultimate responsible contribution from everyone who is actively participating today. Everyone has to exhibit a responsible behaviour in the interest of the country. We have to behave like what we expect the government to behave `Now'.

I just remembered Gandhijee.

It is a story of 1921. Our freedom movement was on. Gandhijee was to do a novel experiment. He was to symbolically declare the Taluka of Bardoli to be Free. They were to deny the government rule in that taluka. This was to be followed by countrywide Satyagraha. Whole country was electrified, overexcited, fully charged. Suddenly violence erupted at Chourichura. Mahatmajee was deeply pained. He realised that though this was an opportune moment in the movement of Swarajya, he has to hold on and wait. He felt, people including Gandhijee himself were not mature enough or evolved enough to handle the challenge if the violence broke. He instantly called off the programme. He himself kept the fast individually and thought deeply over the issue. He ultimately decided to execute the plan later on. It was executed in 1928 instead of 1921. Gandhijee believed that one had to wait long enough if he has people's interest, and country's welfare supreme in his mind.

Gandhijee was widely criticised. He was humiliated, condemned very harshly by press as well as his close associates. They all said it was a blunder to call off the programme. But Gandhijee was unperturbed.

Later, after many years when someone asked him, "Which was the most important day in your life ?" He answered, "The day I decided to withhold Bardoli action plan when whole nation was against me. It was a day of taking a step back but it was certainly the day of triumph for the principle of Satyagraha and Ahimsa."

I felt if Gandhijee was alive today, his call to the nation on the 65th birthday of our freedom would have been something like this : He would have said, "My dear countrymen, we all are celebrating 65th Birthday of our Freedom. We are proud of our democracy. In democracy, the country walks ahead only when the countrymen walk hand in hand, with the idea of weal of the whole nation. Everyone walks and acts together. Synchrony needed then is ultimate. Let us all rise to the occasion and embrace the `truth' together.

Do forward these thoughts to your friends if you feel like.

Lataaji

creatures in my miniature garden

Lime butterfly ground skimmer dragonfly

hi there! I apologies for not postings my pictures earlier. The problems posed by the internet prevented me from posting them.

Fresh after taking bath I went up to the terrace to inspect my garden. As I walked towards the cluster of flowering plants(verbena,lantana and khuphia,Ixora) I tripped on a marble onlyto spot a dragonfly perched on a branch of lantana.

It was a humid afternoon. I finished my homework.Elated and satisfied I decided to give my garden a visit incase something with colourful wings was waiting for me. My hope came true as I saw a lime butterfly fluttering aroud verbena.

countinued . . .