tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43501908428474796972024-02-19T04:56:55.373-05:00Scribe's Daily ScribblesCall it a blog or call it a book of my life. Each post is a reflection of me. Full of contradications and surprises!Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-34078857721774834112010-02-07T07:21:00.004-05:002010-02-07T07:27:17.016-05:004th January, 2010 – Dignity and Pride<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigIkspezgGzfbD3wLY1BfiFk5fiWwkLGSlj0GUtGfR6K2Q5lP5sVKB9FRkppVsiTdV3bdlfviP2IR7KovCTaiLf4WIwjSyEe_wsi2hYwjGKlYqAhhPTKm5dIjZwhesQHdfIalpOKeNlCll/s1600-h/DSC01747.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435476422322163058" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigIkspezgGzfbD3wLY1BfiFk5fiWwkLGSlj0GUtGfR6K2Q5lP5sVKB9FRkppVsiTdV3bdlfviP2IR7KovCTaiLf4WIwjSyEe_wsi2hYwjGKlYqAhhPTKm5dIjZwhesQHdfIalpOKeNlCll/s200/DSC01747.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>4th January started early for the yatris. But by now, we were quite used to waking up in the wee hours of the morning. I didn’t even bother about bathing and just got down when the train halted at Brahmapur station in Orissa. The weather was pleasant; quite a novelty for a Bombay girl like me. We got onto the buses to reach our next social enterprise, Gram Vikas. </div><div><br />Gram Vikas is a village development programme launched in 1979 by Joe Madiath. He had started working with villages right from his high school days. He, prior to starting Gram Vikas, had taken a year-long odyssey of the whole country on a bicycle, travelling 100 kilometers a day, visiting villages and towns of the country. “That was an eye opener for me!” proclaimed Joe Madiath. </div><div><br />So when cyclone hit Orissa in 1971, he came to the state to work for the victims. He rebuilt roads, homes and schools for a year in Orissa post the cyclone. It’s after this phase that he started Gram Vikas in 1979. The aim of this NGO is to bring sustainable improvement in the lives of villagers in Orissa. Gram Vikas covers 2, 50,000 villagers from 22 districts.</div><div><br />Madiath spent the first 10 years in Orissa and started 6000 bio-gas plants to ensure steady supply of electricity in the power starved state. The next step was to deal with water issues in rural Orissa. 80% of rural areas didn’t have access to protected water. 95% of rural Orissa didn’t have sanitation facilities. So what Madiath did was, he collected Rs. 1000 from each family of a village and invested it in a bank. Sanitation facilities were built from the interest that came from the initial sum invested. The government also contributed in a small way. Madiath named the sanitation facility as the House of Dignity because he thought toilets gave each villager a sense of dignity and self respect. Gram Vikas has also resolved the issue of water supply to an extent by digging wells, building water tanks and by water harvesting.</div><div><br />We also visited a Gram Vikas residential school for tribal children, which was started in 1982. Currently around 460 tribal children study in this school. The students are mostly children of marginal farmers who own not more than two to three hectares of land. However, the male: female ratio in the school is skewed at 65:35. But, it has improved over the years and they expect it to improve as years go by. </div>Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-23483647718009210992010-02-07T07:17:00.002-05:002010-02-07T07:21:46.553-05:003rd January, 2010 – Creative Juices<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQygS4LqnSuWU1zMYtKGV0IxkKohbgHXW38o0p6u9k0oSrnzbWZTarQMcSRoTumV3xl-HpGesIxHh61st4h0n59lpSFaIcoHnFfE0uZ_rQj3FP_TFtPlyuim-omM-OmXuNLdah5zyeiX0/s1600-h/DSC02200.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435475260630372434" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQygS4LqnSuWU1zMYtKGV0IxkKohbgHXW38o0p6u9k0oSrnzbWZTarQMcSRoTumV3xl-HpGesIxHh61st4h0n59lpSFaIcoHnFfE0uZ_rQj3FP_TFtPlyuim-omM-OmXuNLdah5zyeiX0/s200/DSC02200.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>That was one lazy day. The morning started with a creative writing and visual minutes workshop organized for the yatris in the AC chair car. The creative writing workshop was conducted by Yemisi Blake. He is an artist at Southbank Centre, UK. Most of the yatris ended up writing about the yatra. I guess the yatra was already the most memorable experience for the most! Few lines which Blake wrote on the yatra are: A trojan charge of young minds soak up the sounds of a shifting landscape. Real India woven into their memories. Delicate images of glistening solar panels, village paths and hand-made futures. On leaving the train the Yatra begins. A long walk home. Ideas and inspiration lighting a new India.</div><br /><div>Visual Minutes lecture followed the creative writing session. We had seen Kirstie and Claire make paintings in real time while the role model speeches were in progress. Kirstie and Clair too were artists from the Southbank Centre, UK. Each of these charts had the story of the entrepreneur and the most important points made during the speech in form of diagrams and sketches. I think it is a really great idea to make visual minutes instead of written notes. Actually, everyone can put up some of the most important lists, plans and dreams in form of visuals in our rooms and on our soft boards. So with a paper and pen, even we tried to create a visual sequence of the few poems. Some of us did really lame drawings! But some were very good too. All in all, it was a good start to the day.</div><br /><div>The other half of the day was spent lazing around on the train. Most of the yatris caught up with their sleep while others used the time to get to know the fellow yatris better. </div>Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-89244216808403467532010-02-06T10:25:00.002-05:002010-02-06T10:29:07.520-05:002nd January, 2010 – Feeding a million dreams<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQdADUGV1AMZo4yktjTkLVO9e22hQx6gWknh_VcNGGN9NmLHNraq8R_dFA0GQStovacXFqOgI8rFI546XNefwGvErGzJ29qWTc38AlLDYUAl4yMisOtoLHKN8lkK_XLu9KsXQUVvbSiz8/s1600-h/DSC01649.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435152772035572402" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQdADUGV1AMZo4yktjTkLVO9e22hQx6gWknh_VcNGGN9NmLHNraq8R_dFA0GQStovacXFqOgI8rFI546XNefwGvErGzJ29qWTc38AlLDYUAl4yMisOtoLHKN8lkK_XLu9KsXQUVvbSiz8/s200/DSC01649.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Contribution to the education sector is always linked to setting up schools, teaching or supplying free books. But when a child is born in a ‘below the poverty line’ family, where the next meal of the day is uncertain, free books are not a very strong incentive to get that child into school. With this thought in mind the government of India had launched the Mid-Day Meal programme in early 1980s. Children from the poorest parts of the country sometimes walked several kilometers everyday to school, just to feed their hungry stomachs. However, due to corruption and bad management, this scheme had really never attained its optimum potential.<br /><br />On 2nd January, Yatra reached Hyderabad. That’s where we met Manoj Jain, the CEO of Naandi Foundation, who told us how he manages to feed a million school children everyday to keep them from quitting school at a young age. Naandi Foundation is one of the few public private partnerships that have been successful in this endeavor. It feeds a million mouths everyday at government run schools in hundreds of hunger struck districts of our country. Naandi has to encounter insurgency threats in Naxal infested areas, government bureaucracy at all levels of their operations and sometimes politicized union teachers. But good management, excellent distribution and mass production keep Naandi going.<br /><br />A centralized kitchen is set up in every state which Naandi operates in. This food is then transported to various schools spread across villages and districts. The kitchen is set up on donation money and the rice is supplied by the government free of cost. Vegetable, labour and transportation cost is borne by Naandi. Good management and mass production of food have got down the per thali plate cost to just Rs. 4. According to Manoj Jain, the CEO of Naandi Foundation, his enterprise works on really thin margins.<br /><br />Naandi Foundation started when Jain was approached by Andhra Pradesh’s Naidu Government in the year 2003, after Supreme Court’s guidelines on the Mid-Day Meal programme were passed. Today apart from Andhra Pradesh, Naandi operates in states like Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and so on.<br /><br />Apparently, one of the reasons behind the success of Naandi is that, it has given governments of each state a project to show off to the voters during elections. So, when Manoj Jain was asked, why he wasn’t doing enough publicity for Naandi, laughed and said, <strong>“Can’t be more popular than the government, will be kicked out!”</strong></div>Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-48418088685656105522010-02-06T10:20:00.002-05:002010-02-06T10:24:57.776-05:001st January, 2010 – Rural artisans, a forgotten human asset<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMSI0uJyWcorx3HXp4gU09Pyt8P6DzITgRvDdM6ouuupKgwKfA1HLvlcRfrDvduGQsdx1EXpd3P82MABQ9o8beqKCzyy9CaUX0-MBpEUIY6jnFCG1PF0eCvQPWVxYsQwTGSHrvsszyT1H/s1600-h/DSC01621.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435151711280817842" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMSI0uJyWcorx3HXp4gU09Pyt8P6DzITgRvDdM6ouuupKgwKfA1HLvlcRfrDvduGQsdx1EXpd3P82MABQ9o8beqKCzyy9CaUX0-MBpEUIY6jnFCG1PF0eCvQPWVxYsQwTGSHrvsszyT1H/s200/DSC01621.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>When I got up on the brand new year of 2010, our Tata Jagriti Yatra had reached Bangalore. Our next destination was Mother Earth, a retail chain dealing in rural handicrafts. It was quite a task for 400 yatris to fit into Mother Earth’s retail outlet. After all of us were settled, Neelam Chibber, Founder-Director of Mother Earth, started off the story of her organization, which was founded in the year 1994 as a for-profit organization. However, through the years, they shifted their focus to not-for-profit entrepreneurship. They started working with the government to train rural artisans, who in turn procured goods. Thus, Mother Earth (the brand name under which Industree Craft Foundation sells its products), as it is today, was born in the year 2000. </div><br /><div>What struck me most of the business model, was that the real owners of the products were artisans themselves. The retail chain just handles the distribution and selling part of the business. 97% of their rural artisans comprises of women, who are organized into self help groups with the help of local NGOs. They are the real owners. These women buy the raw materials, make the products and send it to Mother earth for selling. I thought it was very smart of Mother Earth to do away with most of the problems of raw material procurement and labour issues. Mother Earth just has to charge exorbitant amount of distribution fees to make money. But, Chibber also added that the rural artisans are given 14% mutually beneficial shares. This way the artisans have ownership at the brand level where the real wealth creation takes place. She informed us that with every Rs. 100 increase in profit, artisans earned Rs. 56. </div><br /><div></div><div>Currently, Future Group owns 43% of the brand. Mother Earth plans to expand their business into tier two cities in the near future. And one more thing to say before I end the post, excessive amount of shopping followed the lecture! I guess New Years was as lucky for us as them… </div>Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-76294446782450805512010-02-05T04:44:00.003-05:002010-02-05T04:55:04.252-05:0031st December – The New Years<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAVX8vjdnvdgQJssSXod1H54wodTN5_j2rCThzqKWHpF4JKZb91C55wwHICfrW8RE_ujv1rQtxdmxARXUmgpzrdu7Zyoa2UF-fB4Ce4m-gU6dNUgem4qJn_8u87E-U3PVOAWUS8bcmBmlT/s1600-h/DSC01595.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434694978034829906" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAVX8vjdnvdgQJssSXod1H54wodTN5_j2rCThzqKWHpF4JKZb91C55wwHICfrW8RE_ujv1rQtxdmxARXUmgpzrdu7Zyoa2UF-fB4Ce4m-gU6dNUgem4qJn_8u87E-U3PVOAWUS8bcmBmlT/s200/DSC01595.JPG" border="0" /></a> <strong>Story of Agastya International Foundation - Igniting rural minds</strong><br /><div><br />The last day of the year began with all of us waking up to Suprabhat bhajan on the PA system. Urrrgg… Against all my wishes, I got down from my berth to head to the bathroom bogie. I don’t remember the exact time, but it was pretty early in the morning when we got down at Yaswantpur Station in Karnataka. The branding team was busy with putting up banners on the buses. And yeah, I had quit the branding team by then as I couldn’t sacrifice one hour of sleep every morning.</div><div></div><div>The road trip from Yastwantpur station to Agastya International Foundation must have been the longest ride that we had undertaken. Agastya International Foundation, a non profit educational trust, lay on the Andhra Pradesh-Karnataka border. It was not a very eventful ride apart from a few New Year celebration plans underway and the buses getting stuck at Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh border apparently due to the Telangana issue. </div><br /><div>Somehow, the TJY team managed to get us out of the mess and we reached Agastya Foundation by 4.00 pm instead of 2.00 pm. The rural campus of Agastya International Foundation was beautiful. In the middle of green hills, a tent had been put up to accommodate 400 yatris.<br />We sat there to know more about Agastya International Foundation from its founder, Ramji Raghvan. A former NRI, Ramji Raghavan quit his banking job and came back to India to do something in the educational sector. And so Agastya International Foundation was born in the year 1999 to provide education to rural children and teachers. The foundation focuses on science education and aims to spark curiosity among the children. They want the children to ask more questions rather than just rote learn the answers from the textbook. </div><br /><div>Agastya Foundation also works with government schools in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka through outreach programmes. Mobile Science labs move from school to school to teach and demonstrate simple scientific experiments. These experiments are done using simple yet gripping techniques that can be replicated by students in their own environment. The sole aim of this exercise is to foster interest in science. Apart from mobile labs, Agastya International Foundation also runs other interesting parallel programmes like science fairs, teacher development programmes, young instructor programme, arts on wheels programme and many more.</div><br /><div>Agastya Foundation is completely dependent on donations. Though, there is government funding too, its extent is limited. Raghavan over the next seven years, plans to reach 4-5 million children in rural India. He wants to set up 50 more mobile labs and expand his staff capacity to 600 employees. </div><br /><div></div><div><strong>The best New Year, I’ve ever had</strong></div><br /><div>By the time we left the village to head back to Karnataka, it was already dark. We thought our New Year was doomed to be celebrated in the buses. Thankfully, God blessed us and we reached Yaswantpur station by 11.20 pm. And then the celebrations began!! The station was brought to life with delicious food on the platform, a huge cake, dholak music and an in house deejay system. The whole train was empty and the platform was full. The yatris, the TJY team members, the caterers danced till 2 in the morning to Punjabi and Bollywood tunes on the platform. Obviously, the Tata Jagriti Yatra Team had coordinated the whole event with the station authorities. Cheers to them!</div>Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-24916398915930766582010-01-31T05:01:00.004-05:002010-01-31T05:10:43.053-05:0030th December – Son of Kuthumbakkam’s soil<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyH5xVWpEXcAgNmVsv3wEemUnX0U7kzzBLk_HuXm0xijKetBIU4A4rSDtU6Tc6o52pYT4c0grGRRzbIV8Y-SwwjrqThU2g0rF8szqthMSv0-F3nUMsnsS5UHx0YpEoisaVH2l35-Zbssa/s1600-h/DSC01511.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432843473277578706" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyH5xVWpEXcAgNmVsv3wEemUnX0U7kzzBLk_HuXm0xijKetBIU4A4rSDtU6Tc6o52pYT4c0grGRRzbIV8Y-SwwjrqThU2g0rF8szqthMSv0-F3nUMsnsS5UHx0YpEoisaVH2l35-Zbssa/s200/DSC01511.JPG" border="0" /></a>We got down at Chengalpattu Junction on the 30th to head to R. Elango’s village, Kuthumbakkam. We had heard that he was one of the rare engineers who had returned to his village to transform it. Hmm… interesting. Sounded to me like the story line of Swades. So we hopped on to the buses and headed to Kutumbakkam. When we reached there this small village girl came up to me and asked, “What is your name?” so I answered. “Nice name, nice to meet you,” she said. All of this communication took place in English. Wow! I was impressed.<br /><p>R. Elango walked in to greet us. We were all settled inside a brick mortar sort of an auditorium. His face was shining with pride as he started off to tell the story of Kuthumbakkam. Elango entered his village Panchayat in 1996 after quitting his job as a scientist at CSIR (Council of Scientific and Indian Research). Thereafter, he won the elections to become the Sarpanch of Kuthumbakkam, a seven hamlet village; thereby taking the first step in the long journey of change. </p><p>The village was rotting with unemployment, illiteracy, liquor problems, domestic violence and many such issues. 60 – 70% men were working hand to mouth on daily wages that then used to be spent on liquor. Women used to get beaten up and population was on the rise. So when Elango was elected, he prepared a five year plan. He tried to incorporate villagers in the process. He explained to them the importance of education, good roads and infrastructure. The villagers pooled in money and the government contributed some amount too. So by the year 2000, the problems of the basic amenities in the village were sorted out. </p><p>The next step was to provide sustainable income to the villagers and of empowering women. Elango fought the government to employ only the local people for any infrastructure construction which happened in the village. So, while infrastructure got a boost in the village, the locals got employment too. Elango, who is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, believes in self reliance, which he feels is more sustainable. He has converted his village into a self running economic zone. The villagers produce everything that they need from local resources and sell surplus produce outside their villages. The women of the village are organized in several SHGs (Self-Help Groups). They not only earn a decent living today, but have also earned self respect. “Even if they (men) drink, they dare not beat women,” Elango proudly said. </p><p>Hmmm… interesting. But I was not very comfortable with one thing which Elango said. He said that he doesn’t encourage ‘outside’ products to come in and establish their market. If he would, his economic model was at a risk of falling apart. His village products which are produced and consumed by the same villagers would face market competition. I am a little right leaning person. Maybe because I am from a city which is heart of India’s capitalism or maybe because I was a management student. I don’t agree completely with Elango’s protectionist policy. But he wasn’t wrong too. The top down approach hadn’t worked for Kuthumbakkam much. The benefits of India’s ‘development’ were not reaching its villages. A socialist self sustaining economy was his answer to numerous problems stunting the village growth. </p><p>Today, after 15 years of coming to back to his roots, R. Elango’s Kuthumbakkam has schools, paved roads, brick houses, empowered women, and a self sustaining village. Though the scalability of the socialist and protectionist economic model is debatable, no one can deny that R. Elango has truly made a difference. I’ll always remember one thing that he thundered, <strong>“Be a part of the people to change things; don’t act like ‘great’ outsiders.” </strong></p>Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-90422719156082134032010-01-29T06:52:00.004-05:002010-01-29T07:01:27.446-05:0029th December – Finding a Vision<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY3obUMURaqTpP19PbBrlJ3bK3MX4PmWhgeby0FFHAsDAaX8DtO1OQ9urvfZEfkB3XmrEbqSfx39NTNgpnaGf8LEEi5KNLVqzLVs7ut0pLZILSEtBid4cMZ5vu1VE6IagwAVXnJHUdJ6jo/s1600-h/DSC01410.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432129732057100674" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY3obUMURaqTpP19PbBrlJ3bK3MX4PmWhgeby0FFHAsDAaX8DtO1OQ9urvfZEfkB3XmrEbqSfx39NTNgpnaGf8LEEi5KNLVqzLVs7ut0pLZILSEtBid4cMZ5vu1VE6IagwAVXnJHUdJ6jo/s200/DSC01410.JPG" border="0" /></a>Madurai was our next stop. Madurai, the temple town of the south India, is home to 2500 year old Meenakshi temple. As our yatra wasn’t a leisure trip but an entrepreneurial one, we headed directly to the yatra’s next social enterprise; Aravind Eye care. As the bus made its way through the roads of Tamil Nadu, I noticed that the walls on the sides of the pavement were either painted with ‘larger than life’ political figures or plastered with huge Tamil movie posters.<br /><p><strong>Story of Aravind Eye Care – Giving Vision to the Bottom of the Pyramid</strong><br />“Intelligence and capability are not enough, there must be a joy of doing something beautiful” –the philosophy with which late Dr. G. Venkataswamy the founded of Aravind Eye Care. After Dr. V’s retirement from the army at the age of 58, he thought he still had much more to do with his life. Thus, Aravind Eye care was born with only 11 beds in 1978. “Today, Aravind Eye Care has five eye hospitals and 33 primary eye care centres, which cater to 70% of Tamil Nadu’s, 8% of our country's and 3% of the world’s eye patients,” Dr Arvind from Aravind Eye Care.</p><p>But this is not just a success story. The business model it’s run on is what is striking and sets it apart from any other eye care hospital in the world. World statistics show that 80% of the blindnesses are curable. Aravind Eye Care was started with a vision to end needless blindness. Dr. V observed that the blind in the rural and poorer parts of Tamil Nadu lost vision in the later part of their lives due to their inaccessibility to Cataract treatment. He started catering to the needs of that segment of the market where healthcare had never reached. And, the hospital doesn’t charge the poor at all!! 60% of the cataract operations performed in the hospital are free of cost. The hospital works on the cross subsidy model. 40% of the patients, who can afford the treatment, pay, and the rest don’t. A paid patient takes care of himself and one more patient in addition to providing a little surplus to the hospital.</p><p>Surprised? Not much? Okay, I’ll add one more fact that makes Aravind Eye Care different. The patients don’t come to the hospital to be treated. The hospital goes out to them. The eye care centres moves from one village to another, to set up rural eye camps which select people who need treatment. About 30 camps are conducted in a week. <strong>These camps reach out to almost 6, 76, 000 villagers every year! </strong>These villagers are then picked up by hospital and taken to the hospital for the treatment. They are transported back into their villages in two days after the operation. All of this is free of cost. Still, Aravind Eye Care has <strong>three times returns on investment!</strong></p><p>You would be wondering how this is possible. <strong>Aravind Eye Care’s workforce constitutes of 90% women.</strong> Most of these women are only high school pass who have been trained by Aravind Eye Care in eye healthcare. These are the women who run eye camps in villages and also work in the hospital. Only the surgery is taken care of by the doctors. “Aravind can work without doctors but not without mid level workers,” Dr. Arvind stated in the presentation. Aravind Eye Care trains about 300+ high school girls and recruits them into the hospital chain. So, cheap but effective labour is the mantra! </p><p>When Dr. V started this hospital, he wanted to replicate the McDonalds franchise model i.e. Mass production, consistent good quality and a self sustaining model. And that’s exactly what he has done, only at a much lower cost!</p>Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-72469751736346646872010-01-29T06:41:00.004-05:002010-01-29T06:52:29.877-05:0028th December – Touching the High Seas<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANEjJyznC4VD7lby3IM5ccnLVys1NsO1XsqQfXS23hJtbuhnBJoDo3qOixkrBLfiM9fujLp5u6wYBy_5Rwm9rIKLNsUKucm22TD6DgAIX-8SpcdbLG6Q2OEAq7BINeQE1uWuEZRxqeOXG/s1600-h/DSC01369.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432127287093950978" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANEjJyznC4VD7lby3IM5ccnLVys1NsO1XsqQfXS23hJtbuhnBJoDo3qOixkrBLfiM9fujLp5u6wYBy_5Rwm9rIKLNsUKucm22TD6DgAIX-8SpcdbLG6Q2OEAq7BINeQE1uWuEZRxqeOXG/s200/DSC01369.JPG" border="0" /></a> Our yatra reached Kanyakumari in the early hours of the 28th. All of us were informed through the PA system to wear our yatri t-shirts. So, 400 yatris in blue and white were ready to march to Vivekanand Rock Memorial. I must say the crowd management team did a great job in directing 400 yatris for a two hour walk. I was glad that we were walking to the tip of India. It took us about an hour to reach Sannathi Street where we joined a really long queue to catch a ferry to the memorial. Everything was written in Tamil, all over the streets, on the shops and trust me on people’s faces too. So difficult to converse with them.<br /><p>Due to the large number of yatris, the queue got mixed up and one queue broke into two. In frustration the guard blurted out something which didn’t make sense at all. He looked at me and said, “You Delhi people” Such anti-north Indian sentiment! Surely he could beat Raj Thackeray hands down! I was going to strike back something in defence but before I could, he was taken away by another guard who I guess sensed trouble. </p><p>We kept on moving till we finally reached the edge of the sea. Fishermen had parked their colourful boats near the sea shore. Wind was blowing over us as I tried to stand steady and take a few photographs. The sky was blue and the sea matched the colour brilliantly. I can’t even call it a sea because it was a mixture of Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. Breathtakingly beautiful and strikingly calm. We jumped into the ferry to reach the <strong>Vivekanand Rock Memorial</strong>. As the ferry made its way, the 40 year old structure came into sight. Swami Vivekanand, in the end of 1892, had meditated on the same rock on which the memorial has been built. To commemorate the great philosopher, who is said to have attained enlightenment on the rock. </p><p>The memorial was majestic. There is a temple devoted to Swami Vivekanand and a temple devoted to Shripad Parai. The rock is believed to have been blessed with the touch of <strong>Goddess Devi Kumari</strong> (Kanyakumari)’s feet. From the memorial you could see the three colours of the sea merging with each other. The atmosphere at the rock memorial was truly soul touching. I don’t know whether it was because of the meeting of three seas or the bright blue sky or just the wind blowing in my ears. </p>Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-6378564974393828862010-01-25T13:25:00.002-05:002010-01-28T02:41:01.523-05:0027th December – Feeling the Pulse of the Yatra Part II<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhla0Qlan1bN6HB4KPzPb5VtFLcGc-RHhYpQsAUc5ZXTNpRlMV_GM0X3kqb9wqoNqiRaEDbF5aeamdPcFq2KIvbvkZTX3AvZPM8lzhkzAxa-TsAPienK7r5vB7h61yt-3ajrkEaEJBOagr_/s1600-h/DSC01146.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431108869122126546" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhla0Qlan1bN6HB4KPzPb5VtFLcGc-RHhYpQsAUc5ZXTNpRlMV_GM0X3kqb9wqoNqiRaEDbF5aeamdPcFq2KIvbvkZTX3AvZPM8lzhkzAxa-TsAPienK7r5vB7h61yt-3ajrkEaEJBOagr_/s200/DSC01146.JPG" border="0" /></a> <strong>Story of Paul and Sabriye – “Dream Big”</strong><br /><div><br />A small German girl lost her eyesight at the age of 12. She waited for darkness to come but it never did. Instead her life became more colourful. “Blindness made me curious, I tried finding new ways to do things” she shared. As a growing child, she too had dreams… to travel the world and learn new languages. But society wouldn’t let her chase her dreams so she ventured out alone. After Red Cross disagreed to take her to Tibet, she left for the country alone. </div><br /><div>Sabriye along with her partner Paul, opened the first school for the blind in Tibet in 1997. But before Paul joined in, Sabriye had roamed Tibet and witnessed the most appalling social customs; of keeping blind children locked in dark rooms, of tying them up to furniture so they can’t move out of the home! As Sabriye spoke to Tibetans, she found out that locals thought of blindness as a curse to the family. So as to save the family name, they hid the children inside the cellars and rooms. That’s when Sabriye decided to open a school for blind children in Tibet. Not only to make them self reliant but also to give them a sense of dignity. I can still hear her voice echoing in the brick hall in which we were sitting, <strong>“I am blind, SO WHAT?!”</strong> She wanted to give them a feeling of pride and confidence. To make them believe that they are not a burden to the society and their family, they are as capable as anyone else is. </div><br /><div>To give her dream shape, she directly approached the Chinese government office requesting for some money. And guess what? Her broken Chinese and belief in her dream got her the money! Sabriye met Paul in Tibet. She smiled and said, “He is my DREAM partner.” Paul was backpacker in Tibet when he met Sabriye and heard of her dream. He quit his job to join her. Sabriye shared, “He is the only person I met who didn’t laugh on my dream.” Together they taught and trained blind children in Tibet. Today, after 12 years of setting up the school, they have managed to change the attitude of Tibetans towards blind children. But more than that, they have changed the attitude of the blind towards themselves. Sabriye shared a story of a small boy who was being mocked by a few teens on the road. The kid turned to them and said, “I can read and write, can you?” – This shut the teens up! Paul & Sabriye left the school some years back to migrate to India. “Success is there when we are not needed anymore,” Sabriye declared. They have left it to be run by blind themselves. </div><div></div><div>In India, Paul and Sabriye run the International Institute of Social Entrepreneurs. They train students in skilled based production; like weaving, cheese making, carpentry etc to make them self reliant and independent. They select students from all over the world, ranging from places like war zones, under developed countries, the discriminated blacks and the blind. The selection criterion is simple. They should have the zeal in them to make the wrong into right. “It’s a dream factory,” in Paul’s words. </div><div></div><div>The audience was captivated. The power, energy and force in Sabriye’s voice held us. She was proud of herself and her dreams. She said, <strong>“You don’t need vision but A VISION.”</strong> Looking at her I felt, nothing is impossible to achieve, no dream is too big to come true. What you need is just the determination and belief in yourself and your dream. Everything else can be taken care of. </div>Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-64631484242848323332010-01-25T13:25:00.000-05:002010-01-26T12:51:41.091-05:0027th December – Feeling the Pulse of the Yatra Part I<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipI5Wz4eeSs-rpDNdElo4py0bH06sgk3tUxc_QhKmMTn8NuFEh92B5ADkXmmGgc-Ksw1hyphenhyphen2SQqzqwveWMOMoLWbYuyfUWrqNB-KQEAUP53-BNtp9VTity5wfm2E_C-ohYz1NzNVSlAiHLG/s1600-h/techpark.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431107466448054338" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 134px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipI5Wz4eeSs-rpDNdElo4py0bH06sgk3tUxc_QhKmMTn8NuFEh92B5ADkXmmGgc-Ksw1hyphenhyphen2SQqzqwveWMOMoLWbYuyfUWrqNB-KQEAUP53-BNtp9VTity5wfm2E_C-ohYz1NzNVSlAiHLG/s200/techpark.jpg" border="0" /></a> I got up at around 5.00 am on the 27th for my branding duties. The train was still and apparently standing on some station. And the train was in complete darkness. So most of us who had got up had to go and take a bath on the station bathroom!! It was quite an adventure being armed with a dozen things in one hand and waiting in a queue for girls to quickly come out. In this entire time pass, I missed the branding duties. So to make up, I became part of the crowd management team and ended up losing my voice!<br /><br /><div><div>As the light dawned, I realized I was on the Kochuveli station of Kerela. At around 7 we got onto the buses to head to IISE (Indian institute of social entrepreneurs). There we were supposed to meet the first two of our role models; Mr. G. Vijay Raghavan, the founder of India’s first IT Park as well as Paul and Sabriye, the founders of IISE. </div><br /><div><strong>Story behind Technopark – “Don’t Let Yourself Get Pushed”<br /></strong>A 50 acre Technopark was started in the year 1991 in Kerela, a state considered unfriendly for business ventures. The obvious reason behind this notion was the ruling communist government. Today, after a lot of hardships, government bureaucracy and union troubles, Vijay Raghavan’s Technopark is spread over 500 acres accommodating 150 IT and ITES companies, proving employment to 20000 IT professionals.</div><br /><div>So how did he do this? What was his plan to combat and fight the government? Actually, nothing!! He didn’t fight the government at all. He worked along with it. Technopark is a Public private partnership with the Kerala Government. When Kerala’s Chief Minister E. K. Nayanar wasn’t too convinced about the Technopark project, Raghavan took him to the Silicon Valley to explain to him the benefits of an IT park. Raghavan actually managed to convince a communist leader, who in March, 1991, went on to lay the foundation stone of his dream project! But troubles were not over. The communist government lost power in late 1991 and the state heads changed. Technopark was off the new government’s radar. Raghavan had to start from the scratch once again. He met up with the new CM to make a new presentation. He was once again successful in convincing the CM, who ultimately ended up sanctioning Rs. 16 crore for the project!</div><br /><div>In all the setting up, he faced a lot of union issues. There were people who wanted him to hire more employees. He faced pressure from government officials who wanted him to hire ‘their’ people. Politicians wanted him to give advertisements in newspapers. Raghavan had troubles from the electricity board that wouldn’t provide electricity till he paid a reasonable amount of ‘fees’. He fought all of them and he fought them smartly. Raghavan left us with an advice which I guess will stay with me forever, <strong>“Don’t let yourself get pushed.”</strong> </div></div>Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-68283371006619973672010-01-25T13:03:00.002-05:002010-01-25T13:23:10.254-05:0026th December – It’s a long train, it’s my home<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQJ-sVInXq7iQkr0QVsb73PZiLnVtOkg3WyX-N2hgMekWXI5EUoEQDJEPZ8rpC4g70dKN0Uxcu3k30ZWBWO1BjjkCx2uSKq4HCq3zcYEufkgWMwgAMyCTg7Ck3y_UUdmxR7e7Mt_pS5W2q/s1600-h/DSC01080.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430741392018846738" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQJ-sVInXq7iQkr0QVsb73PZiLnVtOkg3WyX-N2hgMekWXI5EUoEQDJEPZ8rpC4g70dKN0Uxcu3k30ZWBWO1BjjkCx2uSKq4HCq3zcYEufkgWMwgAMyCTg7Ck3y_UUdmxR7e7Mt_pS5W2q/s200/DSC01080.JPG" border="0" /></a> We still had a day to reach Kochuveli, our first destination. I took advantage of a less packed day to roam about in the train. Phew! The train was so long. I mean 16 bogies and I was in the 12th one. Was very tired after a long walk from 12th to zero and back! I took a trip to the pantry to exchange mineral water bottles. And we wouldn’t get new bottles till we returned our old empty plastic bottles. Smart wasn’t it? To go to the pantry, I had to pass the AC chair car and the boys’ bogie… Dude! Guy’s compartments stink. I guess that’s why they were red faced and embarrassed seeing us girls going through their side of the home. Other than moving around and meeting people, nothing much happened on 26th except for a volunteer meet. I decided to be a part of the branding team to put up banners on buses. The tricky part of being a volunteer was that you’d have to wake up earlier than the usual! Don’t know how I was going to manage that.Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-81798651422000112722010-01-20T14:07:00.008-05:002010-01-21T09:54:49.085-05:0025th December – Lifeline of the train<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw12ZGLxcIALZ0-oz7U2R6Gv5DGGvEwgfm3TUsvd1D6Vdv3OLuA-v8tsUc-uK4pXj1aGHJ71Q5_Wpz_DfCEOhvQKiFm3sS9hZOwWT3VzkysQyahEQLdtVyR4LbNig4WLaEZz6wTlueM4hC/s1600-h/DSC01076.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428906730986849122" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw12ZGLxcIALZ0-oz7U2R6Gv5DGGvEwgfm3TUsvd1D6Vdv3OLuA-v8tsUc-uK4pXj1aGHJ71Q5_Wpz_DfCEOhvQKiFm3sS9hZOwWT3VzkysQyahEQLdtVyR4LbNig4WLaEZz6wTlueM4hC/s200/DSC01076.JPG" border="0" /></a> I woke up on the 25th of December as a yatri to the music of Swades and Rang De Basanti. No no, the songs were not my alarm tones but TJY’s wake up call from the Public Announcement (PA) System. Yawn… I got down from my berth to head to the ‘bathroom set up’ in the last bogie. I was very curious to know how TJY team had set the whole bathroom thing up. And this is what I saw. A queue of a dozen yatris geared up with clothes and soaps waiting to fill half a bucket of cold water. The bathing ‘room’ was just a 2 x 4 feet aluminum box! In the moving train with patriotic songs as ambient sound, the cold water bath was so enjoyable. It was an experience of a lifetime which I was to experience everyday! <p>After all of us were energized with heavy breakfast by the enthusiastic catering team, the first session of the yatra started in the AC chair car. The AC chair cars did the dual job of being the meeting point of all the yatris and also the presentation room during the yatra. It had huge glass windows on both sides that gave a panoramic view of the Indian heartland passing by. I saw the green fields of Maharashtra’s Konkan region while the Tata Jagriti Yatra Team started with the introduction and details of the exciting and thrilling journey that we were about to have. </p><p>Shashank Mani Tripathi, the chairman of Tata Jagriti Yatra and Rewati Prabhu, board member of Tata Jagriti Yatra, put the objective of yatra which is enterprise led development into words. According to them, the middle India which earns about Rs. 40 to Rs. 120 per day should be converted from job seekers to job creators. According to them, this conversion leads to more wealth creation and development. It kind of made sense to me. Bottom up approach is better than top down approach as till now the trickle down approach hasn’t worked wonders for the rural India for sure. </p><p>With that thought in mind, I along with my group mates, headed for our compartments. As each group was made up of 15 strangers, who came from different parts of the country with different academic and social backgrounds, we were given the task of sharing our life experiences with the help of a lifeline chart. The next two hours revealed a whole lot of interesting facts about my team mates. I was kind of intimidated. The funniest part was that they all said they didn’t believe in the current education system but most of them stressed on their percentages! My group had an architect, an HR professional, a management student, a few engineers, a social worker, an IT professional, an environmentalist, an IPS aspirant from states like Haryana, Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh!! That’s why I called my train ‘the microscopic view of India.’</p>Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-71735961309237202082010-01-20T13:16:00.003-05:002010-01-20T13:28:40.740-05:00Yaaron Chalo!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3c-yrwPkfOoptdpd-nGWGbqfMubBpSr5jOzc-Q3r5y2gCObOZGUBofWgNf74d0wjm_-T5IOXPlYhQw05Dkan-UY4qpdPgYg7lnzzWyhyDprY4XKq07aO08ilrRX9DykXamMnF9tWRQFHD/s1600-h/DSC01056.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428888798586577682" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3c-yrwPkfOoptdpd-nGWGbqfMubBpSr5jOzc-Q3r5y2gCObOZGUBofWgNf74d0wjm_-T5IOXPlYhQw05Dkan-UY4qpdPgYg7lnzzWyhyDprY4XKq07aO08ilrRX9DykXamMnF9tWRQFHD/s200/DSC01056.JPG" border="0" /></a> As I start to write down my yatra as a yatri 2009, many images come rushing to my mind. The first day… The flickering images of the registration process that was taking place in the early hours of 24th December.<br /><p><br /><strong>24th December – Wheels of change set in motion</strong></p><p>Hundreds of yatris were moving in and out with their luggage at Ravindra Natya Mandir where all of us met for the first time. In all the confusion of loading the buses and tagging the luggage, yatris were exchanging their names and backgrounds to get acquainted with each other. Personally, I was overloaded with names, qualifications and dreams. There was too much happening in too little time. But as days went by on the yatra, too much happening in too little time became a norm. I can still remember the night on Mumbai Central station. The Tata Jagriti Yatra train which we were so excited to board got stuck with some problem at 11.30 pm on 24th night. The wait for a few minutes turned into hours. And what an adventure it was! I have heard that all the strugglers who have made it in life have spent at least one night on Bombay railway station. So this was my chance to glory. A night well spent. Singing Christmas carols, patriotic songs in the middle of the night with 399 strangers was a totally new feeling… the train finally arrived at 4.00 am in the morning thanks to the Indian railways! The wheels of change were set in motion carrying 400 youth across the length and breath of the country covering 9300 kilometers to reach 13 destinations… </p>Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-85259025969153724582010-01-18T12:56:00.003-05:002010-01-18T13:09:56.919-05:00Tata Jagriti Yatra - Yaaron Chalo!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA4tS85QJ5VDo5PsO-27QBOkwyoFs7MHDkqpoPYkqy-4qKjKiuY8Nke4DSUesL0Hff2zrPFi0iv4Dbh6JeuRFAvc1nj2ijthC4pQZd7oNS0KkArxQxJJRxPPMjWNw6iVq8EFwwhWI3Ob1c/s1600-h/DSC01384.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428143309220142610" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA4tS85QJ5VDo5PsO-27QBOkwyoFs7MHDkqpoPYkqy-4qKjKiuY8Nke4DSUesL0Hff2zrPFi0iv4Dbh6JeuRFAvc1nj2ijthC4pQZd7oNS0KkArxQxJJRxPPMjWNw6iVq8EFwwhWI3Ob1c/s200/DSC01384.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The yatra started on 24th of December, 2009, taking 400 youth across 13 cities covering 9300 kilometers over the span of 18 days to meet exceptional Indians and see the real India. Too many words in one sentence, right? Yeah, that was the case with us too. Just so many incredible things happened to all the yatris and me, that I guess it’s a little difficult to pen everything down. But I’ll still try.<br /><br /><br />I don’t think I need to mention that it was a memorable experience. That’s obvious. But while I come back and scratch beneath the obvious, I see many more things that are not visible in the photographs.<br /><br /><br />Everyday when I woke up, I had something to look forward to. Each day brought to me role models to meet and their institutions to visit. These individuals have done exceptional work. Transforming liquor torn villages to self sustaining economies, setting up a school for blind children in a place where blindness was considered a curse, serving a million children everyday through mid days meal programmes and many more such extraordinary causes. And mind you, most of these were not charity based organizations but sustainable and scalable enterprises. Their confidence and faith despite struggles and strives taught me, that no dream is unachievable and no problem is insurmountable. If your intensions are good and your conviction strong, then there is nothing that can ever stop you!<br /><br /><br /><br />Every city was different and every state displayed something unique. With each state, the languages changed, the landscape outside the window changed. We started with Maharashtra’s Konkan region and moved to Kerala’s backwaters and ended with Gujarat’s salt city. On the yatra I saw Ganga’s immense power and Rajasthan vast deserts. When we started off from Mumbai, the weather was warm. Then we moved to the pleasant Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. But as we headed north, the cold started gripping us. I still remember bathing in the ice cold water in Delhi! This is India, it is huge, it is beautiful and it is multi dimensional.<br /><br /><br /><br />And what do I say about my fellow yatris! Each one of them – a treasure of dreams and hopes. Each one of them had a story to tell, an experience to share. Yatris came from all parts of the country with different social, educational and professional backgrounds. There were doctors, architects, social workers, sportsmen, lawyers, environmentalists, educationists, media professionals, and obviously engineers! A Lot of engineers. Each yatri was a pool of energy and enthusiasm. Being a yatri on that 16 bogie train was a journey I am glad I experienced. The moving train, the mind boggling landscapes and 399 yatris there with me… Yaaron Chalo!<br /><p>I’ll be putting up my day to day account soon. </p>Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-2955580868436959992009-12-21T15:25:00.008-05:002009-12-23T12:44:33.036-05:00In and around Raigarh<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcV-tM3ccDRU9j0R4MCxynAyFr-W7AtH4akHLTh_-DWT1tU9rZfUVXVaNl4G6igCeH6_Kid7yiMic73NOZdCcA03HjxffgK25tlHYAd8Fn8MY_q2y0Hs5GFQAUjZQKyLfJNgPc_6fetQhk/s1600-h/DSC00396.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417792455194460946" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcV-tM3ccDRU9j0R4MCxynAyFr-W7AtH4akHLTh_-DWT1tU9rZfUVXVaNl4G6igCeH6_Kid7yiMic73NOZdCcA03HjxffgK25tlHYAd8Fn8MY_q2y0Hs5GFQAUjZQKyLfJNgPc_6fetQhk/s200/DSC00396.JPG" border="0" /></a> Today, I am going to tell you about my journey from Mumbai to Raigarh and back. Raigarh is small town in the state of Chhattisgarh. With not more than 2, 00,000 residents, this semi urban settlement is about 280 kilometers from Chhattisgarh’s capital, Raipur. My relationship with Raigarh is very old, almost as old as I am. It is home to my maternal aunt and her family. My travelogue describes my experiences of visiting Raigarh and places close to it in a period of 10 days.<br /><br /><strong>Day one:<br /></strong>My Kolkata bound Howrah Mail set off on 8th December from Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai. The station looked as intimidating and magnificent as always. You’d see thousands of travelers among red uniformed coolies, khaki clad policemen and the railway ‘protection’ force. With my family, I found my way through the sea of people to reach the right platform. The train like a huge snake was resting on the 15th platform waiting to embark on a tiring yet exciting hunting trail. My train left CST at about 8.45 pm.<br /><br /><strong>Day two:</strong><br />Hoards of people tried to board the train illegally but thankfully their attempts were not very successful. I sipped hot tea and ate on Indian railways blue sleeper berths. The view outside the train window was intriguing. Arid yet green landscape of Indian heartland unfolded as the train made its way through several villages, towns and cities. The hinterland looked seamless and untouched. The farms stretched till your eyes could see. The cattle grazed lazily while women in bright coloured <em>sarees</em> and men in white dhotis worked tirelessly on their beloved land. The village men, women and children looked close and yet so far. Their lives and their stories are unheard. For us they are just statistics, but what lies in rustic lands and hopeful eyes is yet to be told. It is something the ‘indifferent’ India ought to know about the majority of its fellow Indian citizens.<br /><br />We detrained on Raigarh station at 8.15 pm on the 9th December. Although I was expecting the weather to be biting cold, it was anything close to that. I remember as a child when I came to this sleepy town in Decembers, it used to hailstone. My cousins and I found the act of holding ice in our small fists exciting and thrilling. But the change wasn’t only in the weather. It was in everything I saw and felt. The station with electric poles and cement flooring looked quite impressive to what used to be a humble platform. I asked my cousin who had come to pick me up, “What’s with the change?” He just said one thing, “Jindal.” I knew Jindal had set up steel and a power factory a decade ago in Raigarh but I didn’t comprehend his answer completely until he took me through Raigarh lanes the next day.<br /><br /><strong>Day three:</strong><br />Next morning, my cousin and I explored the town on his bike. The sun was high and the roads were dusty. The men were in loose shirts and the women wore printed sarees. The stores on both sides of the narrow lane looked similar. The shop names were painted in Hindi and most of the stops marketed one Telecom Company or the other. Docomo, Aircel, Airtel, Idea and Vodafone were plastered on most of the shop boards. But apart from this branding, there was other parallel branding also taking place. Political symbols of BJP and Congress were painted on almost every alternate house and shop. The town is not too big. It took us not more than an hour to glimpse through the town. During this one hour ride, he rode me on Kelo Bridge which is over the Kelo River. My cousin informed me that two lanes were added to the bridge by Jindal Steel and Power Plant in 2006 to enable better flow of heavy vehicular traffic. After coming back home, I got down to unearth information on Jindal Steel and Power Plant and its relation with a small town like Raigarh. And I managed to dig out quite a lot of information.<br /><br />Jindal Steel and Power Plant entered Raigarh in the late 90s. Today, after almost 10 years of its existence in Raigarh, it has done a lot more than just produce metal and power. It has changed the way Raigarh looks and to an extent the direction its heading. As Jindal set up one of India’s biggest steel and power plant, it got with itself human capital. The Jindal colony which has been built on the outskirts of the main town, houses thousands of its employees. To attract talent and also to provide good social infrastructure to its employees, Jindal built a school and an engineering college. O.P. Jindal School is Raigarh’s first 10 + 2 English medium School. It also started Raigarh’s first Engineering College in 2008. The pass outs from this college are expected to be absorbed by the company itself. Apart from these educational institutes, Jindal has built a hospital, several roads and also helped in maintaining Raigarh’s Kamla Nehru Park. But there is one more thing, Raigarh’s population attributes to the Jindals. And that is town’s pollution and the tremendous rise in temperature. Although, Jindal Steel and Power Plant boasts of Golden Peacock Environment Management Award, the rise in temperature over the last 10 years seems to be telling a different tale.<br /><br /><strong>Day four:</strong><br />On the following day, spontaneous visits to relative’s relatives’ places started! One must learn <em>Atithi Devo Bhava</em> from small town people. They’ll make you truly feel like Gods. From the second you have entered their house till you leave. Though the visit to my aunt’s in-laws house wasn’t the first, it was truly nostalgic. I had spent several of my school summer vacations playing in that huge house with my cousins and their cousins. We used jump into the well to hide during our hide and seek games, we used slide down the staircase’s, and we use to wet each other with the pipe on the ‘chat’ (as we called it then)just for the kicks. And not to forget endless games of UNO! Sigh, how things change as years go by.<br /><br />After the entire <em>‘kitne bade ho gaye hai!’</em> 'ritual' at the relative’s place, we left for Chandrapur in a hired car. Not more than 40 kilometers away from Raigarh, the hamlet is known for its centuries old Goddess Durga’s Chandrahasini Devi temple. It lies on the banks of river, Mahanadi. Our car took not more than 60 minutes to reach the destination. A narrow lane, which is flanked by a glittering market leads to the temple. Though, I didn’t get a chance to explore the town but visit to the temple wasn’t less interesting. As a series of steps takes you to the top of the temple where the idol is placed, you can witness several scenes from Mahabharat in form of stone structures on both sides of the steps. And if you ever plan to visit this tiny hamlet, please do not miss the delicious <em>pakodas</em> being sold outside the temple. You’ll surely be craving for more, that’s my guarantee!<br /><br /><strong>Day five and six:<br /></strong>Champaran, a small village on the outskirts of Raipur was my next destination. It’s believed to the birthplace of Shri Vallabhacharya, the founder of <em>Vaishnav</em> sect. According to mythology, he was born under a tree nearly 525 years ago in Champaran. A temple has been built around that tree. People say that one can still hear the celebratory sounds of the drums from the tree truck. Shri Vallabhacharya is said to be the incarnation of Lord Krishna which has made this place a major tourist attraction for Hindus. However, <em>gujaratis</em> and <em>marwadis</em> dominate the crowd.<br /><br />To reach Champaran, we had to catch a train from Raigarh to Raipur. From Raipur, we took an auto riksha to the village. It’s around 45 kilometers from the main city of Raipur. We reached the place at about 10.00 am. The town was brown, dusty and half asleep. The sun was up and shining in the sky. I couldn’t get a chance to take a look expect a quick glance around. We had to rush to the temple as my mum wanted to fill the <em>jhariji</em>. This is supposed to a privilege only few are granted. Everyday from 10 am to 12 noon, few people are allowed to get close with Lord Krishna’s child avatar’s idol. They get to bathe him dress him up and play with him. The idol is in the temple premises. However, everyone is not allowed to do so. You’d need to be <em>bhramsaman</em> taken <em>vaishnav</em> and to be that, you need to fast for one whole day followed by other <em>vidhi.</em> I have been trying to schedule that fast for years now, but alas!<br /><br />I had a good time recording the whole <em>vidhi</em>. The group comprised mainly of senior citizens and women. They were all so thrilled about the ritual that their faces shone with excitement. They sang hymns for baby Krishna and pulled his swing enthusiastically. But the best part of it all was they gave their sweet and shy smiles as my camera rolled clicking their pictures.<br /><br />If you ever get a chance to visit Champaran, you must stay back for the evening <em>arati</em> on the banks of river Yamuna that flows through the village. It is supposed to an enchanting experience as hundreds of devotees gather at the banks as the priests’ lights the banks up with <em>arati</em>. Though, I couldn’t stay back for the <em>arati,</em> I cooled my heels in the river. Before leaving Champaran, I also visited one of the many <em>gaushalas</em> of the village. It is a place which shelters hundreds of cows. As the village boasts of being the birthplace of Lord Krishna’s incarnation, cows had to be given a special status. The most interesting of the whole housing scheme for the cows was that each cow had a name plate attached to her ‘home’ which stated the cow’s name, her home town and her caste!<br /><br /><strong>Last few days:</strong><br />The last few days in Raigarh were spent playing cards, taking late night walks, watching movies on pirated dvds and my attempt at photography. I learned a lot about what majority of India thinks and functions. It has many layers to it. The ones which I could observe were economical, political and social. The town was attractive, repulsive, loving, offensive, colourful and dark, all at the same time. All the adjectives mentioned above are so true for India as well. Not one adjective can ever hold true for our <em>Swades</em>. It contradicts itself at every juncture.<br /><br />Jindal Steel and Power Plant changed the fate of the citizens of Raigarh. It not only brought in money but also physical and social infrastructure. Jindals gave Raigarh as identity. Though, very few know of Raigarh as a princely state before independence, many more know of Raigarh as home to India’s one of the biggest steel producing factory.<br /><br />The other thing I noticed about Raigarh was that it is very politically charged. I had the fortune of visiting Raigarh during its municipal election phase. Today, I know how politics is viewed in Indian hinterlands. It is viewed as business. Everyone should know it and more importantly know about it. From a ten year old to an 80 year old would know the ABC of local politics. Who is contesting from where, how many seats are up for grabs, how much money can be made by buying and selling votes, which politician made the maximum use of his seat to make money are some questions whose answers would be known by a school kid too. No exaggerations here.<br /><br />Socially, Raigarh has changed! There was a time when every woman in Raigarh used to wear a <em>ghunghat</em> in her home and while travelling outside. There was a time when education was given minimal importance, less for boys and lesser for girls. Today, almost every student in Raigarh, be it a girl or a boy studies is attaining education outside Raigarh or aspires to do in future. They are ambitious and they want it all. I am not saying this just to fill up lines. During my conversations with students in Raigarh, I felt that the students there don’t take anything for granted like most in city do. They know they lack opportunity but they certainly don’t lack the will. And the most amazing part is that they know they’ll get there. No questions about that.<br /><br /><strong>The whole journey in pictures:</strong><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=141083&id=520501894&l=1e1b44f111">http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=141083&id=520501894&l=1e1b44f111</a>Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-8996414169102878572009-12-07T12:13:00.004-05:002009-12-07T12:40:17.135-05:00That's Chemistry!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy68TnOHDgdAjZrheF-yJ45C86fHWefA0kUP5cRssVTxCGUIFzeIyvXsTn8VBmJ07ELWYesRMJLj3K5Jicc96U-PE4KdguAIt9o608BXfzxH4k5bZQja64DLFoyeGcPxuhE51aMwrECkjz/s1600-h/DSC00285.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412548415564961154" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy68TnOHDgdAjZrheF-yJ45C86fHWefA0kUP5cRssVTxCGUIFzeIyvXsTn8VBmJ07ELWYesRMJLj3K5Jicc96U-PE4KdguAIt9o608BXfzxH4k5bZQja64DLFoyeGcPxuhE51aMwrECkjz/s200/DSC00285.JPG" border="0" /></a>A pure bond that ties them together. When one chirps with happiness, the other follows with giggles. When one speaks up her mind, the other echoes the very same thought. One takes up for the other if she feels her mirror image is under attack. The visible umbilical chord that once bound them together is long gone, but the invisible one still stays.<br /><br />They are two little six year old twins whose lives revolve around each other and their treasured toys. As the ‘complicated and convoluted’ things are yet not on their minds, the source of happiness for these twins is the pink Barbie doll and to my pleasant surprise, photography!<br /><br />First a little hesitant about facing the camera, they soon gave in to the glam quotient. They gave the most bizarre and wacky expressions. The chemistry between the sisters guaranteed the cutest and the funniest pictures. The mother, who for the longest time was trying her best to convince her daughters to keep a straight face for the photograph also couldn’t help smiling at her crazy daughters. :)Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-80789387041844083382009-12-05T02:09:00.001-05:002009-12-05T03:25:54.152-05:00Marriage made in hell<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkWkvmvhEJoWx6O4ekdIUQfGzYkrwHpl5HFR46PmtHXwY7j4iEcYUoX9cLOaNcUkJbewTisNKs6lTG-Y7R-XvmLyG4-tr7ZOJraBnTb1P7XeNf_5NUkKDu31amqHJzB8iZ4D911mbtYWJ/s1600-h/cell+ohone.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkWkvmvhEJoWx6O4ekdIUQfGzYkrwHpl5HFR46PmtHXwY7j4iEcYUoX9cLOaNcUkJbewTisNKs6lTG-Y7R-XvmLyG4-tr7ZOJraBnTb1P7XeNf_5NUkKDu31amqHJzB8iZ4D911mbtYWJ/s200/cell+ohone.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411665343067552962" /></a><br />Your cell phone buzzes again and you not too enthusiastically answer it. It is an everyday story. The relationship between your cell phone and you has gone sour. Sparks flew when you first took your cell phone in your hand from the shop display window. And then marriage followed. But now there is no fire left in the relationship. <br /><br />There is nothing that you can do about this marriage with this gadget. It shares every moment of your life, whether you like it or not. It eats with you, works with you and sleeps with you. Sometimes you even have to take it along with you to the loo. Sigh! How you wish for a life partner, who’d give you more space. <br /><br />The match was made in hell and mind you, divorce is not even an option. Don’t forget when the cell phone entered your life few years back; it brought with itself business, ‘social’ life and seamless connectivity. So if you decide to call the quits, just keep in mind what you might lose. <br /><br />On the other hand let’s make a list what you’ll gain. Hmm… to start off, you’ll gain freedom; freedom from always being ‘in touch’, freedom to breathe free and roam around without being worried about something vibrating in your pocket. Freedom to be just left alone. Let me know if you ever get the nerve to do it and break free!Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-29193913267500273032009-12-03T12:02:00.004-05:002009-12-08T03:51:31.655-05:00The ‘Mock’ CAT!Five days after the CAT was let out of the bag, the situation seems be going back to normal. The first few days of CAT, an entrance test conducted by the Indian Institute of Management which is being conducted at about 140 centres across India, were plagued with technical glitches. This left more than 8,000 students affected. The aspirants either couldn’t take the test successfully or were unable to do justice to it.<br /><br />However, aspirants looked pretty much at peace at CAT centres across Mumbai on Wednesday. Sutapa Shome, an MBA aspirant who took the test on Wednesday said, “I faced no problems, it was smooth sailing.” It was the same for Benson Almeida, a mass media student who took the CAT for the first time. “It was my first time and I didn’t want to mess it up but I had no problems,” he shared happily.<br /><br />Even though the technical glitches seem to have been sorted out, the interface issues remain. Navigation through the test paper is not very easy. The process of going from one question to the other is time consuming. Although there is a review button, most of the students don’t know how to use it. Sandhya Doke, a final year B.Com student admitted, “I wasted so much time in going from one question to the other. Time management went for a toss.” The other key problem with the interface is that the QUIT button which ends the test is placed right next to the NEXT button. Due to which several students who by mistake pressed the QUIT button instead of the NEXT button, quit the test prematurely.<br /><br />With so many problems galore, the IIMs have a humungous task ahead. They have to decide onto whether extend the CAT online dates to accommodate the test takers affected by the mismanagement. They also will have to decide the future course of action for the aspirants who could complete the test but couldn’t do justice to it. These are the aspirants who couldn’t see a few questions in the test, who couldn’t see the graphs and diagrams which were essential to arrive at the answers, who by mistake pressed the QUIT button and also those who faced computer malfunctioning issues. ‘The CAT disaster’ is one case study which the management students at the IIMs will definitely take up in their classrooms!Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-5661100080209584372009-12-01T13:49:00.002-05:002009-12-08T03:52:21.792-05:00Happily jobless!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3TFmpgIE20RsgNE_37GDYnL110mze2LG01ynr22a9b2i1bP6FDnzBJLkgFbfOMuVrpmNPM8Q1s2tVMCGsrQC7z39LTgMIDndiZiGyPDD8CcXgiVj9o3u1-glqvLy-cVPCfDVftoopRWqy/s1600/happily+jobless.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410342565265326082" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 160px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3TFmpgIE20RsgNE_37GDYnL110mze2LG01ynr22a9b2i1bP6FDnzBJLkgFbfOMuVrpmNPM8Q1s2tVMCGsrQC7z39LTgMIDndiZiGyPDD8CcXgiVj9o3u1-glqvLy-cVPCfDVftoopRWqy/s200/happily+jobless.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Everything was in slow motion today; the rising of the sun, the waking up and the getting ready. None of it was harrowing as it used to be. There wasn’t any running from one room to the other. It was just simple lazing around the house. The action of doing nothing and feeling wasted was blissful. You should try once, the act being happily jobless.Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-60558832175902924622009-11-30T14:29:00.001-05:002009-12-08T03:54:07.804-05:0030th NovemberThe first stepping stone faltered. I fell down and hurt myself a little. But I am glad the step which I was holding onto was only the first one. It would have hurt a lot more if the step was somewhere in the middle of the climb. People who started with me have managed to climb ahead and I’ll have to start the climb afresh. I’ll miss my fellow climbers who were there with me. They were always there to make it easier. They were there to help me out. But no worries, I’ll find new fellow climbers and new steps. Eventually I have to leave them all and reach to the top alone, right? ;)Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-71896327662783496172009-11-29T13:04:00.004-05:002009-12-08T03:56:54.925-05:00The Close-up man!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY2_kGDqo8A-DbUcGbfIhpFcuawpgPVC-uFQckOBY3lo61CYI8vX660Jywu_pzDAoWVSNePgJFGyrkAg7cNoS1qf0joLfeIt7AldQSIn45dTZcXWpxiIIDVLeu4KuuipRqcjDsMG8WUgkn/s1600/tapas+relia.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409589234889124562" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY2_kGDqo8A-DbUcGbfIhpFcuawpgPVC-uFQckOBY3lo61CYI8vX660Jywu_pzDAoWVSNePgJFGyrkAg7cNoS1qf0joLfeIt7AldQSIn45dTZcXWpxiIIDVLeu4KuuipRqcjDsMG8WUgkn/s200/tapas+relia.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />A small music studio on a 21st floor on a high rise building is cluttered with guitars, computers, music cds, and a couch. Tapas Relia, the music composer of <em>kya aap close-up karte hai</em> who uses this studio for a living is a very simple and a soft spoken man. He patiently showed my cameraman and me the studio so we could figure out the right frame to shoot his interview. As the interview unfolded, an interesting story emerged.<br /><br />About six years back when Relia was approached to make the jingle, he was just a scratch melody maker. “It all started when I got a call from Ronnit Desai, a popular radio producer in our industry. And he said that there were three close up ads that had to be done,” he recalled. However on the ‘big break’ day, Tapas reached the studio almost an hour late which left him hardly anytime to work on the ads. And when he came down to the last ad which had the <em>kya aap close-up karte hai</em> lyrics, he was appalled. “I said this is not right, it doesn’t make sense!” Relia said. He made the jingle in just about 20 minutes before the singer arrived in the studio to practice the melody.<br /><br />After the singer tried many funny styles of singing, he experimented with the K. L. Saigal’s nasal style. Relia recalled, “We turned around and said yeah that’s it. Its funny, it’s new and nobody has every attempted it.” But it didn’t go as per plan. The jingle got stuck with research and got turned down by HUL, close-up’s parent company. Only after a lot of convincing by Prasoon and Piyush Pandey, was the jingle allowed shooting.<br /><br />But the lesser known secret of the jingle is that it was never re-recorded for the final advertisement. The jingle that we all heard on television and loved was the same one which was recorded on the first day of practicing. The same scratch track for which the music was made in 20 minutes. “We were so paranoid about and superstitious we became, we might not get it right if we re-record. So the sound track in the film today is scratch that we did in the first day on scratch recording,” Relia shared.<br /><br />And then life changed for Tapas Relia; from being a scratch music composer to a full fledged music composer. “People started recognizing me with the jingle. They started calling me the close-up man,” he smiled. Today, Relia has several popular advertisements to his credit. Dominoes, Lays, Clinic plus are the few brand names he has produced music for. Apart from jingles, he has worked on the animation movie, Hanuman and its sequel.Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-50783110929020453802009-11-23T13:49:00.002-05:002009-12-08T04:06:53.008-05:00Happens…<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPqGLyhUpkKS5fLu3pE6gBvHjYqMe6-8nZy5rMo_OwMBvmIsKcBF1jnlCyffLjynixw115-VGl_amylauh66y5zlR7zDTtr2CABptom9ocVay-Jlyj3rMMMvuOy9F4dABm5SjzmVulxPb/s1600/life-purpose.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407376144827306210" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPqGLyhUpkKS5fLu3pE6gBvHjYqMe6-8nZy5rMo_OwMBvmIsKcBF1jnlCyffLjynixw115-VGl_amylauh66y5zlR7zDTtr2CABptom9ocVay-Jlyj3rMMMvuOy9F4dABm5SjzmVulxPb/s200/life-purpose.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />It feels strange… very strange. Maybe it was always was suppose to be like this. But seeing it happen was not the happiest thing. But can’t control and don’t even want to control every event of life. Let things shape up for itself. Life moves on and moving with it is the best that can be done. Trying to modify and change it will only bring more pain. Happens!Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-8126321967618652252009-11-22T12:41:00.003-05:002009-12-08T04:08:34.296-05:00SundaysIt is the only day in the week when you are allowed to feel sleepy and still not open your eyes at ten in the morning. You can just lie back on your bed and look outside at the bright blue sky and the rising sun.<br /><br />Lazing around in the house in your crumpled clothes and watching n number of F.R.I.E.N.D.S episodes and enjoying every bit of it. Wasting time is also a perfect Sunday activity. The day also makes the tedious task of cleaning up drawers and wardrobe quite enjoyable. Finishing unfinished books and chatting with your neighbours.<br /><br />Sunday is also about catching up with long lost siblings and college friends. It is about reminiscing those old days and fondly reliving the memories. This day of the week makes you feel at peace and still feel alive…Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-65858925975297652672009-11-21T15:04:00.001-05:002009-12-08T04:09:40.231-05:00Getting set to click away!A whole new world is going to be formed. The way to look at the world to going to change. It will now be in frames and the people will turn into objects to be photographed. I welcome my new Sony digital camera into my life and also introduce myself to photography. Happy clicking away!Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350190842847479697.post-23058417190595891852009-11-21T14:27:00.004-05:002009-11-21T14:32:47.284-05:00Cracking a deal with God<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDXO3_CUbd0-KDeWa13xNGQs4o5i59YRI9-47mea1jV3udoEvtZpdLkYkTbWd6aX_OiwCgHd2ODDlV4F1pFWPVN8O67WUq7fRwfQzI9kjgyWoOasaTBSJGdfwMnvGr6DWW1LKyNZj4dD2K/s1600/praying.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 143px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDXO3_CUbd0-KDeWa13xNGQs4o5i59YRI9-47mea1jV3udoEvtZpdLkYkTbWd6aX_OiwCgHd2ODDlV4F1pFWPVN8O67WUq7fRwfQzI9kjgyWoOasaTBSJGdfwMnvGr6DWW1LKyNZj4dD2K/s200/praying.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406641749501910594" /></a><br />How are you? How have you been? Mine was crappy… I tracked a crappy story for the whole day. I dint even get time to have to have lunch. But guess what? It was dropped at the end moment. Don’t know whether to be happy, sad or frustrated! Anyways, you tell me, how was your day? How many million almost impossible sorts of requests in form of prayers did you receive today? I am sure a lot of them must have come from my end. <br /><br />But what to do <em>yaar</em>! You know what I really want. Please come on now fulfill it this small request and I promise to be quite for one whole week. That’s a good deal. <em>Acha</em> okay two weeks… now that’s a deal to be grabbed! ;) Look at it this way… I’ll be happy with the gift from you and you’ll be happy with my gift... two weeks of complete silence.:)Megha Mandaviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05028795670436582269noreply@blogger.com0