Trees By A Railway Line

Trees along side railway tracks. Keekar, Neem and other varieties. But did you observe that during the monsoon,  lot of wild creepers grow on the trees. Almost hiding the tree as if it has lost its identity. 

It set me thinking. Can we be like these trees?

1.  Allow others to grow on us without the ego of loosing our identity?

2.  Let others flourish and hog the limelight. How many times we seem to take credit for other's work?

3.  Once the monsoon ends, creepers dry down. The tree stands out again. Can we be like that? Keep going without rewards and recognition?

4.  During summers, same Neem or Keekar tree gives shade and protects other plants and animals from heat. Do we encourage and nurture our teams like the tree?

5.  During excessive rains or floods, these trees prevent soil erosion. During adverse situations at work, have we remained steadfast and prevented the erosion of the organisation and the teams?

Now, before some of you say 'enough of that Ghumakkad', I close here.

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  Harsh-the-Ghumakkad in Falaknuma Exp/ 31st October 2022

Sunset Years to Sunrise

We hear this often from 70-year-olds, 'Now in sunset years, what is there?' 

We beg to differ. There is so much in the life in 70s (and hopefully in 80s too!). All you have to do is to remain in the company of friends. As these Naval Buddies do. Yes, this is the story of few Naval Buddies and spouses, all Veterans, who deiced to live it up. On Golden Jubilee of their commissioning into the Navy, these course mates are having a Reunion in Odisha- India's Best Kept Secret!

How to convert the sunset years into a glorious sunrise? Today's morning walk yielded the pictures for this story.

As we add years to our life, it appears to be shedding leaves like the picture above. But remember the season will change. So overcoming the adversities in life is all in our mind. Like the almond tree in the picture below, with new leaves!

So, choice is ours! Maintain positivity. Despite all odds. And friends help us do it effortlessly. The golden glow appears soon! See the picture below.

Who are these young-seventy-year-olds? The video below shows each buddy and his family. Although all the buddies could not make it to the Golden Jubilee Reunion, the friendship grows even in absentia. If you are unable to open the video icon, click this link.

We end with a quote, 'There are friends, there is family and then there are friends who become family!' With God's grace, Ghumakkad's friends are one big family!

Stay connected. More picture stories will follow soon on their 5N6D Bash!

Thanks for browsing

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ Secunderabad/ 30th Oct 2022

#Navyveterans #indiannavy #goldenjubileereunion #70yearyoung #liveitup #sunsetyears #sunrise #goldenglow #ghumakkadharsh #navyspouses #ghumakkadhb

3Es of Volunteering- Nirmaan Way

What are the 3Es of volunteering? Enrolment, Engagement and Empowerment. Many of you may have heard it from me before. But, how to enroll the volunteers? Specially student volunteers? How to engage and empower them?

Am delighted to share the practical way Nirmaan does it. Nirmaan is an NGO working in 12 of the 17 diverse UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) such as education, livelihoods and healthcare. Readers may browse Nirmaan's website for more details.

In this picture story, we highlight the way Nirmaan promotes volunteering by both students as well as Corporate professionals. Nirmaan traces its roots to ten students of BITS Pilani as MyIndia NGO, to teach the under-privileged children of neighbouring villages. The founding students upon graduation, took up respective corporate careers. One of them Mayur Patnala, gave up his corporate job and set up Nirmaan in 2005. Seventeen years down the line, the student chapters of Nirmaan continue to thrive in BITS Pilani campuses. We share below what the student chapters do every year. Pictures courtesy Nirmaan Volunteers.

Ignite: The annual social festival of bliss and heartfulness at BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus. Saikumar the outgoing President of Nirmaan Student Chapter says, "Every year around 350 to 400 kids from 15 to 20 different orphanages are invited and housed on our campus. The event comprises a variety of workshops, competitions, events and activities for children of various ages. The volunteers become so tethered to the children that they cry when they bid goodbye, yet they are glad in their hearts because the youngsters will return the following year."

Daan Utsav: An event which brings givers and takers together on a common platform. It is a festival of giving money, time, resources and skills. Mohan VP of student chapter added, "Working on such projects all year, we know how to best allocate funding. We create channels for interested donors/ CSRs and philanthropic partners to contribute."

Manthan: An NGO conference for NGOs to connect and discourse. It creates a common forum for NGOs/NPOs to get together and exchange ideas, as well as draw corporate attention to their work.

Project Parishkar: An year long event for the kids of non-teaching staff residing in the campus. It entails frequent tutoring sessions by our volunteers to assist the children with their academics. These sessions also include some fun activities; the volunteers and children form strong bonds with one another.

School Adoption Program: An initiative to assist neighbouring government schools with tuitions, cultural festivities, Annual Outdoor Campaigning/ Field trip, repair/renovation of restrooms, play areas etc. This initiative impacts the lives of over 200 school children across three neighbouring villages.

 

Saakaar: A branch of the Livelihood opportunities initiatives that focuses on creating employment opportunities for rural women residing in neighbouring villages. Saikumar added, "We taught various skills to women in Pothaipally village like candle making, chocolate manufacturing and doormat stitching. They were also provided with market facilities. Stalls were put up in a few schools, gated communities, and at our campus fests to sell the items manufactured by the women."

Udaan: It provides quality education and extra curricular activities to the children in the communities around the campus. It sensitises the students to the needs of the under-served communities. For primary school pupils,  arithmetic lessons, simple scientific techniques, and outdoor games were conducted. Science experiments from their textbooks, as well as Aptitude and Reasoning classes for Merit and Scholarship tests were conducted for high school students.

The above pictures and activities have aptly answered the second E- how to Engage the volunteers? Nirmaan as we can see, has developed the systems and processes to do it effectively, based on which, students from BITS do their Practice School-2 (a semester long industry work experience) as Interns. It is a recognition of a strong working environment of learning and knowledge sharing.

Let us now look at the first E- Enrollment of volunteers.

How does Nirmaan Enroll its Volunteers? 

Nirmaan follows a four step process.

1. Call for volunteering giving details of programs and activities to be conducted by the volunteers 
2. Application including an essay why the student wants to volunteer
3. Interview by HR Team of student Chapter
4. Induction of selected volunteers

How does Nirmaan Empower the Volunteers?

The student volunteers work for three years while pursuing their degree program. The empowerment happens as follows:

1. The students derive an inner satisfaction of doing something for the society
2. Field work exposes them to real life outside the classrooms. They develop empathy and feel empowered to do more.
3. In the first year of volunteering, they are part of a team.
4. In the second year they are selected to lead a team as Team Lead.
5. In the third year, they become part of the Exec Committee. They plan and conduct various activities and events. They then prepare and present the Annual Report of their activities.
6. A formal Swearing-in ceremony is held in the campus to welcome the new volunteers and thank the outgoing team. Attended by the Campus Director, it empowers all the volunteers.

Hope the readers got a feel of how the 3Es of volunteering work through the above example of Nirmaan. The empowerment goes beyond the student life. Anirudh Mishra, a volunteer with Nirmaan decided to work in social sector after graduating from BITS Pilani. He went on to set up ApniClass which provides content for school students in Hindi. It is another example of the power of volunteering in shaping lives and careers!

Senior bureaucrats from the Government of Telangana addressed the event online. Ghumakkad also had an opportunity to speak to the volunteers at the above event. It was very encouraging to see the energy and enthusiasm of the volunteers at BITS Hyderabad campus. Nirmaan felicitated Dr G Sundar, Director BITS and me amongst others at the event. Few more pictures courtesy Nirmaan Volunteers.

Special thanks to Nirmaan for giving me the opportunity. Congratulations to the outgoing team of Nirmaan Volunteers for doing an excellent job and all the best to the incoming team.

Readers may browse two of our earlier stories on the power of volunteering:

Volunteering to Tame the Second Wave of Corona

Winning the Hearts of People

We close with a quotation by Swami Vivekananda, "They alone live, who live for others".

 Thanks for browsing.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ Hyderabad/ 26th October 2022

#volunteering #3Es #engagement #enrollment #empowerment #nirmaan #bitspilani #bitsalumni #joyofvolunteering #NGOs #studentvolunteers #bitshyderabad #joyofgiving #swamivivekananda #bitsaa #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb

Goa In Monsoon

Goa is Goa. Anytime of the year is good for Goa. Even during the monsoon? Yes, Ghumakkad was in Goa recently. Greenery all around. Fishing boats hauled ashore for maintenance. Ganesha festival and the crowds. All of it through our picture story which follows.

But Goa also conjures up images of floating casinos. The hoardings at the airport loudly announce it. This time after many years I flew by Air Asia (formerly Air India). After the takeover by the Tata group, the service is showing signs of improvement. See the pictures.

Ghumakkad had stayed at an Eco-resort on a hill side in Bogmalo area. An early morning walk around the resort was so refreshing! More pictures for you.

You can get a feel of the morning walk around the resort in the video below. In case you are unable to open the YouTube video, click here to view the video-walk.

Here is a short video of the surf breaking on a rocky shore during the monsoon in Goa. If you are unable to open the YouTube clip below, click here to view the video.

The Contest

The picture of Buddha in the resort was selected for the Caption Contest. KBG-78, the 78th edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad received very enthusiastic response from the readers. See their creativity in the captions listed below.

No.	Name	Caption for KBG-78 Contest
1	Yogesh	Eternal
2	VV Ramani	Tapovan
3	Vinod Dhanuka	Serenity
4	Vinay Prasad	Internal peace, external peace!
5	Vijay Uppal	Serene enlightenment
6	Veeky Baths	Radiate boundless love towards the entire world
7	Trixie Asirvatham	Peaceful Buddha's golden sheen Glows serene 'mid Goan green
8	Shyamala Charyulu	Train your innerself to be peaceful Shine comes automatically on your face
9	Shereen Sultana	Find peace in solitude
10	Ruma Purkayastha	With fortitude and undeterred courage wisdom compassion
11	Rohini Tiwari	Serene within and Serene outside!!
12	Ritu Bhargava	We cannot obtain peace in outer world, until we have it in within ourself.
13	Ritu Bhargava	The quieter you become, you hear more.
14	Rekha Bhargava	मन व वन की शान्ति एक साथ मिल जाएँ तो जीवन का सुख सफलता तर  जाए ।
15	RB Dhavare	Buddha   attained 'Enlightenment' not only under 'Bodhisatva Tree' but in the Beautiful Greenary of the Garden, it seems.. 🤷‍♂️
16	Rashmi Bhargava	बुदधम शरणं गच्छामि.
17	Ramanand Baliga	Buddha mil gaya
18	Rakesh Bajaj	Nature Begets Peace. Preserve Nature
19	Rajendra Singh	Nature in synthesis with Buddha in meditative tranquility.
20	Radhika Sareen	If you are looking for peace....here it is!!!
21	Radhika Sareen	Beauty all around but peace inside..
22	Radhika Sareen	Peace....in a piece of green patch
23	Radhika Sareen	All that glitters is indeed a peace of gold here in emerald green…
24	Prashant Jadenavar	Whereever you are, carry your sunshine and peace with you!
25	Prakash Gulati	Inspiring Buddha
26	Pradeep Siwach	Oneness with Nature.
27	Prabhat K Jindal	Exudes Peace, Serenity & Calmness which encompasses all.
28	Poonam Bhargava	Nature and peace go hand in hand
29	Peter de Padua	Glowing golden peace in nature's sea of green.
30	Nidhi Bhargava	Beautiful, serene, lush & green Perfect setting for journey within
31	Neelam Sawant	May the sublime serenity of nature prevail all
32	Mukul Bhargava	High on Grass
33	Manju Khetan	"Green is the fresh emblem of well-founded hopes. In blue, the spirit can wander, but in green, it can rest."
34	MV Vasudevan	Everlasting Beauty of Silence
35	LS Bhargava	Need of the hour. A Green and peaceful environment for a healthy life.
36	Kausalya Govindan	Serenity in spite of seclusion!
37	Jaishankar	Amidst a halo of transient green Resplendent is the Dhamma serene
38	J Ramamoorty	Tranquility amidst the greenery
39	Himani Tiwari	Shanti baahar van main bhi aur andar man main bhi
40	GR Sreenivasan	Let the Goal of our lives be to live in agreement with Nature.
41	Deepak Jena	Close your eyes and see the beauty.
42	Deepak Jena	Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.
43	Deepak Jena	What we think, we become.
44	Deepak Jena	You cannot travel the path until you have become the path itself.
45	CD Sawant	Greenery accentuates the spirituality.
46	C Raghuram	With a gleam, the lord is Serene, seems a dream amidst the green
47	BR Natarajan	Buddham Saranam Goachhami
48	Bharat Ladha	Usi ko mila gyan, jo prakriti se hua abhinn.
49	Avinash Tiwari	Hari bhari vasundhara men hi gyan aur Shanti milte hain
50	Avinash Tiwari	Ya Khuda Goa mein Yeh bhi hai!
51	Anonymous-3	Radiate boundless love towards the entire world
52	Anonymous-2	In your Glory Nature Prospers.
53	Anonymous-1	Peace and greenery go hand in hand
54	Anita Gambhir Arora	Rain or Shine, Buddha is Divine!
55	Amandeep Kaur	Golden Buddha relaxing in the greenery nature’s lap!
56	Ajai Bhumri	Internal strength and peace are within you. Concentrate and you will be there.

The Winners

Our Jury selected five captions. The winning captions along with the profile of the winners of KBG-78 are given below.

Anita Gambhir Arora is a software engineer having work experience in corporate/personal finance, taxation, entrepreneurship and start-ups. She likes to explore new horizons with an open mind and keep learning. Her caption 'Rain or shine, Buddha is divine' was Jury's unanimous choice.

Avinash Tiwari, former Colonel in Indian Army, has been a regular contributor of KBG Contests. He has won several contests. Very spontaneous and witty, his caption या ख़ुदा , गोआ में यह भी है  meaning 'Oh God, Goa has this also' will sure bring smiles on readers' faces! Goa has an image of casinos, beaches and pheni ( a local drink brewed out of cashew nuts)- signifying a place for fun without inhibitions. A statue of Buddha, in contrast, stands for mediation and seriousness!

Kausalya Govindan having been a teacher, has learnt to be young at heart and preserved the child in her. She accepts the people as they are! Her short caption 'Serenity in spite of seclusion' caught the Jury's eye.

MV Vasudevan is an engineer turned Professor. A former Commander of Indian Navy, he served as the Principal of a Sainik School and later Director of leading engineering institutions around Hyderabad. He has a great sense of humour. His caption 'Everlasting beauty of silence' aptly summarises the picture.

Poonam Bhargava is an alumnus of Lady Irwin College Delhi. A teacher at heart, she is full of compassion for fellow human beings as well as Nature. She has won the KBG Contest earlier too. Her caption 'Nature and peace go hand in hand' reflects her keen observation and appreciation of Nature.

Congratulations to all the winners.

Hope you enjoyed a virtual experience of Goa in Monsoon. You may like to browse our earlier stories on Goa. Click the links below:

Cabo de Rama Fort Goa

Veterans in Sixties Rock Goa

Thanks for browsing.

Stay connected.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 8th Nov 2022

#goa #goainmonsoon #kaunbanegaghumakkad #captioncontest #buddha #bogmalo #stonewaterecoresort #environment #greengoa #kbg78 #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb