Back with a Bang!

Chaotic control that’s the best way I can describe the last two months! It has been ages since I wrote but I do have a very good excuse! Since my last post in September we have had 2 melas, 3 small productions and 1 film meeting! Well so as you can see I have been busy! The melas were great fun! As I was saying chaotic control.... hmmm now how do I explain that to you? Okay so we started with a Janamashtami celebration and a big Independence Day celebration (all of this is there on our site http://www.latikaroy.org/). Both these celebrations were marked by performances by our children. A dance by our lovely Radha Krishna devotees and a play on the gallant Rani Laxmi Bai (for the uninitiated - she was the Rani of Jhansi, one of India's first female freedom fighters). One of the photographs in my last post (one with the green turban is from that day!). It was a last minute goof up. One of our actors Arjun decided to not come on the day that he had the play! So there was Neha Didi trying her best to control the children from panicking while deep in her heart she was the queen of paranoid panic!!!So at the last minute I decided to wear a turban and be a man!

Now as they say it’s only the beginning. Things never truly end when they are meant to 2 days after the chaos Merrow, our Volunteer from Cambridge University put up her production with the children at Latika Vihar. The play was one of my favourite fairytales Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and we had an extremely talented Snow White who didn’t deter to say other actors dialogues if they forgot to say them! (What presence of mind!) To cut it short it was a HUGE success. It was the first time many of our children spoke in English and they were astonishingly perfect!

Once the Latika Vihar events got done and over with (at least for a while) I got down to what I am being paid for! Work on the website and the Resource Centre!

Merrow and Ashleigh our volunteers had come up with a brilliant fundraising project called B.U.I.L.D.E.R. The project would involve students from across the city in our fundraising drive. In my personal opinion it’s a well thought out, creative and productive project. What it entails is that we approach schools speak to them about our work and our needs. We then let them decide how and if they want to support our cause. The project allows the children complete freedom to use their own creativity to fundraise through events like school marathons, yard sales, dance shows etc. All the ideas, planning and work is done by the children. The project helps them in understanding a company structure as it would require a proper work division and demarcated responsibilities. The aim is to train the children in a possible career in events and fundraising. The qualities that they need for this project and the qualities that this project would enhance will help them in the future for college applications, job interviews etc. the process also spreads awareness about the cause of disabilities. Great project huh Ek teer se teen nishane! Thanks Merrow and Ashliegh! We are still talking to schools on the same project and have my Alma Mater Welham Girls School on board!

Now we had Yvonne from Birmingham, England who started something called The Wall at Latika Vihar (yes Welhamites it’s exactly like the Wall in school!). Children think of a theme and write articles, do research, take interviews and put it up on the board.
But one of the most important thing that Yvonne did for me was plan, plan and plan some more! You see I love ideas and I’m ever ready to do things at the drop of a hat! My agenda in life would promote a shoe company very well, Just Do It! Yvonne on the other hand brought the control to the chaos!
We had two Melas, Dusshera and Diwali and did I have fun pulling her leg about her habit of putting everything down on paper! But thanks to those papers I never forgot anything!!!
The Dusshera mela was great fun we had dances, food and the burning of the Ravana!

But you know what the best thing was? The involvement of the children, you should have seen some of the older kids who stayed back to make the Ravana!

Those who practiced diligently for the dance and others who tried their best to make little decorative pieces for Latika Vihar!

We than celebrated Diwali in grand style (phew we really don’t leave any festival alone now do we?). Just a few pictures of the rangolis by the staff and children will show you the effort that went into this mela!

With the diyas burning bright the centre looked beautiful.

Now the movie! Well it’s a bit of a surprise so I should not spoil it. All I can say is we are in the process of making a small film which I hope will be appreciated by all those who care about the cause and want to learn more about it. The movie is being made by a group called Xebec Film Team who had done an amazing job with our previous film. Here is the link to that film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC2ncbi_U4w

Phew! To be honest this is still not the end.... there was much more and will always be more....
Here's looking ahead to November.

PS: that was just the work front!!

Photos Courtesy: Yvonne, Merrow & ME!