thinking aloud: November 2009

12 tiny steps towards the journey of a lifetime…

The Karuna Vihar Calendars are a mirror to the foundation. Each of the 12 calendars created so far have a theme that in a small way talks about who we are and what we believe. The first calendar came out in 1997.

'1997 CHOTI SI ASHA'

"We have tender hearts and small hopes-we only want to reach the moon and the stars"

1998 CELEBRATING INDEPENDENCE

"We explore the meaning of Independence for people with mental disabilities . We are convinced that true freedom for our children can only be achieved through self-reliance"

1999 CELEBRATING 'SLOWNESS'

"Like everyone else, we are moving towards the millennium one day at a time. The difference is that we are learning to break the day down into minutes and savour each one as it comes.

2000 SUPRISED BY JOY
"We chose it because we wanted to enter the new millenium with the record set straight at last: Noboby is being noble here; none of us are candidates for canonization. We do what we do because we love it."

2001 CELEBRATING FRIENDSHIP
We celebrate the joy our children find in each other and the suprising depth of the love they share. We celebrate their delight in being together and their non judgemental regard for one another.

2002 A CELEBRATION OF TEACHERS
We celebrate the security of knowing that with them, our children are in good hands, free to grow and explore and learn, free to become their best selves."

2003 A TRIBUTE TO FAMILIES
All of us need a place where we can be ourselves: not a label or a type or an example of anything - just ourselves. For most of us, that place is family.

2004 ORDER AND BEAUTY : CELEBRATING MATHEMATICS
our special children teach us how to count all over again, gently reminding us that their place value has already been assigned: it's up to us now to do the math.

2005 CELEBRATING INCLUSION
We celebrate inclusion in its most spacious sense-the universe and all it contains-people,animals,poetry,song,lichens,spotted owls. Damn everything but the circus!

2006 - KARUNA VIHAR TURNS 10 (first ever black and white calendar)
But some things are black and white and it takes a grown up soul with the heart of a child to see them:the power of love, the beauty of each person and the human spirit's endless capacity for growth.

2007 CELEBRATING IMAGINATION (Dedicated to the memory of Linda Upadhyaya)
We honor the life of a woman who helped children and their parents discover how to dream and we give thanks for the spark and fire and the flight of the mind - who can say where it will take us next?

2008 CELEBRATING ABUNDANCE
...Recognizing that we really are blessed and fortunate and lucky - right now, just as we are,exactly in this moment.

2009 CELEBRATING THE JOURNEY
It's a journey of discovery,of joy and of sorrow and we set out on it alone,yet mysteriously together,united by the road and our shared humanity.

NOW... Here is a sneak peek of the Karuna Vihar 2010 Calendar....

CELEBRATING FOCUS

Limits, paradoxically, set us free. They narrow our range but they deepen our scope. They make it possible to accomplish the significant.....

To order a copy or donate call us at +91-135-276-1014 or mail us at priyam@latikaroy.org

All donations go to support the Latika Roy Foundation's work for children with special needs.

Special Thanks to:

Photographers - Avinash Pasricha, Edmund Cluett, Jo Chopra, Margaret Mcneill,Rahul Saini,Lucy Cuseo & Purnima Rao

Designers - Shalini, Neha Agarwal, Beth Shirrel, Prashant Upadhyaya & Edmund Cluett

Printers - Vinay Aditya at Systems Vision and Thompson Press

Donors - JRD Tata Trust Fund, Action Aid India, ONGC

Kartik Jain a budding photographer is a friend. I met him first at Samira's place.

I really can’t go into who Samira is because that will probably take the entire blog in short she is my childhood friend. I grew up with her. She is that person who has always been around. A friend who I wouldn't be able talk to for 2 straight years yet when we do catch up seems like the two years changed nothing! Mira Kuhn-best friend, soul mate, sister, my partner in crime!
Anyways this is not about her this one is about Kartik!

Thanks for the amazing photographs you took.

BACKGROUND
The Latika Roy Foundation played host to 7th graders from Woodstock School. The students were here from November 3 to November 6 and on the last day we organized an inclusive activity for students of Woodstock, Karuna Vihar and trainees from CVT at Latika Vihar.
The students were divided into groups of 4 and they were given bed sheets, paintbrushes and lots of paint to unleash their creativity! And unleash they did! Now how Kartik got to know about the activity is another story.

SCENE 1

Neha Joshi (yes, there is another Neha Joshi at the Foundation!) and I were traveling back from Delhi. We were very excited as our tickets had been upgraded and we would be traveling in style AC 1 Tier!!!
Anyways so we bumped into the kiddo at the station and what do you know he is traveling in style too! So there we were sitting in our cabin with an elderly couple, Kartik, and the two Neha Joshis. Two people from Latika Roy Foundation and they don’t talk about it, not possible. So we began rattling about what we do and about the Woodstock visit yada yada yada.
That's when Kartik tells us that he had come to Delhi for a photography workshop and we pounced! "Why don’t you come and shoot some pictures for us Kartik?" He agreed!
CUT TO SCENE II
The mayhem begins!!!
The children poured in at Latika Vihar at 11 am on Friday, November 6 and Kartik strolls in at 11:30. With paints and children everywhere I could see Kartik maneuver his way around trying to take photographs.
These are some of his photographs. I must say WELL DONE KARTIK!