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13th Year: 2011
Jan
- Piano Recital by Robyn, Mosaic Art Portrait & CNY Reunion Lunch
Feb
- Chinese New Year, PA Got Talents, Alvin's Birthday & Opening of Clay-Street New Studio
Mar
- Bye-bye Heni
Seva Wk 01: Art of Living Ashram, Bangalore
Seva Wk 02: 1st Seva with Divine Karnataka Project & On Course
Seva Wk 03: Sponsoring Rural Village Sport Clubs & Bridge at Chikmagalur
Seva Wk 04:
'WHY DKP' Corporate Fund Raising
Apr
Seva Wk 05: DKP Helps Rural Farmers, Gadag & Koppal, Karnataka
Seva Wk 06: Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, Konark, Puri & Sri Sri University
Seva Wk 07: Tribal School Project, Jharkhand
Seva Wk 08:
Tribal School Arts Festival on Facebook
May
Seva Wk 09: Tribal School @ Dumuria & Ranchi
Seva Wk 10: Tribal School Digital Contest & Kolkata
Seva Wk 11: Kolkata to Delhi to Himachal Pradesh
Seva Wk 12: Shoghi, Shimla & Tirthan Valley in Himachal Pradesh

Jun
Seva Wk 13: Homestay @ Tirthan, Kullu Valley
Seva Wk 14: Sangla, Peo, Nako, Kinnaur Valley
Seva Wk 15: Tabo, Kaza, Kye, Spiti Valley
Seva Wk 16: Demul to Komic on Yaks, Spiti Valley

Jul
Seva Wk 17: Kaza to Manali to Gurgaon, Delhi
Seva Wk 18: Gurgaon & Barefoot College,Tilonia
Seva Wk 19: Jaipur & back to Bangalore
Seva Wk 20 & 21: With the Murthys in Bangalore

Aug
Seva Wk 22-24: Meridian 101 Ambassadors for India & Bye Bye India
Seva Wk 25: Seva in Africa - Jumbo Kenya!
Seva Wk 26: Seva at the Children's Garden Home
Sep
Seva Wk 27: More Seva Projects at CGH
Seva Wk 28: Self-drive Safari to Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Hell's Gate
Seva Wk 29: Short Break to Arusha, Tanzania
Seva Wk 30: Safari at Nairobi National Park & Children's Day Celebration
Oct
Seva Wk 31: Launching BEADwear for Christmas
Seva Wk 32: Robyn turns 13 in Kampala, Uganda
Seva Wk 33: Rafting the White Nile, Jinja, Uganda
Seva Wk 34: Sipi Falls, Uganda & African Child Mega Dance in Kenya
Nov
Seva Wk 35: Nairobi to Mombasa, Malindi & Lamu
Seva Wk 36: Seva@Lamu - Donkey necklace + Kaya
Seva Wk 37: Seva@Lamu - Hands Up 4 Kids
Seva Wk 38: Bye Africa, Hello Istanbul, Homeward-bound Singapore
Dec
- Home Sweet Home in Singapore
 
   

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SEVA WEEK 11 (16-22 May 2011)

r e f l e c t i o n : ON LIVING WITH PURPOSE

 

16 May 2011: Visit to the De-Addiction Centre and Home for Street Kids by Art of Living in Kolkata

Chawlaji brought us to visit this home as well as an AOL drug de-addiction centre, directed by his friend and a fellow AOL sevak like himself.

It was great to learn that the de-addiction centre is self-sustaining. We also learnt that the secret to drug/alcohol de-addiction is to incorporate a spiritual element to awaken self-awareness and will power, using AOL yoga, pranayama and kriya.

Chawlaji brought us to visit this home as well as an AOL drug de-addiction centre.
The children live here under the care of sevaks who give them love and guidance.
The children live here under the care of sevaks who give them love and guidance.
The kids are taught yoga, and they demonstrated energetic and acrobatic yoga asana.
The kids are taught yoga, and they demonstrated energetic and acrobatic yoga asana.
As we walked off to the cars, they waved at us happily. We wish them the very best under the care of Art of Living.

An AOL devotee donated a unit in this block to be made into a home for the street kids.

An AOL devotee donated a unit in this block to be made into the home for the street kids. As we walked off to the cars, they waved at us happily. We wish them the very best under the care of Art of Living.

Our last stop of this long day was a visit to the showroom of the Oxford University Press India to check out its full array of dictionaries and atlases. It took us a long drive to find it. We found good picks and purchased a small quantity of variety for each tribal school. Thanks to Ms Debashree, the lady at the showroom, who believes in our cause and obtained for us 30% discount. It certainly helped to stretch and maximize our donor's money.

Our last stop of this long day was a visit to the showroom of the Oxford University Press India to check out its full array of dictionaries and atlases. We found good picks and purchased a small quantity of variety for each tribal school.

 

After breakfast, we left Chawlaji's home for a shopping trip to a busy secondhand book trading area in Kolkata. There are hundreds of stores that sell all kinds of school text books.

We picked up some story books and text books but didn't find better variety or cheaper price for the English-Hindi dictionaries here so we decided to order with the Oxford University Press India that we visited a day earlier.

After breakfast, we left Chawlaji's home for a shopping trip to a busy secondhand book trading area in Kolkata. There are hundreds of stores that sell all kinds of school text books.
We didn't find better variety or cheaper price for the English-Hindi dictionaries here so we decided to order with the Oxford University Press India that we visited a day earlier.
Robyn and new Kolkata friend, Anika.
Robyn and new Kolkata friend, Anika.
Robyn and Chawlaji
Robyn and Chawlaji.
Mr Brij Chawla, Director of Tribal Welfare

< Mr Brij Chawla, Director of Tribal Welfare

> ASketch portrait of Chawlaji, by iPhone artist Robyn Yong

ASketch portrait of Chawlaji, by Robyn
Chemical-free produce

< Aunt Bimla (Mrs Chawla)

 

> ASketch portrait of Aunt Bimla, by iPhone artist Robyn Yong

ASketch portrait of Aunt Bimla, by iPhone artist Robyn Yong
Jin gave a presentation on our seva experience.

 

19 May 2011: Overnight Train from Kolkata to Delhi

We are grateful to Chawlaji and Swapan for sending us off for the 17-hour overnight express train ride to Delhi. In Delhi, thanks to the help of Mr Gautam Vig and Mr Amit Kapoor of Art of Living centre, we were kindly accommodated by Mr Abhey in his building which served previously as the AOL centre, located at Green Park Extension. We stayed for 2 nights there.

The 17-hour overnight express train ride was a comfortable one. In Delhi, thanks to the help of Mr Amit Kapoor of Art of Living office, we were kindly accommodated by Mr Abhey in the ex-AOL centre.

Mr Abhey's building at Green Park Extension.

 

At 7.30am on 22 May, we took the Metro to the Kashmere Gate ISBT bus terminal. which we recced the evening before. The bus terminal was crowded, messy and rather confusing, with renovation going on concurrently. The Himachal Pradesh Volvo coach that we boarded for Shimla was comfortable and began our 8-hour journey to Shimla at 9.30am.

We were originally bound for Deepjoyti Homestay in Shoghi but they called to inform me of non-vacancy shortly after the bus journey started. During the lunch stop, we logged on to check the web and managed to contact Ms Smriti of VeerGarh Homestay and confirmed our room instantly. Ironically, Smriti was in Singapore at that time. We alighted at Shoghi, which is half an hour before Shimla, and took a cab there.

Veer Garh Homestay in Shoghi

Veer Garh Homestay in Shoghi

 

 

> Week 12: Shoghi, Shimla and Tirthan Valley...

 

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