Thursday, January 24, 2019

The Empress Garden


The landscaping was good and the evening light was perfect to capture this. 


Every time when I enter the Empress Garden (in Pune) I am in awe of this structure which must have been standing there for more than a century 



and so are these tall trees that are standing as a mute witness to all that is happening around it 


The flower show and the sale of the Garden items that is held every year had something unique this time and that is the landscaping of the place by Dr Krishna Chavan. Liked his concept of “Love Green Live Green”


One can’t miss the lavish spread of green with splashes of colourful flowers.


The perfect background  for selfie seekers. 





For a minute I thought that these are real flamingos   


There were other activities too like flower show competition and Bonsai display






This was organised by the Agri-Horticulture Society of Western India. You can have a glimpse of everything in this short video.
I was told that the exhibition and the sale will continue till 27th of January. 




Friday, January 18, 2019

Little Bridge


Like they say “If the packaging is right, half the work is done” I was impressed by the packaging of these products displayed in the shop Little Bridge 



Had been to this shop a few days ago and was impressed by the items that were on display. 



I noticed some products from Two Brothers Organic Farms.


This organization (Two Brothers) helps farmers in and around Maharashtra to produce farm products and diary products that are free of chemicals. They even go to the extent of using bullock carts in the farms (in place of polluting tractors and trucks) 

The price is also comparable, as I know the price of these cakes that are available in Pune. Good to know that Pune products are sold in Mumbai


I tried out some of these dhoklas and samoosa and I must say that the dhoklas were real soft and tasty. (I was told that they supply Parsee food too)



The Cheese Garlic Bread and the Choco Chip cookies were aesthetically displayed, and within easy reach of the customers.  



Located in a quite nice place, I found that the shop had opened early, even before the other shops opened in the area. 



The customers started trickling in and by the time I left I found that the shop was almost full.









The shop is funded by CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Over the last decade the CSR has moved considerably from voluntary decisions at level of individual organizations, to mandatory schemes at regional, national and even transnational levels. 
Probably the CSR has seen something good in the Little Bridge as it helps many deserving people who man the shop as well as the suppliers.
 It is located in Bandra (Mumbai) and in case any one wants to reach them, they are available at +91 8928665818
The wall clock in the shop says it all, Attitude is everything  



Thursday, January 17, 2019

Prison Ministry and the Marathon


There are some scenes that you see after a marathon which warms your heart, like these kids who are collectively showing off their medals


or these kids who are having a look at the group selfie that they clicked.


Got the chance to cover a Half Marathon conducted by PMI (Prison Ministry of India) in Pune last Sunday.  


Before the first race was flagged off, there was a warming up session held in which the Zumba group (led by Niharika) whipped up some energy in the otherwise chilly morning.  



I was really impressed by the extra energy of these military boys who really belted it out with Niharika without missing a beat 


 At the end all were ready for that mandatory picture with the Zumba instructor. 


I liked the idea of using bicycles (non pollutants) as the pilot vehicle to guide the participants along the route 


The race in itself was fun to observe, as most of them ran with the motto of ‘taking part’ 


Some of them recognised me and waved out calling my name



Some preferred to walk, while some ran and some were properly wired for music


I did notice one lady running bare foot but could not click her picture.
All the youngsters religiously followed the instructions for the cooling down session. 



Don’t miss the little one in the red cap


There were some prominent people to flag off the race, like Ms Girija Godbole who is a film star and also is an ex student of the same school. 



After the function she readily obliged to pose for pictures. 




Varsha Rajkhowa (Ms Scuba International) was also present and spoke about the environment



There was a big group from the CME


Talking about the CME, I have been in Poona/Pune for more than four decades and have not yet gone inside CME
The whole program was held together by Mr Tarun of Radio One. 


There was some light entertainment going on as the participants had their breakfast. There was a band from Lonavala and some skit put up by the school children, I presume they are from the same school (Loyola) 




Look at the rapt attention of these kids when the dancers performed. 


I have made a small video with whatever I could capture and have split it into two. One is of the Marathon and the other is of the Zumba.   
The prize distribution can be seen in this video.
The breakfast served was hot and sumptuous. I liked the fact that it was not packed food but prepared on the spot.



Some random pictures