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.
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.
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
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 Marathonand 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.
