Republic Day Eve

I was invited by my friends to attend the republic day celebrations in their housing society. I thought I would carry my camera along as they had mentioned that it was going to be a variety entertainment programme, including walking the ramp.

For a change they had included participants from all age groups for walking the ramp.

The best part of the whole programme was that practically every member of the society (or at least one from each family) took part in the events. 

A sure shot way of pulling in the crowd, but then I suppose that is the best way to get the attention of the whole family. 

Even though it stretched for more than three hours, things were moving at a good pace with no time wasted.   

Children getting the final touch before the call for the next item. 

There was no let-up in the costumes and that made it all the more colourful.   

I liked the skit by these guys in the police uniform, some dancing very well and some not so well but everyone enjoyed the spirit of the performance.   

These girls were in perfect sync

And so was the lavani team (got to see a lavni after a long time) 

Some kids did not want to give up the seats close to the ramp even if it meant enduring the blast from the speakers. 

I remember the hola-hoop being a real craze during the sixties, and I too could hold on for about a minute, but then that was more than five decades ago. This girl did a good job with two hoops

After watching the whole programme, I think we can make things work if there is teamwork.

You can see them in action in the videos.  
 
I have just added glimpses of each item to keep the video short. If anyone wants the longer version just drop in a mail to joezach54@gmail.com 

(If watching on YouTube, do keep the setting on 720pHD for clarity)  

Courage

If only we could get past our fear of being involved in police cases, and pluck up our courage to do what is right, we might be able to save a life.
Many a time we drive past an accident thinking “this is nothing to do with me”. Sometimes, the people injured may be critical, but we don’t want to get “involved” with the entailing hassles, at other times we salve our conscience with the argument “who has the time?”
This reminds me of the story where a doctor drove past a crowd gathered around a seriously injured boy. It was only later that he discovered that the boy was his own son and he could have saved him had he stopped.
But there are some people who work hard to ensure that the injured get immediate medical assistance. Bharat Pawar, a young boy working in my office is one such person.
On December 10 he was traveling back by bus from his home town. At Wai, the bus tried to overtake a milk tanker, and unfortunately crashed into its rear. A passenger sitting in the front seat bore the brunt of the accident and was badly crushed. The other passengers were relatively unhurt, except for the shock. As the door was jammed, Bharat and his friend jumped out of the window and assessed the situation. When he saw the injured person, he was initially paralysed with shock , but realised that something has to be done to save him.
In the stillness of the night, he tried ringing the bus depot and the police station but there was no response. With the help of his friend and the driver (who was miraculously unhurt) they managed to extract the injured passenger from the mangled twisted metal. It was unfortunate that none of the other passengers came out of the bus to help. He tried to flag down passing cars, but none would stop, while the ones who did stop took in the scene and fled. Finally a good Samaritan stopped and agreed to ferry Bharat to the nearest police station. There he had a tough time convincing the police to call an ambulance and accompany him. He says “I realized that the only way to save the passenger was to get the police involved and move him quickly to a hospital”
The injured passenger was in the ICU for about a week before he was moved out, when we last heard.


If we could only overcome our initial fear of getting involved, then the mortality rate due to road accidents can be reduced.
The above picture is a silhouette of Bharat.