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One man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist !!

Mumbai

Interesting thing about mumbai is that the sea is calm when its not raining, but the whole city is reckless mad with traffic !!! The sea becomes restless when its raining while the city calms down by staying at home !!

Oye lucky lucky oye

Reasons why I like Oye Lucky Lucky oye !!

• The attention to detail is amazing. From the electric wires in the sikh family's home,to the no. of wall hangings in the girl's apartment - everything seems real.
• The subtle humour on the delhi jat and punjabi culture is too good. I love the scene when a guy starts fighting with the waiters for a car which is parked by another guest.
• The punches left me in splits. Sweetly timed - i love the way they
• Every character is so well built. I even liked the sycophant Archana puran singh. An who can forget when her son goes , "Sunny mama .... !!"
• The film is for the intelligent viewers, so obvious things aren't explained.
• I just love the chemistry between the protagonist and the girl - even in their teens. Too real for the big screen. And the girl IS pretty.
  

True, the story seems to be doing too many things , and there are intervals when the humour just goes missing. But cummon guys, he does make you laugh. Another gem to Dipakar banerjee's collection,whose first movie khosla ka ghosla is still a rage among its cult of fans.

All in all, a must watch.

South Luangwa

South Luangwa was fun....probably one of the best safaris I ve had so far. This is the most famous national park in Zambia, spread over 10,000 square kms. Being the rainy season here, we were welcomed by lush green jungles, tall grasses and loads of birds. An intersting bird is the "Knob-headed hornbill" as is shown in the picture here. This is called the Emerald season in luangwa lingo !

We took our charter from Chingola and landed at Mfuwe international airport at about 11:30. James(our guide) took us to the Mfuwe lodge which was a 40 minute drive through a road amidst swamps, marshes and rivers swarming with crocodiles.

Even before we reached the lodge, we had our first game sightings - a small herd of giraffes and a couple of hippos. Our lodge was next to a big natural pool filled with Nile lilies and ofcourse loads of hippos and crocs. Our Chalets were made just above the pool and it was quite a thing to be woken by the sound of grunting and farting hippos every morning.

We hit the afternoon safari at 4:30 pm and entered the real wild africa. Game sightings were many - with loads of Impalas, Zebras, Wart hogs and Elephants. The bonus were the beautiful birds - some of which we saw at close distances. After 3 hours of wild meandering, we chanced our first success - a solitary lion - right in the middle of the road.

WE finished the first day on a high note...travelling with the lion at less than 10m distance for more than 30 minutes.

Next morning, we left early for the morning safari at 6:30. This time we were luckier. Within half an hour, we saw a hyena relaxing in the grasses. We were also lucky to witness an elephant fight(the trumpets are deafening) and a Big herd of wild buffaloes. We had hit on a treeless patch in the middle of the jungle full of elephants, giraffes, zebras, deer and buffaloes.

Girraffes are very elegant creatures with a supermodel gait. They bend their long legs clumsily to drink water or to sit down, and its quite a sight.

We came back to the lodge for a heavy brunch, a relaxing massage and a 2 hr. nap - perfect for a vacation.

Afternoon safari was all about the leopard chase. On three occassions, we were close to a leopard sighting but lost him in the tall grasses. Just as we were returning to the lodge, we hit the jackpot again. There were 3 marvellous wild dogs in the middle of the road.

Wild dogs are frequent in the rainy season and these were part of a pack of 23 dogs. However, they can cover 100 kms in a day and it is next to impossible to see them in a national park which is 10,000 sq. km big. They are swift, elegant, expressionless and very vicious. We trailed them for half an hour before retiring to our lodge.

Sochta hun !!

Sochta hun..........

Ki kaash dard koi hota nahin,

Ki agar dard hota bhi to.........

Kaash, dard ka ehsaas kabhi hota nahin !!

Sochta hun.........

Ki yeh shaam kabhi khatm na ho....

Ki agar raat honi bhi ho….

To agli shaam taiyar rahe !

Sochta hun…..

Ki main kabhi thakta nahin….

Aur agar thak bhi jaooo…

To neend mujhe simat le tabhi....

Sochta hun…

Ki tum mere saath hoti,

Saath nab hi ho…..par mila to karo,

Ki tumhari yaad mere saath hoti !

Meal a Month

When I joined AID as a volunteer in August 2006, I wasn’t too enthused by the concept of Meal a Month (MaM) . It was something I had never heard of before. It seemed like just another way to ask for donations from volunteers. But after having volunteered with AID for a year now, I have come to realize the power and the importance of Meal-a-Month.

What is this MaM ? MaM is a form of monetary donation to AID activities. The cost of one Meal is different for all of us. To some, it is a Rs. 15 thali at the local cafeteria while to some it may be the Rs. 300 Pizza at the nearby joint. At AID, we ask you to contribute what YOU believe is the cost of YOUR single meal, every month.

A volunteer who wants to donate money for a social cause can do it under any pretext – be it buying books, bags or clothes or even for administrative expenses. The essence of Meal-a-Month is that it not a donation compaign. It is not a ‘Caption’ under which money is collected. Meal a month is a form of expression of the sentiments of the donor.

We at AID believe in the philosophy of “Sangharsh, Seva, Nirmaan”. All three require commitment, hard work and some amount of care on our behalf. When we talk about the upliftment of the poor, we must realize that we are talking about providing them basic amenities. Food is the basic necessity of man. Lack of food is the first sign of Poverty. We at AID, in our struggle to fight poverty and to work for the underprivileged, believe that food is an amenity that we can all work for and provide to the needy.

Meal a month, and some other forms of Directed donations, is the only way AID raises money. We do not go to charities, or funding agencies for money. We do not go to Corporates and beg them for a slice of their ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’. At AID, we believe in “Individual Social Responsibility”. More than 60% of funds raised by AID Delhi come from Meal-a-Month. Besides, there is no vested money laundering in MaM. AID Delhi is as transparent as an organization can be.

MaM is not merely about raising money. It is about showing that you care. Some volunteers try to quantify their volunteering skills by claiming that they should not pay MaM when they are already engaged in volunteering in the form of teaching, writing, designing etc. In my opinion, there is no limit to volunteering. One should do as much as one can do. MaM does not ask for much, merely the cost for one meal a month. None of our volunteers live in a hand-to-mouth situation that prevents them from making such a contribution, over and above the other forms of volunteering which they do.

I proudly donate Rs. 100 as my Meal-a-Month contribution to AID. It does not mean that I have hundred rupee meals all the time. Nor does it mean that it’s the maximum amount I spend for meals. But it is certainly a reasonable figure. It can feed one, two or maybe even an entire family for a day. Or the money can go for administrative expenses, for the fellowships of our full-time volunteers, for buying books or clothes when we need them.

When I contribute my MaM , it is not a directed donation. Nor am I thinking about AID’s over-dependence on MaM for its expenses. I would have given the same amount even if AID had gotten enough money from a single individual to take care of its expenses. This donation to me is a way to show to myself (and to AID) that I care. No matter how much I volunteer for AID, I will never say that the volunteering can make up for my MaM contribution.

I know there are many who read this want to actively do social work. Many of them are registered volunteers of AID. But personal or professional constraints or mere lethargy of action hasn’t let you do anything so far. I implore you all to come forward and contribute to Meal-a-Month. The gesture itself is enough to remove your lethargy. It will not only symbolize that you care, but will make you come forward and show an active interest in AID Delhi’s activities.