Art Day sponsored by HSBC

in the central courtyard

Riverside, Ahmedabad, 17 September – Sponsored by HSBC CG Road Branch, Riverside hosted Art Day today at the Hansol campus.

For the first time the entire school came together to sit and draw pastel flowers. When a teacher excitedly commented that she had enjoyed the act very much, Kiran Sethi, the Director smiling, said, “Yes, I painted four! I realize it is wonderful to be able to just sit and engage in something like this – without any agenda, without any rules, without any worries about whether it is good or bad with every body together, can be so wonderful for this space”.

She looked around, raised her eyes appreciatively upwards towards the roof whence hung pink and lime yellow gossamer georgette streamers of lovely pastel shades. The streamers looked like streaks of rainbow linking the green earthy space to the clear autumn blue skies above.

Hordes of corporate honchos including the Branch Manager drove down to witness the event – Tirtha, an officer and a fellow Kolkatan happily declared that this was a first time with HSBC too a promotional campaign he would remember.

When asked what real results they were expecting from this contact, he said, brand promotion was the primary objective, though Riverside being one of the one of a kind schools in Ahmedabad, HSBC thought it would be good to associate with it.

One of the English teachers then briefly outlined the Give India initiative Riverside launched nationwide in August and presented him with a toolkit, indicating that HSBC could touch millions of lives by participating in the initiative by becoming one of the key sponsors.

Here are some drawings of the faculty who revelling in the chance to let go for once, plunged into the hidden recesses of their mind to draw out the colors that characterize their lives.

Sulekha held up her flower and declared this is what I see when I look at the Riverside yard every morning. Priti smiled at hers, “Look, this is us”. Tripti reiterated the feeling saying, “Same form, different colours”. Kiran painted the flames of passion that drive everything she undertakes to do while Veena who leads the KS3 program drew her impression of the space…. enjoy…

the four year olds at K2

in the lawn

Ahmedabad

Sighted early morning as I sat with my morning cup of tea right in my terrace

Tea forgotten am busy with the camera now, look at the lovely early morning light but makes the picture difficult to take

Look at him - isn't he gorgeous?

He flies down to inspect me

Come be my love

Aatih Kya? Khandala?

Dikra, ask me again when am free

Prince's Love Interest

A moment alone together before the before the whole family swoops in

What do you think Mama

Preening, Courting Peacock Family

The Prince Dances – First View August 09

The first morning at my new place am gifte with this gorgeous sight. First time ever in my life I spot a peacock outside a zoo znd watch it dance! Very happy, very excited, wonderfilled with nature’s welcome to me…ran inside to grab the camera…my first video shoot too with a Nikon 5.0 megapixel digital, the distance is too great I think. Don’t have the software to render – so just wanted to share the rush with the world for those like me – that have never seen a peacock dance. Hope you like it.

One curious thing is Prince calls me when he comes in on that roof. Then when I come out he begins. The first day there was no pea hen in sight – so I presume he danced for ME! Now, when he calls to wake me up, I go out say “Hi” and feed him a banana or bread.He prefers the fruit. Other members in the family are not that friendly. They fly about – I didnt know peacocks couldfly that much!

A moment alone together before the family flies in

Prince Preening

Gottacha: a moment alone together before the family flies in

Foursome – Peacock Style September 09

Here is the whole family. They come together for their family time only once,  early morning, on the roof of the pumphouse across from my building. My room is on the terrace, so I get a good view 🙂

Notnowbaby – Peacock Dance September 09

He has been trying for over four weeks with her now. Perseverence, my boy, Prince needs to keep at it I guess, he really likes her a lot, won’t even look at any other – there are three females in our compound.

Prince’s love: this is the one he fancies

Sabarmati Sunset

Sunset from my Balcony on River Sabarmati

Lothal

the mound of the dead

The last day of December has always traditionally been the day one takes time off to look over the shoulders; we chose to look back some 4000 years: at the Mound of the Dead – which was as high as this Lamp post before they dug our past up half a century ago.

When we reach the site, the children get the WS that would help them remember and find sites and stuff that are important. Here is Danny helping with the distribution at the site gate as soon as we unloaded from our bus that you see in the background in the second picture that shows us reading the Plaque designed by Archeological Survey of India describing what is there at this site.

The Indus Valley Civilization site was discovered by Rao in India in 1952. This site is where the controversial Lockgated Dock is. It used to be connected with the Sabarmati which had changed course since. This site is where the civilization thrived for nearly 500 years from 2400 to 1900 BCE before being wiped out by the third deluge the Indus Valley Civilization had faced.

Since they were exporting stuff like beads made of Agate etc and importing too, from Persia and Mesopotamia, may have been trading with Rome too as there was a Roman Amphora among the exhibits at the Lothal Museum – they were increasingly moving closer towards the Arabian Sea, spreading out from Balochisthan and the places in the upper Indus Basin. Thats how come the existence of this Dock here, this picture shows the inlet which was used to let in water and out.

We were not allowed to take pictures of the containers, tools, seals, beads, weights, jewellery housed in the Museum, but one look at them showed these people were a prosperous lot. They must have known the use of perfumes, used oil probably for lamps – but how did they extract it? Crushing seeds of seasame I guess, or tamarind seeds – a lot of the pots seem to have tamarind leaves in the pictures painted on them, we did see crushing tools.The beads though were amazing – there were ones that looked like dust filled in a glass vial – but when you looked through a powerful magnifying glass – you saw they were minute beads!!! They used fish bones to make them – files made of semi precious stones to polish, and a kiln here to melt stuff used to make beads.

Everything about the town seemed to be in neat squares – just like any modern town! Our children were excited about this 🙂

The children came away with the big idea that “we preserve what we value, and what is of value to us and the community” and what we value depends on who we are – our identity… it gave me goosebumps to hear the little ones talk that way and enact how they must have been wiped off ….

One last look back at the Wharf and the Acropolis and the Dock and our past before the year ends, here is wishing all of you have a meaningful year ahead.

Other sights of Ahmedabad

Mt Carmel Convent Ahmedabad – a Hundred year old institution of town.

The library it houses is one of the oldest thinks  Principal Rev Sr Priscilla.

Sweet Slumber 🙂

He peacefully sleeps on on a food counter in a temple as traffic rage by in Ashram Road Crossing, one of the busiest in town.

A landmark of the Ahmedabad City – the Bus Stand with Gujarati Script 🙂

Evening descends at Vijay Crossroads, could see the Moon peeking at the street lights from my bus window 🙂

Moonpeak at CG Road….as I wait for my bus at CG Road I watched it come out fully but what with so much neon light it seemed shy and hesitant…

Amazing Ahmedabad

Slumberous

Shy

Typical Ahmedabad Bus Stop Sign

 

Perched at Delhi Darwaza