Happy Birthday!

In Pune last week, we celebrated my mother's 70th birthday. My sister, the oldest of us three siblings, had mooted the idea of making this occasion one to celebrate big time. It went off with such a swing, everything just came together so well. An event to remember and cherish. But we missed her and her twin daughters..they live in London, and the girls had an entrance examination the next day :(.
With Jai, my brother (sandwiched between two sisters), SIL, 2 year old niece, as well as my mom's old friends and her brother & family, all converging from various parts of the country, it was a house-full show. My cousin had lent his car, which was invaluable in all the running around.
About 120 guests turned up! Most were Mum's friends from the senior citizens' club of which she is the very active president.
We had a music program by a professional singer, followed by short speeches by all of us family; then an 84 year old friend of Mum's made a nice speech, concluding with " I wish Leelatai has such a great function for her 100th birthday - and that I'll make a similar speech then!" which got him laughter and applause.:)
Two large cakes were cut, with little granddaughter lending a hand, and then the dinner! We had small gifts for the kids and coconuts in cloth bags (made by a rural womens' self-help group) for the adults.
We had the whole event professionally video recorded, and the CD is total fun to watch.
For us as a family, with our difficult past, it's a matter of pride and achievement to have had such a warm coming together of friends and family on such a scale.
Yahoo.
BUT on returning, I promptly fell ill - and the Point Calimere trip ( a BNHS camp for bird censusing and banding) had to be cancelled. So :(.

Closing comments for 2005

So, did we go back to Mooganahundi? Yus, we did, armed with the newspaper article which I wrote and which was published in the local Star of Mysore; we also carried kannada translations. After much hithering and thithering, found that all the village elders/equivalent had gone off to some hill for some reason. Spoke to the school teacher, with our numbers and directions as to whom next to meet, and gave her the translations. It's their fight now.

Jai and I have volunteered to set up and run The Manjunath Shanmugam trust - i.e. do the admin work. Efforts are on to get at least two big names as trustees. Watch this space.
We have also resolved to start giving more. More after the resolutions fructify.
And to lose weight! Ditto.

Again, this is in between to spates of travel. I'm off again on the 10th, to Blr and Pune. It's Mummy's 70th birthday. Jai is off to Chennai and then will join us in Pune. We're determined to make this a landmark event for Mum, and her guest list of some 100 senior citizens, plus music program etc. should help!

After that, the trip to Point Calimere. That should get a post all its own.
So, till then, adieu. And wishing everybody - readers of this post or not - a happy 2006.