Rodrick Writes: May 2015

Thursday, 28 May 2015

At the conclusion of the three day summer camp workshop for children of The Church of The Epiphany, Civil Lines, Gurgaon

Yesterday (27/05/2015), we were graced with the presence of Father, Dr.Monodeep Daniel of the Brotherhood of the Ascended Christ Church of North India, Diocese of Delhi on the conclusion of the three day summer workshop for the children of the Church of the Epiphany Church, Gurgaon.

The children who attended the three day summer workshop showcased their learning by reciting what they had learned during the three day event. This included and exhibition of artefacts created by them, and also stage presentations which included a recitation of the ten commandments, choral presentations of hymns learned by them and also a description of what they had gained from the workshop.

Initiated by the Presbyter In Charge of the Church of The Epiphany, Revd. Sunil Solomon Ghazan, the workshop turned out to be a grand success with a large number of children turning up to participate in the event. Also present on the occasion were Mrs Helen Harrison, the Honourable Secretary of the Pastorate Committee, Ms. Edith Newton, the Honourable Cashier, Mr Sunil Masih, Mr Robin Moses, and I, members of the Pastorate Committee. Revd. Sudhir Rumalshah, Presbyter In charge of church at Jagadhri was also present.

Appreciating the achievements of the little children of the Church of The Epiphany,and their teachers, Brother Monodeep Daniel spoke about the need to connect learning with the wisdom provided by the Holy Spirit. He also talked about the need to develop important skills that would further life in the twenty-first century. Brother Monodeep Daniel also talked about the parents’ duty in furthering an all round educational development in their children.

The function on the concluding day of the three day summer camp workshop took place in the iconic old church building of the church.

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Wednesday, 20 May 2015

Adventure at Ranichauri, Uttarakhand, some more snaps

The Iron Tank at Ranichauri, located at a height of seven thousand five hundred feet was an important target during the penultimate trek from the Nature Connect camp.

When the students visited Ranichauri, they were taken to the Uttaranchal Horticulture and Forestry University where they were shown how seed crops are prepared. The best seed crops are prepared through a meticulous process of selective breeding, a process that often takes years to produce the ideal seed crop. Some of the factors that scientists work on include superior crop yield, resistance to diseases and pests, and a reduced dependence on water resources. Some of the crops being prepared included superior varieties of vegetables including cabbage, onions, garlic, mustard, potatoes, and among cereals these included wheat, barley, and oat. I would like to offer special thanks to Dr. Mishra and Dr. Ajay Kumar for showing us around the testing fields of the University and reinforcing in us the lessons learned from Science about the role of selection and the process of cross pollination assisted by wind and Insects! The research being performed by the scientists at the Horticulture and Forestry University is tedious and results take a long time to fructify, however these are the people who ensure that we get the best crops to feed an ever-growing population!

Each visit to places of Scientific importance were concluded by a circle time in which all the students and their accompanying teachers provided valuable feedback on what they had learned during the day.

On the last day of the visit, the students were taken to the Ranichauri Climate monitoring station run by the Indian Meteriological department and located at a height of 2192 meters above sea level. The main objectives of the station is to monitor the amount of Green house gases, Black Carbon, Radiation, Air quality in terms of Sulphur Dioxide content, NOx, and pH levels. The station is equipped with technologically advanced equipment. The students were suitable impressed by the array of equipment used to monitor various parameters affecting weather conditions throughout the subcontinent. I would like to thank Mr Shivram Sharma of Nature Connect for showing us around the station.

But then this trip to the mountains was also about hard core trekking and extreme adventure sports. I have pasted a few photographs to show some of the activities that we participated in.

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Saturday, 16 May 2015

Adventure at the Nature Connect Camp -Ranichauri, Uttarakhand

This time of the year; May 11-May 15, 2015, I was part of a group of seventeen grade eleven students and three teachers that went on a “Khoj Expedition” to Ranichauri in Uttarakhand. Ranichauri, is a small hamlet a few kilometers away from Chamba Village. It is about seventy two kilometres from Rishikesh and is at a height of 6500 ft. above sea level,

Ranichauri is home to a Horticulture and Agriculture University, and the Indian Meterological Department run Ranichauri Observatory located at a height of 2192 meters (Incidentally, the Ranichauri is the second highest observatory in the India, the highest being in Jammu and Kashmir). Ranichauri is also home to a large number of birds, animals, plants and trees.

At the camp site, (‘X-Terra’ run by the Nature Connect Adventure Tourism group) we were in the midst of an Apple Orchard and a scattering of Apricot trees. Early in the mornings we were woken up by a veritable chorus of singing birds. Some of the best included warblers, magpies, doves ,robins, and or odd cuckoos. Away in the distance were the snow covered peaks of Nanda Devi and Trishul all seen intermittently when the weather allowed it. The predominant kind of trees in the area include Pine, (Deodar) and Silver Oak. All around us was a rich canvass of colourful wild flowers and the bright red wild Strawberry fruits.

Camp X-Terra at Ranichauri offers opportunities for extreme adventure sports which include a daunting 120 feet or more vertical cliff face for rappelling, 80 degree cliff faces for rock climbing, numerous locations for valley crossing activities, and flying fox rope activities. To top all of this is a challenging six kilometres tor and fro trek trail that tests the will and determination of the visitor. There is a good cell-phone coverage throughout the camp and surrounding areas, and yes electricity is available twice in the day, that is morning and the whole night.

A note of caution for all visitors would be to carry enough warm clothing as the weather can change rather abruptly, one moment it might be sunny and warm, and the next it can become quite chilly with temperatures dropping a few degrees from sixteen to twelve! On one of the days, it looked as if a whole cloud had flown into the camp and sure, it became really cold! A couple of sleeveless sweaters, and a good jacket will suffice. The X-Terra campsite offers tents which can accommodate three beds each. Water supply is slightly limited and warm water for bathing might be a luxury. I bathed a couple of times with cold water, and sure it did wake me up!

Ranichauri is accessible by road and is about six hours drive from Delhi. While going to Ranichauri we travelled by bus, and for the return trip we took jeeps till Haridwar; from Haridwar we boarded the Shatabdi train at 6:10 p.m. and reached New Delhi at about eleven in the night. From the New Delhi Railway Station we took a connecting bus to Gurgaon.

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Saturday, 9 May 2015

The Other Side of Love: Beyond a Shadow of Doubt – A glimpse into my forthcoming Novel

Love is special!. In its best form, it defies the ability of Science to analyse it. It is all in the heart and not the mind, so when it comes to shooting your beloved for the sake of saving the world, what would you do? It is said that even the powers in Heaven look down with pity when they see a beautiful relationship ending in grief. But then wait - is it possible that there might be another solution to the whole issue? Is that when inspiration shows a way out?

The book is based on the typical "boy meets girl story," and it is all about the right Chemistry, but then, there are complications in the story. This is not a typical romance about two young people falling in love with each other, and then tying the knot in the presence of friends, family and relatives!

The nightmares are real, and the dangers loom high over two people. Is one of them hiding a secret about being half human and half alien? Is there a hidden plan behind this seemingly random meeting between two young people?

Set up in the context of modern day life in Delhi, “The Other Side of Love” will provide light reading for those who would like to take a welcome break from their hectic schedule. Written as a small book that will easily fit into one’s purse or college bag, the book can easily be taken out while travelling in the metro, and it can be read at one go or in bits.

I would like to give just a teaser about what the book is about as revealing too much about the book would spoil the surprises that the ‘twists in the tail’ (pun intended) should leave the reader pleasantly surprised! Also, there will be a surprise waiting inside the book for those willing to purchase the same when it is published soon.

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