The Church of Epiphany, Civil Lines hosts its Annual Garden Fete 2018

This year as always, the Church of Epiphany celebrated its Garden Fete in the month of November. In this case, the Anual Garden Fete took place on the eleventh. The Chief Guest on the occasion was the Rt. Revd. Waris K. Masih, the Bishop of the Diocese of Delhi,(CNI). The day started with the Sunday Mass and then this was followed by the Fete itself which went on till a half past five in the evening. The Annual Garden Fete was organised to support the completion of the church building at Sohna and provide funds for scholarships to deserving students, the widow pension and old age pension.

These three ladies did a great at the White Elephant stall. They were able to earn a good amount through the sale of clothes, books and other items. Few people expected them to be able to earn more than a thousand or two!

The Sunday School children presented a number before the gathering. They seemed to be self-led and did a great job too!

The release of the Garden Fete Brochure by the Rt. Reverend Warris K. Masih, the Bishop of the Diocese of Delhi (C.N.I) was another important event. A lot of hard work had gone into the brochure and what made things a bit challenging was that people kept on sending advertisements well after the deadline.

The Stalwarts of the Coupon stall, Mrs and Mr Sircar, Col. I.B. Thomas, made sure that everyone got their coupons without any fuss! An onerous task, indeed as they couldn't move out of their seats!

A happy moment to have Revd. Patrick Moti Lal on stage, and his son, Amit Lal. He served the C.N.I. Diocese of Delhi for many years.

A gathering of the members of the congregation who made all the difference. Many of them were the silent workers who contributed advertisements, sponsorships and there were those who took out time to make the purchases of the Raffle Ticket prizes.

The Three Musketeers, need I say more?

The singing divas mesmerised the gathering with their soulful numbers. The younger one amazed everyone with her singing.

Keema Puri, anyone?

The Tambola Team

The Raffle Ticket counter, Mr D.D.Lall and Mr Samuel at their posts.

It was no doubt a hectic day, but then a few of those present were able to take away the raffle prizes! Quite a few people stayed on till the announcement of the raffle prizes. The South Indian stalls provided some delectable items. The Fish-Fry maintained by Sam and Erica went strong, and so did the Fried Chicken stall run by the Sannoos!

Mixing up the Raffle Ticket Stubbs

As I said earlier, the Fish Fry and the Chicken Fry were out of this world! Both of these items went strong.

The Tambola game was played with great enthusiasm and no doubt it was a crowd puller! It was not just the children but their parents also who joined in the game.

Cormorants at the Basai Wetland in Gurugram

It was rather misty and not a very good day for photographs nevertheless, I visited the Basai Wetland on Saturday and was mesmerised by the sight of Cormorants fishing in the waters of the Basai Wetland. The Cormorant would dive into the water and then come up in a different spot with a fish in its beak! OK, so this is not China where fishermen use Cormorants for fishing but then it is certainly an amazing sight no doubt to be able to witness such a sight. 

Being a bit late I could not witness a Painted Stork fishing for Catfish, but then I was indeed able to see it attempt to swallow a huge catfish even while it was fending off a few crows that were quick to snatch away the fish. I am however doubtful if the crows could have handled so big a fish, let alone fly away with it!

The only spoilsport in this idyllic scenery were two men with sticks who were chasing away the birds! They just wouldn't allow the Cormorants to fish! Clearly, these men were trying to protect the banned African Magoor Catfish that they had been breeding in the Basai Wetland. I wonder how the authorities could have allowed the breeding of the catfish, which incidentally, has finished off indigenous species of fish in the wetland. I also wonder how the authorities could have allowed the sale of the Magoor Catfish which must have become toxic enough having lived in the sewage-contaminated water of the wetland.

Off they went the poor, hungry Cormorants, chased by hungrier greedy people who wanted to preserve the banned fish that they had bred the water of the Basai Wetland in the city of Gurugram. I wonder how the birds could have been such a threat to the fish.

A One Day Trip to Pratapgarh Farm, Jajjhar, Haryana

Last Thursday when we made our long awaited trip to the Pratapgarh Farm in Jajjhar, Haryana, it was a much-awaited trip, a required break from the hectic schedule of winding up the year-long syllabus. It was surely a fun-filled trip, an energizer coming at the year-end that would remain in the memories of the students forever. Surely the twelfth graders will have one more moment in school to cherish whenever they remember their school days.

Of course, like always, there were a lot of activities for everyone, including outdoor games, and indoor games, but what drew the most attention were simple rural chores like drawing water from a well, spinning a charkha, or even crossing a Burma Bridge. Eco-Tourisms Farms like the Pratapgarh Farm promote activities that are representative of the typical Indian rural life and its culture. As such, everyone enjoyed gnawing on Sugar Cane Stems having lots of Shikanji or lemonade and Chaacch or the sour buttermilk drink that is the favourite beverage in most Indian villages. The tasty Makki Ki Roti and Sarson ka Saag were served steaming-hot along with lavish dollops of fresh butter, right from the pot! It was a veritable feast for those of us who knew these dishes. I.B. Ma'am did manage to balance the Matka till good distance before it decided to move on its own accord!

A lot of the students had fun getting their hands hennaed and they wanted me specifically to take a snap with their hands in view. On this trip, I got to see a huge variety of sunglasses and goggles, and I guess I should have worn a pair.

Besides the food and the activities offered, the farm also showcased domestic animals and how they were bred. What drew my attention this time was the group of Emus that grunted and moved around rather restlessly. One of the Emu chicks pecked at the lens of my camera when I got to close to the mesh in the iron netting. Fortunately, though, the lens appeared to be unscathed. It was a most unique moment for those of us who chose to gather a lamb into our hands, especially to be able to feel this woolly living doll which simply felt different from when one takes up a doll in the hands. Mr Banerjee had a nice time with a kid that was trying nibble away at his identity card. I was made to wear a Rajasthani Turban while carrying the lamb even as Rahul offered to take a snap with my camera, no regrets though.

While everyone was busy taking tractor rides I was busy chasing butterflies that just would not stop for me! They simply flew away the moment I came close to them. I shouldn't complain though since I had omitted to bring a zoom lens. The rows of Marigold flowers were a most soothing sight especially as they looked rather familiar after having read Keat's "A Thing of Beauty" in class.

What makes Eco-tourism Farms like Pratapgarh Farms popular today is that they offer not only a taste of rural life, but also a glimpse of the chores and duties that people undertake in the villages of the country. We have become so mechanised in the towns that we have lost touch with the physical labour. The simple task of sifting the grain from the chaff, or even churning butter might be too demanding for us. Most of our lifestyle-related health problems could have been eliminated if we had been more into physical activities.

Perhaps the most memorable moment for me as I mentioned earlier was when I went too close to the wire mesh of the enclosure housing Emus and an Emu Chick poked its beak out of the space in the wire mesh and pecked at my camera lens. Fortunately, nothing happened, though I did get a fright.