‘Jai ho’

It’s our 62nd Independence day. Little would have one imagined that a country which had great challenges to deal with when independent, such as burgeoning population, illiteracy, acute Food shortage, diversities in its cultures, religions, languages, castes, manners would ever stick together as one nation, let alone progress and prosper

Today, mighty economies have recognized India as a key emerging market and are looking towards it as part of a solution to solve this Global economic slump.

The reason behind this transformation is due to various factors but one thing that stands out distinctly and clearly evident is its people, The very factor that was viewed as a liability for countries progress turned out to be its greatest asset “Its billon strong minds” that have relentlessly strived laying the foundation and propelling this country forward from a little known “Snake charming nation” to this great sensation.

Certainly, India is not defined not only by the success and growth stories but its insufficiencies too such as poverty, illiteracy, corruption, bureaucracy, crippling infrastructure, inadequacy of basic health care resulting in highest number of deaths related to childbirth, Malaria, Aids etc etc, this reminds on the hard long journey ahead before the entire people of the nation truly feel independent.

The Nation which has together stood the test of time under adverse conditions be it manmade or natural has wisely learnt that “Together lies the strength” Bound by a various commonality we have, such as ‘Food’, ‘History’, ‘Traditions’ and ‘Bollywood’ to name a few act like converging factors bringing us much closer exhibiting our unique strength “Unity in Diversity” and for those external forces who are dreaming to mastermind a split, we have two words to say “Vande Matharam”

Happy Independence Day folks

Little Champs

Our neighborhood girl ‘Ullekha’ scored a medal in this year OSIM International Triathlon competition. Participating in this event for the very first time under 7-9 year girls category, she successfully completed 100mts sea swim,2Km cycling and 1Km run at a stretch and secured 19th position among 60 odd participants, In doing so she toped the table among Indian Participants in this event. do checkout the official results published online here

Congratulations kiddo, our best wishes with you and we look forward for a podium position soon

For sure, we have many young champs hidden around us; It just needs be noticed, recognized and encouraged. Let’s begin the process in house. If you have something to share about our Longvale little’s excellence be in any area be it Academics, Extra circular, Personal Hobbies, talents, Recognitions, Scholarships or anything that you would like to encourage the little ones on, then we would love to hear from you. So, its simple,Just write to longvaleadmin@gmail.com and watch them online at our LongvaleDuniya

Singapore Day

Singapore recently celebrated It's “Racial harmony” day to mark peaceful coexistence of it’s people who emerge from various ethnic backgrounds. This Island nation has rightfully attached significant importance to this event and has been celebrating the rich mixture of diversity among its people nurturing feeling of comradeship and brotherhood year on year.
Here the encouragement for racial equality and harmonious living is seen as a continuous ongoing process and not just being limited to a day, few examples of which are the public housing policies,Representation in social and regional committee etc.

It's quite surprising to find that somehow this idea of marking and celebrating the racial harmony seems to have gone unnoticed by members of international community. A quick search in google on “Racial harmony day” returns most of the result pages related to Singapore.
In this global village, isn’t there a need to mark and commemorate an International Day to celebrate ‘Racial harmony’ to promote tolerance and understanding among people of all races and religious backgrounds,? It certainly is, history stands as an example one of the common reasons of great sufferings and miseries of the people in this world has been the lack of empathy and understanding towards each other’s Race, Religion and culture.

Sure, when we can find a place for ‘Chocolate Day’, ‘Rose Day’, ‘Friendship Day’ etc in our International day’s list certainly we can and should have this day marked and celebrated world wide with the aim of fostering cohesion beyond boundaries.

The emergence of Singapore as a force to reckon with could be due to various factors, it’s future focus, Its efficiency in functioning , business oriented governance reforms, strong leadership and administration, Ability to attract and retain foreign talent etc but one would not disagree that it is the people of the nation that are the building blocks behind this success.

As the nation prepares to celebrate its National Day, Its time to remember its diverse people whose relentless effort has catapulted the name and fame of this Island nation to heights exponentially larger to its geographic size in the global arena.
Lets together, wish all Singaporeans and its residents an year full of economic Success, Peace and Prosperity on the occasion of Singapore National Day
Happy Birthday Singapore !!!

Humming The Hymns

The holidays are over and children are back to school braving the threat of flu. Looking back, it feels that the weeks just flew by for all of us, often keeping ourselves involved in planning and execution of interesting activities for kids. Although the fun always got ahead in mind, I’m sure the learning wasn’t left far behind.

One such learning activity that happened on the background was the Sloka classes pioneered and successfully conducted by Mrs. Meena Venkatesh.
Mrs.Meena came up with the idea of engaging our little ones productively by proposing to teach Shloka to interested kids to kindle a sprit of spirituality with these young kidooos, Here is what she said had to say when initially proposed it
“..Believe that spirituality is latent in all of us. It just needs to be awakened and age is no bar."
The classes were successfully conducted and concluded by her, what was interesting though was the zeal, enthusiasm and eagerness in which the kids attended this classes much to the surprise of their parents.
Here is what the children’s got to say
“ Sloka class were very very interesting Meena aunty took lot of efforts in preparing the material and making the teaching interesting for us. We learnt a lot in these few classes”

“ The classes were made interesting by the “home library” in which Meena aunty allowed us to borrow old comic books among which some belonged to her child hood days”

Wonder if it makes sense to continue such programs and expand this idea beyond holidays covering larger group’s interest. Perhaps,Public speaking and debate lesson, Music classes, Indian language exchange sessions, Weekend Vedic Mathematics class, Rangoli drawing classes and much more.
Everything got to have a beginning and we now have a successful one, will this generosity become contagious and spread in this conducive atmosphere, time to wait and watch.
Thank you Mrs.Meena, your efforts are much appreciated:)

Glimpses of Fathers Day

The Invitations sent out clearly indicated the intent. Words written in bold meant it all “Expect the Unexpected” before the night fall.
The launch location was just right for the occasion, brightly lit basketball light, made it look as though we were in broad day light.
The women volunteers were right at front with full force of strength and as they unfolded their events one by one, it splendidly covered everyone.
The kids fashion show was full of surprise Doctor, Airhostess, Musician,Chinese Man and Poets appeared and performed on the Dias.
The following event was the one on which there was much talk, Yes,it was Ramp walk.
Hand in hand, the Men and Kids moved gracefully,posing for the waiting cameras cheerfully.
More to come was the blind folded men, who accompanied with there young one mesmerized everyone.
Followed by which was the three legged race where the participants were quick in pace, working together they came good and It was time for all important food

‘PavBhaji, ‘MasalPuri’, ‘DahiPuri', 'SevPuri' and 'PaniPuri' were nicely spread in the hall, reminding us of the ‘Chowpatty’ stall. Spicy and yummy looking ‘Chaat’ really confused us, where to start?
The cuisine and hospitality were class apart, indicative perhaps, the women really know the way to their Men’s heart.

Yet an other exciting day flew past by, with Laughter Cheer and Joy
The Love and warmth spread, will certainly find a place in everybodys head
Days might come and pass as will, but the memories of this Father’s day would forever stay still :)

Daddy Cool!

A Dad is a person,who is loving and kind,
And often he knows,what you have on your mind.
He's someone who listens,suggests, and defends.
A dad can be one of your very best friends!
He's proud of your triumphs,but when things go wrong,
A dad can be patient and helpful and strong
In all that you do,a dad's love plays a part.
There's always a place for him deep in your heart.
And each year that passes,you're even more glad,
More grateful and proud just to call him your dad!
Thank you, Dad...for listening and caring,
for giving and sharing,but, especially, for just being you!

Few Lines Of Love From Longvale’s Little Poets

A person who cares, shares,
Source of motivation, determination,
and encouragement.
A Person who leads us in correct path
is none other than - "FATHER"
By R.A. Manasa

I like my Father.
He is funny.
He is sporty.
He is supreme.
He is super.
No one can battle him.
He is thye best in the world.
By R.A. Mridulla

A fathers love is like the sea flowing endlessly around me
It comforts me when I’m sad and also when I’m mad
You can’t find a better person as there will not be any
I’m telling you a fathers love is more pervious than money
If there is a person more Loving than a father, he is nothing but a bother
By Ullekha

Fathers love is brilliant as the sea
And as we grow it will be better then ever
So have a fun time with your fathers love
By Raksha

We’re In!....

Amazing day it was, Volunteers from all over the island pored in to Expo hall. I was accompanied by the ever persisting elder one, As usual questioning started, this time a bit earlier than expected, Where are we going?, What would we do?, How is it going to be etc etc. Having no clue on this I preferred to preach patience.

It dint take long for the curtain to raise, the event started as per schedule, the process of registration was very interestingly planned in the form of a journey. Each volunteer was issued with a passport using which he or she is expected to complete a journey that Kris crossed across many booths that were setup with the idea of delivering a key message such as The History of Olympics, Volunteering Singapore Youth Olympics Values (SYOGOC), Youth Olympics facilities, Culture and Education programs and host of fun activities for people of all age.
The successfully emerged ones got to pose for the camera I guess for the ID card and with it they confirmed there registration as a volunteer for Singapore youth Olympics 2010.
It was a very well organized event with loads of fun activities, on stage music, cheer group events, light refreshments and Olympics resource pack to give away…….finally, Yes we made it through? Wish you had another chance, here it is.…you can still enroll even now…