Nizhal's 4th anniversary

From the yahoo groups:
About 60-75 people gathered this evening at 4.00 pm for the anniversary gettogether at the MAC spin foundation.
The function got off to a great start with visually challenged children from the St. Louis school and the children's group involved in the making of the audio cd singing two songs - Aalamaram and Ovvoru Siruvan soulfully.

This was followed by Shobha's presentation of annual report. Mr. Dattatri then briefly talked about the challenges ahead and and plans for future.

We then had sharing of experiences by various people associated with Nizhal or volunteering with Nizhal - Jithesh from Seimens,Uma from Bhoomi, Ambika - Nizhal volunteer on her school program experiences and Pandian on his passion for greening and tree protection.

The children - Aditya, Navya and Aparna then came forward to relieve the monotony of talks with a lively song - Poo venuma.

This was followed by further sharing by Mahalakshmi of Bala Vidya Mandir, Babu on the Puzhal project, Raghu and Kasi Sir on Anna nagar Nizhal projects.

It was wonderful to listen to the enthusiasm and commitment that all these people felt for the activities they were involved in.

Gayathree then briefly spoke about the making of the audio cd. The audio cd - Aalamarathin Nizhalile, with songs on trees and nature, was then released by Mr. Dattatri. The cd itself is in production and will be available for use in a couple of weeks' time.

The two youngsters Sai Krishna and Mihir then sang a song on Marutha naadu.
All the songs that were sung today were from the audio cd.

Thanks are due to Arati who did a wonderful job of being the cheerful Master of ceremonies in spite of the contradicting and often confusing instructions that were whispered to her by various people through out the program!

The function ended with coffee and snacks provided by Kamakshi aunty and Pattamal aunty - delicious samosas, vadais and Soan papdi.

One big Thank you to one and all who found the time to come this evening, share your thoughts and to the commitment to making this a greener and saner society.

Chithra
(On behalf of Shobha)

Another bougainvillea color added ...

Today's color was taken at the adayar poonga.

Lemon pansy (junonia lemonias)

I was absolutely thrilled yesterday to get a picture of this beautiful lemon pansy sitting on one of my pots. I've been seeing it around, but never had a camera handy. Also sighted was a bright red crimson rose- so easily distinguishable from its mimic the female common mormon by the bright red colour of its body and the brighter markings on its wings. My day was done!

Friday flowers - Baby sun rose (aptenia cordifolia)

This succulent leaved beauty is the baby sun rose/ice plant - botanically called the aptenia cordifolia. It can be propogated by cuttings or seeds and needs a lot of sunlight.

Calathea ornata

I've always had a thing for pin strips - be it on pants or on leaves. And here is my most loved of them all - the south american calathea ornata.
The calathea ornata does not require too much sunlight, making it an ideal indoor plant.

A gift from my grandmother for my mother's garden.

Catharanthus roseus

is commonly called the periwinkle in India.

Ridge gourd

More gourds..

This one is the ridge gourd / luffa acutangula - peerkangai in tamil and turai in hindi. The next time you encounter one of these, you simply must tear off a little bit of the leaf and smell it. The characteristic ridge gourd smell will hit you. Ah, i love these! Don't play around too much with the leaves or vines though - you'll end up with itchy hands for the rest of the day.

Another one from the gourd family

Say hello to the biggest of them all (both flower and fruit, and if im not mistaken, leaf as well) - the ash gourd.

The leaves are big and rough, the flowers bright and bold. No wonder the fruit is huge!