Travel With a Couple

It’s already jingle bells time at the ITC Grand Central! Last week was the ‘cake mixing ceremony’ – mixing loads of dry fruits with spices, honey, and fruit extracts. The mix is let to ferment for a month or so, for baking those delicious plum cakes for Christmas.

This year, the students of Akanksha Lower Parel Centre were invited for the cake mixing ceremony at the ITC Grand Central, Parel, Mumbai. Saroj maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and his sons were the celebrity guests for the event.The kids were so thrilled and charged up that they managed to convince their teachers to allow them to leave early from school. They were restless even while watching cartoons during the short wait time.

The excitement was palpable as they got ready for the ceremony in the ball room. As about 30 kids got into the act, wearing Christmas caps and palms duly tucked in gloves, the room soon got filled with a heady aroma of fruits and spices. The colourful mixture and the sweet aroma was enough to give an idea about how yummy the cake would be! The exhilaration soared as the kids fished out the two hidden coins from the mix.

Meet Sraddha. She is about 12 years old and stays in a one-room house along with her parents and siblings. The sparkle in her eyes perhaps hides the difficulties of her daily grind.

Since the past five years, she is experiencing a new life. Apart from her school, she now tries to fast track her learning of English and Maths. And hopes to fulfill her dream of becoming a police officer. Thanks to Akanksha, a Mumbai-based non-profit organisation working in the field of education. Akanksha’s core belief is that giving a strong educational foundation, self esteem and values to the less privileged children will help them improve their quality of life.

Today, Sraddha  had more reasons to smile. For she was enjoying her first ever adventure picnic near Kanheri caves at Sanjay Gandhi National Park along with many of her friends. And for us it was a different trip as facilitators.

It has been a long time since we did ‘packing-bags-on-early-Sunday-morning’. There have not been many one-day treks of late. So when Nature Knights planned an adventure activity session of rock climbing, rappelling and valley crossing for about 35 kids from Akanksha, we did pack our bags and joined them.

Volunteering for this event was quite an experience for all of us in Nature Knights. Matching up to the kids’ energy levels and answering their innumerable questions was a task by itself. The impact of Akanksha was evident in the confidence displayed by the kids.

More photos here. More about Akanksha. More about Nature Knights