KYS Retreat – Mindful Observations Every Step Of The Way
Pranita, our Chief Everything Officer, shares her perspective on our monthly KYS retreat.
Continuing the tradition of taking a day every month so that the team can get together to rejuvenate and reconnect at the KYS retreat, we were thrilled with what unfolded at our third one in May! We are always excited about our retreats because it’s one day where all of us are agenda-less and come with a beginner’s mindset, just waiting to see what emerges. This has been a very fruitful (in)activity that we have been indulging in every month and we couldn’t wait to get started!
Everything Starts With Food
We met at the first ever MTR outlet in Bangalore for breakfast. Did you know MTR stands for Mavalli Tiffin Rooms? We didn’t! This building was divided into multiple rooms with green granite tabletops and red plastic chairs. They served us a sumptuous breakfast – Khara Bath, Masala Dosa, Rava Idli, Dahi Vada… we had them all. We washed it all down with some yum old-school steaming hot frothy filter coffee! We were lucky to get the food that we ordered because when we asked for a repeat, most of the items had run out of stock – and it was only 10 am! That’s when we realised that the place opens at 5 am to serve the fit folks who visit Lal Bagh in the morning, which is just a few strides away. No wonder they were running out of items by 10!
As we took a look at all the awards and recognitions MTR has received, which are displayed on a wall. There were also some old black and white photos of the tea parties hosted by its founders back in the day. A great walk down memory lane!
We decided it was high time we moved on to our next destination. By now, you must have guessed where we were headed – Lal Bagh, of course! As we walked towards this vast spread of beauty, Jaideep was quick to remind us to deposit all our phones with him, as is the tradition we had agreed upon on our first retreat. We called our folks and informed them about our unavailability on the phone till evening and switched off (technologically, anyway!).
Breathing In Fresh Oxygen – A Rarity In Bangalore
As we stepped into Lal Bagh, we were immediately greeted by big old trees, cool shade and a lovely breeze. We admired the gorgeous trees and were glad to breathe in fresh oxygen. We aimlessly wandered around for a little while, trying to find the perfect spot to sit.
It was then that we spotted a little gazebo amidst beautiful flowering trees at a distance with sprinklers surrounding it. This view looked magical and made us want to be a part of it. It was unanimously chosen as the perfect spot and we rushed towards it, playfully dodging the sprinkler maze!
We got comfortable and settled on the floor inside this gazebo, all set to start our circle. We experimented with the circle in our second retreat and the results were beautiful. So we were eager to see how this one goes. To add to the authenticity of this circle, we had with us this time, a ringing bell that was gifted to Jaideep by Ketan Bhai when Jaideep attended the Vipassana circle in Mumbai last month. You can read more about that wonderful experience in JD’s latest journey article.
And Let The Circle Begin!
We began our circle with 2 minutes of silence and were brought back to reality with the beautiful ring of our new bell. In the first round of circle, all of us checked in with our thoughts on how the month of April had been for all of us. I shared with my team that Volunesia was the high point for me. Right from the intention of why Volunesia was started and coining the term- ‘Volunesia’ itself, to how beautifully the circles unfolded in Cubbon Park and the new opportunities it has now opened us to, everything was pure serendipity. All we did was concentrate on the intention and ensure that we uphold the values we wanted to propagate through it. But what emerged was something none of us had expected or dreamed of. We will tell you more about it soon!
After I passed my talking stick to Nandini, she was quick to share that she couldn’t agree more with my emotions. Volunesia was her first project after joining the KYS Team, and she was overwhelmed, both by the journey and the outcome. She was super grateful for the opportunity and had finally gotten a chance to stand true to her designation of ‘Chief Doing Officer’! We assured her that with the Mentor India classes beginning in June, she will soon have more than enough ‘doing’ than she could ask for!
Anjali resonated with the Volunesia outcome as well, during which she got a chance to engage with strangers and get out of her comfort zone. The results were ones of pure joy and happiness; and she was glad to ride the same wave and attend the HHH Retreat at Sugadh, Ahmedabad, which the rest of us had already attended. She had a blissful time at the retreat (more of which you can read here) and now clearly understood the quote which we have all come to adore –
Small things with great love.
She was so influenced by her time spent in ESI (Environmental Sanitation Institute) that she has made tentative plans to build public toilets for the underprivileged in her grandparent’s village. We were awed by her thought and had big smiles on our faces. We hope and pray that she gets her wish!
When the talking stick finally reached Jaideep, he started off saying what stood out for him in the month of April was that moving email we received from a dear KYS friend and guide. His wife had passed away and within 3 days of this, he had replied to one of our Thursday Emails emptying his heart out to us. Jaideep recalled the special treatment we received when he and I went to visit this friend, attending the 11th-day ceremony at his residence, where he introduced us to everyone present and talked about the work that we do at KYS. We sat next to him when the meal was served. Jaideep found himself asking, out loud to us,
What is this that we have created? I don’t know what this is, but it’s beautiful!
We couldn’t agree more!
Closing Remarks Of The Circle
After discussing our action items and our big plans for the month of May in detail, we closed by elaborating on three things that we wanted to express gratitude for and the three things we look forward to this month! After heart-warming expressions from everyone, it was time to soak everything in by sitting in silence again for 2 minutes. These 2 minutes had me so relaxed and lost in my own thoughts that when Jaideep rang the bell, I was quite startled! (Or it could have been because JD was really enjoying being the one to ring the bell… quite loudly!) 😛
We spent some time after the circle, just sitting in the gazebo and admiring the flowering trees around us. The sprinklers had stopped, but the grass looked fresher than ever. We left there after collecting some fallen flowers and wearing them over our ears for a while too! I’m sure we wouldn’t have indulged in these playful things had we had our phones with us. It was a silent grateful realisation about how we could miss small beautiful moments because of the sometimes-unnecessary distraction of our phones! That was a lesson of mindfulness right there that we were happy to tune into.
Everything Ends With Food
After we got out of Lal Bagh, we headed to Swathi Deluxe to have a sumptuous Andhra meal. We filled up on the rice with ghee and steaming hot pappu (Andhra-style Dal) with some amazing sides. For dessert, we headed to Art of Delight on MG Road, where more brainstorming happened. We discussed all our new undertakings!
At the last retreat, we had no idea that so many things would emerge by the next retreat, which now leaves us super excited just thinking of where things are going to head before we all meet again for the retreat in June! We, at KnowYourStar, believe that our work is nothing but an outer expression of our inner values. So we give a great deal of importance to our personal inner transformational journey, which is bound to reflect outside in our labour of love.
We are thrilled to have the privilege to be able to follow our hearts and thank all of you readers and supporters; without you, nothing would be possible. Thank you for all the love you shower on us in very different ways. We are very committed to keeping you updated, every step of our way! 🙂
If there’s any story that needs to be told, we will tell it. Write to us at contact@knowyourstar.com with your story lead, or contact us on Facebook or Twitter.
