Smiles And Sunshine – Celebrating The Real Spirit Of Volunesia!
Last Saturday, with Bangalore experiencing the heaviest rains it has seen so far, we were unsure whether Cubbon Park would be the best place to host a Volunesia circle. When we woke up in the morning, it was still very cloudy with no sign of the sun and as the clock ticked towards 9 am, it began drizzling. We ended up relocating from our usual spot – under the beautiful tree that has become so symbolic of Volunesia – and moved nearer to the rock formation.
While we waited for the other Volunesians to join us under the gorgeous Gulmohar trees, we picked up some waste materials and started making some goodies of our own.
Within minutes, the drizzling stopped! The sun peeped out of the clouds and soon we had more company. The more people joined us, the sunnier it got, and all the shadows of doubt were chased away.
It was a smaller circle than our last, but it was no less impressive. Our numbers have never limited our ingenuity!
Paying It Forward
In the true spirit of Volunesia, when Preksha, the Queen of Creativity, joined us, she had a surprise for Team KYS. She had crafted something special for each of us – a unique bracelet with 5 tiny charms. On further probing, we understood the significance of these charms.
There was a tortoise, which stood for good luck; a laughing Buddha for happiness; a heart with ‘Love Life’ written over it for, well, love and life; an angel because -in Preksha’s words- “You’re an angel in our lives!”; and a tree for strength and Volunesia!
Apart from this, she also made golden star badges that she pinned on all of us. We were left speechless and moved by Preksha’s love. We started Volunesia to serve, but in return the kind of love we have experienced as our little family has grown is immense! Thank you, Preksha!
Later, when Binita joined us, she came with a head full of ideas she wanted to implement. She came in, put down her bag and got into action mode. Her energy was so infectious that she brought everybody’s spirits up! Jaideep was so happy that he gifted her the charm bracelet that Preksha had made for him. When asked why, he said,
“In that moment, the bracelet was my best possession, and when I saw Binita’s spirit, I wanted to tag her with something, and I could not think of anything but the best!”
The rest of us were awed by Jaideep’s actions. Parting with something so special is not an easy task. We hope it brings you luck, Binita!
Making Their Mark
This Volunesia was the first where our VOT (Volunesia Organising Team) members joined us behind the scenes. Sneha’s invisible hands were much appreciated when people saw the flower-themed name badges. Each name tag had a flower name written on it along with a small tidbit about the flower. Varsha joined hands with Sneha to create some beautiful name tags, which she improvised in her own style by adding some colourful little feathers to them.
Manu was in attendance with 3 gunny bags filled with materials that he collected from his office and apartment. Two of those were filled with toys that we will be giving away to Goonj for children in rural areas to enjoy. The pleasant surprise of the day was when Shwetabh arrived for the event at 9 am! We were thrilled to see him because he had an event of his own later that day and initially didn’t think he could make it. But he didn’t want to miss the first VOT-organised Volunesia and so he did most of his preparations ahead of time and made it to the circle!
New Faces, Same Emotions!
Team KYS was so happy to witness the dedication of our VOT members. Not only did they help organise the circle, they succeeded in making it their own. And to make this circle even more significant, we had our widest age range of participants this time!
From our youngest Volunesian (Krish) to a 60-year old uncle – we felt so much solidarity and belonging at the end of the 3 hours.
A big shout out to:
Our dear friend Akash Budhia and his lovely family of six for adding so much joy to the circle. Pranita’s parents – Praveen Uncle and Pooja Aunty for making their debut at Volunesia and churning out such beautiful posters and bookmarks. Babita, Binita and Ved for their creativity and the personalised goodies. Nirmita and Leah – the 12th grade girls who created such inspiring and innovative goodies. Divya and Pooja – from our SAP Volunesia brigade. Shibani for the insane CD art. Vihaan, Sajina, Sanjay and Tanga Mani for the sand art. Preksha and her cute cousins, Rishabh and Sanskriti, for the colourful goodies. Sorry if we’ve missed anyone, but rest assured that your contributions are truly appreciated! Thank you for sharing your time and artistic abilities with us.
We will soon announce our next Volunesia date. But until then, we have set up a permanent Volunesia Box at Dialogues Café in Koramangala. You can drop in anytime and indulge in some creative goodie-making. If you’re in the neighbourhood, don’t miss out on the opportunity to exercise your artistic skills to bring some smiles on the faces of some rural and underprivileged kids! 🙂
Enjoyed reading about this? Then you might like to read Snapshot Stories – Reliving The Joys Of Volunesia In Photos!
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