New Year Celebrations for 2006

The end of the year 2005 and the New Year for 2006 will always remain itched in my memory. I was on Deputation in Maulana Azad National Urdu University, as Director for Women's Studies. In December I had invited about thirty students and three faculty from the Women's Studies Department in San Diego to visit our Centre . They were all put up in the Flatlets at ICRISAT and they loved the green lawns, the lovely ambience. We had arranged for a vehicle to ferry them to the University. We organised two workshops , one delaing with the Women's Movemnt in India and the other on Globalization and IT. WE also took them to the villages in Medak District where they interacted
with the village women. The women sang and danced and asked the studentd also to sing . They asked them if they did not have any feminist songs. These students then sang Christmas carols. On our return we visited the famous Medak Church and marveled at the intricate cut glass work and the architecture of of the building.

On the eve of the New Year, we had arranged for the studnets to attend a party at ICRISAT. The garden was on full bloom and Somu spent the wole day admiring his flowers and caring for his garden. In the evening we went to ICRISAT and enjoyed the party with the students. Huma Ghosh and Doreen Made this group activity very interesting and we all had so much to share . There was a lot of dancing, good food and a capm fire with lots of lights and sparkles to make the evening a memorable one. The studnets from San Diego told him that they really enjoyed their trip and this was a big learning experience for them . They were very much impressed by the vibrancy of the women's Movemnt in India and they could not believe that the illiterate village women could be so dynamic. We continued to dance till late night. We left the place around one
and the next morning started our New Year by visiting and praying in the temple.