Swalpa blog maadi...

"You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings".
- Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein.

A seasoned and 'excel'-lent volunteer. A feather-weight photographer. A tarzan-ish nature-lover. An alternate energy-driven 'classical' singer. A thoughtful online tutor. A 'buy'-cycle rider. A 'Harry'-ed newcomer. An 'edgy' blogger. And a couple of Houdinis. What happens when such a motley crowd gets together? Nope. Not a recipe for disaster. But an enthusiastic and fun-loving group of volunteers.

We are a bunch of young and not-so-young volunteers in Bangalore, who work for an NGO called Vidyanikethan. Under the 'excel'-lent guidance of Vidyanikethan's oldest volunteer, Anand, we have so far volunteered for teaching and 'sponsor-a-child' programs at Vidyanikethan. But, we think it is time to take this volunteering to the next level. We brainstormed last week, under the influence of cheesy pizza, aerated drinks and Prarthana's snacks, at iVolunteer's Bangalore office in Koramangala and came up with a set of ideas that we now want to implement.

The first idea that has been implemented is this blog. Our 'light' wonder, Sur, came up with this idea of hosting a group blog and here we are, a week later, already posting. Good going, I should say. Well, you aint seen nothin! Fasten your seat belts people; we are about to take off on an exciting journey, taking up new projects on the way. We believe that together, we can make a difference in the society.

A few basic terms to familiarize yourselves with the Vidyanikethan life:

'The Song' - Gireesh's soulful rendition of a classic Hindi song on the way to Bandipur.
'The Sighting' - The spectaculr sighting of a jungle fowl in Bandipur, courtesy our new age tarzan, Nisarg.
'The bike' - Adarsh's bicycle. Need I say more?

Virtually yours....The VN Volunteers.