How a small donation drive made a joyous Christmas

It was not a big deal until the kids called me over phone today and sang a Christmas Carol and wished me “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year”.  I realized how a small action of donating old clothes to an orphanage made a big difference to them.  

I had a bag full of unwanted clothes that was taking up space in my wardrobe. Most of the NGOs had donation drop-off centers which were quite far from my home and the donation was too little to request for door pick-up. When I checked with my apartment residents, many volunteered for donation. So I started my search for a NGO that will come to our apartment for collection. To my surprise, all the big famous charitable organizations that come in Google search due to their ‘good marketing funding’ were reluctant to facilitate donation drive at our venue and some didn't even respond. Then I found a request for help in one of the online yellow pages by a small orphanage and when approached, they were very happy to accept our contribution.

I passed on the information to all the residents through our apartment online forum and by putting up posters on notice boards about the donation drive being organized.

On the planned event day, I was overwhelmed to see the collection box overflowing with goodwill gesture. I had promised one medium sized box of clothes to the orphanage and when they came to collect, they were amazed to see their goods auto rickshaw completely filled with material donations that included clothes, blankets, toys, school stationery, etc. 

Seeing the success and positive vibes of the charity event, I wondered why each apartment complex or gated community couldn't adopt one such organization and conduct small donation drives once a year. This could be a great help for those needy people. But when the children contacted me to convey their Xmas and New Year wishes today, I really want this small initiative implemented at all gated communities and apartment complexes. The community living is becoming so popular in India that the resident associations can easily implement community relations measures. Even a small scale event can help in a big way and create a good impact.

My recommendation would be to approach small charity foundations and orphanages that cannot afford marketing initiatives to advertise for support. Also do take care that your contributions can be reused by someone and do not dump your old ragged stuff. It is worth mentioning to be aware of fake establishments that collect old clothes and find their way into the seconds market.

Hope my experience will cause a ripple effect and I can see many more such noble initiatives being adopted by others.

                                                     -Chalked by Rashmi Sreedharan

 www.facebook.com/ColoredChalks

DIY: Photo Frame from old Denim!!!

As a matter of fact the number of worn down Denims in my house has been increasing by the odds! I'm sure many of you have the same problem. There were days when i didn't know what to do with them. But then there came a day when i started finding awesome ideas to recreate the rough & tough material into other items of interest.   

So now here's another idea to add to the other DIYs out of old denims!!! .... 

This was the product of my craving for a photo assemble for my wall. 

Bits n pieces of faults are there.... Hope you'll forgive me these in my first official DIY attempt. 

Almost everything in here is just assemble and get along with your sewing machine. So i just jotted down stepwise instructions for making the top layer of the frame!

So here goes: ...........

* Cut the Material as per the dimensions of the photograph, plus 1 inch for seams.

* Make a small opening at the centre as shown in this pic

* Cut along the diagonal lines , out towards the four corners of the frame.

* Be careful not to cut all the way up.

* Fold the triangles you've cut outwards and iron for better results.







Now there's just assembling and stitching left, for you to have a gorgeous wall hanger :)

- Chalked by Megha Kuruvilla

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Forest Thrills at Masinagudi

This must be my umpteenth trip through forests. But this one was a bit unique as it was a trip with friends.

What’s good about travelling to Masinagudi is that you cover two major Tiger Reserves on the way – Bandipur and Mudhumalai which are in two different states i.e. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. So you can plan a jungle safari on the way if required. You also get to see herd of deers and wild elephants on the way. I have been lucky all the time and this time it was even better as I saw bisons, lion tailed macaque… Plus a wild elephant that almost rushed towards our car.

Now this stay that we planned is a 150 year old cottage amongst a 90 acres coffee estate. The Wilds at Northern Hay at Masinagudi is about 5-6 hours from Bangalore. Once you enter Bandhipur forest, you automatically slow down to spot animals. From Bandipur, you enter the next forest section of Mudhumalai. Once you reach Masinagudi, you have to head towards Singara Check Post. Beyond that (due to bad roads or literally no roads), you cannot take your car unless it is a four wheel drive vehicle. There is no parking lot as such and you have to park your car at the check post.  We were a little concerned about the safety of car but when we came back, we didn’t find any damages except a few monkey footprints on the windows.

The estate owners have already started expanding the accommodation options with tree houses and luxury cottages. But they have retained the old charm of the already existing one. The rooms are decorated with antiques. 

We were welcomed by the caretaker and he gave an overview of the facilities and activities. Then we came to know that another guest have cancelled the booking due to bad weather. We were happy as we got the entire bungalow for ourselves. After refreshing, we went to the dining hall and we were served with delicious food. Our stomach was so full that we needed siesta.

After having the evening coffee (try it, it’s awesome), we chose for plantation walk instead of jungle safari. Our guide Babu was also a caretaker at the estate played a perfect host and entertainer. He told that he came to this place at the age of 13 and been here for over a decade. First he showed us the tree houses and newly built cottages. Then his jungle book stories began. He narrated about sighting leopards and bears in the estate and how he was almost attacked by a tusker. His brother Salim, the cook, also accompanied us.

The plantation walk turned out to be a jungle trek. On the way we saw fresh foot marks of bears and half eaten mole hills. I slowly picked up a stick to shoo the tiger away, in case I encountered one. Babu then consoled us by saying that the wild animal would attack the guide first and then turn towards the guests. Now how will the wild creature know which one is the guide here?

All Hollywood movies like Anaconda, Predator, Crocodile, and so on started flashing in my mind. I didn’t want to be walking behind, as always the last one gets killed first. Walking for two hours, other than paw marks, we saw lot of deers and then we went back to our rooms at sunset.

Meanwhile when Babu was arranging bonfire for us at an elevated ground close to the cottage, we skimmed through the guest books and read statements of spotting tigers, leopards and bears near the resort. So the caretaker’s tales had some truth.

At the campfire, I positioned myself facing the coffee estate so that I am ready to run when I see leopard. Barbecue option was also available but we didn’t opt for it. Babu made fresh orange juice for the ladies and it was so yummy. Dinner was even better. We had more than three servings of chilly chicken that Salim prepared.  

                              

We chit chatted till late night safe and sound in the living room filled with antique hunting weapons and books. It was so quiet that I started getting shivers thinking that the bungalow may be haunted. But luckily I didn’t find any ghosts. We were strictly instructed not to stroll around at night as there could be wild animals around.

I woke up in the morning with the sound of something running on the roof and it was monkey menace. While serving morning tea, Babu started off with his set of stories on how monkeys spoilt his food arrangement and stole bowls. The breakfast though didn’t have much choice, was still tasty.

We lazily sat in the portico on those old rocking chairs and arm chairs and funnily debated on what we would have done if we had met a bear or tiger during our trek.

By noon, we checked out and started our journey back to Bangalore.

Apricot raisin cake

Ingredients:

1.5 cup flour
1.5 Cup sugar
4 Eggs
250g butter
1.5 Tsp baking powder
1 Tsp Cinnamon powder
1 to 2 Tsp vanilla essence
Apricot -- chopped finely
Raisins -- chopped finely

Method:

1. Caramelize 0.5 cup sugar.  Let sugar melt, remove from fire before it burns. Then add 1/4 cup water and keep on low fire till sugar crystals melt.
2. Sieve flour, baking powder and cinnamon powder together and keep side.
3. In a bowl beat butter and sugar till fluffy.
4. Add eggs and flour mixture alternatively and mix well.
5. Add vanilla essence
6. Finely chopped Apricot and raisins should be coated with some flour. This is to avoid it going to the bottom of the pan when baking.
7. Finally add the caramel and the fruit mix and once mixed pour into baking pan.
8. preheat oven to 180°c and bake for about 45 -55 minutes, or till done
9. Use tooth pick to prick and check if cooked well.
10. Once done let it cool and enjoy

- Chalked by Megha Kuruvilla

 www.facebook.com/ColoredChalks

Choosing the right Relocators

Relocating can be a stressful task if the right agency is not chosen for shifting of goods. Normally the relocation agent visits your venue and inspects the goods and then shares a cost with you for shifting from one place to another. The cost normally includes packing, unpacking, loading and unloading from the vehicle, rearranging and unpacking, labour charges, etc.

So here are the tips:

• Compare quotes. But think twice before choosing a vendor over another for a difference of Rs.500 – Rs. 1000. Reason: Costlier quotation may involve better packing options.
• Clearly define the new location such as the availability of service lift and the floor number. Reason: There are chances of additional costs if the service lift is not working and for higher floors.
• Vehicle choice. The agency may offer two choices of vehicles – open and closed. There may be a temptation to choose the open vehicle due to discounts. But keep in mind, weather conditions can damage your furniture.
• Packing offers. All relocation companies offer packing of all household items. This is good. However, remember, they may literally throw your clothes into a carton without sorting out. This may become tedious for you when settling down at your new place. It is better to wash and iron your clothes and pack it yourself to make it easier once you shift. Or keep it ready nicely folded and differentiated for the vendors to pack. Insist that they pack your crockery and other breakable goods with bubble packing material.
• Insurance is necessity. No matter how carefully things are packed or packed with the original carton boxes, there may still be damages. Check for broken stuffs before settling the bill.
• Do research online for reviews on the relocation agencies. The marketing executive will be looking and sounding very professional but the actual goods are handled by workers who may not be professional enough. Check with your colleagues and friends on their experiences.

- Chalked by Rashmi Abhilash

 www.facebook.com/ColoredChalks