Thanks Fido/Hiren/AshwaniG for organizing this get together.
Thank You all for making this possible.

It was great to meet so humble/kind and down to earth CDs.

I must say, this is among one of the best picnic I ever attended, and by far most economical.
Hope we have many more such events in future, I suggest one in summer(outdoor) and one in winter(indoor).

Chandreshji,
Your idea of doing something as a group makes a lot of sense, interested people can contribute in their own ways.

OUR PICNIC. A short summary.



OUR STRENGTH.:
We have a good number of members registered on this CD website. It currently tops 75,000 or so and we all from different continents. I am sure half of them from their home country and the other half can be cut down into a quarter and I can safely say that 1500 are here in Canada. If I may further divide the number, about 150 of us are here in the Toronto area and most reside in the GTA area. If we have to reach the 1500 we must provide a minimum of 15 days prior to the event and if we were to reach a larger number and attract their attention, we must provide a minimum of a day for a thousand in strength and expect one or two to attend the event out of that. That will provide ample time to do some kind of planning and arrangements for them too. That is my opinion and how I will go about targeting the ones that will come from a location away from the GTA area, for the next event.

OUR ABILITY IN ORGANIZING.:
So, we did a very fine job of bringing together a group of fifty and it is worthy of note and the kudos goes to HIREN Bhai, Fido the organizer and also to those who played a big support role from the back offices and to name a few, Raj, San Hugo, Ashwani, Satish bbr, Delhite, NYDesi,& CoolV and not to leave them out, the two stalwarts, Chandresh and Pramod with their skills at their, Planning, co-ordination and a running the games for the young and the not so old and my admiration goes to all the children with their unending energy and the non stop display of it even through drizzle and the pouring rains, merits a prize for their determination and the display of their stamina.

SETTING UP OF THE STAGE. and TAKE EATING INTO YOUR OWN HANDS
Did I miss something. Yes. It was the checkered RED and WHITE Picnic Table Cloth that normally signifies the PICNIC Spirits, and the handing out of the Samosas took me to the next level and made me forget everything and just as we started enjoying them the timely arrival of the Channa Batura(e) got our palettes into full swing and followed by the Idli-Vada with the Coconut Chutney and the hot Sambaar got us all into quite a different level of enjoyment and you could have easily noted the pin drop silence and the pitter patter of the rain drops hitting the canvas roof of the gazebos at that time, as everyone got busily engaged doing justice to the treats. Then followed the sweets, the cookies, the chips and a cup-o-chai or a pop to wash it all down and call it a High Tea. That was a loverly treat and I am sure everyone will chime in with me there.

EXERCISE and GAMES.:
You bring a Ball and slowly pass it on to the next one and surely all the kids get rolling right into the field as if there was a cue to one and all to jump into it. Then there is no stopping after that. No brakes on these kids and nothing can stop them after that. To top it all off, they also brought a Cricket set. It got all the young and the old swinging the bat and it was a sight to see. That is exercise and that was a game everyone wanted to play after that. The energy and enthusiasm knew no bounds here and I cannot describe the spirit that flowed out of these Cricketers. They all turned into Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag or Dhoni and I was also in their magical world where the Aggis came from. Finally one Mom came and said C'mon we have to leave now! AWW do we have to? That ripped my heart too. The next time we should play the game with Flood Lights right upto Mid Night. Bring all the kids too and NO stopping that night. I am sure the Cops will be there at 10 to chase us all off the field. Not if we rent the DOME!

We did not have any sunburn, No sand in our food and no big bites from the Newfie Bombers nor did we have to spray any bugs off. Everything was under control. So also the Park rules of no drinks in the Park. Except for the thunder and the greased lightning and a few patented Freezees I did not see nor hear anyone say "Roadie"

Then I saw Two good faces looked like Eddie Cantor, celebrating their Happy Birthdays at our Picnic with cakes smeared all over their faces. Mmm, hope some one got it all for us in a picture to post it here. Happy Birthdays to all three of them. (Two plus one).

We Let Fido be the MC, having organized the meet and got Chandresh to say a few good words about The Canadian Desi Group and take us back to the good old days when they had the very first group meeting. It was an interesting speech with lots of facts to remember and I wish I had taken down some notes on it. It was reminiscing the good old days when it all first got started with the people who played an active role at that time. We are now HERE and with the new order of volunteers to carry on smartly and keep the flag flying.

What came to my mind I will post at the bottom as my observations here in Canada and I wanted everyone to take a few good thoughts back home and delve a little deeper and come up with some good answers the next time we meet.

FH.
We also had Three Honoured Guests who graced the CD Picnic on this occasion and we enjoyed their company and hope they did likewise of all the CDs who made it to the Picnic. We also had a Couple who arrived here recently who not only were getting their tootsies wet, they were really soaking wet before we got settled under the shelter. We all made them feel at home, that is what counts. I also got to meet with BPF and my long lost IT friend MK, whom I got to meet after 12 long years, once again through CD posts, after he returned back to Canada with his family.

I always wanted to say this to everyone who posts here on this CD website, though we do not know each other, the camaraderie that we develop here is very deep seated and though we might never get to know each other, in person, we hold each others hand and get to reach a destination or get a solution to a problem with all the worldly knowledge that we have gathered, by sharing it with you. If it ever did help you and you do not come back, we know it did help you. But when you say a simple thanks or give us a feed back, that not only encourages us to be here for you and others like you, it makes us continue with this volunteer work for a long long time and improve it even further for others who will appear here looking for help. That is an incentive that you provide us to be here for others.

Here is my thank you for all the Volunteers, I mean ALL OF YOU, who are eagerly waiting to help...And here is my way of saying this to you all..

"Light your inner Candle, Light your inner light,
Shine your inner mantle, lead a kindly light,
For one that you are shining, will shine it for some one,
And that some one will shine, the path of a needy one,
The blessings and the thank yous may not reach you now,
They all add up some place no one knows but how,
Make this world a nice place, just for you and me,
Let us shine together and make it bright and FREE."
Copyright

FH.

RED AND WHITE PLAID PICNIC TABLE CLOTH.
http://sweetclipart.com/red-and-white-picnic-cloth-pattern-1588
EDDIE CANTOR.:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTlB8NvLVwo

To be continued...

This picnic was a awesome experience. Thanks to organizers for their efforts who made this grand success. The take away from the picnic for me is the positive vibe that this group got and I truly appreciate their commitment to help fellow CD's. Thanks to all for letting me to be part of this.

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'Some goals are so worthy, it's glorious even to fail.' (Param Vir Chakra awardee Lt. Manoj Pandey)

That's unfortunate and feel sorry for her. It would have been easier for the organisers to contact if she was on the spreadsheet. With many participants changing their minds , the spreadsheet was the only reference for final list of attendees.

Sincere apologies on behalf of the organisers.

Hiren

Quote:

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Originally posted by hchheda

That's unfortunate and feel sorry for her. It would have been easier for the organisers to contact if she was on the spreadsheet. With many participants changing their minds , the spreadsheet was the only reference for final list of attendees.

Sincere apologies on behalf of the organisers.

Hiren

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I am a Gents and not a Ladies.

,
We really missed you at the picnic.
Hope next time you join us :-)

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MK