Greetings from our Chairman....

Auckland, New Zealand

24 Dec 2009

Dear All,

We had a long but comfortable flight from Bombay to Auckland via Singapore. It is very far away and seems like a different world.

The people are nice and friendly. The weather was quite cold and rainy when we got here but is now warm and comfortable most of the time. It also does not rain much now.

The flowers are in bloom and there are many migratory birds all over the place. Here at Alok’s place we hear birds all day long. It is very quiet and peaceful.

Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman sea there are many beaches close to the house,lots of greenery and plenty of open spaces.

We visited a sacred forest with many Kauri trees ,one of which is 2000 years old.

In a short time we have visited a number of places and will be going to the South Island in mid Jan for 10 days, travelling in a camper van. This is going to be quite an experience. Looking forward to it.

Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand ,said to be the 5^th largest city in the world by area. For a population of 1.4 million people ,it is very spread out and the distances are large. To drive 400 km in a day is not considered a lot at all. Last weekend we visited a Maori sacred forest and some lakes.

Museum , Botanical garden , Parks , Mt Victoria , One Tree Hill , Mission Bay are a few among the many places we have seen in Auckland.

Today we are going to see the Sky Tower ( the highest man made structure in the Southern Hemisphere ) ,Mt Eden which is a volcano right in the middle of the city. And also go to see some very beautifully lit streets for the festive season.

Will send another update after returning from the South Island.

Warm Regards and Best Wishes for the New Year.

Rajni & Sujata

Too Good !

Too good not to share....... .....
(Received via email from Mr Chandrkant Gavandi)

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agree that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.

The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and! he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren.

After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, there was a woman who swam to his side of the land.

On the other side of the island, there was nothing.

Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next

day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.
Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.

As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"

"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them,” the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything."

"You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings."

"Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"

"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."

For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.

This is too good not to share...

My prayer for you today is that all your prayers are answered. Be blessed.

"What you do for others is more important than what you do for yourself"

This was shared with me by a friend, I hope you will share with your friends!

"Stand up for what you believe in, even if it means standing alone...!!!"

Smile at him!

By David J. Pollay

How often do you let other people's nonsense change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive colleague ruin your day? Unless you're a robot, you are bound to blow your top off. However, the mark of a sucessful person is how quickly he or she can get back his or her focus on what's important.

Sixteen years ago, I learned this lesson. I learn it in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here's what happen.

I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front o f us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car's back end by just inches!

The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident,whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean he was really friendly. So, I said, 'Why did you do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'

And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now called, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck'.

Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of f rustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. If they happen to dump it on you, don't take it personally.

You just smile, wave, wish them well, and moved on. You'll be happier if you did that rather than fight them..

So this was it: 'The Law of the Garbage Truck'.

I started thinking, how often do I let garbage trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: at work, at home, on the street? It was that day I said, 'I'm not going to do it anymore.' I see garbage trucks everywhere and everyday.. I see the load they're carrying. I see them coming to drop it off. And like my taxi driver, I don't make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.

Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting. Good parents know they have to welcome their kids home from school with hugs and kisses. Teachers and parents know that they have to be fully present and at their best for the people they care about.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by?

Here's my bet. You'll be happier.

So...love the people who treat you right.

Forget about the ones who don't.

Believe that every thing happens for a reason..

If you get a chance, TAKE IT!

If it changes your life, LET IT!

Nobody said it would be easy...

They just promised it would be WORTH IT

Cheers!

"Life is short. Enjoy the journey."

Husbands Are For Sale! But Be Aware!

Dear Ladies, please forgive me for this imagined story:

A store that sells husbands has just opened in a city, where a woman

goes to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a

description of how the store operates. You may visit the store ONLY

ONCE! There are six floors and the attributes of the men increase as

the shopper ascends the flights. There is, however, a catch. .... You

may choose any man from a particular floor, or you may choose to go up

a floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building! So,

a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband...

On the first floor the sign on the door reads:

Floor 1 - These men have jobs and love the Lord.

The second floor sign reads:

Floor 2 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, and love kids.

The third floor sign reads:

Floor 3 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, and are

extremely good looking.

" Wow," she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.

She goes to the fourth floor and sign reads:

Floor 4 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop-

dead good looking and help with the housework.

"Oh, mercy me!" she exclaims, "I can hardly stand it!"

Still, she goes to the fifth floor and sign reads:

Floor 5 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop-

dead gorgeous, help with the housework, and have a strong romantic

streak.

She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 6 - You are visitor 4,363,013 to this floor. There are no men on

this floor.

This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please.

Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store. Watch your step as you

exit the building,

And have a nice day!

A Verbal Wound is as bad as Physical One

Please read this beautiful story and furnish your comments below:

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper.

Make sure you read all the way down to the last sentence. (Most importantly the last sentence)

His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the door.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the door. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the door.

Finally the ! day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper..

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the door. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the door. The door will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out.

It won't matter how many times you say "I'm sorry", the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

Received from Wg Cdr SD Karnik

I was having trouble with my computer.
So I called my grandchild, the 11 year old whose bedroom looks like Mission Control, and asked him to come over.
He clicked a couple of buttons and solved the problem.

As he was walking away, I called after him, 'So, what was wrong?'
He replied, 'It was an ID ten T error.'
I didn't want to appear stupid, but nonetheless inquired, 'An, ID ten T error? What's that? In case I need to fix it again.'
He grinned ... 'Haven't you ever heard of an ID ten T error before?'
'No,' I replied.
'Write it down,' he said, 'and I think you'll figure it out.'
So I wrote down: I D 1 0 T

I used to like my grandchild, the little bastard .