A Visit to Vaidehi Ashram and A Call for Raffle Prizes...

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Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival. ~ Dalai Lama

..and one of my 2012 resolutions was to be more sensitive and compassionate towards people around me. Quite unexpectedly (and thanks to my mom), I got to spend my New Year day at Vaidehi Ashram  for Destitute Girls located near our house here, in Hyderabad. 

January 3rd is my grandpa's birthday and my mom wanted to do something in memory of him. My grandfather (mother's father) was a man of few words and a heart of gold. He, despite of his hard childhood with no mother since a little kid lead a life of honesty and benevolence and there could have been no better way to celebrate the day, with the little girls of the Ashram.

On inquiring on what they needed the most, myself, my parents along with my uncles pooled together and donated - 60 Kg of Toor Dal, 30L of Vegetable Oil and 20 Kg of Sugar. The very thought that we could do something for the little girls filled our hearts with warmth and happiness. :-).

I wanted to do more for them, hence this post and a Fund Drive that I wish to organise next month. *fingers crossed*.

Vaidehi Ashram is home for about 108 girls (from 3 to 22 years of age) who have no parents or a single parent who can no longer take care of them. Each one have a story of their own which will melt your heart and bring you to tears. The smallest one, Samatha as I was told was wandering on the streets near a railway station with her baby sister, when the police rescued them both and brought into the ashram.

It was New Year. So we were invited with these beautiful rangoli by one of the elder girls.

The lady who runs the ashram and makes sure everything is in order is Mrs.Suvathsala. She is one of the kindest women I have ever met in my life, whose smile is so infectious that you instantly fall in love with her. Everybody in the ashram endearingly call her as Mataji (which means mother). Her accounting skills are impeccable. It doesn't matter how much you donate and what you give to the ashram. You will get a proper reciept for everything and anything. Such is the commitment of the people and volunteers who come here day and night.

Mrs.Suvathsala a.k.a mataji

There are three storeys in the ashram, each of them with a big hall where the children sleep in rows. No beds, just cupboards where they can store their belongings.

All the girls eat their food as one big, happy family - the communal way. You can see in the photograph below my uncle, my mother's youngest brother (in grey suit) serving food to the girls.

Watch the video which I managed to shoot with my DSLR where the children sing and thank the Lord for providing them food and shelter.

Lunch Prayer at the Ashram.

Not a single grain of rice is wasted by any of the children as they seem to know the value of it. Absolutely NO wastage. Isn't it something we ought to learn and implement in our day-to-day lives as well.

If you don't know Telugu, then the below notice board has details of the donors who sponsored their food and clothes for that particular day.

The girls here are multi talented as they participate in various cultural programs organised within the Ashram campus. I have got a special invitation for their Annual Day celebrations sometime in April, this year. :-)

I don't think I can ever forget the way the youngest lot, who are no more than 3 years old ate their food that was served with no qualms or complaints. I have seen children of their age cry their hearts out. But, these kiddos made me realise how valuable life is, especially how much of a difference parents bring in a child's life.

Each year, this bulletin board is updated which has details about which class each of the girls are studying.

When we were there in the Ashram, another group of people came with sweets and fruits to be distributed among the kids.

The girls here are also taught fine arts such as music, painting, dance and handicrafts etc. They are also provided with sufficient knowledge about good food and health which they in turn use to educate and empower women in nearby slum areas, which I thought is quite commendable.

This necklace was made by one of the kids which I bought for a nominal price. 

There is one person because of which all this happened. That is my Mother. She got to know about this ashram through one of her colleagues who volunteers here couple of days a week. My mom was looking for a place where she can donate all of my old clothes and that is when she found out about this Ashram. :-)

Ashram Details:

Vaidehi Seva Samithi

17-1-473/V/3&4

Beside Sri Saraswati Sisu Mandir High School

Krishna Nagar, Saidabad, Hyderabad - 500 059

Ph No: 040-24075544

Mobile: 9032152105

Email: vaidehisevasamithi@gmail.com

[Update] If you wish to send your contributions directly, please draw a cheque or a demand draft in favour of - M/s Vaidehi Seva Samithi and send to the above mentioned address.

All donations are exempted from I.T Under 80-G and accorded permission under FCRA.

A Call for Raffle Prizes - Fund Drive for Vaidehi Ashram of Destitute Girls starting from January 26th 2012.

To help out the children at the Ashram, I am planning a Fund Drive from January 26th 2012. Something on the lines of what Indira organized years ago.

This is a call for raffle prize sponsors only. ...A blog post with full details about the Fund drive will follow in couple of days.

A "raffle prize" can be anything interesting which will encourage people to donate & bid for it.

Here is how it works - A handful of sponsors will contribute raffle prizes. Once the Fund Drive begins on January 26th, others who would like to donate money (details about the various payment options will be published soon in a separate post) will bid for any of the prizes that interest them the most.
1 raffle ticket = 10$ or 500Rs.

For Example - If a donor donates 20$ or 1000Rs, then he/she gets 2 raffle tickets which can be used to bid on any of the raffle prizes listed. At the very end, a randow drawing (by the Ashram kids themselves) will be conducted to decide who gets each of the prize(s). If you have any questions or queries, please feel free to drop me an email info(dot)siri(at)gmail(dot)com.

All the proceeds collected during the Fund Drive will go to the Ashram in the form of provisions and any other necessaries they might have. I assure you with all my heart and soul that every penny will go to the care and feeding of those dear girls at Vaidehi Ashram.

Click here for the post  which has information about all the raffle prizes and their contributors. A Huge Thank You to all of them for their generous support. I will be updating the list as and when I get more prizes. If you wish to sponsor any, please feel free to drop me an email at - info(dot)siri(at)gmail(dot)com.

Read more about my second visit to the Ashram..
List of 40+ raffle prizes my amazing blogger friends are sponsoring for the Fund Drive.

[Updated on February 14th 2012] - Many have inquired about costs involved in sponsoring education, food etc for the Ashram girls. I visited them again and gathered the below information about various projects currently happening. Please send them an email at vaidehisevasamithi@gmail.com or call at +914024075544 or             +91 9032152105       to discuss regarding the project you wish to sponsor. If you need any other help from my side in terms of coordination, please let me know. I will be more than happy to do it.

1. Adopt a girl for one year (Includes clothing, food, education and other necessities)    [20,000/- Rupees]

2. Vidyanidhi (Education costs a girl for one year)                                                            [5,000/- Rupees]

3. Mangala Nidhi (One time deposit to cover a day's food expenses commemorating any auspicious occasion every year)                                                                                                               [20,000/- Rupees]

4. Smrithi Nidhi (One time deposit to cover a day's food expenses in remembrance of your beloved every year)                                                                                                                             [20,000/- Rupees]

5. Kishori Vikas Yojana Nidhi (Expenditure to run one Centre of Development Project for Adolescent Girls for one month)                                                                                                           [1000/- Rupees]

6. Vaidehi Mahila Vikasa Samithi (One month expenditure to train Unemployed Youth & Women. Also includes cost for food and shelter)                                                                                [10,000/- Rupees]

7. To sponsor a meal for all the Ashram girls:                                                                [2,000/- Rupees]


Click here to read all the posts written on Vaidehi Ashram.

until next time,

Amma's Recipes: Cut Mirchi Bhajji (Double Fried Cut Chilli Fritters)

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Those of you all celebrating, Wishing you a very Happy Sankranthi. Also known as Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Lohri in Punjab, Bihu in Assam, traditionally this is one of the harvest seasons in many parts of India. Hope this festival brings loads of happiness, prosperity and joy into your homes. :-)

Cut Mirchi Bhajji, best served hot

...there are many recipes are a must-to-make on this day - various kinds of pongals, desserts and appetizers for potlucks are just to name a few.

Mirchi Bhajji, as-is is the best snack ever..

To add to the list is today's recipe - Cut Mirchi Bhajji a.k.a Double Fried Cut Chilli Fritters which are just perfect for any occasion, not just festivals.

Choosing the right kind of peppers is important for bhajji to come perfect!

..a few hours with my mom today and we conjured up one of her recipes which she has learnt from a street vendor, literally speaking. Since then, she is so popular with her bhajjis that our friends, family and even my extended family members drop by for a serving of these deep-fried goodies. Trust me, they are that popular. :-)

 

{Recipe} Cut Mirchi Bhajji (Double Fried Cut Chilli Fritters)

Ingredients:

2 cups besan/chickpea flour
2 tbsp rice flour/beyyappindi
1 tsp red chilli powder
salt - taste
1/2 tsp eating soda/soda bi carb
10 long green peppers
oil for deep frying
1/2 onion, chopped + cut lemon slices + cilantro, for garnish

**Optional stuffing for peppers - 2 tbsp sesame seeds, 1 tsp amchur powder, little salt, 1/2 tsp ajwain: Grind to fine paste with little water

Preparation:

1. Wash and pat dry peppers. Make a vertical slit to the peppers and remove the seeds and membranes.

2. Fill peppers with little stuffing**.

3. Heat sufficient oil in a wok for deep-frying on medium-low heat. While it gets heated up, lets prepare the besan coating.

4. In a bowl, mix besan, rice flour, chilli powder, salt and eating soda. Add water little by little (without any lumps). Note: To a consistency where it doesn't drip easily and coats the peppers completely.

5. Once the oil is heated (Make sure the oil is NOT smoking hot.), dip each of the peppers into the besan paste. With one finger slide off the paste on one side of the mirchi, so that it cooks completely. (one nifty trick my mom learnt from a street vendor ;-) ).

6. Deep fry the peppers to a golden brown color. Drain them on to paper towel so that excess oil is drained off. Cool to room temperature. stop your urge to polish them off, we have just one more step to go ;-).

7. Cut each of fried peppers into 1 inch long pieces. Deep fry them again in medium hot oil until they turn crispy which will take only a minute. Drain them again on paper towels.

8. Serve with finely chopped onion, cilantro and lemon slices.

Its Double Cocktail time - Cosmopolitan and Margarita

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Food is fun, cooking is a pleasure, and eating a delicious meal is the wonderful end reward...and if you pair it with a lip smacking cocktail, then its like earning some extra brownie points. Isn't it. :-)

Any Cocktail with Cointreau is just perfect!

Since the time I discovered the goodness of Cointreau and the way it forms a wonderful cocktail concoction, each sip has been a delight to drink and share it with my friends & family.

Today, I experimented two of their cocktail recipes - Cosmopolitan and the very classic Margarita. The preparations is as simple as get the ingredients, shake them with ice and pour into a glass.

Enjoy!

{Recipe} Cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitan - its trendy. its colourful. its just yummilicious

Ingredients:

- 50ml (1.6 fl oz) Vodka
- 25ml (0.8 fl oz) Cointreau
- 20ml (0.6 fl oz) Cranberry juice
- 10ml (0.3 fl oz) Lime juice

Preparation: 

Pour all listed ingredients into a shaker with ice. Serve immediately.

{Recipe} Margarita

The Classic - Margarita

Ingredients:

- 20ml (0.6 fl oz) Cointreau
- 40ml (1.3 fl oz) Tequila
- 10ml (0.3 fl oz) Lime juice

Preparation: Pour all three ingredients into a shaker with ice. Serve immediately.


Try other recipes as well -

Cointreau Diabolic
Cointreaupolitan

Don't forget to grab a bottle of Cointreau in your next visit and try these recipes..

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Healing Foods: January Announcement -

This month's edition of Healing Foods is being guest hosted by Vardhini of Zesty Palette. She chose the theme as 'Cauliflower'. Send in your entries by 31st January. Sadly, the event will see its end by February 2012 and so does the two give aways...that means you have just two more chances to test your luck. :-) Participate today!

until next time,