I had an invitation to speak at the conference “Cell Phone/Tower Radiation Hazards and Solutions” at IIT, Mumbai. I decided to accept it and present my work on “Auroville pilot project for research in minimizing health and environmental hazards of mobile communications”. As I was to be in Mumbai anyway, I thought it would be great to explore the possibility of doing a workshop or two. I spoke to my good friend JS who had earlier organized two workshops in Mumbai. He is amidst a lot of demands on his time and priorities but was willing to explore how a workshop could be organized. I was in the midst of the Auroville project review by the Chairman of Town Development Council and had to rush for a week to Vizag. I was more or less willing to drop the workshop but JS was like the ‘Rock of Gibraltar’. He connected with Writers of Bombay, networked with Tania and worked out a plan to offer it as an exclusive event for the members of Writers. He also located an excellent venue and made all the arrangements to conduct the workshop at The National Sports Club of India, Mumbai http://www.nscimumbai.com/.
The day of the workshop found my preparation below my normal level or even below par. It was the first time I was attempting this topic and I normally do one or two workshops on some of the tools and techniques I intended to share in this workshop. And, this workshop has been scheduled for just 90 minutes! I felt apprehensive and anxious, especially due to the inadequate preparation. The only time that I could actually use for preparation was the taxi ride and fortunately I arrived at the venue in time to mediate for about 25 minutes. This is one of the critical aspects of my preparation and felt my confidence slowly building up.
Thanks to Tania and JS, we nearly had a full house of a wonderful set of participants with a rich experience in diverse fields in locations spanning many continents of the globe. There was a family along with their two teen aged children and a couple. I feel especially happy when I have families participate in the workshop as it normally leads to a mutual partnership amongst the in taking and creating value.
The vent went very well and I am grateful for the extraordinary participation and the very interesting questions. I had very good feedback from the participants and feel grateful for their listening and receptivity. Earlier, I was reluctant to do short workshops but this event suddenly opened up the doors to a new set of short workshops! What a great outcome.
I am awed by the distinction of ‘seed’. The seed for this event lies in early twenties when I and JS became acquainted professionally. The seed germinated and blossomed into a wonderful friendship, culminating in the fruit of his participation in the “Being Well” workshops ay Auroville. In this workshop, we have sown more seeds for the flowering of the mission to spread awareness in individuals, communities, organizations and societies. I am sure that these seeds would in turn germinate, bloom and bear fruit in their own time. I feel grateful and fulfilled.
