10 reasons why “YOU” should join NetIP

More connectivity. We at NetIP are well connected to a large Network of Members, Customers, Sponsors, Event organizers, DJ’s, Doctors, Lawyers, Bankers, Web-designers, Entrepreneurs and of course all our friends etc. We will support you, your profession and can even help you promote your company or business. This is why we call it Networking right?

More influence. NetIP welcomes bringing in new ideas and dynamics, so whenever you chose, you can be part of putting your ideas into into practice. For example: You can be the essential motivator for any event you strongly believe in. And you want that, right?

More ownership. NetIP is formed by it’s members, for it’s members. The members are a major motivation behind most events and services. As a member you have access to a myriad of benefits. Being a non-profit organization whatever we have and will achieve belongs to it’s members. Both a sense of ownership, and actual ownership are wonderful things; NetIP can provide you with BOTH!

More meaning. Each local chapter is built under the vision of the National Team. NetIP resonates with core South-Asian Values and provides meaningful experiences that fit everyone’s Unique Style.From “spiritual” to “the elite”, NetIP welcomes everyone and their Unique style.

More comraderie. At NetIP you are bound to find like-minded people, some of whom could become your life-long friends. You want friends right?

More diversity. As part of NetIP, you’re bound to do and see a lot of different things. As we extend ourselves to the entire South-Asian Culture, we bring in that much more Cultural diversity. You want to be more accustomed to different cultures, right?

More learning. “Come closer, get more involved and ask questions… then there is no denying this fact!”

More recognition. NetIP members are recognized in the local community for their ability to network and influence key local and national leaders.

More future success. Our success is in our numbers, the core values we represent and the events we enjoy. We guarantee that NetIP has a bright future. NetIP has statistics to prove this! Don’t you want to be part of our future successes?

More fun. That’s NetIP. A whole lot of “fun.”

State of NetIP Miami: A Q2 report

Hope the start of the summer season finds everyone well. I just want to say thank you all for making the first half of 2010 the most successful in NetIP Miami history. We have enjoyed record high membership levels, event attendance, bank balances, partner interest — while hosting 6 high quality, free events every month. None of this wold have been possible without your amazing efforts in organizing events and motivating your friends to get involved.

Some highlights:

1) Events with President Obama and President Clinton in the same week
2) Free New Year’s gala ball for 300 guests with open bar, entertainment, and dinner
3) NetIP Holi weekend with 5 events over 3 days
4) Guys night / Girls night simultaneous events highlighting our organizational abilities
5) Innovative club system with each club run by a passionate subcommittee : Desi Divas, Outdoors Club, Book Club, Sports Club, Cooking Club, Film Club
6) Multiple charity events with every event reaching our fundraising goal
7) Organizing all of the Indian organizations in Florida for a White House sponsored immigration conference

So why do we work so hard? What’s the point? Why do so many people whom are already very busy invest in NetIP? Is there any reward for doing a good job other than being asked to do more work?

It’s simple, getting involved with NetIP is really an investment in yourself and our community. It is the purest form of leadership training available–organizing a high quality, free event is a complicated endeavour. You must learn to attract and retain interest/effort from sponsors, members and friends. Those skills directly translate into becoming a more effective, disciplined, motivating manager/leader in your everyday non-NetIP life. If you learn to motivate people/organizations when they know you can’t pay them, those same soft skills will make you a superstar at your job when you can pay people. As any good manager knows, the worst way to motivate people is with money; simply stated you can never pay people enough to keep them motivated long term with money alone. They will always want additional incentives in the form of raises, bonuses and eventually your budget will run out and people will be demotivated. But if you motivate with your leadership/management skills, then you are more likely to have long term success.

So here’s looking forward to a great 2nd half of the year. Just a quick reminder, that our next two events will be hosted by our Film Club. Here is the link to the Bollywood celebrity dinner/wine event with the Miami film commissioner this Saturday night. It’s also the world premier for the movie for which we did the NetIP open casting call.

http://bit.ly/dvybhH

We are always looking for volunteers who are interested in getting involved and making a  positive impact in  our community while learning valuable leadership skills.

Sincerely,
Praveen Yalamanchi
President, NetIP Miami
netip@yalamanchi.com

The time to sponsor NetIP is NOW

NetIP Reaches Unprecedented Numbers

2010 is the 20th Anniversary of The Network of Indian Professionals. Along with social responsibility and a strong philanthropic outreach, NetIP reaches a key demographic, the most sought after piece of the pie.

NetIP has 24 chapters and thousands of members in North America. We have a combined reach of over 350,000 people between our radio show, subscribers, members, social media, alliance partners and affiliates.

The median age of our members is 27-28 years, 60% of our members have a graduate or professional degree, the average salary level of our members falls in the $75,000-$150,000 range and over 35% of our members work for Fortune 1000 employers.

NetIP is the only not for profit that hosts it own radio show on HD service in LA, DC, Chicago and NY with over 200,000 listeners. The show streams live on the internet and is listened to an additional 6000 online.

Our national newsletter, NetIP Buzz, reaches over 42,000 subscribers every month. There is a huge social media marketing component to NetIP as well – with over 30,000 Facebook users and more than 1200 Twitter followers.

NetIP is the largest networking organization for South Asians for professional development, cultural awareness, community service and political awareness.

To sponsor NetIP and reach the largest targeted demographic of young South Asian professionals, email rajbhandari@netip.org for a customized package.

RAAVAN Opens June 18th directed by Mani Ratnam and new music from A.R. Rahman

Check out Bollywood’s celebrity couple Abhishek and Aish’s latest film RAAVAN in theaters this Friday, June 18^th

Theater list: http://www.raavan-thefilm.com/theatre.html

Ticket link (movie info and showtimes to come soon): http://www.movietickets.com/movie_detail.asp?movie_id=95614

Official site: http://www.raavan-thefilm.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Raavan/116935331657672

Facebook to win official soundtracks http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=127761747255240

Abhishek on Twitter: http://twitter.com/juniorbachchan

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MadrasTalkiesRaavan

SYNOPSIS:

Raavan is not a story, it is a world.

Beera Munda – Undisputed, Unlawful, Untamed

Dev Pratap Sharma – The Punisher; the Law, the Righteous

Ragini – Conscience, Beauty; Music

Dev falls in with Ragini, a spunky classical dancer who is as unconventional as him. They get married and he takes up his new post in Lal Maati, a small town in northern India.  A town where the world of law is not the police but Beera, a tribal who has, over the years, shifted the power equation of the place from the ruling to the have-nots of the area.  Dev knows that the key to bringing order to any place is not to vanquish the big fish; in this case – Beera.

In one stroke Dev manages to rip open Beera’s world, and set in motion a change of events which will claim lives, changes fortune.  Beera, injured but enraged hits back starting a battle that draws Dev, Beera and Ragini into the jungle.  The jungle which is dense, confusing, scary. And in this journey they must confront their own truth. A journey which will test their beliefs, convictions and emotions. Emotions which are as scary and confusing as the forest.

The forest becomes the battleground. The battle between good and evil, between Dev and Beera, between Ram and Raavan.  But when the lines dividing good and evil are blurring fast, whose side will you take. When hate turns to love and the good starts looking evil. Which side will you battle for?

Love is the battle that nobody wins but everyone must fight. Even this Raavan.

The 28th Annual AAPI Convention in Washington, DC is June 24th-27th!

NetIP Alliance Partner Message

NetIP has a strong list of alliance partners that work together in various strategic capacities to enhance the professional goals and agendas of South Asian Professionals in US and Canada. One such valuable partner is the the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), that has their 28th Annual Convention coming up in DC! Check out the details below and make sure you check out the many activities published on the AAPI Convention website

———————–

Register Today at http://www.aapiconvention.com

(When registering selection Level of Training = Other & Make sure to select a MSRF/YPS Package)

The AAPI MSRF/YPS executive boards cordially invite you to an unforgettable 2010 AAPI Convention in Washington, DC. Daytime events include specialty-specific networking sessions, financial seminars, and the latest in health policy updates. Packages include breakfast, lunch, dinner, as well as beverage service during the evening events. Be a part of this year’s conference in the nation’s capital!

Gaylord National Harbor Hotel and Conference Center -HOTEL IS AT ADDITIONAL COST AND NOT PART OF PACKAGES.

Discounted MSRF/YPS Packages

MSRF/YPS 4 Day June 24-27: Thursday Breakfast, Thursday Lunch, Thursday Village Theme Dinner, Friday Breakfast, Friday Lunch, Friday MSRF/YPS Boat Cruise with Open Bar, Saturday Breakfast, Saturday Lunch, Saturday MSRF/YPS Gala Dinner and Entertainment, Sunday Brunch

MSRF/YPS 3 Day June 25-27: Friday Breakfast, Friday Lunch, Friday MSRF/YPS Boat Cruise with Open Bar, Saturday Breakfast, Saturday Lunch, Saturday MSRF/YPS Gala Dinner and Entertainment, Sunday Brunch

MSRF/YPS 2 Day June 26-27: Saturday Breakfast, Saturday Lunch, Saturday MSRF/YPS Gala Dinner and Entertainment, Sunday Brunch

All packages allow you to enter the expo hall and attend convention educational sessions. No individual event tickets will be sold for the MSRF/YPS sections. More information is available at http://www.aapiconvention.com.

Dr. Ambedkar: A Great Indian Nationalist

Imagine being a lawyer defending a case in court and your bailiff throws your client’s file at you because he doesn’t want to touch you even by mistake because that would mean he had touched something impure.  Has anyone every made you feel impure?  “Impure” is exactly what people born in a Harijan family feel every single day of their lives.

We all want to believe that this atrocious practice has been ripped from its roots in India, but that would be wishful thinking. It is unfortunately still practiced avidly in the rural areas and in a modified form in urban educated cities. A CNN documentary shot recently called “Untouched India” shows the plight of the untouchables. Most of the atrocities on untouchables are customary and scarcely registered as crimes. Untouchables account for a 1/5th of India’s total population and they represent the inhuman existence of human beings. Their touch, shadows or even voices pollute high caste Hindus. They have no right to education, dignity, or respect and are assigned menial jobs with remuneration in the form of abuse or leftovers from chaste Hindu households. They have no access to public services such as clean drinking water, temples, schools etc.

Just like other injustices, the Harijan cause too had a leader. India is fortunate to be the motherland of leaders with unmatched fearlessness, unbelievable compassion and extra ordinary intellect. Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar, popularly known as Babashaeb among his followers, was one of them. Born on April 14, 1891 in Maharashtra, India, Babasaheb was the fourteenth child of Subedar Ramji Skapal and Bhimabai, a Hindu untouchable family. Untouchability is a curse on India and though illegal under the constitution is still diligently practiced in villages and in a transformed form in cities.

Dr. Ambedkar was fortunate that his father worked for the British army where education was compulsory for all relations of military service men. He lost his mother at age six and was raised by his father and aunt in a very disciplined environment. His father, Subedar Ramji Sakpal, although headmaster of a military school and a very well respected personality, could not prevent his own children from the oppression faced by the members of untouchable community. Early in life Dr. Ambedkar learned the harsh reality of being born an untouchable. The repeated insults and maltreatments in the name of caste hardened him and his resolve which later culminated in his vow, “If I fail to do away with the abominable thralldom and inhuman injustice under which the class, in to which I was born, has been groaning, I will put an end to my life with a bullet”.

In 1915 after finishing his Masters, Dr. Ambedkar presented a paper on May 9, 1916 “CASTES IN INDIA: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development”. He presented an exhaustive study of castes and concluded that absence of inter-marriage or endogamy is the only characteristic that is peculiar to caste and is a conscious creation of a community of crooked minds for selfish ends. A year later finished his Ph. D. with a dissertation titled “The National Dividend of India – A Historical and Analytical Study”. His academic success was honored by students and professors of Faculty of Arts at Columbia University. The extension of his thesis was later published as a book titled “The Evolution of Provincial Finance in British India” in London by Messrs. P. S. King & Son, Ltd.

Dr. Ambedkar’s passion for education took him to London but he had to return to India due to lack of funds and began to serve as the Military Secretary to the Maharaja. Unfortunately in spite of his academic achievements and recognition abroad he was still an untouchable who could not drink water from a common pitcher kept for his underlings, who would not place file at his table but throw it from a distance so as not to get polluted, Some of these events have been depicted in the movie “Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar”, by Jabbar Patel. Even the Maharaja showed his helplessness to change the caste practices. Frustrated he left and was out of work till his appointment as Professor in Sydnham College of Commerce and Economics. His untouchability followed him wherever he went in India and high caste Hindus as students or colleagues did not like the presence of an untouchable among them.

Later, Dr. Ambedkar started his first fortnightly paper “Mook Nayak”, (Leader of the Dumb), and the “Bahishkrit Hitkarini Sabha” a community organization to represent before the Government the grievances of untouchables.

He was member of the Flag Committee of the Constituent Assembly that adopted the Tri-color flag of India with Ashok Chakra. Drafting a constitution for a country so diversified as India as Chairman of the Drafting Committee was an exceptional challenge which only he could take on as he saw in it an opportunity to mould an India of his dreams.

Frustrated with politics Dr. Ambedkar resigned from active politics to focus on social reform. His two books “Who were the Shudras” and “Untouchables” provide an explanation for the untouchables’ existence. Shudras were the Kshatriyas who were degraded as a result of a conflict with the Brahmins and the Brahmins refused to perform the thread ceremony for them resulting in the fourth Varna. He traced the origin of the untouchables to 400 A.D.; they were born out of struggle between Buddhism and Brahminism. Untouchables were Buddhists who had refused to join the renaissance of Hinduism.

“Man must eat to live and live to work for the well-being of society”, he said. He regarded that an educated man without character is a curse to the society. Character is more important than education and it comes through religion. He argued that the very basis of Hinduism is inequality and the depressed classes will never attain their development under the Hindu fold. Two personalities that captivated him were the Buddha and Christ. In his thoughts on religion he wrote that:

(1)   The society must have either sanction of law or morality to hold it together

(2)   Religion must be in accord with reason which is another name of science

(3)   It is not enough for religion to have moral code but the moral code must be based on liberty, equality and fraternity

(4)   Religion must not sanctify or ennoble poverty

According to him Buddhism satisfied all the requirements and he formally adopted it on October 14, 1956. Just before his death on December 6, 1956 he completed his famous book entitled, “The Buddha and his Dhamma” one of the best books in Buddhism that he wrote after years of research to bring to the followers of Buddhism on what the Buddha said. His life dealt a shattering blow to the arrogance of those who held that individual elevation and attainment were the monopoly of the privileged few. He was conferred the honor of Bodhistava a level close to the fully enlightened one.

There are many lessons we can learn from Dr. Ambedkar’s life. Perseverance and passion come to mindimmediately. One person, one passionate person can make a change in another person’s life, in a country or even in the world. What are you passionate about today?

Live from New York City!

Hungry?

Prime Time with NetIP presents Celebrity Chef Jehangir Mehta. Broadcasting LIVE from Graffiti Food and Wine bar in New York with an audience, join NetIP’s brand Strategist Pooja Dhawan and guest co-host Shweta Subramanian of HumDesi Radio. June 7th, 7pm EST.

We invite you to have a listening party and serve up some goodies while you listen to our live show. Download the iPhone app and listen on the go.

Besides being the author of the book Mantra: Rules of Indulgence, (HarperCollins) he was the runner up on the Next Iron Chef, aired on Food Network, and was also on the Martha Stewart show. In collaboration with NetIP New York, all guests in the audience will receive Jehangir’s signed book after the show.

Vote for Jehangir Mehta on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), http://myown.oprah.com/audition/index.html?request=browse

Currently, Jehangir, a former pastry chef to the brilliant Jean-Georges Vongerichten of Jean-Georges fame, is working on a multi-city tour with Whole Foods on a program called Kids Food Adventure with Chef Jehangir, where he teaches children to cook and eat healthy.

WWW.JEHANGIRMEHTA.COM
WWW.GRAFFITINYC.COM

Listen live on HD Radio on
New York - 98.7 FM (HD2)
Washington DC – 103.5 FM (HD2)
Chicago – 101.1 FM (HD2)
Los Angeles – 105.9 FM (HD2)
Or anywhere in the world via the internet, humdesiradio.com
Please join us for a live broadcast, call toll free 1-877-DESI-321 Ext 305 to ask questions during the show.

Email us at primetime@netip.org, Tweet us on www.twitter.com/netipna

About Prime Time with NetIP

NetIP launched its radio show in 2009 and has a large listener ship across its broadcast cities and the web. During this regular show, leading business, financial, arts and media professionals discuss issues such as; surviving the financial turmoil by leveraging South Asian roots; the political voice of South Asians; the face of the 21st century Indian American professional; struggling for the American dream, immigration, economics and much more. The show gets over 6000 listeners on the internet alone. Every show brings NetIP’s social networks to life with questions, comments, status updates and more. Hum Desi Radio is a division of World Band Media, North America’s first Ethnic Digital Radio Network.

An Evening with Dr Jayaprakash Naryan

On Tuesday May 4^th, NetSAP Boston hosted sought after speaker Dr Jaya Prakash Narayan of the Lok Satta Party during his tour of the United States to deliver talks on various topics as part of the “Rejuvenate India” series.  The event was held at MIT University and co-promoted by the MIT University student group, Sangam and the local People for Lok Satta chaper.

Dr.Jayprakash Narayan is presently a member of Andhra Pradesh state legislative assembly, a former doctor, social reformer, columnist and former Indian public administrator. During the 16 years of distinguished public service in various capacities, he acquired a formidable reputation in the state of Andhra Pradesh and India. He was also the founder of ‘Lok Satta movement’, an Indian non profit for democratic reforms in India. Dr.JP launched the Lok Satta political party in 2006 with citizen centric government as it’s main agenda. He was a journalist (author of news paper articles), an Indian social activist for local governments, a member of various Constitutional and Government committees and a motivating speaker. He has played a key role in drafting many Indian laws in last decade like the Right to Information act (2005), Electoral reforms and decentralization.

The event began with Dr. Narayan speaking on multiple topics of his political experiences in India and he shared a number of interesting and enlightening stories on what was currently happening in the country.  He then gave his views on what his vision of what India should be doing moving forward and he gave ideas to people on how they could get involved.

After his initial speech, a lively and interactive question and answer session followed for more than an hour.  The crowd of almost 100 people were very engaged with the discussion and many different people asked questions about Dr. Narayan’s views on  issues relating to politics, his own life experiences and how he got to the point where he was at today.  In fact, the question and answer session would have continued even further, but the event had to end because the time ran out.

This was an excellent event that received positive feedback afterwards.  The people in attendance enjoyed listening to the dynamic speaker, Dr Narayan and they appreciated NetSAP Boston hosting him for an event.  The event served as good publicity for the organization in the local community as many people in attendance were not aware of NetSAP Boston prior to attending the event.

NetIP invades TiECon 2010!

“All people are entrepreneurs…” -Muhammad Yunus, Founder of the Grameen Bank, Nobel Peace Prize Winner

L-R: Sonal Mukhi (Outdoors Club Chair, NetIP Miami),
Anit Agarwal (NetIP Bay Area),
Praveen Yalamanchi (President, NetIP Miami),
Jasmin Rohman (VP of Events, NetIP Dallas)

NetIP has had a long standing history with our Alliance Partner organization The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE). TiE is a global, not-for-profit, dedicated to fostering entrepreneurs across its international network. Since its founding in 1992, TiE has grown to become the world’s largest organization for entrepreneurs and professionals, with membership spread across 54 chapters in 13 countries.

This year many NetIP members from across the country came to be inspired at TiECon, TiE’s annual National Conference which boasts to be the world’s largest conference for Entrepreneurs. The conference offered attendees the chance to connect and engage with entrepreneurs, VCs, industry executives and thought leaders over two full days of insights, sharing of business ideas, and power networking.

On Thursday May 13th the 17th annual TiECon, held at the Santa Clara Convention Center in the heart of Silicon Valley, started with a VIP Reception with Chief Technology Officer of the United States and former NetSAP Boston President, Aneesh Chopra.

This was followed by the actual kickoff Friday morning. This year the theme was “It’s In Your DNA” which goes to the point that we all have it within us to become an entrepreneur and harness our great ideas and put them in action. The conference offers the perfect ecosystem for building and launching a great company. With over 3000 attendees, 50 sessions featuring 150+ speakers, industry leaders and experts across entrepreneurial and business topics, and five focus segments (Internet, Software, Wireless, Clean Tech and Bio Sciences), this was a great event to garner the skills, resources, and contacts entrepreneurs need to succeed!

TiECon 2010 Highlights:

TiE50 – The 50 most enterprising startups in the fields of –Software, Wireless, Internet, CleanTech, and Biosciences

Power Connect – Power Networking with a Segment Focus

Business Bootcamp – Starting a Company. Running a Company. Taking it to the Next Level.

The Outer Realm – Cutting-edge research that will shatter your perceptions of technological and business boundaries

Key Note Speakers Included:

G. Steven Burrill (the BioSciences Pioneer, CEO of Burrill &Co.), Aneesh Chopra (first Federal CTO of the USA), Hakan Eriksson (SVP, CTO, Head of Group Function Technology and Portfolio Management, Head of Ericsson, Silicon Valley), Jeff Hayzlett (CMO of Kodak), Reid Hoffman (Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, LinkedIn), Deep Nishar (Vice President, Products, LinkedIn), Dr. K. Anji Reddy (Chairman of Dr. Reddy’s Labs, leading Indian Pharma Firm), Sir Martin Sorrell (Head of 250+ companies at WPP, the world’s largest advertising firm), Bill Sheedy (President, Visa Inc.)

Dr. Reddy of  Dr. Reddy’s Labs, shared how his simple vision of giving the people of India affordable medicine led him to grow his company to become the largest Pharmaceutical company in India. He also gave two key takeaways on his success for aspiring entrepreneurs: That we have the advantage to make quick decisions and that we always need to stay flexible.

Jasmin Rohman, NetIP Dallas VP of Events, attended one session on “Where are our Women Entrepreneurs and CXO’s?” which gave insight on how women can increase their presence in the entrepreneurial playing field and reach those top CXO positions.  Some keys to decreasing the gender gap were to encourage daughters from an early age that they are capable of anything they dream of and also to just encourage each other with support and mentoring to get a typically “risk-adverse” gender past the tipping point and ready to take the entrepreneurial plunge.

Since the best networking occurs in a social setting, TiECon concluded with a “Rhythm and Passion” themed banquet featuring musical performances from RDB, (Rhythm Dhol Bass) and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Stars.

NetIP Miami President, Praveen Yalamanchi tweeted throughout the conference and you can find his key takeaways from the various speakers at twitter.com/pravvy

“TiECon 2010 was the first TiE conference I attended.  I was overwhelmed by the sheer passion, energy and optimism at the conference.  The speakers were the best in the industry.  Innovation was the key driver of all entrepreneurs. I am at the brink of launching my company, LinkedNets, a platform that connects organizations and groups with each other with fine grained privacy controls.  The purpose of my attending TiECon was to understand and experience in person what was happening in Silicon Valley in relation to the launch of LinkedNets.   TiECon far exceeded my expectations.  I returned making invaluable contacts and re energized.  It was worth every penny and every second spent in attending the conference. I urge every entrepreneur to attend this one conference every year.”
-Pratima Rao, CEO, LinkedNets, TWINE Chair, Dallas, TX

NetIP San Diego Awareness and Fundraiser for Cry

NetIP San Diego Drum Day event : Awareness and Fundraiser for Cry

With much anticipation and change of venues finally the day of the event that we were all kind of waiting for had arrived. The drum circle was something we had all only heard about and seen videos of some place. It seemed like a lot of fun and a perfect stress buster, but to experience it was something we had all been looking forward to.

This event essentially was an awareness and fundraiser for Child Rights and You (CRY) – an organization dedicated to restoring the rights of underprivileged children. Netip also collaborated with ‘The Green Elephant’, a small start up company that deals in fair trade, hand made and environmentally friendly products. TGE distributed beautiful handmade gifts to all the donations for free that afternoon.

Kat Fulton – a multi talented musician, was our drum circle lead. She has done her masters in Music Therapy from Florida State University and has also provided thousands of rhythm-based events for various corporate and professional groups, wellness retreats, staff development workshops, team-building events and retirement communities.

Kat had bought in a truck load of drums; big and small, thin and fat, short and tall, all kinds. There were shakers for kids, a guitar and other really cool instruments, some of which we hadn’t ever seen before. The event location was at Balboa Park, amidst nature, trees and a pleasant quiet with a few kids around.

Cry and Netip volunteers helped set up chairs and the drums under the shade of a tree, in a circle along with a couple of tables holding information fliers for Cry , the free gifts from The Green Elephant and some yummy cake for our guests.

Initially, under the lead’s guidance, three to four people started learning basic drumming techniques and playing. We were taught how to compose & pass the beat, calling and responding without really talking and few other world beats. Before we realized our group grew to a bigger circle of 15 to 20 people including a few passer’s by and kids. They were so infected by the fun we were having with music that they felt compelled to join in! This actually was one of the intentions behind holding the event in a public place – to introduce outsiders to our group and our cause.

I must admit, Kat was very patient with all of our “curious George” queries put forth to her one after the other during the entire duration of the event. At the end of it, everybody was a wee bit wiser than before about drums, drumming and music on the whole.

In between, Cry volunteers introduced the organization to the group, spoke about its work around the world and answered queries. It was a small 20 to 25 minute discussion but very informative and engaging. All the participants shared their ideas and thoughts with keen interest on the work of Cry.

In the last half hour, the group took over the drums in Indian style! Bhangra and Garba rhythms were played on Kat Fulton’s drums. By now the teacher had swapped places with us and was learning new beats from us! Having the Indian beats playing in now, it was inevitable to end the event with a round of few bollywood songs. The group seemed like it could go on singing and drumming all day. Kat says “I feel so energized after this experience, you guys are awesome!” And from our end, we are all so thankful to her for introducing us to the fun of music and drumming!

The last few minutes were dedicated to Cry fundraising, membership enrolment and cake eating. We all went our ways thereafter, revitalized, energized, with fond memories and many new friends! May be we will do it again soon!