And so another year has flown by! It seems like only yesterday that I was writing my last annual letter. Well, amidst all the economic turmoil and the doom and gloom, I hope that you’ve had something to laugh and smile about , some personal successes and achievements. For us undoubtedly, it was our trip to Kilimanjaro in August of this but more of that later.
As usual January is a very hectic month for all of us. After all the winding down and festivities at Christmas and the New Year, it’s back to serious business what with year end reporting and tax returns deadlines. Both boys were back at Uni after the break, Arjun having exams in January and Nikhil in his final year.
Arjun had been applying for lots of summer internships and in February he secured another 3, with Goldmans, RBS, and Lloyds. He was absolutely thrilled and agonised over which one to take for some time before finally choosing RBS. Nikhil meanwhile had been applying for graduate positions but had not managed to secure anything.
Towards the end of January, we decided to climb Kilimanjaro for a charity called BEHT that we have been regularly supporting over the years. Ever since Hitesh had climbed it some 3 years earlier, people had been asking him to take a group there and when a friend who had suggested doing this under BEHT , he was ready to take on the challenge and urged me to go as well. I was eventually convinced and therefore embarked on some committed training – walking up the 12 flights of stairs at work every day! And some walking around Harrow on the hill.
In March we went to Tenerife for a week with my sister and husband, having managed to ‘win’ the holiday ie apartment at an Ideal Home exhibition, and we didn’t even have to attend any time share presentations! It was not a place we had been to before, not featuring highly on our normally active holidays , but actually there was a lot more to do than we had envisaged – enough to keep us occupied for a week at least!. We had hired a car to tour the island – We even managed to do some hiking up Mount Teide which was sprinkled with snow!
We had also booked a skiing holiday at the last minute to La Plagne to coincide with some friends going there and as it turned out we flew back from Tenerife on Friday morning and flew out again on Saturday. This was the day of world cup cricket final and as we arrived at the resort by about 11am, we though we could catch all the action at a local bar. Alas no! The French are not really into cricket so we had to confine our interest to watching updates on the sky news on an hourly basis. Eventually we must have dozed off ( being completely knackered for the last few days ) and so were not even aware of the result. But at dinner, one of the guys advised that India had won!
Our friends had texted us to let us know where they were – in the same village as us and so we decided to pay them a surprise visit in the evening. They had been upgraded from self catering to catered chalet and were just finishing their dinner. And they were really surprised! Their group was of mixed abilities and some were going to be taking lessons, so we agree to meet up mid morning with them and skied with them intermittently throughout the week.
The skiing in La Plagne is great – we’ve been to the resort about 6-7 times so Hitesh is very familiar with the place and now that it’s linked to Les Arcs it’s opened up a whole new area of skiing. We were there in April so quite late in the season and although they kept all the runs groomed by bringing snow from up high by afternoon it would always get really slushy. But we made the most of it and went to les Arcs one day, going up to the places we had walked through and also skiing over the golf course we had practised in over the summer the year before. The hotel we were in was right on the piste and was full board, however if you didn’t want to come fo lunch you got 16 Euros to spend per person on the sandwiches and drinks from their little tuck shop. That was a lot to spend and we just ended up buying lots and lots of water and fizzy drinks! It was a shame the kids couldn’t come – both had exams looming and so opted to study rather than come with us! Nikhil had already been skiing in December so he’d already had his fix but Arjun hasn’t been for about 2 years now.
After this it was back to more mundane things – work and all that, but we did have our weekend in Buckland Hall planned for the 2nd bank holiday in May. And before that Hitesh had his golf trip with the guys – This time they had decided to go to Tunisia as Turkey was getting a bit pricier. They had booked it almost a year in advance before all the Arab Spring protests and suddenly it looked like Tunisia was no go destination. It was touch and go for a few weeks but they did go –the golfing was fine but they didn’t enjoy it as much as the place was quite deserted , so not much atmosphere. And certainly no blond russian girls! I think it will be back to Turkey next year.
So we had over Buckland trip once again in late May , to this vegetarian fully catered beautiful country house in Wales . This time FLAG (friends leisure activity group) had managed to fill all the places by January and we had 60 people come, mostly couples. Once again we had organised ice breaker sessions, pre breakfast breathing, yoga and cardio exercises, morning walks, dancing, cards, karaoke, team competitions etc etc. One of the days we had decided to go for a long walk to Pen Y Faen the highest mountain in South Wales – more than 20 decided to come on the long walk as it was a relatively dry and calm day at the bottom. Whilst walking though the winds were atrocious – you kept being blown off course! And yet no-one complained – In fact everyone was still smiling when we got back to our weekend home. And Bena had organised a full team of masseuers/ masseuses to massage our legs back and hands. A lot of people commented on how this was the first time they had done this type of hill walking and what an achievement it was for them all. For me it was additional training for Kilimanjaro and I was pleased that I was coping relatively well. I have been really anaemic for a few years now and since the decision to go to Kilimanjaro had increased my level of iron supplements and it was working – I was definitely feeling more energetic. Watch out for our next trip to Antwerp , the site of the biggest Jain derasar outside India , Amsterdam , Floriade (once in a decade event ) and the tulip fields – the trip is scheduled for the first bank holiday in May, but we filled up over a month ago , within a week of e-mailing people! Promises to be yet another stupendous event!
And so we it was already June – virtually half the year had gone through in a flash and suddenly it is the 2nd anniversary of my father’s passing away. The hurt that we always thought would never heal has given way to other more positive emotions as we fondly remember my dad, his numerous virtues and of course still miss his fruit and vegetable shopping trips! However my mum has decided to take on the mantle and always tries to give us mangoes and other fruits when we go round – not quite the same as she only shops from round the corner but it’s the thought that counts! And of course Niru my eldest sister , on a long vacation here from the US has recently taken to filling his shoes – she recently got us about 200 passion fruits so we can enjoy fresh passion juice for a few months! Kaka would undoubtedly be proud!
To celebrate the 2nd anniversary, we had bhajans again and dinner – this time on 2 days to accommodate all the grandchildren located everywhere. Niru and her family were here from the US including Kaka’s 2 great grandchildren. It was great to have these family events where everyone makes an effort to come together and catch up with everyone else. It also gives my mum something to look forward to for days.
But still Arjun could not make either event. He was in China on an all expenses paid trip from Uni to represent Nottingham UK for badminton in the annual tri campus games. In his second year at Uni, he had taken on the challenge of becoming badminton captain for the university first team and this was the pinnacle of his captaincy. Still they were competing against China and Malaysia campuses so some stiff opposition. They did well to beat China but lost against Malaysia. And he had a great time over there.
During all this time we had been fundraising for the BEHT Kilimanjaro climb. I had had this brilliant idea of hosting a barbecue pizza party at the end of June to assist with the fundraising. Brilliant idea but totally dependent on the weather. And of course it poured for virtually the whole 2 weeks before the event. But on the day guess what- it was brilliant sunshine – the hottest day of the year so far! Someone once said that if you’re doing something for a good cause, the gods will smile upon you. It was definitely true that day! We had over 70 people and Hitesh had set up badminton and table tennis nets in next door’s garden and lots of outdoor table with gazebos in our garden so it actually looked very picturesque and rather continental. And the pizzas were great. All the hard work had paid off. We raised lots of money and everyone had a wonderful time.
In July it was Nikhil’s graduation – how the years have gone – it was like only yesterday that we were dropping to Bristol for the first time and suddenly he’s finished. The graduation ceremony was held in a beautiful old hall with high ceilings and stained glass windows. He had managed to secure a job for 6 months at RBS Dexia and was looking forward to earning some money. However he had also set his heart on going for a ski season and travelling and also wanting to study further.
Arjun in the meantime had already started his summer internship with RBS. A very steep learning curve, very early morning starts but not too late finishes, lots of networking and he came through his 10 weeks even more enthused about working in banking than before despite all the vilifications that bankers are subject to. Plus he managed to secure a graduate job out of the internship.
And so it was August and our Kilimanjaro trip – were we prepared enough or ready – too late to worry about it now – just take it as it comes. We went to Nairobi an few days earlier spending time with Hitesh’s cousin and family – they took us to Massai mara where we saw the wildebeest migration as well as some big game, plus a wonderful ostrich mating dance ritual!
I hope you all have a wonderful New year celebration and wishing you all good health, happiness, and peace in 2011.
Hasmita Shah 