139/100
A Tussar in my favourite colour combination . The classic off white of raw silk with pink orange maroon and the typical striped border you’d find in Bengal style. I wait for ‘winter’ in Bombay to wear my silks …cram them into the two months when you can actually say it is a little less hot than the other ten.
Yesterday was nippy though and a Convocation at TISS , the Tata institute of Social Sciences the reason I headed out straight after I returned from Bangalore. A special one this Convocation. The first batch of young ( and not so young ) men and women who have been through a diagnosis of cancer at some time in their lives and who have received special training at TISS to be professional Onco Care Givers . This course the brainchild of the incredibly beautiful and enterprising Ruby Ahluwalia who after her brush with breast cancer set up Sanjeevani along with her husband Anil Ahluwalia through which she devised this innovative project . TISS was happy to get one of its sharp minds to create a module and a three month vigorous term saw these enthusiastic students qualify . Their own experience with cancer give them the cutting edge !
I am proud to have been part of the faculty that helped impart some skills and knowledge to this enthusiastic batch and it was wonderful being welcomed by them yesterday and see them receive their certificates .
Friends and peers like Vandana Gupta and Rajiv Sarin and Vani Parmar , Sunita Jadhav and Manjiree Joshi all have contributed to make this a really worthwhile exercise that’s mutually beneficial . And the encouragement and support from TISS is so admirable .
And great to run into Harshad Purandare who is doing his Masters in Health Administration here these days . A pipe dream of mine had always been to study at this institute . Too late now at 64 years of age but being part time faculty at their department of Extra Mural Studies is an experience I will always value and cherish.