FOI Quarterly Newsletter, June 2022
FOI News
Aarambh- 2022
In January, the outgoing President Bhakti Patwardhan handed over the reins to incoming President Roopa Ram in a virtual ceremony, “Aarambh”. The event was filled with memorable performances by members and kids. We started the year with a cultural show consisting of various musical and dance performances. This event was hosted by Archana Khole. The following participants added color to this virtual show with their special talent: Anita Joshi, Aarya Godbole, Pranjal Arekar, Snehil and Prisha Tiwari, Aditya and Avinash Thombre, Pramod Nelluri, Hari and Sudha Eswaran, Kedar Jambhekar, Arnav Jagadale, Akshaj Kanaskar, Anish Patwardhan, Disha Ram, Indranil and Diya Chakraborthy, Arti Kanaskar, Bhakti Paywardhan, Deepti Kulkarni and Shilpa Arekar
COVID Informational Session
On January 18th, a virtual COVID informational session was conducted with Drs. Navin Patil and Atul Kothari from the Arkansas Department of Health. Both doctors provided information about COVID variants and gave tips and advice for the health and safety of the community. We thank them both for their time.
Valentine’s Day
On February 13th, the much anticipated Valentine’s day event “Music & Mocktails” was held virtually, hosted by the sparkling couple Poonam and Mitesh Lotia, who despite having moved to Florida consider Little Rock as their home. Ambrish Pandit and his wife Harsha were the winners.
To celebrate Valentine's day in yet another meaningful way, FOI distributed lovely goodie bags to seniors living in 5 assisted living facilities across Little Rock. Goodie bags contained a blanket, anti-skid socks, deck of cards, puzzles and coloring books for senior citizens. A big shoutout to kids and members who helped pack and distribute the goodie bags.
Holi
On March 19th, we had a fun-filled Holi celebration at Welspun grounds. After the gloom of winter, the festival of colors was especially welcome. Adults and kids alike had a blast slathering each other with colors.
Hiking Club
As the weather warmed up, our hiking club got into action. On April 23rd, FOI members hiked to the beautiful East Quarry trail of Pinnacle mountain and enjoyed the stunning vistas from the vantage points of the trail.
High School and College Prep
On April 10th, a virtual information session for high school and college prep titled “It takes a Village” was held. The diverse panel included college-going kids, recent graduates transitioning to their first jobs, high school teachers and parents. Several key topics such as courses to choose in high school, importance of time management and volunteer activities were discussed. FOI thanks all the panel members (Anuradha Kunthur, Ritu Shekhawat, Vijayalakshmi Sridharan,Surabhee Eswaran, Snehil Tiwari, Aarish Moorjani and Sanjana Padala) for their valuable input and time.
A Slice of Life
An Introduction to Gardening from My Childhood Days
By Aarti Kanaskar
It all started when I was in 5th grade. I had the freedom of going independently to school by bus. It was a fifteen minute walk from the bus stop to my school. The walk from the bus stop to school was lined by nice old style bungalows in the prestigious suburb of Pune - the Deccan Gymkhana.
School usually opened in the 2nd week of June after summer vacation. The everyday journey to school in monsoon days was fun with the wet smell of ground and watching old bungalows. I used to be thrilled to walk by one of these bungalows which had a display of colorful flowers in all their splendor. The irresistible fragrance of Green Chafa and Sonchafa blossoming in the month of Shravan used to beckon me from a long distance. Varieties of roses, Arabian Jasmine (mogra), and Plumeria (chafa) with their different colors and fragrances used to entice me so much that it made me believe that I had only two sensory organs - my eyes and nose! The old Uncle who was the owner of the garden would work religiously every morning in the garden. Sometimes the Uncle would be seen planting the pineapple leaves in the ground. That was when I learnt that pineapple grew on this leafy plant close to the ground. I was fascinated and promised myself that one day I would grow a pineapple in my own garden.
My inquisitiveness for gardening graduated into full-fledged love when I started visiting my grandmother’s sister and brother. We used to call them Mame-ajoba (maternal grandpa) and Mavashi aaji (maternal granny). My Mameajoba’s house was right in the heart of the city – the famous Sadashiv Peth. His house was an antique style British building carved out of heavy stones. My favorite place in the house was the hexagonal terrace, which was adorned by green trees and potted plants. Touching the ‘Touch me Not’ plant in the terrace gave me this incredible feeling that plants can feel the sense of touch, they are alive, and they need to be cared for. Whenever I went to his house, playing with this plant was my favorite hobby. He had kept a big drum containing kitchen waste in the corner of the terrace. He used to put all types of kitchen waste, dry leaves and flowers of the plants in that drum. I later learnt that it was called compost during one of the engaging interactions with my Mameajoba.
My Mavshiaaji’s bungalow was also very nice and had a beautifully maintained garden. Every person in the house used to take care of the garden. During each visit to her house, I used to spend most of the time in their garden. They had grape vines & beautiful Krishnakamal in their garden that used to please and refresh my mind.
This is how I had gardening skills developed in my childhood. Now that I have grown up, I have taken up gardening as a hobby. Space was never a constraint to me. I maintained a small garden with few pots of roses and Kadipatta in the balcony and the terrace of my house. The flower of Brahmakamal, which usually blooms in the month of Bhadrapad (July/August), was cherry on top of the cake for me. To look at the flower bloom at midnight, I used to feel like I am the most fortunate person in the whole world, because that flower blooms only during specific hours. The Chafa and Prajakta trees always used to show their presence through their strong fragrances, and thus, I still feel nostalgic in the month of Shravan.
After coming to USA, I have kept my gardening hobby alive, and I am sure my experience and skill in gardening will grow as per my capacity. This year I am experimenting with compost from my kitchen wastes and dry leaves from the backyard. I have an honest wish that the way I learnt about the gardening in my childhood unknowingly the same way my kids will also develop interest in the subject.
So keep gardening and let us help make our Earth greener! ☺
Aarti's - Garden
Aarti's - Garden
Aarti's - Garden
Aarti's - Garden
Artist Corner
During these recent times, when activities were restricted, gardens provided solace to many. A lot of people took up gardening for the first time to either grow more food or improve their yard.
Gardens can give us a place to refresh and relax after a long day at work. Watching the bees and butterflies, waking up to the twittering of birds and watching them diligently build their nests are the many joys of tending to a garden. Gardens can help fight climate change even within the confines of our own small yards. Planting shade trees, growing native and pollinator-friendly plants and bird friendly shrubs and less grass-mowing can all go a long way to improve the microclimate surrounding our homes and provide habitat for the fauna around us. As an added bonus, gardening has a lot of health benefits.
Get inspired by all the lovely garden pictures from our members (from their own gardens and not professionally landscaped) and head to the nearest garden center!
Aarti's - Spring Hyacinths
Alokita's - Coneflowers
Alokita's - Shasta Daisy
Alokita's - Spring Magnolia
JKarkera's - Spring Hyacinth
Shayu's - Early Spring Flowers- Lenten Rose
Shayu's - Early Spring Flowers- Lenten Rose
Shayu's - Late Spring Tulips
Shayu's - Early Spring
Tulika's - Garden
Tulika's - Garden
Sangeetha Anand's - Garden
Sangeetha Anand's - Garden
Sangeetha Anand's - Garden
Bhakti's - Garden
Bhakti's - Garden
Small Business Owner
Hi, I am Kim (Kavita) Sharma. I am an esthetician involved in the skin and beauty care industry. I provide beautification services (such as skin and body treatments) helping people improve their looks and get a better skin tone and texture. I consult with them and provide appropriate treatments such as facials, chemical peels, extraction, dermaplaning, lash extension, microdermabrasion (specialized in Lymph Drainage), waxing, threading, henna, and several other services. I am very much interested in the beauty industry and always feel proud to help my clients with proper and satisfactory beauty care treatments. I evaluate their requirements, provide suitable recommendations, and advise them about various useful services. I chose this as my profession because I like helping women maintain their beauty and health which can boost their appearance and confidence, and this in turn gives me tremendous satisfaction. Beauty care is an ever-growing industry and has promising business opportunities. It is so gratifying to see my clients happy, beautiful, and confident after getting my beauty care treatments. I provide my clients with fair and pleasing customer service, a welcoming environment, a well-equipped, private, and relaxing environment to achieve their skin and beauty needs. Look out for promotion specials, friend referrals, and birthday discounts that I release throughout the year. Visit my website (www.littlerockdayspa.com) for details about various services.
You can book an appointment online or by calling (501-960-7426). Do check us out on the following
social media sites:
Social Media: @littlerock_dayspa
Facebook: Little rock Day Spa & Lash Bar
Instagram: kim_littlerock_dayspa
My family and I enjoy being part of the Friends of India (FOI) community. FOI provides many opportunities all over the year for social interaction, which are very helpful to build a network for my family and business. My family members always enjoy FOI events. I sincerely appreciate the time and constant efforts that FOI makes in engaging the community through a series of useful activities and cultural programs.
In the Limelight !
Patel Family
Mukesh and Hemali Patel
Mukesh’s parents: Jayantibhai and Vanlila Patel
Daughters: Jahnavi and Bhavi Patel
Picture on the left:Jayantibhai and Vanlilaben
Picture on the right: Mukesh, Bhavi, Hemali and Jahnavi
Tell us about your family members.
Our families are from Vadodara in Gujarat.
Mukesh: I am a software engineer by profession working in the great natural state of Arkansas since the last 22 years. We are originally from Vadodara (Baroda), a cultural city (Sanskari Nagari) in the state of Gujarat. My father Jayantibhai Patel is an accountant by profession. He loves doing woodwork and art. He also has good knowledge of astrology, which he practices as a hobby. He has built a temple for our house and for many friends. He loves kids and has made Indian style Jhoola for both of my daughters and friends’ kids. My mother Vanlila Patel is a homemaker and an excellent cook. She loves to read Gujarati mythical books. She enjoys learning new things.
Hemali: I am President of Gandolfo’s Deli, a New York style deli. I have been managing this restaurant for the last 5 years. Before that I worked at different retail and restaurant businesses at different positions. Before coming to the US, I also worked as an elementary school teacher in India for 5 years.
How do you all spend time as a family? What are your favorite family pastimes and hobbies?
Mukesh: In our spare time, we love traveling, gardening and cooking. I enjoy participating in different community events and supporting our community. Our main hobby during February to November is to spend time in our backyard growing different vegetables. In India, we Patels are known as farmers. Back in India we spent a lot of time on the farm planting and growing varieties of vegetables including beans. Here in the US, we start gardening from February by planting seeds in small pots and keeping them warm inside our house. When temperature warms up to the 70s, we move plants to our backyard and enjoy watching our small patch provide fresh organic vegetables. My parents have been living with us since they moved to the US and we love to spend time with them.
Where are you from in India? Can you recommend a place near your hometown to visit?
Mukesh: We are from the state of Gujarat. There are many places to visit in the state of Gujarat like Somnath and Dwarka, Kutch – the white desert of India, Akshardham – BAPS Temple, Sabarmati Riverfront and Statue of Unity. Navratri, a festival celebrated usually during October, is a good time to see and participate in the folk dance called Navratri Garba.
Gujarat is also known for its food- every city has its own variety of favorite food like Surati Undhiyu, Fafda and Jalebi, Kutchi Dabeli and many more.
When did you move to Little Rock? What do you like about Little Rock?
Mukesh: I came to Little Rock in July 2000, and Hemali and my parents joined me in April 2001. I loved Little Rock as soon as I first stepped in the city because it reminded me of my hometown Vadodara. I love small towns with less crowds. And of course, Little Rock offers great natural trails for people who love trekking and hiking. During fall, Little Rock transforms into Nature’s wonderland with a display of spectacular colors on the trees. It’s a city which is so close to Nature that we experience the best of both worlds!
Highlight some achievements of your family-awards & accolades.
Hemali: Jahnavi is in 2nd year of college, and she has achieved many awards for science fairs and different clubs. She was awarded the National Merit Scholarship for her PSAT score. Jahnavi loves playing piano in her spare time and reading books. Bhavi is in 2nd year of high school, and she loves art. She has received many awards for her art. She also enjoys volunteering at different community events. Mukesh has volunteered for FOI for many years by serving as the Secretary and Treasurer for FOI.
Vartalaap Team
Shayu Deshpande : Editor
Ramya Maneesh & Nitin Kanaskar: Web Design
Roopa Ram & Bhakti Patwardhan : Project Support