Sunshine in the Dark

our friend g has been involved with a school for the handicapped for many years now.on 31st of last month, the school called S P J Sadhana School for the developmentally handicapped put up a fine fundraising show at the Taj Ballroom.31 years old,the school has 125 children on its rolls.principal ms gaitonde and her staff are doing extraordinary work in trying to bring these children into the mainstream.the sponsors of this glittering show were tata steel and indian hotels.

top tata honchos were all present including ratan tata and dr jamshed irani.ratan tata released a book titled 'sunshine in the dark'. the programme was a roaring success.the hall was jam packed with the creme de la creme of mumbai with their spouses in tow.there was a band in attendance and the psychedelic lighting with drinks flowing like water created a frolic ambience.the programme began with a musical number composed by g and she was also the leading actor and singer accompanied by three mentally challenged children.i never realised that she has such a good voice.she sang and danced like a professional.the audience was very appreciative and gave her a loud applause at the completion of her songdance.

then while the extravaganza choreographed unleashed by shiamak davar began, the 'starters' started arriving with everyone hoping for a good hearty meal and hailing 'bon appetit' with all the 'joy de vivre'.we all sat in predetermined places chosen by g around circular dining tables named after different herbal plants.i was given the 'oregano' table while i watched quite amused at the adjoining table aptly named 'ginger'.with ratan and doc along with g's hubby gopalakrishnan seated.food was western and i got a rissotto pasta and spinach followed by a nice bowl of fruits.it was an evening enjoyably spent.there must have been about 500 people or more.at 2000rs per head,g must have made a neat collection for her school and their cause.with everything under the sunshine being sponsored there was no room for any darkness.practically the entire collection must have gone to the corpus.fundraising is an art.s can learn a few lessons.