Nishtha 20th Anniversary Celebration

Dr. Barbara and the Nishtha staff joyfully welcomed over 200 guests to join in the celebration of the 20^th Anniversary of Nishtha Health care Centre on 2^nd April 2015. The event at Tara Centre was graced by the presence of His Excellency Mr. Bernhard Wrabetz, the Ambassador of the Republic of Austria who presented Dr. Barbara with the Austrian Golden Cross, the highest civil award for Social Service. Our honoured guests included over 80 sponsors who have been supporting Dr. Barbara’s work for these 20 years, making it possible for Nishtha to make a significant impact on the health and social environment of the local villages. Local guests included our valuable friends and supporters including esteemed members of the Tibetan community. As the guests assembled a video recounting all the work done by Nishtha was shown. The programme opened with chanting by a group of 10 Tibetan Nuns from Dolma Ling Nunnery who prayed for the continuation of the good work being done by Nishtha. Expertly introduced by Radhika Shaunik , His Excellency made a speech in which he expressed his pleasure at being here and being able to see Nishtha, an organisation that he has heard a great deal about, with his own eyes. He has met Dr Barbara before in the Embassy in Delhi and always enjoyed talking to her and was impressed by her sincerity and dedication to her work as well as by her humour! He remembered his Mother who, he felt, being also a doctor would have applauded the work being done in the villages by Dr Barbara and regretted that she was unable to visit along with him and his family today. With that he presented the golden cross award to Dr. Barbara, pinning it onto her sari. We then all rose and lustily sang the Austrian National Anthem. Dr Barbara then addressed the gathering, expressing her pleasure that so many had come so far to share this occasion which was really not hers but belonged to everyone involved in Nishtha. She presented her staff, starting with the senior staff, Dr Kusum Thapa, Ram Chand and Suresh Kumar who have been working with her the longest. To these she presented a shawl, a certificate and a statue to adorn their household shrines as a memory of the occasion. She remembered Subhash Chand who sadly passed away in October 2014 and presented a certificate and a statue of Ganesh-ji to his widow who is now employed at Nishtha. Mohinder Sharma who she referred to as being like a son to her also received a certificate and a statue of Lord Shiva. There followed our community activists, Ravindra, Vijay, Megha, Ravi and Vijay Bhadwaj, our cleaning staff: Rasma, Surinder and Salochana, the stitching women’s group leader Maya Devi and our team of single women activists headed by Radha Devi. Finally Philippa Russell who has helped Dr Barbara with the administration of the project since 1995 was introduced and spoke briefly expressing how much she has enjoyed being a part of this project. Various guests then rose to give their own presentations.

Mr Wolfgang Grader one of our oldest donors, presented a cheque from the Club of Austria Bamberg.	Christl Lange presented a cheque from Weltladen, Ulm
Prof. Dr. Paul Drobec presented a cheque from the Charity Christmas Fair which was held in his castle.	Michelle Jaques and Molly Cooper presented a cheque from Hands Together, a British organisation which aims to help organisations which work in the fields of peace, justice and poverty alleviation.
Rinchen Khando Choegyal, Director of the Tibetan Nuns Project presented a beautiful door curtain stitched by the nuns themselves.	Tenzin Palmo presented a gorgeous statue of White Tara and spoke warmly about the value of Dr Barbara’s work.

At that everybody went out to enjoy a sumptuous local style lunch cooked by professional village festival cook Suresh Kumar along with the rest of our staff. This was followed by a cultural performance which opened with a lively song and dance by the Sidbari Nepali Young Girl’s Dancing Group. Bhandana Sharma, accompanied by local musicians Trilok and Rishi performed a haunting local song. Our sponsorship students delighted the crowd by performing a lively Gaddhi dance in full costume and drew everybody in to dance along with them until the end.

20^th Anniversary Week-long Programme of Events

Sunday 29th March

Over 80 guests, some who had arrived earlier, some on the flight from Delhi and a large group who had done the Indian Classic Tour with Dr Barbara’s son, Shankar all assembled on the 29^th at Nishtha for a reception and tour of our facilities. The rain caused havok to the arrangements Dr Barbara and the staff had carefully made to hold a reception under canopies in her garden behind the community Centre. At the last moment everything was shifted inside the Clinic where we enjoyed a traditional welcome and a wonderful lunch cooked and served by the staff. Many of our guests were old friends who had visited Nishtha before but for quite a few it was their first time to see where we are and we were particularly delighted to be able to show them all around. By 5.30 everyone returned to their guests Houses, many at Tara Centre and others in Himalayan Brothers guest House, Norling House and Dolma Ling Nunnery guest house.

Monday 30th March

This morning we were able to offer a very special chance to our guests to be a part of a public audience offered to visitors to Dharamsala on that day by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Not only did we get a very special photograph with His Holiness but he also gave us a short talk, sharing his commitments to increasing ethical values in the world, religious harmony and the securing the future of the Tibetan people. We then drove down the windy roads to the Nobulingka Institute which strives to preserve Tibetan culture, for a traditional Tibetan lunch and a tour of the very interesting Institute with it’s craft rooms, exhibition of costume dolls, a beautiful temple and gardens.

Tuesday 31st March

On 1^st April Shankar and Philippa organised each to take a group by bus for a picnic. Shankar took his group to the unique Musroor rock temple and then picnicked at the ancient fort in Kangra while Philippa took hers to see the exquisitely carved Baijnath temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva in his role as a healer. They then drove part way home and stopped at an organisation called AAvishkaar where they provided facilities to picnic and then the group of young girls currently undergoing a two week training there sang a song and performed judo for us. We then got to look around the very impressive and interesting project which aims to teach children science in a totally hands-on way. We then walked to the nearby tea gardens and were enthusiastically shown around the factory by the owner Mr Butail. While we were out, Barbara and our Trustees Radhika Saunik and Soniya Sebastian received His Excellency the Austrian Ambassador and his family and friends who swelled our numbers by a further 10 people. They were hosted for lunch at Dr Barbara’s house and then were taken on a tour of Norbulingka Institute and Dolma Ling Nunnery. In the evening they joined the rest of the party at Tara Centre for a festive dinner followed by a wonderful evening of music in which an excellent classical Indian musician Prabhu along with Hans, a guitarist from Sweden and two local musicians Mani and Navi performed local folk songs and Sufi poems accompanied by harmonium and tabla

Wednesday 1^st April

We took the whole group up to McLeod Ganj by taxi calling in at the Tibetan administrative area on the way to learn something about the Tibetan community in exile. We were fortunate in being able to see inside the Parliament building as well as to visit the temple of the state oracle and the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives which has a beautifully laid out museum of Tibetan art. At McLeod Ganj we visited the main Tibetan temple the ‘Tsuglhakang’ which is situated by Namgyal monastery and the entrance to the residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Despite the rain some hardy walkers enjoyed a walk around the Lha Gya Ri, a path with circles the hill on which His Holiness’ residence sits. Everyone was ready for a comforting cup of coffee and a toasted sandwich in one of the several coffee shops on temple road on the way into the main town. We then shopped until it was too cold and wet and took taxis down to their guest houses.

Friday 3^rd April

This morning a group of our guests left with Shankar on a tour of the Himalayan region. The rest of the party divided into two groups, one going by bus with Philippa to Musroor Rock Temple and Kangra fort and a smaller group with Dr Barbara to visit Baijnath temple, Aavishkaar and the tea gardens near Palampur. We all had a great day!

Saturday 4^th April

The Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts held a festival of “Lhamo” Tibetan opera performances at their centre above McLeod Ganj. We therefore all went to see the impressive performance going on. Some people stayed, enjoying the opportunity to sample a rare Tibetan experience while a group of 16 intrepid walkers headed up the mountain. 13 made it as far at magic view cafe. There we rested and snacked before heading down the hill though two people made it all the way to Triund, the high grazing ground just under 10,000 feet. The rhododendrons were spectacular! In the evening the whole party met at Dolma Ling Nunnery where we held a small ceremony to remember our friends and loved ones and to rejoice at the good work we have been able to achieve by lighting 750 traditional Tibetan butterlamps. It was a very moving occasion.

Sunday 5^th April

Today we were invited by Dr Barbara to hike up to her retreat house on the mountainside above Rakkar village for a picnic. Following the trail used by goats and the few villagers who live up here we saw one of the mountain schools and baby crèches which are supported by Nishtha. The children who live in these poor mountain settlements are some of the most important beneficiaries of our programmes. The weather which had been rainy off and on all week continued to be unpredictable but fortunately it rained while we were at the house and when we got back down to the village so we had a good walk without getting wet. In the evening we all got together in Tara Centre for a final dinner before everyone headed home. We had a wonderful week with our amazing friends and supporters! Thank you all for coming!