chaikidukaan.com

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  • . . .

    They say Charity begins at home… and I say Change does too!

    Chai ki Dukaan being like a home to me and a few others that I know and some that I don’t, felt like just the right place to talk about a few important things that are shaping up in the next few months!

    I hope some of you remember the 30on30 campaign. For the benefit of those who do not remember or need a quick refresh here are a few highlights of 30on30

    1. In Mar-Apr’09, some of my photographs were put up on sale via a blog.
    Details at http://30-on-30.blogspot.com/
    2. The initial aim was to raise Rs. 30000 in 30 days via the sale of these photographs
    3. The campaign worked well and there were about 2500 people who visited the campaign page during these 30 days
    4. We managed a total of Rs. 79000 by the end of the campaign5. We gave that money to ASK-Sankalp who promised that this would be used properly in the initiatives at Sankalp, which is a unit based out of Moradabad, UP focused on Child Rights and Education

    This really encouraged me and a few more, and we thought of doing something which would be our contribution to society and change, in a more systematic and continuous way! Some of us talked at length about what could we do, and more importantly how! The good part being that none of us were skeptical about the results, or the approach or if we should do something or not!

    There are lot of ideas, there is a lot to do, and there is a need of people who can support us! So if you are willing, or know someone who is willing to spend about 5-6 hours a week (dedicatedly) on some initiatives related to social issues please read on…

    1. If you are just willing to spend time and spread a word about what we are doing, GREAT! we would keep you posted and look forward to your support
    2. If you have a special skill like web-design, content management and editing, financial and legal knowledge, we would love to hear from you
    3. If you feel you’d like to be a part of such team and can give more time than just a few hours and connect with us for a longer time, please hold on…

    Give us sometime while we work some details. The intention is to keep things simple, our energies focused and mindsets positive!

    Game for it?

    p.s. feel free to write to Prashant @ prashantbhardwaj[at]gmail[dot]com in case you’d like to know more at this point of time, or just write a comment here!

  • Tea Talk

    “If you are cold, tea will warm you. If you are too heated, it will cool you. If you are depressed, it will cheer you. If you are excited, it will calm you.”

    ~Gladstone, 1865

  • 2009 in Pictures – June

    June was a travel month! (most months last year were travel months for that matter)
    Me, Ma and Pa went on a three day tour of the east coast… drove around the New York City… and visited a lot of places of tourist interest!
    Enjoy the photographs below!














































  • In my shoes!

    “Try and be in my shoes!”
    Heard it? I am sure you must have!
    I think this is a very inappropriate thing to ask, primarily because I do not remember buying shoes that did not fit! and unless someone else’s shoes fit me, there are not many chances that I am going to buy them, or the idea or perspective for that matter!
    Why get into someone else’s shoes then? More often than not, its going to be hard walking in them!

  • सुंदरकाण्ड – श्लोक

    This post is in continuation of the previous post on Sunderkand. This post completes the starting Shlok of the Sunder Kand.

    The first part of this Shlok is devoted to Bhagwan Ram. In this Shlok, devotee asks his Bhagwaan Ram to grant complete devotion towards Him.

    नान्या स्पृहा रघुपते हृदयेऽस्मदीये
    सत्यं वदामि च भवानखिलान्तरात्मा
    भक्तिं प्रयच्छ रघुपुंगव निर्भरां मे
    कामादिदोषरहितं कुरु मानसं च


    भावार्थ:-हे रघुनाथजी! मैं सत्य कहता हूँ और फिर आप सब जानते ही हैं कि मेरे हृदय में दूसरी कोई इच्छा नहीं है। हे रघुकुलश्रेष्ठ! मुझे अपनी पूर्ण भक्ति दीजिए और मेरे मन को काम आदि दोषों से रहित कीजिए

    Second part of the Shlok, devotee prays Bhagwan Hanuman.

    अतुलितबलधामं हेमशैलाभदेहं
    दनुजवनकृशानुं ज्ञानिनामग्रगण्यम्‌
    सकलगुणनिधानं वानराणामधीशं
    रघुपतिप्रियभक्तं वातजातं नमामि


    भावार्थ:-अतुल बल के धाम, सोने के पर्वत सुमेरु के समान कान्तियुक्त शरीर वाले, दैत्य रूपी वन को ध्वंस करने के लिए अग्नि रूप, ज्ञानियों में अग्रगण्य, संपूर्ण गुणों के निधान, वानरों के स्वामी, श्री रघुनाथजी के प्रिय भक्त पवनपुत्र श्री हनुमान्‌जी को मैं प्रणाम करता हूँ

  • Season’s Greetings!

    We just celebrated new year and Christmas and another pool of festivities is already here!!
    You already know what we are talking about, don’t ya? It’s time for desi til-gur sweets, kites, bonfires, folklores and laughters. Here, CKD wishes everyone a very happy lohri, makar sankranti and magh bihu and pongal too!!

    And as I sit here and write this greeting, a thought crosses my mind-
    All these festivals are celebrated for different reasons but they all eptiomize a single spirit-
    That’s the spirit of sprinkling seeds of happiness and harmony around us.

    And if that is the case, why restrict ourselves to just a few calendar days? 🙂
    We have some ideas to wave this spirit of mutual sharing in a continous fashion…. Please watch out this space for more… 🙂

    Till then,
    Cheers!

  • Cha

    The english word tea traces its roots to the name for tea in the Chinese Amoy Dialect: Te (pronounced tay). Cha is the Mandarin Chinese word for tea. Some countries use both. It’s not unusual to hear someone in England request a “hot cup of cha”.

    Text copied from a Tea Calendar that I bought last year.

  • The year of Binary!

    Today is

    10 – 01 – 10
    One of the few days in the year of Binary! Infact the year started with a Binary date… 01-01-10
    And tomorrow happens to be another binary day!
    11-01-10

  • catch 22

    Its unfair of people to expect something from me!

    Its unfair of me to expect people to not expect something from me!

  • सुंदरकाण्ड

    In our last visit to Milwaukee, I was talking to Prashant about our childhood and the places where we grew up. The place where I grew up is a very small place. Our land lord built a small temple in his house. We used to have our daily ‘Aarti’ in the temple and Sunderkand Path on every Tuesday. Suddenly Prashant asked me if I am interested to post Sunderkand in Chai Ki Dukaan. So here I am with my first post.

    मंगलाचरण

    शान्तं शाश्वतमप्रमेयमनघं निर्वाणशान्तिप्रदं
    ब्रह्माशम्भुफणीन्द्रसेव्यमनिशं वेदान्तवेद्यं विभुम्
    रामाख्यं जगदीश्वरं सुरगुरुं मायामनुष्यं हरिं
    वन्देऽहं करुणाकरं रघुवरं भूपालचूडामणिम्

    भावार्थ:-शान्त, सनातन, प्रमाणों से परे, निष्पाप, मोक्षरूप परमशान्ति देने वाले, ब्रह्मा, शम्भु और शेषजी से निरंतर सेवित, वेदान्त के द्वारा जानने योग्य, सर्वव्यापक, देवताओं में सबसे बड़े, माया से मनुष्य रूप में दिखने वाले, समस्त पापों को हरने वाले, करुणा की खान, रघुकुल में श्रेष्ठ तथा राजाओं के शिरोमणि राम कहलाने वाले जगदीश्वर की मैं वंदना करता हूँ