The year 2016 was uneventful. So I thought till I picked up photographs of various events. In retrospect 2016 surely had its share of significant events. Let me share:

Last January saw visit to the Caribbean and London where I stopped on my way back to Mumbai. This moment when the birds were following the fisherman’s boat remains permanently etched in memory.

My visit to my favourite author’s place: The House of Mr Biswas! That’s VS Naipaul.

And then London….

February 2016 was a memorable month because I travelled to Jamshedpur on an assignment – to blog about Tata Tiscon!

The heat, dust and yet the cheerful staff of Tata Steel is unforgettable. And then came a visit to Delhi. With the Chaudhries. Great time together.

In April, I completed translation of an English book in Marathi. That was one item on my ‘bucket list.’ My blogger friend, Priyadarshan Kale printed 15 copies and presented to me. Trust friends to give you such a big surprise!

And the Amtes visited home. The bonding was instant. I hope to do my bit in helping them in their monumental work.

My adventure in May. I held a public program on Conflict Management; it was a fund raiser for Rotary Club of Thane Metro. I contributed thus Rs. 1.50 Lakhs. I intend to do one more such a program in the coming year.

I was invited to Nepal to address the Uni Global Conference.

The conference helped me understand diverse viewpoints and a new concept ‘Union Social Responsibility.’

I visited Anandwan. At Warora. Twice during the year. The outstanding work of Amtes under the auspices of Maharogi Sewa Samiti. Felt humbled.

And then again in London. Just in time for the Wimbledon matches. Watching the matches live is very exciting. I clicked many photographs. This is one of them.

I watched three or four matches! Wow, what a surprise it was to meet Pratima in London. Almost after 40 years. Perhaps more than that…

I attended two Rotary Club meetings. This snap was taken when I attended meeting at Rotary Club of New Malden, Kingston.

And finally, our star attraction was…. Annika. Our granddaughter. Seen here celebrating her birthday with friends.

Charles Kettering said “Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress.” Yes, Sir! That’s the spirit!!

Vivek S Patwardhan