In your honor…

a poem by Ashwini Surpur.

It was a fabulous year!

Your enthusiasm and compassion was evident
You showed your competence
You excelled in what you did
What you did, you did with passion
It was a fabulous year!

You performed every activity with spirit,
the spirit that never faded
the spirit of love and care;
Your motivation was contagious
And so, you built a strong community
It was a fabulous year!

Whether it took you hours to drive or months to prepare,
whether it meant pushing the naughty children to perform
or pestering the busy youth to involve,
You did it all with persistence and endurance
Whether it meant working late hours or waking up before anyone,
you did everything to build this youthful organization
It was a fabulous year!

You ate after everyone ate in the party
You came before anyone and left after everyone
You have a heart as pure as gold,
and yet you are humble enough to not take a praise
It was a fabulous year!

You involved everyone -
from a baby to the senior-most member,
from a partygoer to the most serious member;
It was fulfilling to see -
Our little blooming flower buds, dancing on the stage
our fresh new youth, conducting the show;
You made us feel proud
It was a fabulous year!

Let us continue to grow and shine,
and spread the message of peace from Basava
in our own innovative way;
Singing vachanas in a pop style
Dancing the Bollywood dance;
Amidst all the fun -
our little snippets of activities to remember our ethos
will go a long way for our kids…
It was a fabulous year!

-Ashwini