Unforgettable 2006

Jammu, the temple of relationship

Jammu is the land of temples. The most famous of all the temples is Vaishnov Devi temple.  In my experience, Jammu like Kashmir is a paradise. Jammu is also the temple of relationships. I have loving daughters, sons, and friends who provided distinct taste of friendship that added one more dimension to the rainbow of my relationships. I consider theses friendship relationships as very precious. I keep sanctity in each of my relationship. The secret of my happiness is long lasting relationships.  I remembered all of my Us friends who made my life in the US a memorable one. I remembered M.R. Saraswathy teacher, my favourite teacher for Indian History in the 2 year Pre- Degree course at Sree Narayana College for Women at Kollam district in Kerala. I always liked  to learn Indian history as I had  special regards for my teacher. Another reason for interestingly learn Indian History was that it was history of  our beloved country. I loved to learn the past to know the present. I just remembered Saraswathy teacher because she taught us about Timur dynasty, invasion of Kashmir, pathetic plight of Pandits to Jammu due to massive massacre of Pandits and their families, and plundering of their belongings. During my stay with Dr. Arti Bakshi, I heard from her husband about his family's interactions with those Pandit families who had to suffer immense difficulties while staying  in migrant camps so close to his house in Jammu. Their house was just 8 kilometres from the Pakistan border. Earlier, I studied that hundreds of Samarkhand cooks accompanied the Timur dynasty to add multiple twists to Royal tastes with traditional Wazwan cuisine consisting of nearly 35 course, mainly meat based food organised under the direction of the Master Chef, Vasta Waza.
When I stayed with a muslim Kashmiri family in Kashmir, she told me the tomatoes and potatoes brought from 'India' were not that tasty as those cultivated in Kashmir. She also told me that Pandits will not use onions and garlic. Similarly muslims avoid using curd and asafoeteda. When I stayed with friends in Jammu, I heard the same story from Dr. Arti Bakshi. The parotta and dal curry were very tasty in Jammu. If they visit Kerala, the parotta we make will be tasted totally different as we make them from maida flower and not from wheat powder.
On the previous day of Coral's wedding, the lunch items were very traditional ones. It was in Rajputtian style. So I learnt that there are mainly three food styles sustained by Muslims, Rajputs, and Kashmiri Pandits. There may be more styles although I experienced only these three styles.
I learnt a dogri song which I sang  in many events in Jammu, which all of the participants appreciated very much, even though I did not get an opportunity to visit a dogra Family to sense the dogra taste!
Amar Mahal and Bahu fort, Army good will public School in Rajouri, SKPAU in Udahmpur, temples,  Kashmiri Migrant township, Jammu and other universities and colleges, and moreover, very hospitable people are the precious assets of Jammu! I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Jammu. Next time I will visit Ladakh monastery, statue of Buddha in Kargil, and more palaces, mosques, and monastery in Jammu. I am waiting for the next trip to Jammu to generate more interactive sessions with school children, college students and particularly GFATM counsellors in Jammu. I really missed them. I missed Madhu Burma whom I very badly wanted to meet in Jammu. Few things will be left undone for making possible the next visit. I too did the same thing.But I confirmed in my heart that Jammu and Kashmir state is my second home in India!

Sweet memories in the USA

with TFL founders in Kansas

with Dr. Jeanne Smith in Kansas

with Dr. Bianca Hirsh, California,U.S.A..

 with my daughter in law Lakshmi, grand son Abhinav and yelder son Rajesh

  Dr. Howard Gillis& Dr. Sacha Bunge, my teacher, Seth and Levi, thier sons in California,U.S.A.

With Sacha& Howard

Abhinav, our  grandson with Dr. Dale Ulrich, our family member in the U.S.A.

 Dr.Herb Smith & Dr. Jeanne Smith, my close friends. 

 With Ziao ming and his friends at Rajesh residence in LA, U.S.A. 

Dr. Dale Ulrich, Bridgewater College

With Lakshmi on top of Nestle Office building at LA.

With son Rajesh Rajeev

Bridgewater college faculty members, Virginia, USA.

With Laksmi, my daughter in law in LA, USA

visiting Nestle

visiting temple in L.A.

with Dr. Ruth Goldman and Dr. Harvey Peskin, California, USA. 

Dr. Ruth Reed, Juniata, Pensylvania with her friend.

Best moments in Jammu

This Rajputian daughter of Jammu, CORAL,  is bold and bright, beautiful and brave. I like her very much. I felt she moves slowly in building relationship. She has lot of preserved energy. She will be a useful psychologist. I wish her success in her efforts to get a good job after marriage. She got a very good husband!

  Coral and Vishal- Made for each other!

Perfect Blend!

 

Dr. Chand(GFATM), Dr.Arti( PSY.DEPT), Jammu

 

In GINGER, NEW DELHI

 

 with  Jammu daughter Vritti sharma  (Lecturer)

with GFATM

with GFATM staff

 

Everything possible in Jammu just because of Dr. Arti BakshiBlending Smile of north and south!

GFATM office, Jammu university

GFATM office of Jammu  is attached to the Jammu university. Dr. Chand is in charge of the program. The office is attached to the department of psychology headed by Dr. Arti. Unlike other parts of India,  the state of Jammu & Kashmir has unique problems. There are safety problems, transportation problems due to long distance travel required to reach offices. Every day commuting is impossible. For example,  from Rajouri to Jammu, it is really difficult for one to commute. I thought it is high time for the higher authorities to understand such issues if the program has to run smoothly and effectively. I have affinity for this program . So I would like to contribute to counselling input to the GFATM  program, whenever I could do it in many parts of India.

Pam in skype- 20 years of friendship

Today I woke up at 5 am, took yoga for 45 minutes, and opened the skpe to check whether Pamela whom I call Pam was on line or not.  I was 39 years when I met her. It was in 1991. My elder son Rajesh was 13  and  younger son Rakesh was 6 years when I met her. Now her son Bishan is 13! Both  of us were in the Sanfrancisco State University in California as students of the department of Pychology, living in Verducci Hall, in single rooms. I was in the Clinical psychology program, and she was in the School Psychology program. I was away from my family living in Kerala. When I felt very lonely and sad, I used to talk about them to her. She listened to my stories. I felt very comfortable to comunicate with her. I have a habit of staying in everlasting friendship, and visiting my friends when I get an opprotunity. I visited Pam in and her family consisting of Lejvardi her husband, and Bishan and Alex, her sons in 2007. They live in Gilbert in Arizona.  I wanted to see all of them. Today I could see them in skype.I  talked to Pam and Lejvardi. Bishan and Alex have grown nicely. I was very happy to see Pam and family. I hope one day they will visit Kochi, where we live. We talked about our teachers.  If I visit Canada, I will surely visit her in  Arizona.  I wish I could also visit Mexico.          

Sun set- bye Jammu

I left Jammu with  beautiful memories. I will get more chances to visit Jammu. I will be happy to meet students, teachers, and others who will happily accept me and share their love to me. Thank you Jammu.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DzN7crlEmdYw

It is very interesting to see this ceremony. Please enjoy it.

 

9 Aug 2007 ... Wagha border retreat ceremony - part 2. ... Wagha border ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DzN7crlEmdYw

Comments of students of Jammu university on One day workshop on Women, Gender Ideology and Stress

A fantastic woman....with a soft heart and a definite aim.... I am fortunate to know her....Every word, every action of hers', teaches one some or the other thing........!!!! a star spreading her light and enlightening others...YES a gem of a person.....luv u AMMA....!!! 
CORAL VISHAL -  Ph.D. scholar, Jammu university
Thanks, mam for such a good workshop. I am really thankful to you for giving us the opportunity to learn certain skills which are not related to our subjects but are beneficial to use in our life situations.I also like your enthusiasm as well as the Malayalam song which u made us to learn. I feel the way my mother tries to make me understand about life situations.Really thank u mam for giving ideas to overcome stress and making aware of good effects of stress. I understood the concept of self you explained. Please again come to Jammu to enhance our knowledge.
Suresh sharma

The work shop was very enlightening, wonderful, very informative, and I liked the activities in between your lecture. We thank psyychology dept. for giving us opportunity to hear Dr. Amma.
Destiny.tani@gmail.comI
Today's workshop on women, gender ideology, and stress make us very much clear about the concerned topic. Ammaji, with your help we attended such a good workshop in our department and hope that you will come again for such workshops in future. I became proud of my self after hearing your views. Please come again  Ammaji to Jammu. We love you.
"foolom ka thareem ka sabka kahna he
bharath ke pas "Amma" sa anmol
gahna he, sari umar hamem sada  rahna he."
Shika Sharma

The workshop was really intersting, attractive, knowledgeable and thought generating. I very much appreciate the lecture delivered by Ammaji. I enjoyed her style. Amma has loud voice, full of positive energy, positive thoughts and I like her very much. One day I wish I am like her!
Pritie

The workshop contained vast amount of knowledge. Dr. Sarada enlightened us with her valuable thoughts about gender and stress. We were honoured to have you here for such a workshop. Please come again.
Aakriti Sharma

I had a great time through out the workshop. It is a pleasure to have met  Dr. Sarada Sreedevi Amma. I am fortunate to listen to her for 4 hours.Thank you, Amma for giving me such a wonderful experience.
Vritti

Being part of the workshop was a very wonderful experience. I learnt things I never heard and knew before. I love to be part of such workshops in future. Thank you.
Rohini Jamwal

The lecture was extremely enriching and illuminating, especially because it focussed on the emotional abuse, stress, gender and all of us, women. Every woman faces all these at home and outside at some point of our life. Dr. sarada was an exuberant speaker. It was a treat for me to listen to her.
Syed Shehna, Ph.D. scholar

Dear madam, It is a great honour to receive a great lecture from you. It was really awesome. We learnt many good and necessary things to follow in life.  I love you, madam.
Vandana, psy. student

It was a good experience, mam. The way you interact with people is impressive.The knowledge that you provide is valuable. Thanks for your visit. Please come again to share your knowledge with us.
Veena Thakur

Respected madam, Thanks a lot for giving such enriching information on these three concepts. By this, especially I come to know about these concepts and now I learnt how to cope stress in my ways. I understood my place as a woman and what I can  do as a woman.
Bandana Sharma, Jammu university

It is really a great opportunity for me to attend this workshop. I am encouraged and I thought it would be better to attempt to change my way of thinking about me. It helped me in many ways. It helped me to understand me better.  Please invite Dr. Sarada for another worthwhile workshop.
Vriti Sharma (M. A. Psychology)

Dear Amma, Amazing experience from an amazing professor. Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge with us. We are honoured. Please revisit us.
Psy. student

Thank you Amma, please come again, give another lecture for us, I like to become like you, you are unbelievably powerful!
Psy. 1st year student

Ammaji, U r fantastic. Please come to psychology department, I believe that you will create history for our department. You are just like a mother to us. I love you ammaji, you know the way to teach, you know the perfect path of interaction, we will miss u so much . Please join a professor of our department.
Sini Anand, Jammu university

The workshop was awesome, interesting, interactive, experiential, thought provoking  and very practical. You are always able to convince us with simple examples. Learning became very interesting. We like your teaching ideology.We enjoyed your quiz, presentation style, content , and communicative style. The test was also very useful. Thank you
Reetikakerni

You have given a fabulous workshop. I had not attended such a workshop in my life. You are definitely different from other teachers. You are lively, unique, and we are impressed with your style of teaching. Thank you for spending your precious time with us. Please visit again.
Shobna

The workshop was very good. I gained knowledge about what ever you explained. It is a very inspiring lecture. I enjoyed it very much. I am thankful to you for coming to Jammu and spending your time with us.
Jagriti sharma

   I have a nice experience. It was a wonderful workshop. I enjoyed a lot. I can never forget this experience. . The way madam Sarada explains things is very simple and understandable. Dr. Sarada  gave us a test on Perception. It was very fruitful to me to understand my own behaviour. Thank you.
Nischal Sharma

The workshop on women, gender ideology and stress was an awesome experience. It wasa unique experience. I wish I get such workshop more.Prof. Sarada's energy level is consistent through out the day! congratulations, Dr. Sarada. Please help us to learn more.
Sonali Jamwal

The workshop of the PG> department of Psychology was really very interesting. It was a wonderful workshop. Prof. Sarada Sreedevi Amma has amazing talents. I enjoyed her workshop.
Bimmi Big

About workshop-  very informative, full of humour, complete positivism, able to grasp women psychological  issues,conduct please such fruitful workshop for us in future, cause such workshops help us apply concepts in real life.
Vinay lata

It was a very good experience in attending the workshop. Listening to Dr. Amma was a great  experience. She is very cooperative with the students. She is a genious teacher. Amma helped us a lot to understand certain  concepts in psychology in understanding  certain  psychological issues. Her style was very unique. Thank you so much, mam.
Arooj Chib

I appreciate dr. sarada sreedevi amma for her content, style and commitment to her work. She is very clear about what she talks. She made us understand relationship between  women and  gender, gender ideology and stress, and women and stress. later she connected women, gender ideology and stress with beautiful examples. Please invite her by other departments aalso to enable more students to benefit from her lectures.
Thank you madam for sharing so much for coming to our university and sparing your precious time for us.
Akriti Rajput

The workshop is very interesting,    we liked it very much. She has given knowledge to us. She is a great personality. We are fortunate to listen to her. Thank you, mam. We request to you to come again an dteach us. Please come again and again.
Pooja sharma

This workshop was a great experience. You were able to convince us about different aspects of emotional abuse. You were able to connect it with gender ideology. I would like to attend such workshop again. Most importantly, you are very  active, enthusiastic, lively and bold. You know the best tecchniques of teaching. You know to sense the moods of students.
Twinkle Kam

It was an awesome experience to interact with Dr. Amma. Madam made us familiar with new concepts in psychology, she added to our knowledge. Her workshop on women, gender ideology and stress was a valuable contribution to our life. She convinced us with many examples. I am thankful to her and the department  for giving us this opportunity
Aditi

    This workshop with Dr. Sarada  was educative by all means. The event was very well organized.
Dr. sarada was always enthusiastic, and energetic and she was convincingly explaining everything. But I also felt that  some more time would have been for us to clarify certain doubts. It always happen.
Sneh Mirakhur

To ammaji: First of all, I would like thank Ammaji for such an enriching, knowledgeable, and enjoyable workshop. This is my first experience to listen. This my first workshop to participate. My self esteem moved high.  Due to personal circumstances, I am already in stress. But after attending this workshop, I think I will try my level best to combat it and help others to manage it. I will help others to manage stress in good ways for more better rresults as you said.
Ammaji, please come for another workshop and help us learn more from you. This day is one of the happiest days in my life! Thank you ammaji.
Karuna Gupta

Journey Back to My home state, Kerala!

2 men teachers made the travel dream of LI students real!

Sourav, Dan, Rahul, Sarath, Akhil, Edwin, Sinjith

I very badly wanted to visit Unnikuttan, and meenakshi, son and daughter of Ambili, my sister. Unni had to return from Lucknow after attending an official meeting. He came by car to New Delhi.  I did not know Meenakshi's place of residence.  Other wise, I would have gone to visit her. After the hospital visit, I decided to sleep  in my room at Ginger. I took rest in the afternoon. At 7 pm,  Unnikuttan came to the hotel. He drove me to Nizzamuddin train station, bought dinner for me, and boarded me in the Doronto train at 9 pm. He was in the station until the train moved. I was very happy to see him. He is such a nice son. I love him a lot.

Dan, Rahul  (8th graders)and Sinjith(11th grader)

The compartment was filled with luggages and students of Labour India school. The next 2 days were filled with very interesting  events. All of them were asking many doubts about mental health. They started telling their concerns on several issues.  I treid to help them understand their issues. They closely listened to me. I really enjoyed those adolescent students. They too loved our interactions.

All of us felt so happy in the morning of 24th, as we touched Kerala. We reached Ernakulam station at 6 pm. My husband, Raj was in the station to receive me. Vow! It is again a happy feeling to come back to our home at Kalamassery.  I enjoyed the Jammu trip a lot. Thanks Jammu friends. Thanks Vinu mon who received me at Nizzamuddin on my arrival to Delhi from Kerala. I have special regards for Vinu from his childhood. Thanks  Unnikuttan. Thank you my dear friends in New Delhi.
Thank you Raj and my sons Rajesh and Rakesh and my daughters in law Lakshmi and Sheetal. Thanks to my amma at home. Thanks to my grandson Abhikuttan.  All of them made my life happy and worth living.

Bye, Jammu!    

Arrival at Delhi, October 22

At Ginger, the Yatri Nivas hotel at New Delhi near the train station.

The medical students, strong hold of Dr. Pawar,  Doctor herself, Amma, I and another medical student.

with   Sourav, my student at CUSAT

I arrived at Delhi at 10 am. satya praksh Sourav, my former student at sms. received me at the station. He helped me to take a room in the Ginger hotel of Yatri Nivas of the Railway. It was a very good hotel. After taking bath, I went to the RML hospital to visit Amma. She was given lunch at the time I entered to her room. Amma looked ok. Her daughter Dr. Pawar told me that she would be discharged at 3 pm. I spent quality time with Amma. She asked me to sing songs. I sang all the songs I sung at Jammu for her. She was very happy to again see me at the hospital. She promised me that after getting well she would visit Kerala again and would live with us. I invited her to stay with me in our house in Kerala.    

Bye, Jammu, October21, 2011

Bye, Jammu!  I love you.

Kashmiri travellers to New Delhi from Jammu. They visited jammu to invite their relatives to attend the wedding. I had a very nice interaction with all of them. 

Jhelum express at Jammu train station on 21 october, 9. 45 pm. Ready to board.

Beautiful flowers. Deedi has a good garden.

Deedi and Dr. Sharma live here. It is my jammu family

I visited Dr. Avninderji and Deedi. Arti called her Deedi, I too followed her in calling her Deedi. She is siter of Dr. Satya, Arti's husband. I visited Dr. Bahri, whose daughter is married to Avninderji's son. Avninderji , his mom and Deedi visited Kerala  year ago.  Amma is a wonderful character. Our communication was perfect in the sense she could not speak Malayalam or English and I could not speak Hindi or Panjabi. But we could very well commnicate our emotions. I sang a dogri song, 3 hindi songs which amma loved to hear. Amma is now 82, the same age as my amma at home.  


The day arrived for my exit from Jammu. I got many opportunitiese to visit several other colleges, schools and universities. I postponed them for the next trip. I had to leave before the Diwali, teh festival of lights. In north India, it is a big festival. I prepared sambar, raita, thair satam, chicken curry, rasam, and thoran. Satyaji, Arti and I enjoyed the Kerala dinner. They ensured that I was boarded in the Jhelum express bound to Pune via New Delhi. The train started at 10 pm.  There were 4 Kashmiri women in the compartment in which I was boarded.They were happy to hear the dogri song. I enjoyed the train trip to Delhi.