Mount Mary's blessings....

I was most touched when my good friend Rashmi Uday Singh sent me this uplifting image she'd clicked when she went to pray at the historic Mount Mary's church in Bandra. She said she had lit a candle for me and my family.... and I got all teary!
It has been that kind of a day.... sentimental and a little weepy. It is Danesh's birthday today.He is one of my oldest friends, and I love him dearly.He lives in Paris, but I still feel we are back attending Summer School in St.Xavier's College, every time we meet. The last time was a few months ago. We were both mourning the death of Gautam Rajadhyaksha. It was raining buckets on the Champs Elysee, as we sipped hot chocolate at Fouquet's, held hands and shed silent tears. I said a prayer for Danesh during my Ganesh puja. And I thought about the death of Dr. Verghese Kurien - an extraordinary man, a true visionary. I remembered vividly the time I had interviewed him in Anand more than 30 years ago. I had called him India's Doodhwala.... and the title had amused him greatly. It was such a special era.... you have to watch Shyam Benegal's 'Manthan' that was inspired by the Milk Revolution started by Dr. Kurien. At 90. Dr.Kurien slipped away knowing he had accomplished a singular mission. What a life! What a man!