Tamilians across the globe usher in the New Year today, the 14th of April, and as they prepare to gorge on traditional delicacies, many also make it a point to donate in cash and kind to their favourite deities and to their favourite charities. One hopes that the generosity Tamilians show today, matches that displayed by the Chennaites last year at the Battle of the Buffet held as a part of JGW '09. As the name signifies, the battle is related to food, but the prize for the Battle was not the signature dishes that were lovingly prepared by Master Chefs, but the satisfaction one got from donating to a worthy cause. An initiative of Mr.Mahadevan of Oriental Cuisines and supported by 5star hotels, the event turned out to be one of the biggest fund raisers of the JGW '09 with over 50 NGos benefitting from the 90lakhs raised. More than 1800 participants paid around 5thousand each to enjoy an evening of food and music by noted singers and the money raised went to various charities. The evening was so successful that the organisers ran out of food and the volunteers had to do without. Not that they were complaining for as one of them Aarti Madhusudan, a volunteer for the JGW put it " What was interesting was that ..... it was the event where individuals, who were completely new, were giving,”
The photo has Mr.Vaghul with Mr.Mahadevan and Suhasini Mani Ratnam in Chennai. All of them have been very supportive of the JGW and Mr.Vaghul hopes that the JGW helps to create " a society where the privileged can take care of the underprivileged,"
These are words we should remember as we prepare for JGW '10 between the 26th of Sept. and the 2nd of October.
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