My relationship with Samvada began in the middle of 2018 and I have never looked back. The allure of the written word has enticed me as far back as I can remember and it prompted me to pen down my thoughts, opinions and reflections in a personal diary since my teenage years. In later life, my children often told me to write a book but my contributions were confined to chapters in medical books and articles in indexed medical journals.
Samvada, however, offered me a platform to share my musings with others, to vent about matters close to the heart, to showcase my passion for a sustainable lifestyle. It was Samvada that brought Slim Homes, the eco-friendly organization that I founded in Delhi in 2017, to Gurgaon.
The Editors’ Meet on the 13th of April 2024 at the IHC New Delhi, was tremendously successful because it brought together over a hundred people from across Delhi NCR. As we listened to many of these Editors, we realized we were birds of a feather in that we shared a common desire to highlight the vicissitudes of community life. Samvada gives us a platform to focus on many concerns with honesty and to help bring many troubling issues to the attention of the RWAs and local governance. This has often resulted in a happy resolution of the problems at hand. As mentioned by the Secretary of SCRWA, Samvada, true to its name, provides a much-needed communication link between the RWA and the Residents.
Samvada has also been instrumental in giving some people a renewed personal identity and has boosted the self-esteem of many as they explore their flair for writing. Encouraging children to write is another feather in Samvada’s cap more so because living in today’s world of instant culture, children hardly find time to dwell on their thoughts and pen them down.
The icing on the cake was the souvenir that each of us received after the cerebral and gastronomic feast at the Editors’ Meet. The paper mâché Nandi with Madhubani motifs, which was made by recycling old Samvada copies, resonated with the tone and tenor of what is very close to my heart, that of sustainability and being part of a circular economy.
