A Memorable Reunion Journey
Rambabu Subedi
PestalozziWorld Reunion 2006 was successfully organised in early March at the Royal Navy Centre, located in the beautiful seaside town of Sattaheep, Thailand. The Nepalese delegation led by Madam Jana Thapa, Chairperson of Nepal Pestalozzi Foundation (PAHAD), consisted of Bhaba Bahadur Thami, Hikmat Khadka, Bishnu Parajuli, Durga Gautam, Tara Paudel, Sushila Subba and Rambabu Subedi.
The sea is something new for us Nepalese. We always yearn for an opportunity to get close to the sea. This year’s Reunion gave us one such opportunity. We spent four days listening to the deep and pleasant sounds of the sea and appreciating the beauty of the shore. On the one hand we had the warm hospitality of our Thai friends to make us feel at home and, on the other, the closeness to the mighty waves of the sea. Indeed, we cherished every moment of our stay in Thailand.
Words are not enough to appreciate the extreme care our Thai hosts took in making our food and accommodation arrangements and in decorating the conference hall; they ensured at all times that the best quality was offered to us. Our hearts filled with gratitude towards our kind and efficient hosts. Hearty congratulations to Udom Vichayabhai, Chairman of Thai Pestalozzi Foundation, and his colleagues, especially Jantrawan Chongnoncee and Jiradet Kasemsuk, for the success of the programme! What I would like to say to them is, “Dear friends, just as you welcomed us with the heart of the sea, we would like to welcome you with the heart of the Himalayas.”
The most memorable moment for the Nepalese delegation became the launching of GLIMPSE, a magazine published by the Nepal Foundation. We were filled with inexpressible joy when Sir Richard Butler, a veteran member of the Pestalozzi Movement and the founder of PestalozziWorld, launched the magazine; all the delegates in the conference hall gazed in wonder at the magnificent portrait of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi featured in the magazine. Indeed, the publication of GLIMPSE is a remarkable achievement for the Nepal Foundation.
PestalozziWorld Reunions have a special significance. The system of the Pestalozzi alumni and other associates meeting together in each other’s home countries every year to share their experiences, to exchange ideas, to assess their Foundations' achievements of the past year, to pave new paths to be followed and to devise new strategies is, in fact, unique. This system immensely helps in meeting the aims of PestalozziWorld. It not only renews friendships between the alumni but provides new vigour and enthusiasm to the trustees of PestalozziWorld. In this respect, Reunion 2006 was very successful.
For me, some of the most memorable aspects of this year’s Reunion include the Pestalozzi-cordiality of Richard Butler, the Pestalozzi-coming-together of Lady Diana Butler and Pam Butler, the Pestalozzi-devotion of John Dilger, Elizabeth Bluck and Phuntsok Tashi, the Pestalozzi-busyness of Jantrawan Chongnoncee, Jiradet Kasemsuk and Hikmat Khadka, the Pestalozzi-seriousness of Udom Vichayabhai, Deepak Gangoli, Yashpal Kapoor and Caroline Winchurch, the Pestalozzi-joyousness of Bishnu Parajuli and Durga Gautam, and the Pestalozzi-smiles of Uma Uniyal, Jana Thapa and Bhaba Bahadur Thami.
After the formal Reunion programme ended, My Dear Hikmat and I headed up north to Chiang Mai via Bangkok with our kind friend, Khun Jiradet. From Sattaheep in Central Thailand, we were able to reach the northern nook of the country. We stayed as Khun Jiradet’s guests from March 6 to 10. He not only showed us around Chiang Mai but drove us as far as the north-most Chiang Rai Province. While in Chiang Mai, he arranged for us to visit the major tourist attractions of the historic city, including the temple of Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai Zoo, Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden, Chiang Mai Night Bazaar and the famous umbrella making centre. He also took us to the Chiang Mai University, where he has been working for more than two decades. The night we spent at his resort near the town of Mae Khachan in Chiang Rai was very memorable. Surrounded by beautiful green hills, both Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are, no doubt, Thailand's northern treasures.
I feel Khun Jiradet is a very fortunate Thai. He is blessed with a God-like elder brother, Khun Pongthep, and a Goddess-like wife Khun Nong. We were amazed by Khun Nong's simplicity, warmth and politeness. What an ideal woman she was! No wonder, she inspired poetry to flow in me when we were at the resort.
Live long, Jiradet, with your noble wife Khun Nong!
Keep smiling, Jiradet, with your lovely wife Khun Nong!
Khun Nong has given you all that you can ask of life,
She is life’s most precious jewel, she is goddess incarnate!
On 10 March, Hikmat and I returned to Bangkok by train. There, our two local friends, Khun Nok and Khun Nink, took excellent care of us. I will never forget the love and respect Hikmat gave me throughout this journey. Neither will I forget the lovely people I met in Thailand, especially Khun Jiradet, Khun Nong, Khun Pongthep, Khun Nok, Khun Nink and Khun Jiradet’s four-year-old daughter, Khun Wan.
(The author is a board member of PAHAD)
PestalozziWorld Reunion 2006 was successfully organised in early March at the Royal Navy Centre, located in the beautiful seaside town of Sattaheep, Thailand. The Nepalese delegation led by Madam Jana Thapa, Chairperson of Nepal Pestalozzi Foundation (PAHAD), consisted of Bhaba Bahadur Thami, Hikmat Khadka, Bishnu Parajuli, Durga Gautam, Tara Paudel, Sushila Subba and Rambabu Subedi.
The sea is something new for us Nepalese. We always yearn for an opportunity to get close to the sea. This year’s Reunion gave us one such opportunity. We spent four days listening to the deep and pleasant sounds of the sea and appreciating the beauty of the shore. On the one hand we had the warm hospitality of our Thai friends to make us feel at home and, on the other, the closeness to the mighty waves of the sea. Indeed, we cherished every moment of our stay in Thailand.
Words are not enough to appreciate the extreme care our Thai hosts took in making our food and accommodation arrangements and in decorating the conference hall; they ensured at all times that the best quality was offered to us. Our hearts filled with gratitude towards our kind and efficient hosts. Hearty congratulations to Udom Vichayabhai, Chairman of Thai Pestalozzi Foundation, and his colleagues, especially Jantrawan Chongnoncee and Jiradet Kasemsuk, for the success of the programme! What I would like to say to them is, “Dear friends, just as you welcomed us with the heart of the sea, we would like to welcome you with the heart of the Himalayas.”
The most memorable moment for the Nepalese delegation became the launching of GLIMPSE, a magazine published by the Nepal Foundation. We were filled with inexpressible joy when Sir Richard Butler, a veteran member of the Pestalozzi Movement and the founder of PestalozziWorld, launched the magazine; all the delegates in the conference hall gazed in wonder at the magnificent portrait of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi featured in the magazine. Indeed, the publication of GLIMPSE is a remarkable achievement for the Nepal Foundation.
PestalozziWorld Reunions have a special significance. The system of the Pestalozzi alumni and other associates meeting together in each other’s home countries every year to share their experiences, to exchange ideas, to assess their Foundations' achievements of the past year, to pave new paths to be followed and to devise new strategies is, in fact, unique. This system immensely helps in meeting the aims of PestalozziWorld. It not only renews friendships between the alumni but provides new vigour and enthusiasm to the trustees of PestalozziWorld. In this respect, Reunion 2006 was very successful.
For me, some of the most memorable aspects of this year’s Reunion include the Pestalozzi-cordiality of Richard Butler, the Pestalozzi-coming-together of Lady Diana Butler and Pam Butler, the Pestalozzi-devotion of John Dilger, Elizabeth Bluck and Phuntsok Tashi, the Pestalozzi-busyness of Jantrawan Chongnoncee, Jiradet Kasemsuk and Hikmat Khadka, the Pestalozzi-seriousness of Udom Vichayabhai, Deepak Gangoli, Yashpal Kapoor and Caroline Winchurch, the Pestalozzi-joyousness of Bishnu Parajuli and Durga Gautam, and the Pestalozzi-smiles of Uma Uniyal, Jana Thapa and Bhaba Bahadur Thami.
After the formal Reunion programme ended, My Dear Hikmat and I headed up north to Chiang Mai via Bangkok with our kind friend, Khun Jiradet. From Sattaheep in Central Thailand, we were able to reach the northern nook of the country. We stayed as Khun Jiradet’s guests from March 6 to 10. He not only showed us around Chiang Mai but drove us as far as the north-most Chiang Rai Province. While in Chiang Mai, he arranged for us to visit the major tourist attractions of the historic city, including the temple of Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai Zoo, Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden, Chiang Mai Night Bazaar and the famous umbrella making centre. He also took us to the Chiang Mai University, where he has been working for more than two decades. The night we spent at his resort near the town of Mae Khachan in Chiang Rai was very memorable. Surrounded by beautiful green hills, both Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are, no doubt, Thailand's northern treasures.
I feel Khun Jiradet is a very fortunate Thai. He is blessed with a God-like elder brother, Khun Pongthep, and a Goddess-like wife Khun Nong. We were amazed by Khun Nong's simplicity, warmth and politeness. What an ideal woman she was! No wonder, she inspired poetry to flow in me when we were at the resort.
Live long, Jiradet, with your noble wife Khun Nong!
Keep smiling, Jiradet, with your lovely wife Khun Nong!
Khun Nong has given you all that you can ask of life,
She is life’s most precious jewel, she is goddess incarnate!
On 10 March, Hikmat and I returned to Bangkok by train. There, our two local friends, Khun Nok and Khun Nink, took excellent care of us. I will never forget the love and respect Hikmat gave me throughout this journey. Neither will I forget the lovely people I met in Thailand, especially Khun Jiradet, Khun Nong, Khun Pongthep, Khun Nok, Khun Nink and Khun Jiradet’s four-year-old daughter, Khun Wan.
(The author is a board member of PAHAD)
Editor's note:
- PAHAD has offered to host the next PestalozziWorld Reunion in Kathmandu, in early February 2007.
- Copies of GLIMPSE are on sale and can be purchased from PAHAD board members. The income from this magazine will be donated to our scholarship fund.
- GLIMPSE II is being targeted for Reunion 2007and the initial work for this project is already underway.
- 'Khun' is a polite word in Thai language, used in front of a person's name.
- PAHAD has offered to host the next PestalozziWorld Reunion in Kathmandu, in early February 2007.
- Copies of GLIMPSE are on sale and can be purchased from PAHAD board members. The income from this magazine will be donated to our scholarship fund.
- GLIMPSE II is being targeted for Reunion 2007and the initial work for this project is already underway.
- 'Khun' is a polite word in Thai language, used in front of a person's name.
posted by PAHAD | 9:34 AM
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