The Welcome Meet was what the invite had promised where ‘Kuch unhone kahi, kuch hamari suni’. The Rakshika Secretary welcomed us, introduced us to the Who’s Who of the Ladies of the Faculty and the Staff and gave us a peek into all the exciting activities we could look forward to! This was followed by a self-introduction by all the Student Officers’ wives present. The Group photo and the Cake Cutting formally announced the start of our journey together.
It was indeed a wonderful interaction between the Ladies of the Faculty and Staff and the student officers’ wives. It was just the right occasion for us to flaunt not only our achievements and talents but also our smiles, sarees and selfie skills!!

The Army Wing of the course started the second month by hosting a gala evening at the magnificent Manekshaw Centre. After a round or two of drinks, all of us were treated to a jaw-dropping display of martial arts, dexterity and focus by the Assam Regiment boys! It surely put everyone in the right mood to move to the dance floor with the live band belting out peppy numbers. The showstopper event being the beautiful and melodious songs sung by our top brass! Very gracious of them! The fabulous food served in the impressive dining hall was the ‘cherry on the cake’ for a fantastic evening!

The Prerna cell welcomed 27 of us volunteer Rakshikas on 13th February 2019 at 3 PM.
1. The Prerna Secretary,
Mrs Rakhi Teotia welcomed us and gave a small brief on what Prerna is all about.
2. The Chairperson, Mrs Harindar Singh, addressed us and presented us all a badge and some helpful reading material.
3. Mrs Mamta Rawat shared her experiences and answered our queries regarding the whole process.
4. Col (Dr) Neelam Sharma gave the R&R perspective of Prerna....Their expectations from us and the boundaries we need to adhere to.
5. Mrs Rashmi Sharma, first lady of R&R team, addressed us and gave us some do's and don'ts to streamline our interaction with the patients and the staff.
It was a very informative session.
We all look forward to doing our bit towards giving support to the Onco warriors and their families.

It was an overcast day with the sun playing hide and seek, when we went for a dekko at the Mughal Gardens. However, the chill in the air did not dampen the enthusiasm of us Rakshikas in enjoying the beauty of these magnificent gardens.
Stocks, tulips, oriental lilies, ranunculus, roses, pansies, larkspurs....the list just goes on, the humungous dahlias being the favourites for taking pictures with. It was a feast for our eyes!
The landscaped lawns, the bonsai section and the dancing musical fountain formed the perfect backdrops for the umpteen photographs taken and shared! I am sure all of us got our perfect profile pics!

The Dazzling Divas of Raksha Bhawan set the ball rolling for the coffee evenings to be hosted through the year.
After the Secretary's welcome address and introduction of the new member, the evening started on a witty note with the comperes entertaining the audience with their one-liners!
The question-answer round, based on divas from across the globe, had the audience winning prizes for their answers.
The informative talk on the Myths and Fallacies of our diets gave the beautiful ladies some food for thought!
The 3-round group game had the eight groups competing on their observation, quick thinking and puzzle solving skills aided along with a confident ramp walk and fun enactments.
The evergreen tambola (with a twist) was followed by the announcement of the raffle winners and the prizes for the evening were given away by our First Lady.
President Rakshika addressed the ladies and encouraged us all to Be the Divas that we are!
After enjoying the eats and tea, we all left with the promise to ourselves to keep our Heads, Heels and Standards High!!

The men in blue complemented by the women in blue, were the perfect hosts at the Air Force Social held on the Palam lawns.
The beautiful ambience was further enhanced by the bevy of beautiful Rakshikas in hues of blue!
The chat corner was the most popular spot for the first half of the evening and the dance floor for the latter half. The live band belting out oldies but goldies had everyone tapping their feet to the music.
The interactive game had many competing vociferously for the prizes. With many in-house singing talents taking to the mike, the evening ended on the right culinary note with the sumptuous spread!
Thank you Air Warriors!

Lush green lawns, a beautifully lit up fountain, strains of melodious music and the warmth of the hosts welcomed us at the Civil Services Social.
It was a much awaited evening as it seemed like a long time since the whole course had met at one place!
The soulful music on the saxophone set the tone for the evening. The band was superlative with some of our in-house talents adding to the charm.
The chat corner, the appetisers, the lavish spread of food --all amidst the cool green ambience were the perfect setting for a wonderful, fun summer evening!
Looking forward to many more such get togethers in such beautiful settings!

It's been four months already! These four months have seen the beginnings of a wonderful relationship among us all...The start of a friendship that promises to hold true for eternity.
What better way to celebrate this friendship than with this 'Bestie' themed evening that the Vikram Vihar group organized for us!
The evening started on the perfect note with the ABBA number 'Bang-a-Boomerang' and all of us sharing our views on what we want in a friend. An audio-visual game based on some evergreen bollywood/hollywood numbers and series had all of us winning prizes galore. The songs of friendship in the form of a soulful solo number and a peppy medley had everyone humming and tapping along. Next, we put our thinking caps on in order to win prizes, by guessing the country's name from the clues provided!
The 'Friendship Tambola' was surely the star of the evening! We were given a sheet with 4×3 boxes in which we had to write down the names of any 12 of our friends present there...And that was our ticket to winning! But what made us all go "Awwww" and won our hearts was the rule that you shared your prize- money with the friend whose name won you the prize! Truly a lovely thought and gesture!
Our First Lady expressed her appreciation for the wonderful show and encouraged us to cherish the friendships being forged amongst us. She also gave us some pertinent tips for ensuring a smooth sailing in the upcoming events.
The selfies clicked at the ‘Bestie Corner’ will be stored in the album of 'Friendship' for posterity.
The delicious spread brought an end to a truly beautiful evening full of Fun, Food and Friendship!
Thank you Team VV!

Baking is an art like painting or writing---where instead of brushes and pens we use our hands and hearts to create delicious goodies!
Mrs Renu, an IRS Officer by profession and a baker by passion, graciously agreed to conduct a hands-on workshop on Basic Bread Baking for the Rakshikas. It was a three-hour long session filled with umpteen hands-on tips, mouth-watering aromas and lots of variations of the basic bread being learnt. An afternoon well spent, with us realising that Breads are not as difficult to bake as we thought and so we promised to ourselves to make these healthy breads at home instead of buying off the rack.

Varuna, named after the God of Oceans, was the apt and beautiful venue for the Navy Social hosted by our Sea Warriors!
The bright, sparkling smiles of our hosts were complimented by the bright sparkling chandeliers and the warmth of their hospitality was reflected in the wonderful music played and the songs sung.
The continuous flow of snacks and drinks got everyone into the right mood to enjoy the wonderful company and the melodious music.
It was tough to get everyone away from the photo corner and once we were in the dining hall, it was time to enjoy the sumptuous meal!
Thank you Sea Warriors for a wonderful evening!

The Combined Group comprising of the Civil Services spouses and the Foreign Officers spouses organized a wonderful Heritage Walk as a part of their turn to host the other Rakshikas. What a great idea it turned out to be!
Matching the September Sun in our yellows, we all met at the Community Hall for a pre-walk session. Creativity and talent galore was showcased by our Foreign friends in the mind-blowing adaptation of the Frank Sinatra number New York New York. Armed with hats, shades, fans and guidelines for the Poetry writing group competition, we boarded the buses for Agrasen ki Baoli, one of the oldest monuments and well-preserved stepwell in Delhi. Photo sessions all along the 103 red stone steps down and up made for the quick 15 minute stop there.
Next stop was the Purana Qila where we were welcomed with much needed refreshments. Some more photos and we were off for the tour with Dr. Sanjay and Mr Nirpender, who helped us appreciate the rich history and architecture. A lovely walk through the lush green lawns replete with flowering frangipani trees took us through the various structures and to the museum of confiscated artefacts.
Back in our buses, all of us scrambled to complete the Poetry writing task at hand. The cool community hall was now filled with laughter, a melodious song, gifts and prizes in abundance and a whole lot of love.
The President Rakshika addressed the Sunshine hued gathering and appreciated the perfect and flawless conduct of the whole show.
A sumptuous lunch was followed by some dancing, masti and fun! Take a bow, Combined Group....for this superlative meet!

The entrance said 'Welcome to the Global Village' and that's exactly what it felt like in the NDC Central Lawns!
All the Foreign officers and their spouses dressed in their traditional best welcomed us with open arms and gracious smiles. The beautiful evening was embellished with wonderful songs from Indonesia, Brazil, Bangladesh and a delicate, graceful Indonesian dance. The Jai Ho finale with all Foreign Officers on stage truly emphasised our bonds of friendship.
The popular and classic numbers played by the DJ had all of us grooving and the splendid feast re-energised us to go back to the dance floor!
Thank you! Our Friends from Foreign Lands..... for embracing our Indian- ness and giving us a place in your hearts!

What better way to express our gratitude for this wonderful year of friendship, travel and learning, than to treat our spouses as royalty and organize a Regal evening for them!
Dressed in hues of purple, the colour of jointmanship and royalty, the Rakshikas welcomed the Regal guests to the Rakshika Nite. A special cake cutting by the First Couple and Senior Faculty set the ball rolling for an evening of entertainment and fun. After a graceful classical dance performance came the Parade of the Queens which set the stage on fire with it's grandeur and uniqueness. The group games that let the Officers tickle their imagination and creativity were enjoyed by all. The Panel Discussion had the audience laughing at the punch lines and enjoying the improbability of the topic! The beautiful rendition of a poem asking the signs of old age to pause was followed by a peppy medley that got everyone tapping their feet......which was the cue to the DJ to hit the button!
Dancing to great music and enjoying the royal feast amidst the beautiful decor and ambience was the perfect ending for this truly Regal evening!

It feels like yesterday that we were welcomed into the folds of NDC and here we are being bid farewell!
With flowers in their hair and beautiful smiles on their faces the ladies of the Faculty and Staff welcomed us into the Central lawns. The twilight hour was the perfect setting for the group photograph which will be treasured by us for posterity.
Hunt Lounge was the centre of activity with beautiful songs sung, a song based audio-visual game played and a wonderfully personalized Tambola conducted. The Coordinators were appreciated for all their efforts with thoughtful gifts. President Rakshika addressed the meet and reiterated that "Once in NDC, always in NDC". She encouraged us all to maintain and retain this friendship, because this bond was our biggest takeaway from this magical year!
Words of thanks were followed by a delicious spread of eats.
As we were getting ready to leave, a surprise message from the Faculty Ladies, in the form of a song, had us all overwhelmed with love and gratitude!
The farewell gift will be cherished as much as we will cherish this gesture! Thank you!
We left the hallowed hallways of NDC with "A 'dil-se' thank you from each one us to each one of us!"