CATS: Photo Gallery: Organic Farm Picnic

CAT Amanat and CAT Aman buys making sustenance packs for the CATS..

To keep the cost down for you, we do everything by ourselves,
right from your name badges, sustenance packs, equipment for games etc.
If you call at the eleventh hour to be included for the
activity the following morning, that means kids have to
run to the shops to get sustenance pack items late into the night.

I hope now you understand why last-minute calls cause
such chaos at the organisational end of each activity!

Lazy Sunday afternoon CATS reached Sattva Farm of CAT Gaurav in Landran.

The farm was all set to greet the CATS.. MEOW :)

Registration and 'naam-karan' ritual as usual!

Whilst I was busy in ensuring everything is in place and
that there's a place for everything planned for the day ahead,
our 'Juice Wala' got buys in peeling kinnows to prepare
our welcome drink at the farm - Fresh Kinnow Juice :)

Fresh juice on a warm winter afternoon was indeed a Great Welcome :)

Freshly harvested veggies being scrubbed clean in the meantime
by the farm helpers... These were all consumed either raw
by CATS or were used to prepare the sumptuous feast for CATS at the farm!

Yound and old could not contain their excitement and
started exploring various nooks and crannies even before
the guided tour had begun...

CAT Krishan went a step ahead and chomped off a whole mooli
whilst waiting for the tour to begin!

and just when I had gathered my flock together to begin the tour,
everyone decided to buy the kinnows to take home with them ;-)

FINALLY, the tour begins!!

CAT Gaurav explined how and why he himself got involved
with organic farming, what it means by 'organic',
how he learnt the tricks of the trade, the mistakes he made
and the benefits of organic food..

Do you know what this is? Its 'Jeev Amrit'.
Now tell me what is bought at Rs.1.50/- a litre to be added to this can ;-)

A makeshift scare crow!!

A quadruplet carrot ;-)

CAT Puneet could not contain herself and polished off
a cauliflower head with little CAT Anna along the way :)

Why are potatoes grown in a ridge rather than flat bed?
Can you tell the difference between a green and a white leek?

Any CAT who answered correctly, was given a slip which mentioned
the prize. For example, CAT AP won a bunch of HALDI (turmeric).

Do you know that potatoes grow in bunches?
CAT Monica holding up a tender baby potatoe after
gently harvesting one plant

Necessity is the mother of invention ;-)
Another make shift scarecrow to scare the rabbits away at night!

The plastic bag makes scary sounds when the wind blows and
the white colour of the bag keeps it visible for the rabbits even in the dark..

Hozzaaatttt NOW!

ahem... and how can we forget the basic neccessites of living...
a makeshift dry toilet at the farm ;-)

Such is the bane of urban lives we lead that even elderly CATS
who had spent a considerable time in the fields earlier in their lives,
had trouble recognising vegetable pods from pulses pods.

CAT Tanbir in the meantime started putting the raw material
together for the feast to be cooked...

There was LOADS TO DO as we were to cook everything
from scratch and that too without any proper kitchen...
everything was makeshift and CATS being CATS,
had planned for a traditional European Feast!!!

We do know how to shoot ourselves in the foot... meow!!

Go on.. Tell me which plant is this?
Is this raddish or is peas or lady finger or cereal?

The Prized Mooli for CAT Tony ;-)

and whilst rest of the CATS trotted further into the field
for sowing the seeds, transplanting the saplings and
harvesting the vegetables to gain first hand experience of working in a farm...

some of us got involved with chopping, peeling and dressing the veggies for the evening..

We used this tawa to produce 'grilled' veggies and chicken
as well as 'baking' mouth watering pizzas!!

CAT Rajive at work with CAT Ashish A while CAT Ravinder S seems to be inspecting ;-)

CAT Tanbir, our Head Chef beautifully choreographed the cooking
with active participation from the two deft Cooks;
CAT Ashish A and CAT Paramjeet...

With such ferocious activity taking place feets away,
I am amazed how could these two simply sit and talk about the weather!

At 5pm it was time to mingle our 'Pind Diyaan Mutiyaraan'.
As CAT Puneet put it, each of the 20 sexy sirens
colourfully dressed to kill. CATS excitedly trooped in to be
personally introduced to each mutiyaar individually
by Mr Sarkaria is the 'Friend, Philosopher and Guide'
to each one of them. Not only could you admire them from
a distance, CATS were encouraged to touch them, hug them,
caress them, even sit in their lap if one wished.

CATS could pick anyone from a Chevrolet, a Mustang amongst
20 odd Vintage Beauties lined up in our village farm!

After a round of lip smacking garden fresh peanut salad
and mouth watering minestrone soup, CATS took a little break
from eating and indulged in a game of Helium Sticks

The young ones got into two teams consecutively to make two scare crows..

All this while, Chef and Cooks were busy getting the
Cheese Pasta Sauce and Arrabiata sauce ready for dinner... yummy :)

Pasta shells are ready too... lovely :P

Production line for getting the pizzas dressed..
Hats off to the production workers CAT Rachna, CAT Neerja R and
CAT Manpreet in ensuring there was not a spare moment
without a piping hot pizza on the table for the greedy CATS!