2 awards and some mela - moments

So, my red chili on the balcony can again enjoy the company of shiny stars and blinking bulbs! I sip my tea, enjoy the warming sun, and admire the result of last year's hunt for Christmas decorations in Mumbai - which has now been put up around the house again. My favorite place is the balcony: palms, bushes and flowers dressed up in tiny light bulbs. Happy December dear reader! Am I in Christmas spirit? Nah.. 

I am sitting here feeling grateful though. You see, 2 fellow blogger friends have nominated me for 2 awards - to show that they appreciate my blog. Yey! Someone enjoy what I write:-) It feels good:-) It seems to be "pay-it-forward" awards - so I will in return show appreciation to some of the bloggers I like! Looking forward to that: - to give a nice encouraging pat on the shoulder, in a way:-) Stay tuned on that one.

So, plenty of X-mas decor from last year - no need for new stuff - but you might remember that I have loads of gorgeous wrapping paper, boxes and gift-bags laying around? So, following the urge to find something to put inside all that - led me to a mela, organised by the American Women's Club.

Mela is a word from sanskrit, meaning a fair, a get-together. It is used in India for all kinds of gatherings f.ex cultural or commercial. It can include activities, shopping and dining options and entertainment. This mela included lots of stalls from Mumbai NGO's - selling their products - so a good opportunity to get great handmade gifts and supporting a good cause at the same time! Here are some of my mela-moments:

Akanksha is an NGO working to empower children from low- income communities, with a special focus on art classes. The kids' art is the inspiration behind the products: bags, watches, bangles, cards, calendars etc.

Great mousepads with quotes and colorful motives. 

Save The Children India is an NGO which runs a number of projects and focuses on improving education, health and living conditions for underprivileged children. They also have projects for women.

Beautiful bags for sale - at the Save The Children India stall. 

The Mann Center is an NGO which focuses on education and growth of children and adults with special needs. They provide training and adjusted programs to enable them to live as independently as possible.

Very lovely people at the Mann Center stall - and gorgeous stuff for sale too:-) 

Please check out the AWC homepage for a list of all the NGO's that were present at the mela, and for more info about the event as well. You can also order items through many of the NGO's webpages, or choose to support their work in other ways. They are doing a lot of good things. Many of them, like "my" NGO, are working for improvement in education and living conditions for children. What can be more important?

And talking about kids - my friend fell so head over heels in love at that mela! She ended up walking happily away - carefully carrying with her 4 handmade elephants and 2 camels! Lucky kids - who will get a soft elephant from auntie for Christmas:-) Although I do suspect she will keep at least one elephant for herself:-) 

Cute elephants from fourtyredbangles:-) 

Hope you have a good Sunday, dear reader! Bye bye from the red-chili-and-star-decorated balcony:-)