So the Big Day has come and gone and a week later , each one us who was touched by that magical day , still has a part of ourselves lingering over special, savoured moments and reliving each and every hour of a very special event !
From the spontaneous choosing of a rousing slogan “Chalo Chennai !” and a date and venue with all the grandeur the event warranted to the choice of the title of the meeting “Towards a New Dawn” and the visual that would portray all the passion of the quest , this has been a marathon journey that began fifteen months ago .
When the Chennai Friends of Max chapter took the responsibility of hosting the next Meet in Kolkata they were fired with energy and determination and on 23rd May we saw that brought to complete fruition. The Chennai Chapter – take a bow !!
The official colour for the meeting , matching the serene shade of the sea kissing Marina Beach just across from the majestic venue , was chosen . It was to be Teal Blue Tees for the guys and shimmering blue sarees of the same shade woven specially in Kancheepuram for the girls!! The magicians in that Mecca of weavers indeed wove magic into the golden borders of the sarees with the FOM logo.
When Dr Dan Vasella , the architect of GIPAP in Novartis and its charismatic Chairman accepted our invitation finally it seemed fitting that it was to Chennai he would come and lend his august presence to a meeting that was assuming great proportions .
The Madras University Auditorium was booked (with many a slip between the cup and the lip) big enough to host the thousand plus participants expected to throng the meet and calls made and invitations sent out. The Friends of Max from all over the country responsed with eager enthusiasm and the countdown had begun.
No cyclone or volcanic ash could dim the fervour or cloud the enthusiasm – 23rd May dawned and we all marched hand in hand Towards that New Dawn …please read on for reports from that day.
But before that, one big hug and a hundred million “thank yous ” to each and every one of you who made this possible ! Those who were there , those who could not be there but were with us in thoughts and spirit and to those who sent us their love and blessings from world over !
Amma