Page 68 - BSAM 2015 Q4

Sojourns in India
Celebration, life, bonsai! friends,
By Solita Rosade, USA
Photos courtesy Chase Rosade and the Banyan Bonsai Club, Vadodara, India.
Top; Bonsai display in the Surya Palace Hotel lobby welcomed guests to the All India Bonsai Convention.
Insets; dancers at the extraordinary Opening Ceremony performed colorful and unique dances incorporating cultural and artistic aspects of India.
66 | BCI | January/February/March 2016
As a new year begins, Chase and I enjoy looking back at the great times spent with our dear bonsai friends around the world. What a privilege and a delight it is to know that the bonsai people we meet
become members of our family, and no matter where we go, we nd more people joining the practice of bonsai, strengthening the Bonsai Family of the World.
Our last bonsai trip of 2015 was to return to India to attend the All India Bonsai Convention in Vadodara, in November. e rst of our many pleasant surprises was arriving at the Surya Palace Hotel and climbing to the top of the stairs where a magni cent reception by the beautiful group of Indian friends awaited us. e girls dressed in their colorful saris, the men in their bright shirts, the smiles, the owers, the music, and
the sweets! We forgot the tiring 30-plus-hour journey from New York to Vadodara!
In this magni cent country, guests are treated like royalty, and the large group of us certainly felt it. e event lasted three days with participants enjoying a great educational program, lunching together every- day, and sharing wonderful friendship. It was orga- nized, funded and sponsored by a small bonsai group, the Banyan Bonsai Club of Vadodara, currently led by Mrs. Chanda Agrawal and attended by over 230 bonsai lovers.
e Opening Ceremony to the All India Bonsai Convention was, without doubt, magni cent, colorful and unique. It incorporated many cultural and artis- tic aspects of India. Upon completion, Mrs. Chanda Agrawal asked Solita Rosade to cut the ribbon for the