It is Friday, the last day of the Cardio Block here at PAHS.   

Two significant events marked this auspicious date.

During our case wrap up the students marked us with tikka’s and gave us lovely gifts (pashmina for Bibiana and I and a Nepali hat (Tupi) for Jason!  They gave us each a Buddha statue to remember our time here.  It was quite humbling.

We also had the prize presentation of Mero Mutu Mero Kala 2011 

(My Heart, My Art).  There were almost 30 submissions consisting of paintings, photographs, sketches, poems and two music videos!.  Considering there are only 58 students in the class that is an amazing response!  Such a strong response in the form of poetry was a surprise to me, since there are rarely poems in the Heartfelt Images contest in Canada.  On the other hand Nepal is a country that has national holidays to celebrate it’s famous poets…

The judges had difficult decisions to make but we awarded prizes in three categories: Photography, Poems and “Other Media”.    Here are the winners of the competition:

A painting incorporating the Nepali flag and national symbols with the heart and circulation (by Pravakar Parajuli)

 and a photograph illustrating the role of the heart to pump blood by Prakriti Bhattarai.

And finally a poem by Kishor Adhakari title: "My Heart"

My small heart,

The natural electricity powerhouse of my own

Beats like a fist

Against my rib case

Thumping desperation

To burst out and roam

Further than my chest

Far beyond my rib case

Throbbing,

Pulsing,

And beating forever and ever  

 My mom used to say, serve the poor

 Lord Buddha says, love the poor,

 I do have the heart that makes me kind;

The heart that rules my mind.

 The miracle is the way you boom,

 Unprompted since i was 5 mm

 Inside the mother’s womb,

 Sometimes let me feel your presence,

 And bump inside the four rooms

From dawn to dusk,

And round the clock,

You are there for me,

Vigil all the time,

Supporting life even when

It is all alone.

Why does it feel this way?

The exact same thing

every day

I have no more to say,

I have no word to say,

How divinely and supremely

I am proud of you

Simply because, you are the

reason i am,

You are all my reason.