AFOVA Newletters of Year 2001

Page 16 of 52 Invocation Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you. ˜ St. Augustine ˜ (354 - 430; Bishop of Hippo) 6. The function started off by invoking the blessings of the Almighty. The prayer was in praise of the LORD who is energy personified, and the embodiment of learning. We beseech Him to dispel our ignorance just as the sun with its light removes darkness and leads us into knowledge. We pray to the Almighty, that He shower happiness on people of all the three defence services, and allow peace to prevail all around the world. The prayer song was composed and melodiously rendered by Smt Jaya Subramanyam. Inauguration It’s not necessary to blow out your neighbor’s light to let your own shine. ˜ M. R. Dehssn ˜ 7. Light dispels darkness and allows us to go forward. Hence appropriately the next event was lighting the five-faced kuthu vilakku – the traditional lamp in South India. Officers representing the three services to light the five wicks were - Maj Gen’s V Rangaswami VrC**, C Govindaswamy and RPRC Naidu AVSM, VSM, from the Army; Cmde K S Subra- Maniam VSM, from the Navy and Air Marshal RS Naidu, PVSM from the Air Force. Welcome Address The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does. ˜ Sir James M Barrie ˜ (1860 1937; British Playwright) 8. Lt Col Narayanan – the President of the Association welcomed the distinguished gathering. It is for the first time that the meeting of the Association was held at the Area Officers’ Mess. This enabled the members who had gathered in large numbers to mingle with the serving officers and their ladies of the Armed Forces. Address by Patron Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together. ˜ Vincent Van Gogh ˜ (1853 1890; Dutch Painter) 9. Lt Gen C Sundara Rao traced the genesis of the formation of this unique organization. He dwelt at length at the various activities that the Association had undertaken in the past. 10. He narrated that during a visit to Bangalore in 1999, he had the occasion to peruse a directory of retired service officers settled in Bangalore. On his return to this station, he felt that a directory on similar lines be produced by the Association in respect of retired/released Armed Forces officers settled in Chennai. He was extremely happy that the Association had whole-heartedly supported the project and produced the Directory. Report by Project Coordinator