A Search for Unity

It is today, for many people across the globe, the end of the year, the end of one more revolution in the cycle of time. It is Diwali, the festival of lights.

For all the lamps that we may light outside, there remains that unseen and unknown flame within that waits, silently, to be discovered and to illumine that which remains so darkly concealed within us. Let them serve, then, to remind us of what they symbolise: let this be a time to renew our aspiration for love, peace and harmony, within and without.

A happy Diwali to all who celebrate it! Best wishes for a prosperous and fulfilling year ahead.

When I give up the helm
I know that the time has come for thee to take it.
What there is to do will be instantly done.
Vain is this struggle.

Then take away your hands
And silently put up with your defeat, my heart,
And think it your good fortune to sit perfectly still
Where you are placed.

These my lamps are blown out at every little puff of wind,
And trying to light them I forget all else again and again.

But I shall be wise this time and wait in the dark,
Spreading my mat on the floor;
And whenever it is thy pleasure, my lord,
Come silently and take thy seat here.

- Rabindranath Tagore

A little piece by my brother Prashant, who does horse-riding with the Riding for the Disabled Association (Kenya) (www.rdakenya.com), a charity that works with disabled people from mainly underprivileged backgrounds, and aims to provide a safe and enjoyable environment where individuals with special needs benefit from developmental, therapeutic and educational equine oriented activities. Those like Prashant able to afford it pay a nominal fee for the activity, but all others are subsidised by the charity.

I started horse riding about 10 years ago because I needed therapy to help me improve. I like my riding very much because I find it fun and enjoy doing the exercises while riding. I also enjoy to go out in the fresh air.

I go for my riding once a week with my riding teacher Sue Anderson. She is a great person and she has really helped over the last 10 years to learn and enjoy riding. My horse's name is MC and he is a white horse. When I started riding I was finding it very hard to balance and do the exercises on the horse.

When I had started the riding I used to ride slowly. Now I can ride faster and show the horse which way I want to go by using my hands and also the reins. The exercises that I do on the horse are, throwing the ball and bin bags and also the ring. I also do sit ups while the horse is running. On the horse I can also do body turn from side to side and also stretch down on both sides.

At home I do a lot of cycling as that helps my balance. That has also helped me to do my riding much better.

I go for my riding lesson to a place in Karen which is in Nairobi. It takes me about half an hour to get there by car. Sometimes I have done riding in the wild when we have been to places like Lewa and Kisima in the Laikipia area of Kenya. During those rides I was getting very close to wild animals like giraffe, zebras and elephants. Once I also rode on a camel, it is different somehow than rising on a horse.

I hope to carry on riding for many years to come. Riding is fun and I hope more people can do it.

Prashant Shah, Nairobi