Memorable High Tea

On last Sunday I got an golden opportunity to visit world famous Tajmahal hotel for High Tea in their Sea Launge restaurant. I was looking forward for the same since Lataajit told us about the same . Hence I was very happy right from Sunday morning , as the day had come which I was eagerly waiting for!! Before departing for High Tea, Lataaji had explained us the concept of High Tea, as well as what we to look for, right after entering Taj. The entrance of Taj was huge. The amazing and beautiful floral arrangements, ethnic furniture, large chandeliers made me feel of entering palace. The photoframes of our well known politicians, dignitaries, players, actors, and also masteries were displayed in the lobby towards sea-launge. While walking towards sea-launge , I saw shops of international brands.

What a grand entrance to restaurant! A huge long staircase with a beautiful as well as colourful carpet led me to sea launge restaurant and I experienced what a red carpet welcome is! The restaurant’s atmosphere was filled in with euphony of piano. The hostess made all of us comfortable. She was so kind to have everyone’s sitting in such a way so that all can enjoy the direct view of Arabian Sea. The restaurant was lighten up with deemed lights. The corners were placed with variety of lamp shades with wooden carved stands. Walls were decorated with wooden carved show-pieces. The wooden carved statues playing Sarangi was perfect match to live piano. Another interesting thing I would like to share is the photoframes hanged on walls were so big, but the pictures or drawings mounted inside it were comparatively small. But still pictures look prominent. The same way we felt importance even in such big restaurant.

Now, the most interesting part that is the food section. Lataaji had already suggested us to try something new which normally we have not tasted. The same thing was also recommended by the manager of the restaurant. When steward placed three tier high tea stand on our table, we could see that it contained cold sandwiches with salmon, Turkey Quiches, Scones and some variety of vegetable food. I really enjoyed these food stuff a lot even though I tasted it for the first time. I also liked dimsums and golden prawns. In desserts I enjoyed eating swiss role, lemongrass brulee, lemon bavarois (as I like tangy taste more). Lataaji’s briefing and advice from the staff of restaurant - both helped us a lot in choosing items from a variety of food which was available. I had never seen so much variety of tea and coffee beans. The manager as well as other staff explained us about the ingredients of the food stuff.

The staff of restaurant was surprised when we gave them origami Flowers and pineapple made by Shubham as well as Thank U card drawn by Shivani on behalf of all of us.

Really this was the one of most memorable evening I had and I am sure this is more or less same for all my friends present at tea party. It was high time to say good bye to restaurant staff and I said to myself “Wah Taj”!!!!

Priyanka Navare

.. आणि वास्तवातली मृगया!‘

This is a letter which appeared in Lokrang on 12th Feb.2012. Lata Aji thought we all should read it. So Iam posting the same.

.. आणि वास्तवातली मृगया!‘लोकरंग’ ८ जानेवारीच्या अंकात आलेली ‘आर्त प्रेमाची गोष्ट’ ही ‘बालमैफल’मधील आदिवासी लोककथा वाचनात आली आणि ४०-४५ वर्षांपूर्वी प्रत्यक्षात घडलेली एक घटना डोळ्यांपुढून सरकून गेली.फलटणच्या दक्षिणेला गिरवी हे माझे सासरगाव. सासरघरी पाहुणे आले की हमखास त्यांना शिकारीला न्यायचा बेत आखला जाई. असाच एकदा मी गिरवीला गेलो होतो. दुसऱ्या दिवशी रीतीप्रमाणे मला शिकार पाहायला नेण्यात आलं. एका पठारावर हरणाच्या नर-मादीची जोडी अगदी रंगात आली होती. शिकारी आल्याचे त्यांना भानच नव्हते. शिकाऱ्याने त्यांच्यावर बंदुकीचा नेम धरला असता माझे मेव्हणे म्हणाले, ‘अरे, मारू नकास त्यांना. हरणाची जोडी फोडून पाप करू नकोस.’ पण तेवढय़ात शिकाऱ्याकडून गोळी सुटली अन् नर खाली पडला. हात-पाय झाडू लागला. या अकस्मात आघातानं घाबरलेली त्याची मादी त्याला चाटून उठवायला बघत होती. पण तो गतप्राण झाला होता.थोडय़ा वेळानं रामोशांनी नराचे पुढचे दोन आणि मागचे दोन पाय बांधून आणि त्यात भाल्याची काठी घालून मृत नराला उचलून खांद्यावर घेतलं आणि ते गावाकडे निघाले तरी मादी त्याला चाटतच होती. ओढा ओलांडला तरी मादी माघारी जाईना. गावाजवळचा ओढा आला तसे रामोशाने मादीला कानाला धरून ओढत लांब नेऊन सोडलं. पण तरीही लगेचच झेपा घेत मादी पुन्हा नराजवळ आली आणि त्याला चाटू लागली. सगळेजण गावात शिरले, तेव्हा गावातली तीन-चार कुत्री भुंकत आली. मग मात्र हरणाची मादी पळून गेली. कुत्र्यांनी तिचा पाठलाग केला. पण हरणाचा वेग कुत्र्यांच्या चौपट! मादी जंगलाच्या दिशेनं गायब झाली.दुसऱ्या दिवशी मी म्हसवडला- माझ्या गावी निघालो. शाळेजवळ आलो. पाहतो तर तिथे तीच हरणाची मादी पळत आली अन् शाळकरी मुलांच्यात पाळलेल्या कुत्र्यासारखी बागडू लागली. मुलांनाही गंमत वाटली. ती तिला गोंजारू लागली. मादी मुलांच्या अंगाला डोके घासून गावाकडे बघे. घंटा झाली, मुले गेली, आणि मादी जानाई देवीच्या देवळामागे उंचवटय़ावर जाऊन बसली. माझे मेव्हणे सोबत होते. ते मला म्हणाले, ‘मादी काय म्हणतेय कळलं का? मी म्हणालो, ‘नाही.’ तेव्हा ते म्हणाले, ‘मादी मुलांच्यात बागडत नाहीए, तर त्यांच्या अंगाला डोके घासून गावाकडे बघतेय. ती सांगतेय की, माझा जोडीदार गावात आहे, त्याला सांगा- मी आले आहे. पण मुलांना हे कसं कळणार?’महिनाभराने मी पुन्हा गिरवीला आलो. मी आणि मेव्हणे गावाकडे निघालो. शाळेजवळ आलो तर हरणाची मादी मुलांमध्ये बागडत होती. घंटा झाली. मुले शाळेत गेली. मादी ठरावीक उंचवटय़ावर जाऊन बसली. आम्ही दोघं गावात आलो. नराचे कातडे हळद-मीठ लावून वाळवायला एका माणसाकडे दिले होते. त्याच्याकडे गेलो. त्याने कातडे वाळवून ठेवले होते. ते मेव्हण्यांनी आणायला सांगितले. वर्तमानपत्राच्या कागदात गुंडाळून एका पोत्यात घालून ते आम्ही सोबत घेतले आणि पुन्हा शाळेकडे आलो. मादी देवळामागे उंचवटय़ावर बसली होती, तिथे गेलो. मेव्हण्यांनी कातडे बाहेर काढले. तर मादी लगेचच जवळ आली आणि कातडे हुंगून चाटू लागली. मेव्हण्यांनी ते कातडे जमिनीवर टाकले. तेव्हा केसांची बाजू वर करून मादी ते कातडे चाटू लागली. मग मागे वळून आपलं पोट चाटायची. आणि पुन्हा डावीकडे वळून कातडं चाटायची. असा अर्धा-पाऊण तास झाला. मेव्हणे मला म्हणाले, ‘कळलं का, ती काय सांगतेय? ती नराला सांगतेय- तू गेलास, पण तुझं बाळ माझ्या पोटात वाढतंय. मी तुला विसरले नाही आणि विसरणारही नाही.’दोन-तीन दिवस माझे मेव्हणे ते कातडं घेऊन शाळेजवळ जायचे. मादी अर्धा-पाऊण तास कातडं आणि स्वत:चं पोट आळीपाळीने चाटायची. मात्र, तीन-चार दिवसांनी ती मादी तिथं यायची बंद झाली. मेव्हणे म्हणाले, ‘तिला आता कळलंय, की आपला नर आता जिवंत नाही.’ त्यानंतर मादी पुन्हा म्हणून गावाकडे फिरकली नाही. या घटनेचा परिणाम असा झाला की, माझ्या मेव्हण्यांनी पुन्हा म्हणून बंदूक हातात घेतली नाही. आणि मीही मांस खाणे कायमचे सोडून दिले.- बाबुराव माने, म्हसवड.

Who am I?

There are many questions which come in mind,

Who,When and why?

but the question whose answer I seek is

Who am I?

Am I the person who must

just take birth,live and die?

Or a person who is so emotionless to shed a tear,

Let alone cry?

Am I the person who will steal money,

diamonds and treasures?

Am I the person who does not have place for happiness,

Just room for pleasures?

Am I selfish or selfless

Or something in between?

Am I a generous person,

Or am I just mean?

Still there may be questions,

How,When and Why?

Am I good?Am I bad,

I don't know who am I?

Letter from Lata Aaji

10.02.2012
Dear Children and Parents,
I was planning for Ananya’s birthday. Most important thing on the agenda was to decide what bye bye gift I could give to her friends in the shibir.
It had to be a thing that Ananya loves to use. Equally important was the fact that every single child should also find it worth having and should be able to use it often. Several things were considered but I could not choose a common thing that every child in shibir would find interesting.
Last week a friend of mine fell sick and lost his appetite completely. He could not eat anything and became very weak. He needed to eat well and get well soon. I made a soup for him and sent.
I used my secret recipe of soup. A soup of potato, tomato, and onion. I also put my secret ingredient in it. You know what? Yes! Love!
And something great happened. He simply wallopped it. He felt happy, full and satisfied. He immediately phoned me up to say so and requested for some other soup with same secret ingredient for his dinner the next day.
I got my answer. I bought lovely soup bowls for children. I decided to make soup for them. The children will now come on Sunday and have the soup in their own colourful bowl with equally pretty spoon. And while going home they will take it with them as a bye bye gift.
I sent the soup to my friend along with this simple poem on his get well card.
Please have this soup.
It is made for you only.
The first sip will tell you now
“You have a lovely appetite”.

The appetite with which you were listening
To my story of children
Enjoying their high tea at ‘Taj’.

The next sip will convey to you
That you can digest so well,
The way you digested the joy of those children
Awed and excited simply the grandeur of
‘Taj’ and of course that of ‘Tatas’.

One more sip has gone in now,
Into your system.
A further grandeur is floating
Before your eyes.
The seeds that had floundered
From your sowing hands all along
Have thrived beautifully
Into a blooming dale.
From Lataaji.

After returning from TAJ on 22^nd January, I was so thrilled and happy that I narrated the whole event to Shubham and my parents.

The big carpeted staircase, the dome, the food……..

The food, deserts were not only good to taste, but so wonderfully presented, that one won’t feel like eating and spoiling its beauty. The staff members who attended us were so sweet and spoke very politely that I actually realized that how I should present myself with others.

The corridor was so huge, and spacious that I just felt like I was in a movie and not in the real world. The view we saw from the side window was same as which one could see from The Gate Way of India, but I felt it was different because my mind was at peace; I was feeling relaxed and fresh.

As I was talking about all this I noticed that Shubham was upset as he couldn’t come with all of us. I also felt bad for him as he also would have enjoyed with us.

Later when it was decided that even parents can go to TAJ, Shubham was once again upset as he would not experience the same as all 3 of us would experience. But there was a surprise for him; Baby Ananya had sent a invitation card inviting him to TAJ on 12^th Feb along with all mothers. As soon as he returned from the school he opened the card with curiosity. He was so happy that he started jumping with excitement. I was waiting for this moment with the camera. I captured his gestures and excitements. He said he was happy as Ananya had invited him and will be doing something that all of us will be able to share.

dhobighat

Few impressions about Dhobighat & Lata Aaji's thoughts about it.

Dhobighat essentially depicts 3 classes. Shaya is a rich upper-class girl facing no big problems. Lady in Video is in higher middle class & Dhobi is lower / working class. Per se, all three are not bad. As a class, we can identify with lady in video ie higher middle class.

Shaya's approach towards life is casual. Lady can not come to the terms with loneliness one feels because of circumstances especially faced by most of us living in a city like Mumbai. Poor dhobi is struggling with day-to-day life & being exploited. Fourth character ie Artist belongs to different world as most creative fellows are. He starts viewing video's just as a curiosity. Towards the end, it hits him emotionally which reflects in his painting.

Before screening the film, Lata Aaji talked about the film & reality facing us. Her observations are something like this.

Globalization has impacted different cultures adversely. Everything has become commodity with a price tag. Value system has eroded. Subconsciously, American culture is a role model. Pace of day to day life has become so fast, hectic & uncertain that nobody is at peace. We are in the world, where except for our immediate family, we are not bothered about anybody. When going is good, we tends to feel that its because of our ability or intellect. But when calamity falls on you, you have nobody to take advise or calm you & you are shattered.

She pointed that to keep afloat in this situation emotionally, you should have strong communication/bonding with like-minded group ie whole Anandmeva shibir group. Secondly you should have compassion towards working class lower income strata of the society & it should be reflected in your own deeds. Lastly, you should be grateful towards the world.

Coincidentally on same day morning, I had gone to Yusuf Meherally Centre at Tara for the felicitation of Dr G.G. Parikh who is at very young age of 88 years working towards upliftment of have-nots. Programme was organised by Mr Datta & Mrs Asha Gandhi who at ripe age of 86, collected donation worth Rs. 4 lacs for this cause just writing personal letters to around 150 people. On stage, Mrs Khanolkar (age 82) who is a mother of Medha Patkar is running school for orphan girls in chembur. She started it after retiring from the job & Mrs Apate (80 yrs) who runs 100 bed hospital for downtrodden. In every speech, they ponder about upliftment of poor have nots & whether they have any role in the globalised world. Mr & Mrs Gandhi are ordinary middle class couple. Sixty years back, they have decided to be in a teaching profession, never to enter politics & lead a frugal life. During course of 50 years, they have collected donations more than 50 lacs & run orphanage for Latur Earthquake sufferers. We must ponder `Hey Sarva Yeta Kuthun.'

All these fellows are at peace with themselves, have great social network & very happy.

I felt they were practical examples what Lata Aaji meant.

Sanjay

`Dhobighat'

To see a movie knowing Lata Aaji's perspective at background made it all the more enriching. Lata Aaji asked, `can u relate with the character or situation in it?' Yes of-course. Sometimes we find ourselves in Aamir's shoe or sometimes in Pratik's shoe-a very thin line of demarcation in-between. You can really jump on both sides in different situations in your life. If u don’t want to become a ping-pong ball tossed constantly between being a `user' or being `used'. U have to walk a tight rope-balancing on it is very difficult. For that u need support – being connected with each other can provide that. Anandmewa in this context become all the more necessary and absolutely essential.

I would like to share one small experience in this context which took place on 26th January. After returning back home from the school, I prepared our lunch. Being holiday, we all had our lunch together and went to take a small nap. Manava and Aniruddha started with their studies. At around 2.00 clock, some people came banging on the door – shouting and bullying and started threatening about calling the police. It was actually difficult to understand the situation. After much shouting, what we could understand was this – that morning some girl on pink scooter had dashed with one boy from our lane. Since I was a female with pink scooter, they felt that I am a culprit and started threatening. In spite explaining to them that we were not involved & scooter is parked in the compound for last 3-4 hrs, they were not convinced. At that time, our neighbor came out and stood firm with us throughout the episode which was ultimately settled peacefully. It really unsettled our children very much.

Lata Aaji always stressed this point. She urges to be friend with like-minded people around you on continuous basis. That day because of neighbour's support and strength, we could sail through safely.

Third point was about `loneliness' in the crowd. I think it started with disintegration of our joint families, became more severe with demolition of chawl system and became acute with globalization. I am sure everyone is facing it sometime or other in our life. Shades of it may vary but it is very much their looming in the nearby dark corner. All the more reason for us to stay connected & make stronghold of our inter-personal relations.

I hope this will compel us to take constructive steps towards it very seriously & sincerely.

Bhagyashree

Real And Abstract v/s Virtual

On Sunday,5th February,lunch was full of curiosity and guess work about evening teenage meeting and discussion about the film Dhobi Ghat.My afternoon nap was interrupted by the doorbell. A tall,hefty man,in his late fifties,was at the door."I am the vegetable vendor--Vasaiwala Gonsalves.Could I please see your mother?"he said in a very soft tone.He had come all the way from Vasai just to deliver freshly prepared homemade Kharvas.And he even did not wait for the next working day.

"Some people were nice and helpful to me in my early days of business.Your mother gave me some genuine advice then.I can never repay them,but today I am on a trip to see each one of them and let them know how important they are,to me."He left immediately after seeing my mother,politely refusing even a cup of tea.He had forgone his holiday and afternoon rest but his face was lit up with joy,which reflected his gratitude filled heart.

Lata aaji explained us about how every country had its own cultures,varying with geographical locations and their history.Globalisation is diluting and destroying these cultures and hence destabilising the minds of many races.This has changed their working hours,leisure time,lifestylesand social life.Human relations have been steadily losing emotional warmth and depth and acquiring a transaction type of status.

Idolisation of American lifestyles and values and a subconscious efforts to adopt them has made us lose our peace of mind,the unstructured time spent by kids,the casual chat with our next door neighbours or sharing of joys and sorrows with our dear ones and friends.Our time,money,energy,thoughts and each action is centred on 'EFFICIENCY' and the harvest reaped after investing them.

Let us again relive our childhood days with innocent interactions with our family ----ANANDMEWA GROUP.Let us all bask in the warmth showered by AJOBA--AAJI.Offer help and comfort to those of us who need these now by reading emotions from troubled faces.Don't be carried away by VIRTUAL WORLD,Friends,Money and Life.They have nothing concrete to offer us but drain us of our real resources,time,energy and money.

In the film 'Dhobi Ghat',the artist expresses his inner world through his medium of art paintings.His outer (real)world is orderly when his emotional world is happy.But when his mind is shattered,his art shows it.So when we get an unpleasant or unusual response from our children and friends (like the artist in pain) try to peep into their minds to locate the trouble breving in it and make efforts to soothe it.

--Jayant & Suchitra

My New Prayer

6th February, 2012
Dear Children and Parents,

My New Prayer

I am much better now
Getting better everyday.

In this episode of illness
My morning prayer has
Suddenly changed,
All by itself.

It is anew!

I thank God, Providence
And you all to begin with.
The newer addition comes then.

I thank my body and being
Profusely till I am filled
With gratitude.

In this episode of illness
I realised,
My body and being have been
Extremely kind to me,
They have been my “Rajdars”.
All along.

They have undertaken all the toil,
Play, love and care for
Whatever it was worthwhile.
And
At whatever cost they had to bear.

They have simply obeyed me all along
With utmost trust.
Trust that says ‘I care’.
Trust that says ‘I mean well’.

Now I bow down
To give a big Thank you to them.
Get up,
And Get going!

From – Lataaji

pink flowers

Hello friends,
In kharghar most of the trees lining the road are in full bloom.
any flowers appear on leaf less stems .
This tree is know as trumpet tree,Pink Tabebuia and Basant rani in hindi.
They are useful as honey plant for bees and popular with certain hummingbird.
These trees are at the market side in Kharghar but we like the flowers very much so we change our root to our school to enjoy this beautiful sight.

first instar of common mormon caterpillar

it becomes darker as it eats on and sheds its outer layer

cocoon in the first stage

this is how it becomes after one or two days after the first stage

it hardens over days and becomes darker

the day on which the butterfly comes out or the day before the cocoon

becomes transparent and the colour of the butterflies can be seen

common mormon female

common mormon female from cyrus form(these are the photos not of the butterfly emerged from the cocoon as I was out when they emerged)

LIFE IS A RACE

With prelims going on,I was coming home early today. On my way home a tune came in my mind and so i made a poem out of it.There were some gramatic mistakes but I decided to share it with all of you. Manava helped me in doing so.

Life Is Race

Life is a race

You want to run

The more you get good at it

The more will be fun.

Life is a Race

Just shout it loud.

Once you get in it

You cannot get out.

Life is a Race

That will always give you a jerk.

Speed and skill is not enough

You will also need a bit of luck.

Life is a Race

That will test your skill.

The more real it gets

The more it is reel.

Life is a Race

You must fight with grit.

Strength is not required

You just need a bit of wit.

Life is a Race

With no set of rules.

There is nothing to win in it

There is nothing to lose............

Nature's beauty

Hello friends,
This video is about the similarity between birds and
human being. Every morning two cute sun-birds visits my balcony. The
birds like to see their image in the mirror like us.Continuous fifteen
days for two minutes they play with mirror and then they give up.Now they use big leaves
as slide.If we make our balcony green with different types of plants, I think
God send birds to make us happy.

visiting IIT

In the chill of the wednesday morning we boarded our bus which was due to take us to IIT. The visit was organized by the school and grade 11and 12 accompanied us(I am in grade 9). We reached there by 9:00 . The vastness of the campus appalled me. Every corner was green. Several football fields took our breath away.

Our first was SINE where we were shown to the conference room. There we received refreshments. We were introduced to the tasks which the IIT performs and were given the basic knowledge about robotics. Why were they invented where are they used and were also shown some of the robots like edge detector and follower.

We were taken to the IDC in an innovation cell where a group of students made robots from the smallest size to the biggest. Later we gave small visits to the sound recording studio where they made us hear some countryside instruments like the ektara and pakhawach.

In the innovation sector we went to film making section. After that we drove the electric scooters.

We saw the electron micro scope which were huge and heavy looking instruments. They could give a magnification which almost made the molecules visible.The highest magnification we saw was 1,50,000x.

A new experience

As most of you know, I’m in Std 9. This year, i’m getting a unique experience that I’d love to share with you all. I’m serving as a writer for a learning disabled student from Std 10 for his board exam. I’ll explain further.

My school has a special Resource department where students who are physically, emotionally, mentally or learning disabled students are given extra help to cope with all the others. Well, this year, there are a few learning disabled students who are appearing for their board exams. They’re given a special concession: they have writers, i.e. someone who writes their paper as they dictate so as to reduce their stress. These students (the writers) are usually from Std 9.

I was asked if i would be interested. I loved the idea! Then, the teachers called up my aai and asked her to come to school. Aai and baba got to interact with the mother of the boy for whom i’ll be writing. So then it was decided. I am going to write his prelims as well as board exams. All the subjects, except maths (because he has opted for general maths, which is even simpler than Std 8 ). That paper will be written by a smaller student.

We have been assured that our own studies wouldnt lag behind and we would get extra help where necessary. I’m really looking forward to this experience. So far, i’ve written his computer theory, personality development, P.T. theory, Scout and Guide theory papers. Its been a very different experience. I had to learn to keep my brain and emotions aside as i wrote his paper. No displaying facial expressions in response to his answers. Also, we’ve become good friends. I can’t wait for their proper exams to start.

So please remember, if any of you guys get this opportuninty, be sure to take it.
Cheers,
Saniya.

common wanderer

common mime

blue oak leaf

crimson rose

blue oak leaf

My recent visit to ovalakar wadi butterfly paid off. I got the opportune to photograph the butterflies which I never got to capture before.

BABA SHIBIR ON 6 TH DECEMBER

Dear all ,
             There is  shibir  on  Tuesday  6th December for   All  teenager's  babas. Shibir timing is 6.30 to 9.30 p.m . 

Lights, camera, action!

Hello everyone. A few months back, Saniya and Radha had taken part in an youth entrepreneurship program in their school called TIE bizworld. And did they do well? More importantly, did they learn anything out of it? Well, play the videos to find out!

Congratulations to both the stars!

From Lata aaji

Dear children and parents

These days we have been talking about relationships with each other and also one another. Through our discussions we have learnt to accept certain facts as reality of the present moment and have discovered that there is some thing like eternal reality too. I told you that this reality is the “Truth”. Gandhiji says truth or satya means love.

I would like to share how two artists who are married to each other, who perform their music programs together find their reality i.e. love.

Guitarist Tuck Andreas and Singer Patti Cathcart are extraordinary musicians whose music is powerful as well as lovable. Here’s what Tuck has to say about their relationship

“My Life’s work is to subsume my ego into this greater whole, both musically and in our personal relationships. I spent so may years becoming a great guitar technician practicing alone. It was a real change for me to play with someone else, learning how to listen, how to hear through her ears.

I have spent time just learning how to play one note, over and over. We have played some songs thousands of times, but there is always something fresh and new to find there. Just like our relationship. If it becomes stale then I dig more deeply into the rut, I don’t abandon it. To find the freshness that is there. The universe is right here, the universe is not there. To leave room for the space and magic. There is same level of detail at any level of magnification, from the subatomic to the universal, if you look closely enough

Lata aaji

Happy Children's Day

Dear All

From

Mahendra, Jayashree, Karan & Rutuja

my suggestion for the 1 hr session

I think we could have a session on the personal level. We could share our best experiences up till now. This would create moments of happiness as we all share some of our best moments.This would also encourage our fellow friends to interact more in the group. Our experiences could of any kind.

music programme on 20th nov

dear shibir friends...
for the upcoming one hour music program here is my suggestion.
we now have only a weeks time to conduct this programme.
sanketdada has taken lot of effort in compiling a CD of songs based on inputs given by some of us. we can exclude those 4-5 songs played in last shibir and present a programme of songs with the remaining songs.
if we decide to play all 14 songs, we should present each song for not more than 2 minutes along with 2 minutes of narrative. alternatively we can reduce the no of songs to 10 and play the full song.
who shld present the song - if sanket can put the song list on blog along with name of person who recommended it, we can then decide 1 or 2 persons per song for presentation. if there is any help i can provide in this respect i am glad to do that.
shalaka

अनिल अवचट

|| श्री गुरवे नम: ||

अनिल अवचट

यांनी अनेक जणांना व्यसनमुक्त करण्यासाठी मदत केली. त्यांनी मुक्तांगण संस्था स्थापन केली आहे. असे गृहस्थ लताआजींनी शिबिरात बोलावले होते. त्यांच्याबद्दल लताआजींनी असं सांगितले की ‘अनिल अवचट हे बासरी वाजवतात, ओरिगामी करतात¸ पुस्तके लिहितात, (लेखक आहेत)´. त्यांनी मुक्तांगण संस्था स्थापन केली आहे. त्यांच्या पत्नी सुनंदा यांनी या संस्थेसाठी अनिल अवचटांना खूप सहकार्य केले. अशा व्यक्तीला मी पहिल्यांदाच पाहिले व त्यांच्याबरोबर संवाद साधायची संधी सर्वांना लाभली.

त्यांचा पहिला मुद्दा व्यसन हा होता. व्यसनात चांगले व्यसन व वाईट व्यसन असते. चांगले व्यसन म्हणजे एखादे चांगले काम करणे व ते सतत चालू राहणे होय. वाईट व्यसन म्हणजे एखादी वाईट गोष्ट सतत करणे. उदा., दारू पिणे, चोरी करणे, तंबाखू खाणे, इ. अशा व्यक्तींसाठी अनिल अवचटांनी मुक्तांगण ही संस्था स्थापन केली. सुनंदा अवचटांनी अनिल अवचटांना सहकार्य केले. सुनंदा अवचट यांनी व्यसनग्रस्त लोकांना आईसारखे सांभाळले. अनिल अवचट हे या लोकांशी प्रेमाने, आपुलकीने व माणुसकीने बोलायचे. ते त्यांना वाईट व्यसन सोडा असा उपदेश करायचे. त्यामुळे आपले आरोग्य सुदृढ राहते. हे व्यसन हळूहळू सोडले पाहिजे. व्यसनामुळे तोंडात शिव्या येतात. पण व्यसन सुटल्यावर जर त्यांनी प्रयत्न केला तर त्यांची भाषा चांगली होऊ शकते.

दुसरा मुद्दा होता, वेळ कसा घालवावा. आपण टीव्ही न पहाता वेळ कसा घालवायचा हे त्यांनी सांगितले. वेळेला खूप महत्व असते. वेळेचे महत्व लक्षात घेऊन काही माणसे जगतात. आपल्याला कंटाळा आला असेल तर टीव्ही न पहाता काहीतरी हाताने केले पाहिजे. उदा. ओरिगामी, आपले खण लावणे, घरातल्या छोट्याछोट्या वस्तूंची दुरुस्ती करणे इ. हाताने काम केल्यावर मेंदू तरतरीत राहतो. तसेच महत्वाचे म्हणजे, वाचन. वाचन करताना आपले संपूर्ण लक्ष वाचनाकडे असले पाहिजे. नाहीतर मन चंचल राहते. वाचनाकडे आपली एकाग्रता असली की टीव्हीचा मोह होत नाही. आपल्याला कंटाळा आला असेल तर अशा विविध गोष्टींचा उपयोग केला पाहिजे.

उन्मेष परांजपे.

when we climbed shivneri

After a short nap I woke up.Looking out of the window I took in the sight of mountains standing firm on their ground like soldiers. Between them were gorges which were painted resplendently with green and bathed with golden sunlight. The landscape was dotted with myriad of houses while dense foliage covered the ends of the gorge.

I asked how much time is still left for reaching the destination. Hearing that still there were hours left I drifted into another long sleep.

temple of ozhar

We directly visited the Ganpati of ozhar and waiting in a long queue we glimpsed the god for only 5 seconds before we were out from the other side of the temple. After again a lengthy journey we arrived at the spot where we were staying. Refreshing myself and satisfying my stomach was the first the thing I wanted to do after such an elongated journey.

Clutching my camera I scanned the area for some birds. Sighting a few drongos I approached them gingerly and captured them in my camera.

black drongo

In the evening we paid a visit to the leniadris. We got ourselves ready for the visit by baba saheb purandere. The gates opened at 7:30 to allow baba saheb purandere in.The whole hall cracked with claps as baba saheb waved at us.

The one quality I liked of him was that he did not take the audience for granted and was very punctual.He asked us to clear all the questions we had about shivaji's reign and about shivaji himself.

no need to introduce

Baba saheb purandere answered questions with ease. History danced on his lips as he answered the questions. Speaking about shivaji's ambitions an apparent aura radiated out of him. A pumping entusiasm creeped in him when he spoke. The energy which he possessed made a perfect contrast with his 92 year old body.

We got up early in the morning before the sun woke up. I went out to glimpse the sun climbing out of the mountains and explored the wilderness of the place.

At around 9:00 we reached the spot where the fort was looming over us. I was appalled by the vastness of the fort. The grey expanse stretched for ever. Here and there scattered over the expanse were blooming creepers of bogenvella.

one of the entrances for shivneri

This fort was the fort which shivaji never captured despite great efforts. This was where shivaji was born and his efforts of capturing his birthplace failed,which was very painful.

At the top of the fort baba saheb purandere

He told us about the birth of shivaji. We visited the place where shivaji lived for three years.

This was the short summary of our trip. Still lot is still untold. it pains me to leave you .SO GOOD BYE........................

maunrag

Dear All,

Maunrag show is cancelled due to non-availability of Sachin Khedekar.

regards,
sanjay bhagwat

Maunrag natak

Dear All,
I talked to Arun Kakade of Aavishkar regarding Maunrag. He told me that he will know availability of Sachin Khedekar in 2-3 days time. Then he will confirm next week about the show . Timing is 4.30 pm & not 6.30 pm as you are informed.
I will let u know after Kakade kaka's confirmation.

Till then Happy Diwali to all.

regards,
sanjay

L1-77 skelotron urf (Chitty) :) DOB= 18/09/2011, 11:50 am

Regarding SUNDAY FULL DAY SHIBIR

Dear all teenagers,
       Hi  ! Children should reach by  9.30 a.m for full day shibir on 23 rd Oct.
       Parents are expected to be present  by  3.45 p.m. for the session with Dr. Anil  Avchat  as it will start  at  4 p.m. 

Request For Your Songs..

Hi friends,
               Here are a few names from whom i have recieved the songs....
            1- Omkar
            2- Shalaka
            3- Anagha
            4- Saniya
            5- Swanandee
            6- Shivani
            7- Manava
            8- Anirudha
            9- Eshaan.

 ---- Still some of them are remaining... So please inform me as soon as possible..

Thank You,
Sanket Latpate.

Request For Your Songs..

Hi friends,
               Here are a few names from whom i have recieved the songs....
            1- Om. W
            2- Shalaka
            3- Anagha
            4- Saniya
            5- Swanandee
            6- Shivani
            7- Manava
            8- Anirudha
            9- Eshaan.

 ---- Still some of them are remaining... So please inform me as soon as possible..

Thank You,
Sanket Latpate.