Ideas, Plans and much more

April is the start of a new financial year. It is also the month of Gudi Padwa / Ugadi which many of us observe as the New Year. In this month of New Year, we come to a fresh start with some fresh ideas from our friends who have breathed much fresher air than us. Varde kaka-kaki joined us at our last meet and were delightfully our hosts for this meet (and may be a few more as well). Not to bring out the age difference, but with an age variance of over 4 decades, a meet happens with positive discussions, is in itself an highlight worth noting.

Over a dozen GSBs gathered for this meet, which was more of a carry forward of our discussion from last meet along with some new ideas. Everyone had already become comfortable and much at home before we entered into the discussion; however for a formal gathering, we had a quick round of introductions and entered into the discussions. Various ideas and thoughts came forward and were channelized into positive plans for action. Sharing all the discussions in detail would be too lengthy for page, so here is a gist of what was noted:

1. Maha GSB aims to act as the bridge between GSB groups and the GSB by creating a network bond, thereby strengthening and working towards betterment of the society. This will help in perpetuating the origin and cultural uniqueness to the future generations.
2. One meet per month, preferably on a fixed day (eg: second Saturday of every month) was proposed along with the suggestion of developing an event calendar. It would help planning, execution and promotion. (as this discussion happened in Pune, we are planning a roll-out in Pune. Mumbai may soon follow)
3. Monthly meets were proposed to have a two-fold agenda. The first being an activity ranging from treks to summer camps or outings to talks from eminent personalities; followed by discussions and talks regarding further plans and actions. Thus, the meets would have involvement as well as bonding.
4. It was also proposed and accepted that meets need happen at various places across Pune (and Mumbai), so that participation from all areas can happen. Further as group builds, we can have local networks as well.
5. Seniors have always been a guiding lamp for us. Under their able guidance, need to inspire the upcoming generation into this network. That will help grow and sustain the network and our culture. 
6. All present were quite pleased with the interactions and the overall experience that it was unanimously suggested that we should share our experience with our GSB contacts and encourage them to attend a meet.

With so much of food for thought, we need some good food for our taste buds (some say that's a GSB trait). And it was answered with some lusciosuly soft dhoklas and sipping hot tea, thanks again to our wonderful hosts. With this we concluded the meet, agreeing to look forward for more fun packed meets ahead. And then we spent an hour talking about other things. While the meet concluded, there is a team of planning and execution, putting together ideas for upcoming months.

- based on inputs from Pooja Vengurlekar

If you have any ideas or if you feel you are good at execution, we look forward to your participation. Or if you are better at enjoying events, we still have something for you. In either case, do join us for our next meet. To know more and to participate, email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (9820992403). You can also join us on facebook to get regular updates of our events.

PUMBAI 2015

PUMBAI. To most, this word may make no sense; few others could feel it is something related to Pune and Mumbai together; for us, it is an experience that triggers a series of wonderful memories. As some of you would have guessed, Pumbai is our annual get-together where Pune and Mumbai friends meet and celebrate a weekend together. Last year, Varsoli beach, Alibag was blessed with our fun; this year, it is Saguna Baug, Neral. While Pumbai is just a weekend, it starts quite earlier than that. Planning and organizing is just a small part of the preparations, it is the excitement of meeting the gang and the anxiety of masti that we would have, drives each of us to counting days for this grand get-together.

Pumbai started on Saturday evening. As few of us were unknown to each other, we spent a few minutes on "Hi" and "Hello". And then, as usual, it didn't take much time to groove in. Before we knew, we were chatting as childhood friends meeting after quite a long time.Chatting continued post dinner and past midnight. Yet we woke-up to a fresh Sunday morning, pepped up to have more fun. Some of us had a river bath, while the rest were happy with heavenly showers (some preferred the shade of umbrellas).

Being International Yoga Sunday, we were treated to a Yoga session followed by a magnificent malakhamb display. Then was the round around the pond in a non-polluting 7-seater (pedal boat). This ride provided a view of a unique fish race which put up a spectacular view. Then we had a fishy experience. Trying to bait the fish, we ended up feeding them. Hence we had to settle for chicken for lunch. Post lunch, most had to leave. Those who stayed back were enthralled with the snake show. Along with a splendid display of venomous cobra, the session was a lot informative as well. All these activities can still be enjoyed at the resort, but the experience with this "gang" cannot be replicated.

When amazing friends get together at a beautiful location in an awesome climate, it results in a deadly concoction, the hangover of which lasts long, very long and the memories makes us nostalgic, every time we hear "PUMBAI".

The blog is an attempt to share an experience that cannot be expressed in words. So are you happy reading or do you wish to experience the magic? If you are interested and want to know more, do get in touch with us. You can email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (+91-9820992403).

Family, Food and Fun

It has been quite sometime since there has been any activity on this blog. Though there is nothing posted, there is far more that we have done an being busy in all that, we somewhere missed reaching out to you. So let's start from where we left and all that we did in the past few months to what we are looking forward to.

 

The last activity that was posted here was about the Guru Poornima programme that we had hosted in Mumbai and Pune. There was a good response to the event and it reached across multiple cities, thanks to Saraswat Mitra. It only meant that we would grow and the expectations upon us would start increasing. Building on that, we visited Lokmangal Foundation - a day care for kids of maids. It was a nice experience sharing time with little kids. It was impressive to see how the volunteer teachers used to care and educate these kids on manners and culture. The kids too responded with equal respect. We also visited our friends at Shantikunj Sevasharam - our senior citizen home at Panvel. They were glad to have us visit them. This time, we did not have much activities with them. Our friendship has so much evolved that it was just a pleasure being with them, talking to them and having a jolly good time.

 

We also had our regular coffee meets, which evolved into lunch meets to home-cooked food meets and now we are planning for the annual grand meet - our Pumbai meet. In this whole journey, our family has always been supportive of our activities, be it cultural, social or purely fun related. As a gesture of gratitude to this backbone of Maha GSB and for them to get the feel of the experience that we enjoy, we had the family meet. We invited our parents and relatives for evening gupshup and served them with some home-cooked delicacies (we can't miss that out, can we?)

When we started, we were sceptical of the outcome. Would it be just a hi-hello meet or would they interact further? Will they enjoy the company or will they feel left out? Lot many questions and no answers to any. We started with a brief intro of what we have been doing over the past 9 years since the start of this concept and how we have evolved. Thanking them for the support they have provided us till date, we put the ball in their court seeking their inputs. From there on, they started discussing and sharing their views (which we will work on implementing over the coming meets) and it went on more discussions and gupshups. By the next hour, we started feeling that they had arranged the meet and we had accompanied them. We had planned to wind-up by 7 pm as the Natya Gaurav awards were to be screened. That was before starting the meet, then the chatting started and went on as though long lost friends were meeting. By the time we came to a close, there was already a request floating for a potluck lunch with dalitoy, fish fry, kokum kadi and much more of GSB delicacies.

 

Already thinking of dalitoy and fish fry? That meet will happen soon. For now, we are working towards Pumbai 2015, the annual get-together of Pune and Mumbai teams. So do you wish to just read the next blog, or be a part of the fun as well? If you are interested and want to know more, do get in touch with us. You can email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (+91-9820992403).

Guru Gyaan on Guru Poornima

Guru-tattva or the essence of a Guru in an individual's life is very beautifully explained in our culture. To understand the essence and importance of a Guru, we organized a program on the auspicious day of Guru Poornima. The programs were organized in Mumbai as well as in Pune.

Mumbai Program

The program in Mumbai was hosted by Abhishek Parab, while Chirag Rege introduced the speakers. Our first speaker of the day was Mumbai spokesperson of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, Dr. Uday Dhuri.

Dr. Dhuri spoke on the importance of Guru and the need of Hindu nation. He explained that a Guru, or a teacher is there to selflessly lead his disciples. Prosperity of his disciples and overall progress of mankind, is his sole goal. Guru Poornima is the day when we express our gratitude to such a Guru. Further, he provided us with examples of great leaders and how their Gurus helped them. He concluded with the following quote:

संहता हि महाबलाः । म्हणजे संघटित रहाणारे लोक अत्यंत बलाढ्य होतात, असे महाभारतात सांगितले आहे. सङ्घे शक्तिः कलौयुगे । म्हणजे कलियुगात संघटितपणात शक्ती असते असेही शास्त्र सांगते.

Next session of the program was led by Prasanna Baokar and Mrs Asha Nadkarni. They read out Guru stotra and explained each verse in the stotra. Guru Stotra is a verse in praise of the Guru and explains how important a Guru is and why should a Guru be respected .

Together, we then recited Guru Mahima stuti:

स्वामीराया कृपा करा, आम्हा सकला उद्धारा || धृ ||

‘मी’ याची मज जाणिव हो, दुर्वसनांचे निर्मुल हो || १ ||

राबतसे या संसारा, गुरुराया मज द्द्या थारा || २ ||

कृपासिंधु तुज नाम गुरु, भवसागरी या कल्पतरू || ३ ||

पावन करी या दीनाला, जीव घाबरा अती झाला || ४ ||

या नरदेही सांभाळा, भिणार नाही कालीकाळा || ५ ||

कालीकाळाला धाक तुझा, कैवारी गुरु हो माझा || ६ ||

रामकृष्ण पुजी गुरु घोर, दास चरणी मज ना थोर || ७ ||

Our program concluded with 'Thank you' note by Namrata Wagle, followed by aarti of Shree Shantadurga.

Mumbai Guru Poornima at Sitladevi temple, Mahim

 Pune Progam

Pune program was organized by Nivedita Page-Mulki, Nehal Mulki, Anushree and Vaibhav Nadkarni.
ज्ञानमूलं गुरुमूर्ती, पूजामूलं गुरुपादं

मंत्रमूलं गुरुव्याख्या, मोक्षमूलं गुरुकृपा |

This was the beginning of our meet on the 13^th july in Pune. About 20 of friends met in person and 3 more joined virtually over Skype, with the common intent of knowing and understanding the importance of Guru and getting to know the age old Guru-shishya parampara which has formed the basis of our wealthy culture.

The guest speaker on this occasion was Miss Reshma Kulkarni, who is a volunteer of Dhyan Foundation and has an in depth knowledge of the said topic. She practices meditation regularly for the past 12 years and conducts various workshops, seminars and lectures on the practice of Yog as a way of life. She conducted an excellent session which included mythological stories stating the importance of a guru, the guru shishya parampara which is also the basis of yog, yog as a way of life, the spiritual aspect, followed by a short meditation session. It was in simple language with appropriate real life situations so that all of us could relate to this relatively heavy topic. Everyone was very enthusiastic about the event and the response was overwhelming.

The take home message that everyone received was that Guru is someone who will guide you and take you through safely in your journey. Also, in order to be on this path which may seem spiritual or philosophical, it is not necessary to let go of all your worldly desires and household duties. It is possible to be on this glorious path the way you are, with whatever background you have, wherever you are. A special focus was laid down on charity in whatever form possible.

The talk lasted for 1 hour 15 minutes, followed by a short session of meditation just to provide the audience a glimpse of this beautiful technique. After this, we had a short interactive session wherein our audience quizzed Reshma about the various doubts they had. Also a few of them shared their experiences and opinions.

Thus it was a wholesome event, both knowledgeable and enjoyable. Each of us went home with a new perspective about the guru, yog and life as a whole. 

Pune team after Guru Poornima function

This event would be published in Saraswat Mitra very soon.

Saraswat Mitra

Saraswat Mitra is a popular monthly magazine which publish in Marathi and English. It was started in year 2009 from Ratnagiri. It reaches more than 5000 readers in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Belgaum, Goa and Gujarat every month. 

Purpose of Saraswat Mitra magazine is to connect Saraswat community people across the country. This magazine provides variety of content like articles on health, traditions, parenting, women health, career, great personalities in community, saraswat deities, news related to saraswats, stories for childrens etc. It also publish information related to saraswat brides and grooms free of cost. 

Saraswat Mitra is run by group of young people. There is a need to support this magazine. You can support this magazine in various ways like, you can become subscriber, you can ask people to subscribe this magazine, you can write for it, you can send the news related to community activity etc. 

Please visit saraswatmitra.blogspot.com

Visitwww.facebook.com/SaraswatMitra

Email: saraswatmitra@gmail.com

Call 02352-226111.

Pumbai - Finally!!!

The much awaited Maha GSB event of the year was finally here. This event was announced a month back and within two weeks, we were looking forward to the event as though we have been waiting for this event since ages. It wasn't that we knew each other since ages, much rather, most of us were meeting each other for the first time. We were connected over whatsapp in the recent few days and all that we knew about each other were our phone numbers and to some extent our display pics. 

Being connected on whatsapp had built-up the enthusiasm to an extent that the topic of conversation on the group over the last few days before the meet was majorly on how early can we meet and the acitivities that we do. We had 3 cars from Mumbai and 3 from Pune converging at Vadkhal naka, on way to Alibag. It was a nice specatacle of 6 cars following each other thru the lanes of Alibag and Varsoli. Most of us were not known to each other till we reached the resort and it did not matter, cause the moment all cars were parked, we were helping each other with unloading the cars and settling in the resort.

The resort was just a namesake...we made it our second home as we settled in. After freshening up, it was time to hit the beach. And the beach we truly enjoyed to the core, from playing cricket to volleyball to water sports. Amidst all these, the kiddos (Ira, Shivam and Aditya) were busy splashing in the water, thoroughly enjoying their heart out. Even with a varied age group, there was not a soul who was idle or left out.

Fun and food are two words that are a inherent part of all our get-togethers. From chai and wada pav on the beach to an awesome chicken dum biryani for dinner at the resort, jawla-pav and omlette for breafast and then a full-spread lunch at Fulora (Alibag), we relished food all thru the meet. Fun factor was always on...from the moment we started our journey to Varsoli till we left the resort, then some more at Alibag while having lunch and the lingering moments at Pen when we had say good-bye, much against our wishes. We spent an hour clicking photos, not because we were photo-crazy, but we wanted those moments to last as long as possible. They will, in our memories, till we meet again.

This event was significant in many ways. Firstly, this event introduced the Pune team to the Mumbai team and was the grandest ever with close to 30 friends meeting. Most meeting first time, and yet within 24 hours being so close as though the friendship was ages old. Secondly, in a diverse age group, no one felt left out. Even the toddlers Ira and Shivam enjoyed to the fullest. Thirdly, whatsapp was relived that weekend. We were so busy enjoying and connecting offline, that except for sharing a few pics with those who missed the meet, there wasn't much happening online. A group that boasts of nearly 1000 messages a day was dry at less than 20 messages. Lastly and most importantly, there was no one at the helm. We did have an organizing team - Sanket (resort booking), Vaibhav (co-ordinating the Pune team and finalizing resort), Sanyukta (getting all information needed) and the rest contributed in their own way. It was a team event and everyone contributed in their own way to ensure that it was successful.

If you enjoyed reading the blog, do comment your thoughts. Do you wish to just read the blog, or be a part of the events as well? If you are interested and want to know more, do get in touch with us. You can email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (+91-9820992403).

Visiting the past and planning the future

Our get-togethers have always been similar in nature and unique in content. We have gradually been developing the content of the meet from planning events, to trekking. Going further, we are looking at adding knowledge sharing in our get-togethers. Our latest Mumbai get-together at Ambernath Shivalay was a start to this series of infotainment get-togethers. Ambernath Shivalay is a Shiva temple with intricate stone carvings and attracts not just locals, but art historians across the globe.

The temple is considered is an 11th century marvel and considered as the oldest existing temple of the Bhumija style of architecture. Most of us did not even know temple architecture had styles and that there was much deeper thought that just the wonderful carvings. Sensing this, our guide for the day, Chirag Rege, started with the very basic question of when and how the temple building started. He further went on to explain the broad classification of temple architecture styles.

Bhumija Shikhar is a northern style of architecture, prominently seen in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. In this architecture, the Shikhar has four spines decorated with meshes. Quadrants between these spines are filled with miniature shrine model. He further explained on the components of a temple and we started realizing how thoughtfully the temples were created from those times. Along with the explanation, we explored more basics of a temple and knowing how to identify sculptures. Fitting all that information in a blog would be quite difficult and moreover would not justify the actual experience that we had of exploring the historical monument.

One of the inherent inclusions of our meets is "food". This meet too, started off with pet-pooja but quite surprisingly, we missed lunch and did not even realize it till we were on our way back. This fact can help you gauge how interesting the session would have been. Moreover the learning is something that we would carry further when visiting other temples as well. Some of you reading this blog would already be regretting missing this opportunity. We do not know when we can present this same opportunity again, but ensure that you do not miss any further action.

Whilst the Mumbai team was visiting the past, the Pune team was building plans for the future. We need energy for planning; hence the venue had to be a restaurant. We met at Good Luck restaurant, Deccan at 10:00 am on the same day. Being a Sunday, the place was over-crowded as usual. After spending some time in the waiting, we finally had a seat. What we ate is not quite important in the current context, but what we have planned is. We have planned for a "Maha meet" where team from Mumbai and Pune would come together to have a grand get-together. We have nearly closed on the venue and are working on the finer aspects of the plans. We are sure that you are quite eager to know more details on this. So here are some clues: The date would be a weekend of June and the venue would be between Mumbai and Pune but not Lonavala or Khandala. Any guesses?

Mumbai or Pune, at either place, we had a great time this Sunday. Unless, you are just happy reading blogs, we have a venue for you to have an amazing experience. So join in and have something to share. To know more and to participate, email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (9820992403). You can also join us on facebook to get regular updates of our events.

MH-12 Once again

There have been quite some questions in the recent about Maha GSB having meets only in Mumbai. Considering that most of these questions were from Pune, we decided to have our 6th Pune meet on Sunday, March 23. Most of the hotels in Pune are over-crowded on Sunday mornings and hence it is unadvisable for a group like us to have a leisurely meet. With the chaos that we create (irrespective of the number), it is preferred that we meet at a not-so-crowded location. Jangli Maharaj mandir on JM road, is the type that suits us. Within the city, very accessible and easily known landmark, it still is uncrowded and leisurely. 

In the same premises, is another isolated place, known as the Pataleshwar caves. Patal (underground) eshwar (Shiva) caves are now under the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) and are relatively well maintained (more importantly clean). The caves have been dug-out of a single rock. There is a huge Nandi Mandap at the entrance and a Shiva temple inside. The caves are incomplete due to some technical flaw identified during construction. Staying in Pune, very few people know of the existence of these caves.

Our meets are incomplete without food and it anyways was around lunch time. After some discussions wandering around the better eating houses in Pune, we finalized on the nearest restaurant, Bamboo house. Few of us had met before, but for most of us the group was new, most friends were new. That did not matter though, for in no time, we were bonded as childhood friends meeting after a long time. Somewhere in our chats and gupshups, we had bridged all gaps between meeting strangers to being close friends.

Our Pune meet was end post lunch, but we were in no mood to curtail the meet here. So we continue to Atulya's residence and made ourselves at home. Had all of us been from Pune, the meet could have continued onto the India-West Indies match and beyond. All good things come to an end. Well, this was just the beginning. This is the first meet of the series, the next being on Apr 20 and the series continues.

If you were there with us on Sunday, you have experienced more than what this blog says. If you weren't and you are just happy reading the blog, try joining in next time. It would be an experience you would love to have over and over again. If you are in a region where we are not active, let us know and we will building up a group with you.So do let us know your thoughts. Please email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (9820992403).

Golden Moments - Revisited

Remember those days when we used to sit besides our grand-parents and they would tell us the wonderful stories of their childhood...of the pranks they played and the fun they had. Those moments still bring on a smile. We were lucky this Saturday to re-live those moments when the aaji's & ajoba's shared some of their childhood memories with us. It was very touching to see the joy on one of the ajoba's face when he was telling us how he hit a woman with his cricket ball when he was a teenager.
In those days of our childhood, we loved cutting magazines and creating cards using all those bits. We called it craft. As we grew, we moved to electronic gadgets, emails and e-cards. Today we got a chance to get back to those days, bring back the creativity in card and paper. Though we were a bit rusty at the start, but as we caught the colors...imagination flew. Starting from cutting pictures from magazines to some finger-paintings we went on to create quite a few "un-imaginable" cards. (We had never imagined that we could do this) Saturday afternoon which otherwise would have been a lazy one was spent on this activity. And efforts bore fruits when we saw the smile after we gifted them the cards.
This was our second visit to Shantikunj and like we did last time, we were inclined to make their time a memorable one. The response was low initially, but as they started singing...we joined in and then it was a "mehfil" of songs and bhajans. No ipods, no decks, no network coverage...it was so very wonderful that we had moved to those good old days when there we no computer games and one of the favourite games was passing-the-parcel. We passed parcel around and they enjoyed it.
For them, we tried to help them enjoy their Golden moments and in the process, we too, recollected those Golden moments that we had experienced in our childhood days. The visit also brought back those moments that we had with them in November (during our first visit). It does give a sense of satisfaction when you make someone of their age smile. Returning home with a "blessed" feeling... it truly was "Golden moments-revisited!"
Twice we have been here and both times we have collected some lifetime-cherishable moments. We are back home and we are again waiting for the next time to visit the place, waiting again to "visit the Golden Moments!"

If you feel you have lost a Golden oppurutnity, we will re-create it again. So do let us know your thoughts and how you would like to contribute to Maha GSB. Please email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (9820992403).

...आणी गड जिंकला!

Saturday early morning, Pune climate, chilly weather…an apt time to pull-up an extra blanket. It requires an extra-ordinary enthusiasm to step-out of the bed, pull-up your socks and go trekking. One of the source of motivation that is required to put-in these efforts, comes from the group you are in. And that is exactly what the Pune group displayed on January 16.
At times, we do feel that the number makes a difference, but when it's Maha GSB we make-up for the missing numbers. How?? Simply by enjoying so much that those who miss, realize what they missed! While the team strength was on the lower side, but not the strength of the team. Determined to make every event a successful one, we are ready to scale any heights and trekking Sinhgad wasn't a challenge (to the enthusiasm). First it was (wind)-cheating the cold and then beating the heat while scaling the heights. And by the time we reached the top, a lot many calories were burnt and energies drained. Or as we say in Marathi "खरच फाटली!"
Of course, when we meet "food" has to be there. And after so much of calorie burning, it definitely deserves a treat. When you are in Rome, be a Roman…when you are on Sinhagad, have पिठलं भाकरी and ठेचा. We do capture the food we eat so as to share the temptations, but I guess too many calories were burnt…hence the plates just have the left overs.
In all, another weekend morning exploited, another set of memories added, a different experience worth sharing and looking forward to meet-up again! We decided, we planned, we executed…आणी गड जिंकला!
Feeling like you have missed something?? If you don't want to miss it again, please email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Vaibhav (for Pune meets - 9860355206).

A fishy meet

We have always been people with amazing skills and one skill that is common to all of us is the knowledge of putting the tongue to good use. And hence whenever there is an occasion for us to meet, eating and chatting are the primary things that you can look for.
Talking about food, fish is the favourites of all times (with due respect to those who are exceptions to this clause). Everyone met at the destination, Rahul (Aundh) by about 7:30 PM and as always it took a matter of minutes for the newbies to be our long lost friends. What happens after that is something which every meet has experienced. It really becomes difficult to identify the newbies in the group.

Patra fish and Prawns had spiced up the taste-buds and then there was a need to cool them down. So the next destination on the same evening was naturally Naturals for ice-creams (with the tender coconut flavour?) Oh! by-the-way, let the fish talk and Naturals not make you feel this meet has happened in Mumbai...it's a Pune meet!

The experience of being present there is faar more than the blog can explain. AmBo would be coming up with a poem on this...so keep watching this blog for more details!

Feeling like you have missed something?? If you don't want to miss it again, please email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Vaibhav (for Pune meets - 9860355206).

Children's day with grand-parents

Most of us have had a great time with our grand-parents. They have always been special for us. In line with these memories, we thought of spending time with some grand-parents who are away from their children and make the "Children's day" a great day for them. However, Oldage homes are not happening places and at most times, you would get negative vibes from the people staying there. They are also very low on EQ (Emotional Quotient) and even a simple conversation could drive them to bad memories of the past. Understanding this, we knew we had a tough task ahead.

It was a challenge and we had to prepare ourselves. We spent about 2 weeks on creating the plan, discussing it and working out options. We planned for an ice-breaking session on the first day, followed by a stage show in the evening. We had interactive games, the second day morning and a gifting ceremony to close the event. We wished to create memories that they could cherish for a long time. Little did we dream that the event would give us such a memorable experience. And while we had a wonderful time with the people there, we also had our share of "masti" with a night-walk, then terrace chatting, the making of "khottos", morning walk to emu farm...and not to forget cramping 15 in 2 cars (9 in Honda City and 6 in Suzuki Estilo)
The experience was very nice and very fantastic...not just for me or a few other, but for all. We collected feedback from the people there as well as the Maha GSB team and the response was equally positive! The people there like stage show that we did as well as the interactive games that we had. One of them mentioned, "You people have brought a ray of light in the lives of the aged by interacting with them so ably" The fact that they likes the event was seen by their participation as well.
Some joined us in the performance while the rest participated in the interactive games. They sang, played tabla and even danced with us! The enthusiasm was bubbling...they were as eager to play with as much as we were to get involved with them.

We had planned to gift decorated "Matki (pot) Candles" and while we were painting, a couple of ammas joined us in the decoration work.
While some of the team members were busy with the interactive session, some worked on filling the matkis with wax and the rest cleared up non-biodegradable stuff from the premises.
The interaction was so smooth with the inmates, that we never felt that we were there for the first time. Hegde maam, the incharge there said "It was really nice to see the inmates happy" while Bhat maam has invited us to visit more often. And the feedback from the Maha GSB team is no different. All the feedback mention that the visit was a pleasant and wish to visit the place as many times as possible. We, the Maha GSB team are all set and waiting to cater to another social cause!
If you feel you can contribute to Maha GSB and are not sure how you can, please email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (9820992403).

Sunday morning exploited

"Another Sunday morning exploited!" That probably would be an apt statement...especially for a place like Pune. Generally, we face a very lazy Sunday morning...and we really hate it if we have to get up on a Sunday morning, be ready by 9:30 AM and leave home by 10:00. But Oct 25 was different. It was the day of reviving the Pune group of Saraswats.

The plans had started almost a month back and the response was not so heartening...till the Sunday morning. Marz-O-Rin, the ground zero for the meet, is generally a quiet place on Sunday morning with a very few people (read couples) coming in to have some soft talk or some people coming to have some pastries and little gupshup. All of them witness some nice chaos...something they would not have dreamt would happen!

We started pouring in and the first floor section that remains closed till 12:00 noon, was opened at 11:00. When 28 of us started occupying various seats, moving tables around...I guess the owner did not have much of a choice. It took around 5-10 mins for us to settle down and that was enough for us know each other...and when we know each other, there is no stopping. Chatting started as though we were long lost friends meeting each other. While the newly joined members shared the first impression, the rest shared their view of Maha GSB.

After snacks, pastries and a lot of chatting, it was time to lunch. George was the destination and biryani was the choice. Bhushit sponsored this quoting his birthday, so we replied with a cake!

And by the time we knew, it was time for the Mumbai team to say "Meet you soon!" (and to say that we took about half an hour)

We exploited another Sunday morning...and again, it was worth it. Those who were there would not mind rushing up on another Sunday for the same cause. But for those who missed, check the pics, join us once...and we will ensure you'll never be able to resist joining again!

आती क्या खंडाळा!

This call of "आती क्या खंडाळा??" was answered by 21 Maha GSBs from Mumbai and Pune. Half of them had performed at the Wadala Math and knew each other...but the rest of the group barely knew each other and few of them had never met anyone in the group. In such a scenario, it would be fair to say that getting around with each other would take about 4-5 hours and meeting in the evening would just suffice the intro session for the group. But this group was a tad too different...probably it is in-built that any member joining this group just gels in.We reached the venue at about 6:00 PM. There was power failure and darkness was seeping in. That did not deter the enthusiasm in anyways. It took us about an hour to get the momentum going and the fun-time started rolling (not that we did not have fun on the way to Khandala) and the enjoyment and merriment went on more than the clock could count hours...from evening to night to midnight to dawn to early morning...till the time that time took us apart and it was time to head home. And in all this while, we collected memories to cherish for a lifetime.
We joked, we laughed, we sang, we danced, we barbequed, we enjoyed. We never missed a second and yet we never knew how time passed. And when we realized it was time to say "Good-bye", we were left wanting for more. Even after returning, we all are still in the same mood...wanting to be back with each other and have even more fun.I am short of words to describe the experience we had, hence will be updating the blog from the feedback from those who attended the meet shortly. The experience is also shared very poetically by Amit Bokale [AmBo] on our blog Kavya Prabha

Those who were there know what it was and we promise to deliver more of such memories in the time to come. For those who missed out, still have a chance. For details, write to us at mahagsb@googlegroups.com

Pune Chapter: Meet II

The second get-together of the Pune Chapter of Maha GSB team happened on Saturday, 25th August at 5:30 PM. It was raining heavily in Pune, the turn-up was low...but the spirits were high...and those who were there, knew what a fun it was! We have the report of this rocking meet that happened in Kamath Hotel, Pune from the Pune Co-ordinator Amit Bokale [AmBo]. Here is what he writes:

Sandhyakaalchi vel. Pahile pahune hazir hote. Nehmi pramane tyaani hi meet miss nahi keli. Tey hote aaple "Paus". Kamat hotel [JM road] var bhetaiche tharle hote. Nilesh yeun mazhya shejari ubha rahila. Adhi ek-mekaanna kadhi na bahitlya mule amhi olakhle nahi. Doghe ek-mekanna pahu laglo ani magh vicharle ki GSB meet saathi aalat ka, ani nantar gappa suru zhaalya.

Dusre pahune hote Surendra. Anolkhi chehare pahun tyaani call karaila surwaat keli. Amhi tyaala jaun vicharle ki to hi GSB meet saathi aala ahe ka, ani asey amhi rickshaat basnyayewdhi loka jamlo.

Ajun ek gruhasta amchya maagey yeun ubhe rahile. Amhi tyanchya kade baghat hoto. Tey hi amhaala bagat hote. Tey phone karnyacha prayatna karit hote konala tari. Amhi mag tyanna approach kela "GSB meet saathi aalat ka?" tar tey confuse zhaala ani nakaratmak uttar dile. Tewdhyat sahebanchi girlfriend aali ani tey aanandaay hotel madhe gele.

Tari amhcya gappa suruch hotya. Tewdhyaat mala call aala. Prashant ne majhya maagey ubharahun call kela hota. Asey amhi carrom doubles khelnya yewdhi loka zhaalo. Vaibhav Nadkarni kaamat adaklyamule toh Kamat madhe yeu shakla nahi. Pan tyaani hi meet miss kele karan pahilya meet la hi to thoda ushiraach aala hota.

Aankhi kon yenaar hyache confirmation navhte, tya mule amhi hotelaat shirlo. Yena-janaara ani hotel samoor thambnara "GSB tar nahi?" hya kade hi sarvanche laksha hote. Nilesh, Surendra and Prashant teeghe moolche Ratnagiri-Chiplun side che aslyaane tyanche kahi common friends kalale. Tya mule jaast javalchi olakh aslya sarkhe vaatu lagle. Gappa suru zhalya. Aadhi cutlets magavnyaat aale ani tya nantar baraach delay ghetla. Waiter la ajun ek mitra yet ahe asey saangun pudhchya coffee chi order baryach ushira denyaat aali.

Surendra kadne GSBs chi history ani kuldaivat che barech concepts clear zhaale. Nilesh tar khaas Jamshedpur hun aala hota. Tyaani tyachya engagement chi khushkhabar hi dili. Pudhya meet la aaplyala 2 pahuney confirm zhaale ahaet. Prashant Hadapsar hun meet saathi aala hota. Orkut access nasunhi tyaane mails varoon toh meet che plans chya updates ghet hota.

Dilkhulaas gappa zhaalya, vaig-vaiglya vishayannvar discussions zhaale, MahaGSB chi stuti hothach hoti, activities kashya vadhavta yeteel ani kay karave hey ki tharavnyaat aale. Ashi hi meet paus asunhi sampanna zhaali. Pudhchya meet chi sagle waat paahat aahot. Lavkarach ajun ek meet ghenyache tharavnyaat yenar ahe.

Have you missed this meet?? Do you want to suggest date and venue for the next get-together?? Then write to us at mahagsb@googlegroups.com

मिसळ ताजी आहे

Generally, I take the onus of writing about the meet. This time Ambo took the initiative on this front and he has put in the description of the first meet of the Pune chapter in assal puneri style…Enjoy the Mastani Misal and the Khamang thalipeeth!!!

Sakaalchi 9-9:30 chi vel…pausani hi aapli hajiri laavli hoti…mast thand gaar vaatavaran…janu ha GSB mitranchya maitrichach gaarva hota…sagle Mathura chya vrindavanaat pochle…mazhya pochnya aadhi Kedar, Ashu, Avinash ani Vaibhav cha chaha paanyacha ek round zhaala hota…Vaibhav saglyaat adhi aala hota…tyaala utsahani yewdhi bhook laagli hoti ki tyaane surwaat keli hoti…punyaatla initiator asla mule tyaane sarva dishes (mumbaiche pahune yenya aadhi) barobar aahet ka nahi test kariache tharavle asel kadachit ;) … Ashu, Kedar ani Avinash ni nantar tyaala saath dili…mast garma garam thaalipeeth.

Tya nantar mi pochlo tithe…gapaa taapa suruch hotey…tewnha Trupti ne call kela..tiney Kamat hotel madhe pahila khanyacha round poorna kela hota…ani magh ti amhala mathuret join zhaali.
Puneri misal ani thaalipeet parat magavnyaat aale…amhaala nahi tari vel kadhaicha hota…tyaat Trupti ne lavkaraat lavkaar teechi misal sampavli…ek-deed taas is what is Trupti's minimum time to finish the dish…Manager amchya jawalach basla hota…yedha vel time paas karnari pora baghun vaitaagla hota…saarkha ubharahun bagat hota hi kiti sampavla ahe khaana…pan aamhi hi durlaksha kareet hoto…nantar chaha maagavnyaat aale…Vaibhav limbu paani chi farmaish keli…pan ti hotel chya waiter ni naakarli…Trupti ne 7-up maagavle…tyaatla waiter ni ek sip maarli asey sagle Trupti la saangu laagle. Misal taaji nahi, hey trupti la patvoon denyaat khoop maja aali.

Parat ekda thalipeet ani chaha cha round zhaala…Avinash chi friend Renu ni join kele…teechya ni Trupti chya gappa aikne sarkhya hotya…

trupti: tu kuthe rahtes?
Renu: xyz [not to be disclosed on net]
trupti: arey mi hi ttithech rahte…xyz madhe kuthe..
renu: Abc
trupti: arey mi hi tithech rahte…

amche hasne ithe suru zhaale.

trupti: kuthli society
renu: efg

amche hasne ithe joraat suru zhaale.

trupti:arey what a co-incidence…mi hi tithech rahte…kuthli bldg…

amche comments: ata hya doghinna kalel ki aapan ekach flat madhe rahto [:D]
pan doghanchi bldg vegli hoti..

Vaibhav Nadkarni ni amhala join kele…tya velela amhi Mathura sodnyacha nirnay ghetla…tya velicha manager chya chehryacha anand veglach hota…thats what you call "chayn ki saans" chayn != jackie chan..saans = shwaas and not mother in law.

Baher padlyavar photo session suru zhaale…vaig veglya angles ni photos kadle…magh pudhcha question: ata kuthe jaiche?? 4-4:30 taas mathura madhe kadlyavar amhi McDonalds la pochlo…tey samorch hote…eka room chya pudhe "closed" cha board laavla hota…pan amchya saathi te open karnyaat ale…bahutek McD cha maalak GSB asava.
Tithe baslo…gappa marlya…chicken burgers khalae…time pass kela…magh gardi vadhayla laagli…ani amhala vicharnyaat aale "ki tumche khaun zhaale ka?" Vaibhav Parulkar ne agdi sopya ashya shabdaat khotey saangiltle ki amcha ek mitra yet ahe ani amhi tyaachi waat baghat aahot…ani amhi ajun 15-20 min tithe baslo. Magh sagle baher padhlo…pausaat discussions zhaale. Trupti ni thodi shopping keli (in record time...15 min!!!) McDee chya baher baslelya mansaabarobar pics kadle…ani tithe amchi official meet sampli. Sagle aaplya chehryavar ek veglach anand ani utsaha gheun ghari nighaale..[aap-aaplya]..ha "aap-aaplya" cha funda ithe nahi saangu shaknaar ;)
Snigdha yenaar asey bolli hoti…tya mule ji mulgi baher disel teech Snighda asel asey vichaar suru zhaale…konihi mulgi hotel madhe enter zhaali ki sagle…Snigdha-Singhda asey haaka maaru laagle…Snigdha la baryach uchkya laaglya asteel… :D

Ashi hi meet ekdam majet poorna zhaali…ani meet sampta sampta pudhcya meetche hi plans suru zhale…

- Amit Bokale
[AmBo]

Those who would like to be a part of the Pune chapter, please post comments here and we will get in touch with you.

Contributors to this blog are most invited…please keep mailing to mahagsb@googlegroups.com