Ajjis ajoobas and a wonderful weekend

Today, the name Shantikunj, itself now leads to wonderful memories. It was not so on Saturday morning. This visit was the first time for most of the team and before we reached, there were jitters about spending a day with seniors who are more than two generations elder. The big question of the moment then was "How do you connect to someone so senior, especially where there is hardly thing in common?" And yet we were there to spend the day with them.

To break the initial apprehensions, we had planned to have a bhajan session. It did not take too long to overcome the initial hesitations. As we invited them to the mandir for bhajans, we accompanied them on the way and in no time (even before starting with the bhajans), we were well mixed with the them. Shailaja Pai and her daughter took on the lead for the bhajans and the rest joined in. Everyone was so involved that by the time we realized, it was already lunch time and we were reluctant to stop. We had to hard stop as lunch was to be served at 1:00 PM.

The start was so positive that from then on, we never felt like visitors nor were the residents feeling that we were any outsiders. It was just one extended family with everyone enjoying with each other. While some played carrom, some worked on the candy stick stands (we had planned to gift them) the rest picked up their regular nap. We were all waiting for the evening and the entertainment show that was planned for. It included a skit that was written just 2 days prior and being rehearsed in that afternoon. The residents were excited and we were nervous.

The evening proved to be much better than our dreams. Dr. Dilip Nadkarni had come down for a 20-minute performance and in those 20 mins, he sang, danced and set-up the tone for the evening. Starting with "Kehna hai...", Dr. Dilip raked up melodious tracks from the Golden Era...their younger days. He built up the energy with jokes and boosted the already positive environment. It was wonderful to see one of the ajji's shake a leg. Eventually, even we could not resist and joined in to dance. He was accompanied by deititian Darshana Lathigra, who provided easy tips to maintain health. This continued with a magic show by Jadugar Sunil Kamat. He built-up on the stage that was now set for a rocking evening and ensure that fun element kept going. To pep the mood, we served chatpata sev puris. They were just the snacks needed to to keep up the energy for the evening. Our satisfaction was in the fact that all our ajjis and ajoobas enjoyed the sev-puris. The satisfaction was doubled when Dr Dilip and dietitian Darshana gave us a 5-star rating.

The mood was now that the evening should not end. We added to the evening with a short skit (praticised in the afternoon) and a last minute dance. Our energy bomb, Sowmya was the spirit booster. She is 11 years old but more energetic than most of us. While she only performed a mono act, she was all over the show, be it dancing or motivating the audience or just being super excited.

If you are wondering where did all of us get so much energy, it was thanks to the food that we have had. A visit to Shantikunj cannot be complete without the mention of food served and Hegde maam who prepares the delicacies with his family. He is the caretaker and has been serving there tirelessly. The food is so delicious that even with a full stomach, we are tempted to have yet another morsel. For Hegde maam, it was our satisfaction that mattered. Seeing a content face, his face sparkles joy.

Next day morning, as we were arranging the candy stands (which we had managed to prepare over night), one of the ajji's appreciated the art and checked with us on when those were made, and what would you do with them...much like my own grandmother would ask me. When told that these were for all of them and we would be meeting each of them in their room to give these, there was a gleam in her eyes. She did not say much then, but for a moment, my eyes went moist. Without a word being uttered, there was a lot communicated. She mentioned that another group had come a few years back and gifted them mementos which she has preserved till date. My heart was filled...she did not remember the group, but she still carries the memories. Later in the day, as we gifted them the mementos in their rooms, they were truly overjoyed. The mementos were a gift of memories that they had given us and would stay with them for a long time. When we were to leave, it really was a tough task saying good-bye. As Sanket puts it "We came with lots of questions, started with a smile and ended up with tears".

So how many are needed to organize such an event? How much does it cost? We were 14 and we funded the whole event including mementos and sev puri. All that was needed ws to join the gang, the group of some crazy GSBs known as the Maha GSB. Then every GSB becomes a friend and every event is a memory to live with.

Waiting to meet your friends? Join us now. For details on how, please email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (+91-9820992403). You can also join us on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/mahagsb/) as well.

Stay Connected!

In this internet era, we have been staying more connected than ever before. Emails, mobiles and then the social networking have helped us connect beyond physical boundaries. While some preferred to stay connected online only, there were a few who believed in putting this network to a practical reality. However well-connected e-friends may be meeting in the real world is a totally different and much wonderful experience.

Being connected thru the internet, we spread the word and built-up a group to visit a place where internet era has not much taken on, a place where mobile service providers are still far from penetrating. This place is amidst the mountains of New Panvel, called Harigram. It is a place for dignified living for the aged. We spent a day with them, we had a good time but what we are happy about is that they had a good time with us too!

We started the day with some wonderful bhajans. It couldn’t have been a better way to connect with the people there and they joining in proved their agreement. The ajjis there joined us and with Kishor Borkar on the harmonium and Archana Kamath lending her sweet voice, the overall experience was a pleasant and soothing one. While everyone was enjoying the bhajans, another group was busy cleaning up the space from non-biodegradable litter. The team-effort came out of nowhere and it displayed the strength of unity, of what we can do when we come together in real life. Overall, everyone contributed their bit from the heart and that is what made the day so special. Lunch at usual, was a delicacy…thanks to Hedge maam. And post lunch, when ajji-ajoobas at Shantikunj had some rest, we busied ourselves with some in-house entertainment. Post tea, we had sessions by physiotherapists Archana Rege and Kishor Borkar who guided the ajji-ajoobas on simple ways to keep away joint pains. And after some exercise, it is time for games…and that we had by Poorva Borkar and Manisha. A memorable day dedicated to a social cause. There was no internet, no social networking, no mobile range, but we still connected…with the ajji-ajoobas there and with all who became our friends there. While mobiles and internet does help us keep connected, getting connected through ideas, thoughts and minds is equally important. While closing this article, I would like to mention thanks to NKGSB Mumbai manch and to all those who made this event such a wonderful success. We promise to stay connected and put-up more such events in the near future. Did you miss the connection? Makes sure you get connected. For details on how, 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).

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).