Special event

We organized recently a special sports event for differently able children at Jeevanjyot School on Karve Road.
Differently able and mentally handicapped children need special care, attention and support for the society. To highlight this point, cityblog supported the interschool event conducted by Jeevanjyot School. The occasion was World mentally handicapped day on 8th Dec. The school organizes various events like sports, dance, painting etc. We financially supported Jeevanjyot for this cause and also proposes to highlight the cause to support such schools. 14 different schools all around Pune participated on that day with around 400 such children and adults from vocational centers attending the sports competition. The events like Lemon and spoon race, weaving beads, throwing ball in basket, ‘lagori’ , carom, dumbbell race etc were conducted. Children enjoyed while participating in these events. The competitive spirit shown was exemplary even for non handicapped people. The winner’s faces said it all. There were competitions for teachers as well. The participants were also given snacks etc.
We had selected this event to salute the fact that mentally challenged people are the most vulnerable lot amongst all those disabled in some form. If one loses ability to think normally, one has great challenges as mind controls everything. So as society we need to care, support these people and make their lives happier and easier.

N B S visit to Round Table 105 school

New Business School is a leading business school in Netherlands. Round Table India has an opportunity to interact with students and professors on regular basis. As a part of their curriculum, they have an international charity section. They decided to raise funds in Netherlands for worthy Round table india school projects. After a lot of scrutiny of worthy charities they zeroed on work of Round table in Building schools all around india. Within Round Table they had invited proposals from various table units. We at PRRT105 had proposed our permanent project Nerlekar School at Khadakwadi for this purpose. Based on shortlisting, our project was one of the three projects in area they selected. As a part of process they arrived in Pune for cultural understanding as well as school visits. There were 12 students and Prof Rammers who accompanied them.They attended Antarnad program by Art of Living where 2000 vocalists performed. They had industrial visits to Tata Motors and Volkswagen. They enjoyed stay in families and also had few social parties hosted by tablers.
On saturday 16th, we took them to our school at Khadakwadi. They were visiting rural area for first time. They realizes stark difference in India which parties in city and Bharat which lives in villages. They were really moved when they were informed about economic status of students and hardships they face. They were presented to a musical welcome and cutural show which they throroughly enjoyed. They also saw self defense demonstration by girls. They were introdued to national integration theme songs. They really enjoyed it.
They understood school building construction plan. They realised that there was no library so they decided to help that cause. They had already committed 3500 Euros funding for the building. In addition they donated cricket sets to the school. They were interested to see kitchen where midday meal is served.
The highlight of event was all NBS students mobbed by school children from villages for autographs and photos. It was touching sight. They mixed with children nicely while some even dancing with them.
Really a satisfying experience for all tablers of 105...

Cycling after long time

As per the the plans, tablers started assembling in front of the crowded SGS mall, by 430 onwards. Some had driven the cycles, some had innovatively arranged for tempos, vans to transport the cycles. The twinkers and ladies were in great number and enthusiasm. By around 5:15 we kicked off the rally which is an achievement in tabling based on past tabling time standards. Tr Jignesh Furia had printed the stickers, route-map and a cap with round table details. It was really a great design and other follow-up work. Those were distributed. Few tables also managed to get on the two wheelers. Tr Ankit had sent those placards to be held by pillion riders. There was a car behind the cyclist where the main flex was printed. To top the cavalcade of around 15 two wheelers, 2 cars and around 40 cyclists was a police van provided by the commissioner thanks to the police permission taken by Tr Ritesh. Getting the permission was a task itself to which Tr Ritesh was up to it. Normally they don’t allow on crowded Sunday evenings. The commissioner was impressed by Round Table activities. He had personally directed the staff. There was PA system warning other traffic to make way for us. There were curious onlookers at the mall and throughout asking what its all bout. We then had a pamphlet to give for such curious people. The route took East Street till the 110 hoarding. It turned on MG road, again from westend till Poona club. We had photo ops near Inox. Then we turned back near alankar talkies , sadhu wasvani chowk, Nehru memorial and back to SGS mall.
Twinklers on their small bikes were the toast of evening. The enthusiasm and resolve to complete the rally was great. Ladies added glamour quotient thus adding further curious onlookers. There was great traffic on all these roads and am sure our message must have reached at least 20 to 30 thousand people in that area. Thanks to some great traffic management done by volunteers like Tr Mohit, Tr Sagar , Tr Bijoy , Tr sanjay and other with of course help from police announcements.

Upon conclusion of the rally, there was photo session and pamphlet distribution done by Twinklers and Tablers. The twinkler enthusiasm was appreciated by large SGS Sunday evening crowd. Most tablers used the opportunity to spend time together either at mall, Mac D and RKs. The respective fellowship conveners to take on from there…..

Must say a great solidarity of Pune Tablers and a really enjoyable and effective Publicity events. Tables will attempt release the Note on 10th. Tablers will wear shirts and pins on 10th. The three hoardings are already in place spaces for which had been managed by 110 and 144 (one for 144 and other for joint tables). The tables had taken up the printing and fixing cost. So we have made great visibility in Pune …..

We did it

last weekend , our table donated money to Nerlekar school. nerlekar school is located behind NDA at a remote place. Started by one man with vision from personal funds in 1985 in a cowshed, it now hosts around 600 children from around 10 remote villages. Hardships were enormous, local resistance to send the kids, local politics and corruption etc. still school has done wonderful job.
i visited school in 06 when i was going for monsoon drive on a sunday. based on that motivation to help school i joined round table india. Its been a great experience on personal as well as social side. Finally after a good years work on fundraising, coordination etc we managed to help this cause. Hope this is just a start...

Sankalp Visit: A soul shattering experience

Many of us in Pune would have been to Panshet/sinhagad/khadakwasala side for Picnic many times. If next time you go that side, its my request to make a visit to Sankalp Orphanage just 2 km before panshet phata on right side of road. It will help you with a new shocking insight to life.
We at Round table 105 had arranged a visit to school which we plan to build near khadakwadi. Later plan was to go to Tr shantanu's farmhouse and have some fun. It was suggested by Tr Shantanu’s mother to visit and support that. And we were not prepared for the scenes we witness once we entered inside the establishment. I clicked the snaps from outside. I did not have daring and it would not have been proper on my side to take snaps of the plight of residents there. Guys, I urge all who had not witnessed the scenes, to take 10 mins out of their numereth picnics towards sinhagad, panshet, khadakwasala side to thank the almighty for whatever comforts he has provided us till date. We are sheer lucky. How unfortunate can those souls be whom we met that day. The children were orphans abandoned and add to that they were mentally challenged (here I cannot use politically correct word Differently abled: all politics can be forgotten). The stench coming from rooms indicated their failure of their control over their bodies. One guy was tied up as he did not seem to have any control over emotions. We cannot forget the five year old infant who wished us by folding his hands which was so polite (and compare that with today’s nextgen who are privileged). Then we met old people abandoned by their families. We were shell shocked as we came out. As we had already spoken to management team (who are doing excellent job in those gloomy conditions), they needed blankets. We immediately coordinated with Tr Amol to buy and dispatch 50 blankets asap. Within ourselves we promised to support this establishment in whatever capacity in coming years. There were ideas like donating monthly drinks/eating out expenses individually.
Life is unfair. Most of the time we complaint that we have not got enough. we strive for more. These scenes give you a perspective. For me it was an astound resolve to do whatever to help them in my capacity.
and i wish to almighty to grant this wish to let me help them better.

My Trek with underpreviledged children

It was decided to be involved in the Trek organized by Lt Flt Cdt Parag Chandrakant Limaye Memorial Trust to Shri Neelkantheshwar. This trek was originally to be held in Oct but was postponed due to commonwealth youth games. Finally 13th of December was the agreed date and it was decided to organize this for 55 children class VI of Shri Alegaonkar school khadki.

Late Flt Cdt Parag Chandrakant Limaye Memorial Trust was formed in memory of Lt flt cdt Parag Limaye who laid down his life during his pilot training at Allahabad in 1995. Lt parag was my school mate. A very disciplined person and had an ambition to be a fighter pilot since class VI. He made it to NDA, Allahabad and just days before the graduation laid down his life owing to technical snag in MIG plane. Such is destiny. Thus in his memory trust was formed of which I am a trustee and we do such events once a year in October (his birthday as well as memory day). Principal cause of this trust is to encourage defense entrance along with adventure training and other civic causes. Thus this year we organized one day camp for children of Aleganokar School and its staff. This school has mostly children associated with platforms and slums around khadki.

On a cool and pleasant morning of 13th December, I along with my fellow trustees and daughter assembled at Cipla at 7 Am. The Bus arrived at 7 30 and soon we started the journey. I was in my car with my daughter and fellow trustee. The morning was gorgeous and the snap of khadakwasla dam can say better than my words. The road and lakeside reminded me of those lochs in Scotland. We reached the base at around 9 :30 and by this time sun was out.

I had to drive much ahead on the trek road as I had to reach the car park below. It saved me a 10-15 mins walks thankfully. The kids got down at the base and started walking. When they arrived they were full of energy. We then served them snacks, had prayers and then started the climb. Sun was now out and even in Dec it was warm. The climb though a broad road had a gradient with stairs in between. The teachers of school, who were not used, naturally lagged the main group. The volunteers from Pune Mountaineers naturally led the way and enforced discipline which is very crucial to avoid any mishaps. But these volunteers were experienced and knew the task.

We reached top at around 11:15. Teachers reached by 11:40. Then we assembled the kids below tree. I introduced them to trust, Parag, table, and trekking habits. Kids were then refreshed. On the top, there are many idols depicting various mythological and historical events. Name a god, event, saint of significance, you have the idol. These are beautifully done and neatly placed. They are painted after heavy rains each year, and is a really enjoyable journey. My daughter who is in Ist std, really enjoyed them. So did the kids. Teachers at school explained them all events.
Then we went inside temple of Shri Neelkantheshwar and had 10 mins prayers. It’s a very good temple. After that we assembled for lunch and let kids on their own for 30 mins. They enjoyed.

Then again we assembled them and then Pune Mountaineers people conducted some outdoor games like passing parcel, some recitation etc. some children sang good songs and then we had some prizes as well.

We started back by 2 and came down by 3. Journey down was comfortable but for sun beaming down. Children went inside bus by around 3:30 and reached pune by 4;30. We got a call from their principal about how children enjoyed this being such first experience of their lives and how much they learnt about trek, involved discipline, about defense entrance and so on..

It was really a wonderful experience on a glorious December day. I am sure we must have created at least handful of trekking enthusiast and helped them get new experience amidst all their hardships.

My Own Taaren Zameen Par

As per national initiative to hold painting competition for differently abled children on 14th November 2008 to mark the children’s day, our table started the thought process to conduct same at Jeevanjyot school with whom we had already conducted Diwali party. Aamir khan had consented to grant logo of Taaren Zameen Par as logo and will be involved in this event conducted by Round Table India. Tr Jignesh confirmed that the school is open for it as it would be a nice experience for children who are aged between 6 till 45. Tr Janak (Globalware) whole heartedly supported the cause by sponsoring an amount toward this event of Rs 3000 for snacks, prizes, roses, certificates and banners. With help of support from National (esp Tr Rajesh YR), we organized the stationary. The venue was school itself. We had invited Mr Kulkarni from SNDT Arts College as judge and Mr Ranjeet Shirole a renowned business personality and MNS secretary of Pune city as chief guest.

With this preparation, we arrived at the school and were surprised by the enthusiasm from students to paint the pictures. Due to difficulty of actually drawing the pictures, the event was adapted to painting the pictures. In all sixty students in two categories; vocational school and school were made based on age. They were divided into two groups as the situation demanded us to be all inclusive. We put the banners at right places and teachers asked students to start the painting. The Tablers, ladies, twinklers present in large numbers were monitoring the progress and helping them. The eyes of participants were lit up and they were really enjoying the creativity involved. School staff and parents were also involved in helping the participants,. Those were the magical moments which we will treasure all our lives.

After 40 mins of time, we collected all the paintings and then handed them over to Kulkarni sir for judgement. He had very tough time ranking them as everyone had made a great effort, But owing to his professional self he ranked the winners as follows.

School Group Vocational Group

Group1 Group 2 Group 1 Group 2
1 Bela Shinde Akash Marne Kanchan Thakar Sayali A
2 Gaurav Dhole Amruta Patil Vinod Ubhe Sujata Inamdar
3 Vipul Khambe Rafiq Sheikh Smita Kulkarni Shital Karanje


The school introduced the guests and presented them with some art work done by students. The participants were invited to collect certificates individually. They were really happy and proud of their achievements. Tr Shantanu, Chirag, Mr Ranjeet and Kulkarni sir took this responsibility of handing over the certificates. Chief Guest Mr Ranjit then handed over the prizes for winners. Every one was winner including our tables, school staff that had this once in a life time chance to witness this event. Later snacks were distributed and enjoyed by children.


Then Ranjit spoke explaining importance of this event. School teachers express vote of thanks. Indeed it was really enjoyable moment as every kid had a beaming smile which was the most proud achievement ever done by our table , most of tablers wont disagree… Taarens of his zameens were twinkling as bright…….

According to most, it was the most complete moment in our tabling history…….

Round Table Bond

Publishing on this forum my own article published in Table talk a magazine by Round table India.
Round Table India is organization which i am member of (i won the best sceretary award last year). its a organization of people aged between 18 and 40. Idea is fellowship and mission is to educate 1 million children (an issue close to heart). More about it later.

Round table Bond

“My name is Bond, James Bond” says Scotsman Sean Connery on screen and everybody is thrilled. I am an avid James Bond movie fan and I am sure many of us are… This Bond intro which sounds so macho and is immortalized adds to ever growing charisma to his character. On same lines, I feel the Round table bond that I have entered into a year back has added charisma to my life. Let me tell you about my own encounter with this charismatic Round Table Bond with the difference from any other friendship bond.

But before I do that, I have a theory which analyses of how we end up with our friends. In life we share friendship bond with people with common interest and goals. It starts with neighborhood and school mates which in some cases turn out to life long bonding. The common need here is to spend non school or school time to play or enjoy depending on either neighbor or school friendship bonds respectively. In school cases there is also a peer pressure to study, excel, and compete which adds a serious dimension to the bondage. It is the chance/destiny etc that bonds the group together and its up to individual choice to make most out of the bond… Luck plays a major role and there is always an expectancy of symbiosis that nurtures the bondage.

As one grows it’s the college, hostels take over the friendship bondage. Here it’s a vocational/professional choice which defines the group and provides a serious avenue to relax or compete depending on the group. For me hostel life was the best part of life, secluded in a god forbid place at Kharagpur, we had only hostel wing mates to get along and away from urbane entertainment. It was all about channeling those into lifelong bonds. But also there was professional or egotistic competition underlying be it to get a US scholarship, or a dream job or IIM admission.

Next stage comes in as, office/business peers. In whatever profession or business you are, you need business peers or colleagues to share your professional notes. Here the family comes into picture. You cannot choose your colleagues (your company does it for you). In business partnerships are like marriages, carefully selected by you based upon your dynamics. There is a common tag of profession, money, stakes involved.

There are other ‘catchment’ areas of friends (IPL phrase), like sports and social clubs, interest groups which also have common interest bonds but these kinds of bonds are enjoyed by few privileged ones.

Significant avenues also arise when your kids grow, their friends and their parents etc when your kids repeat your cycle.

Having analyzed all other friendship bonds let me narrate my own encounter with this “Bond”.

Now here I was with all the baggage of friends accumulated over above cycle when someone (who falls into one of the categories above), introduced me to the table bond.

I first thought it to be a group, held together by business networking agenda having a social face, coupled with an ambition to be ‘identified’ in social circuits. Here after a journey of a year and having seen the experience around, I feel the bonding here has some independent and differentiating features than all above bonds mentioned above.

The most important thread here is there is no underlying prominent thread of professional interests. Though there might have been cases of using mutual professional expertise or network for some unrelated cause, but idea here is to have fun primarily. It allows an opportunity to let down your guards, be at peace and just hang around as we used to do in hostels (but without any commonality of exams, interviews).

There is a cause involved which is very appealing. The cause of children is so universal and appealing that hardened cynics can also not run away from it. That provides a fee good factor at the end of it. Though the extent of work done, initiatives differ across the tabling fraternity, the reason gives a kind of feel good that is needed at the end of your professional life. Also the fact that our table 105 has one of the biggest projects ever undertaken in table fraternity adds to that quotient. One of another reason I got introduced to tabling was my visit to a rural school which needed funds. Though I cannot say that I have fulfilled that dream but I am optimistic that one day I will. As Famous quote of KBC says: World lives on hope…

Then the most important aspect of table bond which differentiates this bond from all the bonds mentioned here is the HRD angle. It allows you to learn from all your group members with their facets of public, individual, professional capabilities. Though one can argue that business groups, industry associations also can render similar perspectives but they lack diversity of nature that Round table bond can offer. The perspective from other tablers, boards adds to the learning curve. Education is continuous, and round table offered me that while I always intended to have fun.

And finally what has added to my life is a team of people who feel like calling me or when I feel calling them whenever there is something significant happening in my or their lives; good or bad. Be it as trivial as a world cup /IPL final or be it as serious as when someone is hospitalized. If you are at some good place you feel like telling someone that ‘I wish you were here’. If you are down you feel like joining the group and hang around to cheer you up. Beauty is that when nothing happens or after a small but extended hiatus in meetings, you feel like calling and asking what’s happening.

Comparing to other bonds, the selection of friend has combination of luck, choice and acceptability to group which is the most important aspect.