Monday 23 November 2015

Chal Nanda Patkar Road


As part of a Rotaract initiative!

So what strikes your mind when you want to hangout in Vile Parle? Probably the areas in and around Juhu Beach, that street where NM and Mithibai College is or anywhere else but Nanda Patkar Road! So where is it exactly - You know the petrol pump near the highway near the dominoes, in Vile Parle east? Yes, opposite that petrol pump lays the street rarely explored by people not staying in Parle east.

There is nothing hi-fi about this street, just a couple of restaurants that are not worth going in to. What is absolutely worth it is a roadside misal wala and a chai tapri! Being very close to my college (M.L.Dahanukar College), it was pretty much our ritual to have the "Gabheri misal" almost every day possible. With ample parking space, it was all about getting there, parking the rides, lining up on the counter, spicing up the misal with that extra curry and a cold drink later on to cool down - it would seem like going to college was after all not a complete waste of time!  



A lot of college memories of that place embedded in our minds! Marching over there in large groups, non-stop chattering, friendly leg pulling sessions, blah blahing and the moment the food is in front of us - complete silence, just the occasional "aur do pav dena"! Unlike many other streets where you could have multiple options to eat (Confusion too), this street has one unique thing that others don't - it is surprisingly quiet and aloof from the main roads. 


It's been some time since graduation, but still Nanda Patkar Road is often the only reason for me to go to Vile Parle East. 

Monday 17 August 2015

Building a path towards girl child education

 "The future must not belong to those who bully women. It must be shaped by girls who go to school and those who stand for a world where our daughters can live their dreams just like our sons."
                  -  Barrack Obama

Reality:

In India, there are still many regions where it is still believed that a girl child is nothing but a burden to the family, 'paraaya dhan', who doesn't have the right to education but to 'cook' and serve her family and some day her husband! 

Helping Hands begs to differ. 

Altering reality:


26th July'15 will be a day remembered by all the young kids of Voice Sanjivani.

Voice Sanjivani- founded by Mr.Victor Bansiwar in Virar east is a home dedicated to rehabilitate and educate the underprivileged girls. There are 34 girls in the age group 8 to 16 years. Helping Hands headed over to spread some joy, happiness and contribute to the education of the girls.


The day started with Chinmay Joshi making a surprise entry and entertaining the kids with a comic performance in a joker costume which the kids thoroughly enjoyed. The kids sang a welcome prayer for the Helping Hands team. The team introduced themselves and the kids too were asked to give cross introductions and kids also sang & danced to the tunes of "India waale".

Hemant Dhane, a freelance artist, showcased his skills by painting a beautiful picture of a rural area. Mr.Vijay Dashpute, President of Chemist Parivar NEWS Virar gave an informative lecture and demo for all on Life Saving and First Aid.

The day gradually progressed into masti time with One Minute Games like Folding Newspaper origami, Blow the Balloons, Stick Bindis, Straight line straw connecting, Pinning hair clips etc.

Dr. Hemat Joshi, M.D in Pediatrics, gave them inspiring pep talk on how to stay fit and the importance of education in life.

Everybody later had a sumptuous meal - Biryani, raita & laddoos.

Various members of the team gave lectures on different vocational courses as follows:-



Lecture/Course                                        Starting from      Enrolled girls

Purpose of doing courses - Vinay Vare                      -                         - 
Painting - Hemant Dhane                             - 13th August                14
Origami  & Chocolate Bouquet - Foram Shah 16th August                  5                            Tailoring - Padma Gopalkrishnan Iyer              - Soon
MS-CIT - Sanil Churi (Informative lecture as older kids already go for it!)  -                         Beautician - Hiteshvi Desai                              - Soon

The purpose of this was to encourage and enroll the girls in the courses of their interest and of course sponsor them for the same! This is like sowing seeds the fruit of which will be reaped by the kids themselves in the near future. 


Our in house musicians Jugal Sawdekar & Neeraj Raviya played some bollywood hits like Aashayein, Roobaro, Illahi, Teri Galliyan, Tare Zameen Par, Give me some shine etc. Who wouldn't enjoy this?!

The children were then distributed stationery items like pens, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, crayons, water paint, notebooks, pouches and indoor games. Basic daily kitchen items were also provided to the Home.

A general knowledge quiz was conducted and the winners were gifted with token gifts. Victor Sir and his staff were felicitated with gifts for their efforts to set up such an organization. The kids sang a beautiful heart touching song as a vote of thanks to Helping Hands and presented a cake they had baked on their own.

A few generous people have pledged to sponsor the graduation of four girls and employ two others! Majithia Masala will be providing their products for free to Voice Sanjivani for life!

On 7th August a free Medical Check was organized by Helping Hands with the help of Dr.Vandita Kallianpur & Dr. Yashodhar Mahimkar. Prescribed medicines were Donated by Bhagwan Kondlekar (Durga Medical) & Amol Kondlekar - Sainath medical.

Helping Hands has a lot in store for the girls' home. We will be holding an exhibition for the handicraft items prepared by the girls in Kandivali soon. 

This was never a one-day project but a an ongoing project!

Inference: 

Unlike spending a day with the kids, spreading happiness and then getting back to our lives feeling good about ourselves, Helping Hands took a step ahead by conducting courses, enrolling the kids for it, being in touch with them to ensure the well being of each and every child as time passes! 

It is you who make such a project possible! We thank you for your time, money, words of encouragement, kind etc. It is YOU who makes this possible!

About Helping Hands: It was started in the year 2012 by 4 School Friends and now more than 50 hands have joined together in an effort to make a difference in the society! For the past couple of years it was all about providing educational needs but this time we stood for education itself! Helping Hands is not an NGO or a private organisation, just a bunch of beings extending their helping hand!

So why can't You and I? Let's lend a helping hand. Leave a message here or on their wall!

Like us on Facebook! Help us spread the word!


All photographs have been published with consent of the respective photographers.

Saturday 11 July 2015

Hindustani Superheroes


If and only if..!

1. Superman: 

After being raised by a poor family in Borivali in Mumbai, Chetan Kanth (Clark Kent) would often control himself from beating up goons who wouldn't let him in a fast train from Virar while he was getting late for college. 

2. Batman: 

Well, obviously with Buddha Wani (Bruce Wayne) around, they own pretty much everything; Mumbai Indians, Being Human, Taj Hotels etc. But the Mumbaikar Batman has an issue with finding a Bat Cave. He couldn't find one. He tried Kanheri Caves but the tourists and monkeys kept barging in. To add to his misery, his Batmobile was towed away too.


3. Wonder Woman:

Being a strong advocate of women empowerment, Devina (Diana) spends most of her time dealing with rapists and eve teasers. She is also fighting a case against TOI over a cleavage-gate controversy. 



4. The Flash

Bharat Alokh (Barry Allen) retired from being The Flash long ago. When he was The Flash for a little while he would bump into people every other second. The rush hours were the worst where he'd spend hours marching from Dadar Station west to east. He is queuing up for a job interview for delivering Amazon/Flipkart products in half a day -guaranteed! 



5. Spiderman

Prerak Parulekar (Peter Parker) was after a thief who committed a heist in Lower Parel. Makkadman swung by all the tall sky scrapers now piling up but the thieves, clever enough, absconded towards Dharawi. Prerak, unable to swing , had to chase them in Dharawi on foot. Apparently, Spidy is seen cleaning up his web mess in accordance with Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan  

6. Captain America

Well, Captain India a.k.a Satish Rajkumar (Steve Rogers) was the First Avenger who waged war against the British and won freedom for our country back in 1947. After waking up from his "sleep" recently, he has been in a state of shock at the level of corruption, politics in Government offices and also the vulgarity in Bollywood movies nowadays. 





7. Hulk

The word is that Dr. Ballu Balakrishna (Dr. Bruce Banner) has distanced himself from the crowded cities and is living in a small village in the South where he can hurt no one with his gussa. He has been acting in South Indian movies to making his living. Apparently, the South Indian actors are capable of Hulk-like strength without getting angry. 



8. Thor

Too many Gods here, so he went back. 




This were just a few thoughts of the top of my head "if" these heroes existed in India. 

Any others spring to your mind? X-Men? Iron Man? How would they survive in India?