August '13 Editorial for Prabhu Tarun: "In Search Of The 'Reset Button!"

'Faith' and 'blind faith' are two very strong words that come out of the same emotion, the same word but can have diverse effects on us because they are either a result of a combination of experiences or a higher degree of unconditional emotions or merely a trust in hearsay or myths! We interact with people in our lives and with various positive or negative experiences we start trusting these very people with wide levels of affection - we develop what we call 'faith' in people. Everyday we stand in front of the Almighty thank him for what he has given us and very often ask for some blessing in the form of health, wealth or well being and when we get it from Him it strengthens our 'faith' in Him sometimes converting it into blind faith! There are certain people in whom we implicitly trust because they have proven their unconditional love and affection towards us in action and words. We then reciprocate similarly to those feelings and thus blossoms a relationship which keeps building on mutual trust, faith and love. When there is such a background to any relationship 'faith' becomes an integral aspect of that relation and slowly at times graduates towards blind faith. But what happens to that trust we instil in age old beliefs, customs, and superstitions which arise out of just hearsay or mere age old practices? So is this termed as blind faith as well? or a better term could be 'myth faith' So we humans start having faith in myths which are age old superstitions and practices and which today hold no scientific relevance. Well this myth faith does arise out of teachings passed on from those people on whom we have had immense trust and faith. But have we ever asked the question why before we follow some of these age old superstitions? Very often customs and traditions are connected with auspicious occasions like weddings and festivals. These customs and traditions help us bond with our people, they strengthen our value system, they help keep our respective community together because they distinguish us from the rest of the people who follow their own sets of traditions. In totality these traditions encourage positivity and spread happiness during those times of the year when we are all looking forward to sharing some memorable moments with the people we love and care. So one may ask why question such wonderful practices! To which I completely agree! I am absolutely in favour of practicing such traditions which help and encourage us to bond and further enhance our relations. But there are a few superstitions which we Indians follow in the name of customs and traditions which are probably just myths! Myths that spread negativity and gloom. A myth that generates fear - a black cat crossing our path is inauspicious! Many of us know that it's a myth but a lot of us still hold ourselves back if a black cat does cross our path and especially if we probably are on our way for an interview. If biologically the poor cat has inherited that colour, and happens to take the same route as us, how can there be a scientific justification of this incident being a bad omen? Cutting nails or hair post sunset or sweeping the house after sunset is termed inauspicious. Well most often we never sweep at night but if there is a one off day when we have to then will that day be a dooms day just because we swept the floor? How can a hygienic practice of cutting nails be a bad omen irrespective of the time? Do the nails have any sensors that indicate the time of the day? A whining dog, a twitching eye, a cowing crow, sighting an owl, sighting an elephant, itching palms! So many good and bad omens which we still hear people follow! The probability of these instances occurring often is low, and the after effects of both following or not following these myths may be very inconspicuous. But some of the myths play a very harsh role in our lives and are actually a stigma for many! A widow is considered inauspicious, she needs to step down on her efforts to look attractive. A woman who cannot give birth is inauspicious! No amount of justification can ever prove this a fact! And women can only change this for themselves by believing that they have every right to live a full life. I used to think that in our well educated and forward thinking society such myths no longer exist, but we women are responsible for allowing them to still dwell in our lives. Even today it is the other women in the house who compel some less fortunate women to follow these sick age old myths arising out of sheer lack of knowledge. While it is a myth that these myths don't exist in our society, there is one such myth which we all will agree that it sure prevails in many households even today! The famous menstrual taboo! A biological process which graduates a little lady into a mother and presents the family the most beautiful gift of tiny feet that bring in all the happiness and cheer into our homes is still considered a taboo even in educated homes today. I would like to know which God in mythology has verified this myth and asked us ladies to not greet Him when we are in one of those days! How many pickles rot, how much of the food we cook gets polluted and for how many people we are termed a bad omen in our 'those' days has never been verified or even backed up with scientific conclusions. But this taboo is so well ingrained in us that we have been happily allowing people around us to treat us as untouchables and probably we will pass on the same baton to our daughters in the future! That's the unfortunate truth of this real myth! I found a logical answer to why such a practice of isolating women during their periods began in the first place. I may be wrong, but in comparison to there being no firm logic for following this taboo, I prefer believing the below logic, which makes a lot of sense to me! If amongst our readers we get more such reasonable answers I will be more than happy to know. What I have been told is that, in older times we didn't have a hygienic solution such as a sanitary napkin to allow a clean way of dealing with periods. So the only solution was to keep the ladies away from the routine cooking and holy rituals. Also during menstruation ladies undergo hormonal changes and bleeding can cause weakness and pain. Just as a reason for ladies to get their much deserved rest during this time, isolation was considered a solution. But just as 'the Chinese whispers' this solution slowly converted into a taboo! Lot of ladies as well as men ask me why I get so furious on this particular issue, if I am not affected by it directly? Well I may not be, but then I know a lot of ladies around me who do have to face this on a regular basis and that affects a lot of people and activities involving them! Some unfortunately themselves believe that they sure are impure in those days and the isolation will help them sustain their equation with God! While some ladies, agree with me, but are helpless about it and prefer keeping silent than revolting. Some men think its none of their business and its too much of a ladies' problem to get them involved in. They think too much is made out of nothing and abstaining yourself from some activities in those days shouldn't make any difference! I wonder what would these men do if they were asked to abstain from the same activities without any logical reasoning! And of course! There are some men who say, if my mother can do it so can my sister and wife and so will my daughter! Now I have a problem with this mindset, where you are regressive yourself, and you continue making your next generation equally regressive until they grow up to find no logic in it and decide to rebel, IF AT ALL THEY REBEL! I am thankful to two ladies, my mother and grandmother who never allowed this wonderful biological wonder to be treated as a taboo. They informed us of its power and educated us on why the not so aware society treats this wonder as a bad omen. Today this so called taboo is being extensively researched upon and is used to cure various ailments using the stem cells generated from it. Finally science is proving the 'old wives' wrong! The sooner we start changing our outlook towards these myths the lesser number of people we will hurt. If God's fear is not allowing some of us to change our outlook, then we at least need to figure out what is His will? He says be compassionate towards others. By ill-treating women in the name of God and rituals we are in the process anyway defeating God's will of being courteous and compassionate towards others. Moreover these superstitions are making our society regressive. Where science and technology are cutting their own benchmarks and moving ahead, we are still hanging on to our petty and shameful beliefs. India will need a revolution to change these superstitions. We women need to press the 'reset button' in our brains first to agree to not ill treat anyone in the name of rituals. Only then will we impart the same information to our generation next. Our gen next is aware of their reset button they use it way too often than us! We need to find our own and stomp it as soon as we can!

September Issue - Coverage of PP IDOL - Kaun Banega PP IDOL?

The afternoon of September 1, 2012 was abuzz with a lot of excitement, exhilaration and anticipation as some of the budding singers from our community put their singing talent to test at the auditions of PatharePrabhu Idol – A novel show conceptualized by Mrs. Puja Ajinkya of “Valaay Prathishthaan”, held at our Pathare Prabhu Khar Cultural Centre. PP Idol as the name suggests clearly indicates a talent hunt show, a format that is very popular on TV but what makes it special is that this show has been organized for the talent of our community exclusively! “Valay Prathishthaan’s” PP Idol will be the first talent show of our community in which the participants underwent an initial screening by way of auditions judged by very able names from the music fraternity- Mr. Mangesh Borgavkar and Miss Apurva Gajjala of Saregama Fame ! A very important mention has to be made of the systematic organization of the auditions. Every participant and every attendee had to register first, followed by a quick interview which was video recorded, courtesy Mr. Amar Ajinkya. The hall decorated with posters of PP Idol set the mood just right, and threw a positive energy in the crowd. Each participant patiently waited for their turn in the hall and enjoyed a wonderful cup of coffee and some great conversations with fellow participants and others who had come to extend a moral boost to the organisers as well as the participants. Once the participants’ name was announced they had to proceed to an enclosed room, where the judges waited for them. Here, they got their chance to exhibit their singing flair and win the coveted positions of the top 5 finalists. Out of around 13 talented entries 5 finalists were chosen. These 5 finalists will now compete against each other at the finale! It was a pleasure to see the friendly judges interact with the participants and also encourage them for having given a special place for music in their lives along with their respective careers. The judgement was clearly unbiased as the organisers also patiently waited to hear the names of the 5 finalists. Kudos to Mrs. Puja Ajinkya and her team for putting up a great start to what looks like will be a notable entry in the history of our community events! The auditions seem to be just the tip of the iceberg of entertainment! We surely look forward to this extravaganza and wish that the “Valaay Prathishthaan” team gathers loads of accolades of the whole community for this very honest and ambitious initiative. Now all we need to do is wait and watch these top 5 finalists collide with each other to win the first ever title of PP Idol, 2012. Well well well, do you know who these top 5 finalists are? They might be your uncle, aunt, sister, brother, or rather any other PP socialite you personally know! Be there at sharp 7.00pm on November 24, 2012 at Rangsharda Auditorium, Bandra West, as the “Valaay” team unravels these 5 finalists and presents you the PP Idol! We look forward to seeing you turn over in large numbers and for that kindly book you seats well in advance as the plans open on 19th September. The tickets plan will also be displayed on the group pages of Valaay Prathishthan and Prabhu Tarun on Facebook. Interested people can block their seats and inform Pooja Ajinkya referring to the plan. For further information on the show contact: Pooja Ajinkya on +919820231742.

July 2012 Editorial - Kids Say The Darndest Things!

Kids Say The Darndest Things! All of a sudden it feels like I have been plucked off from the intimidating conference rooms, and planted into a bright little kindergarten! Not sure if this is where I want to remain planted for the rest of my life, but I am surely having a ball with the cute little kiddies all around me! Well, my own amongst them are just two… … my two sons Shaurya and Vir! But they bring along so many kids into our home and thus in our lives, that currently my life is no less than a 24 hour playschool! It has been around six months that I am mostly in the company of kids, young and old. Courtesy my older son, who brings home all his friends to play, as if the newest addition to our family, my younger one is not enough, who is my loyal companion round the clock! With Vir coming in our lives, my life has sure taken a 360degrees turn. Now I don’t have to chase a Sales target, but I am chasing time, daily to complete my chores! No ruthless bosses around, but cute little angels (sometimes these angels also have small wicked thorns!) whose demands just don’t seem to get over even with the end of the day! Exhaustive excel sheets, and sales projections, have been replaced with innumerous diapers, baby food, toys, vaccination tracks, etc. My 9hrs of work time has suddenly been extended to 24 hours for which I am not even being paid a salary, forget the over time! But at the end of everything, like all moms say the clichéd line….. I see myself using the same line here… “What these twinkling, innocent, and smiling eyes convey to you each day is simply priceless!” Well, surely Vir has given me the opportunity once again to spend some quality time with my older son Shaurya too! But Shaurya need not use his twinkling mischievous eyes to convey his feelings, he can well express them through words, and at his age, kids say the funniest things with the most poker faces they can ever exhibit! His one liners just make this journey more joyous and fun. Here I share some of our conversations: Me: Shaurya do you want a baby sister or a baby brother? Shaurya: I only want a brother, no place for girls… If you get a girl, I will have to marry her when we grow up! Then sometimes they throw such questions which are very difficult to answer! Shaurya: Aai, when you were as old as me where was I? Me: You were a star! Shaurya: Then why couldn’t I see you as a baby when I was a star, the way I can see all stars from here? Then another touchy question….. Shaurya: Now are you my mother or Vir’s? Me: I am yours as well as Vir’s mother. Shaurya: Mom, if you have two babies, why can’t we have two mothers? (I wonder what his dad has to say about his son’s point of view) These are just a few of our weird conversations, but when I hear him speak with his cousins, they are even more hilarious! Shaurya: What happened to your great grandfather? Cousin: Aai said he has gone to heaven to meet GOD! Shaurya: Arre you don’t know what that means, it means he is dead! Cousin: I know that yaar, this is just what we should say, when someone dies! And here we are, Adults – who think we can fool these kids. But these kids are far smarter than we can imagine. Another funny conversation between Shaurya and his building friend: Friend: Who is this person sitting on your sofa? Shaurya: Hey! You don’t know? She is my mom! Friend: Arre I always thought NIKITA (my maid) was your mom, because she accompanies you every day in the evening when we play in the compound! What a transformation! From office politics, smart projections, and eternal chase of sales targets, here I am enjoying my kindergarten moments with my little ones. As much as I wish to get back to the grind, these moments will always be special. While we withstand the worst sarcasm from the board rooms, and gulp down the pressure of targets, our kids’ innocent one liners throw us completely off the track! Very often they casually speak the bitter truth which we as adults always know, but never want to confront. Their innocent questions and poker faced replies to our questions remind me of the once famous American comedy series hosted by Bill Cosby called “Kids Say The Darndest Things!” I always wondered what the word “Darndest” meant. Perhaps NOW I know the meaning of that word! As I leave, one last time, here I share some funny pearls of “laughter” I came across while surfing the internet. A small boy is sent to bed by his father. Five minutes later..... 'Daad....' 'What?' 'I'm thirsty. Can you bring drink of water?' 'No, You had your chance. Lights out.' Five minutes later; 'Da-aaaad.....' 'WHAT?' 'I'm THIRSTY. Can I have a drink of water??' I told you NO! If you ask again, I'll have to spank you!!' Five minutes later......'Daaaa-aaaad.....' 'WHAT!' 'When you come in to spank me, can you bring a drink of water?'

To Fresh Beginnings - March 2012 Editorial

How often do we dread to stride on a path unknown? To uproot ourselves from the routine and risk a new path is a difficult decision - a decision arising sometimes out of choice but very often a result of circumstance. A little change in the routine brings in a breath of fresh air. It could be the arrival of a newborn, reallocating ourselves to a new home, etc. The freshness of the change often alters our life for the better. But sometimes such a change can ditch us! The risk of nudging ourselves out of the comfort zone and exploring another avenue can be rather unpleasant. The fear of facing failure and starting all over again is usually the hindrance for most of us to take risks in life. We underestimate ourselves and thus fear exploring - Be it a new job, a new residence, a new vocational stream, reviving an old passion. The ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ create such a huge mind block that we refuse moving out of our cocoon. It may sound rather strange to an outsider, but we Indians distinguish this risk taking ability of our people by the community we belong to. Historically it is believed that the ‘marwadi’ and ‘gujarati’ community reign in their acumen for business, therefore are known to be risk takers or so called gamblers in the game of business. The ‘sindhis’ are known for their “kanjoos” calculative minds and do rather well in their small time businesses. These are the people who boast of very glorious “rags to riches” success stories. They have made it big because they had the guts to challenge themselves, they had the perseverance, and the confidence to move out of their routine and explore fresh areas. Unfortunately, even today a ‘marathi’ is believed to be rather naïve and timid in his approach towards his goals in life. An impression of a typical ‘marathi manoos’ is that of a middle level manager going for a 9-5 job, having a modest home, very satisfied in his life and very proud to be a ‘marathi manoos’ too, worrying about his children’s education, he thinks he has invested well enough in LIC policies to take care of his family’s future. Well, I beg to differ. In my opinion a ‘marathi manoos’ has evolved beyond the shackles of mediocrity. As I know many of us who have led rather successful lives, moved out and explored. There are many of us who are willing to tread on an unexplored journey, try unique career options, break the routine of a 9-5 job and embrace other business opportunities. Prabhu Tarun has featured such risk takers of our community who have chosen an off beat career in last year’s Yuva Manch Section. It was indeed a pleasure to read success stories and educate ourselves on their road to a different career; these were people who chose to walk on an uncertain but promising path and have been successful in their own journey. Yet, it would be a pleasure to come across more entrepreneurs in not just our community but other marathi communities too. The more we propagate successful entrepreneurs around us, the more the outside world will start believing that we are as good as them or even better. Of course it is important to break this belief that a community makes entrepreneurs. It takes the perseverance of an individual and the back up of his family and social circle to walk a different path. It is true that many other communities stand united to help their fellow members in any small and big challenges. Help may not necessarily be monitory, but it could be help in networking, help in tutoring, offering a business advice, or even offering an internship to gain some experience in the specialization that a youngster wants to explore! If nothing else, then simple good wishes and encouraging words also work wonders! Nevertheless, seeking help through the right people for breakthroughs is as important as offering help! We have many of our community members who hold high positions in various fields and can offer such help to youngsters in our community. But our youngsters may not even be aware of them. The younger generations have got attuned to a misconception that the community is only for their grandparents and parents to mingle. They yet have to find out such advantages which they can seek by merely interacting or actively involving themselves. They continue to fear and dread to walk on an unknown path, least realizing that the community they belong to could have someone like them, who thought similarly some years ago and managed to make a great career and a successful life with the same unique off beat profession that they today fear. This can happen only if the community as a whole upgrades its array of involvement amongst its people to other aspects of life! It is time that we rise above the usual and sometimes regressive areas of discussion to more progressive subjects. Yes we all know that usage of the “English” language is extremely high in our newsletter, which is often criticized by many of our fellow PP members. With due respect to all these members, I would like to reiterate that if another language connects better with the future of the pp community, then it is time you all bypass this bit and embrace the new youth who is coming forward to participate actively by contributing to the content of this newsletter. Where else would you be able to read the journey of a highly designated market researcher, a talented event manager, a photographer, a grooming specialist, if it was not for the flexibility of our newsletter to allow these talented people to express their views in our ‘Yuva Manch’ section throughout the last year? The point is not “WHICH” language they are writing in, but “WHO” is writing! Please notice the variety and usefulness of the content available today in a community magazine which can help career decisions for our own people. These people would continue shying away from the community had we not allowed them the flexibility of language. If these articles have encouraged even one youngster to defy traditional career streams and explore something new, then I believe that the community newsletter is doing its job and catering to its rightful audience, which is the future of the community. Performing Arts has been a critical binding force in our community. We took a risk by setting a large stage to showcase this art and it paid off! It all began with ‘Pratyush’, which brought together tons of youngsters who got a platform to showcase their talent. Today ‘Pratyush’ has become a benchmark and has set a trend within the community and we are pleased to see many other similar programs being organised with the same enthusiasm which are further bringing the community closer. These programs further instil our faith and confirm that we are in the right direction. We now want to look forward and set another trend with a new showcase of our own community. It may be a risk, but we will walk the unknown path to explore and test our capacity. This time we will bring forward a totally different facet of the people of our community. We hope that this fresh beginning will also mark a new trend and encourage a new set of talented people giving them their due recognition. Well, right now it all seems to be a jigsaw puzzle that we all are trying to solve, but sooner and surely we will spill the beans of our next project – ‘Pratyush’ will don a new look and enthral the art lovers with masterpieces awaiting everyone’s appreciation! I may sound ambiguous to you all, but spare me, as that’s exactly what I am. It may be early to talk more on this, we have our set of challenges and sooner we resolve them, we shall announce our next project! Higher the risk, greater is our determination to make it work, greater the determination, higher the efforts and thus higher the chances of success. Sometimes we only realize during such times what we are capable of as these times test our abilities. The will to fulfil against all odds is at its peak when we have lots at stake. To emerge as a winner in all we do, breaking the shackles of mediocrity is extremely important. A calculated risk will always allow us to explore the unknown and sometimes even explore our own worthiness! If we don’t allow ourselves that chance we may lose the opportunity to know more about our own self. In our careers as well as our personal lives, we owe ourselves that chance, that risk to keep bringing out the best in us. Today I am at that time of my life, where I think I am starting all over again! While I explore the unknown, and test a new direction in life, I hope I emerge as a winner at the end of the journey. Till then, here I raise a toast to A FRESH BEGINNING!

Diwali Issue Oct 2011 - Introduction to Growing Up Again Section

GROWING UP AGAIN! - What flashes your mind if you have to interpret this statement?
Well it is true that there are more than one ways of construing a text, and each way can hold a different meaning. Our interpretations vary with our experiences and the meaning of each statement differs for every individual based on his past life experiences. Growing Up Again – A mere statement which (to my surprise), MS WORD does not term as a fragmented sentence can have a deep meaning for someone, while someone else might simply call it an imagination which can never occur! It is indeed very interesting to read how our writers dissect a mini statement to make sense to themselves and express their version of “Growing Up Again!”
“What you perceive, your observations, feelings, interpretations, are all your truth. Your truth is important. Yet it is not The Truth.” – Linda Ellinor. Well, “The Truth” is something we all struggle with, celebrate, mourn, rejoice, train and get trained about, work towards, inform, and learn everyday in our lives! Our lives are filled with situations and experiences – good and bad, which are the truths or so to say the facts of our lives which we are constantly dealing with. But each of us has our own world of imagination where we dare to dream and live the idealistic life! In this parallel life we as individuals are the centre of all activities and every thing and person revolving around us is a character either real or fictional living a life with us which is our imagination! Some of us are able to fulfill a few episodes out of this parallel script we write in our lives, while for some; the script merely remains to be a written script. Well I don’t know how true it is, but it could be a good reason for the many funny and unreal dreams or nightmares we see while asleep!
Throwing such an imaginative topic to our writers was an attempt to tear a leaflet out of their script and wander into this imaginative wonderland that they all have created for themselves. Fiction always makes for an interesting read, because it surpasses all boundaries of reality. Not always! But it definitely has the ability to beat what is true and glorify an imagination.
This Diwali, we present to you snippets out of the imagination of a few of our PP friends’ minds! Each of them has interpreted “Growing Up Again!” in their own unique style, giving all you readers a plethora of engaging content to read. We wish this journey of all our writers does give you all readers a new perspective than the ones you have designed for yourself. If not, I ensure you can get a sneak peak into their imaginative minds and treat yourself to some great articles to read!

Diwali Issue Oct 2011 - Growing Up Again!

Growing Up Again!
It was a usual Friday Night weekend party at a friend’s place. After all the ‘hungama’ and ‘masti’ with half of the crowd falling asleep, just before sunrise some of us started playing the game “Truth or Dare”. The most entertaining and deadly “DARES” did their usual rounds with all of us, and then it was our turn to finally play the TRUTH game! Some of us got away with some easy questions while some of us were cornered with some embarrassing and trying moments. With a closely knit group, there is never a need to lie but sometimes remembering a past moment in our lives can be rather embarrassing or at times an eye opener! One question that was etched in my mind even days after the party – “Tell us three things / events in your life you repent the most!” Well an ideal answer that we all like to give is “I repent nothing in my life, as I have learnt something from every experience of mine!” yes, this is a great answer probably in an interview for a job, but does this answer seem true to any of us? I am sure we all have some actions or events to repent in our lives which we never like to admit and keep covering them up by saying - “yes I admit it was a mistake but I don’t repent it as I learnt a lot from it!” Well that sure is a brave front to take and I am sure we learn a lot from our mistakes, but I am also sure of this that there are some mistakes that we wish we never did!
I would have never gone back in time to relive my past, had it not been for this article. “Growing Up Again!” – What an optimistic thought. I look at it as a chance to live my life again! Well that is technically impossible, but imagination can be as wild as that! And if I have to imagine this then some of these mistakes I would like to undo. Yes of course many of my mistakes did teach me a lot, and were definitely required to mould me into the person that I am today. Imagine what a wonderful feeling it is to have the maturity of a 30 year old and still have the ability to change or undo certain actions that I did in my adolescence or may be childhood! Life would be so perfect! But these imperfections in life itself teach us the path ahead! Those sweet mistakes which accidentally introduce us to the love of our life, or which cause a fight between two thick pals only to bring them closer together, would never see the light of the day! Those days of hiding a Mills & Boons behind the science text book pretending to study, and then crying over a low percentage, those days of splurging our pocket money in the first week of the month, only to beg and borrow for the remaining weeks, fighting with our dad for a low pocket money least realizing that it is silently teaching us to plan our finance, those days of cribbing over not having a room to ourselves only to grow up and realize how much we miss sharing the bed and secrets with our siblings, those days of envying older cousins on having their independence waiting for the day when we will start working ourselves, only to realize that childhood was that golden period of our lives which will never return, etc. etc. these are experiences, and sweet mistakes which are worth every tear, smile, frown, and sleepless night they bring along with them. But even today when I introspect, I remember certain situations which probably haven’t affected me much, but have troubled someone else in many ways! These are mistakes I may have committed unknowingly which may have hurt someone and in the heat of adolescence I must have never bothered to even make up to that person! Today as a 30 year old my reactions are far more calculated and thought over, but as a teenager I know I must have hurt a friend, or a loved one least bothering about his or her feelings. These are some of the spoken words, or actions that I would like to undo if I get a chance to live my life again!
I have been very fortunate to have had a wonderful, secure and happy childhood unlike many people I know! Childhood comprises of those formative years of our lives where the experiences and learnings actually mould us into unique individuals. Although we were 10 people living in one house, our family extended over a larger group with other cousins living in the same building as us. We were a family of almost 30 living under the same roof! In school I remember telling my teachers on various occasions that I live in a joint family, least knowing that mine actually was a unique joint family with almost 30 people living in the same building sharing, playing, celebrating, cribbing and crying together! We had the most wonderful vacations and never needed friends to spend time with, as our cousins were our best friends! We had what many children could only dream of - A financially and emotionally secure childhood! But what I appreciate today, I took it for granted as a child. At that time, at any given time, I could walk into any of my uncle’s home and find someone to talk to or play with right from a 75 year old to a 5 year old! Today I miss having all those people around me. On the third floor of our building all flats were occupied by our family, so often in the evenings, the main doors of those flats would be wide open and we would walk in freely and move around and play wherever we like. As a kid I used to hate to see those doors shut and would always assume that it is against the family’s tradition to keep those doors shut, but today, I am eagerly waiting for all of them to just come back in the re constructed building to live together not even bothering about those doors open or shut! When my parents decided to leave that flat and settle in Vikhroli, I visited my empty home many times before relocating myself…. But many years later recently when I saw pictures of our building terrace posted by a cousin on Facebook, I realized that I missed giving a last visit to that terrace which is witness to some of the most memorable moments of our lives. It was our cousins’ so called ‘adda’ where we have celebrated all festivals, played holi, organized fun n fares, had our birthday parties, in fact some of us must have celebrated all our milestone events on that terrace right from our own naming ceremony to birthdays to wedding sangeets, to baby showers and probably completed the circle with our kids’ naming ceremony too! This ‘adda’ cannot be replaced by any other hang out area in the world; still as a kid I never really appreciated it as much as I do today! Such a wonderful childhood probably could have just bettered had I appreciated all these things while I experienced them! If I have to grow up again, I would want to live exactly the same childhood with the awareness of being given life’s best childhood and the ability to appreciate the same at the same time!
Growing up again! – In a matter of a few hours I could relive my complete life and imagine what I would want to retain and undo in my life in a jiffy! Imagination can surely reveal some truths that we often overlook in reality. Well many situations and experiences in our lives happen out of our own or other’s actions and reactions. But there are some experiences that are led by fate and are not governed by anyone’s actions or reactions. Are we destined to see happiness and pain in the degree that we actually do or do we decide that degree ourselves? Can we rule our destiny? If I have to grow up again, Can I make that small change in my life, where I can plan my destiny? Can I undo an event when I have lost a dear one? Can I undo a mishap in the life of a close friend? Is it possible to evade a natural calamity? Will I still see that much pain in some other form, if these events have to change? May be yes, or may be no! I don’t really know the answer to this, but it would be great if in my second chance of growing up I could edit my life in such a fashion that I could contribute in a larger way towards my fate not merely through my actions and reactions, but by changing certain patterns in life which seem rather unpleasant. I know this isn’t possible in reality, but imagination need not be bound! It is only in our mind’s eye that we can see fiction and wishfully think of living it someday! Alas! Growing up again does seem to be a great option, but is not a reality… we are here to live just ONE life, and we must do all we can to live it to the fullest!! Here’s wishing all the readers a very Happy Diwali and as we step into the New Year, I wish another healthy, happy and prosperous year for all of us to live to the fullest!

June 2011 Editorial - The Making Of Pratyush

By the time you all read this article, the verdict will surely be out. But it is just the end of May, and as I write, my mental state of mind currently is all jitters thinking about our most awaited event of the year – Pratyush 2011 which will be showcased at Rangsharda Auditorium, Bandra (W) on June 11, 2011. Well the program needs no introduction. Most of us have been a witness to this extravaganza! This is our third consecutive year and I am confident that we shall rock! For the last two years, I have had the pleasure and the privilege to cover the event in Prabhu Tarun and the opportunity to thank everyone on and off the stage for putting up a massive show like this! Since this year, our event is held in the second week of June, we will be covering the event only in July. So that leaves me not much scope to talk about what and how it all happened! So I found an alternative way of covering Pratyush…
Well, for all of you Pratyush is an event which is slated to happen somewhere in June, and I hope you all have booked your tickets! But for US (Pratyush event organizers) it’s a journey that began three years back! Journey filled with tears both of joy as well as sadness, excitement, fun, tension, anger, frustration, happiness, pride, overwhelm, bliss and I can just go on. From the day we conceptualized this show, till date, it has been the most unpredictable journey.
Way back in November 2008, we conceptualized an event with dance! All we wanted to do was re-create the magic Prabhu Tarun created some years back in 1997 in Amrut Mahotsav, which was the 75th year of Prabhu Tarun, and the whole year was celebrated with various events. Although we were very young, and barely contributed to the organizing of the show, we were participating in it and loved every moment of the rehearsals. For us ‘dance’ was all that mattered, most of us were in college and studying in our crucial years, but still would find time to make it on time for rehearsals with loads of dedication. Our then choreographer Mrs. Nandita Dhurandhar did a great job and trained us to perform various dance forms on that stage. The then Editor of Prabhu Tarun Late Mr. Suhas Kothare was indeed successful in getting a bunch of youngsters together to put up a good show, which surely left an indelible impression on young minds like ours! Such great memories, and we were simply looking forward to reviving the same magical moments! All we wanted to do was bring the youth together and provide them a platform that we got years back to showcase their talent, which otherwise gets lost in the competitive world of academics and corporate life! We got a tremendous support from the Prabhu Tarun Board and soon we got going with conceptualizing the program. Mrs. Puja Ajinkya – The director for the first year, and Mr. Vishwas Natekar – The choreographer for the past three years did a fantastic job! We got a remarkable response from the community and could put together almost 70 participants on stage! The community witnessed the first of its kind mega event and everyone associated with the show won accolades for themselves!!!!
The next year, was even tougher as it raised expectations from people. This time we brought in a new director Mr. Satish Joshi, who brilliantly wove a script with various dances and Mr. Natekar again at his best, put up a massive show! Well, the output was sheer brilliance!!! With accolades coming from every corner of the community, it was a very overwhelming moment for us! Because, rising above already high expectation was a tough task, but we sailed through. All this was possible because of a great team that worked persistently to put up such a mega event! And here we are, all set to rock the same stage all over again!
Well the journey so far sounds very good. But behind this journey there is a lot of heartbreak, disappointment, and fear. Is that very shocking to know? Well it may be shocking but, it is true. If you all have noticed I have been referring to ‘US’ as ‘Pratyush event organizers’. These organizers are a part of the ‘Yuva Manch’ committee and have selflessly given their time and have put in efforts to make this show happen. They volunteer for work only because they feel the urge to give something back to the community and by choice put in all the efforts without awaiting any orders from the Prabhu Tarun Board. But some who want to only be called a part of the committee for their vested interest, with time choose to walk away. It is indeed very strange to see success get into people’s heads. It is very unfortunate that some people just need more attention. They start thinking that the accolades are only for and because of them, but the fact will always remain that it’s the team effort that makes it happen. Talent is appreciated when it is exhibited humbly. People play politics on a stage which for us is nothing less than worship; such power seeking people can never garner respect and hence start drifting away from the team’s joint missions. The way a rotten potato spoils the entire basket of potatoes, similarly, they drifting away also leaves their residual negative energy and stench. We as a committee suffered in the bargain, losing many participants to this rotten potato!
Pratyush is all about the people participating in the show. As long as such negative vibes are only restricted to the committee, it is easy to handle. But when it starts trickling down towards the participants, it gets difficult to manage. Participants are ultimately young bloods, who get carried away by the words spoken by some who are all out there to ruin the show. Now you may ask that why would there be anyone who would want to ruin the show? Well we have experienced people whose nuisance value has risen to the hilt only because they have not been able to get the power to rule and the attention they feel they deserve while planning a program like this in spite of working in the committee. I know it sounds absurd and immature, may be it seems even more childish for someone like me to mention it here. This is not because I want to express my woes to you, but this is because we as a team want to appeal to all the participants.
We so eagerly wait every year, for your participation in this show, which provides you a platform to showcase your talent. We were never as lucky to get professional guidance in various art forms and stand on such a massive stage and perform. Here we are bringing it on a platter for you all and the least we want is a little bit of cooperation and support by being there and participating. Now that’s not asking for too much. Don’t wait for your friends to come, as here is where you originally met your friends, so if some don’t come never mind, you will make new friends! It is the art that binds the people together, and with clean intentions and a thirst to learn there will always be scope to find like minded people and grow your network even bigger.
All this may have dampened our spirits but we still have it in us to give this year our best shot! Not for anyone but for those participants who without complaining have always supported us through thick and thin. We started off on setting up a stage for the community and we are continuing our mission. We don’t know how long we can continue, but we are proud of these three years we have slogged it out along with all our participants. So all of you hold your breath, and raise a toast to the best event that could have happened in the history of our community, as we unfold Pratyush 2011. Starring a huge bunch of enthusiastic PPs, drama scripted and directed by Sanjoo Talpade and Bhakti Pradhan Shete, and dances of course choreographed by Vishwas Natekar! We guarantee you a rollicking ride as you experience another extravaganza from our kitty! Looking forward to seeing all of you come and cheer our little, young and old participants. I personally wish to dedicate this year’s Pratyush to all those participants who have stood by us like rocks through all the three years by contributing in their own way and encouraging us to keep coming back with a bang!