From The President’s Desk

Thrilling time at Bhimashankar

JUNE 10 & 11 were very special for us. We were at Bhimashankar jungle to see fireflies. It turned out to be an amazing experience for all of us. Watching fireflies in the middle of a jungle, on a dark stormy night was thrilling, to say the least. Our Friends were simply excited to watch this wonder from the insect world. They couldn’t have enough of it. The next morning, we once again went to the jungle, this time to feast on fruits. We plucked Karavanch from the Karvand shrubs and also had Jamun, Awale, and a wide variety of mangoes. We all ate to to our heart’s content. There was an abundance of inviting fruits. But our stomach was full. We thank Wayal Sir, Asha Tai and their friends from Taleghar village who helped make this trip a memorable one and the management of Neelam Hill Resort who gave us a big concession.

Earlier in the month, on June 5, Navkshitij celebrated Environment Day with Sukhakarta Sanskrutik Pratisthan and Red Cross Foundation. Dr. Rajkumar Shah, the president of the Pratisthan organised the event. Deputy Mayor Dr. Siddharth Dhende, who was the chief guest, was overwhelmed after watching a skit on How to take care of Nature by our Friends. He greatly appreciated their efforts.

To celebrate International Yoga Day, Suhasini Ozarde, Core Member, Sai Siddha Yoga Foundation, conducted a yogasan session for Navkshitij employees. The management of Radisson BLU Hotel, Hinjawadi, conducted a medical check-up for our Friends, on June 24, at our Marunji premises.

This month, teams of volunteers, including HR heads, from Primavera – Bosch, Nice, Infosys, Alight Solutions and Industrial Metal Powder Pvt Ltd visited Navkshitij, as did students from IIMS, Pune. We express our thanks to all of them.

Gaining great insights

INTERACTING with our Friends is very interesting. Often we gain great insights. One day, during lunchtime, one of the girls said, “Madam, my father gets angry very often and then my daddy and mom start fighting. But Madam, I just ignore it.” And she started laughing. I said, “Good.” Then another girl came and began telling me how she also gets disturbed when she goes home and finds her parents fighting. “I get very upset when they fight in front of me. They fight a lot.” The first girl joined the conversation. Soon it was the two of them discussing their common problem of parents fighting. The first girl advised the second girl to simply ignore the fight.

The second girl then turned to me and with determination in her voice, “Madam, I have also decided to ignore it when my parents fight.” And then the best part was, the two girls started laughing.

I consider myself so lucky to be a part of our Friends’ lives, be privy to many of their problems, and learn how they handle problems in their daily lives. I salute them every day. By Dr Neelima Desai, Founder President & Director

Upcoming Happenings

• July 10 : Traffic Awareness Programme
• July 16: Gurupoornima
• July 24 : Workshop for teachers on How to Train Special Friends for the Annual Natya Mahatsov

Month’s events

• June 10 & 11: Trip to Bhimashankar
• June 19: Traffic Awareness Programme
• June 24: Medical check-up organized by Radisson BLU Hotel, Hinjawadi

Thank you from Navkshitij to

• Mr Dattatray Narayan Bhat
• Mr Sharad Sathe
• Mrs Sandhya Ashok Patil
• Tata Motors Auto Projects, Pimpri, Pune
• Mr Mandar Thatte
• Mr Natwar Kishore Toshniwal
• Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd
• Mr Abhay Khanapure
• Mr Nitin Patel
• Infosys Hilife
• Mr Meharnavaz H Vakil
• Rotary Club of Pune University Charitable Trust
• Industrial Metal Powders (India) Pvt Ltd
• Fiserv India Pvt Ltd
• Mr Umesh Shivraj Sattigeri
• Gomabai Darbarilal Agrawal Charity Trust, Mumbai
• Alight Solutions, Hinjawadi
• Mr Rohit Dolas
• Madhavi Gangapurkar

Thank you from Navkshitij to

• Electrical Safety Box – Approximate Cost Rs 12,000
• 300 Kg Wheat flour
• 150 Kg Rice
• 4 (15-litre tins) Groundnut oil
• 24 Zero- watt bulbs
• 50 Kg Sugar
• 40 (100 gm) Colgate toothpaste
• 30 litres Harpik
• 15 litres Dish washing liquid soap
• 1 Cupboard – Approximate cost Rs 4,000
• 1 Wall mounting fan – Approximate cost Rs 1,600
• 50 Toilet soaps (Bath soaps)
• 15 litres Phenyl
• 1 (1.5 litre capacity) Thermos flask

(A monthly newsletter published by Dr. Neelima Desai and edited by Kanaka Cadambi on behalf of Navkshitij)