From The President’s Desk

Action-packed October at Navkshitij

Like every other year, October was an event-filled month, with back-to-back activities. On October 2, we staged a Street Play on Terrorism during the Annual Walkathon from Wadeshwar Chowk on Fergusson College Road to Sambhaji Park on Jangli Maharaj Road. This is our tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, and we have been doing this since 2010. Our Street Play was well-appreciated by the onlookers. This event is a great opportunity for our Friends to interact with main stream society. Volunteers from Indira College and Fiserv helped us. We appreciate their help wholeheartedly. On October 5, we organized our 9th Natya Mahotsav, an interschool drama competition that we host annually, at Bharat Natyamandir. It is a wonderful platform for Friends as well as the teachers to showcase their talent. Mr. Prakash Parakhi, actress Lalan Sarang and Mr. Bipin Sangale, who have been supporting since our first edition, were there with us this year too. This year, Navkshitij won the first prize in the workshop category. Emcure Pharmaceuticals Limited supported this initiative, as well as the Street Play and Walkathon. We are grateful to them for their support. Diwali is a very special affair at Navkshitij too. The preparation for Diwali starts in August. We plunge ourselves into making candles, diyas, jewellery, lanterns, envelopes and, of course, everyone’s favourite, our Delicacy chocolates. We put up many stalls during the Joy of Giving Week and the weeks leading to Diwali. Our Friends excitedly wait for the Diwali party and the Pharal, before going home for vacations. They make a Killa with the help of their tai, dada, or sir. This year, Diwali Pharal was sponsored by Sudha Sharma and her friends. We thank them for their generosity. After putting in long hours at the workshop for ten continuous weeks, our staff also takes a well-deserved break and go home to be with their families for Diwali. We are sure you would have had a wonderful festival season. We’ll be with you again next month.

Relaxing on the seashore

This month, the Navkshitij team went to Nagaon, near Alibaug with all our Friends. Mrs and Mr Shintre had generously invited us to their resort, “Shintre wadi” in Nagaon. This is the fourth time that our Friends are going there. It gave everyone the unique opportunity to spend two days relaxing on the beach and enjoying the water. Several days in advance, our Friends and the staff got very excited about the upcoming trip. We sensed that one Friend, Anuja, didn’t want to join the good mood. In the morning of the day of departure, she tried to hide so she wouldn’t have to go. However, immediately after she sat in the bus and the music started, she began to sing along happily. We were glad to see her beautiful smile again. When we finally arrived in Alibaug and went to the beach, Anuja joined the group playing in the water. Excitedly, she splashed water and mud around. In the evening, there was a singing session, Antakshari, where boys and girls competed at completing each other’s song. The atmosphere was at its peak. Everyone had so much fun! Playing cricket on the sea beach was a very enjoyable experience. After a delicious dinner, everybody went to sleep with a smile on the face. The next day, after another joyous time in the sea, it was already time to get ready to leave. At 3 p.m., we had to get into the bus and say goodbye to the hospitable owners, the Shintres. We still cannot express enough how thankful we are to them.- By Resident Volunteers Laura Stranzl & Marie-Selina from Friends of Waldorf, Germany.

Upcoming Happenings

• November 8: Office reopens after Diwali vacations
• November 9: Hostel reopens
• November 11: Kartiki Ekadeshi
• November 16: Monthly Traffic Awareness Program
• November 26: Monthly trek

Month’s events

• October 1: Street Play, Walkathon on Fergusson Road
• October 5: 9th Annual Natya Mahotsav
• October 11: Dassera celebrations
• October 12: Monthly Traffic Awareness Program at
• October 15: Kojagiri Poornima
• October 19-20: Trip to Nagaon near Alibaug
• October 21: Parents’ Meeting (Day school, Workshop and Autism Centre)
• October 26: Parents’ Meeting; Diwali vacation begins

Navkshitij now needs:

• 2 Cricket Nets – Approximate cost Rs. 6,000
• 1 Garden Bench – Approximate cost Rs. 9,000
• 2 Seater Park Swings – Approximate cost Rs. 20,000
• 1 TV/ LED (29 inches) – Approximate cost Rs. 20,000
• Table Tennis set – Approximate cost Rs. 20,000
• Biometric machine – Approximate cost Rs. 15,000
• Notice Board (4 feet x 6 feet) – Approximate cost Rs. 10,000

Thank you from Navkshitij to:

• Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Ltd.
• Shri. Vinod Mohan Chainani
• Mrs & Mr. Shintre
• M/s Hyster Yale Lift Trucks India Pvt. Ltd.
• Mr. Madhav Purushottam Joshi
• Ms. Shubhangi Shreepad Pendse
• Mr. Mukund Narayan Bhave
• Mr. Abhay Khanapure
• Mr. S. Balkrishnan
• Ms Ashalatha Nandekar & Ms. Usha Narayan Nandekar
• Mr. D. A. Toke · Mr. Ajay Bhawalkar
• Mr. Nitin Pate · M/S Flextronics Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
• LFSC-98 (USAA)
• Ms Swati Dhulekar & Ms Amrita Sujanani
• Ms. Sudha Sharma
• Ms. Sangita Khatri
• Mr. Balchandran
• Mr. Deepak Gupta
• Sant Nirankari Mandal, Marunji