From the President’s desk

Fresh from the holidays

JUNE started with the reopening of the Day School and Workshop. All our Friends looked fresh and eager to get back to their routine. On June 5, Sneh Seva Foundation, a senior citizens’ group, organised a lecture and discussion on my book, at Niwara Hall in Navi Peth. The response was very good, and I was surprised to learn that quite a few of them were happy with the content of the book.

We are glad to announce the addition of a new member to our Adventure Club, Mr. DarshanWagh, who has been organising treks in the Sahyadri region through his organisation, Shivdurgand eager to get back to their routine. On June 5, Sneh Seva Foundation, a senior citizens’ group, organised a lecture and discussion on my book, at Niwara Hall in Navi Peth. The response was very good, and I was surprised to learn that quite a few of them were happy with the content of the book.

We are glad to announce the addition of a new member to our Adventure Club, Mr. Darshan Wagh, who has been organising treks in the Sahyadri region through his organisation, Shivdurg Savardhan Trust, since many years. He is a very experienced person. Our first trekking activity under him was on June 30, when we went to Bahadur Gad near Daund town.

Our Friends enjoyed a Kathak performance based on Gitaramayan, on June 9, at the Bhimsen Joshi Auditorium. The programme was organised by the Kalaranjan. It was very unique experience for our Friends. We are thankful to Kalaranjan for inviting us to Bharatnatyam Nrutyanubhav for this wonderful event.

On June 20, Mrs. Shubhangi and Mr. Chandrashekhar Potnis hosted a dosa party at Marunji. We had hot tasty uttappa and dosa, with coconut chutney and sambar. We thank them wholeheartedly.

We are thankful to Rotary Club 3131 for donating a two-wheeler and sponsoring the Solar Electricity project. Our special thanks to Mr. Subodh Malpani and Mr. Ganesh Jadhav for executing it in a short period.

Recently, our Friends got an opportunity to perform a dance at one of the Rotary meetings. We are grateful to Ms. Sanjota for giving our Friends this opportunity. We are very happy to share that Friend Raj has been promoted as Office Boy. At the recent weekly meeting, he reminded me to share the good news with all the Friends at Navkshitij. When I shared the news, everyone clapped for Raj and congratulated him. It was a wonderful moment. The pride on Raj’s face and the happiness on his friends’ faces was such a pleasure to watch. The monsoon is now on in full fury and our gardeners are busy sowing seeds and planting saplings. Within a few days, we hope to have a fresh burst of colourful flowers.

High standards at Navkshitij

COMING down the dusty, sweaty hot roads of Pune, it was a refreshing change to enter the green premises of Navkshitij. I was lucky to have my friends Anna and Linn inviting me to join their work as volunteers for three days, giving me a direct comparison to my own work in Bangalore. I volunteer for one year at Camphill India, a residential community for differently abled adults in Bannerghatta. Even though our community is only about half as big as Navkshitij, I immediately could recognise the same feeling of family which the special friends radiate in their every gesture. Gestures of welcome, care, help, joy and pure gratitude, an attitude I am learning from them every day. I was very impressed to follow the process of recycling temple flowers and to be part of the creativity of the jewellery workshop. It was particularly interesting to meet the children of the Day Centre, who are accompanied when going their steps at their own speed and amongst peers, beautifully supported day by day. I sincerely hope that Navkshitij will keep up its high standards and continue to be a loving home for special friends, co-workers and volunteers alike. By Iruna Mueller, Volunteer, Camphill India

Upcoming Happenings

• July 11: Monthly Traffic Awareness Program
• July 20: SETU program
• July 25: Workshop for teachers in preparation for Annual Natya Mahotsav
• July 27: Guru Poornima
• July 28: Monthly trek to Malhar Gad

Month’s events

• June 13: Monthly Traffic Awareness Program at Lakadi Bridge, Pune
• June 15: Navkshitij friends’ birthday celebration
• June 30: Monthly Trek to Bahadur Gad

Thank you from Navkshitij to:

• Mr. M. S. Shende
• Rotary Club of Pune
• Rotary Club of Pune Pride
• Rotary Club of Gandhibhavan
• Mr. Nachiketas Bhatkar
• Mr. Abhay Khanapure
• Mr. Chandrashekhar E. Potnis
• M/s. Cross Country InfoTech Pvt. Ltd.
• Rudy Mosiwala
• Mr. Gajanan Ranade
• Mr. Nitin Patel
• M/s. Flextronics Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
• Jairaj & Company
• Mr. Rohan Khanapurkar
• Your Health Matters
• Ms. Hemshree Singh

Navkshitij Now Needs

• Solar Water Heater System for Aswali Unit – Approximate cost Rs 70,000
• 6 Office Chairs – Approximate cost Rs 12,000
• 2 Big Size Cotton Mats – Approximate cost Rs. 4,000
• 1 Portable Sound System – Approximate cost Rs. 15,000
• 1 Weighing Machine (50 Kg capacity) – Approximate cost Rs 14,000

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