A Cupid Snake - An Evergreen Love Story

Whenever I hear the word "Evergreen" I try to connect it with Love stories - Movies styles. like majority of Indian population even I am a die hard Bollywood fan where Romance = King Khan, Action =   Akshay Kumar, and Drama = K.Jo. And whenever I think of love and love stories I always think they are and will be a rosy picture like Yash Chopra or K.Jo movies. Bu trust me sometimes these stories do exit. And I have encountered one such story where no friends, family, colleagues or Social Media played a cupid but a "Green Snake" was a cupid. Strange right, wondering how, then here it goes.

Two of my close friends very madly in love with each other. Bu feared to confess it to each other because of the stupid feeling that, "if anyone says no then even the existing and long term friendship will come to an end". But finally destiny had different pans for them.

Like everyday they were travelling to collage from Ulhasnagar in a super crowded train. It is the most madding time to travel and due to heavy rush I missed the train and my friends went ahead with me left behind. Suddenly as the train was nearing Thane station there was a panic attack amongst all the passengers because " A snake" was spotted on the ceiling fan of the train.

The train was so crowded that there was no place even for an ant to move and in such a condition spotting a live snake was really scary for all the commuters. And guess what, cut to, this snake was spotted on the ceiling fan which was exactly above, where my love bird friends where seating. Even they panicked like all commuters. When the train was about to enter Thane station someone pulled the emergency chain and the train came to an halt with a thud. And due to this jerk the snake which was resting on the fan fell down, yes correct on the train floor.

By now people had already started jumping off the train and running helter and shelter. But my dear friends were locked they could not move because the reptile was in their area or rather they were locked in the reptile area. Both of them stood on the seats and started screaming on top of their voice.

And even the dear snake being scared of so many people as confused and crawling randomly. my friends by now had thought that they are now not going to survive and soon are going to be bitten by this venomous creator. But those stupid people unlike all commuters didn't notice that it was a "Green Snake" which is not at all poisonous and harmful.

Anyways moving ahead they both held each other's hands looked into each other's  eyes and took an oath that if they survive from this heart wreaking and nightmarish incident then they will be committed to each other throughout their life as they love each other madly and cannot live without anyone's missing presence. Although unknowingly they had overcome the biggest fear of life, yes they finally proposed each other.

And while they were busy holding hands and looking in each other's eyes, they failed to notice that the snake had fallen off the train while crawling randomly. Within few minutes the GRP was in the compartment and rescued my friends safe & sound.

When we heard their story we again believed in the existence of love stories - Movies style. And here I would like to say that they indeed had an "Evergreen" love story.

VEGETARIAN SHOES!!!!!!!!

 It was a usual day at work, and was on my way to a meeting with my boss. On the way we were discussing about work, future assignments and prospective clients. The journey was very long due to the traffic jams in the city with the topping of heavy rain. And suddenly there came up an interesting topic. My boss told me about the new project we are doing with a company and after listening to that I was suddenly super excited as it was something really out of the box thing. He told me about a company called ‘SENSO’ who are into ‘Vegetarian Shoes’.

            This Vegetarian Shoes idea is a brain child of two vegetarian friends who had a lot of passion for high quality comfortable shoes but more than that passionate about animals. This footwear company caters majorly to the Jain and vegetarian community. Till now I have heard only about vegetarian Lipsticks, toothpastes, soaps but this concept was completely naive and untouched. There was actually a need for something like to be launched.

First I thought that if it’s not leather than the look and feel of these shoes must not be that good and rich. But I was thoroughly awestruck when I visited the site of this company. Trust me they actually look like they are leather shoes. And with the growing sense of personal presentation & looks amongst the people were they spent more on shoes, cloths and other luxurious things, were the rich look of shoes is because they are made from leather, which is not at all animal friendly. But these Vegetarian shoes solve the purpose and at the same time are completely animal friendly.

            These vegetarian shoes are made from ‘Polyurethane’, which offers the elasticity of rubber combined with the toughness and durability of metal. And hence these shoes are flexible, durable and have a soft finish very much like the leather shoes. And hence they are undoubtedly 100% vegetarian shoes.

            Hats off to the people who have come up such a brilliant idea of having Vegetarian Shoes. And I am seriously happy that my company First Rain Exhibits is associated with such a great company who are into a this noble cause for animals.

“DAD-THE UNSUNG HERO OF OUR LIFE”

Just a week back I was browsing through some photos of my childhood days. And what I noticed was strange that I have fewer photos with my dad as compared to my mom. And then I started wondering that how come this happened. But then if we all stress our minds a bit, we will recollect that since childhood we are always write and talk about the hardships and great skills of our mother. Undoubtedly a mother is an integral part of a child’s life but as we know the saying goes that a bike needs two wheels to run properly, so why do we forget that even the life’s bike of a child needs two wheels to run and function smoothly and needless to say the second wheel is ‘Father’, who is also utmost important in a child’s life.

So I thought that why not “Salute The Unsung Hero Of Our Life- DAD”. There are many great saying in all languages for mothers but I have seldom seen any for a father, right? And the reason is that even though he is the one who strives hard, day and night for securing and well-being of his child’s life and future his role is a bit neglected sometimes.

A father also loves his child as much as a mother does, but then it is usually seen that dad cannot show off their emotions and hence it goes unnoticed most of the times. They are once who slog off at work so that their kids can get all the luxuries but still its often seen kids blaming their father for not giving them things. We always see that he does not have time for us but then never do we see the main reason behind him not having time for us.

He also cares and nurses his kids when they are unwell; he also gets tensed when his kids have exams or results. A father is a silent working who does everything but still does not get an credit for his deeds. When a daughter is out of home till late night, father is the one who is awake till she gets home safely.

Unlike everyone else even I had many times not noticed my father’s love, care and affections towards us. But then one day I and my sister had been to a Marathi program called ‘Ayushyavar Bolu Kahi’. And in that they have a song dedicated to all fathers who have so many things to tell and share with their kids but cannot do it due to burden of their other responsibilities. And after hearing that song we could relate all the small things that dad did and it went unnoticed by us. And after that day my sister and I decided that we will never ever hurt our dad and will automatically our respect for him multiplied.

Whenever there are problems in our life, mother is the one who gives us her shoulder to cry and cries along with us, but we can never see that even our father is upset about it, only difference is that he does not show it to us. And the reasons for this thing is firstly the society does not allow a man to cry as he is the support of the family and second and the main reason is that he wants others to be stable and be their strength of pillar so that his family can fight back with the problem and hence gulps downs his tears.

And lastly, I would like to say one thing today, which I haven’t said to my father  till date, “I LOVE YOU A LOT PAA”, and will request all the people reading it also to tell your father what you feel for them before it’s too late.

 And I will today answer one of the unsaid questions about my dad, which would have always thought  about but kept himself back from asking ,

“Paa, Sasurala Jaataa jaataa Umbarathyawari,

Tumchchya saathi nakki yel pani majhya dolya madhe”

ABODE OF LORD GANESH

The Ganesh Art Gallery in Dombivli has various idols & pictures of lord ganesh of different sizes and shapes.

The ‘Mayureshwar Mandir’ in Dombivli built by Satguru Sau Sandhya Tai Amrute, popularly known as ‘Tai’ by her followers, a dedicated follower of lord ganesh from 30 years, is very famous. This temple is the replica of the Morgaon-Panthi Temple, major & first ganpati of Ashtavinayak, near Pune. And the unique feature of this temple is its ‘Ganesh Art Gallery’.

This Ganesh Art Gallery is one of its kinds in India. Since childhood Tai was found of collecting idols and posters of her favorite lord ganesha (Bappa) which she later thought should be shared with all the people. Hence, this Art Gallery was established in year 2007. She says, “Humans can build a posh flat with air conditioners and all luxuries for themselves, so why not build the same posh place for Bappa to reside.” And this art gallery was built by a Christian follower of Tai.

The Ganesh Art Gallery has about 2000 plus idols & posters of lord ganesha in various forms i.e from 5 centimeters to 15 inches. There are many ancient idols also as part of the collection. One can find idols and posters made out of different materials like stones, shells, copper, grass, gold, silver, stones, brak of tress, etc. And this shows that this God of God is present in all forms.

These idols and posters are an exclusive collection of Tai. She has bought it from various places she visited. Tai has also has the idols from Dubai, Thailand, Indonesia as a part of her collection. And some of them are gifted to her followers.

We all know that ‘Mushek’ (rat) is the vehicle of lord Ganesha. However the ‘Panchmukhi’ (5 head) Murti bought by Tai from Thailand has ‘Lion’ as its vehicle, as Lion is the Holy animal there. One can also see the rare form of ganesh in this gallery which is ‘Strirup Ganesha’ (Gayatri Mata Rup).

“All the idols here are equally my favorite and it’s hard to distinguish between them. But the ones that I would like to mention according to their significance are idols of ‘Shammi Ganesh’ & “Mandar Ganesh’. These are two holy trees which from the idol of lord Ganesh in its bark when workshipped for several years. And they have lot of significane”, asserts Tai.

There is now a little space constrain in the Ganesh Art Gallery as there are many idols getting added to the gallery. When asked Tai about the expansion plans she says, “We are now going to expand this Ganesh Art Gallery so that all the new idols can be accommodated properly and it will be named as ‘Ganesh Darbar’. However the period not fixed yet.”

This beautiful and exclusive Ganesh Art Gallery is open for viewing everyday from between 11 am- 8pm. “ This Art Gallery is kept open on all the days so that people can come anytime and taken a look at the various forms of Bappa. As he is everybody’s god and not restricted to anyone in particular”, says Tai with a smile on her face.

Location: Siddhivinayak Mayureshwar Mandir, Bhopar Gaon, Dombivli (east)

Timings: Open on all days between 11 am – 8pm

(Pictures By Nikita Sawant)

DOMBIVILICHI MULGI.....

Shalmalee Tolye a girl from Dombivili has made herself big in the Tellyland today. She has been a part of the industry since 2002 when she did her first professional play “Ek Tarfi Prem” after which there was no looking back for her. Shalmalee is a huge fan of Madhuri Dixit since childhood and use to perform on all her songs in various competitions. Initally she had stage fear for acting and hence never participated mono acting during school. However after working in several plays like “Durga Zhaali Gauri”, “Jaanata Raja” she gained enough stage confidence. And all through this journey her mother, elder sister and her husbad Piyush Ranade who is also an actor in Marathi industry were her pillar of strength.

Talking about her career she says, “I first faced the camera on the sets of a Marathi serial ‘Avghachi Ha Sansaar’. It was a great learning experience. After which I did several serials like ‘Ha Khel Saawalyancha’ on Me Marathi, ‘Chiranjivi Saubhagya Kankshini’ On ETV Marathi, ‘Ya Sukhanno Ya’ On Zee Marathi, ‘Hya Gojirvanya Gharat’ On ETV Marathi.” As dance is also one of her passion, she participated in two dance reality shows ‘Nach Meri Jaan’ on Me Marathi & ‘Halla Bol’ on ETV Marathi. She reached till final in both the show.

When asked about her experience in Halla Bol she said, “Halla Bol was a great experience for me. We were shooting in Ramoji Filmcity, Hyderabad. We were 20 contestants and all were girls so one can imagine how much fun we had. The best things that this show gave me apart from fame are great friends and loving memories.”

According to Shamalee ‘SHREE’ serial on Zee TV by HatsOffs Production was path breaking and a benchmark serial in her career. When asked about her future plans she says, “I am right now very happy with television and want to do different and good roles. But at the same time won’t mind working in good Marathi plays and movies.”

Today whatever success she has in her pocket is completely on her own. She does not have any godfather in the industry and has succeeded just on her passion for work. She recollects, “Almost all the serials are shot in Madh Island, Filmcity, Malad which are located in Western route. But travelling there from Dombivili was never an issue for me. But due to uncertain & late shooting timings I had to rent a flat in Malad.

“One thing is for sure that I am a hardcore Dombivlikar as it’s my Janma Bhoomi. It is a very a cultured city i.e. Sanskruti Japnara Shahar were all festivals like Gudhi Padwa, Ganpati, Navratri & Diwali are celebreated with great enthusiasm. I vivdly remember the first day of Diwali and the Shobha Yatra on Gudi Padwa a lot in Dombivili and try to be there on these and also other festivals as possible.”

DOMBIVILICHI MULGI.....

Shalmalee Tolye a girl from Dombivili has made herself big in the Tellyland today. She has been a part of the industry since 2002 when she did her first professional play “Ek Tarfi Prem” after which there was no looking back for her. Shalmalee is a huge fan of Madhuri Dixit since childhood and use to perform on all her songs in various competitions. Initally she had stage fear for acting and hence never participated mono acting during school. However after working in several plays like “Durga Zhaali Gauri”, “Jaanata Raja” she gained enough stage confidence and all though this journey her family especially mother was her biggest support.

Talking about her career she says, “I first faced the camera on the sets of a Marathi serial ‘Avghachi Ha Sansaar’. It was a great learning experience. After which I did several serials like ‘Ha Khel Saawalyancha’ on Me Marathi, ‘Chiranjivi Saubhagya Kankshini’ On ETV Marathi, ‘Ya Sukhanno Ya’ On Zee Marathi, ‘Hya Gojirvanya Gharat’ On ETV Marathi.” As dance is also one of her passion, she participated in two dance reality shows ‘Nach Meri Jaan’ on Me Marathi & ‘Halla Bol’ on ETV Marathi. She reached till final in both the show.

When asked about her experience in Halla Bol she said, “Halla Bol was a great experience for me. We were shooting in Ramoji Filmcity, Hyderabad. We were 20 contestants and all were girls so one can imagine how much fun we had. The best things that this show gave me apart from fame are great friends and loving memories.”

According to Shamalee ‘SHREE’ serial on Zee TV by HatsOffs Production was path breaking and a benchmark serial in her career. When asked about her future plans she says, “I am right now very happy with television and want to do different and good roles. But at the same time won’t mind working in good Marathi plays and movies.”

Today whatever success she has in her pocket is completely on her own. She does not have any godfather in the industry and has succeeded just on her passion for work. She recollects, “Almost all the serials are shot in Madh Island, Filmcity, Malad which are located in Western route. But travelling there from Dombivili was never an issue for me. But due to uncertain & late shooting timings I had to rent a flat in Malad.

“One thing is for sure that I am a hardcore Dombivlikar as it’s my Janma Bhoomi. It is a very a cultured city i.e. Sanskruti Japnara Shahar were all festivals like Gudhi Padwa, Ganpati, Navratri & Diwali are celebreated with great enthusiasm. I vivdly remember the first day of Diwali and the Shobha Yatra on Gudi Padwa a lot in Dombivili and try to be there on these and also other festivals as possible.”

THE PERSON I ADMIRE THE MOST…..

In our day-to-day life we come across so many people who leave an impact on our life in some way or the other. But there are very few people whom we admire for their qualities. And then we start following their footsteps and keep them as our role model. One such person who has left a deep impact on my life and whom I admire the most is “Mr. H.N.Sinor”. I met him first when he was CEO of Indian Banks Associations (IBA). He is a wonderful person and very jolly by nature. Mr Sinor is in true sense a role model for today’s youth. At the age of 67 he is as enthusiastic about work as a 20 year old youngster will be about his work. He has a great charisma and when he speaks one actually feels like listening to his speech.
Mr Sinor started his career way back in 1965 i.e. 43 years ago and during this period has served in a wide range of roles related to commercial banking operations. Mr. Sinor holds degrees in commerce and law. He started his career with Central Bank of India. He moved to Union Bank Of India in 1968 and worked there for 28 long years. During these years he served in various capacities, reaching the position of General Manager. In 1996, he was appointed as Executive Director of the Central Bank of India. He then moved to ICICI Bank in July 1997 as Executive Director. In 1998, he took over as Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank. Later in 2003 he retired from ICICI and joined IBA as its CEO. Mr Sinor has worked on various committees of the Reserve Bank of India, the Indian Banks’ Association and the Confederation of Indian Industry and has actively contributed to policy and decision-making processes at these institutions.
Mr Sinor is in true sense a “Banking Guru” as he has had exposure of working with both public sector and private sector banks and has hence, had the experience of both the phases of nationalisation and liberalisation in this sector. Mr Sinor has a strong determination to make IBA an international brand name, which shall provide the best banking solutions to the banking fraternity across the world. He has also received “Best Communicator” award.
It is really impossible to find such a hardworking, dedicated and knowledgeable person in today’s world. He is recently taken over as Chief Executive of The Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). And is also Chairman of 3i Infotech. Mr Sinor is in true sense an all rounder and I salute him for his great work. He has to an extend changed the face of today’s banking industry and now when he is also Chief Executive of AMFI we look forward that even the face of mutual funds will change and there will be lot more good fund policies for people to invest…
And due to all these great qualities Mr Sinor has left a great impact on my life and he is the person I admire the most in my life.

BURA NA MANO IT’S FOOL'S DAY....

1st April popularly know as “Fool’s Day” is around the corner. Its just one day far and all kids and youngsters must have made their plans how to trick others and make fool of them. This day brings loads of fun for pranksters as they can play loads of pranks on people. And right from adults to children each and every person can relate to this day as some time even they would have played prank on someone or would have been made fool of by someone. In India this entire April Month people play prank on one another but in countries like UK, Australia and South Africa the jokes only last until noon of 1st April, and someone who plays a trick after noon is called an "April Fool".
We all celebrate this “ April Fools” Day with full enthusasim but does any one know the origin of this day. There are many stories about origing of this day but the one that I know is that when France adopted the Gregorian Calendar in 1582. The Calendar which shifted the observance of New Year's Day from the end of March to the first of January. But some people ignored this change in calendar due to their ignorance and stubbornness and still continued to wish each other New Year on April 1st which was earlier their New Year and made fool of themselves. And thus they were said fool on this day. Thus this day became “April Fool’s Day” Or “All Fool’s Day”.
In India small children play pranks on each other. Even I remember playing pranks on this day. We use to wait for this day to arrive so that we could make fool of people. But the worst thing for me was my birthday falls in this month so most of the time I was made fool of by giving wired gifts on my birthday. One such April fools day I vividly remember is that when I played a prank on my father. I had dialed 161 on my phone which gives a false ring on the phone. I picked up the phone and told my father that his friend had called up as soon as he put the receiver on this ear & said ‘Hello’ I cried loudly “Happy April Fool’s Day”. This is one such incident but there are many such incidents that made this day special for me as a child and still make this day special for me.
So guys you all be set to play prank on your friends, family and other people and celebrate this “April Fool’s Day”. Wish you all a very “Happy All Fool’s Day”.

SAFEST SHIP TO SAIL- FRIENDSHIP

We all have heard since our childhood the famous proverb “A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed”. And we often tend to write it in all the essays or write up we write about friendship even though me mean it from heart or no. But does anyone can actually describe what does friendship means in some other words. Well, I don’t think so as friendship is an emotion, a feeling that is best when felt and cannot be described in words. This is surely one of the safest ships to sail in as during the stormy weather it protects us from all evil and bad things. A good friend is like the mirror as one can his or her own reflection in their friend.
These ties of friendship are not new. They are present since the good old days. We all know the friendship between Lord Krishna and Sudama. This is the best example to explain that friendship does not follow the barricades of rich and poor. It is just a feeling that you have to cherish. The second best example from olden days is from Mahabharata. The friendship between Karna and Duryodhana. Where Karna set a best example by standing against his own brothers to be with his friend. This is such a bond and relation where one knows only to give and not to take. There are no expectations in friendship and there is no friendship with expectations.
Even in our day to day life we make many friends but all can’t be said to be best friends. There are only handfuls of best friends. It often happens that we stay with some people for more time and are more close to us but they don’t be with us throughout our life like a best friend but on contrary the people with whom we spent less time and are not that close to us become our companions for lifetime. It is rightly said by some great person that a real friend is the one who stands with you in times of tribulations and becomes your support.
A true friend is like a secret box was all top trade secrets are kept. Friends are our greatest assets and one should preserve and value them. However rich one must be but if there are no friends then wealth is of no use and that person is the poorest of all and vice-versa. True friends fill colour and fragrance in our like. They are the one who understands our silence and anger. So one should cherish and value friendship and friends in life as they are the one who will make us laugh in sorrow and make us cry in happiness.
So after reading this if you feel like saying “Hi” to your friends or give them a “Hug” then please do it as this will express your feeling towards them. As I am going to do it right away.
LOVE U GUYS A LOT….

MARATHI BANA..PRIDE OF MARATHI MANOOS

Working long shifts on Saturday had became a routine for me some months ago…On one such Saturday when I came back home from work and was fully tired and exhausted my parents told me that we are going to watch a Marathi Drama (Natak) called “Marathi Bana” in Aacharya Atre Sabha Gruha, kalayan. With much reluctance I went with my parents to watch the Natak. On my way to the place my mom told me that this Natak portrays the Marathi culture and is written, produced and directed by Ashok Hande who’s the Veteran of Marathi Theater.
When the play started I was like lost completely & could not get hold of what was going on. The Natak started with a Marathi song “Utti Utti Re Gopala”. I have heard this song only once before this evening but the impact that song made on me this time was just great. Marathi Bana consist of 125 members and has a live orchestra along with 40-50 dancers in it. These performers are the one who put life to all the songs through their extra enthusiastic dancing skills and expressions. Even the “Lavni” performed in this play is amazing as dancer has kept its aesthetic value and not made it look vulgar. This Natak gives a 360 degree view of Rich Marathi Culture. And this play does not just concentrate on Marathi culture but through small Skits (Bharud) they also put light on current scenario in social or political circuit.
The 3 hours show cover all the festivals of Maharashtrians, the marriage rituals,“Mangla Gaur” programme and games played at that time and also Bharud. This is the best Marathi Natak I would have seen till now as it tells us so many small things about our culture in such a nice manner. Earlier I had thought that it would be very boring to watch a Marathi play for 3 hours but to my surprise time was flying in these three hours. And I came out of the Sabha Gruha with a smile on my face and loads of excitement.
After watching this play I came to know that I was unaware of so many nice things in my culture and now I am really proud of my Rich Marathi Culture and Heritage. I would like to take this opportunity and thank Ashok Hande and his entire team for making such a nice play and taking Marathi Manoos and his culture to new heights. I would ideally tell today’s youth to watch this play in order to get in sync with our culture and be proud be one of them. And hence such nice plays on culture should be encouraged so that in near future there can plays on Culture of other Religious and hence we can tell each other the good things in all cultures….So kudos to the entire team of Marathi Bana….

EXTRAORDINARY ROSHAN......

"Music" is such a thing in this world that everyone likes. And we all feel like listening. Some of us even get inspired by this music and want to learn singing or playing certain instrument. Even I wanted to learn playing guitar after I saw the old movie "Karz". I also joined class but could not learn it as I didn't had that nack in me. And drew a conclusion that I cant play guitar. But this thing was proved wrong when I met Roshan Kadam. Roshan play 7 different types of musical instruments and that too all on his own without any coaching. He can play Mouth Organ, Keyboard,Guitar,Bongo,Flute,Bool Bool Tarang, Violin. And he plays all these instruments amazingly. Roshan learned all these instruments due to his sheer dedication and passion for music. He started reading reading books about these instruments and then did the practised it on the instrument.
In his inital days it was very difficult for him but later it became easy for him. He never ignored his studies due to music but kept both on the equal level. Today when HE is busy in his job his passion for this musical instrument is still the same. He has also inspired several of his friends and his own little sister and ofcourse me to learn Guitar. He is now also planning to learn Mandolin and Sexaphone. Roshan feels that learning musical instruments has no lingustic barrier to express feelings..
And I think today's youth should get inspired from him and excel in their field of interest through dedication and passion as if one does things with full dedication and determination then nothing is impossible in this world.. And as i said even I am inspired by him and will learn Guitar with full passion..