Korku tribal kids in Melghat, Maharashtra (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Maitri Pune is a volunteer non-governmental organization based in Pune, India whose work includes helping tribals in the Melghat and Marathwada regions. They have helped to lower the infant mortality rate, along with raising agricultural production and increasing AIDS awareness. In recent years they have expanded their reach to include natural disaster relief and a helpline for AIDS awareness which was receiving 1,500 calls a day as of 2009.(Src: Wikipedia)

The 15th Annual day of Maitri will be held at 6 PM on Sat 5th May at S.M.Joshi Hall, Pune. Guests – Girish Kulkarni & Ajit Kanitkar

You can register for the event at : http://ngo-networking-2012.eventbrite.com/

Agenda:

• 4:00pm Registration starts
• 4:15pm – 4:30pm Event purpose / motto and presentations guidelines explained
• 4:30pm – 5:30pm Presentations from NetImpactPune & first 5 presentations from NGOs
• 5:30pm – 6:00pm Refreshment & Networking
• 6:00pm – 7:00pm Rest 5 presentations, CSR and Karve Institute project presentation.
• 7:00pm – 7:30pm Feedback Forms & Networking

Venue: Karve Institute of Social Service, 18 Hillside Karvenagar, Pune – 020 6500 7565
Date: 28th April 2012
Time: 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Src: http://nipune.org/ . For queries, write to impact@nipune.org

Residents from the ward can dump unwanted items into large bins labeled by category such as old clothes, footwear, old toys and electric gadgets at the back gate of the Kamala Nehru park on April 29 (Sunday) between 9.00 am and 2.00 pm.

• Update 29 April: Photos & Videos from the event

* More on Greeny the puppet (greenythegreat.blogspot.in).

In addition to the collection drive, SWaCH, along with DGPS and the PMC sanitation staff, will clean up the two small by-lanes that join Bhandarkar Road and the stretch along the north entrance of the Kamala Nehru park, currently being used as mini-garbage dumps.

Deccan Gymkhana corporator Madhuri Sahasrabuddhe said, “The Deccan Gymkhana area, once known as a clean, tranquil, low density residential area, is now bustling with residential and commercial complexes, malls and hotels. With increase in population and commercial activity, the amount of garbage generated has increased exponentially, far exceeding the capacity to process it. Each of us in Pune generates 400-500 gm of solid garbage every day. Pune city as a whole generates around 1,400 to 1,500 tonnes of garbage per day.”

Anil Rane, corporator from the same civic panel, said, “The garbage problem can never be solved unless we accept that we realize that it’s due to us. This is one issue we cannot leave for the next generation to deal with. If we want to leave behind a legacy of a clean and green living space for our children, we need to tackle the garbage issue on a war footing. The only way we can have a clean ward is if we reduce the garbage going into the bins – and for this, the residents must be educated about segregation and composting.”

About V-Collect
V Collect is a service offered by SWaCH to help residents dispose of any unwanted household items which are not generally thrown in the daily garbage. The collected material will be distributed amongst SWaCH members who will either reuse it or will make sure it enters the recycling stream. Recycling old and unwanted articles instead of dumping them in the roadside garbage containers reduces the load on the containers and the total amount of garbage going to Urali Depot. This will go a long way in reducing the pollution of air, water and land in and around Pune.

About DGPS and Efforts to Segregate Garbage
DGPS is a group of Prabhag 36 residents (earlier Wards 56 and 67) which includes BMCC Road, Bhandarkar Road, Prabhat Road and Karve Road till SNDT, extending on the other side of Karve Road till the river. DGPS is associated with the National Society for Clean Cities. We would like to emphasize that though our members could be from various political parties, DGPS is not associated with any political party or group, nor does it endorse any particular ideology or political agenda

DGPS strongly believes in segregation of garbage at source and is making every attempt to involve ordinary citizens and residents of the ward in this effort. Segregation of Garbage is mandated by law [Maharashtra Non-Biodegradable Waste Control Ordinance 2006 Article 348, Clause (3)]. It is the duty of each citizen to segregate their waste in to wet and dry garbage. The DGPS has appealed to the PMC to enforce this act, by fining those who do not segregate their waste and/or dump it on the roadside.

The V-Collect drive is an attempt by DGPS and SWaCH to kick-start a cleanliness campaign in Deccan Gymkhana which we hope will lead to a cleaner and less polluted Parisar. DGPS will distribute information about the need for segregation and composting of wet waste and garden waste at home, along with simple and inexpensive ways to do this.

I first heard & blogged about Vasant Vyakhyanmala in 2010 and also attended VV 2011. I am told that in its heyday, prior to India’s independence, the event was attended by 1000s and every major leader of that time spoke at Vasant Vyakhyanmala. VV has faded since, maybe cause post-independence there are few common topics that people feel passionately about or perhaps because our leaders today don’t match up to those pre-independence.

So these days, while the event continues to have a good lineup of talks, it is mostly attended by senior citizens, who clap & appreciate a talk but are not well placed to actually do much with the knowledge & information. So we have some of the best minds speaking at VV but there’s hardly anyone in the audience who can make much use of the talk. Now isn’t that a shame!

Outreach

Vasant Vyakhyanmala is not good at outreach and PR. The English press summarily ignores the event ( for reasons best known to them ) while the Marathi press reports bits and pieces.

So in 2011, I & a few like-minded people thought of taking VV to the youth using social media, via a Vasant Vyakhyanmala page on Facebook & Vasant Vyakhyanmala Id on Twitter.  At both places you will get regular updates on what’s happening at the event & the lecture for the day. Both are not “official” as yet.

So did our promotions on Facebook & Twitter get the youth to turn up at VV 2011? No! Many did retweet, share and spread the message so that someone else could attend but not they themselves.

However there’s still hope, as I see a lot more buzz in 2012 on Twitter & Facebook and you get the sense that the VV cool quotient has been upped significantly. One hopes that 2012 will witness a tipping point where the youth return to Vasant Vyakhyanmala.

That the Vasant Vyakhyanmala is up against the IPL is going to be a major challenge.

Content

I believe that VV is a remarkable tradition that we need to support & benefit from. I also appreciate that finding 30 good speakers is a tough ask. However IMHO the content needs some rework. I am not criticizing to pull down this great event but only to hopefully trigger positive change.

• There isn’t a single lecture about science or technology
• There are about half a dozen about holy scriptures, holy songs, holy remedies and even a session on quack medicine!
• There are hardly any talks that would interest the youth. Only because I care deeply for social & political issues am I interested in some of the topics. However for most 20-30 year olds, there is little content to draw them in. I was amused to see a day reserved for the youth “Yuva Vaktrutva Divas”, the other 29 are effectively reserved for 60+.
• Very rarely do sessions make use of modern multimedia presentation techniques.
• The overall event presentation is remarkably low on style. Even the schedule prints are pretty much the same every year. Only the dates & names are changed.
• I have already mentioned the online silence from VV. No videos, no website, no Facebook, no Twitter… Forget online, the schedule/ program guide does not even state a contact telephone number!

I believe the following sessions at VV 2012 are inappropriate for an intellectual forum for learning, thought & reform.

1. Ozone Therapy (Valsangkar) : As yet there is no scientific evidence that Ozone therapy works. That some person somewhere felt better because of X treatment cannot be termed as scientific evidence. If a reputed medical entity or journal approves a treatment through rigorous processes like peer reviews and double blind tests, only then can it be termed as medicine. VV could look at including a session on ozone therapy if ever it gets accepted as medicine.
2. Ayurveda from the Bhagvad Gita (Tambe): Bhagvad Gita is an object of faith & religion. Because something is stated in some religious text does not make it science or medicine. While the speaker is welcome to present this talk as a study in history & historical texts, I am quite certain this talk will twist and interpret the holy text to suggest that the Bhagvad Gita has answers to all ailments.Linking religion with medicine is a dangerous trend as once something gets linked to faith, scientists might present a ton of contradictory evidence and yet people will not see reason. Mr. Balaji Tambe has also been at the forefront of promoting quack – pseudo sciences like Garbha Sanskar and the organizers should have reconsidered inviting him for a talk about medicine.
3. Holy Songs Of the Warkaris (Patwardhan): Again a topic associated with faith, religion & beliefs. VV is not the place for such a lecture.
4. Ram Darshan (Bahulkar) : This is a tricky one. Ram Darshan is a sort of temple built with the stated objective “The life of Lord Rama can provide guidance for solving various problems afflicting our modern society” .If Bahulkar the artist is going to talk of how he went about building the temple, the art & planning involved etc. that would be fine. But if he is going to talk about how the life of Lord Rama can provide guidance for solving various problems afflicting our modern society, VV is not the place for such a lecture.
5. Saint Dnyaneshwar’s Pasayadan (Datar) : Hindu holy scripture, not suited at Vasant Vyakhyanmala.

Having said that, I am excited and I look forward to the 10s of other lectures. I might actually attend a couple of the five listed above, just to understand how quack science is marketed or how religious beliefs can be misused to promote pseudo science & medicine.

Below are some talks that I am particularly looking forward to:

• 24 April: Muslim Society: Perception & Reality  (Speaker: Shamsuddin Tamboli)
• 27 April: Pune’s Problems (Panel Discussion)
• 30 April: India’s Social , Political & Economic condition today (Speaker: Abhay Firodia)
• 1 May: Yeshwantrao Chavan (Speaker: Sharad Pawar)
• 2 May: New Approach to the Kashmir Issue (Dileep Padgaonkar)
• 4 May: The Gita Of Investments (Chandrashekhar Tilak)
• 5 May: Rural Development Through People’s Participation (Avinash Pol)
• 8 May: What’s to do with this life? (Dr. Abhay Bang)
• 9 May: Content Old Age (Sharadchandra Gokhale)
• 19 May: Indian Agriculture – Current State, Direction & Future (Dr. Narendra Jadhav)

The timing for all talks is 6.30 to 7.30 pm, the venue is Tilak Smarak on Tilak Road >>  Map . The pass for the entire series costs Rs. 100 while a day pass costs just Rs. 5!

Do join Vasant Vyakhyanmala on Facebook & Twitter

The monthly meeting of National Society for Clean Cities, Pune will take place on Saturday the 21st of April 2012 at 3:30 pm at Wadke Hall, 3rd floor, PMC [Corporation] Building, Shivajinagar, Pune 411005.

Agenda:

1. Maharashtra Act II of 2012: MajGen SCN Jatar (Rtd.) & Mr V N Rao
   By this Act the BPMC Act and the MRTP Act have been amended. If a Designated Officer of the PMC fails to take action, without sufficient reason, against illegal construction, he can be punished with imprisonment to the extent of 3 months &/or with fine upto Rs. 20,000 or both. Further, the builder if found guilty of illegal construction, can be imprisoned from 1 to 3 years and/or fined from Rs 10,000 to Rs. 50,000. The proper implementation of this act will be very essential for the city.
2. Water Supply & Management : Mr. V G Kulkarni, PMC.
3. Reports from the Mohalla Committees.
4. Any other Business **(With the permission of the chair).

Dr. S.Y.Quraishi, Chief Election Commissioner, Government of India will deliver the B.G.Deshmukh Memorial Lecture at 5 pm on 09 April 2012 at the Vishwa Bhavan Auditorium, Symbiosis Law School, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune.

The topic for his lecture is “The great Indian election machine – an ode to bureaucracy and the role of the electorate.”

“A short film on Pune Municipal Corporation’s Participatory Budgeting” by Janwani and CEE will also be screened. The film highlights the provisions made by the PMC for citizen participation and shows process documentation

Janwani is a social initiative of the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce,Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) to advocate and promote equitable and sustainable development in the city,beneficial to its citizens and as envisioned by them.

Date: 21st April 2012
Time: 5 to 7 pm
Venue: Hall # 7, MCCIA Trade Tower, SB Road Pune.

To participate please write the mail to janwani.org@gmail.com

The Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti had organized a discussion on Deool, Faith & Blind Faith where Girish Kulkarni spoke at length on the topic. Girish talked about why he took up the subject, what faith & religion means to him and why he believes our society needs to align religion with science and reform religion as per the times.

IMHO Girish Kulkarni & Umesh Kulkarni (director) deserve to be applauded for not only making Deool but also for having the courage to publicly stand for their beliefs, especially on sensitive issues like faith & religion.

Indian film industry churns out loads of superstitious content every year and even most people in Indian showbiz are keen on flashing how deeply religious & superstitious they are. So Deool & the Kulkarnis come across as a refreshing oasis of reason in the desert of blind faith.

Do watch the videos below.

I volunteer for the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti and had first published these videos on the organization’s Facebook page. I thought it made sense to publish them on Sudhar for long-term recall.

Muslim SatyaShodhak Mandal is an organization founded by the late reformer Hamid Dalwai and one of the few progressive Muslim organizations in India. If interested in the Muslim reform movement, Sayyad Bhai’s book “दगडावरची पेरणी” is a must read. Sayyad Bhai has been one of the key people driving Muslim SatysShodhak Mandal after Hamid Dalwai passed away in 1977.