Chats and Chaats!

This get-together was honoured by the presence of our Gurukaka. So those who missed the get-together, more than anything missed meeting Gurukaka.

The venue this time was changed to where it all began...the Udyan Ganesh Mandir. Gurukaka, as usual were always before time, waiting for us. Ashutosh and Sagar joined in followed by Kedar and Shruti. Shruti looked like she had gained some weight. Yashashree and Ajinkya joined in shortly. Incidentally Yash had gained some weight as well!

There was a surprise promised for this get-together...it was disclosed. Ashutosh is committing..that is getting engaged. He has found the love of his life. With interuptions and continuous comments from everyone, Ashutosh still managed to tell the love story in complete details. Those who missed the get-together, there is no re-telecast of the love story.

Sankalpa as usual was late and was unable to find his way. Ajinkya went to guide him. Few mins later, Sankalpa joined us...Ajinkya was missing! We proceeded to the chaat counters and were waiting for Ajinkya to join us. He passed by us twice but was so engrossed on his cell that he never noticed us...probably he has found someone too (we are just guessing!) In our get-togethers, chatting is one thing and food is the other...and when it comes to chaat after chat, they are most welcome! While we were relishing on the chaats, Manoj Prabhu joined in. Post the chaats, the chatting was accompanied by walking...we walked to where Manoj had parked his all new Scorpio in which he offered lift to Gurukaka and Yash. Once again...those who missed the get-together, missed seeing that Scorpio is one of those few cars in which Manoj fits in!

Rohan Desai (new entrant) and Rahul were almost the last entries. Almost the last...as Praveen da joined in after them. Then Praveen da gave a surprize the left everyone stunned "Vivek is married!" Probably no get-together would have ended with such a stunning note before. Overall the strength was just 12 members as the rest were either out-of-station or busy attending marriages! Still those who were there had the same fun they have at every get-together...and those who missed, missed more than missed at any other get-together!

FUN-unlimited!

Very tempting?? If you were at Gypsy Chinese on Sunday noon, you would be relishing the taste not just of this cake, but also of the unlimited fun moments that we had. And those who missed, well…this is just one of the things that you missed.

Kedar was joined by Sagar Danait and Ashutosh. They then booked a seating for 20 (and lucky enough to get the spot). Ajinkya and Sukhada joined in. Gradually the rest started coming in. Sudnya joined in followed by Amit, Smita and her dotty Vishakha, Siddhi Lotlikar, Shruti, Yash, Nanda, Aditi Diwadkar, Manoj Prabhu and by the time we realized the full show was on. The twins, Shweta and Teja had a tour of Dadar before they joined in. Vivek managed not to be too late and Uma was in just before the lunch was served. Prathamesh Kini had a CAT-bite and joined in after we were almost thru with the soups and starters.

Thanks to Sagar and Smita…who placed the orders to everyone’s delight. Ajinkya had a shooting performance and we had a rocking time. Smita had her camcoder and all the action was captured live. The ambience in Gypsy was calm and quiet…that is till we disturbed it. And probably that was unexpected for the staff there…they did seem taken aback by our roars of laughter. By the time, the staff had returned from the shock of how much we can rock, we were thru with our lunch. So they took the opportunity to usher us out. Then there was the need of a much wanted group photo. Looking at us trying very angles, the manager (I think so) felt we were just passing time there and (probably to get us out of there) offered to help us…Nice man!
As usual, we had created a long queue on the waiting list and everyone was relieved when we finally moved on. A paan and some chatting at the Shivaji Park katta…and the get-together concluded with a sweet taste.

Good food, good ambience, good laughs, good PJs and good company…we are the team of Good times together!

Colourful Black & White

In a life where most of us seek colours, a few prefer to use just shades of black and show how wonders can be created with a two colours - black and white! Ashwini Rege is one such artist who believes in the power of Black & White. This week, we have a few sketches from her collection display.

Of the collection, three are political cartoons that would bring up a smile. There is one with a boy sitting and holding a bat. This one is by far the best that I have seen. The shadow effect created are wonderful and give life to the image. A collection worth seeing. I have expressed my views of the sketches...you too have a look and let us know your views too.

Click on the image for more:

Thanks to Ashwini for sharing your collection of sketches. The collection is far more than what we have here and we are expecting to see the rest of them and more coming in.

We have a huge artist pool with us and the contributions have started flowing in. Keep watching the blog for more posts. Well, do you want to just keep watching and not get listed in the talent club?? Send in your talents to mahagsb@googlegroups.com and we will tell you what it means to us.

Badlapur - Neral - Matheran - Neral

In the train to Badlapur, I was telling Rahul about the Maha GSB group and the fun that we have, but he did not have the slightest idea of what was awaiting him at Badlapur. The whole team going to Matheran, was waiting for us. We had a slow dinner before we went to Nanda’s home. Kedar declared that no one would sleep as we need to catch the 6:30 local to Neral…neither was anyone interested in sleeping. After that…till 6:30, what we did for continuous 6 hours can be summarized as pure laughter. We laughed on anything, everything and even nothing…we were just laughing. Ajinkya’s monoact performance was the highlight of those 6 hours.

On Saturday morning, we reached Neral duly at 7:00 am, only to know that the first train to Matheran starts at 8:50. While we were waiting for the train, Shalmali and Nanda managed to take a good nap and Shruti and Shooter had a long walk.

The wait definitely was worth it. The 2 hour journey in the toy train was a wonderful one. We all crammed up into one compartment of the toy train…and Kedar started wondering how would the weight be balanced?
Anyways the toy train moved and our journey to Matheran continued. On the way we discovered some new talents. Though none of the cell phones were catching range, Shalmali managed to give a running commentary to her mom. Rahul was the only one who managed to have a nice sleep thru all jerks and movements of the train. And a very unique talent came from Shruti, the pincher! I know I am going to get a few pinches for this, but on the way to Matheran, Kedar was at the receiving end. Other than talent discoveries, we also had a splendid view of the valley.
We were all first timers at Matheran and knew nothing about it. We had our bookings at the MTDC resort and that is all we knew. Finally when we reached Matheran, we were informed that the MTDC resort (where we had our bookings done) was one station prior to Matheran. So we decided to walk down the tracks and we trekked for about 2 kms.
By the time we reached, we were completely drained out. We managed to have lunch and then we were snoring to glory till the evening. Evening was pleasant and we decided to spend the time near the rooms as we wanted to build-up energy for the next day.

I have never been up so early on a Sunday morning. I and Kedar woke up at 4:00 AM and then we walked to the Panorama point and the Sunrise point. The breeze, the view and the sunrise were just too mesmerizing. Getting up at 4:00 AM had actually paid off. We were waiting for the sunrise from about 5:30. The changing light and the blowing breeze made the wait peaceful. Then the sun peeked out of the mountains like a small kid peeking over a fence. Gradually the brightness began to spread and within a couple of minutes darkness had run away.
Surprise was awaiting us when we returned. Avinash (my cousin from Pune) had joined in with Gaurav. As we were chatting outside the rooms, a monkey approached our room and I casually commented “Don’t worry, shooter is inside”. That very moment, the monkey screamed and took to his heels…shooter was definitely inside! We then trekked to Gorbet point while the girls visited the Panorama point. Returning from Gorbet point, we took the route closed due to landslides…and that was an adventurous trek.We took the 1:40 train back to Neral and the trip to Matheran went into the memory lane. Matheran is a place to see. Cool and mainly unpolluted as no vehicles are allowed. Loose red soil all around, so prefer wearing trekking clothes that don’t soil easily. Taking no credits away from Matheran from making this trek a memorable experience, it was the team that ensured that all enjoyed to the max and made the weekend unforgettable.Thanks to all those who made this a grand success! Those who feel you missed this one need not worry…we are coming with more. If you have any suggestions for the upcoming treks, do keep writing to us at mahagsb@googlegroups.com

Satwik Paarampara!

They say a pic is worth thousand words...see for yourself! Aswad is where is meet and this is what we have been doing traditionally. That's our "parampara...ekdum Satwik Parampara!" Smita was the youngest heart with us. She helped us in the celebrations with a wonderful cake (and she has helped summarize the get-together as well)
Landed at sharp 5:oo pm at Aaswad as told by Mangesh, who himself reached the venue accompanied by his girlfrend (his sawaari) by about 5.45 pm. Ashutosh(a well organised matured frend) and Ajinkya (the shy guy) were already there before me to greet people...Dheere dheere one found the most lovable, crazy, smiling twins (Teja/Shweta), then Vivvekk (numerology flirty freak) with Uma (the cutest, friendly but anorexic gurl) joining in...Then we had Prajakta, Vaidehi, Sudnya, and the rest pouring in...A gang of boys (3 room mates- Madhav (gela kunikadhe), Gaurish, Anirudh) also came in shyly, introduced themselves as shyly and stayed back just quietly watching all the madness that was going on...Mangya, the dodo came aaramse (after watchng Australia win), but he made up for all the lost time...He's a total cracko who keeps one in splits...Non-veggie stuff that he was playfully wording on everyone was not the kind which would make anyone angry...He was the livewire one must say along with Vivekk and Vaidehi...We created a riot I suppose at Aaswad with our chatter pratter and terrible laughter, but luckily weren't kicked out of the restaurant.

Manoj, Sankalpa and Shalmali the late comers kept hunting for chairs as we were 17 people by then, but managed to somehow push push and sit together on the joined tables. Vivekk couldn't choose on the dishes to be ordered so a li'l bit of help from me and some others made him finally settle for Misal pav, Kothimbir wadi, sabudana vada and cutlets with cold and hot coffee. This resulted into people's tendencies suddenly changing and guys were actually behaving like they were on the shows of Coffee with Karan And Chai with Ashutosh.

Snaps were clicked, old pictures albums were passed on for viewing and the bratty twins gave each one of us a li'l card( handmade by them) as a remembrance...Ashutosh was prompt enough to pass a sheet to each one of us to jot down our tel no's, mail id's etc...
The meet continued with everyone pushing off to Shivaji Park katta for gupshup, from where each one pushed off home as and per their timings. Nanda, Yashashree and Shruti were there at the katta as they had reached a li'l bit late to join us at Aaswad. Aditi joined in even later. All in all, a nice brief meet with total strangers, who turned out to be lovely friends...Keep the community going guys with more and more people joining in everytime...All the best to you and yes, I would always make it a point to be present for your meets whenever possible and be of any help to you people whenever needed!

At the Shivaji Park katta, it was full dhamaal time (wasn't that obvious!) Everyone was in their own world, enjoying with each other...and we had almost lost a track of time. Overall, 21 enthusiastic friends came together...had a blast of a time...and as usual carried home some memories to cherish!
Another memorable moment was the call from US. One of our team members, Anagha, whom we had given a farewell had called up. She is always in touch with us and has been promising to make it to the meets...this time she kept up to her promise and made her presence felt.

We have been going better and bigger. Some of the regular members missed the meet for some reasons and then there are new members joining in. We are now having members who have not been orkuting or not have been members of the orkut community and have still made it to the get-together. That goes a long way to say where we are heading!That's all from this get-together...see you all at the upcoming get-together!

What's so special about us??

Some say intelligence, some say creativity, some say art; I say all the three...we have a talent and it shows from person to person. Some are good at drawing, some at craft, some at performing arts. We recently had a performance at the GSB Wadala Ganpati and now, by the time we are thru with enjoying the clips...Yashashree is out with a very touching song "Mrugajal". Do read it on our blog dedicated to poems "Kavya Prabha"

Talking about TALENT...here is another OPPURTUNITY! The KSA - Annual cultural event. Kanara Saraswat Association (KSA) is one of the most active and significant institutions amongst saraswats. It is also the custodian of the funds of the konkani sahitya samiti. This institution is based in Talmakiwadi, Tardeo and organises its annual cultural event coinciding with Diwali. This year too the event is being held. The highlight of this years event is a one act play competition to be held on 8th and 9th November 2007. The duration of the play can be between 20 to 30 minutes, and the play can be in either konkani, or marathi ideally.

We are looking at performers to grab this oppurtunity. Those interested in grabbing the oppurtunity, please post comment on this post or send and an email to mahagsb@googlegroups.com

We won!

A very enthusiastic Maha GSB team reached Wadala Ganpati on Sunday evening hoping to get one chance to perform. And when they got the chance, it was "They came, they performed, they won!!!" They won the hearts of the whole crowd present there.
It was a complete show anchored by Asawari. She did a thorough professional job. The first performance was by Vaidehi. Here is the clipping of Omkara Pradhaana beautifully rendered by Vaidehi

It was then Ajinkya who came up with a short monoact. He enacted a character from the Marathi Play "Sahi re sahi

Then Shalmali sung her heart out...to win the hearts of the crowd.

This was followed by Vaidehi performing a spoof...a real hilarious experience

After a heart-winning performance by the Maha GSB team, the management of the GSB Wadala Ganpati gave a warm thank you note encouraging the budding artists to keep performing

It was a wonderful experience and I am happy I could watch it live. On behalf of the Maha GSB team, I thank all the performers Asawari, Vaidehi, Shalmali and Ajinkya for putting up this wonderful show. Special thanks to all those who worked behind the scenes for the success, Praveen Da for helping throughout in getting the slot, arranging for our rehersals and a lot more, Nagesh Pai for video recording, uploading videos and a lot of support that he provided, Yashashree, Amit and Sankalpa for all the support that they provided. Finally, before I conclude, a big thanks to the GSB Wadala Ganapati Management for giving our budding artists a chance to perform.

Ganpati bappa, MORRYA!!! Mangal moorthy MORRYA!!!

We believe that every Maha GSB member has a talent. It could be a performing talent like singing or dancing, or it could be an art of making candles or paintings. Whatever it is, we are eager to showcase your talent. Please send in your contributions (and queries, if you have any) to mahagsb@googlegroups.com

The team is performing

Probably this is one statement that most captains make when their team wins a match. In this case, however, I am not the captain but the team is sure to win hearts when they perform.

So when and what are they playing??
We are playing a play or rather a small skit at the Wadala Ganpati on the 23rd September. It is a 20 mins act. The Sunday (23 September) is a full packed day of various events. Our performance would be between two events, anytime from 5:00 PM onwards. Be there to see our team perform!

Are you feeling like you missed a chance of being in the performing team??
Don't worry, our performances don't stop there. The Saturday of 29th September, we are trekking to the wonderful fort of Lohagad. We have our team members Janhavi and Mangesh working on this. What time are we leaving, when would we reaching, what all would we be doing...all this are more to come on this post, do keep reading!
Incase the trek sounds interesting to you, you can call Ashutosh Nadkarni (09422518103) and confirm your availability. More details on the trek would be uploaded on the weekend.

For any queries and contributions or to know more about us, you can write to us at mahagsb@googlegroups.com.

Highlighting enthusiasm through-out!

Every meet has had its own highlights and so does this one. This one could be attributed to us starting the Pune chapter. We had two members who were with us because the Pune chapter was started. One of them was our guest for this meet. This lady does not like Mumbai much and it was just for this day that she was waiting to come to Mumbai. The other member is not a part of the "Maharashtrian GSB" community and she is hardly online...it was through her cousin that she came to know about the get-together.

This was the first time we had the get-together scheduled on a Sunday and the meet time was preponed to 4:30 PM. We missed the presence of Guru kaka here. The first two members reaching Aswad were Amit Prabhu, the man from army and Vaidehi, recommended by her cousin after Pune get-together. They were joined by Yashashree Patkar and the rest of the team flowed in. By 5:00, most of them were there busy talking to each other as though we all were childhood friends.

Every time we test the patience of Hotel Aswad more than the food we taste there. This time we patiently waited outside, till they requested us to move in. For a Sunday afternoon, the place was pretty filled up and this may be the first time that we were walking in a queue like disciplined kids! That was all the discipline that was there.

Once in, we were busy so busy chatting and laughing that we almost had forgotten where we were until the waiter reminded us that he was waiting for our order. Asawari and Shalmali joined in a bit late, but then it did not take them long to be join the laughter club. And it was when Aswari and Nanda sat on a bench together, we feared a loud breaking sound. Thankfully Aswad benches were designed to bear the load.
Of all, Trupti had a delayed laughter. Probably it could be the travelling lag or the Mumbai language...in anyways, even that was entertaining.
Mangesh (he can beat the Laughter Champions) made his entry a bit late and at the right time...when the food was ordered. He had a brief time with us and all the time that he was there, the food that we had ordered was on the plates as everyones mouth was busy laughing. The laughter broke Aswad manager's level of patience and he requested us to lower the volume. It was when Mangesh said "Good bye and God Bless!", we continued eating and the manager heaved the first sigh of relief. The next was when we all moved.
However, as usual we were not letting the meet end here. So we moved to Shivaji Park, where we found talents...Vaidehi Gholkar and Shalmali Palekar as singers. Their singing without any background music was worth listening. We also discussed the script of the skit that we, as a team are planning to perform at the GSB Wadala Ganpati on Sunday, September 23.

The meet is also summarized poetically by Amit Bokale [AmBo]. Do read that too. [Click here]

Quite a few of our regular members were not able to make it to this meet. However it was wonderful to see how the others kept up the enthu and never let a boring moment step in the meet. We were a strength of 16 with 5 new faces (Amit Prabhu, Vaidehi, Yashashree, Sumit, Trupti). This goes to show that the group is increasing and more than that it also says that those who have made it to the meet once, have always been eager to be a part of the meet again.
Have you been a part of the get-together so far?? What do you feel about these get-togethers?? Share your thoughts and experiences. Write to us at mahagsb@googlegroups.com

Making us proud! Vivek Pai and Naresh Kamath

We are known for our talent, our brains and our will-power to do something. This reflects in the way we work, the way we chase our intentions and the achievements that we do. We have had many achievers and will keep having them.


One of our active members, Vivek Pai, recently opened up his own firm. He is an architect by profession and has a crave to make his own space. With the same intentions, of creating his name in the field of architecture, he has opened his own office at Byculla. Our best wishes are with him. "Looking at you to make us proud, Vivek!"



For us, Naresh Kamat is a new member who has joined the team but for HT (Hindustan Times), he is a well-known personality. He has made his presence felt in the field of journalism by achieving the prestigious Diamond Glamours Patrakar Ratna Award. He received the award at the hands of Minister of State for Urban Development Rajesh Tope and special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam. His article on security hazard of BMC's plan to create a hawking zone at Diamond market, Charni Road was selected. A month after the article was published, traders got the order cancelled.



We believe an achivement is neither big nor small; an achivement is an achievement and we are proud of it! If you are an achiever or know an achiever, do write to us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com and make us feel proud.

Pune Chapter: Meet II

The second get-together of the Pune Chapter of Maha GSB team happened on Saturday, 25th August at 5:30 PM. It was raining heavily in Pune, the turn-up was low...but the spirits were high...and those who were there, knew what a fun it was! We have the report of this rocking meet that happened in Kamath Hotel, Pune from the Pune Co-ordinator Amit Bokale [AmBo]. Here is what he writes:

Sandhyakaalchi vel. Pahile pahune hazir hote. Nehmi pramane tyaani hi meet miss nahi keli. Tey hote aaple "Paus". Kamat hotel [JM road] var bhetaiche tharle hote. Nilesh yeun mazhya shejari ubha rahila. Adhi ek-mekaanna kadhi na bahitlya mule amhi olakhle nahi. Doghe ek-mekanna pahu laglo ani magh vicharle ki GSB meet saathi aalat ka, ani nantar gappa suru zhaalya.

Dusre pahune hote Surendra. Anolkhi chehare pahun tyaani call karaila surwaat keli. Amhi tyaala jaun vicharle ki to hi GSB meet saathi aala ahe ka, ani asey amhi rickshaat basnyayewdhi loka jamlo.

Ajun ek gruhasta amchya maagey yeun ubhe rahile. Amhi tyanchya kade baghat hoto. Tey hi amhaala bagat hote. Tey phone karnyacha prayatna karit hote konala tari. Amhi mag tyanna approach kela "GSB meet saathi aalat ka?" tar tey confuse zhaala ani nakaratmak uttar dile. Tewdhyat sahebanchi girlfriend aali ani tey aanandaay hotel madhe gele.

Tari amhcya gappa suruch hotya. Tewdhyaat mala call aala. Prashant ne majhya maagey ubharahun call kela hota. Asey amhi carrom doubles khelnya yewdhi loka zhaalo. Vaibhav Nadkarni kaamat adaklyamule toh Kamat madhe yeu shakla nahi. Pan tyaani hi meet miss kele karan pahilya meet la hi to thoda ushiraach aala hota.

Aankhi kon yenaar hyache confirmation navhte, tya mule amhi hotelaat shirlo. Yena-janaara ani hotel samoor thambnara "GSB tar nahi?" hya kade hi sarvanche laksha hote. Nilesh, Surendra and Prashant teeghe moolche Ratnagiri-Chiplun side che aslyaane tyanche kahi common friends kalale. Tya mule jaast javalchi olakh aslya sarkhe vaatu lagle. Gappa suru zhalya. Aadhi cutlets magavnyaat aale ani tya nantar baraach delay ghetla. Waiter la ajun ek mitra yet ahe asey saangun pudhchya coffee chi order baryach ushira denyaat aali.

Surendra kadne GSBs chi history ani kuldaivat che barech concepts clear zhaale. Nilesh tar khaas Jamshedpur hun aala hota. Tyaani tyachya engagement chi khushkhabar hi dili. Pudhya meet la aaplyala 2 pahuney confirm zhaale ahaet. Prashant Hadapsar hun meet saathi aala hota. Orkut access nasunhi tyaane mails varoon toh meet che plans chya updates ghet hota.

Dilkhulaas gappa zhaalya, vaig-vaiglya vishayannvar discussions zhaale, MahaGSB chi stuti hothach hoti, activities kashya vadhavta yeteel ani kay karave hey ki tharavnyaat aale. Ashi hi meet paus asunhi sampanna zhaali. Pudhchya meet chi sagle waat paahat aahot. Lavkarach ajun ek meet ghenyache tharavnyaat yenar ahe.

Have you missed this meet?? Do you want to suggest date and venue for the next get-together?? Then write to us at mahagsb@googlegroups.com

Art of a Woman

A picture is worth a thousand words and a painting is worth a thousand bucks! One of our budding artists, Reetika has come-up with a series of her paintings.


This is just a beauty of the glimpse of her art. The paintings are more than words can describe. The most eye-catching painting that I found is the one where 2 ladies are shown talking to each other near a well. The background scenery brings live to the painting. Even the expressions are pretty deep and give a real life effect. The paintings are for display on Majhe Chanda [click here].

Thanks to Reetika for sharing such wonderful pics of her paintings. The painting are impressive and we are expecting to see more of these coming in.

We have a huge artist pool with us and the contributions have started flowing in. Keep watching the blog for more posts. Well, you want to just keep watching and not get listed in the talent club?? Send in your talents to mahagsb@googlegroups.com and we will tell you what it means to us.

Extracting the talent!

All of us have a talent. Some express it and become world famous, some wish for a stage to display while some shy off from sharing their talent, fearing that they would be laughed upon. Those in the first category, who are already sharing their talent can put up their posts here as well. That would encourage the new comers to paricipate. For those who needed a stage, here you are...post in all that you can. And those who are still shying away, all I can say is probably you would be worse than some other contributors!

It need not be a talent that is known. It can be any of your hobbies as well. Seema loves glass painting and candle making. Her art would be displayed on the blog shortly. AmBo has can create poems instantaeously...here is something that he had scribbled for Anagha...
Tujhya pragaticha dongar asach vaadhat rahava
Community varti tujhya posts nehmi chalu asavya
Hya meetchya goad athvani tujhya mani ayushyabhar rahavya
Saglya GSB friends kadun tula all the best Anagha..

So then where is this blog and what goes into it?
This blog is a blog dedicated to your hobbies and is called Majhe Chanda (= My Hobbies) [Link to the blog: http://majhechanda.blogspot.com/] All your hobbies, pics of your hobbies...anything and everything that you can contribute goes on the blog.

Since poem/song writing is one of the most common things, we have a blog dedicated to poems and songs. This blog is called Kavya Prabha for all budding as well as talented writers [Link to the blog: http://kavyaprabha.blogspot.com/] So you can contribute anything that you have written in your childhood to may be written with care for someone.

Probably visiting both these blogs will give you a better idea of whats happening!

Now how do we contribute?
Email your contribution to mahagsb@googlegroups.com. You can even email us any queries that you may be having and we will get back to you.

Happy Hobbying...and keep Posting!

Bye bye Anagha...and come back soon!

Bye bye Anagha...and come back soon! We want to have another get-together to welcome you.

Since this get-together was to bid Anagha farewell, I'll start with what she has to say,

"No amount of adjectives can describe yesterday's experience. I can't believe I was meeting all my friends for the second time, and it felt as though i have known them since ever. I really do apologize for being late (this shopping is driving me crazy) but "apan saglyanni aswad chi jaaga janu kahi vikatach ghetli hoti", and the singing session with Vivek who really sang well (i mean it :), and not forgetting Riddhesh's contri (it's okay Riddhesh, dooba dooba sounds good whichever way you sing it, hehe kidding), and then of course the lovely moonlight walk upto the restaurant for our dinner. God, Mangesh and Asawari, are SO FUNNY. these days, the moment i see their faces i burst into peels of laughter. And of course the lovely food, and the jokes, and am sure the snaps are gonna be nice (we trust you Vivs ,hehe) Last but not the least, the lovely cards that all my dear friends gifted to me, and the Ganpati idol. It was very thoughtful of Mangya and Kedar to pick up my words that I worship Lord Ganpati, and gift me accordingly on everyone's behalf. I was really touched. Mee US madhe ek chota devghar banavnaar ahe. tyasathi ek chota paat, niranjan, ful-vatee ghetlya ahet, Mangeshacha foto tar ahech, tyasobat ata Ganpati chi moorti pan asel, hence I really liked the gifts. I read everybody's messages on the cards, AmBo ur poem is heart-rendering, very nice indeed! Thank you very much. It was sad that kaki-kaka couldn't turn up. Hope they get well soon, but I will certainly meet them before I leave India. I will surely be in touch with everyone thru orkut (I know you don't trust me, Keds), once I settle there in a few months, cuz I dont wanna miss this fun! Wish I was a part of this community earlier, would have had the chance to contribute towards this community. But anyways, I will try to do some good work there."

Hey Anagha, regarding contributions...you can definitely do online contributions...and AmBo, I need that poem, its going on the blog for sure.

And when Anagha has said such a lot, it leaves less for others to say. So let me highlight some interesting points here...This was Anagha's second meet and she is already missing people. That is the attachment that has been built-up. The gift chosen was the best that Anagha could get. That says about the understanding that we have. And though we had a farewell, we did not let the emotions flow...that talks about the jolliness in the team. We all would miss Anagha...and that is because of the integrity in the team.

Nanda joined us for the first time and she had a rocking time. She says, "ata matra pudhchya meetchi agadi manapasun wat baghate ahe ..... manasokta hasanya sathi!!! It was a greatttttt evening!!!"

Nanda and Shalmali had to leave a bit early, but they regret it...cos they know what they have missed...we too missed you! Nagesh, OKC, Naresh and Pravin Da also had to leave early...nevertheless it was worth the 3 hours spent together.

Sudnya had to leave early in the previous meet, however she made it a point to stay till the end of this meet. She says, "Am never gonna forget the way we all laughed n laughed from starting till the end... just never came to know how time passed... n finally keeping a 'stone on our hearts' we all took each others leave n bid Anaghaa farewell... it ws a reallll fun!!!V ROCK, MAN!!!" The 'stone on our hearts' that Sudnya is referring to, we kept at 11:00 PM...the meet had started at about 6:00 PM. We were together for almost 5 hours and it still took us time to say "bye-bye"

Farewell Anagha...Be back soon! We want to have a get-together to welcome you!

If you are feeling that you have missed something, then make sure you don't miss the next meet. And if you feel, we have missed something, please write to us at mahagsb@googlegroups.com

Contributions start flowing in...

Moving further from meets, we have started working on contributions. We have one contribution from AmBo [Amit Bokale]. Before this, Pradnya Bhobhe has a poem written on "aaee". Poems have been uploaded on the blog dedicated for poems "Kavyaprabha". We encourage all talented to start posting...we have many readers waiting!

AmBo first scripted the whole Pune get-together as-it-happened...and now he puts the same wonderfully in poetic format...Enjoy!

Baryach diwsaani punyaat meet ghaiche tharle
Ani sagle utsaahi GSBs mathuret jamle

Aapan hya adhi kadhich bhetlo nahi hyachi konala jaaniv navhti
Janu aaplyaat hi janma janmichich maitri hoti

Sagle jamle hote...ani suru zhaali hi mast meet
Aadhi magavnyaat ale garam garam thaalipeet

Mathuretle ek table amhi advun thevle
Ani nantar vel kadhaicha mhanoon chaha magavle

Chakk maharashtrian menu samor baghun konala rahavle nahi
Ani ithey yeun misal taste karanya shivay gatyantar nahi

Truptine magavleli misal hi navhti taaji
Kaaran tyaat tyaaney ghatli hoti parvachich bhaaji

Hey teela samjavnyaat amcha vel chaan gela
Tevdhyaat waiter ne aanoon dila pitalecha tambya ani pela

Vaibhav Parulekar ni good news dili ki to challa ahe MS karaila
Mhanooon tyaaney pics kaadhle saglya athvanee japaila

Vaibhav Nadkarni la yaila jara ushirach zhaala
Pan tyaala amchyabarobar gondhal ghalaila vel nahi lagla

Avinash chi sakalchi zhop jara kamich zhaali hoti
Tey tar hotey aaple manaache ganapati

Kedar ani Ashu chya badbad ani masti suruch hoti
Tyanchyach utsaah ani prayatna mule hi meet successful zhaali hoti

Mala [AmBo la] tar hey doghe kahich bolu det navhte
Ani var...arey tu khhop shaant ka basla ahes mhanat hote

4-5 taas Mathuret kasey gele hey kalalech nahi
Ani toh manager hi amcha utsaah baghun kahi bolla nahi

Agdi moklepanane saglyanchya gappa zhalya
Hasat hasat ek mekanna dilya taalya

Amhaala mahit hote ki baryach jananni hey miss kele
Mahoonach pratyek shanache chitra hey tiple gele

Magh amchi gaadi McDonalds la valali
Tithey suddha vel kasa gela hey kalalech nahi

Baherchya yenaryanchi gardi baghun amhich nighalao
Nahitar pudhcha shanivar ugvey paryant tithech baslo asto

Ashi hi meet nehmich sarvanchya manaat raaheel
Punyachi pahili meet hi Mathura chya naavanich olakhli jayeel

Parat ekda meet ghenyachi ahe sarvanna iccha
Apla group asach vaadhava hich AmBo chi shubheccha.

- AmBo

Contributors are most welcome…please keep mailing to mahagsb@googlegroups.com

मिसळ ताजी आहे

Generally, I take the onus of writing about the meet. This time Ambo took the initiative on this front and he has put in the description of the first meet of the Pune chapter in assal puneri style…Enjoy the Mastani Misal and the Khamang thalipeeth!!!

Sakaalchi 9-9:30 chi vel…pausani hi aapli hajiri laavli hoti…mast thand gaar vaatavaran…janu ha GSB mitranchya maitrichach gaarva hota…sagle Mathura chya vrindavanaat pochle…mazhya pochnya aadhi Kedar, Ashu, Avinash ani Vaibhav cha chaha paanyacha ek round zhaala hota…Vaibhav saglyaat adhi aala hota…tyaala utsahani yewdhi bhook laagli hoti ki tyaane surwaat keli hoti…punyaatla initiator asla mule tyaane sarva dishes (mumbaiche pahune yenya aadhi) barobar aahet ka nahi test kariache tharavle asel kadachit ;) … Ashu, Kedar ani Avinash ni nantar tyaala saath dili…mast garma garam thaalipeeth.

Tya nantar mi pochlo tithe…gapaa taapa suruch hotey…tewnha Trupti ne call kela..tiney Kamat hotel madhe pahila khanyacha round poorna kela hota…ani magh ti amhala mathuret join zhaali.
Puneri misal ani thaalipeet parat magavnyaat aale…amhaala nahi tari vel kadhaicha hota…tyaat Trupti ne lavkaraat lavkaar teechi misal sampavli…ek-deed taas is what is Trupti's minimum time to finish the dish…Manager amchya jawalach basla hota…yedha vel time paas karnari pora baghun vaitaagla hota…saarkha ubharahun bagat hota hi kiti sampavla ahe khaana…pan aamhi hi durlaksha kareet hoto…nantar chaha maagavnyaat aale…Vaibhav limbu paani chi farmaish keli…pan ti hotel chya waiter ni naakarli…Trupti ne 7-up maagavle…tyaatla waiter ni ek sip maarli asey sagle Trupti la saangu laagle. Misal taaji nahi, hey trupti la patvoon denyaat khoop maja aali.

Parat ekda thalipeet ani chaha cha round zhaala…Avinash chi friend Renu ni join kele…teechya ni Trupti chya gappa aikne sarkhya hotya…

trupti: tu kuthe rahtes?
Renu: xyz [not to be disclosed on net]
trupti: arey mi hi ttithech rahte…xyz madhe kuthe..
renu: Abc
trupti: arey mi hi tithech rahte…

amche hasne ithe suru zhaale.

trupti: kuthli society
renu: efg

amche hasne ithe joraat suru zhaale.

trupti:arey what a co-incidence…mi hi tithech rahte…kuthli bldg…

amche comments: ata hya doghinna kalel ki aapan ekach flat madhe rahto [:D]
pan doghanchi bldg vegli hoti..

Vaibhav Nadkarni ni amhala join kele…tya velela amhi Mathura sodnyacha nirnay ghetla…tya velicha manager chya chehryacha anand veglach hota…thats what you call "chayn ki saans" chayn != jackie chan..saans = shwaas and not mother in law.

Baher padlyavar photo session suru zhaale…vaig veglya angles ni photos kadle…magh pudhcha question: ata kuthe jaiche?? 4-4:30 taas mathura madhe kadlyavar amhi McDonalds la pochlo…tey samorch hote…eka room chya pudhe "closed" cha board laavla hota…pan amchya saathi te open karnyaat ale…bahutek McD cha maalak GSB asava.
Tithe baslo…gappa marlya…chicken burgers khalae…time pass kela…magh gardi vadhayla laagli…ani amhala vicharnyaat aale "ki tumche khaun zhaale ka?" Vaibhav Parulkar ne agdi sopya ashya shabdaat khotey saangiltle ki amcha ek mitra yet ahe ani amhi tyaachi waat baghat aahot…ani amhi ajun 15-20 min tithe baslo. Magh sagle baher padhlo…pausaat discussions zhaale. Trupti ni thodi shopping keli (in record time...15 min!!!) McDee chya baher baslelya mansaabarobar pics kadle…ani tithe amchi official meet sampli. Sagle aaplya chehryavar ek veglach anand ani utsaha gheun ghari nighaale..[aap-aaplya]..ha "aap-aaplya" cha funda ithe nahi saangu shaknaar ;)
Snigdha yenaar asey bolli hoti…tya mule ji mulgi baher disel teech Snighda asel asey vichaar suru zhaale…konihi mulgi hotel madhe enter zhaali ki sagle…Snigdha-Singhda asey haaka maaru laagle…Snigdha la baryach uchkya laaglya asteel… :D

Ashi hi meet ekdam majet poorna zhaali…ani meet sampta sampta pudhcya meetche hi plans suru zhale…

- Amit Bokale
[AmBo]

Those who would like to be a part of the Pune chapter, please post comments here and we will get in touch with you.

Contributors to this blog are most invited…please keep mailing to mahagsb@googlegroups.com

Picking up pace...

A wonderful get-together with as many as about 20 enthusiastic members. The venue this time was moved to Aswad Hotel, as we are all foodies (and we needed some shelter incase it rained) and more than anything a place to sit and enjoy what we do the best!

Many pics were clicked and the links are posted...thanks Uma and Vaibhav. The pics that I have clicked are all that you see here.

They say a picture depicts what thousand words can say...and we have comments from members who made it to the meet and I can say these comments create the picture of the meet!

The first comment comes from Riddhesh Nadkarni. He writes, "I am happy to write 1st message abt our get together held on 28th July 07. It was an awesome experience, simply joyfull I enjoyed a lot, spl jokes cracked by Kedar, Mangesh, Ashu and Vivek. I truly appreciate everyone for their gsb spirits. One thing that was really appreciating was that everyone was trying to gel up with each other very well. The later half was more fascinating when we all satiated our hunger at Aaswad and then went towards Shivaji park for timepass. Sharing loads of jokes, experiences etc etc was an lucrative part of this meet."

Vivek Pai had a presentation to attend. Yet he managed to make it to the meet and he expresses his heartfelt thanks to all those who made it to the meet, "The meet was really awesome, although I reached late as I had a presentation, but the time I spent there was simply wonderful, right from good old friends Ashu, Kedu, Ajinkya, and Gurudas kaka, to Uma, Mangesh, we all were having a ball of time. I made so many wonderful new friends like Vaibhav, Asawari, Amit[Ambo], Manoj, Anagha.............It was truely like a family get-together, and I'm sure that, now we are not just friends but a family, who is gonna meet regularly, have fun together and also do some good work. My humble thanks to everyone who made it for the meet, you all are really great, sorry to the people who had come early but had to leave, we shall meet next time for sure."

Nagesh-anna joined in late, along with OKC (Sameer Halady) and he too shares the same feelings. He says the meet was fabulous. AmBo (Amit Bhokle) who made it to the meet for the first time (after giving "tang" for a few times) shares the same thoughts.

Sudnya made it to the meet after a hectic day and had to leave early. She says "It was so refreshing to see all GSB's under one roof and having fun...it was a pure pleasure to meet all of them"

The first timers had equal fun too. Nandini who made it to the meet first time wishes that she does not miss the up-coming meets. Well, Nandni, we don't want you to miss it either.

Anagha too does not want to miss the meets either, however she is flying to US on August 20 for about 3 years. She says that "OUR GSB FAMILY ROCKS" and she wishes to stay back just for these meets. Well...Anagha...we are having a farewell for you and we will definitely have meets when you touch India again. Also whatever you miss, our photographers and this blog will bring it live for you...wherever you are.

And it has for all those who have missed. Sumit, Reetika, Anagha Palekar, Nilesh Gholkar Manjula (mayi) Shenoy and Anitha Prabhu who missed the meet regret knowing what they missed.

Overall the meet can be summarized by what Mangesh and AmBo say "Cheers! to the wonderful time together...may such meets keep happening"

And we will ensure that the Maha GSB team keeps growing

We are also planning some social activities. So incase anyone has any suggestions, please do put them in the comments section and we'll definitely work them out as well.

From where it all started...

On May 12, a few orkutians of Maha GSB (also known as the Maharashtrian GSB) community came together and did what they were best at. It was all initiated about a couple of weeks back, when they thought of giving the e-life some real fun. And when the topic was initiated by Uma, there was an overwhelming response...a response that said in very simple words "Count me in"...and so there they were on May 12, sitting together

Most of them were seeing each other for the first time...and when they chatted for 5 mins it was like they used to sit on the katta every evening and have a cutting chai.

As Gurukaka says, "एकंदरीत मीटची नांदी तर खूप आनंदात , सुखदायी झाली. भेटलेल्या सर्वाना खरच खूप समाधान वाटल्याचे दिसते , हाच जोश , एकी , आपलेपणा कायम ठेवा."

Then Teja adds, "Aye tumha saglyana bhetun khup khup chaan vatle ,ani best part is majority of us were meeting for the first time n still were behaving as if bahut purane friends hai,good haan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!keep it up yaaron.....Eager to meet u all soon!!!!!! "

And as Vivek expressed, "The meet was awesome, hope there will be a lot more meets like these! Thanks for everyone who attended the meet, those who missed it please make it for sure the next time! Was thrilled to make so many new friend especially, Gurudas kaka! You all are so wonderful! Great to have you all as a part of my group!"

Vivek captured the meet with his expertise behind the cam which was apprecitated by everyone. One of the member, Anagha complimenting Vivek mentioned, "could not attend the meet, but the pics are awesme, good work buddy!".

Before we knew 2 hrs flew off as they were 2 mins and it was time to go home. And what was left was a lingering sweet taste like that of AAMRAS...sweet and long lasting. In short "They Came, They Met and They Enjoyed"

I was there when this happened and I am happy that I was there, cos I would not have liked to miss this!

To ensure that the sweetness continues, we are planning on creating the Maha GSB team...for GSBians and beyond!!! Well, that is we are not confining ourselves to be just Maharashtrian GSBians, we are Maha GSBians...all inclusive. The upcoming meet will mark the birth of this team. So if you care to be one of them, do join the team and enjoy the fun. For the rest, all I can say is you are really gonna miss something...that we will ensure!