Sunday, June 8, 2014

Pumbai - Finally!!!

The much awaited Maha GSB event of the year was finally here. This event was announced a month back and within two weeks, we were looking forward to the event as though we have been waiting for this event since ages. It wasn't that we knew each other since ages, much rather, most of us were meeting each other for the first time. We were connected over whatsapp in the recent few days and all that we knew about each other were our phone numbers and to some extent our display pics. 
Being connected on whatsapp had built-up the enthusiasm to an extent that the topic of conversation on the group over the last few days before the meet was majorly on how early can we meet and the acitivities that we do. We had 3 cars from Mumbai and 3 from Pune converging at Vadkhal naka, on way to Alibag. It was a nice specatacle of 6 cars following each other thru the lanes of Alibag and Varsoli. Most of us were not known to each other till we reached the resort and it did not matter, cause the moment all cars were parked, we were helping each other with unloading the cars and settling in the resort.
The resort was just a namesake...we made it our second home as we settled in. After freshening up, it was time to hit the beach. And the beach we truly enjoyed to the core, from playing cricket to volleyball to water sports. Amidst all these, the kiddos (Ira, Shivam and Aditya) were busy splashing in the water, thoroughly enjoying their heart out. Even with a varied age group, there was not a soul who was idle or left out.
Fun and food are two words that are a inherent part of all our get-togethers. From chai and wada pav on the beach to an awesome chicken dum biryani for dinner at the resort, jawla-pav and omlette for breafast and then a full-spread lunch at Fulora (Alibag), we relished food all thru the meet. Fun factor was always on...from the moment we started our journey to Varsoli till we left the resort, then some more at Alibag while having lunch and the lingering moments at Pen when we had say good-bye, much against our wishes. We spent an hour clicking photos, not because we were photo-crazy, but we wanted those moments to last as long as possible. They will, in our memories, till we meet again.
This event was significant in many ways. Firstly, this event introduced the Pune team to the Mumbai team and was the grandest ever with close to 30 friends meeting. Most meeting first time, and yet within 24 hours being so close as though the friendship was ages old. Secondly, in a diverse age group, no one felt left out. Even the toddlers Ira and Shivam enjoyed to the fullest. Thirdly, whatsapp was relived that weekend. We were so busy enjoying and connecting offline, that except for sharing a few pics with those who missed the meet, there wasn't much happening online. A group that boasts of nearly 1000 messages a day was dry at less than 20 messages. Lastly and most importantly, there was no one at the helm. We did have an organizing team - Sanket (resort booking), Vaibhav (co-ordinating the Pune team and finalizing resort), Sanyukta (getting all information needed) and the rest contributed in their own way. It was a team event and everyone contributed in their own way to ensure that it was successful.

If you enjoyed reading the blog, do comment your thoughts. Do you wish to just read the blog, or be a part of the events as well? If you are interested and want to know more, do get in touch with us. You can email us as mahagsb@googlegroups.com or feel free to call Ashutosh (+91-9820992403).