firing in the bush

We have been sitting like carpenters,masons, with all our tools on a high street waiting for a customer to arrive....the only difference being our tools are called high tech or knowlege tools.



For example, my family has a laptop with (unlimited usage) data card, another laptop with a mobile modem; a desktop with high speed connections from 2 different vendors, webcams, printer & scanner, GPRS on 2 phones,and what not.



The question is where is the content? what are we doing? are we expert enough to offer a solution (except acting as a data-entry operator or secretary or typist)? or create a product? a concept that can be explored further and will build network around you?



I think we do not have enough subject domain knowledge and instead we are simply firing in the bush. These are the gadgets that we have gathered in this digital age whereby we spend all our free time instead of spending it with our family.

A LION amongst Rotarians?

I am a Rotarian and as you may be aware that there is Lions International, another large service organization. Rotarians use 'Rtn' as a title In front of their names whereas members of Lions International use " Lion" in front of their names.

When I started taking serious interest in LinkedIn and was looking forward to increase my no. of connections I saw there were many LIONs on LinkedIn. I was intrigued why there were many Lions and hardly any Rotarian. Well, my search took me to those LIONs - LinkedIn Open Networkers -and in the process I became a LION, LinkedIn Opene Networker, myself.

When one of my fellow Rotarians saw me using LION somewhere in my name he was shocked; he called me up and asked me how can I become LION along with being a Rotarian.

Lions International and their members are getting undue benefit due to this. Anyway, Good luck to Lions!

Social Networking

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp4UfBK5Zw8

My Ice-Breaker

When I was young life for me was eat, play and merry; Mr. Toastmaster, fellow Toastmasters and guests; born 47 years ago in downtown Mumbai, I was a happy go lucky guy. However, this lackadaisical attitude proved fatal when I was in VJTI,Mumbai’s premier engineering institution; and I had to give up engineering in 2nd semester only.

I took up Arts and did B. A. In Economics first and then in Psychology; Ten years later I did M.A. in Sociology and Masters in Investment Management followed by M.Phil in Futurology & Environment Management.

In the meantime I worked in Air-India for a brief period and then 5 years in State Bank before I joined Customs as Preventive Officer.

My job in Customs involves meeting a lot of people from all walks of life. But I would always cherish the memories of my selection as a part of Indian delegate for studying Container Scanners in USA & UK. This pilot project of Ministry Of Finance, directly monitored by PMO was a pleasurable experience working along with the US & UK team. The pilot project was successful one and is frequently visited by foreign delegates. This project gave me something intangible: direct contacts with many other Govt. & non-govt. authorities bypassing usual protocol.

Exactly 22 years and a day ago Sandhya, a college lecturer, became my better half. Our marriage probably might have killed her plans to do Ph.D; but this merger & acquisition gave us two concrete products, Pranav and Anupa. Son Pranav is 20 and a final year engineering student in Pune. Anupa is in Std.8th and enjoys painting.My extended family includes my four younger brothers.

Even though I switched over from engineering to arts & finance, my tryst with technology continued in the form of getting associated with by=products now as hobby. Ham Radio, Computers, High-end Audio became my objects of indulgence.

I am a qualified radio amateur operator, popularly known as Ham. Hams have been pursuing their hobby of speaking over a wireless set, even before the advent of the Internet. They also help in emergencies like disasters, earthquakes by providing communication support when normal channels of communication are down.

I like reading non-fiction & general interest books. In music Barbara Streisand & Harry Belafonte are my favourite singers.

This techno buff and gadget freak later on was intrigued by impact of technology on society; with fast changing technologies and ever pouring new gadgets I gave up my fascination for gadgets. I got fascinated by society, its study and took to social research when I realised that I was more interested in ‘human’ aspect of technology than technology itself. Trend watching & networking- social and real F2F (not exactly business) through various forums, groups, organisations, and social media became my new obsession.

Life starts at 40 as they say. It is the time when you start to find the purpose of life. Friends, I believe that by early or mid forties one should take up to societal causes. I can’t forget that my mother was a social worker and rose to become a vice-chairperson of Uran Municipal Corporation in Raigad district. I think the same ‘genes’ in me do not allow me to remain socially inactive either!

In the future I look forward to travelling all over the world ,meeting people from diverse culture, supporting social & ecological, environmental causes, starting various help / support groups e.g. for cancer/diabetes, entering media and above all becoming a catalyst in making India a great nation.

Friends, orality is the base of all human experience; we evolved with speech and not writing. It’s an ancient instinct to communicate and there lies my fascination for real Face to Face communication.

That's how I am here, amongst the toastmasters and I am sure that in your company I will be able to hone my skills in becoming a better speaker & effective leader.

who am I? v.2

In a solitude I question myself, "Why can't I stick to one subject or profession?"

As I said earlier, not a single activity alone I could feel at ease with. I have always experienced void when I have acquired knowledge of a particular subject....I am like that....some authors have labelled person like me as a Scanner, a person with interest in many things...many people have such interest,but Scanner is different in sense that he would like to taste the subject,so he go on acquiring knowledge or he wants to know more about that thing.

However, his interest seems to be limited to knowing that thing and most often once that quest is satisfied, he seems to be no more interested in that subject...and he is back to square one....So what is the next?...that is his quest!

Life is like that....no single thing alone can interest you. I want to experience many things....play many roles, put on many hats. People ask me where this life will lead me to....

I have to pause for a while ...first to listen to you and understand the question...what you wish to know...

It could lead me to public life dealing with society...may be getting associated with an NGO or something similar or getting in to politics....

...or it could lead me on the path of some spiritual duty...

who am I ?

I have studied Economics,Psychology as my undergraduate majors; studied Sociology,Investment Management as my graduate majors; pondered with subjets like Futurology & Environmnet Management for my Post-Graduate study.

However, my heart could not be touched by one of these subjects alone; I have felt that all are part of me and to be practicising one of this subject alone could be feeling of incompleteness. And it is trrue that branding one as an Economist,Psychologist,Sociologist is a frail attept to put him in a narrow confinement , like in a pigeon-hole.

I must admit that for my day to day living I may be playing a part here and there as an investment analyst or investor,when you are evaluating a company or a mutual fund;psychologist and/or Sociologist when you are watching somebody and trying to analyse somebody's behaviour. However, life is not so compartment-tight.

Instead I see myself as a man or human being first and I would not like to categorise myself in any stereo-types. Call me a generalist or better call me a comoner. I am what I am ...sucking honey from beautiful flowers...experiencing many things from life and enjoying good things amongst them.

I am a mortal man having many desires and one of them is to transcend all the desires.

Gmail - Fwd: Software Engineers ..... this is how ....

Gmail - Fwd: Software Engineers ..... this is how ....

The Good Ad,Bad Ad

The Good AD

This is a ad of Toyota, probably!
 
We  see a beautiful, leggy girl bending down beneath a bonnet of a car in a sugarcane field....probably her car is broken....we also see it is a TOYOTA car.
 
You see another car approaching her and seeing that she needs a help the car has slowed down...the car has two occupants a middle aged one (father) driving the car and a younger one (son) sitting next to him...as he was nearing the troubled car, suddenly the car accelerates and sped away crossing the troubled car...the son asks the father, "but why"...father answers," It's a trap! Have you seen a broken down TOYOTA?"...
 
...as the car passes down the troubled car the beautiful lady takes out the mask and we see an ugly looking scoundrel looking at the passing car...
 
I liked this ad as it talks great about a dependable car…that is hard to be found broken…a confidence that people have in the Toyota car....
 
The Bad Ad
As a bad ad I would like to take example of an ad having a  social message that is being broadcast on Big 92.7 FM radio station (Mumbai channel)…. It is called Garv Mumbaise
The message goes like this:
Mumbai, mahanagari…sitaronki nagari…apani nagari…mumbai kiski…apani…
Ravi Shastri kiska ?...Apana….Sachin Tendulkar kiska ? …Apana….aur voh tumhara Amitabh ?….tees saal se apana…..
Have you noticed the words, “Voh tumhara”?....Probably you may also be guessing same as me …..you notice that   when you hear the ad the word “tumhara”…”your” creates distance, difference and denotes not belonging to the same group
How can a bad ad be made a good ad
The message is meant to diffuse a communal, sectarian feelings …Maharashtrians,North Indians etc….that are generated by politicians and largely being spread in this  city by media….. the intent is good….
however, ...well the words has always pinched me…I wrote to  the station…many might have written…they dropped that word “tumhara”…
But still “aur voh Amitabh”…..I believe even the word  ‘voh’ shows some degree of difference/dissimilarity  and if that word “voh” is removed the ad message can be effective one……

Expectations from parents

Dear Pranav & Anupa,

The following may be your expectations and they are perfect;do not be afraid: speak out; although we may be yelling at you for things which may not be appropriate behavoiur, you have all the right to not get intimadated by our actions.

1. Don't shout at us:it humilates us,
2. Don't scold us; we get frightened,
3. Don't ask us about study:we are doing it as per our capability,capacity & convinience ,
4. Don't ask us about quantity/quality of food we get:it's proper in quantity/quality.

We believe that the following are your expectations: for things to be bought for us / home.Please specifiy the period within which it should be bought.

1. Personal desktop PC or laptop,
2. Any improvement gadgets for PC/laptop? ,
3. Personal music system ,
4. Increase in money allowance;how much?,
5. Big screen TV;probabaly Plasma or LCD or Projector,
6. A car for family: new or second-hand; any particular brand/model?

What are your expectations about money/investment?

1. Should more percentage of money (income) be invested or consumed?,
2. Do you believe in investing more than consumption so that the future can be better?,
3. Do you feel that money should be saved or invested for higher education of children? ,
4. Do you believe in improvement or investment in human being?...I mean spending more for qualitative improvement of a human being:here yourself?,
5. Would you like to do certain courses that will empower yourself to face life ahead?,
6. Any other expectations not listed above?

Dear Pranav

Dear Pranav,

I understand that you are not interested in doing a job! That's a fine; in fact, a nice thing to know that you will be creating jobs for others.

However, you know that one need to take some sort of experience and a job is a cheapest way of getting good experience in learning and honing the basic skills of the trade.However, job does not necessarliy tell you about doing the business.

To get insight into the great minds that have shined in their respective field, I feel, you should read their biographies/autobiographies.I know that all young minds are hooked to likes of Bill Gates & Larry Page/Sergie (BTW have you read books authored by Bill Gates?).Their is yet one one more book called "iWoz" by co-founder of Apple.Steve Wozniak.....go get it and read it...
Now something on education of clebrated drop-outs like Bill Gates and Azim Premji.However, do you know that Aziz Premji did complete his last remaining semester by distance learning (Stanford University) and obtained his B.S. (Engg.)? Similarly Bill Gates was offered doctoral degrees for what he is?

I have been trying to tell you that it doesn't matter what you are studying or doing but doing nothing and only sleeping for long hours or being lazy is nothing but a criminal waste of time!

At this juncture let me and mom assure you that we shall support all your endeavour of becoming an enterpreneur.So go ahead...dream big and work even harder to realise the dream.

With all love...

Your Dad & Mom.

Help poor & needy

One of the best way to repay society or community is to help not so fortunate people of the society.

It would, however, be very difficult to help individual person and hence the best way is to help through some specialised organisations. I am happy when I sponsor a child or an old person through Helpage.Or donate to the Cancer Aid Society. I have been helping few such organisations but the help is limited to few thousand bucks a year.

One of the better way is to help community or society is through a service organisation like Rotary club or Lions Club, wherein you can participate yourself in sharing the joy of helping people.Such clubs are good in a sense they are broader in their perspective and help people in different situations and have many projects for up-liftment or betterment of less fortunate of the society.As I said you can participate in not only shelling out money but also in identifying the needy people, projects and distributing the help to such people.These clubs, in the process,give an opportunity to the participating members to groom themselves.

I am a HAM...an amateur radio operator...my ham station is gathering dust as my priorities have changed and unfortunately not able to give time to my nice hobby. I am thinking of making available my entire station available for use by licensed hams.I have yet to work out the modalities like providing a separate entrance to the station,time for operation of the station etc.

I feel proud when Anupa puts some coin into her school's "poor-box".It is different thing that my kids are not in-born publicity seeker. Few months back, when Anupa had told me that a girl in her class had donated Rs.500 in the poor-box, I had promised her to at least equal that much amount on her birthday for poor-box.I gave her Rs.1000. When she was back from her school I asked her what happened ,she said she put it in the box. I was curious to know if she was congratulated for donating 1K. I asked her whether she told that to her teacher she said "No"....so there goes...

Anyway Anupa did that purely on instinct ... to be able to help poor...she does not help for winning approval by others...so on second thought I was happy for Anupa.

In the year 2007 I wish to donate more to such organisations and yes, donate to TRF...that's The Rotary Foundation....

What about Sandhya & Pranav?...are they donating?...hope they better start donating...at least take baby steps...remember whatever goes (money) comes back (goodwill)...

Self-Help (for 2007)

These are few of the the tips that I came across in the recent past. Call it tips or new resolutions, they look quite impressive...as observing them may take you to the higher level of happiness.

2007 is round the corners....would you not like to make resolutions? Here are some worth mentioning....

1.Remove clutter;make home,life clutter-free
2.Pay special attention to Health and do exercise
3.Get organised
4.Spend more and more time with family & friends
5.Enjoy life more
6.Prioritise
7.Do / indulge in fewer but meaningful activities
8.Stricter diet control
9.Help to poor & needy
10Speak no ill of others
11.Work on self-esteem

Vadapav Day

Students at my daughter's school were asked to bring snacks for a fundraiser on 14th November (2006), the Children's Day. She had taken potato vadas;there were heap of vadas and vadapavs for sale on the day and she also ate lot of them-at school and also back home.Incidentally she also noticed that it was a World Diabetes Day and see what she thought in an alongside picture : it was a Vadapav Day too!

Women's Day

A strange and interesting incidence........

It started in our office bus on 7th March 2006....

While travelling to our office, the womenfolk declared that next day (8th March) menfolk from the bus should give the womenfolk ( in bus) a party or treat as 8th March was a Women's Day....and then there are some men, everwilling to please the womenfolk agreed to the proposal...

...what we learned from the gals,in the evening while returning back to home, was they have been granted their wish by bosses and the next day they will be able to have a half day tour or picnic for sightseeing in the town...they will visit a famous beach in the town,go to port/docks area,visit a shiva temple and more important they will get a half day "off".... they showed us a printed circular to that effect....

...it was very interesting....

On the next day,the 8th March, as per the circular they were to leave the office, at 2 p.m., in 4 office buses, for sightseeing...well, as you may have gathered that the preparation for leaving the office started at noon itself....there were announcements made on office P.A. system about the buses leaving....and all gals were asked to assemble in the office porch not later than 1.45 p.m.....

... we met again at 6 p.m., in the bus, for going back to home, and learned that all gals enjoyed the hospitality provided by our employer...they were provided snacks also...and all womenfolk in our office were really happy.... more so because they got a "off".... and because they forced menfolk of the employer to part with concessions which included "off" also....

...all was good...untill a thought came to my mind ....

...alas, if they could have commanded all these things instead of demanded.....

Journey to Gandhigram

Journey to Gandhigram


Our journey to the city of Gandhigram was excellent…in fact a revealing one…..
…nestle away from humdrum of city life…Gandhigram is really a place making a story for me..

…I was struck by its serene belongingness to the nature…. pristine beauty….unlike inhuman settlements of metros….

…it was a striking example of how  challenging and rewarding a lifestyle can be….given the advancement in telecommunications you need to  live in such serene  places to attain the nirvana, yet remain abreast with the world….

Away from all noises, small towns will remain  in vogue in near future to come…

India is going thru a period when consumerism is at peak…it can be seen from demand for consumer goods …this phase has demand already passed  for advanced civilizations like Europeans….now they are after search for a blissful nirvana…

My stay at Gandhigram was also a good revelation how much we need for living…
Man eats for his tongue unlike animals who eat for their stomach…we were told that we will get only a working lunch…..we thought it’s okay for us, instead of going out…
..we had veg biryani and korma and tomato rice and chutney…for lunch…
…having experienced how much we eat in cities…presented with so many dishes… we thought ,for moment, will it be sufficient for us or we will have to get up during the night and search for food?…however, as we were consuming that food, towards the finish we found that the quantity was just sufficient for subsistence and our stomach was not laden with unnecessary extras…

…the food was in fact such a nice and soothing….the masalas were to the extent of just bringing out flavour, aroma, to make it palatable…also acting as anti-dotes on many ill-effects of pesticides that enter into the food…..yet refraining from making it heavy…

…given a misnomer, eating only rice will put us dosing….we found that although our food consisted of rice, at lunch,yet we never felt such urge to doze….

….for dinner two thick chapaties/parathas and a gram based dish and chana…. at around 7.30 p.m…..unlike time for dinner for me…here also when we were consuming our second chapati we found that our stomach was full…realized that the food in this quantity is sufficient….…we tend to consume more in evening ‘coz in working families it is the dinner at which all family members are together and hence, many dishes are prepared and we tend to eat more….

….7’ o clock in evening and you don’t see vehicular  noises ….no TV or music being honked…. there is no usual humdrum… nothing of this sort….you tend to figure out why this lull,  is there any mistake?…no Sir, this is GRI, Gandhigram… we are amazed at the nature here, serenely calm…a person like me, born and brought up in Mumbai…I was wondering if I will be able to pass my time….then realized that I am here for study….for attending the classes…..so I sat down and opened my books and started reading …this is the place , I thought, you need environment like this for concentrating on your subjects…

…after the end of the second day of the class, when my classmates had gone back home and I was still there in the hostel…my flight was on the next evening…I felt a big void…how a man can spend his time in isolation  or solitude…at the same time I was wondering what my son may be feeling when he is alone at his hostel, when his friends are away….but then realized that this situation is needed if you have to achieve something and also good for concentration…..

Sony MP3/MP4 Player

Sony MP3/MP4 Player

Hi! This is a new SONY player bought from V.T. area and I do not think it's an original one...but cost me only 2.2K for 512 MB model.Not used much but audio/video quality is ok for it's price.Take a look at it...

<== This is my new SONY MP3/MP4 Player.It is a 512MB device which can play and record mp3/mp4 files,has an FM radio and can be used as a removable disk also.

This is a selection screen ==>

Tom & Jerry video.=== =========>

Hope you will like it.

Load Shedding…

Life without electricity? Can we think that now?.....it frightens us terribly…..but that’s the fact now in Maharashtra… two hours to twelve hours a day…even parts of Mumbai, on the outskirts have to bear load shedding…

But think this way….suppose you are at home…a holiday…or simply no other work to do or attend…like once you are back from office…

…there is a TV, computer, music system….and with prices of these things coming down we probably have multiple units of these items…..

…and hence one kid is glued to a computer and the internet and at the same time music system is honking….

…your wife is probably watching Ekta Kapoor wannabe… or perhaps song rendering/dance or watching any get rich reality show competition…..

…daughter is on Cartoon Network….

…and you, yourself probably trying to get glimpses of highlights of India-Pak series and news in-between….

….we see that there is hardly any time for interaction…everyone is busy minding their own business….forgetting that actually your home is a place for you to be a family…

… when your young son comes back from hostel, on week-end, you feel that he will engage in conversation with you, daughter will tell you about her school tit-bits…but you hardly see these things happening…or at least this routine task is being done superficially and they are back to their own business…

....you really can’t do anything…times have changed….unlike some 20 years back when these avenues for entertainment were not available aplenty…and now there is a lot of exposure and avenues for entertainment today….

…..although we require electricity & power for almost everything …considering above scenario, I don’t feel bad when there is a power failure due to load shedding….

…so what can we do when there is a load shedding….

1. experience the nature…birds chirping, whistling sound and subtle touch of wind
2. read newspapers, books….when day light is available
3. do exercise…open you windows and try to do simple things like breathing exercises, light exercises…
4. drawing and painting….
5. play cards, carom etc. with your family… just to foster togetherness… and it’s the best time to discuss various issues…social or concerning your own family.. .
6. simply talk…interact with other family members…this could be the best thing you can do…


True to their ingenuity, kids would like to add the following activities..
1. this is the best time to use laptop when dad is not going to object…
2. use your mp3/mp4 player to see your favourite downsized movie, cartoon clips, or just listen to your favourite tracks…
3. keep on eating….
4. do nothing…simply lay down…just perfect for lazyards…

Konkan Backwaters-III

DAT#3
The last Day
26th December2005

This was the last day of our tour.We were told to start early so that we could cover as many places.

We decided to take some pictures around our resort, Pratik.









As usual we started late, at around 09:30 a.m.We proceeded to Dabhol harbour from where we took a ferry to cross over to Guhagar.We then called on to Velneshwar Temple.One can grasp beutiful scene of Konkan backwaters on the way to Velneshwar. Velneshwar has a beautiful beach; however, again the organisers did not stop at the beach citing a delay.So sad, everyone felt.

From Velneshwar we proceeded to Hedvi Ganesh Temple few kilometers away.The Ganesh here is a tem armed idol.

We had lunch at Suruchi Baug near Hedvi.We were served a grand vegetarian and non-vegetarian lunch. The non-veg lunch had 2-3 varieties of fish, which was liked by fish-eating folks amongst us.

After lunch we started our journey beck to Mumbai.

On the way we halted at Lord Parsuram Temple at Lote Parshuram.You have to climb down steps to reach the temple.It's 300 years old temple and has 3 idols.

From Lote Parshuram we halted at Hotel Pagoda and had a high tea.We stopped at "Kshanbhar Vishranti" where we had our dinner before finally reaching Mumbai.

It was a memorable experience largely because of nice company of our co-travellers.

Konkan Backwaters-II

DAY#2
25th December2005

Only Backwaters

This was a day we were looking for as most of the particpants had come to have experience of Backwaters only. I have visited Kerala for official work on many occasion but not been to Kerala Backwaters which I would love to do.

On the second day we were a bit late to start. We had to travel 90 km to Tarkarli, Chiplun for boarding engine boat for Backwater experience.Here, we were welcomed by members of Chiplun Nagarpalika (Municipal Corporation).All Chiplunkars are looking forward to have Konkan a developed tourist destination and dreaming of developing Backwater tourism.






Here we are proceeding towards the boat.






In the boats......




A beautiful house on the river bank...


Barges digging out sand...



Lot of crocodiles resting on the river bank...in fact it was a "crocodile spotting" sport!



S.N.Pendse's famous Marathi novel " TUMBADCHE KHOT" has been swirled around this house in Tumbad, which is on the banks of Jagbudi River.



Beautiful scenery on the bank of Jagbudi River touching Tumbad...



A Konkan Railway train passing by...


We had a great time at Tumbad. We were welcomed by Tumbadites with flowers.We had a very nice breakfast at lunch time (Brunch)... bhakris(rotis),jawla(babelets of prawns),thalipits...Thereafter we had a nice informal discussion with the Khot shet on whom S.N.Pense based his famous novel.He told us about how S.N.Pense came to know about Tumbad and also how he made Tumbad exportable!

We then proceeded to Maldoli by boat for lunch and had a heavy lunch at Tea time around 4 p.m. A cultural program was also arranged but as we were very late only one piece of folk dance was presented.



A traditional Zakdi folk dance...


We set for Dabhol at around 5:30 p.m. All were sad that we would be missing further backwater experience from Maldoli to Dabhol as we were late. Reached Dabhol at 8 p.m. and our day ended with dinner at around 10 p.m.

Konkan Backwaters

How lousy and lazy am I?...a lot, I would confess!

We had been to Konkan for backwater tour and I had decided that I would write about the tour immediately upon my arrival in Mumbai.But now it's almost three weeks that I am back from the tour am yet to write on Konkan.

We carried a borrowed Sony camcorder.I had to tell my son to do photography umpteen number of times and therefore the tour was not covered on video the way I would have liked;nevertheless it was a wonderful and memorable tour.

The tour was organised by Konkan Paryan Vikas Sanstha , not to be confused for a look alike charitable or developmental agency but promoted as a company by Mr. Sanjay Yadavrao,(on left) a young enterpreneur having an engineering degree.A staunch Kokani, his ambition is to make his Kokan a tourist destination with a difference:ecotourism.


We started off from Dadar, at around 10 p.m. on 23rd December2005, in a 15 seater bus.We had this elderly couple,Mr. 7 Mrs.(Dr.) Kudalkar (on right), as our accompanied passengers at Dadar. One cople (Mr. & Mrs. Boraskar) boarded at Kharghar in New Mumbai.One Yogesh Tople was our guide.


DAY # 1
24th December2005

We reached early morning at Dabhol and were put up at Pratik Resort, a beautiful serene place.We rested there till 8 a.m. before we started for our first day of konkan Backwater tour.There we were joined by Two more families : Raje(s) and Shinde(s).

First we travelled southward for 2 km and reached Chandika Temple.It's a cave temple formed by force of water of a monson flowing Konkan river.You have to bend a bit to move inside in darkness to reach the deity.The deity itself is a "Swaimbhoo" meaning naturally occured or formed deity.This photograph was taken just outside the temple within the temple premises.The temple is surrounded by beautiful small waterfall and a valley.Kids liked to play around the area.

From there we moved to North and landed at a place called Kolthare.We were told that we can see a traditional Konkani House (which hardly exists thesedays)and we were infact shown one such a house of Vaidya (Doctor) Mahajan (left,with folded hands).Dr. Mahajan,I believe is an Ayurvedic doctor, a Manufaturer of AGOM brand of Ayurvedic/Herbal products and his products are regularly being advertised on TV channels (that's what i was told...I don't see much of TV as I have many interests to spare my spare time!).


Thereafter we were taken to a sea beach. The beach at Kolthare is untouched by many homeosapiens,unspoilt one and therefore a beautiful beach.We spent a quite a time there seeing our kids enjoying in knee-level water.





We had a sumptuous lunch at a Brahmin's house and we were literally forced to take a rest at the place as there was no scheduled program during the day.Why we were taken to Kolthare is a still a mystery to us.There was nothing to be seen at the Kolthare.The unkept promise of a visit to Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth and also of a visit to one more beach in the afternoon were the negative points as far as organisers are concerned.

The night "Mehfil" was too good an opportunity to showcase talents of individual members and Mr. Ashish Raje was a star performer in doing mimickery.Shinde family also put in their worth.Not to forget Mr. Boraskar also sung few Hindi old numbers.In all a beautiful experience and a feeling of having a gala time ahead!