C H A I M A S T I
PAST HAPPENINGS AT CHAI MASTI
1. HANDWRITING COMPETITION - 18TH APRIL 06
Enthusiastic members of the Chai Masti Club participated in the Handwriting Competition with the keenness of kids. It was a lovely sight to see all heads concentrating on the papers in their hands and trying to put their most beautiful handwriting on paper. About 30 members participated in the handwriting competition. One was reminded of their school days. The competition was held in English, Marathi and Gujarati.
2) A WONDERFUL WEDDING AT DIGNITY CHAI MASTI ON 11TH JULY 2006
Dignity Foundation, BMC School Building, Topiwala Lane, Opp. Lamington Road Police Station, Mumbai 400 007. India.
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"The Happy Couple" - The Bhiwandkars
After the launch of the magazine, the first service started by the Dignity Foundation was the 'Companionship Service', as a part of its "Chai-Masti" Club. It reached its culmination on 10 July 2006, when we conducted a Silver Wedding in our premises. It was a dream come true...
Bipin Bhiwandkar and Chayya Rajpurkar, who had lost their respective partners, met in the Club, and love bloomed! Though it was almost 'Love at First Sight' for Mr Bhiwandkar, it took some time for Mrs Rajpurkar to come out of her societal restrictions. Finally, with the blessings and cooperation of their grown-up children, they tied the knot on 4 July, clubbing it with the date of freedom in the US.
What a welcome they received when they came to the Club for the first time after their "Day"! A mini marriage ceremony, with the 'Shehnai' flowing in the background, had the whole place bubbling with joy and laughter.
It was indeed a very bold decision by the couple as well as their families, breaking the conventional norms forbidding remarriage after the loss of a spouse! The icing on the cake was that their families were also actively involved in the ceremony. They were also present through the "Chai-Masti", enjoying the occasion.
Dignity Foundation was setup in 1995 to help make life better and meaningful for the Seniors, and this was definitely achieved on that day!! The evening ended with the couple being blessed by all the Elderly members of the 'Chai Masti' Club. The memories of the evening will remain with all of us for years to come...
3) ESSAY COMPETITION - 30th June 2006
Members want some competition to participate in. When the Essay competition was announced, about 20 members participated and we had beautiful dreams and thoughts on paper. The topic for the competition was "A Dream at Dawn" and it was held in English, Marathi and Gujrati.
4) FANCY DRESS COMPETITION AT THE CHAI MASTI CLUB- 8th August 2006
Members at the Chai Masti club love activities and competitions and that's what really encourages us to organise more and more events and competitions that would keep the whole group lively and interested. When the idea of a fancy dress was mooted to the members, many literally jumped at it, barring a few who talked of inhibitions and the perennial "What will people say?" After some convincing and assurances, they were all set for the competition. I received a total of 25 entries!!!!!
It had been raining cats and dogs a day before the competition and we were greatly worried about how the competition would shape up. It had already been postponed once from July to August. A day before the competition, just three members had turned up at the club.
But on August 8 the enthusiasm had to be seen to be believed!!! We were reminded of our school days and such competitions.The amount of trouble the seniors had taken to dress up for the event was commendable! We had emphasised the importance of original ideas in the fancy dress competition. We were indeed pleasantly surprised with all the ideas each one came up with. We had a Warkari couple, Sai Baba, Colgate toothpaste, Kashmiri Lady, Muslim Lady in a Burkha (audience were surprised to find a gentleman inside), A Pirate, Flower Pot, Deity from a temple, Keep Mumbai City Clean Message Box, 'Swaraj' Tilak, Traffic Police, A Marwari couple, Statue of Liberty..
The toughest job was deciding the winning entry. Full points to all participants for their effort, spirit and enthusiasm!
Long live the spirit at the Chai Masti Club!!!!!
Wakankars the winners of the Fancy Dress - the Warkari Couple
Rajnikant Shah, runners-up at the Fancy Dress, Message Box "Keep Mumbai City Clean"
5) ANTAKSHARI - 28TH, 29th and 30th AUGUST 2006
6 teams (2 per team) from our Chai Masti members participated in our three day Antakshari. The Antakshari took them back to the 60 and 70s. In the three day long Antakshari, not only were the old Hindi numbers hummed, but there was a quiz on Old hindi music and cricket. Three teams were eliminated on the first 2 days, leaving 3 teams for the finals. The Senior Citizens' passions old hindi film songs were evident with the way they fared at the Antakshari finale.
6) FANCY DRESS COMPETITION and ANTAKSHARI PRIZE DISTRIBUTION - 1st September 2006
The prizes for the Fancy Dress Competition and Antakshari were given by Mr.Suresh Saraiya, one of the earliest and leading All India Radio English cricket commentators.
Anarkali Velkar, Manager Chai Masti, introduces the Chief Guest, Suresh Saraiya at the Prize Distribution
Suresh Saraiya entertained the members with his lively talk
Hemlata Parekh, won the "Best Chai Masti Member Award" for being the one of the oldest and most enthusiastic member.
Padmakar Bhiwandkar, receives the Fancy Dress Competition Participation prize. He was the Muslim Lady in a Burkha.
Mr.Namjoshi sharing a few words about the occasion.
7) THE BRIDGE FESTIVAL AT THE CHAI MASTI CLUB - 7th and 8th September 2006
Bridge, a game that started with just about 2 or 3 members, has now multiplied to around 25 to 30. These members, who started learning bridge only as a hobby or a pastime, took the game seriously under the initiative of our Foundation volunteer member Mr.Uttam Gianani. When he volunteered to teach bridge at the Chai Masti Club, there were only 4 members and the interest infected everyone around and today the entire room is filled with 25 to 30 members. I am sure that Mr.Uttam Gianani must be really happy that his efforts bore fruits.
When we came up with this idea of organizing a tournament for our members, at first no one was really ready. They all said "We are all here to learn and play Bridge only for entertainment and fun, we do not want to play the game seriously."
We decided to have a Bridge Festival instead of a tournament and with time, the enthusiasm to participate in the festival could be felt. On the 7th and 8th September 2006, the Festival took place with 12 pairs participating. The Director of the Festival was Dr.Krishnakumar Vahalia, who is also a member of the Foundation and himself a National and International Bridge Player and has also been a Director at the National Level. He too volunteered to teach Bridge and conduct the tournament.
Mrs. Hema Deora, who is a National and International Bridge Player herself, inaugurated the Festival. The Awards given away Mr.Anand Dalal, who is one of the Trustees of the Trust that helped us start the Enrichemnt Centre. He was extremely pleased to be see the number of activities happening at the Centre and also be invited for the Prize Distribution.
Mr.Uttam Gianani (left) receiving prize from Mr.Anand Dalal (right)
Mr. Anand Dalal (Centre)
addressing the Members
Mrs.Hema Deora inaugurating
the Bridge Festival, with Dr.Vahalia,
the Director of the Festival
8) DRAWING COMPETITION - 10th August 2006
Festive atmosphere around, competitions made it even more festive. We started with the Drawing competition, the topics being Celebrating Navratri or Diwali. Imaginative and beautiful, pencil sketches was the outcome. It was wonderful to see our seniors, with steady hands, come up with such beautiful pictures.
9) RANGOLI COMPETITION - 20th October 2006
With Diwali just round the corner, we had a Rangoli Competition and once again there was keen participation with beautiful Rangolis by seniors brightening the atmosphere. Would you believe it, that we had more male participants against a lone woman, competing spiritedly and coming out winners.
The second prize winner at the Rangoli Competition Mr.Rajnikant Bhavsar
There was a tie for the 3rd prize between Amrut Patel and the only female participant - Niranjana Seth