Let's get started!

Here are some of the action points from yesterday's meeting in Pashan.

Toy collection will go on for a month's time in Panchvati which is home to many societies/apartments in Pashan. Arvind who runs One Life activities has offered Success Club as the toy storage space for the drive. And we already saw two bags of toys donated by yesterday :)

Everyone will send in their recommendations of any NGOs they have worked with in and around Pashan (and elsewhere in Pune). This'll help us during distribution of toys.

Initially our target will be to do one distribution per month depending on the toys collected and hence reach out to kids in Pune.

And guess what I was thrilled to see some special volunteers at the meeting. Around 6 kids joined us in the meeting yesterday :) . They are willing to be volunteers for the drive as soon as they are done with their exams!

Toy drive in Pashan, Pune

Volunteers in Pune - get ready to join us for toy drives in Panchvati, Pashan.
Toybank toy drives will be on in various buildings/societies in Panchvati.

We'll be collaborating with volunteers in Pashan and One Life to kick start this toy drive.
We have a meeting scheduled today at 2 PM.

Date:	Saturday, February 14, 2009
Time:	2 - 3 PM
Location:	One Life Activity Club,Near State Bank Nagar Society,Panchvati
Street:	Pashan Road
City	Pune

Here's the agenda for the meeting.

(1) Chalk out plans for toy drive in various buildings/societies in Pune .
(2) Discuss how we can get volunteers from Pune who can help us in collection, gift-wrapping and distribution with the help of One Life and also by spreading a word across all societies.
(3) Involve Volunteers from One Life in our distribution events and hence encourage inclusive play.
(4) Identify NGOs in and around Pashan so that distributions can happen in same area.
(5) Discuss on how we can schedule monthly or fortnightly meetings/follow ups.
(6) Discuss any other ways how we can collaborate with One Life to spread the message.

Please mail us at pune@toybank.org in case you have any queries.

Also there are toy drives happening in Juhu Vile Parle, Mumbai starting from 16th of February till 7th of March. Find out more here.

This is a toy collection and distribution drive set up all through JVPD Scheme, Mumbai. Students from the MBA Tech program from the Mukesh Patel Institute are initiating this Toy rally all through mid February and March. People living around these areas can fully support this activity if interested. Please write in to mail@toybank.org for more details.

Let us give back the right to a childhood!

LokSabha Polls - Corporatized!

Well the dates are out for the LokSabha polls. While I read the newspaper an idea struck my head!

Me: All these candidates with nominations for LS polls should go through a test before they are given the candidature. Who ever fares well will contest the election from that party!

Kunal: You wish. The test will be rigged!

Now that's the kind of confidence all of us have in the transparency of politics in India. I later realized how stupid my idea was. It sounded very much like a dream but I definitely want that to happen very soon!

I strongly feel politicians should take a test for contesting in elections.
I am not sure on what basis each party gives them a candidature. The ones who are loyal to bosses and the madams or may be the ones who make money speak for them!

I as a citizen of this country would definitely want the leader from my constituency to know a few basic things based on which I would choose him because he's being chosen to deliver what I want!

The test can revolve around things like these -

(1) How much does the candidate know about the constituency?
Sonia Gandhi and Sushma Swaraj both contested from Bellary few years ago. But did they know what the people of Bellary wanted in the next 5 years?! And what the problems were and what kind of development was required?

(2) Problems to be handled on priority in his/her constituency in the term
Every candidate must be aware of what are the bottlenecks bothering the people in the constituency and how to deal with them if he/she wins. Their agenda should be known to the public before they contest.

(3) The challenges India's facing with regard to the global scene
The candidate should be able to understand and relate to the challenges India's facing and contribute to the development by developing his/her own constituency.

And finally when all the above said things are on track (I hope I'll be alive to see it if and when it happens that is) - well the best part - 'the results' should be conveyed to everyone in the constituency once every year. And the candidate's agenda should be updated for the next year.

More importantly I feel all the results against the agenda should be 'quantifiable'.
Well only if the Election Commission took note of all this gyaan from the corporate world!

It's true - India mein mufat ka 'serious' gyaan bhi milta hain :D

Liverpool Fever

16th Dec 2007, Liverpool 0-1 Man Utd
I know nothing about football but am still watching the game.
I want to understand this game. I want to know all facts about English Premier League so that when I get married I can watch all the weekend Liverpool games with Kunal.

13th Sept 2008, Liverpool 2-1 Man Utd
My happiness knows no boundaries today and yes indeed! - I have become one of those people who stay glued to TV for 2 hours every weekend and never miss any game of their favourite club.

12th Dec 2008


It's very soon going to be exactly one year that I started watching EPL. I have watched almost all the Liverpool games this season and even if I have missed one that's coz I was traveling :). And my husband has taken care of how to stay updated no matter where you are - check this out!

Guess what! - I have even managed to watch other clubs' games just to see who's gonna stay on top of the table :D

Vote for Shweta Chari

Toybank's in town!

Toybank's first toy collection drive is on!

I thought it's always nice to get started by creating awareness in the neighborhood first. Hence the first toy collection drive is happening in my society next weekend :)

Hope we get loads of toys from everyone. These toys will be segregated according to age groups of 1-3, 4-7, 8-12 and gift-wrapped. They'll be given to NGOs providing non formal education to kids in and around Pune. We have already identified a couple of them who have expressed interest in taking the toys.

Anyone in Pune who's interested in volunteering for Toybank or anybody who wish to donate toys, gift wrapping sheets or stationery required for gift-wrapping, please contact me on toybank-pune@toybank.co.in.

Volunteers from Bangalore, please write in to us at mail-bangalore@toybank.co.in and if you are in Mumbai write to us at mail@toybank.co.in

Watch this space for more!

Akanksha Literary Fest 2008 - Pune

Well finally, I think things have started to fall in place.
I had thought my volunteering stint had taken a back seat in 2008. No, not anymore!

The Akanksha Literary Fest took place at Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, Range Hills, Pune on the 30th of August. Few of us from Tech Mahindra volunteered for this event through the CSR.

I had to leave for Bangalore the next day morning and I was so looking forward to an amazing drive with Kunal. So I packed all my stuff on Saturday itself! And then I headed for the event in SIMS at 2 30 a cloudy noon.

Akanksha is an NGO working with children on non formal education. Akanksha works primarily in the field of education, addressing non formal education through the various Akanksha centers in Mumbai and Pune and also formal education by initiating school reforms.

Children between level 1 and level 6 at Akanksha are taught English, Maths and value education. And children between level 7- 12 are taught career skills, leadership skills through programmes like Learning to Lead, Social Leadership and other empowerment programmes.

I had met Anupama and Reeves from Akanksha a month back when they’d visited one of the Tech Mahindra offices to let us know about mentoring opportunities in Akanksha. I was looking forward to meet them at the event as well!

I reached the venue by 3 PM. The event was scheduled to start at 4 PM but the volunteers were asked to be there earlier to help Akanksha arrange the event.

When I reached there, I saw a colorful display of various poems, stories, pictures and artworks written by kids from Akanksha hung up in one corner of the auditorium! I was smiling when I was reading through many of them :)




All the kids from various centers assembled at the auditorium at 4 PM. The event kicked off with a Drama which was about a Bookworm meeting various characters in a library :)



The exciting bookworm played by a member working at Akanksha thrilled the audience while meeting and explaining the characters like Birbal, Aladdin, Little Red Riding Hood etc who were all dressed up in the attires of the characters they played!

Bookworm also stressed the importance of a library and how we should ensure that we kept increasing the knowledge everyday.

This interesting drama was followed by poetry and drawing. Children were taken into the nearby 5 classrooms which were all named with different colors. The children were given various topics to start with their spot poetry. The volunteers helped the kids by giving them tips on writing and also by giving various ideas on the given topics.




After a 45 min poem writing session, there was Author’s chair where kids would read out few stories to the audience in their classrooms.

This was followed by the best bit of the event – the Lit Circles Skits, short for ‘the Literary Circles Skits’! A group of kids performed various skits like Wizard of Oz, Four friends, sending an important message on moral values that hard work & honesty are the only way to reap benefits.



After watching the wonderful skits performed by various groups, all the children came back to the auditorium. The wonderful literary fest ended with a story telling session by Sonali Adkar from Twist & Tales, Aundh, Pune.






Isn't it an amazing way to get back on track?
Pune...Here I come!!