From #Mokhada to #Ekjute at Prithvi...... every commitment matters!!
It was one of those days when you have
two commitments that you just want to keep both but don't know how. Not easy
but I did it. One being the trip to Mokhada to distribute note books that I too
had donated towards in a small way. The other to watch Juuhi Babbar Sonii and my
Ekjute family perform at Prithvi. A big dilemma
- but then they say when you want something real bad, things begin to work for
you. It did and how !! because I managed not only to travel four hours back and
forth to Mokhada and a touch-and-go to Prithvi dishevelled and tired but
happily refreshed to watch "Salaam 50s ke Naam".
Note books donations, such an easy way
to say you care. It has given me a joy and an opportunity to contribute in a
small way to a social cause - education. So every year when my friend, Dipesh Tank, founder,
Youth for People, a Malad-based NGO joined hands with Diganta Swaraj Foundation and reached out to seeking
support for note book donations, I am happy to participate as always. The icing
on the cake is travelling to Mokhada and Jawahar, which is a rural area which lies
in the outskirts of Nashik to personally distribute note books to students
belonging to the scheduled tribes of that region. There I was again this year waiting
to board the bus. One normally won't thank a pain one has, but this year I can
happily say that thanks to a knee pain, Dipesh, Poonam and Narayan offered to
send us in one of the cars which worked to my advantage to keep my second
commitment. So there we were, three friends, Sailesh Mishra, Surjit Kaur and Me
along with Agilan Ramaswamy (Narayan's friend) who had no idea what was going
to hit him speeding off to Mokhada. Four
hours on the road flanked by beautiful scenery and a continuous banter, Agilan
not only survived but had fun too and I made another friend for life. It was
not long before we happily bonded at the
crossroad of Mokhada over tea, waiting for the bus to arrive. As always,
everyone was teamed up and given notebooks to distribute. The four of us were sent
off to a school in Chikenpada and Chas Village, a small little school amidst
lush green with a rocky path leading downwards to a village just past it. Done
with distributing books there to the happy children, as we motored down the
hills flanked by green trees and scenery to die for towards the main Ashram
School, Surjit spotted a small bridge over a river. A detour to that spot.... and now all I can say
is that, I am glad we did stop, thanks to Surjit,
because it was worth it. The filmy keeda in me took over and we posed
and posed. It was the most calming but
definitely the filmy moments that I insisted on, I know for sure that the four of us are going
to cherish and never going to forget that madness.
The main Ashram Shala,
we visited houses 350+ resident students and many more students come in from
the neighbouring areas. The class rooms and the main hall double up as
classroom area during day and as bedrooms at night - even as eating areas. Electricity is a rare commodity
here. Greeted by a hall filled with students, the team distributed notebooks to
them. The most beautiful part of being there is always the way we are greeted
with swagat songs and heartfelt thank-you. From there we moved on to another school.
Here we were greeted and treated to a Lezim performance followed by a small
program in the main hall where the Zilla people and our team exchanged thoughts
and ideas. Over 40+ thousand books were distributed.
It was 3.30 pm and as we
were going back in the same car, we sought permission to leave and the ride back
to Borivili was just as fun-filled as
the morning. Guess what, we were in Mumbai by 730 pm and Yeah, I jumped into a
rickshaw with cross fingers hoping to reach Prithvi in time..... I did..I did.....
Literally jumping out of the rickshaw
exhausted but excited to have made it, "Salaam
50s ke Naam" was a
nostalgic ride down the memory lane. As introduced by Nadira Babbar ji this performance was Ekjute's tribute to the golden era
of cinema. All about of those
films that had the zamindaar ka ladka and the kaabile ki ladki, it was filled with the most beautiful songs of the
50s like suhana safar aur yeh mausam, shola joh bhadke, suhaani raat dhal chuki
and so many more that made my eyes moist.
Well, I would have jumped on stage but for the fact that I knew I had to
behave (ha ha!) and flanked by an
awesome actor, Suhant Singh (and his sweet son) and director, Kajri Babbar on
either side of me. The performance by stalwarts Juuhi Babbar Soni, Pilu
Vidhyarthi, Hanif Patni and all the awesome actors with choreography by my dear
friend Raj Yadav (who I must thank here again for introducing me to Juuhi and
the Ekjute Young Talent Company family) was super indeed. What can I say about actor
friend, Ankur Parekh - was it Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar or my favourite Biswajeet
that he reminded me of ? I think it was
just a mix of all those stalwarts and more that added to the 50s experience
along with Juuhi M'am as the lovely kabile_ki kanya performance. A musical play filled
with dance and song beautifully intertwined indeed ..... and think about it
- what is better than to see all your
friends performing on stage, applauding them and then going backstage to hug
each one of them.... and what can I add again here about Juuhi M'am except that
I adore her not just for her acting but for her love and inviting me to watch the play..most importantly because
it is all thanks to her that I am getting to be a part of the one thing I
always craved for and wanted in my life -
theatre!!!
Keep a good attitude and do the right thing even when it's hard.
When you do that you are passing the test.
And God promises you your marked moments are on their way
~Joel Osteen
