Marathi Version Of Navratri Brings Back Memories, Draws in Youth
By Rinky Kumar/TNN
Mumbai: For the Gujarati community, Navratri might mean donning new outfits, wearing funky jewellery and displaying one’s dancing skills. But these nine nights of revelry are also significant for Maharashtrians.
A festival, popular as Bhondla in Mumbai and Pune, used to witness women coming together and narrating daily life experiences in form of songs during Navratri. But with social changes over the years, Bhondla is no longer the same.
However, a group of six women have now decided to save the dying tradition. Calling themselves the Sai group—meaning girl friend in Marathi—they visit Navratri utsav mandals for performing the Bhondla.
Sai’s founder, Shibani Joshi said, “We have been performing Bhondla since childhood. The songs are not written, but have been passed down for generations as a cultural legacy.’’ Explaining the origins of the tradition, she said, “In earlier days, when girls were not educated and did not lead an active social life, they would celebrate Navratri by calling their friends over.’’
Apart from using Bhondla as a platform for displaying singing talent, the girls would draw an elephant in the courtyard, and decorate it with fruits and flowers. The elephant symbolised the Hath Nakshatra—a constellation visible in the sky during Navratri.
“While humourous songs about the relationship women had with their inlaws dominated traditional Bhondla, it also had games and puzzles, including one where they would drop hints for identifying food items,’’ added Joshi.
Unlike the garba or dandiya, Bhondla has women going round the elephant picture. The programme lasts for an hour with the girls singing 30-40 songs— beginning with an invocation to Lord Ganesha and rounding off with a ballad to commemorate the achievements of Chhatrapati Shivaji. The Sai group that was formed in 2002 has added contemporary nuances, so that the present generation of Maharashtrian girls can identify with it. While in earlier times, girls sang of how their in-laws were trying to woo them with jewellery, today’s songs find mention of modern-day appliances.
In another attempt to make Bhondla more interesting, the group also performs traditional Marathi folk dances, like jhimma and phugdi. The group are invited by Navratri utsav mandals in Maharashtrian localities to perform the Bhondla. “We have also performed in Jamshedpur, Raipur and Ajmer,’’ said Joshi.
Hoping the younger generation is able to carry forward the tradition, Joshi said, “Our events bring back memories of yesteryears to the
older generation of Maharashtrians. They also draw in younger people who enjoy the foot-tapping music and rhythm.’’
The Times of India, October 10, 2005
Monday, October 10, 2005
Saturday, July 3, 2004
Rural doctors to get updated for free
By Rinky Kumar
Medical practitioners from rural areas in Maharashtra can now update their knowledge on the latest developments in the field.
Srimati Sushilaben R. Mehta and Sir Kikabhai Premchand Cardiac Institute or S. K. Mehta Institute, located in a bylane off Gandhi market at Sion, is the only institute in Mumbai to conduct free monthly training sessions for doctors from the interior regions of the state.
Each batch consists of seven doctors from areas like Nanded, Satara, Aurangabad and Solapur. The doctors get hands-on training to handle emergencies, to read electrocardiograms better, to treat acute heart attacks and hypertension.
They are also trained to think of new modalities and to identify when patients should be sent to big hospitals for further treatment.
The cardiac institute bears the lodging and boarding expenses of the doctors who come for the training. Dr Govind Bhattad, a consulting physician who runs an intensive cardiac care unit in Nanded and is currently attending the training session said, "I became a doctor in the 90s. Before attending the session, I was unaware of the latest developments. As a result, I could not implement new techniques when treating my patients."
He said there are inadequate resources to learn about new medical developments in Nanded. He added, "There are only primary level facilities in Nanded. We do not have facilities even to conduct an angiography. If we apply our newly acquired knowledge, then there are chances of 80 per cent of the patients surviving, whereas earlier only 50 per cent patients survived.
He has planned to install new cheaper instruments in his clinic, which he learnt of from the course. It is mandatory for doctors in the United States to give an exam every year in order to review their licence and their knowledge about the latest developments in medicine.
But such kind of practice is non-existent in India. Dr Bhattad said, "This training not only enables us to evaluate our knowledge on medical innovations but also enhances it."
Dr Priti Araujo from Goa, a chief consultant at Apollo Hospital who is attending the training session said, "This is a practical way to learn about pacemakers and ventilators."
Dr Jagdish Parikh, an interventional cardiologist who conducts the training session, took the initiative to educate doctors only from those areas where continued medical education is not available.
He said, "Expertise on minor techniques will enable doctors to provide quality treatment to patients. Such kind of knowledge cannot be imparted to doctors in the course of a seminar or a public lecture. They need to absorb and practise what they have learnt."
July, 3, 2004 Mid-Day
Medical practitioners from rural areas in Maharashtra can now update their knowledge on the latest developments in the field.
Srimati Sushilaben R. Mehta and Sir Kikabhai Premchand Cardiac Institute or S. K. Mehta Institute, located in a bylane off Gandhi market at Sion, is the only institute in Mumbai to conduct free monthly training sessions for doctors from the interior regions of the state.
Each batch consists of seven doctors from areas like Nanded, Satara, Aurangabad and Solapur. The doctors get hands-on training to handle emergencies, to read electrocardiograms better, to treat acute heart attacks and hypertension.
They are also trained to think of new modalities and to identify when patients should be sent to big hospitals for further treatment.
The cardiac institute bears the lodging and boarding expenses of the doctors who come for the training. Dr Govind Bhattad, a consulting physician who runs an intensive cardiac care unit in Nanded and is currently attending the training session said, "I became a doctor in the 90s. Before attending the session, I was unaware of the latest developments. As a result, I could not implement new techniques when treating my patients."
He said there are inadequate resources to learn about new medical developments in Nanded. He added, "There are only primary level facilities in Nanded. We do not have facilities even to conduct an angiography. If we apply our newly acquired knowledge, then there are chances of 80 per cent of the patients surviving, whereas earlier only 50 per cent patients survived.
He has planned to install new cheaper instruments in his clinic, which he learnt of from the course. It is mandatory for doctors in the United States to give an exam every year in order to review their licence and their knowledge about the latest developments in medicine.
But such kind of practice is non-existent in India. Dr Bhattad said, "This training not only enables us to evaluate our knowledge on medical innovations but also enhances it."
Dr Priti Araujo from Goa, a chief consultant at Apollo Hospital who is attending the training session said, "This is a practical way to learn about pacemakers and ventilators."
Dr Jagdish Parikh, an interventional cardiologist who conducts the training session, took the initiative to educate doctors only from those areas where continued medical education is not available.
He said, "Expertise on minor techniques will enable doctors to provide quality treatment to patients. Such kind of knowledge cannot be imparted to doctors in the course of a seminar or a public lecture. They need to absorb and practise what they have learnt."
July, 3, 2004 Mid-Day
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