होळी म्हटलं की मला शेडगे काकू, पुरण पोळी आठवतात..

होळी म्हटलं की मला खूप वर्षे आमच्या शेजारी असणाऱ्या शेडगे काकू आठवतात.. आमची लेक अदिती त्यांना काकू म्हणायची म्हणून आम्ही सगळे जण त्यांना शेडगे काकू म्हणायला लागलो..

आम्ही दोघे नोकरीला असल्याने अदिती चार महिन्यांची झाल्यापासून पाळणाघरात राहिली. जॅकलीन सकाळी साडेसातला शाळेत जायची, मग साडे दहापर्यंत मी अदितीला आंघोळ घालून तिचे कपडे करुन तोंडाला पावडर आणि काजळ लावून श्रद्धा गार्डन कॉलनीत असलेल्या पाळणाघरात न्यायचो. तिला तिथे झोपवून नंतर इंडियन एक्स्प्रेसला कामावर जायचो. दुपारी साडेतीनपर्यंत जॅकलीन अदितीला घरी न्यायची.

अदिती थोडी मोठी झाल्यावर आणि तिला कळायला लागल्यावर मात्र गडबड व्हायला लागली. याचे कारण म्हणजे...

शनिवारी रविवारी आणि इतर सुट्टीच्या दिवशी अदितीचा वावर पूर्ण दिवस शेडगे काकूंकडे असायचा. शेडगे. काकूंनी. शेंगदाणे जिरे आणि इतर कायकाय घालून केलेले पोहे, साबुदाणा खिचडी अदितीला खूप आवडायची..

त्यामुळे सोमवारी आणि इतर दिवशी पाळणाघरात गेलो कि माझे कपडे आणि बॅग आपल्या चिमुकल्या हातांत घट्ट पकडून अदिती म्हणायची.

'' No, No. Don't leave me here.. I will stay with Shedge Kaku... I won't trouble Shedge Kaku.. Don't leave me here...''

आज हे लिहिताना काळीज तिळतिळ तुटते तर त्यावेळी काय होत असेल कल्पना करा.. काळजावर भलामोठा दगड घट्ट ठेवून डोळ्यातले पाणी लपवत मी बस स्टॉपकडे निघायचो..

तर होळीच्या दिवशी शेडगे काकूंकडून आम्हा तिघांना पुरण पोळी, चमचमीत आमटी आणि भजे यायचे.. होळीच्या दिवशी आमच्या घरी जेवणासाठी गॅस पेटवला जात नसे..

शेडगे कुटुंबात दरवर्षी गणपती बसवला जायचा तेव्हा त्या अकरा दिवसांत अदितीला बोलावल्यानंतरच तिथे आरती सुरु व्हायची आणि अदितीच्या हातात घंटी असायची.. ''घालीन लोटांगण'' सुरु झालं की अदिती त्यासर्वांबरोबर गोलगोल फिरायची. दिवा असलेलं आरतीचं ताट समोर आल्यावर नमस्कारही करायची, नंतर खोबरे, पेढे असा प्रसाद खायची. गणपती विसर्जनाला शेडगे कुटुंबाबरोबर अदितीसह आम्ही दोघेही चिंचवडगावातल्या पवना नदीच्या घाटावर असायचो.

अदिती पाचवी-सहावीत असेल तेव्हा आम्ही समोरच्याच इमारतीत मोठ्या घरात राहायला आलो. काही वर्षांपुर्वी शेडगे कुटुंबसुद्धा भोसरीपाशी स्वतःच्या बंगल्यात राहायला गेले आणि आमचा त्यांचा दररोजचा संपर्क तुटला..

शेडगे काकूंच्या दोन्ही मुलांच्या आणि मुलीच्या लग्नासाठी आम्ही त्यांच्या गावाला सातारा जिल्ह्यातल्या कोरेगावला आवर्जून गेलो होतो. गावातली ती लग्ने अदितीने खूप एन्जॉय केली.

अदितीला मात्र शेडगे काकुंचे पोहे, साबुदाणे खिचडी आणि होळीच्या सणाच्या पुरण पोळी, आमटी आणि भजे नेहेमी आठवत असतात.

काल रात्री श्रद्धा गार्डन कॉलनीतल्या होळी पेटल्या तसे जॅकलीनला मी शेडगे काकूंची आणि पुरणपोळींची आठवण करुन दिली..

अदितीशी काल फोनवर होळीच्या सुट्टीबाबत बोलणे झालं होतं ..

होळीनिमित्त तिलाही शेडगे काकू आणि त्यांच्या पुरणपोळी, आमटीची ती चव आठवली असेलच... ..

सी कॅथेड्रल ओल्ड गोव्यात बॉम जेसु बेसिलिकाच्या समोर आहे.

गोव्याला भेट देणाऱ्या बहुतेक सर्व पर्यटकांनी ओल्ड गोव्याला असलेल्या तांबड्या चिरांनी बांधलेल्या बॉम जेसू बॅसिलिकाला भेट दिलेली असतेच. या सतराव्या शतकातील भव्य चर्चमध्ये सेंट फ्रान्सिस झेव्हियर या संताच्या शरीराचे अवशेष किंवा रीलिक्स जपून ठेवलेले आहेत.

आज तीन डिसेंबर....सेंट फ्रान्सिस झेव्हियर याचा सण किंवा फेस्त.. गोवा राज्यात आज सार्वजनिक सुट्टी असते कारण या दिवशी ओल्ड गोवा येथे हा सण मोठ्या उत्साहात साजरा होतो.

संत फ्रान्सिस झेव्हीयर हा गोवा आर्च डायोसिसचा पॅट्रन सेंट किंवा आश्रयदाता संत.. गोंयचो सायबा .... गोवन काथोलिकांचा हा एक मोठा सण.

मुंबई-पुणे हायवेवरचे चिंचवड स्टेशनजवळ आमच्या सेंट फ्रान्सिस झेवियर चर्चचा आज सण. या सणाच्या वेळी मिस्साची शेवट या कोकणी गायनाने होईल.

जगभर जिथेजिथे गोवन कॅथोलिक आज हा सण साजरा करतील तिथेतिथे हे येथे दिलेले कोकणी गायन गायले जाईल. या गायनाची चाल अत्यंत सुंदर आहे.

यु ट्यूबवर एकदा ऐकून पहा.

हे कोकणी गायन रोमन लिपीत आहे पण वाचल्यावर त्याचा अर्थ मराठी वाचकाला बऱ्यापैकी कळेल.

Boas Festas! .... Happy feast to all !!!!!!!

SAM FRANCIS XAVIERA

Sam Francis Xaviera, vodda kunvra

Raat dis amchea mogan lastolea

Besanv ghal Saiba sharar Goyenchea

Samballun sodankal gopant tujea

Beporva korun sonvsarachi

Devachi tunven keli chakri

Ami somest magtanv mozot tuzi,

Kortai mhonn milagrir, milagri

Aiz ani sodam, amchi khatir

Vinoti kor tum Deva lagim

Jezu sarkem zaum jivit amchem,

Ami pavo-sor tuje sorxi

Pimpri-Chinchwad shuts down

Friday, August 10, 2018, 11:48 AM  | e-paper

Pimpri-Chinchwad shuts down

Camil Parkhe

10.39 AM    goo.gl/ttA643

Pimpri-Chinchwad saw a total closure as shops, commercial establishments, educational institutions and public transport remained closed on Thursday.

Pimpri: Pimpri-Chinchwad saw a total closure as shops, commercial establishments, educational institutions and public transport remained closed on Thursday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone III) Mangesh Shinde said that there was no untoward incident in any part of the city. Roads in Pimpri, Chinchwad, Bhosari, Hinjawadi, Chikhali and other parts of the city remained deserted as most people preferred to stay at home during the bandh. 

Many industrial and commercial establishments had declared a holiday in view of the one-day strike.
Employees of some of these establishments have been asked to work on Saturday or Sunday to compensate for the loss of working hours.

The PMPML did not ply its buses in the city. Auto rickshaws too remained off the road during the day, causing hardships for people who needed to travel urgently. Most grocery shops and dairies remained closed since morning. The disruption of milk and other essential supplies was also  hit. 

There was very little vehicular movement on the otherwise busy Pune-Mumbai Expressway. Two-wheeler rallies were organised in various part. Police had deployed personnel at various strategic locations and traffic circles. 

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Charismatic, youth conventions inaugurated in Pimpri Chinchwad

Charismatic, youth  conventions inaugurated in Pimpri Chinchwad

Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE | Wednesday, 11 November 2015 AT 11:20 PM IST

    

16th national Catholic charismatic convention, ‘Kairos Youth Convention 2015

Pimpri: Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), has highlighted the plurality of the country and said it was sacred obligation of all people to cooperate with society, irrespective of language, caste or religion.

Cardinal Cleemis, head of the apex body of the Catholic church in the country, was speaking at the inauguration of the four-day long 16th national Catholic charismatic convention and ‘Kairos Youth Convention 2015’ at St Ursula School grounds in Nigdi on Wednesday morning.

Cardinal Cleemis said, “India is a sacred land having saints, martyrs and living saints of various communities and a land, which offers the world a plurality of divine.”

The CBCI chief urged the gathering not to be exclusive but to be inclusive to serve all who are created in the image of God.
The two national conventions are being attended by a large number of Catholics including priests and nuns from different parts of the country.

The charismatic convention is being held at St Ursula School while the youth convention is being held at St Andrew’s School in Chinchwad. This is the first time that the two-national level conventions are being held in the same city simultaneously.

In his address, Pune district Guardian Minister Girish Bapat who welcomed delegates from different states in the country said that true religion is the one, which preaches spreading love to everyone in the whole world. “All religious shrines, be it temple, church or Gurudwara, are dwellings of God. People should experience God who lives among the poor,” he said.

Archbishop Salvatore Pennachhio, the apostolic nuncio in India, Pune Bishop Thomas Dabre and Silven Miranda, chairman of the local service team, also spoke at the event. The inaugural ceremony was attended by MP Shrirang Barne, MLA Laxman Jagtap, Bishop emeritus Valerian D’Souza.
Shirish Sebastian was the coordinator for the two conventions.

Church will host youth, charismatic conventions in Pune

Church will host youth, charismatic convention

Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE | Monday, 2 November 2015 AT 11:51 PM IST

    

Kairos National Youth Convention, 16th national Catholic Charismatic Convention

Pune: Over 7,000 delegates from all over India will attend the Kairos National Youth Convention and the 16th national Catholic Charismatic Convention to be held simultaneously at St Ursula School in Nigdi and St Andrew’s School in Chinchwad, from November 11 to 14.

The Vatican Ambassador to India, Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, will inaugurate the two conventions in the presence of Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) President Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, Pune Bishop Thomas Dabre, Emeritus Bishop Valerian D’Souza and Bishop Thomas Mar Anthonios.

“This is for the first time in the history of the Catholic Church in India that these two national events are organised simultaneously in one city,” said Meerut’s Bishop Francis Kalist, who is Episcopal Advisor to the two events. Few activities are common for both conventions and some are planned at the respective venues.

The delegates coming from various parts of the country will be accommodated at the residences of members of various Catholic parishes in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad and also in institutions run by the Church.

Shirish Sebastian, co-ordinator for the two events, told Sakal Times that the local Catholics and the Church authorities have been planning for the two conventions for the past two years. 

Pimpri’s Catholic church unifies

Pimpri’s Catholic church unifies

Reporters Name | CAMIL PARKHE | Sunday, 19 April 2015 AT 12:05 PM IST

    

Our Lady Consoler, Afflicted Church, Pimpri, Pune, Catholic church, church’s parish priest, Fr Roland Bendoamar, Know Your Church’ series, Sakal Times

http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=4629052079416050627&SectionId=5171561142064258099&SectionName=Pune&NewsTitle=Pimpri%E2%80%99s%20Catholic%20church%20unifies

Pimpri: Our Lady Consoler of the Afflicted Church in Pimpri caters to a variety of devotees belonging to diverse linguistic and regional groups. All the members of this Catholic church enthusiastically participate in the various religious and other activities organised throughout the year, says the Catholic church’s parish priest, Fr Roland Bendoamar.

Our Lady Consoler of the Afflicted Church, located on Pimpri Station Road, has spacious premises to host weekly masses and other religious activities. It also has a hall for holding meetings. The church was established in 1976, bifurcating from Chinchwad’s St Francis Xavier’s Church, and the present church building was built subsequently.

Since 1978, the church has been administered by the Capuchin Fathers of the Holy Trinity. Presently, parish priest Fr Bendoamar is assisted by Fr Issac D’Souza.

There is also a church sub-centre at Bhosari where mass is celebrated every Thursday.

Fr Roland Bendoamar,
Parish priest

Our parish has a vast jurisdiction area as compared to other parishes. The parishioners run various associations like Vincent de Paul, youth group to provide various services to church members.     

Minin Mascarenhas, 
IT professional and vice-president of Parish Council

Our Church has 50 pc Marathi-speaking devotees, the rest are Goans, Tamils, Malayalees and others. Besides religious activities, we have many social and cultural activities and all parishioners enthusiastically participate in them.


ST Reader Service: 

Our Lady Consoler of the Afflicted Church, Pimpri
-Location: Pimpri Station Road
-Sunday mass in English at 8 am, Marathi mass at 9.30 am. Anticipatory mass on Saturday at 6.30 pm
-Areas: Pimpri, Morwadi, Vallabhnagar, Kasarwadi, Bhosari, Moshi, Indrayaninagar, Thergaon, Kalewadi, Rahatani
-Parishioners: 900 families (Around 6,000 people)



Beginning this Sunday, Sakal Times is launching ‘Know Your Church’ series, featuring various prominent churches in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. Each week, one church will be profiled, highlighting its history, jurisdiction areas, prayer timings and religious-social activities conducted by the congregation.

Call for study on Bardeskars’ history, culture

Call for study on Bardeskars’ history, culture
- CAMIL PARKHE Sakal Times Monday, 14 October 2013 - 02:24 PM IST
Tags: Fr Savio Abreu, christians community, cultural festival, Konkani, Pune Konkani Kristha Sabha,Pune, Camil Parkhe, Pimpri

PIMPRI: Fr Savio Abreu, Director of Goa-based Xavier Centre of Historical Research, here on Sunday called for thorough research on the reasons for the mass exodus of Christians from Bardez taluka in Goa to borders areas of Maharashtra and Karnataka a few centuries ago, and their present culture, social history and Konkani language spoken by them. Addressing a get-together of the Pimpri Chinchwad unit of the Pune Konkani Kristha Sabha here on Sunday, Fr Abreu said that there are varied historical versions of the factors responsible for the exodus of Christians from Goa and that very little is known about this community settled in Sindhudurg and Kolhapur districts in Maharashtra and Belgaum district in Karnataka. The get-together was held at the premises of the Church of Our Lady Consoler of the Afflicted in Pimpri. It was preceded by a mass celebrated by Fr Nelson Machado and Fr Augustine Fernandes.

This community, also referred to as Bardeskars, has in the recent witnessed second migration from Kolhapur, Sindhudurg and Belgaum districts to Pune and Mumbai, the Jesuit priest said, adding that it is remarkable that the Bardeskars have preserved their culture and language.

The priest said that the Society of Jesus ( Jesuits) in Goa had assigned him to conduct a study of the Bardeskars since their exodus from Goa three to four centuries ago and urged the people to intimate him about various literature, information available on the Bardeskars community. The study will help the Bardeskars, now settled in various parts of the world, and also their future generations to know their roots and legacy, he said.

Fr Augustine Fernandes from Khanapur in Belgaum district also addressed the gathering. Those who spoke on the occasion included Pune Konkani Kristha Sabha president Peter D'Souza, founder president Alphie Monteriro, Vincent Dias and Anjelo A Menezes.

Playing Santa Claus to bring in joy

Playing Santa Claus to bring in joy
CAMIL PARKHE
Monday, December 26, 2011 AT 08:38 PM (IST)

 Tags: Point of view,   Christmas,   santa claus,   Camil Parkhe
It was the Christmas in 1985 in Lucknow when for the first time I played Santa Claus to a group of 50 journalists drawn from all over India. We were camping there for a three-month diploma course. Those days, Christmas was not yet commercialised by the market forces and the Santa Claus costume was not so easily available. I had to sport a white beard and a mustache glued onto a cardboard paper. I used a long black overcoat. But none of the campers minded it as this was the first encounter with Santa Claus for most of them. Since then, I have played the role of the old man in red and white attire a number of times.
After the birth of my daughter, playing Santa for her and her peer group became a necessity. Those days, the young ones, majority of them non-Christians in our building and colony, looked forward to meeting Santa Claus on the eve of Christmas and the parties we had in the parking lot on Christmas morning. Their parents too were willing to contribute in various ways to make these events more enjoyable. Now  the children have grown up and are studying at colleges. I am sure they cherish their memories of meeting Santa Claus and the enjoyable parties with him.
When I rang the door bells of my neighbours donning Santa Claus attire for the first time, there were clear signs of disbelief and pleasant shock on their face. I remember a young mother who opened the door around 11 pm and shrieked after seeing the mask of Santa and shut the door. She burst into laughter when she, along with her family members, opened the door again and recognised Santa. The children below three years too have a similar fear reaction when they see a bearded masked man for the first time. It is only a couple of years later that they grow quite fond of Santa Claus.
My teenager daughter no longer expects me to play Santa Claus for her and her friends during Christmas but there are always tiny tots in the building and in the neighbourhood. And they have helped me retained my enthusiasm to don the red and white gown, the long cap, and ring the bell at their home on December 24 night to cheer them and also the elders. Christmas has no longer remained a religious festival of a particular community. It is a joyous festival, a season of sharing gifts and joy with others. This realisation propels me to don the red and white attire every time around Christmas.

Nehru the gardener was my inspiration

Sakal Times
Sunday,  June 27, 2010
Nehru the gardener was my inspiration
CAMIL PARKHE
Thursday, June 24, 2010 AT 12:00 AM (IST)
Tags: Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Gardening
When Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was jailed in Ahmednagar Fort during the Quit India movement, he utilised the prison term to pen his magnum opus ‘Discovery of India’ and to create a rose garden at the historic fort of Chand Bibi. Nehru had no idea as to how long the British rulers would keep him in that prison. But that did not deter him from growing a rose garden there - an act that has inspired me immensely in the past few years.
As a student in Goa, I had developed a garden on an open space near the staircase leading to our hostel. But at that time, I had not known about Nehru’s experiments in the garden.
After marriage, I moved from Deccan Gymkhana to Chinchwad. The large open area in front of our building beckoned me whenever I stood in balcony of our third floor flat. One July morning, I started cleaning the area near our housing society’s water tank. The place had vegetation tall enough to hide buffaloes which roamed there. Next week, I bought a pickaxe and other gardening equipments.
It was then that my wife asked me what I was upto. She could not imagine me cleaning up that dirty place and planning a garden there, especially when the land was not even ours. It was then that Pandit Nehru came to my rescue. “Nehru, a towering leader of his time, made a rose garden even in a prison. So what’s wrong if I develop a garden near our society’s building?” I asked her.
The Nehru example did the trick. Thereafter my wife has never objected to my gardening. Working in a garden which was not even ours was not easy. I was aware of several pairs of eyes watching me scornfully from nearby flats as I cleaned weeds, watered the plants and drove away buffaloes. It was the image of Nehru working in the prison that helped me to carry on. Soon, I developed a garden on that land with many flower plants and some tall trees.
Recently, we shifted to a new building nearby in the same colony. Here, too, the large open space near the building beckoned me. This time, there was no hesitation on my part. I have been developing a garden on this no man’s land, nurturing the saplings with my head held high - thanks to Pandit Nehru !
Posted by zaroka at 1:57 AM  
Labels: Chinchwad, Gardening Ahmednagar, Pandit Nehru