Citygritty — Pune

Class-ic reversalSeptember 17, Venue: Pre-primary School of the Maharashtra Education Society. It was much different than packing dabbas,...

Class-ic reversal
September 17, Venue: Pre-primary School of the Maharashtra Education Society. It was much different than packing dabbas, polishing shoes and organising school satchels for more than 600 parents whose children study here. In a novel experiment, these parents actually marched to their wards’ school to spend a day attending classes, singing nursery rhymes, drawing, painting, learning additions and then playing games too!

Organised by the principal of the school, Swati Phadnis, the objective was to give parents a feel of how it is like to be in their child’s school. While the parents enjoyed themselves thoroughly, they must have unanimously agreed that their offsprings lead more colourful lives under the care of their teachers than at home! And they would be more equipped now to deal with that occasional child who hesitates to leave his mama’s pallu for a world with his peers! Three cheers to teacher-parent interaction.

Galactic secrets unfold
It comes as no surprise that eminent astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar’s latest Marathi book, an encyclopaedia called Akashashi Jadale Nate, has been receiving rave reviews. Studded with fascinating visuals like photographs and illustrations, it is a sheer treasure of information and delight packed in 344 pages!

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Published by Rajhans Prakashan, it provides a deep insight into the fundamentals of the universe and is a virtual eye-opener for youngsters. No wonder then that Narlikar recently won the prestigious Kelkar Award, given annually by the Kesri-Maratha Trust, for this meritorious contribution.

Working at mindsets
They need understanding and acceptance. Instead, the mentally disabled find themselves targets of taunts, ridicule and thoughtless behaviour. In an attempt to spread awareness about the special needs of the mentally disabled, Disha, a Mumbai-based production, will present a Hindi play titled Koshish.

“The play, based on a real incident which took place in Gujarat, depicts the treatment meted out to a mentally disabled boy by a society that fails to understand him,” divulges Vijay Ganu of Umed Parivar, Pune, which has organised the performance.

Tickets to the play, to be staged at Tilak Smarak Mandir at 9 pm on September 19, will be available at Umed Parivar’s Budhwar Peth office and at the venue. An effort in the right direction!

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Saturday night live
Weekend’s here and so are the parties lined up to liven up things. At Bullocks, tonight promises to be a crowd-puller with a beauty contest on the agenda. In keeping with the racy times, five PYTs will vie for the titles of Smirnoff Derby Queen and Thums Up Thunderous Model. Considering it’s been sometime now since Pune had a beauty contest (about a month, which is almost a record!), this one might just arouse interest and even be a galloping success.