Contest of all sortsAnother one bites the beauty dust as Ahmednagar had its own beauty contests. But they decided to go for the jugular as they took up the `Master, Mr, Mrs and Ms Ahmednagar' contest, all together at the same time. Handsome young men and beautiful young women were to be seen at the event conducted by the `Prayas Group' at `The Sahakar Sabagrah'.Noted small screen and Marathi film star, Nishigandha Vaad, was the chief guest of the function. Encouraging the women of today, she said that, ``Woman means a definition of complete beauty by herself. Thus, she has to explore herself and not become a cocoon.''There were 43 participants for the Master Ahmednagar category, all in the age group of 18-25 years. Only 12 could reach the finals. Ashish Muttha took away the honours while Ajay Kare and Piyush Nahar were the first and second runners-up, respectively.In the age-group of 25-50 years, Prakash Bhalgat was adjudged Mr Ahmednagar and Shyam Chordia was the first runner-up.The title of Mrs Ahmednagar was taken away by Sharmila Bhingarwala in the age-group of 25-40 years with Sharda Batra was the first runner-up.Concluding the function, the much awaited results of Ms Ahmednagar in the age-group of 18-25 years were declared, with the crown going to Pooja Bakre and Deepa Nahar was the first runner-up. All of nine years, Pooja Bafna's enthusiasm in dancing to the tune of a few Hindi numbers deserved special mention, especially with a solo dance on Anu Mallik composed East or West India is the best.Woman powerThe Poona Women's Council will be enter its 74th year on July 4. To commemorate the event the council is holding a function by inviting people to participate in an Open Forum. Eminent personalities such as Shobhana Ranade, Anu Aga and Vandana Chavan have been invited to participate. The function will be held at the Poona Women's Council school hall, 20 Kahun Road, Pune 1 at 11.00 a.m.Art from BengalSurajhankar, a cultural organisation launched four years ago, has strived to promote the art forms of Bengal. Other than organising classes to impart formal training in Rabindrasangeet, they are also into organising various musical programmes to promote the richness of their culture. In the same spirit, Surajhankar has organised a programme of a concert recital by two senior exponents of Rabindrasangeet on July 10 at the Tilak Smarak Mandir at 8.00 p.m. Performing at the show are Tarit Chowdhury, a regular artist with the AIR for more than 30 years and Aditi Sengupta, who has been performing on Doordarshan and AIR for about as many years. Surajhankar has been staging a number of shows based on classic compositions in the Hindustani and Carnatic styles of music. The major activity of Surajhankar is to impart formal training in Rabindrasangeet with affiliation to Gitabaitan, the well-known music school of Calcutta.Understanding the GitaEvery Thursday the Vedanta Academy of Lonavala organises readings of the Bhagwad Gita at 5.30 pm at the Residency Club. Stanzas from the translated version by Guru Parthasarthy, founder, are read out by a guru from the academy and discussed with active involvement from the participants. The idea is to understand the Gita better and relate it to the present. The readings are open to public and those interested can participate in the proceedings at Residency Club next Thursday.Freedom from backachesMany of those who have attended the ATB Free Backache Cure Camps in the past have reported of getting a lot of benefits from them. The three-minute ATB relaxation exercise reportedly helps clear up a lot of backaches and other malaises and improve sleeping patterns. For those who are similarly inclined the next free camp organise by the Save India Organisation will be held at the Punjabi Cultural Association Hall, Salisbury Park on July 5 at 10.30 a.m. Other social and cultural organisations are free to organise such camps. Those interested are requested to contact S M Acharya at 670204 between 9.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. and between 5.00 and 7.00 p.m.Serving the societySociety for Service to Voluntary Agencies (SOVA) appeals to people interested in social service for rendering services like teaching, yoga, reading to the blind, emotional support and guiding patients during heavy rush hours. Those interested are requested to contact SOVA's Centre for Promoting Voluntary Action (VOLACT) from Monday to Friday between 10.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. on phone 631808.
