Tuesday Tango

8220;I was just feeling extremely upset after reading about the six soldiers being tortured and sent back. Then there was the story about the martyred jawan Naik Narayan Salunke8217;s family, comprising three kids and an elderly father. From personal experience, I know the hardships a war-affected family goes through,8221; says Dhavale.

8220;I talked about my feelings with some friends. It was then that this rock concert idea sprung up. I called up a few bands I knew and everyone agreed to do the show free of charge. The printer, the sound recordists, all offered their services free. The Coca-Cola people promised to donate whatever they earned from their sales that day to the cause. And the show was on.

8220;We only paid the labour their dues and I got some friends to contribute to a kitty to cover that expense. I put in Rs 5,000, people like Mandar Agashe gave Rs. 10,000. With this money, I did not have to touch the ticket sale collections, which will be handed over to the Army Wives8217; Welfare Association.. It8217;s the least we can for our soldiers.8221;

Though Kaustubh is sorely disappointed over the dismal turnout of the crowd, which means a much less figure to hand over, the gesture of all who contributed their talents and efforts towards the concert touched him deeply. 8220;We are the privileged lot. We drive fancy cars, go to pubs and lead a comfortable life. All because of the soldiers out there, risking their lives in the freezing cold. I wanted Pune8217;s party crowd to come forward and show some heart for the martyrs,8221; he adds.

Fit for life 8220;I8217;ve been wanting to do this for a long time, but got the time only now8221; says 56-year-old Dr. Sampat Pungaliya. Do what, you wonder? Yoga, reiki, read a book, write one? 8220;No, ice-skate,8221; he smiles. Before you can recover from that one, he adds that he never really got the time to do it before, simply because he was too busy para-gliding, horse-riding and taking flying lessons! Alongwith running a 10-bed hospital in the city since the past 23 years.

8220;I have always been fond of adventure sports,8221; he explains a trifle unnecessarily. 8220;In my youth, these sports were considered luxuries and I never really got a chance to pursue them. But once I completed my MBBS and started my own practice, I decided to do all that the sportsman in me yearned for.8221;

Horse-riding lessons, followed by a para-gliding stint, then a glider pilot license interspersed with regular tennis and trekking, all of which probably accounts for his athletic and fit physique. And for the fact that at this age, he decided to go off to Simla to learn a sport like ice-skiing.

8220;I would have gone earlier except that it took me 10 years to convince my family that it was not too dangerous for me to take up at this age,8221; he says. Once there with his wife and 10-year-old son, his first day was memorable, since he could hardly move on the ice slopes.8220;This was due to the knee-high special shoes from Austria that weighed five kilograms. This, along with the seven-feet skis to which they were attached, ensured a difficult time on the slopes.

But soon, he caught up, and by the third day, was on the slopes. 8220;There were a whole lot of heart-stopping moments, including one where I was speeding the slope and managed to stop just a few feet short of a deep gorge. But the thrill was inexplicable.8221;So infectious was his enthusiasm that even wife Shibani, a strictly indoors person, gave in and took the skiing lessons. 8220;What matters is your attitude and level of fitness,8221; adds Pungaliya. 8220;I trek to Sinhagad every week. It helps me to keep agile and energetic.8221; Whoever said that age is only a figure had probably run into the doctor sometime or the other.