Edutainment Tour by PURT144

Visits To Jaggery Manufac Unit, Emu Farm, Winery, Sericulture facility• Also Tractor Driving in farms, Fruit Picking in Orchards & ‘Gilli Danda’INTRODUCTIONPURT 144 Organized a very unique Full day Outbound Fellowship Tour on Sun 9th March 08wherein Tablers’ Families were exposed to a very wide variety of Rural Agro based IndustriesBlended with Fun & Frolic . A true ‘Edutainment Tour’…Fellowship that imbibes Learning too.26 Heads (including 16 Adults) in 5 Vehicles assembled at 6am for a 2 Hrs Drive to Baramati.The plan was to visit the Maharashtra Govt Agritourism Farm Site in Baramati followed by Visitsto various Rural Industries.ACTIVITIESReaching the Farm at Malegaon on the outskirts of Baramati, we entered to the refreshing sightsof Fruit Orchards lining the entrance and were welcomed with Tikka & Garlands and a HotBreakfast of ‘Poha, Sheera & tea’.Farm Owner & Rural Entrepreneur Mr. Pandurang Tawale then conducted An OrientationProgram on the Plan for the day. We were then quickly whisked off to the local Jaggery Manufacturing Unit before LoadShedding takes effect for the day. We were shown the Process of Crushing Of Sugarcane,Boiling of Sugar cane Juice blended with Chemicals to make Jaggery, Pouring of same inMoulds and paking of same. Also explained were the Use of byproducts as Bio Fuel.Next on was a Short drive to an EMU FARM. This was a unique sight with over 200 Emus beingbred for their Skin, Meat, Eggs, Oil, Medicinal Extracts etc etc. The profitability of such Projectsfor Farmers was explained. The Huge Emu Egg was an Instant Hit with all Tablers till the timewe were informed of its cost being Rs.1500 each. No one seemed to touch it after that !By now the Heat was beginning to tell and we all ambled back to the Cool Shades of the Farm.It was now time for some Bullock Cart Rides , Coconuts fresh off the Trees, and of courseTablers Driving Tractors to till the farm land.

Famished were we, but waiting for Lunch to be served we divided ourselves into 2 teams andwent on to enjoy a full fledged ‘Gilli Danda Tournament’. Such was the game that when Lunchwas served, we had to literally pull all away from the Gilli Danda match.

when a rotten Coconut Leaf fell off itstree right onto Tr. Harpriit’s ‘lap’. Boy, Did that wake us all up? It was now time for a 5kmDrive to a Winery.This Winery was set in the Industrial Zone and sourced its Grapes from the Vineyards dottingthe entire landscape. It was a contract manufacturing Winery for Brand ‘Zinzi’ of UB. The In-house consultant gave us a detailed tour of the facility along with explaining the finer nuancesof Wine tasting and the various Grape varieties that gave various Wines its names. It was anextremely informative and ‘Heady’ session with a lot of fine Wine tasting. The hangover now demanded we rest. And did we? Entering a luxurious old Maharashtrian‘Wada’, we made the most of the Time we had to recoup our energy. There was more to Come. It was now time to visit the farm’s Sericulture Unit i.e. Silkworm farming and Silk manufacturing.Having read of Silk Worms all through School, not many of us were aware of the actual processof Sericulture and were quite interested to know the going ons of raising Worms for a living.First the Mulberry Farms helped to extensively breed the Silk Worms. The worms were thanallowed to form the Pupa wherein the Moth inside is readying for the change. These Pupas werecollected and stored in MillionsThe Pupas are then put into Boiling water which enables the Silk woven around the Pupa to beremoved easily as a single strand. Of course this ensures that the Moth sacrifices its life insidethe Boiling water for our Silk to reach us.

Each Pupa yields 700 mts of Silk Thread. This thread is then Spooled, then Dyed and finallyWeaved to give us shiny Mulberry Silk.CONCLUSIONIt was one eventful day for the 26 Heads who were part of this one of a Kind Fellowship cum Learningexperience. The Day ended with all of us helping ourselves to farm fresh Chikus right off the Trees andenjoying them on the drive back…We left reluctantly, carrying with ourselves plant saplings as souvenirsand along with them, moments that were temporary but their memories forever.

***END OF REPORT***

With A Touch Of Friendship

Tr. Sanjay KanakiaChairman PURT 1442007-08

Date: 31st March 2008

Sport Social " Sports Evening with a Twist"

Round Table gives each one of us an opportunity once every year to play host to our greats friends. The opportunity is called a Social. This year Tr. Niral Shah of my Table, Tr. Ashutosh Shah of AHRT193, Tr. Killol Ringwala of AHRT193 and me decided to join together to host all the tablers of the City of Ahmedabad.
For all who think that it would be a small crowd, shake your head, because Ahmedabad has nearly 45+ Tablers among the 4 Tables, plus ofcourse the wifves, childern and Honary Tablers. Hosting a social for so many people is always challenging in the Dry State of Gujarat. The Venue? The Theme? The Invite? The acitivities? So many problems to begin! The eight of us started to meet and that for us was the beginning of the social for us. Meeting every 2nd day, enyoying a drink, dinner together, our social was already a success! After a couple of meetings and couple of bottles of single malt we finally got our act together. The Theme was decided- Sports Evening with a TwistThe Dress Code - Track Pants, T shirts, and SnikersThe Venue - Lush Green Lawns, Club House of Surbhit Vatika, a New Townships developed by a leading realestate developer in Ahmedabad. The evening started at 5.30 pm. The guests were divided into 5 Teams, taking care that spouses, and children were broken up into different teams, called Houses, like in school. Due care was also taken to balance the no of men, women and children in each team. Each house was named Red, Blue, Pink, Yellow and Green. The ambience was set, the preparation were meticulous, tracks were drawn in the lawns to give the feel of a sports day. Refrees, whistle, Mikes, Music, Cheering...all in all it was electrifying. The Kids, Ladies, Men all had a blast, exhausted, with either broken or twisted ankles! The new tablers of Ahmedabad (AFRT) were thrilled and got an opportunity to closly interact with other Tablers, and their families on a one-to-one. This was not the end.

The eveving coverged into a soft setting with a background music, well laidout bar and a food spread. The selection of the menu was appreciated and complemented by one and all. Even one week after the event, we were still receiving phonecalls, sms and emails appreciating the evening; the planning, the organisation and the hospitality. To summarize it was a memorable evening for us. The photographs are a testimony. Everyone participated, pushed, fought, and even cursed each other! As hosts all eight of us are extremely happy to see our guests enjoy, sweat, drink, eat and go home as happy tabling families!

Tr. Vinit Parikh

ART40

V.C. AREA3