NUNS HAIL RELEASE OF MOTHER TERESA COIN

NUNS HAIL RELEASE OF MOTHER TERESA COIN
- CAMIL PARKHE Wednesday, 18 August 2010 - 12:09 PM IST
Tags: Mother Teresa, nuns, Christian, church, coin, Camil Parkhe

Nuns belonging to the Missionaries of Charity, a congregation founded by Mother Teresa, have expressed their joy over the government’s decision to release a coin in honour of the Nobel laureate on the occasion of her birth centenary later this month.

The coin would be released by President Pratibha Patil at the launch of year-long birth centenary celebrations in Delhi on August 28. 

The Missionaries of Charity, who have three homes for orphans and destitute in Pune, Chinchwad and Wakad, have planned a number of activities to celebrate their founder’s birth centenary and also on her death anniversary on September 5.

Sr Mary Angelic, superior of the Missionaries of Charity’s home at Tadiwala Road, said that it was indeed a noble gesture to honour the Blessed Mother Teresa of Kolkata.

Sr Angelic said that the design of the coin manufactured by the coins and currency department of the finance ministry has not yet been revealed.

The design of the coin has been approved by Sister Prema, Kolkata-based head of the Missionaries of Charity.

There are over 100 aged destitutes in the congregation’s Pune and Chinchwad convents, while the convent at Wakad has 200 destitutes including mentally challenged girls and 18 HIV-positive orphaned children.

Most of the inmates at the three houses are children and aged persons belonging to various religions and who have been abandoned by their relatives. These people are offered food, shelter and healthcare free-of-cost.

UNIQUE HONOUR

It would be the first time that a coin would be released in the memory of a Christian missionary. In the past, the government has released postal stamps to honour St Francis Xavier, linguist Rev William Carey, Sanskrit scholar Fr Robert De Nobili, and social reformer and Bible translator from Maharashtra, Pandita Ramabai.

 

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St Xavier’s Church in Chinchwad to be dedicated on Sunday

St Xavier’s Church in Chinchwad to be dedicated on Sunday
- CAMIL PARKHE Tuesday, 25 February 2014 - 07:40 PM IST
Tags: St Xavier’s Church, Chinchwad, Bishop Thomas Dabre, Emeritus Bishop Valerian D'Souza,Camil Parkhe

Pimpri: The newly constructed St Francis Xavier Church in Chinchwad, will be dedicated by Pune Bishop Thomas Dabre on Sunday, March 2 evening. 

The new church, with a balcony and spacious parking lot, will be one of the largest churches in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. 

The church's Parish Priest Fr Simon Almeida told Sakal Times that the novena prayers of St Francis Xavier are being conducted during the church's daily evening mass, nine days prior to the dedication ceremony.  

The relics of St Francis Xavier, the Jesuit saint, after whom the church is named, will ceremoniously be taken from the altar of the old church (established in 1972) to the new church on the eve of the blessing of the new church on March 1. 

A souvenir will also be released by Bishop Dabre at the dedication ceremony which will be attended by Emeritus Bishop Valerian D'Souza and a large number of priests and parishioners from various churches in the city.

The work for the new church building had commenced in July, 2012. The church parishioners and others had raised funds for the construction and an equal amount will be contributed by the Pune diocese. 

The various church institutions under St Francis Xavier Church parish include St Andrew's and St Ursula High Schools, Missionaries of Charity (Mother Teresa) Home, Ashakiran Health Centre and Don Bosco Professional Training Centre. The church has over 3,000 parishioners.  

Tata Motors Grihini Society empowers women

Tata Motors Grihini Society empowers women http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=5333228329786710334&SectionId=5494605966908300850&SectionName=Civic&NewsDate=20131023&NewsTitle=Tata%20Motors%20Grihini%20Society%20empowers%20women
- CAMIL PARKHE Wednesday, 23 October 2013 - 03:50 PM IST
Tags: Tata Motors, Tata Motors Grihini Social Welfare Society, employees, wome, industry, Pimpri,Camil Parkhe

PIMPRI: Tata Motors Grihini Social Welfare Society, the cooperative society of women relatives of Tata Motors employees, has empowered its over 1,000 members.

Tata Motors Grihini Social Welfare Society was founded in 1973 with seven women members. Today, it has four registered affiliated cooperative societies, each involved in a different industrial sector.

Tata Motors Grihini Shivankala Society, for example, stitches uniforms and hand gloves for Tata Motors company employees, besides producing various other items of sale, including bags, purses etc, which are sold in the open market.

Tata Motors Grihini Cable Harness Society assembles cable harnesses while Tata Motors Grihini Electronics Society assembles electronic components used in vehicles produced by the Tata Motors.

Tata Motors Grihini Vividh Karyakari Society prepares spices and other eatable items. Members of this society are presently busy preparing sweets and other eatables for the Diwali festival.

The all-women cooperative welfare body is headed by the wife of a senior executive of the Tata company, appointed by the company, while the other office-bearers are elected from among the members.

Speaking to Sakal Times, Grihini Social Welfare Society's Vice-president Jayashree Shrikhande, Secretary Supriya Gosawi, and Treasurer Savita Shinde said, "The four cooperative societies' members work for five hours a day and they are paid monthly wages, along with other benefits like leaves, bonus, gratuity, etc."

The members work in two-shifts as per their convenience and some members, like those belonging to the tailoring cooperative, can also operate from their homes, they said.

Grihini Welfare Society has generously contributed to the Sakal Relief Fund.

"This year, the cooperative society avoided lavish spending at its annual general body meeting and the saved amount of Rs 1 lakh was contributed for the fund to rehabilitate the victims of the recent floods in Uttarakhand," Shrirang Dhavale, Tata Motors Divisional Manager (corporate sustainability), said.

ABOUT THE SOCIETY

Established by Leelatai Moolgaokar, wife of former TELCO chairman Sumant Moolgaokar, Tata Motors Grihini Social Welfare Society presently boasts of Rs 10.7 crore annual turnover and is involved in diverse traditional as well as modern industries.

'The Chaturmas is a period of spiritual purification'

'The Chaturmas is a period of spiritual purification'
- CAMIL PARKHE Thursday, 22 August 2013 - 10:06 PM IST
Tags: Chaturmas, Sadhvi Vishwadarshanaji

The Jain community is presently observing the holy period of Chaturmas. Sadhvi Vishwadarshanaji, who is camping at Kalyan Pratishthan in Chinchwad, explains to Camil Parkhe the significance of this holy period, related to prayers, penance and purification.

What is the significance of Chaturmas?
The holy Chaturmas period - the four months of the monsoon season - is exclusively devoted for spiritual and religious affairs. The Jain gurus and sadhvis, who tour different areas on foot for eight months of the year, preaching the religion, choose a place to camp during the four months of the Chaturmas. During this period, religious leaders guide devotees on the teachings of Lord Mahavir. The daily activities during the Chaturmas include religious discourses, discussion on various religious matters and also sanskar classes for children.

What are the obligations of the devotees during the holy period?

Devotees  attend discourses daily and also observe some penance like total (nirankar) fasting for a day or more, but that is not enough. The devotees are also advised to follow the principle of non-violence, to shun hatred and to forgive others during this holy period. The eight-day-long Paryushan Mahaparva, which will be observed from September 2 to 9, is the most important part of the Chaturmas.

Sawantsari Mahaparva, the last day of Paryushan Mahaparva, is the most holy day when devout Jains all over the world observe a fast. The Chaturmas is a period of spiritual purification.

What is the relevance of the Ahimsa (non-violence) principle in today's world?

The principle of non-violence has become even more relevant at present in view of the growing incidents of terrorism all over the world. Love begets peace and hatred begets violence. Mahatma Gandhi too advocated non-violence to fight against the British. The root cause of most ills in the world is hatred towards other people or entities. If people love their fellow beings and also all living beings, there will be peace and happiness in the world.

Nehru the gardener was my inspiration

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 !