Program Report
Walk the memory lane at Bori Utsav 2009……..
The village of Bori was full of joy as the Borikars entered the Deulwada area through Drug Controller of India - Shankar Keshav Borkar Praveshdwar. This was first occasion when all the Borikars of from all over the world gathered in their mother village of Bori.
The First World Borikar Convention was a held from 25th to 27th Dec 2009, at Navdurga Temple complex – Bori, Ponda Goa. The three days were a grand success as Borikars could meet their brethren for the first time in history.
We started the morning with registration of delegates. The delegates had their batches, kit (bag, writing material, copy of Bimb – monthly published by Shri Dilip Borkar along with the Borikar contact list.
After breakfast, all the delegates assembled at the Navadurga Lake in Bori walking through the Major Dr. Mablu Dotu Borkar Praveshdhwar for inauguration of the Anandyatri Padmashri Kavivarya Balkrishna Bhagwant Borkar alias Bakibab’s statue. This has a great relevance as the statue, made by Shri Kamalakar Phaldesai from Bicholim, was a joint project of Lok Chetana, a NGO promoting Goan cultural values, Government of Goa, Village Panchayat – Bori and World Borikar Convention. This was a true tribute from the Goans to the great poet.
The inauguration was very special as two great Goans Dr. Premanand Ramani, Neurologist of world fame and also a great social figure from Wadi along with Adv. Uday Bhembre, a noted poet, writer, journalist, orator, social personality and lawyer were our guest of honors. It was special for three of Bakibab’s daughters and several other relatives were present. Dr. Shyam Borkar, a nephew of Bakibab wrote a great poem in his honor. On the lake with a backdrop of hillocks, swaying of the palms stands the statue of Bakibab, a poet who has personified poetry on love and nature. This is the first and best tribute to his memory from the Goans.
After the inauguration, the Borikars walked to the Navdurga Temple accompanied by the 200 shigmo players of Shree Awadekar Samaj. The beat of the drum the traditionally clad shigmo players were dancing with joy to welcome the Borikars home together for the first time. The procession of the ensemble was moment to experience the slow and steady pace, the simplicity and rich traditions of the village supported faithfully in the passage of time.
The temple entrance welcomed the Borikars with nice rangoli’s (a sand painting decoration made from finely grounded white and colored powders) and traditional matoli (an arrangement on the ceiling of all local fruits, vegetables and agricultural produce). The banana stems and leaves with flowers created a nice ambience.
The master of ceremonies welcomed all to the pandal covering the entire Navdurga Temple complex. The program started with Ganesh stavan (a vocal tribute to Lord Ganesha, the god of knowledge) which was accompanied by Bharatnatyam presentation by Kum. Manila Shirodkar. For Bori Utsav – 2009, noted Borikar poet Shri. Dilip Borkar penned a special song of the occasion and was sung and composed by another Borikar Shri Gaurish Talwalkar, accompanied by Sanjiv Borkar on tabla. The song of the Utsav was liked by all and soon become the tune of the convention.
The program started with lighting of the traditional lamp followed by welcome by working president Shri Sagar Bhat and secretary Shri Devidas Devari. Agnelo Fernandes laid down the background of the World Borikar Convention. The Padmashri Kavivarya Balkrishna Bhagwant Borkar Manch (KBBBM) saw release of three books.
Poet Balakrishna Bhagawant Borkar - A Glimpse of some of his poems Transformed in English by D.S. Vajram
Baki Vishesh - By Dilip Borkar
Manatale Aakash - By Prof. Gulab Anil Vernekar
The Birth Centenary of the stalwarts Borikars - Padmashri Kavivarya Balkrishna Bhagwant Borkar, Drug Controller of India - Shankar Keshav Borkar and Major Dr. Mablu Dotu Borcar was celebrated at the convention.
Adv. Uday Bhembre analyzed the greatness of Babkibab while Mugdha Borkar enumerated the work of Shankar Borkar and Major Dr. Mablu Borkar. Momentos were presented to the family members of Stalwart Borikars of Yesteryears at the hands of Dr. Premanand Ramani.
Dr. Premanand Ramani addressed the audience and appreciated the work of Borikars and pledge support for any activities.
Dr. Nitin Borkar, President WBC, addressed the convention and urged the Borikars to experience the benefits of the gathering participating in all activities and sharing their knowledge and experiences with each other. Dr. Satish Keluskar proposed vote of thanks. Sunil Sawkar – Sarpanch of Bori Village attended the session.
The afternoon session was a great feast for children of Bori. Santa Claus had visited Navdurga temple for the first time. The children had fun and frolic time with the Santa Claus dancing to the jingles. They enjoyed the gifts and goodies distributed.
The program continued with felicitation of Borikar children- who had achieved academic and cultural excellence. Prize distribution was also done for Drawing competition held on December 20, 2009. The topic for the drawing was “Bori’s Nature”. President’s Bravery award winner Nihal Ramkant Borkar was also felicitated on the occasion. The program was presided by Dr. Subhash Bhende, noted marathi writer.
In afternoon session, at the Sawatantrasenani Laxmidas Krishna Borkar Manch (SLKBM) the poetry session led by Prafulla Borkar, Vishram Borkar, along with Poet Dilip Borkar was conducted.
Poets Ashok & Kavita Borkar, Gulab Vernekar, Ramesh Vaskar, Ratnakar Desai, Uday Tamhankar, Chitra & Prakash Shivsagar presented their poems. The poems were appreciated by all.
The poetry session was followed by lecture on Tukaram Gatha by Sharad Baliram Borkar, Zilla Parishad member from Varvade, Ratnagiri. The knowledge of the saint was simplified by Sharadbab for the crowd.
After tea and snacks in the evening folk dances by each nine wards of Bori, were presented by Borikar women. The huge crowds of 1500 people were mesmerized by the folk dances of Bori, which have been preserved over hundreds of years. This was followed by Diwja-the procession of lights, with more than hundred women participating, made the evening memorable.
The Navdurga palanquin was accompanied by Dhol troupe of Ratnagiri Borikars. The Avedekar samaj presented the ghumat Aarti. This jugalbandhi of the Borikars from Ratnagiri and Bori was an audio visual treat.
The late evening session belonged to the music aficionados of Bori. The session was started by budding artiste Yogiraj Borkar’s sitar recital accompanied by Shailesh Gaonkar on tabla. The presentation of Sitar by Yogiraj was appreciated by all. Last session was by SangeetNatak Academy winner, Pt Tulshidas Borkar’s solo harmonium recital. He presented classical and semi classical natya sangeet along with his unique style of his Guru P. Madhukar. The session concluded at 11.30.
ËËËËËË
Day 2:
Young and old joined the yoga shibir at the Navdurga mandap at 7 am. Pranayam session was conducted by Shri Suraj Kanekar, Head of Patanjali Yog Kendra, Goa. All attending were energized on the cool morning and practiced the asanas under the direction of teachers from Aum Nitya Divya Yogashram, Bethoda. Ankush Gaonkar has actively conducted a Yoga workshop for 8 days with 120 kids. 40 students after training participated in the competitions held on December 13, 2009.
Morning session at KBBBM witnessed felicitation of Borikar children for sports excellence. The winners of mini marathon conducted on 20th Dec from one end of Bori (Simeshwar) to other end (Deulwada) were awarded.
Swami Vivekanand School has produced more than 350 sportsmen and sportswomen who have participated at national level (baseball, kho kho & softball) and at international level baseball, under the guidance of award winning Coach Dilip Naik. The crowd cheered when their heroes at Japan, & Thailand as they took their honors. The prizes were distributed by ex-MP Ramakant Angle also the Chairman of Baseball commission of India.
The choir group of St. Francis Xavier Church, Bori, sang Christmas carols.
SLKBM in the morning session had review of Medical Health of Borim residents Past, Present and Future. Dr. Vallabh Dhaimodker, Dr. Rajendra Tamba, Dr. Purnima Usgaonkar, Dr. Jagdish Kakodkar from the IMA Ponda Charitable Trust participated in the session. Indira Gandhi Priyadarshani Award winner Dr. Nagesh Borkar presided over the function. The function was well attended by the Borikar medicos and everybody offered help to support a medical activity in Bori. Dr. Shirish Borkar, Dr. Rajan Borkar, Dr. Ram Parkar, MLA Mahadev Naik also participated in the session.
This was followed by a stress Management Workshop by Sangam Borkar. The information provided was beneficial to handle the stress prone lifestyle adopted by the new generation.
In the afternoon, KBBBM had a Amateur Borikar Talent Show presented by the Borikars. The items included dances, devotional, natyasangeet, bhavageet, mimicry and several other forms which were liked by one and all. The musical group led by Chandrakant Borkar from Sanvordem presented popular Hindi Film music of the yesteryears.
The afternoon session at SLKBM had a Literature appreciation session led by Ramesh Vanskar, Ratnakar Desai, Gulab Vernekar, N. Shivdas and group. The discussion was thought provoking and helped in promoting a platform for literature to the Borikars.
The keynote address at the Women’s talent show was by Dr. Pramod Salgaonkar – Chairperson for Goa State Commission for Women. The session involved women to participate in general knowledge quiz competition on women issues. The activity benefited the women empowerment cause immensely.
All evening session programs were at KBBBM started with a documentary produced by a NGO Marg to bring awareness on road accidents. The documentary “Race” was well received by all.
The next program highlighted the Theatre Arts of Borim. Kalol te Katyar had a audiovisual presentation on the Sangeet Natak journey for past 30 years by Dr. Pradeep Borkar. He and his troupe has been doing the musical marathi plays for the Vasant Panchami which is the talk of the village. Also Agnelo Fernandes of Vandana Arts showed the glimpses of the Tiatro Trends. The scenario of Bori after 25 years was hilarious and took applause from all the crowd.
The main feature of the convention was a unique audio visual presentation on Poet Bakibab Borkar by Dr. Ajay Vaidya, Sumedha Desai & Chandrakant Vernekar. This featured recital of Bakibab’s poetry by Dr. Ajay Vaidya classified in various time periods and also presented songs composed on his poems by the duo to bring the greatness of the poet’s creativity.
ËËËËËË
Day 3:
The trip to Siddanath Parvat was great attaraction for the Borikars visiting Bori for the first time. Shripad Sawakar was our leader to guide us at the ancient Shree Siddheshwar Temple and the fresh water Tali (pond) situated at the 1200 ft eighth highest peak in Goa. The Borikars also had a hike though the nature’s trail at Bhutataal, the highest point on the Siddanath Parvat.
KBBBM had the most important session of the convention. A symposium to study the Bori Development plans. Sanjay Bhat Borkar – Leader of the Bori Development team along with sarpanch Sunil Sawakar and Arch. Jitendra Devari led the program. At the outset, Sanjay presented the master plan approved during the regional planning by Govt. of Goa to handle the unmet development needs of the village.
A panel of seven experts, Shrirang Jambhale – Gram Vikas Kendra – Savoi Verem, Dr. Dhumo, ex-Child Nutrition Officer – Health Department , Govt of Goa, Dr. Seema Kamat, Vice Principal, PES College, Ponda and a wetland expert, Dr. Satyawan Naik, Veterinarian, Govt. of Goa, Twinkle Mainekar, Gram Sevika, Block Development Office, Ponda, Goa, Dr. Umakant Borkar, ex- MLA – Shirshee, Premanand Naik – Social Welfare Dept. Govt of Goa, covered major areas of development needs of Bori. The session was opened to public for Q&A. Borikars showed keen interest to the issues affecting their growth and the needs of Bori.
At the SLKBM morning session, the World Borikar Convention focused on education of the next generation in the village with help from Dilip Desai. A career guidance was arranged led by Dr. Narayan Desai, Principal of Mashem College and Shri Uday Ballikar to guide the students in high school. The program benefited the students. Dr. Dhumo and Rear Admiral Dr. Jivan Mablu Borkar also addressed the students. The session helped students appraise of the various avenues to further their career.
The Journalist of the Year Award (JOTYA) Ceremony 2009 was well attended by all. Adv. Uday Bhembre received the JOTYA 2009 award at the hands of Dr. Subash Bhende and Naguesh Karmali was the key note speaker for the session. Adv. Uday Bhembre’s 70 th birthday was celebrated at the convention with award of specially designed memento.
The closing session was felicitation of the Borikars of Today at the hands of Param Vishisht Seva Medal Winner ex- Admiral Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni. The stalwarts as Rear Admiral Dr. Jivan Borkar, Pt. Tulsidas Borkar and several other prominent Borikars were honored on the occasion.
Admiral Nadkarni appreciated the World Borikar Convention and blessed us with greater success in the future. Rear Admiral Dr. Jivan Borkar also reiterated opportunity the Borikars have provided for the development of their village. Dr. Nitin Borkar reviewed the three days of the function and presented a SWOT analysis of the village to bring consensus of the next steps for the development of Bori. Borikars applauded the idea of a Bori Development Trust to support the activities with assistance from the Bori NGO’s. Vote of thanks were proposed by Prafulla Borkar.
Farwell Dinner for all Borikars was a great culmination of the three days of the convention and six months of labor which all Borikars enjoyed.
The last session of the convention was the Musical Concert by renowned Sitarist Ravindra Chari followed by Natya Sangeet of the Deenanth Manageshkar style by Bharat Balwally. The accompaniment was by Dayesh Kosambe on tabla and Vishwanath Khanere on harmonium.
All the 3 days there was Saatvik Konkani food, successfully arranged by Umesh Shivaji Borkar. 200 volunteers supported the entire arrangement and made the program a success.
A exhibition was arranged to give information og Bori institutions, stalwarts of Bori and village history. All the NGO’s and self help groups also participated. This was a main attraction for old and young alike. The Borikars were interested to find more information of their heritage.
Each year we will keep a platform for all Borikars to meet and exchange thoughts to help develop their mother village.
For visual treat click below slide show