Prashna

After reading about 638387.org, we would like to know your views on -

‘How, and for what, would you use the portal 638387.org?

Photos

I have uploaded photographs about few of the mission articles on picasa.
The link to the pics is -
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/mission.ameya

Please do see the photos, I hope you enjoy them!

‘638387’ Arthat Bharatdarshan

638387.org is a portal about the 6,38,387 villages in India. Sanjay Bapat, the creator of this portal, doesn't have a background of social movement. He, in fact, comes from the corporate world of advertising. He initially started a portal to connect corporate companies to various NGOs, the former with the availability of various resources, and the latter needing them. He realised while working on this project that it was limited to the big cities, that the majority part of India, beyond the few developed cities, was almost never considered. This led him to create 638387.org, the portal that contains information about all the Indian villages. This info is collected not just from the governmental records. It connects everyone, from a villager to an NRI, the district and taluka level governmental organisations, to NGOs, to the ‘Bachat Gat’s, to even the corporate companies and funding agencies and links them together. The virtual activity will also be supported by actual work-programmes, complete with ‘Village Jankar’, and media participation for advocacy. While it may seem like a fiction or a fantasy to some, it is veru much the reality in the technologically advanced and globally connected world we live in!
- Mukta Paranjape

The link is:
http://www.loksatta.com/daily/20080816/ch11.htm
Article written by: Medha kulkarni

Sanjay Bapat's contact no. : 9820073559

Vijayanta’s Contact Info and ‘Aajcha Prashna’

Here are the contact details of Vijayanta:
Aapulki - Vijayanta Chitale, Delhi
Ph – 011 2027 0939
Email – apli_apulki@yahoo.co.in

We would also like to know your views on –

Which skill need to be inculcated by Marathi Manoos to propogate Marathi culture.

Please post your opinions by replying to this post.

‘Dilli’tali Marathi ‘Aapulki’

We Maharasthrians have been forever lamenting about the lack of any concrete Marathi presence in our Capital. Well, here is something heartening for all of us – Vijayanta Chitale, a Delhi-based ‘Marathi manus’, has successfully taken up the challenge of popularising Marathi cuisine, and promoting Marathi culture, amongst the Delhites. Vijayanta, a student of hotel management, on realising that most non-Maharashtrians have never experienced the delights of Marathi cuisine, spotted a business opportunity, in a market untapped as yet. Focusing on the concept of propagation of Marathi cuisine outside of Maharashtra, he employed his culinary skills to introduce and promote Marathi food in Delhi, through ‘Aapulki’, his enterprise, and today, 50% of his clientele is non-Maharashtrian. Not limiting himself to just the culinary aspects of Marathi culture, he reached out to the Marathi community in Delhi, realising their desire to connect themselves with each-other, and worked to keep the Marathi culture alive and flourishing in Delhi. If Aapulki has transcended the boundaries of a business venture, to become an active social and cultural platform, it is because of Vijayanta’s vision and sense of social commitment.
- Mukta Paranjape


Just click on the link below to read Vijayanta’s story –

http://www.loksatta.com/daily/20080802/ch11.htm
(Written by: Medha Kulkarni)