Urs Sharief celebrated
The annual Urs Sharief celebration of Hazrat Khwaja Maqdoom Sayeed Shah Hisamuddin Chisti Ashrafi was recently celebrated. On October 22, sandal was applied to the Dargah Sharief. On October 23 and 24, the Urs Sharief was celebrated and on October 25, Ziyarat was celebrated. The Quran Khwani and Fateha was conducted on October 22 from 9.30 am to 11.30 pm.

Gala time at QMTI
Soldiers undergoing various rehabilitation programmes at the Queen Mary's Technical Institute (QMTI) were entertained by a colourful cultural item put up by the Mahima Foundation recently. The dances were choreographed by Jyoti Mansukhani, founder member of the Mahima Foundation. Among the items put up was a fusion dance put up by 32 boys and girls. The trainees at the institute had a gala time. The programme was inaugurated by Col Arun Moghe, executive director of the institute.

Kankaria meeting held
The Kankaria Association of Pune held its annual meeting recently at Poonam Hotel. Almost 70 members of the Kankaria clan got together for the occasion. Jhumbarlalji Kankaria, president of the association felicitated the elderly members of the community. A trust, the Kankaria Jain Trust, was also established. The vote of thanks was proposed by Bhawrilal Kankaria.

Committee elected
At the annual general body meeting of the Albert Edward Institute and Cowasjee Dinshaw Hall and Library, Vijay Jagtap, Prakash Argade, Ramesh Gawali, J A Fernandes and Tajuddin Shaikh were elected president, vice-president, honorary secretary and treasurer respectively. Outgoing president, Amminuddin Shaikh and M K Irani, the outgoing vice-president proposed a vote of thanks.

Convocation time
The second convocation of the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute will be held on Tuesday, October 27. The programme will be held at the main building of the institute and will commence at 3.00 pm. V I Subramoniam, former vice-chancellor of the Tamil Nadu University, will deliver the convocation address. V N Misra, director of the institute, will preside over the function.

Festival atop Parvati
Shree Sakunmukhananda Sabha will celebrate Skanda Shashti festival at Parvati temple on October 26 from 7.30 am to 12.30 pm. The highlights of the festival include Abhishekhanam, Alankaram, Sahasranam Archanai, Deeparadhana to Lord Kartikeya. Details of the programme can be had from V Srinivasam on telephone - 362897 or S Bhageerathan at 629150.

Fine toned
Silvakumar Swami of the Rangehills Vyam Shala won the `Mr YMCA 1998' title and the rolling trophy in the YMCA body building competition held on October 17 at the YMCA hall. A total of 37 competitors participated in the event. Brig G R C Nair, commandant of the Army School of Physical Training (ASPT), was the chief guest for the function and gave away the trophy to the winners.

Vision for a better world
To raise awareness about poverty, hunger and diseases that afflict children, World Vision India has organised a 24-hour famine programme. On October 30, an inter-school cricket tournament has been arranged which will be played on the J N Petit School grounds. This will be followed by the `Famine Kick off Programme'. On October 31, they will be organising a singing competition at the Nehru Memorial Hall. The programme will start at 5.30 pm. For more details one can contact World Vision India at telephone number 611138 or 612278.

Dances at Daund
Daund awoke to the strains of dance and music as 19 different dance troupes participated in Nupur '98, a state level group dance competition held there recently. Teams from Satara, Ambejgaon, Baramati, Chakan and Pune participated. The first prize was won by the Bhave Primary School from Pune. They were awarded a cash prize of Rs 1,001, a trophy and a certificate.