Seventy six years later, Hari Ganesh Sane affectionately called Haribhau, can look back with satisfaction on a project nurtured with care. ``We would play for the love of the game. Sincerity and discipline was there as we learnt under the guidance of our teacher, G S Joshi,'' recalls 93-year-old Sane.

Love for sports found young Sane on the ground every day with the other enthusiastic members -- Dwarkanath Joshi, Trimbak Abhyankar, Vishnu Athawale, Dattatreya Sathye, Vinayak Gokhale, Ganesh Datar and Trimbak Karkhanis.

``Initially, we would play cricket, hockey and volleyball but soon we started to concentrate on kho-kho, atya-patya, kabaddi and other Indian games. Kaka Joshi, our teacher and Shankarrao Kanitkar, our principal, encouraged us. Our first victory was in the PYC Gymkhana's kho-kho open tournament in 1927. Two years later, we won the Baroda Hindu Gymkhana's shield,'' he says pointing to a yellowing photograph that hangs in the office of the Sangh at the Shivaji Mandir in Sadashiv Peth. Sane's talent for games instruction did not go unrecognised.

``I never imagined that one day I would become a sports teacher. The principal of the Ahilyadevi Girls' School convinced me to start instructing in 1939.'' Sane inculcated discipline and love for the game in his students till 1963 when he took voluntary retirement. His involvement with the Sangh, however, remained. ``Around 1940, consideration of career choices compelled other members to become less involved in the Sangh. Alongwith Baburao Godbole, a teacher at New English School and Sadubhau Godbole, a senior player who specialised in atya-patya, hututu (which evolved into kabaddi) and kho-kho, Sane was able to carry on.

Sane also played a little known part in the freedom struggle.``During the 1942 Quit India Movement letters for activists would be addressed to my house and then be conveyed to them,'' he remembers.

As a private institute promoting Indian sports, the Sangh has many accomplishments.``In 1959, we held competitions in which 291 teams participated, 61 from outside the city. At the time, four kho-kho events were conducted simultaneously. Unfortunately, atya-patya, the king of traditional sports, is slowly dying out. Efforts to regenerate interest in the game have not found favour. In 1959, the organisation arranged an atya-patya championship in which 291 teams took part,'' recalls Sane. Says Vishwanath Phatak, a trustee,`` To keep an organisation running it is necessary to infuse young blood. Sane has been able to successfully mould generations of players who have gone on to win awards. His organisational skills and ability to understand youngsters are commendable.''

Sane believes that games involve science and technique. He has constantly striven to improve quality.

A firm believer in experimentation his ideas include that of a portable woollen kabaddi field with inter-woven lines was much appreciated by the All-India kabaddi symposium in 1967 just when the game was going international. In 1952, he presented the idea of the bonus line in kabaddi. It was accepted in 1983 by the Kabaddi Federation of India. Says Phatak, ``He believed that women should be on equal terms with men in sports so he made arrangements for a separate work-out section for them. In keeping with the catch'em young policy, Sane encouraged youngsters to take part in sports. He is extremely patient with the children.'' Today, the Sangh has under its wing an exercise division with a separate section for women and a gymnastic section. Kabaddi and kho-kho have seen the institute's sportpersons win national awards. In 1975, a modern gymnasium was put into place.

A gymnasium for ladies and a section for senior citizens are other innovative undertakings. As part of the platinum jubilee celebrations, work has already begun on an informative book about sports organisations and sportspersons in Pune in the twentieth century. Meticulous in his approach, Sane has painstakingly kept records of accounts, papers, periodicals, photographs and medals associated with the Sangh since its inception.

He is not altogether happy about the state of Indian games in the national arena. ``These days, the game is in the hands of those who are not even familiar with it. In my time, we were not preoccupied with money or a photograph in the newspaper,'' he rues. But the irrepressible optimist in him does not perceive a bleak scenario. In May, he initiated a new project called the Pune Madhyavarti Aarogya Va Krida Sanghatna whose aim is to have a healthier Pune in the millennium.

``Values like gratitude and selflessness are becoming increasingly rare. While there are many sports lovers, those who actually play are few. If given the right kind of guidance and will, we could change that. Citizens could meet at a public garden or a sports ground and follow a 15-minute exercise routine,'' says Sane who wants to be personally involved in this plan.

After a lifetime of involvement in and dedication to the field of sports the indefatigable Sane is still raring to go.