Chairperson: Prof: R.M.Phadke
Podar Hiker’s Club organised trips to many locations such as Matheran via Dodhane Village, Ahupe Ghat, Peth, Sagargadh, Purandar Fort, Tandulwadi, Karnala and Irshal. The Club also celebrated its 25th year with celebrations and a re-union of Ex-Podarites. A rappelling training session was organised by the members of Podar Hiker’s Club on the Podar College Tower.
Trek you must!
Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning a lion wakes up.
It knows that it must outrun the fastest gazelle or it will starve to death.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle,
When the sun comes up you better be running,
When weekend comes up you better be trekking,
Sickness and disease, are waiting to grab you,
So is the wild and nature,
But few choose nature and respond to this call of wild
So few become trekkers and nature lovers.
Date: September 5, 2009
Venue: Auditorium, R. A. Podar College
Celebrating 25 years of Hiking!!!
All preparations made, the crowd started trickling in by 10AM. Although a few technical glitches did come up, after making sure that all is in place, Podar Hikers Club (PHC) began celebrating its Silver Jubilee Celebrations by felicitating the Guest of Honour, Mr. Surendra Chavan, the first Indian Civilian to successfully surmount Mt. Everest. Ameya Mahajan, Secretary PHC and Manish Didwania, Treasurer PHC, greeted the Guest of Honour. The event was hosted by Disha Sheth and Pooja Sadalge.
A Journey since 1983 of the various hikes undertaken by the Podar Hikers Club under various secretaries was beautifully compiled into a presentation by the current committee members and was then showcased to the audience. This wouldn’t have been possible without the photographs provided by the parents of Shailesh Palekar, one of the members who re started the club and is currently in Australia. The Chief Guest, Mr. Surendra Chavan, shared vast experiences while surmounting Mount Everest. He also added some amazing facts like how it took him almost 3 hours to prepare tea and also added the fact that team spirit and comradeship are one of the essentials for hiking. A question and answer round then followed wherein the curious audience asked for some health tips. Prof. Kamtekar then shared his experiences of his first ever hike this year. The Principal of R. A. Podar College, Mrs. Shobana Vasudevan Ma’am, then added further experience to the gathering with her encouraging words for Podar Hikers’ Club. The event ended at around 12 noon.
The evening celebrations were specially organised for ex-podarites, who over the 25 years have had their own shares in shaping up Podar Hikers Club as it stands today. Among the ex podarites was Mangesh Chavan, who came especially for the event from Ratnagiri as also Gopal Iyer who flew from Dubai for the event. The event commenced at 6.30 p.m. and was hosted by Jui Patil and Disha Sheth. The committee members had prepared a movie where all the past students shared their experiences about hiking as also how hiking has helped them in their career and in life. The audience was captivated by memorable incidences and also the scares that some hikes had generated in a few hikers. All past members also came up with their fond memories about Phadke sir, the chairperson of Podar Hikers Club. Shobana Ma’am quipped in to share experiences of her first hike. A brief summary on the activities conducted by Podar Hikers’ Club followed.
The presentation showcasing the journey once again followed. The past members personally shared their vivid hiking experiences on stage after which Phadke Sir was felicitated. Mr. Vikas Kavle also shared his experience and the initial troubles that he had faced when he first re-started Podar Hikers Club. A formal vote of thanks followed by a sumptuous dinner marked the conclusion of a once-in-a-lifetime event.