Street fun in Bharuch

Normally ­Gujaratis welcome the onset of winter by celebrating winter mornings with food that keeps the body warm through the day — such as dishes made of fresh garlic leaves or a halwa — yes halwa in the morning, remember this is Gujarat… made with methi (fenugreek) and jaggery, bajra (millet) rotis, etc.

But as during the last two winters, this year too RC Bharuch Narmada Nagari, D 3060, decided to celebrate the Gujarat winter in a unique way by organising a novel event titled Rotary ni Dhamal Galli or Street Fun!

Club President Poonam Seth said the project was conceptualised “so as to attract a large number of people in one prominent place in the city to have fun and fellowship during winter mornings. The idea is to establish Rotary’s identity and create awareness about Rotary and enhance its public image among the larger community.”

So a buzzing street of Bharuch, where many citizens hang out, was identified for this fun and PR exercise. “We took special permission from the Bharuch Police, local municipality and district administration, and with their cooperation, the road was closed for traffic and alternate traffic route arranged for the people,” she said.

Organised during a Sunday morning in order to attract a larger number of people, particularly the youth, lots of fun games were planned, along with Zumba dance, garba and live rock bands adding a flair to the event.

Traditional activities such as gilli-danda, kite flying, rassa khench, lakhoti, tyre rolling, street cricket, street painting, applying mehndi, and street plays were also organised. Youngsters including schoolchildren, Interactors and Rotaractors were encouraged to put up food stalls.

The event was partnered, apart from Interact and Rotaract, by NGOs such as Clean Bharuch Green Bharuch, Senior Citizens Club of Bharuch, Bharuch Agarwal Samaj, Art of Living Foundation Bharuch and the Asmita School for mentally- challenged children.

During the event in which about 2,500 people participated, a lot of information was shared about Rotary and the humanitarian projects it carries out. With Jan 28 being a polio NID, a polio booth was put up at the venue and about 70 children were given polio drops.