Marathi Sakhis gather again

The 8th annual Sakhi Ga Sakhi was held on August 21, and was well attended by over 250 Maharashtrian and non-Maharashtrian women and girls from all over Sydney. Organised by Manjusha Ranadive, Manasai Gore, Shweta Pradhan and Kavita Khavare, the attendees lit up the venue with their finest traditional attire.

Sakhi Ga Sakhi was started by the Marathi Association Sydney Inc (MASI) in 2004, as a special day for Maharashtrian ladies and girls of all ages, to get away from their daily routine and meet together to enjoy a day full of fun and frolic.

Medha Kelshikar and her group of 21 ladies, now officially titled ‘Canberra Sakhi’, committed themselves to a 6 am start on a cold Sunday morning and did a 6-hour round trip to attend the Sakhi Ga Sakhi in Sydney, thus marking the beginning of interstate participation.

The theme for this year was Shravan, considered as the auspicious month in the Hindu calendar, which is also full of festivities like Nag Panchami, Raksha Bandhan or Narali Poornima, Janmashtami to name a few. The month is synonymous with nature’s beauty as seen in the midst of the monsoon season in India.

Sakhis were welcomed by offering the traditional Maharashtrian haldi-kumkum and were served a very Marathi breakfast. While the venue offered a platform to home-based entrepreneur Sakhis to promote their wares at no cost, the line of stalls kept attendees engaged in their passion, shopping! A very interesting variety of goods ranging from handbags, jewellery, food, beauty services, mehndi, decorative flowers, cosmetics and many more adorned the venue.

Soon the Sakhis settled down as the cultural program unfolded, beginning with the Ganesh stuti. Other performances followed like short skits and dances.

Sarika Gavande stole the show with her Gavalan while Neha Mankar’s Devicha Gondhal gave the audience a glimpse of Marathi tradition. Yogini Lele entertained the guests with a modern Gokul skit while Rashmi Padhye with her Quakers Hill group portrayed Mangalagaur

In an extension of the entertainment, Shraddha Madiwale narrated experiences as a driving school instructor, while Sunita Baste introduced the attendees to her yoga and meditation classes.

The highlight of the show was the crowning of Young Sakhi, Sakhi and Senior Sakhi. Eight-yearold Roma Kore took the ‘Little Sakhi’ title; Radhika Gawade the ‘Mrs Sakhi’ title, and Sumitra Tulpule the ‘Senior Sakhi’ title.

Lunch was a delicious vegetarian banquet of hot entrees and range of vegetarian delicacies, followed by mango kulfi. It was then time for the ladies and girls to let loose on the dance floor, to the sounds of Marathi and Bollywood re-mixes. The event ended on a high note at 5pm, with a collective commitment to meet again next year.