Fighting stigma, several menstruating women in Gadchiroli villages are confined to dilapidated huts, on the outskirts of the villages, called Kurma Ghars, “period huts” or “safe havens”. Over the past year, these dilapidated ‘kurma ghars’ in four Gadchiroli villages (Kondawahi, Salebhatti, Godalwahi and Kupaner) have been rebuilt with bricks and cement with improvements such as proper sanitation systems, dormitories, terraces, kitchen areas and sewing machines. A fifth ‘kurma ghar’ is being renovated in Chavela village, while four new shelters are being prepared for overhaul.
At the heart of this transformation is The Time & Talents Club, a BombayMaharashtra based charity organization, which over the last 90 years has run various projects providing relief to tribal communities in Maharashtra, facilitated women empowerment projects and at the same time led programs to provide medical, educational and social relief in urban areas.
On Wednesday, The Time and Talents Club will celebrate its 90th anniversary at the Mini Turf Club at Mahalaxmi Racecourse, where former Supreme Court judge Rohinton Nariman will launch a coffee table book. Hosted by television host and actor Parishad Kolah Marshall, the event will also feature musical performances by two opera singers: Natalie Di Luccio, an Italian-Canadian soprano, and Frazan Adil Kotwal, a baritone who will perform in Germany.
The coffee book will include recipes and a chronicle of the organization’s history dating back to the 1930s. It was in 1934 that four young women, Gool Shavaksha, Hilla Daruvala, Sooni Mulla and Roshan Sethna came together to launch the club, inspired by an English group dedicated to charitable works. Their first party was organized in 1935 at the Mulla family residence in Marine Lines, where handmade jewellery, embroidered napkins and jam jars were sold to raise funds for a worthy cause. In the years that followed, the organization became known for its concerts, charity food sales, events and recipe books, all with the aim of raising funds and awareness for its social causes.
Over the last few decades, The Time and Talents Club has been involved in various improvement and assistance projects across Maharashtra, with special focus on rural areas where lack of basic infrastructure has eluded residents for long. Like the Kurma Ghar reform project, the organization has led sustainable initiatives such as providing rainwater harvesting infrastructure, smoke-free chulhas, solar lighting and agricultural infrastructure, among others, which have created direct income streams and empowered women. The organization also facilitates skill training programs like typing, computer courses, nursing, mehandi and sewing among farming families to ensure employment during the fallow months of agriculture.
Through committees ranging from its MES to welfare committees, the organization has also raised funds for children and young adults with cancer, thalassemia, aplastic anemia, kidney-related diseases, etc.
On Wednesday, The Time and Talents Club will celebrate its 90 years of rich history with opera and the launch of a cookbook that will also be interspersed with the story of its origins. “The money raised from the event and book sales will go towards various charitable works and programs of the NGO,” Bakhtawar Shroff, president of the organisation, told The indian express.
For tickets and details contact: 8369972136 or ttclub1934@hotmail.com