Precision Guppa has undoubtedly won hearts of people over the last 9 years with its magical composition of candid interviews with versatile personalities to unravel and showcase their life journey, musical events arranged and performed as never seen before, and an Awards Ceremony to honor individuals or organizations with a passion for social change, serving their society. If one experiences the entire event with an artist’s perception, the Guppa brought together countless brush strokes of a wide range of colors, painted on a life-sized canvas to create an unparalleled masterpiece of inspirational vision.
The journey of Precision Guppa began in the year 2009, and since then its commitments to offer something unique to the people of Solapur has dawned year by year creating a natural space in the hearts of the people. On each of the three day event, the team accommodates people to also sit outside the hall once it reaches full capacity and enjoy the event on a big screen installed in the premises of the venue. The highest number of attendees recorded on a single day stands at a whopping 1250. Clearly, the Precision Guppa crew knows how to send its artistic celebration across even after their venue is packed to the rafters!
Talented personalities like Amol Palekar, Dr. Prakash Baba Amte, Atul Kulkarni, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Nilima Mishra, Sushilkumar Shinde, Dr. Ramesh Panse among others have graced the event with their presence in the past. In the 2015 edition, one of the awards was presented to ‘Swadhar – Gramin Shramik Pratishthan’ which is an organization run by 65-year-old Mr. Harishchandra Sudhe in Latur district for the blind and differently abled. Mr. Madhav Deshpande of Precision Foundation said, "If when such young people can bring shame to young people like us and work with such enthusiasm, no one will be left blind and there will be no darkness left in anyone's eyes". This statement put tears of compassion into the eyes of almost every audience member.
Precision Guppa 2017 started off with a musical flourish. Words that feed the soul and compositions which could cause anyone to sway to the beat. Magical arrangements of Lt. Shantabai Shelke, a renowned name in Marathi Literature, recited by the veteran actor Dr. Girish Oak and performed by Mandar Apte, Madhuri Karwarkar, Vidya Karalgikar to complete the dream team. This event was followed by an interview of Dr. Girish Oak in conversation with Mangalatai Khadilkar.
The second day was nothing less than a roller coaster ride of laughter. Funny punches, impeccably timed performances and extreme wittiness of an artist whom people of all ages love and appreciate - Mr. Ramdas accompanied by his wife and script writer, Mrs. Aparna Padhye. A ventriloquist who has earned worldwide acclaim, his characters or rather puppets, ’Tom The Terrific’, ‘Waghoba’, ‘Tatya Vinchu’ and a name which can be never be forgotten, the famous character, ‘Ardhavatrao’ who recently turned 100 years of age. Members of Precision Foundation celebrated his birthday in a traditional style at the event. The number of attendees was a massive 1010, the second highest in the history of Precision Guppa! Mr. and Mrs. Padhye were interviewed by Mrs. Smita Gavhankar. Indeed, an unforgettable day of gut-busting laughs.
The final day of Precision Guppa 2017 was solely dedicated to the people who strive to make this society from unimaginable to sustainable.
The Lt. Subhash Raoji Shah Memorial Award was presented to Mr. Kaustubh Amte of the ‘Maharogi Seva Samiti, Varora’ and the Social Recognition Award was presented to ‘Jeevan Jyoti Sanstha’ for their relentless work towards empowerment of Women in Jeur, Akkalkot in Solapur district. Mrs. Vaishali Karvekar, Mr. Parvez Shaikh, Ms. Bhakti Jadhav, Mr. Amir Tadwalkar, Mr. Nihar Kulkarni and Ms. Swarali Hatwalne were amongst others to be felicitated for their individual contributions towards the society. This was followed by an interview of Dr. Vikas Amte conducted by Dr. Mandar Paranjape.
Precision Foundation’s next two events, ‘Precision Sangeet Mahotsav 2018’ and ‘Solapur International Film Festival 2018’ are scheduled to be held on 3rd and 4th February 2018, and 16th, 17th and 18th of February 2018 respectively.
Next year will be the 10th year of Precision Guppa, so the excitement level will of course will be 10 times higher as Precision Guppa has now become a household name amongst Solapurkars of all ages. It is our hope that this year’s celebration of artistic and social accomplishments will continue to remain in peoples’ hearts forever.
Giving back to your society’. It’s such a wonderful concept to strive towards, but so nuanced and difficult to truly execute for organizations all over the globe. However, true philanthropists are born with the dedication and purity of that one statement, once they can evolve it into a perspective within the lens of their own society. Precision Foundation has demonstrated this exact perspective in their society over the last decade and counting.
Precision Foundation was formed in 2006 – far before CSR became mandatory under the Companies Act of 2013. This is testimony to the fact that the Foundation realized far earlier than most, of how significant it was to involve themselves in the betterment of their society. Now, let us unpack this term ‘betterment’.
If we look at betterment through the lens of Education, enrolment in India’s public and private schools has increased with rising literacy rates but the country still struggles with how to improve the low quality of public education. Approximately 53% of fifth graders cannot read at a second-grade level, while 46% cannot solve a two-digit subtraction problem.
So, how did it strive to change or at least make an improvement to this problem? Right from setting up computer labs to adopting schools in rural areas, providing teaching aids by conducting educational workshops to sponsoring infrastructure and talented athletes, Precision Foundation has covered a vast range of improvements to the quality of Education in and around rural and underdeveloped areas of Solapur district.
Perhaps no other field can enrich and bring the society together like Art & Culture. To sustain our social and cultural heritage, we must embrace, perform, and celebrate it. Art is nothing but the artist's expression in any form, be it a song, painting, book, dance or movie. All that an artist needs is a platform to showcase his talent and the right audience to appreciate it. The Foundation organizes annual events such as the ‘Precision Guppa’, ‘Precision Sangeet Mahotsava’, and ‘Solapur International Film Festival’ to entertain and enrich our society.
As far as Social Issues in Solapur are concerned, water scarcity is one of the major problems to victimize the city. The Foundation has made a mark in providing solutions to such issues which are often neglected by others. During water shortages, it has provided drinking water to many residential colonies which were severely affected. The Foundation has also kept its society’s most tender, vulnerable moments in mind by upgrading and maintaining a local Crematorium. It provided constant attention to the crematorium for 5 years in terms of cleanliness, water availability and other areas.
Nowadays, it is becoming tougher and tougher to protect our society with quality Healthcare. We hear of so many lives taken by epidemics, deadly diseases and viruses like Swine Flu, Dengue and others. The Foundation has combated this terrifying issue by educating people about symptoms, causes and prevention of such diseases. Various health awareness programs, health camps, blood donation camps and even infrastructure development for a Speech Therapy Centre at Shetphal and donation of a BERA Test Machine at V.M. Medical College & General Hospital in Solapur, have all been made possible through Precision Foundation.
This incredible journey of truly giving back to society doesn’t end here! The Foundation has portrayed its vision for a society driven by Sustainability, which can be achieved by caring for our environment with innovative methods. Providing solar panels to power digital classrooms for schools, and partnering with Greensole to provide footwear made from recycled shoes to school children are some of the groundbreaking initiatives by the Foundation to conserve, protect and sustain our environment.
In Mother Teresa’s words, "It isn’t how much we give, but how much love we put into giving". Precision Foundation, under the guidance of Dr. Suhasini Shah, continues to demonstrate love for its society by taking part in a blanket of focused initiatives, all of which integrate to form a positive, sustainable and lasting impact on society.
Stay tuned to our blog section to find out how Precision Foundation is impacting lives and uplifting societies.
Written By: Govinda Gujar
Edited by: Ankit Damani & Mayura Davda-Shah