By Nazneen Karbhari, XYZ Mom & Volunteer
I am a proud parent of an Xtremely Young Zoroastrian (XYZ) Riyan Karbhari from Salsette Parsi Colony. This is the second event organized by XYZ that my child attended.
- First one was the XYZ SUMMER CAMP
- Second on the recent TRIP TO KIDZANIA.
About the summer camp: Simple but powerful concepts like naming the groups based on the Zoroastrian legendary Kings and Queens, Serving the kids bawaji snacks like dar ni poli, ravo, bhakra, chapat etc. Making them dramatize or make presentations on the legends from our own history, having them speak in Gujarati etc. It was amazing and a very different experience for not only the XYZs but also young parents like me. My son surely learnt a lot from the camp. He had a ball of a time also in the intra colony crickball matches arranged.
About the trip to KIDZANIA: It’s really not just about the place where XYZ takes you but it is the concept behind it. The choice of place and the organizing skills of Hoshaang Gotla is only the icing on the cake…the real meat in the matter is the concept…before XYZ organizing such events when was the chance when all the generation next of our Zoroastrian clan got a chance to intermingle with each other and just spend the whole day having fun without any stress, competition or agenda. 165 XYZ children all from different parts of the city all having a gala time was a delightful sight.
Simple things like starting the journey to the venue by praying 2 Yatha Ahu Vairiyos and 1 Ashem Vohu are such simple but extremely powerful things that we forget practicing with our kids which XYZ inculcates in us again. Riyan had an awesome time role playing different professions…he doused fire as a fireman mounting a mini fire brigade, made a short animated clip art, climbed a mini building on a harness, painted a wall …. Just to name a few.
And last but not the least the pricing… Rs. 1000 was the cost… wow imagine …this included some snacks during the bus journey…cheese balls, waffles, cake, chocolates, bottled water to name a few. It also included lunch which was juice, noodles and pav bhaji. And this pricing also included travel cost along with at least 3 attendants in each bus… oh yes and not to forget the venue cost which alone was @ Rs. 950… 😉
Awesome job Mr. Gotla …my child is proud and blessed to be associated with XYZ and you will have me as a volunteer to help you in whatever way I can from here on.
