NEWS & EVENTS

Children's Club Annual Day

Creativity at its best was displayed by members of the Bhavan’s Children’s Club on their Sixth Annual Day on February 22, 2026 when they displayed interesting items made by them. The Chief Guest, Vidushi Sahana Bharadwaj, Director of Sahana School of Performing Arts and Savitha Joshy, committee member of Kannada Sangh, went round the stalls and appreciated the work.
Children from various schools performed beautiful dances, sang songs, presented stand-up comedy shows, recited poems, did gymnastics and showcased their talents.
Children who had won awards in extracurricular activities at the state level, and national level were felicitated on the occasion and those who had conducted programmes during the year were presented with mementos by the Chief Guest.

Indian Knowledge System

The first IKS conference was held on February 21, 2026 and was organised by The IKS cell of Navi Mumbai Kendra.
A three and a half hour non-stop academic debate and deliberations on various facets of IKS and its integration with the educational system was held. It was attended by 150 delegates composed of teachers, students, and IKS members and organised by D Sen Gupta and Harish Aiyer.

Martyr’s Day

The Kendra’s Gyan Bharati organised a Martyr’s Day on January 30, 2026 when Dr. Shobha Radhakrishna, a renowned Gandhian and an internationally acclaimed speaker, spoke on Gandhi Katha.
The Kala Ranjani members sang songs dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi and paid homage to him.

R-Day Celebrations

Brigadier Pravin Shinde (VSM) unfurled the tricolour at the Navi Mumbai Kendra on the occasion of Republic Day. He has received two bravery awards in his service of 34 years in the Maratha Light Infantry Regiment and also the Vishisht Sewa medal. Currently he is Security Advisor and Consultant for SBI. Present on the occasion were the committee members of Bhavan’s and well-wishers. This was followed by a Vande Mataram dance by students of Trupti Thakkar.

Vibrant Photo Exhibition

The three day 2nd National Salon Exhibition of 44 lovely photographs was inaugurated on January 23, 2026 by Chief Guest Shri Ujwal Landge, partner, EAP Associates. Superb pictures were a poem in beauty, art and culture and were appreciated by one and all.
Present on the occasion were Shri Subramaniam, President, Shri Sagar Mhatre, Secretary, Shri Sasidharan, Shri Krishnamurthy, of the photography club; Shri Ramchandra, Chairman of the Kendra, Shri Bighna Nayak, Vice chairman, and other dignitaries. Prizes were awarded to the best photographers in various categories. A vibrant session on ‘The Language of the Camera’ was conducted by Shri Sagar Mhatre on the concluding day.

Karaoke Contest

Kala Ranjani of Navi Mumbai Kendra held the finale of the Karaoke Contest on November 29, 2025. The Chief Guest was Dr Nilesh Jaywant, District Governor Elect of Rotary International District 3142 while Shri Anand Natarajan, retired IRS officer was the Master of Ceremonies. The judges were Deepak Das, Prem Kumar of Club Nostalgia and Ujwala Udare. It was a well-attended lively programme with several winners.

Cyber Security Session

Gyan Bharati of Navi Mumbai Kendra in association with ISACA, had organised a session on Cyber Security on November 30, 2025. The speaker was Shri K G Ayyar, an expert in the field of Information Technology and Cyber security. He spoke on the various aspects of cyber crime and offered solutions for security.

Unity in Diversity

‘Unity in diversity’ was the theme for the Children’s club on November 16, 2025 for celebration of Children’s Day. Children from different schools of Navi Mumbai dressed up and spoke about their states like Kerala, Maharashtra, Kashmir, Bengal, Karnataka, Coorg, Telangana and other places. The programme was for the children, by the children and of the children.
During the Open Mike programme, the children performed beautifully on tabla, keyboard, harmonium, and performed graceful dances and sang lovely songs.
This was followed by an interesting Quiz contest where children were asked questions on India and culture.

Vande Mataram Recorded

Bhavan’s Children’s Club members recorded ‘Vande Mataram’ with the melodious song sung by twelve children from different schools of Navi Mumbai, accompanied by tabla and keyboard. They came together to celebrate the 150th birthday of the song written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee on November 7, 1875 and it was a learning process and experience for them. The recording was done on December 7, 2025. Four young dancers danced to the tunes in Bharat Natyam and Kathak styles. They were accompanied on tabla being played by children in a professional manner

Inauguration of Sangeet Baithak Studio

Shri Jagdish Lakhani, Executive Secretary & Director General of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan inaugurated the Sangeet Baithak Studio at the Navi Mumbai Kendra, Vashi on August 2, 2025.
Pandit Sanjeev Chimmalgi of Kirana gharana and Gwalior/Agra gharana gave a beautiful two-hour Hindustani classical vocal recital. He was accompanied by Pandit Vishwanath Shirodkar on tabla and Vidushi Seema Shirodkar on the harmonium. Renowned musician Pandit Satish Vyas graced the occasion.

Remembering Rafi

A lively programme on ‘Remembering Rafi’ was organised on August 24, 2025. It was curated and presented by Archisman Mazumdar and Kushal Gopalka. There were active inputs by Sanjeev Chimmalgi.

Celebrating Dev Anand

BVBNMK Kala Ranjani organised a programme titled ‘Celebrating Dev Anand’ on his birthday on September 26th. This was conducted by Prem Kumar with vocal music by Vinod Seshadri.

Talk on Astronomy

On September 14, 2025, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Navi Mumbai Kendra’s Gyan Bharati organised a talk on astronomy by Mr. Suhas B. Naik Satam, an astronomy educator and science communicator.
The session began with a fun quiz on astronomy conducted by Dr. Shanta Belavadi. The questions were enthusiastically answered by students from local schools and junior colleges.
The stage was then taken over by Mr. Satam, an expert in the field of astronomy with over three and a half decades of experience working with the Nehru Science Centre.
Mr. Satam delighted both adults and children alike with his lighthearted banter while guiding his audience through complex cosmic material in a very simple manner. The session was well attended by 45 participants including students from schools and colleges, working professionals and senior citizens.

Indian Knowledge System

On October 9, 2025, Dr Preeti Shirodkar, Associate Professor at Kohinoor Business School, traced the various manifestations of faith through the programme ‘Bhaktichi Vaari’ with Vitthal abhangs.

Lec-dem on Kolam

Members of Bhavan’s Children’s Club ushered in Diwali through an interesting lecture demonstration of kolam on October 18, 2025. The scientific meaning, significance and importance of kolam was explained to children from various schools of Navi Mumbai.
This was followed by an activity where the eager kids drew kolams on paper and then created actual ones using the rice paste provided.

Musical Programme

Kala Sanskriti organised a programme on October 11, 2025 featuring Pandit Suresh Bapat. He was accompanied by Neela Sohoni on the harmonium and Suhas Chitale on the tabla.

Gyan Bharati Launched

Gyan Bharati, a forum for the spread of information and learning was inaugurated by Shri M Ramchandra, Chairman, Shri Bighna Nayak, Vice Chairman, and Shri Harish Aiyer, Secretary of Navi Mumbai Kendra on June 7, 2025. Exhibitions, workshops, lectures, talks and discussions are planned on ancient India and present day life, informed Dr Shanta Belvadi.
A two-day programme on ‘Say no to Plastic’ was delivered by Shri Rohan Chavan, CSR professional from Bisleri International. Shri Sagar Mhatre, photographer and Smt Shreelata Menon of MEE spoke on the theme. Smt Archana Churaria conducted the programme. The event featured an exhibition of eco-friendly products, a workshop for children on making gift items and curios from paper, and a video show on birds.

Indian Knowledge System Talks

The Navi Mumbai Kendra started the IKS cell in March with the inaugural session on March 21, 2025 focusing on ‘Learning from Indian Scriptures’ by Vedanta Scholar Uday Acharya. The session was attended by 62 participants. The second talk was on ‘Aryabhatta and Aryabhatian Mathematics’ by Dr. S. S. Prabhu, Professor at TIFR, Mumbai. This was followed by ‘Learning from Upanishads’ by Brahmachari Samarth Chaitanya of Chinmay Ashram on May 17, 2025.