International Conference.

First International Conference by KAASH Foundation

The University of Mumbai’s Institute of Distance And Open Learning (IDOL) (Under CIQA) and KAASH Foundation-Mumbai, jointly organized its first two-day International Multidisciplinary Conference on ‘Transition and Transformation: Cities in Life, Literature and Culture’-Mumbai Chapter  on  17 – 18 February, 2020 at Sir Phirozeshah Mehta Bhavan, University of Mumbai Vidyanagari, Kalina, Santacruz (E), Mumbai.

The event had a humongous response with over 155 registered delegates, 40 Resource Persons, and 125 Research Paper presentations.

 Day One 17/02/2020:

Inaugural session:

The Inaugural Session, began with a Welcome Address by Dr. Kavita Laghate, Director, IDOL, followed by a brief introduction of IDOL by Dr. Santosh Rathod.

The introduction to KAASH Foundation was given by the Founder Trustee Dr. Avkash Jadhav.

The Chief Guest for the function was Dr. Dhanraj Mane, Director, Higher Education, Government of Maharashtra. The Presidential Remarks were given by Prof. Suhas Pednekar- the Honorable Vice Chancellor, University of Mumbai. The Guests of Honour were Prof. Ravindra Kulkarni, the Hon. Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Mumbai and Dr. Ajay Deshmukh the Registrar, University of Mumbai.  The Special Invitee for the event was Prof. Frédéric Simon, Director Alliance Francaise de Bombay, France.

The Keynote Speaker for the event was Mr. R. Balakrishnan, popularly known as R. Balki. He is an ace Film Director who has won the National Film Award for the Best Feature Film in Hindi ‘Paa’ and many other prestigious awards.

It was an Interactive session coordinated by Dr. Avkash Jadhav, termed as In Conversation with R. Balki. The Question and Answers session ended with a number of questions from the audience patiently answered by R. Balki.

Finally, with the Vote of Thanks delivered by Prof. Anil Bankar, Associate Professor & Conference Secretary, the inaugural session came to a close.

Plenary Sessions:

Plenary Session- I was Chaired by Dr. Sabyasachi Mukhherjee, Director, CSMVS (Museum). The panellists for this session were 1. Prof. Arnab Bhattacharya, Dept. of Condensed Matter Physics and Material Science, Chair TIFR, Science Communication and Public Outreach, 2. Mr. Ritwick Bhalekar, Marathi news channel ABP Mazha 3. Mr. Vikas Dilawari, Importance of Heritage in Mumbai and 4. Dr. Shraddha. Kumbojkar. Department of History Savitribai Phule University, Pune.  The session was coordinated by Dr Avkash Jadhav.

Plenary Session-II was Chaired by Dr. M. S. Kurhade Principal D.T.S.S College Malad, Mumbai & Former Dean Faculty of Humanities, University of Mumbai. Co-Chairperson: Dr. Mrudul Nile, Professor of Political Science & Senate Member, University of Mumbai. The coordinator for the session was Dr. D. Harichandan, Associate Professor of Education, IDOL, University of Mumbai. The panellists of this session were 1. Dr. Aravind Ganachari, Former Head, Department of History University of Mumbai, 2. Prof. V. P. Raja, Director, MERC, Mumbai. 3. Dr. Kishor Gaikwad, Professor and Chairperson, Dr. Ambedkar Chair, IGNTU, Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh 4. Prof. Douglas Berger, Fulbright Scholar, U.S.A. 5. Ms. Yangyi Qu, School of Marxism, Chongqing University, China.

Plenary Session III was Chaired by Prof. Diana Linda, from Italy, who is a Visiting Faculty in Indian Universities on Sustainable Designing. The panellists of this session were 1. Prof. Abdul Shaban, Deputy Director School of Development Studies, TISS, Tuljapur.2. Sucheta Dalal, Trustee-Money Life Foundation. 3. Omkar Bhatkar, Director and Founder St. Andrews Centre of Philosophy and Performing Arts (SAPP) Mumbai and 4. Prof. Frédéric Simon, Director Alliance Francaise de Bombay, France.

Special Technical Session I was chaired by Dr. Manjiri Kamat, Prof. of History and Associate Dean, Faculty of Humanities University of Mumbai, and the Co- Chairperson was Dr. Suresh Maind, Professor of Economics & Senate Member, University of Mumbai, Mumbai. Session Coordinator of the session was Dr. Sanjay Ratnaparakhi, Assistant Director Academics, IDOL, University of Mumbai. The First day ended with Cultural events.

Cultural Event

The cultural evening was organised by the team of  KAASH Foundation which consisted of performances in the form of Ganesh Vandana (Blessings from Lord Ganesha) , Bharud (Traditional folk) Laavani (Traditional dance performance)  and Bollywood Hindi Songs

Performing Artists of the Foundation were :

Shilpika Salian, Shital Jangam, Navmee Goregaonkar, Drashti Shah Prajakta Kasoti Rachel Menezes and Sanjay Salvi

Day Two 18/02/2020:

The Second day of the conference began with Plenary Session IV which was chaired by Dr. Rajesh Kharat, Dean Faculty of Humanities and Social Science University of Mumbai and the Co- Chairperson was  Dr. Shivram Garje, Prof. of Chemistry and Associate Dean, Faculty of Science, University of Mumbai. Session Coordinator was Dr. Santosh Rathod, Associate Professor of English, IDOL, University of Mumbai. The panellists were 1. Dr. Neeta Khandpekar, Professor, Department of History, University of Mumbai. 2. Mr. Ashok Panvalkar, Former Editor, Maharashtra Times, Mumbai. 3. Dr. Ravikant Sangurde, Management Council Member, University of Mumbai. 4. Dr. R. Raj Rao, Visiting Professor, Symbiosis college of Arts and Commerce, Pune and Shri James Ferreira the First Fashion Designer of India.

Special Technical Session II was chaired by  Dr. Anuradha Majumdar, Dean Faculty of Science and Technology University of Mumbai . Co- Chairperson: was Dr. Neeta Khandpekar, D. Litt., Professor, Dept. of History, University of Mumbai, Kalina, Mumbai. Session Coordinator was Dr. Mandar Bhanushe, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, IDOL, University of Mumbai. The speakers in this session were 1. Dr. Lakshmi Salvi, Senior Assistant Professor, Dept of History, University of Mumbai. 2. Dr. Rita Malche, Assistant Professor, Dept of Sociology, University of Mumbai who spoke on “Socio-Economic and Cultural Transition of Mahadev koli Migrants (Tribe) in Mumbai (Mumbra)” 3. Dr. Moushumi Datta, Professor, & Vice-Principal, Nagindas Khandwala College 4. Dr. Hema S. Dhaware, Head, Dept. of Accountancy, ICLES Motilal Jhunjhunwala College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Vashi, Navi Mumbai 5. Dr. Kavita G. Kalkoti, Associate Professor, Nagindas Khandwala College, University of Mumbai.

There were Four Parallel Technical Sessions:

Parallel Technical Session I was chaired by Dr. Kishor Gaikwad, Professor and Chairperson, Dr. Ambedkar Chair, IGNTU, MP. Co-Chairperson was Dr. Shraddha Kumbojkar – Head, Dept.of History, Savitribai Phule, Pune University, Pune. Session Coordinator was Dr. Vishwambhar V. Jadhav, Assistant Professor, Physical Education, University of Mumbai.

Parallel Technical Session  II was chaired by Dr. Preeta Nilesh, Professor and Head Dept. of History, Vaze Kelkar. Co-Chairperson was Dr. Sudhakar Lahupachang, Principal, Dadasaheb Limaye College, Kalamboli, Navi Mumbai. Session Coordinator was Dr. Madhura Kulkarni, Assistant Professor of Accountancy,IDOL, University of Mumbai.

Parallel Technical Session  III was chaired by Dr. Manjiri Thakoor, Visiting Faculty J.J. College of Arts and Architecture, Mumbai. Co-Chairperson was Dr. S. P. Shinde, Head, Dept. of History, Karmaveer Bhaorao Patil College, Pandharpur, Dist. Solapur. Session Coordinator was Dr. Rajashri Pandit – Assistant Professor of Economics, IDOL, University of Mumbai.

Parallel Technical Session IV was chaired by Dr. Ravikant Sangurde, Management Council Member, University of Mumbai. Co-Chairperson was Dr. Sachin Labade Associate Professor, Department of English, University of Mumbai. Session Coordinator was Prof. Krishna Gaikwad, Associate Professor of History, LJNJ College, Mumbai.

Valedictory Session:

In the Valedictory Session, the Audio-Visual Message of Shri. Uday Samant, Hon. Minister of Higher and Technical Education of Maharashtra was played.

The Chief Guest of the session was Dr.  Abhay Wagh, Director, Directorate of Technical Education, Maharashtra State, Mumbai.

Vote of thanks was proposed by Prof Anil R Bankar, Associate Professor of History and Conference Secretary. Session Coordinator was Dr. Avkash Jadhav – Founder Trustee, KAASH Foundation.

The Conference had representation from Five countries. A total 125 research papers were presented on various themes of the conference, all related to the city of Mumbai.  There were 155 Registered Delegates, more than 40 Resource persons, four plenary Sessions, Two Special Technical Sessions, Four Parallel Technical Sessions. In all, more than 250 participants attended the two-day International conference, thus making the First International Conference by KAASH Foundation an astounding success. The conference has set a new bench mark with due to the overwhelming response it received in such a short time of announcement.

The conference was the first academic collaboration of Kaash Foundation and the success of the conference with such outstanding response bears the testimony of the efforts and dedication of the team involved in it. During the two days of the conference the core team members and team of 30 volunteers of the foundation handled the registration desk, the venue management, the stage management and compeering throughout the conference, the technical support, attending the guests, cultural event, and conference kits management, escorting the guests and VIP section management and hospitality. The relentless and consistent effort of the team is indeed commendable.

The Foundation would like to extend Special Thanks to His Excellency. Chancellor Shri. Bhagat Singh Koshiyari Governor of Maharashtra. Shri. Uday Samant. Hon. Minister of Higher and Technical Education of Maharashtra. Shri. Aaditya Thackeray. Hon Minister Culture and Tourism of Maharashtra. Shri. Shyam Benegal Ace Film Director , Shri. R. Balki National Award winner Film Director. Shri Dr. Dhanraj Mane, Director, Higher Education, Govt. of Maharashtra. Shri Dr Abhay Wagh, Director, Directorate of Technical Education, Maharashtra State Smt Kishori Pednekar Hon. Mayor Mumbai city Committee Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. Prof. Suhas Pednekar – Honorable Vice Chancellor, University of Mumbai. Prof. Ravindra Kulkarni, the Hon. Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Mumbai and Dr. Ajay Deshmukh the Registrar, University of Mumbai. Shri. Yashwant Jadhav. Chairman Standing Committee Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai . Shri. Parveen Pardeshi Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai Committee Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. Shri. V P Chitore  Director Engineering Services and Projects Committee Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. Shri. ChandraShekhar Chore Deputy Municipal Commissioner Committee Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. Shri. Yogesh Mahangade PS to Hon Minister Shri. Uday Samant.  The good wishes and support extended by all the dignitaries definitely added value and enhanced our undaunted spirit.

The success of the conference would not have been possible without the unconditional support of the Committee members and super powerful student volunteers’ team. The two day exhaustive event was carried out successfully by the entire Kaash Foundation family with positive energy and selfless dedication.

The foundation would like to extend Thanks to the Director Dr. Kavita Laghate of IDOL and dear friends of Kaash Foundation Prof Anil Bankar and Dr. Santosh Rathod , also the entire staff and management of IDOL University of Mumbai.