Two is a company, Three is a crowd
But TWENTY is a 'TEAM'…

I am talking about yet another successful 2 day adventure camp organized by JSTARC. Our Master took us to a place we had not been before - 'NATURE TRAILS, DURSHET FOREST'…

Located in Khopoli, Pali road, Durshet we were staying at a place made amidst Durshet forest. The place maintained its natural environment with greenery, birds, etc.. it made sure no harm was caused to any of the elements that belonged to mother nature.

We were a team of twenty from the age group of five to thirty-five which included Nilesh Master and Dinesh Sir too.

With the kids and their parents being very enthusiastic about it we left for the place at 7.00 am to reach there by 9.00.

The place looked beautiful as we were being welcomed with a lot of warmth. The organizers had appointed a panel of four qualified experts to take us through with the activities and other programs that they had planned for us.

After a filling breakfast the panel split the activity performing eighteen members into a three groups of six members each with one team leader. At the end of the camp three awards were to be given to-

1. The Best Team,
2. The Best Team Leader, and
3. The Best Camper.

The three groups were named Indian Tigers (led by Swapnil Kadam), Nexus (led by Aditya Seal) and Scorpion (led by Ganpat Rajpurohit). Each leader was responsible for the actions of any of his team members and the team was completely his responsibility.

The first activity was map making where each team was to make a map of the camping area. This was important so that all members knew the location to perfection. This would help in managing the team easily and so that the we would not any problems locating anyone.

The second activity was valley crossing or flying fox where one person at a time is tied to a rope, which can carry a weight of 1800kgs, and the person flies across the valley using the rope. The safety and harnessing was taken so much care of that our youngest member Urvish(5 yrs.) was also very excited to perform the task, which he did to complete perfection.

The next activity was crossing an obstacle course BLINDFOLDED where your team is to guide you with any of the animal sounds but no words. It sounds difficult but its upon how you communicate with your team.

Then after lunch and a small break, we were led into the forest for Rappelling, which is getting down a steep cliff using a harness and rope. By everyone's opinion rappelling was the best activity by far with the members wanting to perform it twice.

With a swimming pool available, all wanted a small dip. With the kids and non-swimmers in the shallow pool, the senior members had a chance to do something apart from normal. We tried back somersaults, front somersaults, flying kicks and a lot more things. 'WE' included Nilesh Master too.

In the evening we had a 'Talent Hunt' for which each team was given time to prepare. Talent could be in any form so there were no restrictions as to what is to be show-cased. The Indian-Tigers cracked a few jokes and performed a few magic tricks. Nexus tried coming up with a funny ad of the mosquito repellent Odomos and the Scorpions came up with a horror skit. Talents came through very well and we discovered the hidden potential in our students. The program ended with a demo on 'We Will Rock You' and the students dancing on hits bollywood tracks. The day ended with a delicious dinner and a camp fire where our Master spoke about the new year and the resolutions.

The next day we had a trek in the Durshet forest. It was beautiful to see the different trees, bird sounds, insects, spiders and a lot more. It's the beauty of nature that makes you want to spend more time with her.

We learnt the need for teamwork with our next task in which a marble was to be taken from one point to the other, within a time span, with the help of small pieces of pipe. The task had nothing to do with speed - only TEAMWORK.

The next task was Sheppard and the blind Sheep which was much like the obstacle course except that in this the whole team was to move together.

Last but not the least was Treasure Hunt in which nine things were hidden and different locations and a paper was given to each team with clues of the location and the thing. The task was enjoyed by one and all.

Finally the day was over and the last thing remaining was the prize distribution.

1. Best team - Team Nexus
2. Best team leader - Ganpat Rajpurohit
3. Best Camper - Mansi

I would say that it was not team Nexus that won, the ultimate winner was Team JSTARC.

More than fun it was a learning experience for all of us. All of realized what a TEAM is capable of. The camp bonded us even closer. Blood relation is not the only thing that makes you a family; it's the soul that connects with one another.

Thanks to our Master we have yet another beautiful page in the history of JSTARC.

I again say and I say it aloud:-

Two is a company, Three is a crowd
But Twenty is a TEAM.

Three cheers for JSTARC
Hip-hip Hurray!!!
Hip-hip Hurray!!!
Hip-hip Hurray!!!