Recap: [Hybrid] India, November 10, Hybrid India, November 10, Celebrating 50 Meetups in 2024 - India Local Guides

[TusharSuradkar]

Local guides from all over India gathered for a mega meetup in Pune on 10 November 2024.

The occasion was made special by Googler @Latika_Malhotra Ji who traveled from Delhi to grace the occasion and spend a fun-filled day with the local guides

Local guides travel from far-flung places like Gandhinagar, Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Nashik, Kolhapur, Mumbai, Pimpri, and Bhosari.

The longest duration of travel was by @bhayani_naitik who traveled 14 hours for 720 km.

Local guides met the previous night at the poolside clubhouse and prepared for the meetup. They made gift bags, erected the selfie point, and packed mugs and tote bags for the big event the next day.

On the day of the meetup, local guides installed the banner and arranged the gift bags and the mugs.

After the introductions, we started our first fun game - dropping table tennis balls into the mugs.

Local guides had great fun with this ball game.

Then we took a break for the snacks and drinks.
I sponsored the burgers and soft drinks after Chotu Tapriwala backed off from sponsorship at the last moment.

After this, we played the second fun game - passing the table tennis ball through the selfie point.

I made this Location Icon with my own hands by marking and cutting a 6 feet x 4 feet ply board and then painted it orange.

After this, @AjitThite conducted the quiz.
Everyone enjoyed the quiz thoroughly. It was based completely on the knowledge of Google Maps features and recent Connect posts.

Game and quiz winners were given Mugs with the theme of India - all sponsored by me.

All the games and the quiz were fun + laughter and local guides enjoyed it thoroughly.

Local guides took selfies with each other and with Latika Ji.
Also, they took selfies with the Location Selfie Point that I had hand-crafted.

Local guides continued to have fun and party, exchanging knowledge, tips, and tricks about Google Maps and the new Connect platform.

Latika Ji engaged with the women local guides and discussed challenges and expectations. More on this conversation in a separate post.

We moved over to a nearby dining hall where all local guides got a grand gala lunch sponsored by Google. Thank you, Latika Ji and @DeniGu

While waiting for the lunch to be prepared, @ShubhamWaman arranged for the certificates for the winners of the logo design competition. The certificates were presented by Latika Ji.

Then we settled down for the ‘Thali’ lunch.
A Tahli is a single plate with an assortment of Indian food items ranging from rice and sweets to curries and salads.

Local guides called it a day by exchanging heaps of badges, stickers, cards, mugs, posters, and certificates, to be carried back home as souvenirs.

The 50th Mega Meetup of India Local Guide was a day well spent with fun, frolic, knowledge, quizzes, and entertainment with food, drinks, and gifts as the icing on the cake.

[MerlinThomas]

Pune celebrated the 50th Indian Local Guides Meetup in 2024 hosted by @TusharSuradkar . A significant milestone for the Indian Local Guides community was reached at the event, which commemorated the 50th gathering. @ModNomad performed with his mouth organ, we met a number of other local guides from various parts of India. There was a quiz, as well as games to play. It is my pleasure to receive the first place award from @Latika_Malhotra for @ShubhamWaman Local Guides Logo Design challenge. The women local guides (@SaylliWalve1 @Durgak03 and me ) were appreciated with a rose. After receiving our goodie bags, we concluded the meetup with lunch.

[ModNomad]

@MerlinThomas Way to go! Many Congratulations Delighted to meet you there.

[Annaelisa]

@MerlinThomas
Schöne Aufnahmen von diesem Treffen und nochmals herzlichen Glückwunsch

[Durgak03]

The Pune local guide community celebrated a significant milestone-50th meetup of local guides India on 10th november 2024 hosted by @TusharSuradkar sir. The event started at 11 AM with warm welcome for our special guest @Latika_Malhotra ma’am whose presence truly brightened the event. Local guides from various parts of India introduced themselves, followed by group photos to capture memorable occasion. We enjoyed tasty snacks followed by playing some fun games and quiz by @AjitThite sir, @ShubhamWaman and @SaurabhShelot.

The talented @ModNomad Deepak sir entertained everyone by playing mouth organ instrument.Each attendee received a goodie bag filled with stickers and badges.

Later we had insightful conversation with Latika Ma’am about google maps and local guides connect. All women local guides were given a rose as appreciation. We then concluded the meetup with delicious lunch at Sukhakarta veg restaurant.Sukhakarta pure veg dining hall

It was a truly wonderful and memorable event for all involved.

[MerlinThomas]

@ModNomad Same here. Nice meeting you.

[MerlinThomas]

@Annaelisa Thank you

[Gilluu]

Attending my first offline meet-up was such a memorable experience! I recently moved to Navi Mumbai from Tamil Nadu, and thanks to @TusharSuradkar ji for let me know about this event. With his encouragement, I made it there and had an amazing time! I got to meet so many LGs and had a blast.

From the photo sessions to fun games , knowledge sharing , quizzes , and those sweet little gifts —everything was fantastic.
@ModNomad Ji, your mouth organ performance was incredible!

This meet-up has definitely inspired me to attend more in the future. Thank you to @RosyKohli , @TravellerG , and @TusharSuradkar for your constant support, and to all the LGs who made my day so special. Looking forward to more meet-ups with everyone!

[Rushikesh_joshi]

Nice recap @MerlinThomas

[Rushikesh_joshi]

Nice recap @Durgak03

[Rushikesh_joshi]

nice @Gilluu brother.

[RosyKohli]

@Gilliuu
Thanks for tagging me, Thanks for kind words feel blessed. Helping each other to grow ,ahead should be our motive .We can guide you all and took the initiative.Happy to read you attended the meet up and enjoyed.
My best wishes to you.

[ModNomad]

@Gilluu, I appreciate that special tag & your kind words. Glad you liked the meetup and my music too. No wonder, LG activities are absolute fun. Keep attending & keep growing!

[JitendraKumarprasa]

Offline 4 time attend 50 meet-up like this meet-up very crezy games play all’ local guides participants so lovely lunch time
Pune second time meet-up attend @TusharSuradkar sir 50 meeting fantastic idea
@Annaelisa
@AjitThite
@Latika_Malhotra
All so local guides guest let’s activate work making celebration program
Latika _malhotra visit thanks
@RosyKohli @Shrut19 @Anil6969
@TravellerG online meeting attended injoy live program

So let’s meet @NareshDarji 50
meet-up Ahmedabad next month celebration
could climate so all local guides carry jacket give and hand gloves so all’ toppe could environment December month so remind all’ so carry hot clothes given

Ready next.meet update
So thanks local guides Google

[Latika_Malhotra]

It was so great to meet everyone in Pune. We should keep the discussions going. Let’s help and encourage each other to host more meet-ups and share more local content about our cities and towns. Thank you everyone for the warm welcome:)

[JitendraKumarprasa]

Thanks you so much you questions very people help Full mam @Latika_Malhotra

[SaylliWalve1]

My First In Person Meetup, India’s 50th In 2024 [Recap]

I had the pleasure of attending this India’s 50th meetup of 2024 in Pune. My journey began at 6 AM from Kalyan, where I met fellow local guide @Sagarkanherkar , an energetic spirit who made the wait at the train station more bearable. We traveled by the Indrayani Express to Shivaji Nagar Railway Station, Pune, where we met @JitendraKumarprasa who was also on the same train.

After grabbing some refreshments, we headed to the meetup location at Whispering Wind, a beautiful society. The pre-meetup was hosted at @TusharSuradkar 's lovely home, where I had the pleasure of meeting his wonderful family. I even got to meet Kuro, their adorable rabbit! Met some early birds who were busy preparing the goodie bags for the meetup.

We all gathered near the society’s clubhouse around 11. This was my first time meeting everyone in person, but it honestly didn’t feel like we were strangers at all. We had all interacted through our posts on LG Connect, so it felt more like a reunion than an introduction.

We were lucky enough to meet @Latika_Malhotra , a Googler who had traveled all the way from Delhi for the meetup. She spent her whole day with us.
During the introduction round, we exchanged some stickers and had a fun game hosted by @SaurabhShelot and @ShubhamWaman

I brought a simple Men’s Day card as my souvenir, thinking the men at the meetup might appreciate a nod to their often-overlooked contributions. Their surprised reactions when they saw the card were priceless. I’m proud I could make them smile. Thanks very much Shubham for printing the cards in time on such a short notice.

After some quick snacks sponsored by Tushar Dada, we dove into another fun game. Although our WEST team lost, it didn’t matter because we had a blast. Congratulations to the EAST team for winning both games with impressive scores! Greeted the virtually joined team who couldn’t make it to the event, we then took a trip back in time when @ModNomad performed an incredible mouth organ session, setting the perfect vibe for the event. His energy is unmatched.

We also had a fun trivia session hosted by the humorous and energetic @AjitThite . It felt like sitting in a fun class, and the trivia was a laughter blast!

We girls had a wonderful conversation with Latika about Google Maps and the new LG Connect features. She shared powerful thoughts on women’s empowerment and the increasing role of women in map contributions, which was truly inspiring.

We headed to Sukhakarta Hotel for lunch. While waiting, Shubham announced the winners of the Logo design Challenge. I couldn’t believe that I’d secured third place! @MerlinThomas won first, and @dpalash2205 came in second. We were rewarded with certificates and gifts presented by Latika.

A lovely surprise was when we girls were felicitated with rose; a sweet gesture that made us feel truly appreciated.

Lunch was a grand affair an amazing thali that blended Gujarati, Rajasthani, and Maharashtrian flavors. Thank you for the sponsored Lunch Team Google. We had fun gossips, took some snaps and enjoyed the food.

A big shoutout to Shubham, Tushar dada, and Ajit dada, who worked tirelessly to make everything happen. Special thanks to Tushar dada and his family for their warm hospitality, and of course, to everyone who travelled to Pune and attended the meetup which made the event unforgettable.

It was a pleasure meeting you all, Apologies as cannot mention everyone in recap though! Thank you for capturing these beautiful moments

[Photo Credit : To all ]

[SaurabhShelot]

Really great Recap dear @SaylliWalve1. And glad to meet you in person.

[SaurabhShelot]

Really great recap dear @Durgak03 and glad to meet you in meetup.

[AjitThite]

Are wah, mast recap, Saylli. Enjoyed meeting you all.

Cheers!