RECAP - The First meetup of Kolhapur Local Guides

[TusharSuradkar]

Highly Enthusiastic local guides from Kolhapur attended the first ever meetup in their historic town.
The venue was the New Palace that belongs to the ruler of the former Princely State of Kolhapur.
The palace is now partly a residence and remaining converted to a museum.

At 10 am on 21st April 2024, everyone gathered on the sprawling lawns of the New Palace also called the Shahu Palace.
After formal introduction, local guides asked several questions ranging from the significance of the LG Connect website and its relationship with Google Maps.

All of them had varying degree of experience with the Local Guides program.
They asked with eager and listened to the details with patience.

@Supriyadevkar is active on Google Maps with her food recipes whereas @Aman3754 and @AP2280 have posted moderately on connect in the past.

I shared with them the ABC of the LocalGuidesConnect website and how they can use it effectively on both a desktop computer and a mobile device.
We discussed about including various accessibility information on Google Maps and also mention it in the posts on LG Connect.

45 minutes into the meetup, local guides from all over India and from abroad joined virtually over Google Meet.
Prominent among them were @AjitThite , @TravellerG , @ModNomad , @Raj_Tayade , @abhishekpatk and @RosyKohli .
Many local guides from Kolhapur could not attend the first meetup due to various reasons.
@Rohan10 was one who was missed the most.

At the end of the meetup, the local guide felt highly motivated and pledged to host more such meetups in the future in Kolhapur.
An online meetup will be scheduled to run through the steps of hosting and submitting the meetup for approval including posting a recap.

The tradition of having snacks at the end of the meetup has not taken roots yet in Kolhapur.

Though we started the tradition of exchanging souvenirs like badges, stickers and cards as seen in the middle of the photo above

The announcement of the Kolhapur local guides meetup is below:
https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t5/General-Discussion/Meetup-in-Kolhapur-Connect-and-Accessibility-Awareness/td-p/3741599

The photo album of the Kolhapur local guides meetup:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qp4uD788FWN1NYYEA

RECAP Post by attendees:
My First meet-up In Kolhapur - Abhinandan Patil

[AjitThite]

A pretty cool recap, @TusharSuradkar !It was indeed a great experience meeting all of us virtually.

It was good to see a good number of attendees in Kolhapur.

Well, those who missed can compensate by attending next in Pune on April 27th, by @TusharSuradkar and on May,19th, by myself. (Just joking!)

Cheers!

[MohanG]

@TusharSuradkar

Nice meetup recap Tushar Dada.
The logo Office Meet Up is a really beautiful design by Dada.

[ShailendraOjha]

Today your hard work has made you the next Meet Up Champion, DADA @TusharSuradkar getting the badge is a different thing.kudos keet it up

[TusharSuradkar]

Thank you @AjitThite for the appreciation.

I have invited Kolhapur local guides to attend the meetup on 19th, though not the one on 27th April.

[TusharSuradkar]

Thank you dear @mohanghyar for the appreciation

I will be glad to see you in Aurangabad on 5th May.

Else we will conduct a meetup in Jalna or in Akola.

[TusharSuradkar]

Thank you dear @ShailendraOjha for the appreciation

Also, Meetup Champion would be a dream to have though it is a hard nut to crack and not easy to come through.

The highlight of the message to local guide in Kolhapur was “selfless contributions” and is mentioned by @AP2280 in his recap:

https://www.localguidesconnect.com/t5/General-Discussion/My-First-meet-up-In-Kolhapur/m-p/3744441

[MohanG]

@TusharSuradkar

dada first for you one tower link see this- Akola(MH-30) Maharashtra

https://maps.app.goo.gl/UfhXVPkEnwRh3Xyu6

and ajit dada tell me the meet at cha. sambhaji nagar ( Aurangabad) meet 5 may.

90 % i will try to join.

and also tell you one place of shri sant gajanan maharaj temple shegaon(buldhana) is very famous place of maharashtra. for our next meet up.(shegaon distance from akola 40 km only)

[TusharSuradkar]

Wonderful idea @mohanghyar

I remember you shared this place with me

Let’s plan a meetup in Akola - please connect with 4-5 local guides who can travel there.

[MohanG]

@TusharSuradkar

i think create one group of vidharbha maharashtra but its good or bad ??

one akola’s local guide found when i visit google office BKC.

also 2 member want to become a local guide.

so plz tell me dada what can i do now?

[TusharSuradkar]

Yes, definitely - a good idea, dear @mohanghyar .

The first step is to connect with local guides very near to us.

They should be willing to travel 100-150 km for a meetup.

Did you collect contact information from the local guides in Mumbai?

Follow up with them.

Add them to the group.

Then educate them and create interest.

Start off meetups even when there are only a few available.

We started with only 3 in Pune - now 50+

It takes a bit time and perseverance.

We have to stand there and do our work - like a clock tower

थेंबे थेंबे तळे साचे

[RaviSharma111]

बहुत-बहुत बधाई @TusharSuradkar , सर यह मीट अप को सफलतापूर्वक संपादित कर आपने बेहतरीन काम किया है , यह मीट अप लोकल गाइड प्रोग्राम में नई चिंगारी का काम करेगा , जिससे वहां के आसपास के लोग इसे देखकर नई मीट अप का संपादन शुरू करेंगे , मैं आपके कड़ी मेहनत और 300 किलोमीटर की यात्रा को नमन करता हूं और आपके इस प्रयास को धन्यवाद देता हूं ,

[TusharSuradkar]

Thank you for the appreciation, dear @RaviSharma111

I am terribly sorry about not being able to update you on time.

The next meetup is in Nashik on 28th April, and I will make sure to inform you in time

[RaviSharma111]

No issue @TusharSuradkar sir , I am Happy , i can understand that long journey , High temp, all this can Make man Exhausted and it may be slip in mind , Thank you for upcoming meet up.

[ModNomad]

@TusharSuradkar Dada, Your report on the Kolhapur Local Guides meetup is a beacon of inspiration! All the more, your gusto to go the extra mile for mentoring new local guides is highly admirable. Gathering at the historic New Palace, embracing knowledge, and fostering community spirit – it shows what a dedicated leader you are. I feel fortunate to have joined the Google meet at the perfect moment to witness keenness of Kolhapur LG’s on ground zero plus vibrant smiles of virtual attendees @TravellerG Sir, @RosyKohli Teacher, @AjitThite Dada, @Raj_Tayade , @abhishekpatk , @Sagarkanherkar on a sunny Sunday morning.Keep nurturing the passion in budding Local Guides, and let’s see the Kolhapur Local Guides community soar to new heights!

[Rohan10]

One of the great meet up missed by me. Recap is so nice and I can feel the vibe. The palace looks awesome as always. Very nice to see new LGs from Kolhapur. Your great efforts making all LGs from Maharashtra United. Due to emergency work I couldn’t attend in person. Thanks @TusharSuradkar for hosting and posting this recap.

[TravellerG]

Thank you very much for publishing such a nice recap, dear @TusharSuradkar .

So many LGs attended physically and virtually - appreciate your efforts and dedication!

The badges are really good - you surely deserve special appreciation for the same… .

Also thank you for publishing the collage with my stamp photo… Adding names to the participants also was a nice idea!

Hope to see more from you…

Regards

[Raj_Tayade]

Great Post @TusharSuradkar sirji One of my favorite cities is Kolhapur. One of my favorite cities is Kolhapur. Misal Pav is my favorite dish there. And also like its red and white gravy Gavran chicken.

[TusharSuradkar]

Thank you for the appreciation, dear @ModNomad

It was delightful to have you in the meetup virtually,

Hoping to meet you soon in a Mumbai meetup in person

[TusharSuradkar]

Yes, you were missed very much at the Kolhapur meetup because when the name comes up, I can only remember your name as the most outstanding contributor to this historic town on Connect

@Rohan10 maybe we will get a chance to attend another meetup in Kolhapur later.

But for now, you can try attending in person the Pune meetup of 27th April or May 19 th.