November 27th, 2007 by Zareef Ahmed

As you must be aware that I was in Virar recently, it was really a good trip and I got lot of information about this area, I have some good videos of the places and people from this area, soon I will post them on this website.

October 21st, 2007 by Zareef Ahmed

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your visit to this website, as you know I am new to Virar, and writing occasionally about this area. I want to meet people from this area.

In last week of October, I will  be in Virar .

Please share you knowledge about virar with me.

My email address is zareef@zareef.net and my mobile number in Delhi is 09818123697.

Information gathered from various sources will be published on this website with references, so please contact me for your inclusion on this website.

I am waiting for your email and phones…

Zareef Ahmed

October 5th, 2007 by Zareef Ahmed

This is old news but I think that I must put it here, News was published in express india   and here are some highlights of that news item.

Mumbai, September 20 While Mumbaikars agonised over the rising death toll — 190 at last count — due to rain-related ailments, one family in Virar decided to cash in on the Ganpati fervour to spread a valuable message, that of “gram swachhata” or village cleanliness.

Taking cue from the rising number of dengue, malaria and chikungunya cases, the Vaiti family in Virar decorated the area around their household Ganesha to depict mosquito breeding in unclean surroundings. So, with thermocol mosquitoes looming overhead, visitors are made to stand in a room covered with mosquito nets. “Jaadu” — the alien, Krish — the local boy and Ganpati are all here spreading the message of cleanliness.

A little farther, women’s empowerment and Sunita Willaims’s space journey is making waves at another Ganesha pandal. “How can we think of killing the girl child when women like Williams are reaching to the skies?” asks Dilip Nije, whose Ganesha sits before a thermocol spaceship zooming off into his ceiling.

This is the small hamlet of Tembi Pada in the distant suburb of Virar, where humble homes have turned into public Ganesh mandals, with almost all residents aping Lokmanya Tilak’s style of using the Ganeshotsav for spreading public awareness.

During the 10-day festival, households are buzzing with people standing in queues for a glimpse of the decorations. Practically all households have devoted an entire room for the idol and the backdrop. “We had to break the wall and join two rooms,” said Parvati Vaiti.

“Ours is a household Ganpati, but we decide to do something different which will spread awareness among people. So we make decorations and sets with a socially relevant theme,” said Shailesh Vaiti.

Former sarpanch Liladhar Patil, whose family was amongst the first to start the theme-based decorations, said, “Earlier we had only mythological stories for themes, but since a large number of people come to see these decorations, we decided to use the platform for spreading social messages.”

Mumbai’s serial bomb blasts aboard the local trains and the 944-mm deluge also appear as themes. The decorations take almost a month to prepare, with the entire family participating. Men and women lend their voice for skits, help out with creating moving objects of thermocol and cloth, some even chipping in with musical scores.

“We do not take any outside help, all the decoration is done by us,” says Ajay Patil, whose decoration is based on the theme of the rich getting richer and the poor becoming worse off. The set includes depictions of current events like farmer suicides, corruption in college admissions, pavement dwellers being run over by rash drivers and even a building collapse.

Traditionally a fishing village, Tembi Pada is not very well off. Still, families spare up to Rs 30,000 for the festival. No wonder then that during the festivities, people from the neighbouring villages of Virar, Vasai and even Mumbai and Surat come visiting to see their Ganeshas.

June 15th, 2007 by Zareef Ahmed

Hitendra Thakur is the last word in Virar…
In my both trip I heard this sentence many times from different persons. It hurts somewhere… How a person can be last word in a democracy? A person can be  very good in public life, can be good mass leader, can be a real messiah … BUT I don’t think anyone can be last word in every matter in any area. How a person can be above the scrutiny of law?

Most surprising thing about this was the expressions of persons who utter this sentence to me. In most faces it was not the FEAR but RESPECT which was driving them to say such things.

Hitendra Thakur must be interesting person…..

I searched the internet and found a ton of information about him, and almost all of the information depict him in negative shades.

I should write about his other side of life…. Every person has both negative and positive points…. Much has been written about him in negative, I should find something positive….

Is it possible? Does he has done any positive thing to the society of Virar? You people who elect him as their MLA can help me in this… please post your views and experiences with Hitendra Thakur… I want to go to other side of his life….

June 6th, 2007 by Zareef Ahmed

I was just searching the internet for Virar and found this blog named Virar Local.

Writer of this blog is a programmer like me and it seems that he has good knowledge about the things he is talking about….

June 4th, 2007 by Zareef Ahmed

In last one month this is my second trip to Virar, I was looking for some food in our Delhi style, so I search for a good restaurants. One kilometer from Station I noticed a board named “SWAD”, from name and its location, I thought that it must be a good restaurant.

After parking my car on the side road, I go upstairs.  …..

After that……

Whatever happen to me after that I can not explain in good words. It was a big restaurants but no respect was visible on face of staff for the customers who are not ordering bear or something not soft-drink.

I think they must put a board in the front of gate that soft-drinker are not allowed.

I ask for complaint book but NO they don’t have any …

I did/finish my lunch there in about one and half hour…. not because I am slow eater but because they took time in delivering Butter Nan… a gap of 15-20  minute was normal in serving of Nans

No Cold water…because Ice was not there…

No Soft Drinks… because fridge is not working fine or You can just drink them without ice

No mannerism……. They point fingers at you.

This SWAD was really very bad.