A TadEkam Seva Smriti — Nameeta Dabke, Pune, November 2025 to January 2026
By Nameeta Dabke
TadEkam Sevika, Pune • Swachh Kangundi • Curtain Raiser Stage Management • Kids’ Cultural Training • Festival Marketing, Hampi & Badami
“Har Kaam Nishkaam” — every action offered at the Guru’s feet, expecting nothing in return.
This is not merely a philosophy. It is a way of life that Babaji and Guruji Naushir have taught us, patiently, over years. Kangundi gave me the rare and humbling opportunity to actually live it, rather than simply admire it from a distance.
The Living Shivling
My first visit to Kangundi, in November 2025, remains unforgettable, because we were blessed to have Sant Dattapadanand Swamiji with us. Standing before the majestic Kangundi Inselberg, Swamiji shared something that transformed, forever, the way we looked upon this sacred land. He told us, gently but with absolute certainty, that the Kangundi Inselberg is Sakshat Shivling — not merely a hill of rock, but a living manifestation of Lord Shiva Himself.
From that moment onward, Kangundi was no longer simply a beautiful village to me. It became a sacred kshetra. We understood, all at once, that we had not been sent merely to develop a village — we had been entrusted with the seva of reviving a sacred land, under the guidance of Babaji and Guruji’s vision.
Guruji’s vision for Kangundi is truly extraordinary: a revival of its spiritual and cultural heritage, the awakening of the ancient Jagrut Shivling, and a sustainable future in which every family prospers through a wholly homestay-based bouldering ecosystem. Between November and January, we travelled to Kangundi four times. For those three months, Kangundi was not merely a destination — it became a mission. Every conversation, every plan, every ounce of effort revolved around a single question: how do we manifest Guruji and Babaji’s vision for this sacred land?
It was here that I truly came to understand what Guruji so often teaches us — Seva is Sadhana. During my first visit, my mind was crowded with questions. How will this happen? Is it even possible? Where does one even begin? Slowly, every question dissolved into one simple realisation: Guruji already has the plan. Our role is simply to trust, to surrender, and to execute. The people of Kangundi made this journey more beautiful still. Their warmth, their simplicity, their unconditional love made us feel like family from the very first day. We did not share a common tongue, and yet we never once struggled to communicate — because love, I learnt, is the most powerful language in the world.
Our First Homestay Owner
For our first visit to Kangundi, we stayed in Smt Neelamma’s home. She turned out to be the humblest person I have met- wife of a rickshaw driver. Yet, her gusto for life, for plastic yarn weaving, for cooking and hosting homestay guests taught me a few life-lessons. As their contribution to Kangundi Bouldering Festival, they modified their washroom from Indian-style to Western-style in just 48 hours and Neelamma lovingly cooked lunch and dinners for us sevaks, often numbering over ten. He hand-cooked food is divine, as if blessed by Babaji and Guruji
The Curtain Raiser — Stage, Story and Seva
On the 6th of December 2025, along with fellow Pune sevaks Seema and Shirish Kulkarni and Mahesh Jadhav, I took up the seva of stage event management for the Curtain Raiser of the Kangundi Bouldering Festival. Between us, we carried the responsibility of the entire stage — the flow of the programme, the felicitation of our honoured guests, and the countless small details that decide whether an event breathes smoothly or falters.
Curtain Raiser, 6th December 2025. Vicky of Kuppam Diaries (white shirt), TadEkam Sevak Seema Kulkarni (yellow saree) and Lebanese Tourist Jean Paul Hanna (black & white shirt with beard)
In the days before the Curtain Raiser, Shirish, Seema, Mahesh and I — with Lokesh from the village walking alongside us — went from lane to lane in Kangundi, personally inviting the villagers to a special entertainment show arranged especially for them, as Guruji Naushir himself had instructed. There is a particular joy in going door to door with an invitation born of genuine affection, rather than mere protocol — and the village felt that difference. The all turned-up for the special show without any VIP in attendance- each villager was a VIP for TadEkam.
Amid all the responsibility of that evening, there was also room for lightness — seva, after all, need not always be solemn. A shared laugh with Major General Sanjay Vishwasrao backstage reminded me that seva is fun too, and that joy and duty are not opposites, but companions.
6th December 2025 — Seva is Fun Too.
Guru Aagya to Hampi and Badami
One of the greatest lessons of this entire journey came just before the Kangundi Bouldering Festival itself. Guruji asked me to travel to Hampi, along with Mahesh Jadhav, to invite climbers to Kangundi. With hardly any time at hand, and an almost unknown destination to promote, the task seemed close to impossible. Seema Tai and Major General Sanjay Vishwasrao had booth to been these two bouldering/ climbing destinations to lay the foundation of our ‘marketing’ visit. Their visit a few weeks earlier was where we started from. But, as this was completely new to Mahesh and Me, it was a bit over-whelming (I am being modest).
Yet Guru Aagya is never questioned. We simply followed.
Mahesh and I travelled through Hampi and Badami, meeting climbers, visiting cafés, speaking to as many people as we possibly could. There were no registrations to show for it in the moment, and for a while, I wondered if I had failed at the very task Guruji had entrusted to me.
Then Guruji’s real plan unfolded, quietly, in its own time. We met Colby and Greg, two American climbers who instantly agreed to come to Kangundi. They became, in a very real sense, the energy of the festival. Their enthusiasm, their participation, their social media reach carried Kangundi to a far wider audience than we could have managed alone, making the festival visible to climbers and travellers across the world. Even today, Colby continues to support this vision in more ways than one, helping promote Kangundi internationally.
Looking back now, I understand that Guruji had never sent me to Hampi merely to register participants. He had sent me to meet the right people, at exactly the right time. That is Guruji’s way — never question, simply trust, simply flow.
Building Kangundi’s Little Ambassadors
Alongside Seema Kulkarni, I also took up the seva of training Kangundi’s own children — for the Ramayan Natakam and for a spirited little Boys Band, both performed with such heart on the final day of the Festival. Watching these village children, many of whom had never before stood upon a stage, slowly find their voice and their confidence was one of the most moving parts of this entire journey.
One of the most heartwarming experiences of these months has been watching the young boys of Kangundi grow from village children into confident climbers and performers. They are not merely learning a sport, or a dance, or a verse — they are quietly becoming the future ambassadors of their own home.
A Region in Celebration
The Festival was never merely a bouldering event confined to Kangundi — it became, in truth, a celebration of the entire region. Motlachenu welcomed visitors with its vibrant Valmiki Tribal Festival, Kathimanapalle celebrated its beautiful Marigold Festival, and Peddavanka showcased its own Coconut Festival, complete with the warm, unhurried hospitality of its people. Babaji and Guruji had planned to protect culture in multiple villages of Kuppam
Together, these festivals reflected the rich culture, the old traditions, and the quiet warmth of this remarkable region — a region that had, for too long, gone unseen by the wider world.
Recording a Living History
Kangundi’s revival was never only about tourism or sport — it was equally about preserving memory. It was a privilege to felicitate Prof. Shyamala of Dravidian University with a memento, in gratitude for her invaluable support in recording the history and the tribal heritage of this region — work that will long outlast any single festival.
When the Chief Minister Came
The final chapter of this journey was truly unforgettable. It was an honour to witness the visit of Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu, who appreciated, with evident warmth, the remarkable transformation taking place in Kangundi. His words of encouragement, and his assurance of continued support for this vision, felt like nothing less than a divine blessing — an affirmation that when seva is performed with sincerity, with faith, and with the spirit of Har Kaam Nishkaam, the right hearts, the right people, and the right opportunities naturally come together, exactly when they are needed. For this visit Guruji specifically tasked Mahesh and me to convey our marketing experience of Hampi and Badami to the Hon’ble Chief Minister. It was a memorable interaction.
One Family, One Vision
The Kangundi project was beautifully led by our Seva Head, Major General Sanjay Vishwasrao, whose steady leadership inspired every volunteer who came to serve. Along with the entire Mahavatar Babaji TadEkam Family, we worked not as separate individuals, but as one family. There were no fixed roles here — each of us joyfully took up whatever seva came our way. Together, with the wholehearted support of the Government of Andhra Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department, Collector Chittoor, Kuppam Area Development Authority (KADA), and Kangundi Nature and Adventure Society (KNAS) registered in October 2026, Guruji’s vision slowly, steadily began to take shape.
Looking Ahead — Thirty New Feet Upon Kangundi’s Rocks
Today, my seva with Kangundi is far from over. I am now working closely with Greg and Colby to bring thirty foreign climbers, boulderers and travel influencers to the second edition of the Kangundi Bouldering Festival, to be held on the 9th and 10th of January, 2027.
What began as an uncertain marketing trip to Hampi, undertaken purely on Guru Aagya, has quietly grown into an international bridge for this sacred village — proof, if any more were needed, that Guruji’s plan always exceeds what we ourselves can imagine at the outset.
Kangundi, My Home Away from Home
Today, Kangundi is no longer merely a place where I go to do seva. It is my home away from home — a place that has taught me to trust far more than I question, and a place that has shown me that when we surrender to the Guru’s vision with Har Kaam Nishkaam, seva quite naturally becomes sadhana.
Looking back across these months, I know that I have not simply organised festivals, trained children, or marketed a village. I have, quietly and gradually, been reshaped myself — into a steadier sadhak, a more surrendered sevak, and, I hope, a gentler, more trusting human being. Every uncertain trip to Hampi, every backstage note read under pressure, every evening spent teaching a shy village child her lines, has been Babaji, Guruji Naushir and Swami Dattapadanand Ji’s quiet way of shaping me, even as I believed I was merely shaping the festival.
And I know, with complete certainty, that this is only the beginning.
To every sevak, teacher and spiritual seeker walking this same path — I say only this: whatever seva Babaji, Guruji Naushir or Swami Dattapadanand Ji place before you, however small or however impossible it may first appear, step forward without question. Trust more than you question. Surrender more than you plan. The rest, as I have learnt again and again at Kangundi, is simply not ours to carry.
Nameeta Dabke
TadEkam Sevika, Pune
Seva Roles: Curtain Raiser Stage Management • Backstage Coordination • Kollatam Dance • Ramayan Natakam & Boys Band Training for Kangundi’s Children • Festival Marketing in Hampi & Badami • International Outreach for the 2027 Edition, 9–10 January 2027 •
tadekam.com • kangundiboulder.com
सेवा भी साधना • साधना ही शक्ती • तद् एकम्
Sewa Bhi Sadhna | Sadhna Hi Shakti | Tad Ekam
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