Site for the scouts

Enjoying the distinction of being the oldest continuously running scout group in the country, claiming three generations of members, Sethna’s 18th West Bombay Scout Group recently launched its website. Creating its presence on the Internet and the world wide web the new site was undertaken "with an aim to keep its members in Bombay and those all over the world...in touch with what is happening at the troop,” notes an e-mail forwarded to Parsiana by Marzban Giara.

The website http://sethnas.org offers an interesting insight into the history of this troop, its long list of honors, awards and milestones with an array of information on boy scouting and current happenings at the troop. The design and technical aspects of the website were handled by Rover Arzan Wadia with the coordination of Rover Homiar Hathiram and advice of Rover Yazdi Patel and other managing committee members of the Sethnas Scouting Society, states the news report.

Nearly all the contents of the site need to be credited to the late scouter Khurshedji Mistry who had joined the troop as a small boy in 1914 and retained his ties for the next 81 years, meticulously documenting the group’s activities and accomplishments.

Originally known as the 18th-19th Bombay Scout Group, the troop has its origin in the foresight of Rustomji Edulji Sethna who stumbled upon a book on the then relatively unknown activity of boy scouting. Seeking to make young boys into great citizens, he guided them on their quest to excel in the everyday world. After joining the group in the cub pack at the age of around six, they advance to the scout troop or the sea scout troop when they are 11 and excel as scouts until they reach maturity when they become rovers and then take on the duties as guardians of the group.

"As the years have gone by and our old boys have gone into different parts of the world to chart their own fate and futures, we hope that the website will become a virtual meeting ground for them, a place where they can come back and revive memories of their younger years,” states the press release.