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Vol.67, Issue 4

Annual Subscription Rs.420

October 2016

Reunion

25 years

after

A home of her own...

The house built by Rotary in Padhar village, about 17 km from Bhuj, after the debilitating earthquake of 2001, has changed hands. Rama’s husband Bharat runs a garments business in Mumbai, and she lives in Bhuj with her two sons.

“We renovated the house after buying it eight years ago; it’s a lovely and safe locality, both my sons go to school and we are very happy here,” beams Rama, as she gets ready to hang out clothes for drying on the terrace.

Text and picture by Rasheeda Bhagat

Contents 20 A cherished moment Fond reminiscences of an up and close moment with St Teresa of Calcutta.

12

Bonding beyond borders

An unbelievable story of how a Rotary Youth Exchange programme of 1991 has cemented bonds, built friendships, deepened international understanding and promoted trust between different religions, cultures, regions.

34 Restoring burn victims’ dignity Operation Restore of RC Deonar gives a new lease of life to burns victims through corrective surgeries.

36 A priceless donation Rtn Mohan Bir Singh’s donation of his bone marrow cells breathes new life into a teenager.

38 Meet your Governors Find out what your Governors have in store for you this year.

53 From begging to school

24

Training the trainers for Dubai

The Facilitators’ training programme held at Chennai fine-tunes the presentations of the trainers to add value to the Dubai Zone Institute delegates.

A brightly painted container, transformed into Signal School, under a flyover, attracts street children to it.

66 Don’t kill that fizz of Happiness The trick is to keep yourself energised and not allow external happenings to deter you.

72 Demystifying interest rates A look into how interest rates are determined.

56 Japan... where the clichés fall In Japan, ignore the clichés, spurn the obvious, and find a spirit in everything!

28 And then there was Nagesh...

The dynamic trendsetter Governor of District 3190 became the talk of the Rotary world when his District notched up worldwide records last year.

On the cover: RYE alumni of 1991 (from left) Larissa Polo de Sa, Emma Naas and Valerie Nys.

LETTERS

Hero of Kutch

I

would like to congratulate you and your team for bringing out such an informative and inspirational issue in September. Particularly the article on rebuilding Kutch after the earthquake and the other one on the AKS League.

It is really motivating to learn about the sheer dedication and out-of-the box thinking style of PDG Mohan Shah of District 3050. PDG Shah was instrumental in giving great contribution in the rebuilding of Kutch.

The article also shows how we can utilise our professional and social contacts in the activities of Rotary. Rtn Suresh Poddar shows how generous Rotarians are. He has been lobbying for women’s

Let’s set a record for TRF RF Trustee Chair Kalyan Banerjee’s message on strategic plan and goals for this Centenary year is thought provoking. It is mandatory for each Rotarian, District and club all over the world to celebrate our Foundation this year, and enhance Rotary’s public image in the community. I suggest each Rotarian contribute to TRF irrespective of how much. Everybody must get involved.

I am making a start to motivate my club, District and our zones also to contribute. I am confident that under the dynamic stewardship of our TRF Trustee Chair, all activities will go beyond expectations and set a record in the history of Rotary.

PDG Katta Nagabhushanam RC Anantapur Central – D 3160

T

Girl power at Rio eceived the September issue and the lucid Editorial on Girl power at Rio captivated me. It is a matter

R

4 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

empowerment, education of girl children and prevention of female foeticide. He has donated huge sums for TRF and Asha Kiran as he believes that he has got more than what he needs. This is really encouraging.

Prosenjit Ghosh RC Greenland Silchar – D 3240

of shame that a big country with 130 crore population could bring only two medals. Anyway, our two daughters — P V Sindhu and Shakshi Mahajan — have saved India from disgrace.

Hats off to Suresh Poddar, member AKS league, who donated liberally and says, “By god’s grace, I have more than what I need and I don’t have any vices to spend money on.” The articles The Raj and its civil servants by Robin Gupta and We need lifestyle medicine not Medication by Sheela Nambiar are very readable, we all should learn and follow.

Raj Kumar Kapoor RC Roopnagar – D 3080

I

appreciated the editorial Girl power at Rio, not only because of your apt presentation but also for your earnest effort to establish a humanitarian view in consonant with the noble views of Rotary’s ideals.

Kuppu Veeramani, RC Thiruvaiyaru – D 2981

Saving lives he cells that save lives in the September issue was very interesting. Thoroughly enjoyed the read. Thanks for publishing the same.

I must congratulate Dr P Srinivasan (ex-Rotarian) from Chennai for establishing the Stem Cell Bank which will benefit Indian children globally.

Having ventured into this important development after successfully running Jeevan Blood Bank at Chennai, it was good to know Rotary has contributed in the Stem Cell Bank. Through such partnerships Rotary can play an immense role in helping the community. I have tried to involve Rotary in helping to spread awareness on organ donation to help those suffering from end-stage organ failure. Rotary can team up with well known NGOs for this cause, as well as the cause of stem cells transplantation.

Ravi Wankhede RC Nagpur – D 3030

T

Fabulous issues he September issue is just fabulous! Your Editorial on Women Power; An unbeatable combination by President Germ, calling Rotarians to the Atlanta 2017 Convention, Art of Balancing

by RI Director Manoj Desai, how to maintain a balance between membership, projects through TRF & Public Image; Literacy: key to a better future

by Foundation Chair Kalyan Banerjee, and above all your article talking about a Hero of Kutch, Gujarat. Hats off to you for the excellent coverage on WinS and Literacy Projects.

Piyush Doshi, RC Belur – D 3291

T

I

n the September issue, I read the article on Say no to drugs. Over 1,500 young students from various colleges in Chennai, participated in the ‘say No to drugs’ campaign held at Ethiraj College. The Rotaract Club

LETTERS of Ethiraj College took this initiative jointly with Rotaract Council and D 3230. It is shocking to note that last year the State Narcotic department seized drugs worth Rs 4 crore, and this year drugs worth Rs 14 crore have been seized, which shows the demand is increasing in the market.

I congratulate this Rotaract Club for this campaign so crucial to the student community.

N Jagatheesan RC Eluru – D 3020

T

he Raj and its Civil Servants by Robin Gupta is a very readable article and needs wider circulation.

According to Sir Percival Griffiths, ICS (then Deputy Commissioner of Darjeeling), the Indian Civil Servant had to deal with people, with the problems of famine and hunger administration in a way which would not fall to the lot of civil servants back in Britain. The result was probably the finest civil service that ever existed.

I think everybody realised that they were incorruptible. They were heavenborn to many people not in offensive manner but in an affectionate way.

Now Civil Servants are called heaven-born in offensive way and not in affectionate way.

Harjit Singh Khurana RC Ludhiana – D 3070

H

ats off to RI President John F Germ for sending us three golden concepts — more willing hands, more caring hearts and more bright minds — as guidelines for choosing and enrolling new prospective members to Rotary clubs. He says no members of the club should be lethargic in Rotary’s social activities and other projects.

In some clubs, it seems, some Rotarians are sleeping partners, rather than active participants in

their club activities because of their busy schedule and professional duties. Let us enroll prospective members having the qualities the RI President advocates, so that they will be an asset in conducting service to the community through their clubs.

GV Sayagavi RC Davangere Vidyanagara – D 3160 Is this Rotary spirit? t is laudable for Rotary to work for the welfare of special children, and Rotary clubs all over are doing lot of work in this direction. However, in the September issue, it pained me to see special children being used to create records for Guinness World Records or Limca Book of Records and for media attention, as mentioned in the write up.

How it will serve to enhance Rotary’s public image through such records leaves a question mark in my mind. We in Rotary are not for creating such records but for selfless service to the society. I think the project devised by the respected DG of D 3000 and other senior and more knowledgeable Rotarians does not reflect the right Rotary spirit. This is my humble opinion and I am open to be enlightened to correct my views and perceptions.

Radheshyam Modi RC Akola – D 3030 DG M Muruganandam from D 3000 responds: First of all, the event was not exclusive for special children; it had other college students, teachers and parents of special children, who was included as we believe in an inclusive society. The Formation was held for 5 minutes only, and for most of the time the special children were housed inside in the auditorium where there was a lot of fun and frolic, music and

I

The AKS league must congratulate you for bringing out such nice topics in the August issue. I was really overwhelmed while reading the story of Saif Qureshi and his generosity.

People like him are the real heroes of the Rotary movement. It is going to inspire many more Rotarians all over India to donate to TRF. Mukesh Bagaria RC Greenland Silchar – D 3240

I

T

he quality of the article on Suresh Poddar was very inspiring, informative and motivating... the man is truly a living icon of what a Rotarian’s life ought to be, that is “Service Above Self” in the true spirit. The more number of times I read it, the more tough it seems to emulate him…but his example is thoroughly inspiring. These days, seldom do we listen or see someone saying “I have more than I need”. He is truly an exemplary human being.

May God bless him with great health.

R Murali Krishna RC Berhampur – D 3262

snacks. The parents and the schools for special children, who were involved right from the planning stage, welcomed this break for the children.

We welcome your feedback. Write to the Editor: rotarynews@rosaonline.org; rushbhagat@gmail.com OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 5

Governors Council RI Dist 2981

DG

A Mani

RI Dist 2982

DG

T Shanmugasundaram

RI Dist 3000

DG

M Muruganandam

RI Dist 3011

DG

Dr N Subramanian

RI Dist 3012

DG

Sharat Jain

RI Dist 3020

DG

Dr S V S Rao

RI Dist 3030

DG

Mahesh H Mokalkar

RI Dist 3040

DG

Darshan Singh Gandhi

RI Dist 3051

DG

Dinesh Kumar V Thacker

RI Dist 3052

DG

Ramesh Choudhary

RI Dist 3053

DG

Bhupendra Jain

RI Dist 3060

DG

Hitesh Manharlal Jariwala

RI Dist 3070

DG

Dr Sarbjeet Singh

RI Dist 3080

DG

Raman Aneja

RI Dist 3090

DG

Sanjay Gupta

RI Dist 3110

DG

Dr Ravi Mehra

RI Dist 3120

DG

Dr Pramod Kumar

RI Dist 3131

DG

Prashant Deshmukh

RI Dist 3132

DG

Pramod Shashikant Parikh

RI Dist 3141

DG

Gopal Rai Mandhania

RI Dist 3142

DG

Dr Chandrashekhar Kolvekar

RI Dist 3150

DG

Ratna Prabhakar Anne

RI Dist 3160

DG

Sreerama Murthy

RI Dist 3170

DG

Dr Vinaykumar Pai Raikar

RI Dist 3181

DG

Dr R S Nagarjuna

RI Dist 3182

DG

Devarunda Subbegowda Ravi

RI Dist 3190

DG

H R Ananth

RI Dist 3201

DG

Dr Prakash Chandran Arackal

RI Dist 3202

DG

Dr Jayaprakash P Upadhya

RI Dist 3211

DG

Dr John Daniel

RI Dist 3212

DG

Dr K Vijayakumar

RI Dist 3230

DG

Natrajan Nagoji

RI Dist 3240

DG

Dr Rintu Guha Niyogi

RI Dist 3250

DG

Dr R Bharat

RI Dist 3261

DG

Deepak Mehta

RI Dist 3262

DG

Narayan Nayak

RI Dist 3291

DG

Shyamashree Sen

Board of Permanent Trustees & Executive Committee PRIP PRIP PRID PRID PRID PRID PRID PRID PRID RID RIDE

Rajendra K Saboo Kalyan Banerjee Sudarshan Agarwal Panduranga Setty Sushil Gupta Ashok Mahajan Yash Pal Das Shekhar Mehta P T Prabhakhar Dr Manoj D Desai C Basker

RI Dist 3080 RI Dist 3060 RI Dist 3011 RI Dist 3190 RI Dist 3011 RI Dist 3140 RI Dist 3080 RI Dist 3291 RI Dist 3230 RI Dist 3060 RI Dist 3000

Executive Committee Members (2016–17)

DG M Muruganandam

RI Dist 3000

Chair - Governors Council

DG Shyamashree Sen

RI Dist 3291

Secretary - Governors Council

DG Sarbjeet Singh

RI Dist 3070

Secretary - Executive Committee

DG Natarajan Nagoji

RI Dist 3230

Treasurer - Executive Committee

DG Gopal Rai Mandhania

RI Dist 3141

Member - Advisory Committee

ROTARY NEWS ROTARY SAMACHAR Editor Rasheeda Bhagat Senior Assistant Editor Jaishree Padmanabhan Send all correspondence and subscriptions to ROTARY NEWS TRUST 3rd Floor, Dugar Towers, 34 Marshalls Road Egmore, Chennai 600 008, India.

Phone : 044 42145666 e-mail : rotarynews@rosaonline.org Website : www.rotarynewsonline.org

From th e E d i t or ’s Desk

Peaceful world, Literate India

R

otary’s success in different regions of the world can be measured in many ways. In the developing world by how it is changing lives through water and sanitation projects, schools or homes it is building, villages it is adopting or the empowerment it is giving to the weaker sections, particularly women and children.

But in their wildest dreams, the Rotarians from across the world, including India, who put together a group of 377 teenagers in an exchange programme and sent them to the US in 1991, can’t even imagine the kind of deep impact their gesture — hosting of youngsters at homes of Rotarians across the US, the loving care their foster and temporary families took of these youngsters, and putting all of them together in 8 buses for a 5-week tour across the country — has left in their minds.

I got a glimpse of the recent reunion of about 100 of these members from the 1991 Rotary Youth Exchange Group, from a blog post I chanced upon on the RI website, and contacted its writer, Emma Naas, a delightful teacher from Sweden. She is one of the livewires behind the July reunion in Spain. A chat with her, and a few others from the group, resulted in the cover story in this issue of their magical reunion.

Whether it is Emma, Gunaar Braun, Valerie Nys, or the others, all of them speak in one voice about the invaluable gift Rotary gave them when they were so young and impressionable.

And that wasn’t just the opportunity to come together, have fun, sing, dance and form friendships. It was much more, as these Rotary exchange students explain earnestly. That trip taught them to trust strangers, and “the trust on which we based our friendship 25 years ago still continues, and we help each other in big and small things,” says Emma. Just imagine the cascading effect of this little seed of trust that was sown by Rotary 25 years ago. Thanks to it, today there are 377 young people across the world who can trust strangers and peacefully co-exist in the

world without fear of suspicion of different cultures, religions or regions.

And if Rotary is interested, they want to tell their unique story, which needs to be heard in a world that is tormented by conflicts and fear, particularly in the backdrop of the refugee crisis and politics of hate and division that some nations propagate. In a letter addressed to governments of the world, these world citizens are saying: “We stand for trust and friendship across borders, across cultural differences, different languages and different religions. We are the world, just a smaller and more peaceful one.” Can there be a more powerful, or more meaningful message?

On a different, and yet related, issue, Indian Rotarians celebrated September 8, World Literacy Day, with a bang. The usually unflappable PRID and RILM Chair Shekhar Mehta is all excitement as he shares the mega success of this day. He is overwhelmed at the impact that was created across the social media on September 8, with video clips of senior Rotary leaders such as TRF Trustee Chair Kalyan Banerjee saying: “My club is sending 50 children back to school; what are you doing?” Celebrities such as Sonakshi Sinha, M S Dhoni and Kabir Bedi applauded Rotary’s TEACH programme. Mehta is happy that 120 reports of the Literacy Day were carried by the media, 500 projects were started or completed by Rotary clubs on that day, and commitments given to start 1,997 e-learning centres and 416 libraries, and 1,306 pledges taken to send children back to school.

Yes, the world needs peace. And India, more than anything else, needs to ensure that every Indian is literate and no child will miss the gift of education.

Rasheeda Bhagat

OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 7

President Speaks

The race to the finish Dear Fellow Rotarians,

I

n 1979, James Bomar Jr., the president of Rotary at the time, travelled to the Philippines as part of Rotary’s earliest work to immunise children against polio. After he had put drops of vaccine into one baby’s mouth, he felt a child’s hand tugging on his trouser leg to get his attention. Bomar looked down and saw the baby’s brother looking up at him, saying earnestly, “Thank you, thank you, Rotary.”

Before Rotary took on the task of polio eradication, 350,000 people — nearly all of them children — were paralysed by polio every year. That child in the Philippines knew exactly what polio was and understood exactly what Rotary had just done for his baby brother. Today, 31 years after the launch of PolioPlus, the children of the Philippines — and of nearly every other country in the world — are growing up without that knowledge, and that fear, of polio. Instead of 1,000 new cases of polio every day, we are averaging less than one per week. But as the fear of polio wanes, so does awareness of the disease. Now more than ever, it is vitally important to keep that awareness high and to push polio eradication to the top of the public agenda and our governments’ priorities. We need to make sure the world knows that our work to eradicate polio isn’t over yet, but that Rotary is in it to end it.

On 24 October, Rotary will mark World Polio Day to help raise the awareness and the funding we need to reach full eradication. I ask all of you to take part by holding an event in your club, in your community, or online. Ideas and materials are available for download in all Rotary languages at endpolio.org/worldpolioday, and you can register your event with Rotary at the same link. You can also join me and tens of thousands of your fellow Rotarians for a live-streamed global status update at 6 p.m. Eastern time at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

I’ll be there along with CDC Director Tom Frieden, other experts, and inspirational presenters, sharing an inside look at the science, partnerships, and human stories of polio eradication.

It is an incredibly exciting time to be a Rotarian. We are gathering momentum for the final race to the finish: to the end of PolioPlus and the beginning of a polio-free world. It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime chance to End Polio Now, through Rotary Serving Humanity.

John F Germ President, Rotary International 8 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

Message from the RI

Director

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), also called corporate conscience, corporate citizenship or responsible business, is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. CSR policy functions as a self-regulatory mechanism whereby a business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of law, ethical standards and national or international norms.

The aim is to increase long-term profits and shareholder trust through positive public relations and high ethical standards to reduce business and legal risk by taking responsibility for corporate actions.

CSR strategies encourage the company to make a positive impact on the environment and stakeholders including consumers, employees, investors, communities, and others.

CSR is titled to aid an organisation's mission as well as serve as a guide to what the company represents for its consumers. ISO 26000 is the recognised international standard for CSR. Friends, we are in exciting times because of CSR. Many companies are looking forward to partnership with proven and effective voluntary organisations. They are interested in partners who can work effectively with them in the same area to enhance the number of beneficiaries.

Last year, I experienced the magic of Rotary's CSR seminar at Nagpur (D 3030) and Bengaluru (D 3190), and this year, when DG Dr S V S Rao and PDG Tikku (D 3020) organised a similar meet at Visakhapatnam where we met 20 top CEOs from various professions such as shipping, banking, hospitals, exports etc. In less than a week, we received an excellent offer from the CEO of Apollo Hospitals for reducing maternal mortality. Apollo has 85 branches in India and they are eager to partner with Rotary.

I have suggested to the Visakhapatnam team to create a model and give the data with a 90-second video of this project to showcase it to Rotarians.

I have no doubt it will be replicated in many places.

I request the Smiling Sheriffs to try this new idea in all districts so that Rotary in India will achieve the status of ‘Preferred Partner.’ Dare to dream dreams — I shared my dream and Rotary's power to realise it.

All the best.

Manoj Desai Director, Rotary International

Message from the Foundation Chair

Celebrate World Polio Day on 24 October

I

n our work to end polio, we’ve noticed a disturbing development: People in many parts of the world think polio no longer exists.

Even some of our members, especially younger Rotarians who were born after the development of the polio vaccine, assume that because the disease doesn’t afflict anyone in their country, it’s no longer a problem.

To make everyone aware that this disease is just an airplane ride away, Rotary started World Polio Day, held annually in October. Over the years, we have marked this occasion in various ways. Clubs have held fundraisers or lit up iconic structures in their country with the words “End Polio Now.” More recently, we created live-streamed events featuring prominent public health experts and journalists, along with some of our celebrity ambassadors.

This year, we partnered with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which will host a live-streamed event at its headquarters in Atlanta. (Taking into consideration different time zones, the event will be immediately archived so your club may watch it at a time that is convenient.) Tom Frieden, the CDC’s director, and Jeffrey Kluger, Time magazine’s senior editor overseeing science and health reporting, will be joined by other public health experts to discuss the milestones, promising developments, and remaining challenges in the fight to eradicate polio.

But we want Rotarians to observe World Polio Day everywhere, not just in Atlanta. In fact, we would like to see at least 1,000 World Polio Day events take place throughout the world. I encourage you to host viewing parties of the live-streamed event and organise fundraisers. Be sure to register your event at www.endpolio.org/worldpolioday, where you can also find resources to help make it a success.

Polio is still out there, even though the number of cases has dropped by more than 99.9 percent since 1988. We’re almost there, but until the number of cases reaches zero, polio remains a threat to all of us. World Polio Day offers an opportunity to share that vital message with your club and your community.

Kalyan Banerjee Foundation Trustee Chair 100 ROT ROTARY OTA TARY ARY NE NEWS W OCTOBER OCT O CT C OBE BER R 2016 2016

Bonding beyond borders Rasheeda Bhagat An unbelievable story of how a Rotary Youth Exchange programme of 1991 has cemented bonds, built friendships, deepened international understanding and promoted trust between different religions, cultures, regions.

Very likely to join Rotary if

Probably yes. Although I can

Like Gunnar said for Germany,

somebody asks me; it’s not

tell you I contacted the Rotaract

in Belgium it is quite an elitist

that we didn’t want to become

president in my district some

organisation quite difficult to get

Rotarians, but nobody asked us.

years after the trip, but got no

in. That is the reason I am not

good vibrations. Seemed they

in, even though I would be very

were not interested in me. So, of

happy to be a host family for an

course, I did not push any harder.

exchange student.

– Emma Naas, Sweden.

If someone would have asked me, I would have been happy to join Rotary.

– Gunaar Braun, Germany.

– David Pla Santamaria, Spain.

– Valerie Nys, Belgium.

I

magine the magic that is created when 377 young men and women, barely 17 or 18, come together for a five-week tour across the United States! They hail from 37 countries; “none of us knew each other and we spent 5 magic weeks together on 8 buses and for all of us that was the best travel we had ever done,” gushes an excited Emma Naas, a schoolteacher from Sweden I interview over Skype.

I’ve picked up the very absorbing story of the reunion, after 25 years, of 100 of these Rotary Youth Exchange students from Emma’s blog piece on the RI website, and also speak to some of the others in the group such as Valerie Nys, Gunaar Braun, David Pla Santamaria.

Describing the 1991 trip, Emma recalls how Rotary had brought together these exchange students for a year, selected their hosts and “arranged for us to see places in the US such as the Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, etc for 5 weeks.”

Through the Skype screen, Emma’s excitement is palpable. So what did they enjoy the most about the trip, I ask her. “The friendship of course”, which was so strong that even after over 20 years, it could be rekindled. “For nearly five years now, many of us have come together again on social media on the basis of that friendship, which is nothing short of amazing.”

And that magic friendship happened for several reasons; “because

Five years ago, an FB group called The Rotary Tour of US, 1991, was started with barely 30 members. Now it has 278!

We put the memories in our boxes and thought we’d never meet again… never be able to revisit this fantastic memory of our lifetime.

Emma Naas

we were all teenagers from different countries, different cultures, different religions… a big mix which made the impossible possible.” They were hosted by different Rotary families, and later “we were together on the buses talking, discussing, singing, dancing.”

But this “amazing network” of 377 citizens from all over the world quickly disintegrated because “at that time there was no Internet. We returned home and most of us were devastated, because it was like losing your family. When we tried explaining to people what the trip meant to us they did not understand. So we put the memories in our boxes and thought we’d never meet again… never be able to revisit this fantastic memory of our lifetime,” she says.

The magic resurfaces But about 5 years ago, an FB group called the Rotary Tour of US, 1991, was started with barely 30 members, “and it wasn’t active till I was contacted by Salvador from Spain... we’re great friends. He said, Emma, why don’t we do something. This is too good not to do something.”

Thus began a campaign to rope in as many members as possible, using platforms like FB, LinkedIn, Google, etc. They contacted Rotary clubs… anything that would help them get the members back. “Believe it or not, we started 5 years ago with 30 members and now we are 278!”

The gripping story of Valerie Nys, now a director in a health care company OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 13

I learned to trust others that I barely knew, to open my mind to other points of view and to listen, to share, and most of all, to trust myself.

Valerie Nys

in Belgium, describes best how the 25 years melted away when 100 of them, from 24 countries, met at Benicassim in Spain from July 21–25.

She recalls that being “a kid of divorced parents with difficult relations”, the chance to be an exchange student in the US was “a way to escape the tension in the family. I wanted to travel as I was attracted by other cultures, but had no opportunity till then.”

Initially, adaptation to the new culture was hard, but “with the help of my new mum who spent hours perfecting my English, I made new friends and discovered a whole new world. I became

so mature that year… the caterpillar became a butterfly!”

Developing trust Much more important, and this is the most crucial aspect of how the Rotary Youth Exchange programme contributes to world understanding and peace, is what both Valerie and Emma emphasise. Says the former: “I learned to trust others that I barely knew, to open my mind to other points of view, and to listen, to share and most of all, to trust myself.

“The friendship we made at that time was deep, really deep. Because,

From left: Caroline Meuris (Belgium), Salva (Salvador) Serrano Tello (Spain), He was one of the founders of the group together with Emma Naas (Sweden), Gunnar Braun (Germany), Eike Neubarth (Germany), Larissa Polo de Sa (Brazil), Valerie Nys (Belgium), Charina Hong Bisuna (Phillipines).

I now have an extension of my German family… five more brothers and six more parents abroad! That year taught to me to be part of a global family.

Gunaar Braun

we were all living this amazing experience which we could share, and we compensated each other for the “family love” we had left back home.”

Now, she wants to inject in both her kids a “virus” that will make them “citizens of the world, like me!”

Both Emma and Gunaar Braun also stress on the priceless gift Rotary gave them at a young age — the ability to trust strangers. For Braun, the most important part of his “summer of great freedom” or year abroad as a teenager “in this sheltered environment that the Rotary programme provides you, is that you learn to trust total strangers and believe in yourself at the same time.”

The rotation to different families meant not only learning about different lifestyles but extending your own family.

The result is an “extension of my German family… today I have five more brothers and six more parents abroad!

That year taught me to be part of a global family,” he says.

Lively debates Striking a serious note, Braun says “it still is a treasure for me today to

know that the US society was not convinced at all of what their government did in attacking Iraq in 1991.”

He was witness to “heavy debating” and many “lively discussions” on this topic. “Otherwise, one could remain distressed by the sheer global military power in the hands of one nation. So it was good to be witness to very rational discussions on political decisions.”

Adds Emma, “What is most important is that in this climate of war and conflict in the world where people are afraid of each other, we are totally opposite, because something happened on that tour. At 17 or 18, you are still very open-minded, you are ready to trust, ready to learn and understand, and Rotary gave us that fantastic opportunity. We grabbed it and made something beautiful of it, and when we left each other, we had nothing for 25, or rather 20 years.”

A contrary view Interestingly, for David Pla Santamaria, the 1991 US experience was initially not a good one. Switching from the environment of a Spanish town to a little town in the US was really hard and he had “a horrible time”. For one, the alcohol drinking age in Spain was 16, but it was 21 in the US. “That meant that a high percentage of partying options I was used to at that time were not available,” he recalls.

And his host town barely had a population of 1,000; “boredom was

Unlike Spain, the alcohol drinking age in US was 21, which meant that a high percentage of partying options I was used to at that time were not available.

David Pla Santamaria

OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 15

We are checking out on Atlanta and trying to tell RI that we would love to speak at a breakout session there as we think Rotary needs to hear our story.

my companion. No public transportation to travel to bigger cities or anywhere; and no driving was allowed. It was like an incarceration.”

Next came the “racism of the deep Midwest America against Latin people”. But on the other hand, there were the positives. “An amazingly different culture so close to that in the movies! With no one speaking Spanish

in many miles, my English improved fast!” Then there were the sports in school and an easier level of education compared to that in Spain. And then the grand finale — a 5-week Rotary tour along with the others; “that single experience was enough to compensate for the rest of the 11 months!”

Emma adds that with the FB group getting active, “now on our birthdays, we get messages from all over the world. When one woman’s daughter got cancer, people from all over the world sent gifts.” This support group, she adds, helped her immensely as an English language teacher. “I’ve now completely changed my way of teaching; instead of books, I base a lot of my teaching on Skype interviews and this tour group has been a base for my teaching. My students have travelled all over the world and for using this model of teaching I was recently awarded the European language prize!

Thanks to what I got 25 years ago, I want to give back to my kids, my students.”

A more peaceful world Rotary’s gift to her through this programme is a confidence that “it doesn’t have to be a world with war and conflict. So much can be done when you trust each other. My son has gone to Spain, stayed with a family there; a member of our group from Australia posted that her daughter is touring Europe and could she stay with some of us. She stayed in my house for five days, and in the homes of our group members all over Europe. It’s a fantastic network not only for us but our children too. My dad met some group members while on a vacation.”

Valerie adds that way back in 1991 a special bond was formed, that time could not break… it was “a bond the young make when all you have in mind

From left: Katarzyna Walczak (Poland), Emma Naas (Sweden), Alejandra Elton Torrejon (Chile), Berengere de Wergifosse (Belgium), Luis Fernando Madariaga (Venezuela).

The reunion was not about telling people what a good job you have, or how much money you make, or what religion, culture or region you belong to. It didn’t matter.

is sharing and loving and having fun, and when there are no other interests.”

Those five weeks they travelled across the US by buses “really changed my life. I am now 44 and I still consider that moment to be the most beautiful moment of my life, the richest moment in terms of sharing with others.” For some time, she adds, some of them kept in touch through letters, but as “time passed, the letters disappeared.” …then Emma happened!

Valerie adds that for some time after the FB page was formed, nothing much happened. “But then Emma, an amazing and enthusiastic person who can change the world with her smile, came along. She started by writing birthday wishes and then made a contest to find more exchange students.”

And then came the idea of meeting again. “When we chatted, it was not about your house, job, husband or kids, but more of ‘How happy are you? What

Trust overcomes fear; we see a lot of fear in today’s world. Fear of other religions, refugees, fear

Chetana Munot (India) and David Pla Santamaria (Spain).

is important for you? Let’s have fun together, let’s share something special.”

So along with Emma, a few of them got together to plan the trip which finally happened in Spain. “We could feel so much love flowing between us, a bunch of people, who had not even met for 25 years, caring for each other and exchanging glorious smiles for those four amazing days.”

of losing sovereignty to other nations. Even fear of accepting foreigners in one’s own country.

25 years melt away For Santamaria the reunion in Spain “was a dream come true. It was like the day after we said bye in Philadelphia

in 1991. To be able to say ‘Hi, what did you do last night’ again, after 25 years, was amazing. He adds that the US trip was the “best experience I had in my life and many of the others had the same feeling. Back in 1991 when saying bye we knew it was the last time we were going to see each other.

But technology proved us wrong. That is magical!” He is a professor and researcher at the Technical University of Valencia in Spain, and specialises in saving and investment for retirement.

Of course before the grand reunion, smaller meetings took place between OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 17

Rotary, help us tell our story

S

o out of the 377 Youth Exchange students who visited US in 1991, how many joined Rotary later, I asked Emma Naas, who has played a vital role in getting 278 of these youngsters together in an FB group. “Good question. We made an examination and feel that Rotary didn’t grab the chance to make us Rotarians. Since 1991, many of us haven’t been involved with Rotary, and that is such a shame because it was Rotary that brought us together in such a wonderful group in 1991,” she says.

Both Emma and Gunaar Braun are elated that they have proved the world’s politicians wrong. “We’ve proved the opposite of what’s happening in the world today… suspicion and mistrust between different regions and cultures. The very essence of the Rotary exchange programme is based

18 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

on trust. You trust each other, your host family, another country, and so on.”

With a renewed confidence, and rediscovering the immense value of what they now have, the group has now written two letters, one to Rotary, and another to the world’s governments.

The one to Rotary is an expression of gratitude and says that during the four days of their reunion in Spain “we realised that the trust we based our friendship on 25 years ago is still there. We help each other in big and small (things), we network, we won a European Language award and during the reunion we all signed a letter addressing the government in each country asking it to support exchange programmes.”

Thanking Rotary, it adds, “If you are interested, we want to tell our

unique story which is very much needed when the world around us is tormented by conflicts and fear. If you want us to attend your conferences or tell our story, please contact us. We stand for trust and friendship across borders, across cultural differences, different languages and different religions. We are the world, just a smaller and more peaceful one.”

Urging the world’s governments to plant a “seed of trust in the current world of turmoil and growing nationalism” by promoting similar exchange programmes, the letter says, “Trust overcomes fear; we see a lot of fear in today’s world. Fear of other religions, refugees, fear of losing sovereignty to other groups or nations. Even fear of accepting foreigners in one’s own country.”

Emma and some others. “First I initiated a small group meet in Stockholm, which had a snowball effect and more people started to meet and we’ve been having mini reunions all over the world for the last four years,” beams Emma.

After almost four years of planning, 100 people from 24 countries — Australia, Philippines, India, Venezuela,

In 1991 a special bond was made; a bond the young make when all you have in mind is sharing and loving and having fun, and when there are no other interests.

Valerie Nys

Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Japan and several European countries — met in Benicassim, north of Valencia in Spain. Gala dinners, a fun trip on a bus to the mountains, lots of laughter, fun, banter… four magical days in Spain actually happened.

The reunion, adds Emma, was not about “telling people what a good job you have, or how much money you make, or what religion, culture or region you belong to. It didn’t matter; what was important was he was Gunaar and I am Emma. If we can help each other in our business or work, we do but that is secondary.”

She adds that their network is “very powerful. In this group Finland’s Deputy Head of Information, others are very senior executives, and there are some very senior and ambitious people here, but we have no money interest.”

In Spain, as the 25 years melted away, Valerie says she now feels much closer to the group. “I trust these people with my life and I know it is the same for them. And this is all due to the greatness of Rotary… I could never be thankful enough to Rotary for making my life so much better through this exchange programme,” smiles Valerie.

So how many of them would be interested in joining the Atlanta Convention next year as the Foundation celebrates its Centenary year?

“All of us. We are checking out on Atlanta and trying to tell RI that we would love to speak at a breakout session at Atlanta as we think Rotary needs to hear our story, so we’re trying to apply for a District Grant or something which will make it possible,” says Emma.

Designed by Krishnapratheesh OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 19

A cherished moment Rasheeda Bhagat

Saint Teresa with Rotary News Editor Rasheeda Bhagat and Suresh Nambath, National Editor, The Hindu.

T

he first time I met, or rather listened, to Mother Teresa, was at a huge meeting she was addressing at the Marina beach in Chennai in the early 1980s. I, a junior reporter, was mesmerised by the Mother’s simplicity, the brevity of her talk in an era when speakers wouldn’t just let go of the mike, her

20 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

frail, diminutive person, but above all, the strength, resolve and kindness that she exuded. We reporters — it was a small group then — were privileged to be introduced to her and get her blessings.

My report began: “Wrinkles look beautiful on Mother Teresa’s face…” It was one of those occasions when words

just flowed… unhindered, spontaneous.

Within minutes of the copy reaching the desk of the resident editor of the Indian Express, the revered C P Seshadri, who we affectionately called ‘Master’, walked up to my desk in the reporting room holding my copy, smiled, read out the first sentence and said: “This is not prose; it is poetry”, and walked away, leaving me floating on Cloud 9. Such praise from Master was rare….

After covering another meeting of the Mother two years or so later, I met her the third time in 1993 at Loyola College, this time for an interview. She looked even frailer at 83, but the sparkle in the eye, the calm strength with which she spoke, were undiminished. The interview was short, the answers crisp and the message clear. Love, peace, prayer, the value of family life. Like always, her refrain was “The family that prays together, stays together.”

The best part of the interview was the blessing… spontaneous and generous. I came away elated, with a halo around my head, that only I could see!

A special encounter Debi Prasad Patra

I

can never forget a Friday morning in 1992; the time was around 11.30 am and I was in my Alipore Bungalow, the official residence of the District Magistrate of South 24 Parganas, which was next to the Presidency Jail in Calcutta. All of a sudden, Mother Teresa walked in unannounced. I jumped up from my chair and touched her feet. She told me in a frail voice, “Jyoti has sent me to you to seek the release of the 22 ladies languishing in the Presidency Jail as lunatics. I will take them home. Give them peace before they die… I want to see smiles on their faces.”

Jyoti Basu, the revered Marxist and the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was an avowed fan of Mother and Mother was a big fan of ‘Jyoti’, as she called him. He studied from class 1–6 in the Loreto Convent for girls, which was co-ed in junior school. In later days, he used to meet Mother Teresa periodically and visit her at Shishu Bhawan, the Home set up by the Missionaries of Charity.

Mother had just recovered from a heart ailment and the first visit she made was to the Writers Buildings to meet her friend Jyoti. He told her these 22 girls were languishing in the jail as they had none to look after them and had been labeled lunatics. Mother immediately volunteered to take care of them and asked him how she could get to them.

Jyoti Basu apparently told her: “Go to Patra, he is the guy who will hand them over to you today! Perhaps his confidence in me came after my recent successful handling of the burning Darjeeling Gorkha agitation!

But I wasn’t aware of Mother’s meeting with Jyoti Basu, and nobody had alerted me to expect her.

So Mother came straight from Writers Building to my residence — a regal

sprawling Bungalow of the time of Hastings. (William Thackeray had lived here as an infant.)

On seeing her, I fell from my chair.

I could not believe my eyes. She had an aura, a halo, a presence… about her that cannot be described. She represented all that was good and noble in the world.

Even though taken unawares, I told her gently: “Mother, I will arrange this, but it will take some time.

She said, “Talk to Jyoti, my son, and get your orders. I will wait here.”

I was in a fix. I immediately talked to the CM and got the instructions to move the appropriate court for the release of those 22 women. Then I explained to her that the Court procedure will take a couple of days. It was very difficult for me to convince her about this.

Luckily, Sister Nirmala was kind and took pity on me. She told Mother that it was beyond my powers to get the immediate release of those women and the legal process would take some time. Then she smiled, and said, “Yes my son, I understand. But I will come again to take them.”

She gave her blessings and gave me a silver chain — a sign of good luck for my wife, who was away at our home town in Bhubaneswar. She left after one hour.

By the time she left, around 200 staff and their and family members had gathered outside the bungalow to seek her blessings. She obliged all of them one by one. Some were crying— all were overjoyed.

I was truly blessed to see her in person — there was an instant feeling that she was saintly, had an air of divinity and peace. Thereafter, she came back twice to take the girls in two batches, after the release orders were obtained from the court.

It really hurts me when some people question her motives and malign her role and work.

She was a living Saint. There won’t ever be another Mother Teresa for generations to come.

The writer is an IAS officer of 1979 batch, and presently Executive Chairman of a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation at Kolkata.

OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 21

A Mother and a Saint Saadia Azim

M

other Teresa was canonised by the Catholic Church in a week-long grand ceremony in the Vatican on the first Sunday in September. A contingent of nuns, priests, volunteers, followers, academics and government officials from India were in attendance to witness the historic event that formally elevated the “saint of the gutters”, as Mother Teresa is famously known, to Saint Teresa of Calcutta. When the canonisation mass began at the iconic St. Peters Square, nuns and novices of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity as well as their followers caught the service through live streaming at Mother’s Home, the headquarters of

Mother Teresa, now St Teresa of Calcutta.

222 ROT ROTARY TARY ARY NE AR N NEWS EWS WS OCTOBER OCT O TOB OBE BEEER B R 2016 20 016 16 16

the humanitarian network initiated by Mother Teresa in Kolkata.

Immediately before the canonisation, there was palpable enthusiasm in the air at the Mother’s Home although the nuns, dressed in their typical white saris with blue striped borders, continued to follow their tranquil daily routine of silent prayers and service to the poor. The ordained women, in fact, pray to the Mother to give them the strength to carry on her work. “Much before the beatification by the Church, we have been praying to the Mother. She is revered by the nuns as well as the visitors coming to the Home. Her statue is at the entrance and people stop by it to say their prayers,” explains Sister Ita MC, who joined the Missionaries of Charity two decades back when she came to India from Indiana in the United States.

People walk into the hhallowed premises of the Mother’s Home to pray, voluntee volunteer, seek spiritual guidance and counselling; many come com looking for financial aid and medical support. An And the nuns are there to provide the necessary solace. sol “The spirit of giving and reaching out to th those in need hasn’t changed. We are keeping Mo Mother’s legacy and philosophy alive,” says Sis Sister Blasilla MC. Margret F Frank, a school teacher, is one of the many for fo whom praying to the Mother for compassi compassion and the courage to face challenges — qualities she lived by and practised in he her lifetime — is a morning ritual.

“I have deep faith fa in her and my prayers have always been answered. an I truly believe that she has great healing healin powers,” she says.

Bess and Ana, Ana too, were in the city all the way from Kerala to t mark the big day. One of the two sisters was adop adopted from Shishu Bhawan, the children’s home of th the Missionaries of Charity, and they were here with their mother Kavita. “She has always been a saint for us. It was wa encouragement from her that motivated me to speak to my family about adopting a girl,” reveals the older woman. wom On way to the th grotto of Mother Mary in the Home it is customary to pay respects Mother’s Hom statue on the ground floor. at Mother Teresa’s Te Sitting on the benches nearby are the novices, identifiable by their white saris, who easily identi their turn to receive “blessings” wait for th as they gget ready to spend another day

in theological studies. Flanking the the canonisation. Significantly, Sinha’s statue are relics of the Mother that the camera has consciously looked beyond For many of us Mother pilgrims are eager to touch to “sanctify the impoverishment and squalor that themselves”; there’s also a locked box envelope the city and instead concentrated has always been the in which children drop chits of paper on highlighting its beauty and heritage. with their special prayers and wishes Srijita Deb Burman, 25, who is associated saint who heals and penned down. Sister Felomina MC from with the Sainthood Project, says, “This inspires. The world will Simdega in Jharkhand, an elderly nun of is our way of paying tribute to Mother the Missionaries, who joined the order Teresa. The images that we are showing now recognise what we at the call of Mother Teresa, says, “For depict the real character of Kolkata that us she has always been saintly. She had must have attracted Mother to the city.” have always known. special powers that motivated, directed There were several other academics, and blessed restless souls.” priests, students and artists who held While the devout honour her with seminars, exhibitions and prayer meetings prayers and stories about her “miracles”, acclaimed across the city to spread “Mother Teresa’s philosophy and photographer Kounteya Sinha, along with a group of young humanity.” Artist Sunita Kumar, an ardent follower of the Kolkatans, has attempted to capture the true spirit of the Mother, has made “several new paintings depicting her ideolcity that inspired a young Agnes Gonxha (as Mother Teresa ogy”. A practising Sikh, she volunteers with the Missionaries was known before she took her vows) from Albania to stay of Charity, and vividly recounts several miracles of the on and make it her home. This initiative was part of the Mother. “She remains the face of extreme penance and crowd-funded Sainthood Project under which streets of sacrifice all across the world,” she remarks.

Rome were turned into an open air gallery showcasing the A cathedral in Baruipur, near Kolkata, becomes the first different facets of Kolkata to the crowds that came in for official church where followers can officially offer prayers in the name of their beloved saint. The city’s landmark Park Street area, where a statue of Mother Teresa serenely looks Sister Lysa (left), Deputy Head of the Missionaries of over the milling crowds, has now been renamed Mother Charity, conducting a special prayer marking the 106th Teresa Sarani in her honour. birthday of Mother Teresa.

“Her work and ideology, rooted in human values and rights, have a universal appeal. Be it Christians or people practising other faiths, Mother Teresa is an icon for everyone. For me, it’s her capacity to bring everyone together that makes her a saint,” says Aarti Kumari, a regular visitor to Mother’s Home, who comes seeking counsel from the nuns on family issues. Mitali Basak, a homemaker, adds, “I have observed Mother Teresa from close quarters for most years of my life and I feel blessed to have seen a saint in real life.”

Sister Asharita MC from Tamil Nadu has the final word, “It was her call that brought me to the order and I am happy to be following in her footsteps. For many of us Mother has always been the saint who heals and inspires. The world will now recognise what we have always known.” (© Women’s Feature Service) Designed by L Gunasekran OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 23

From left: Institute Chair V Raja Seenivasan, RID Manoj Desai, RIDE C Basker, PDG J B Kamdar.

T

he Dubai Zone Institute is around the corner and as always, training will be an important part of it.

The governors-elect, nominees and district trainers will be trained, and a governors’ mid-year review meet will be held. To train them facilitators are appointed by the conveners. For the first time ever, RI Director Manoj Desai decided to have a Facilitators’ training programme in Chennai, three months before the Institute. “The idea is to significantly improve the standards of training, and based on evaluations from earlier Institute sessions, I recommended this kind of workshop for the incoming governors to take home valuable lessons and enhance their Rotary knowledge from Zone Institutes,” said Desai.

The event was chaired by the RI Director along with RIDE C Basker, overall training chairman PDG J B Kamdar and Institute Chair V Raja Seenivasan. They were helped by Lead Facilitator PDG A S Venkatesh, Member, Lead Training Committee, Kamal Sanghvi and past training leaders Bharat Pandya, Mahesh Kotbagi and Ravi Vadlamani. “Trainers from across the country are attending this 24 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

Training the trainers for Dubai Jaishree

workshop to understand how to be facilitators,” said Kamdar.

Facilitators shared their presentations for the Institute in breakout sessions. Past training leaders gave guidance to improve the training and make it more interactive.

“Lesson #1, never come late for your session. As facilitators, you must be there to receive and greet the participants,” pointed out Desai, as a couple of Rotarians trooped into the hall.

Talking about the art of facilitation, he said, “Ask questions and do not reveal the answers, however tempted you may be. The fundamental principle of facilitation is that the answer lies in the room. You can keep a dialogue going and make it interactive.”

A good facilitator must appreciate his audience for the right responses, draw their interest, make everyone participate. “Remember that you are training the DGEs. They will have a fair knowledge of the basics — grants, funds, etc., and their plans might be ready,” he said.

Don’t judge their knowledge or get into uncharted territories or get too familiar with a particular person.

Don’t go deep into a U-shaped seating

arrangement; the trick is two steps left and two to the right so that you don’t lose eye contact with your audience.

Where an issue has a mixed response, you may call for votes, were some of the tips Desai shared with the facilitators.

RI has given a set of questions from which the facilitators can choose.

“Ask questions in such a way that you remove misconceptions and delegates go back learning something new,” said PDG Bharat Pandya.

A stage-managed show enacted

by PDGs A S Venkatesh and Kamal Sanghvi provided insight into the finer

aspects of the training such as dress code, voice modulation and dealing with awkward situations. How would you tackle a person who is constantly engaged with his phone or whose phone rings in the middle of a presentation?

“Choose your words carefully so that you don’t embarrass the person.

Remember you are dealing with adults who are knowledgeable in their field.

Be gentle with them, like treading on glass,” said Sanghvi.

Speak slowly and clearly because there will be delegates from different parts of the Zone and not everyone will

be fluent in English. Don’t overshoot your time as this will collapse the entire programme, said Venkatesh, who is one of the two lead facilitators for the 2017 International Assembly at San Diego.

He recalled an instance where he found two men carrying on a constant dialogue as he was giving a presentation. When he went up to them, he understood that one was translating the proceedings to the other who did not understand English and not chitchatting as he had initially suspected.

Words can be misconstrued in different parts of the world. Sanghvi spoke about an occasion where he implored the delegates to take Rotary with passion and a Rotarian from the Netherlands asked him how he could relate Rotary with sex, for passion in their country meant that! This drew a recollection from Desai who said that when he spoke about PRIP Kalyan Banerjee’s theme, Reach within to ‘embrace’ humanity, some Rotarians, not conversant with the nuances of the English language, responded with a horrified ‘No’!

The mock session for the spouses was led by Sharmishtha Desai, PDG Rajyalakshmi Vadlamani and Vinita Venkatesh. “It is sort of a dress rehearsal. This is the time when we can perfect our presentations and make it better,” said Sharmishtha, encouraging the women facilitators to present their topics, and suggesting improvements.

A section of participants in rapt attention as RID Manoj Desai speaks on facilitation.

Ask questions and do not reveal the answers, however tempted you may be.

Manoj Desai

Desai, responding to Basker’s poser on how to tell a participant to be brief in his discussion, said that the first slide for all presentations should have ground rules such as no cell phones, speak slowly and clearly and raise your hand to ask questions.

“Wear a smile. you have to be prepared for a barrage of questions. Don’t lose your cool under any situation,” advised Sanghvi while guiding PDG Ashok Panjwani through his session.

What they say…

“This exchange of ideas and sharing of thoughts helps us correct our flaws and add inputs from experts,” said Jayanthi Seenivasan, a facilitator for the spouses’ session. For Bina Desai, “the bonding that has happened now will make a difference. Otherwise we would have met there, at Dubai, a day before and it would have just been a formality and there will be no time to change the presentation.”

PDG Ajay Gupta said he learnt from this session that the facilitator’s job is to extract knowledge from the district leaders.

PDG Ratnesh Kashyap, with 30 years of training experience in Jaycees and Rotary, said, “A facilitator’s job is not about giving your knowledge to the participants; rather, it is an art to extract the answers from them. We are not trainers; we are ‘facilitating’ to bring out the best in them. They are already established leaders and their knowledge has to be honed.”

The art of facilitating is truly amazing and it was a great day that all facilitators picked up the art. Let’s look forward to a great meet at Dubai, he added.

Pictures by Jaishree OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 25

District Wise TRF Contributions as on August 31, 2016 (in US Dollars)

District Number

APF

PolioPlus*

Other Restricted

Total Endowment Contributions Fund

WHERE WILL ROTARY GLOBAL REWARDS TAKE YOU?

India 2981 2982 3000 3011 3012 3020 3030 3040 3051 3052 3053 3060 3070 3080 3090 3100 3110 3120 3131 3132 3141 3142 3150 3160 3170 3181 3182 3190 3201 3202 3211 3212 3230 3240 3250 3261 3262 3291 India Total 3220 3271 3272 3281 3282 3292 South India Total World Total

39,853 1,396 27,070 21,614 52,803 6,143 (8,500) (627 ) 3,083 (26,925) 200 (5,885) 19,598 8,121 4,528 1,818 11,070 1,417 28,506 21,100 1,41,201 13,038 16,243 7,856 7,715 17,543 1,780 (36,496) 11,169 2,119 7,146 1,696 52,827 33,237 10,562 0 56,563 10,067 5,60,650 29,350 0 26,574 12,868 1,490 19,020 6,49,951 1,40,65,917

(292) 758 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3,135 0 0 2,801 0 3,075 (97) 8,481 0 2,412 0 0 0 0 (14,706) 149 0 0 0 50 (36) 0 0 3,373 0 9,103 0 5,437 5,301 400 0 0 20,241 23,68,225

0 0 0 1,493 0 0 0 (500) 0 26,925 0 7,500 0 22,894 0 0 0 0 0 0 8,050 5,250 0 0 1,960 0 0 60,000 1,015 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24,000 4,510 1,63,096 0 0 0 2,500 0 13,712 1,79,308 15,85,306

* Excludes Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. * Does not include contribution of Mrs Rajashree Birla ($1,000,000)

0 0 25,000 0 0 25,000 8,500 0 0 0 0 0 0 3,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 (7,360) 0 51,265 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2,000 1,433 0 0 1,000 0 1,09,838 11,018 100 0 0 0 0 1,20,956 35,20,714

39,561 2,154 52,070 23,107 52,803 31,143 0 (1,127) 3,083 0 200 1,615 19,598 37,150 4,528 1,818 13,872 1,417 31,581 21,003 1,50,373 18,288 69,921 7,856 9,675 17,543 1,780 8,798 12,333 2,119 7,146 1,696 54,877 34,634 10,562 0 84,935 14,576 8,42,687 40,369 5,537 31,875 15,768 1,490 32,732 9,70,456 2,15,40,161

Source: RI South Asia Office

THE MEMBER BENEFIT PROGRAMME THAT OPENS UP A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITIES.

SEE MORE AT ROTARY.ORG/ GLOBALREWARDS

And then there was

Nagesh….

Jaishree The dynamic trendsetter Governor of District 3190 became the talk of the Rotary world when his District notched up worldwide records last year.

I

t was confetti and glitters for the ‘Go Getter’ Rotarians of Rotary District 3190. With their total contribution of $2.2 million to TRF for 2015-16, they have placed India on top of the South Asia Zone, besides elevating the country to the second position in the Rotary world. And, that is not all: $200,000 for the Polio Fund, 1,800 new members, 338 new women members, 52 new clubs, 58 Rotaract clubs, 170 Interact clubs, 40 global grants worth $540,000, 102 Major

Donors and 101 PHFs. All this, everybody agrees, is no mean achievement.

An evening, designed by the Event Chair, Rtn Nagendra Prasad B L, was dedicated specially to celebrate this resounding success of the District and its immediate past DG K P Nagesh at Bengaluru recently. The special guest for the evening was immediate past RI President K R Ravindran.

Although he had decided not to accept any Rotary assignments at least for a year, he was at the celebrations “just

for Nagesh. I couldn’t say no to the man who has provided the best of leadership. The vision that he had, the way he translated that into a mission, leading his team to deliver such stupendous results — he needs to be applauded,” he said.

He always felt that the district was performing under par and now it has achieved its potential. “Maybe this is only a scratch on the surface and there is more to come. DG Ananth is such a fine leader and has his own style.

Your job is to consolidate and try to beat Nagesh,” Ravindran added.

He lauded the district for installing 52 new clubs but “I’ll be extremely happy if, at the end of three years, at least 30 clubs survive. In my opinion, it’s better to start 50 clubs and see that 30 survive rather than start 2-3 clubs and get doomed.”

He commended Nagesh for the huge contribution to the Foundation. “He led upfront. Before you ask someone for $10,000, you write the first cheque. That is what is to lead by example. Nagesh did just that.” The DG, a level 4 Major Donor, became an AKS member earlier this year.

“I was only an ordinary (RI) President; only by deeds like what Nagesh did, that I get the limelight,” added Ravindran.

The appreciations from TRF Trustee Chair Kalyan Banerjee, Trustee Sushil Gupta and RID Manoj Desai, through AV presentations, drew huge applause from the packed auditorium.

“This kind of achievement needs a special kind of leadership and Nagesh

has shown that it can be done. He has made all Indians very proud,” said the Trustee Chair. “I wish I had 2-3 Governors like you. I am so happy I spotted you and doubly happy that the world is noticing you,” congratulated Desai.

When RRFC V Raja Seenivasan addressed the immediate past club presidents as ‘Heroes of 2015-16’ it took quite some time for the shrill whistles and claps that reverberated across the hall to die down. “Your District has reached the pinnacle of glory in the Rotary world. Yet, I know that this is just a trailer, picture abhi bakhi hai,” he said.

He recalled how when he had asked Nagesh to quote his target for the term, the latter had confidently said he wanted to be No 1 in the world and true to his words, he almost did it, pushing Japan to the third place.

Challenge your limits Nagesh thanked his team for achieving this feat and said that he was always inspired by Ravindran’s words, “Don’t limit your challenges, challenge your limits.” He thanked RIDE C Basker,

Before you ask someone for $10,000, you write WKH ¿UVW FKHTXH 1DJHVK GLG MXVW WKDW K R Ravindran

who was then the Rotary Coordinator, for his support in increasing members in his district, “For a long time we were hovering around 3,400-3,600. Last year a combo of systematic planning and several public image activities helped us shoot up our numbers by 2,000.”

His co-governors, Parag Sheth (D 3060) and Ved Prakash (D 3120) were present to applaud their batch mate.

On behalf of his presidents’ team, Naveen Kolavera of RC Bangalore West summed up the year saying, “Those 366 days were a dream. Nagesh transformed us from ordinary presidents to world class presidents.” DG H R Ananth, appreciating his predecessor, said that while last year’s performance was outstanding, “it scares me too.”

AKS donors O P Khanna, DGE Asha Prasanna Kumar, Nagendra Prasad and the Major Donors were lauded for their generosity. Other Rotarians were recognised for significant achievements last year.

Fundraisers galore Wine bottles auction, golf tournament… any opportunity to fill the Foundation’s kitty. But the major contribution came from the Rotary Premier League cricket match held in the city. The players were auctioned where one of them fetched Rs From left: IPDG K P Nagesh, Uma Nagesh, Sneh Prabha (O P Khanna's spouse), RRFC Raja Seenivasan, O P Khanna, PRIP K R Ravindran, DG H R Ananth, Girija Ananth, Vanathy Ravindran and Jayanthi Seenivasan.

OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 29

96,000! Each team was bought for Rs 3-5 lakh. There were eight teams and Rs 32 lakh was raised.

The District topped the country with its contribution of $200,000 to the Polio Fund. “Novel ideas such as the Polio hundi, stamps, musical bingo, raffles, paintings auction helped in doubling our goal,” says the District PolioPlus Chair S Deepak.

1RUPDOO\ GLVWULFWV ZLOO have more PHFs than 0DMRU 'RQRUV :H KLW PRUH VL[HV WKDQ IRXUV K P Nagesh

“Normally districts will have more PHFs than Major Donors. But we hit more sixes than fours,” says Nagesh, referring to the 102 Major Donors and 101 PHFs.

Membership The District has topped the Rotary world for the highest number of new clubs, women membership and Rotaract and Interact clubs.

The ‘Why not’ Governor

S

o what was the winning formula behind Nagesh’s fabulous success, I ask him.

“Ask, Ask, Ask and it will become AKS, said RRFC Raja Seenivasan at the MDPETS. That became my mantra,” says Nagesh.

He never shied away from asking.

“After all, I was asking for our Foundation, not for my daughter’s wedding,” he adds. Of the total 8 AKS members, the district gave four last year. As ARFC this year, he has introduced 4 more now, and wants to make his district a topper this year too.

He had struck a rapport with his presidents and district officials well ahead of his term.

Weekly meetings on rotation at team members’ residences, train journey to Courtallam Falls in Tamil Nadu, and more importantly, the MDPETS at Sri Lanka brought them all together well before the beginning of their term. “Our Chai pe charcha sessions at the gazebo in Sri Lanka, where I encouraged my presidents to air out their fears about their clubs, helped everybody open up and communicate. This team building exercise got us the results.” For the first time in its history, the District Conference was held outside the State at Goa,

30 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

and taking cue, this year it will be on board a cruise at Singapore.

“I told my presidents to take Rotary as their profession for the year.

You’re the CEO of your club, which is your Company. Give your everything to your company. Give half a day for your profession, half day for Rotary and balance both with your family,” he says. He himself had stopped going to office last year, conducting his office routines through telephone.

He gives more credit to the presidents’ wives, a follow on from his Air Force days, he says. “They took half our load. I call them ‘working Presidents.’ His enthusiasm and open-to-ideas attitude has earned him the sobriquet, ‘why not

governor.’ “Whenever my team came up with an idea, I would reply, ‘Why not?’

Nagesh thanks his ‘guruji’, trainer PDG S R Yogananda for his motivation and guidance.

“Every Governor should have a trainer like him,” he says. The parting shot is: “Leaders should open up. The more they do that, more the Rotarians will respond.”

He is now busy building an academy on the outskirts of Bengaluru to train youngsters for the armed forces. “They can learn and earn at this institute, for, Nagesh plans to extend a monthly stipend for them,” reveals Assistant Governor Uday Kumar Baskar.

IPDGs Nagesh and Parag Sheth share an infectious camaraderie.

PRIP K R Ravindran and Vanathy being welcomed by DG Ananth, Girija Ananth, IPDG Nagesh and Uma Nagesh.

A special team headed by membership directors Sameer Hariani, V Srinivas Murthy, Jeetendra Aneja, P M Radhakrishnan and Lochana Ashok Kumar was formed to improve membership. Lochana, the Director for Women in Rotary, targeted other women’s groups to increase membership. Hariani and Srinivasa Murthy attribute the membership leap to the systematic mapping of the District to locate areas where Rotary was hitherto unrepresented.

The big jackpot, they say, was the chartering of 10 clubs by RC Tirupathi. “Tirupathi felt left out due to the language and distance barriers, but now we reach out to them regularly. They have even come here with their families for this evening,” says Srinivas Murthy.

More than the numbers and the records, what mattered most was the celebration of the spirit of Rotary and the spirit of the Rotarians rising collectively to the call of their leader.

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ROTARY NEWS 31

Priyanka Chopra A worthy Brand Ambassador for UNICEF Santosh Mehta

P

riyanka Chopra needs no introduction. The internationally known actress and singer won the Miss World beauty pageant in 2000 and stepped almost instantly into the film industry, from where there has been no looking back.

While she is now grabbing eyeballs in the popular TV series Quanitco, her work has always extended beyond just her commitment to her roles. Priyanka has long been associated with social causes, and was appointed as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Child Rights in 2008. She also supports causes related with education, women’s rights, and is particularly vocal about gender equality.

According to UNICEF, 61 lakh children in India are out of school right now, and around one crore are engaged in work. Some 3,500 children die everyday, before reaching the age of 5 years. Girls are neglected in India when it comes to education.

But they too deserve an equal chance in life. UNICEF’s FairStart campaign aims to provide every child an opportunity to get an education.

Priyanka Chopra was recently in Delhi for the launch of FairStart.

I asked her about the poor sex ratio in Haryana.

“Parents generally think that their daughters will get married and go away to their in-laws. But having a son will bring money, stability. After they become old, the son will take care of them. Therefore, mostly parents want to have sons rather than daughters.”

32 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

What is her message for children?

“My message is for every child, rich or poor. It is their right to get a good education and basic facilities so that in future he or she can become a great citizen of our country.”

How can she help change the mindset of people?

“We, as a society, can change the parents’ mindset. Parents always think that girls are a burden for them.

They are worried and are least concerned about giving them a proper education. This kind of attitude can be changed by creating awareness about the importance of educating daughters. Being a woman, I am always concerned about girls education. We should take care we don’t differentiate between daughters and sons. Even in this day and age, there are many places where parents do not want to send their daughters to school. They want to marry them off

before they turn18. They are worried their daughters may get into trouble and are concerned about their safety.”

Can an individual be the change-maker?

“I think anyone can take up this issue and start helping children.

Why not we start FairStart in our own homes and help educate our domestic help’s daughter or son? If everyone starts with even one child, maybe all kids will have a chance to go to school. One can also start by helping street kids.”

What does she think about the plight of refugee children?

“I believe in humanity but all over the world, violent incidents are on the rise. The work of UNICEF requires a lot of hard work and dedication. If many countries can help popularise and support this initiative, millions of children can get a shot at a better life.”

Doing good with TRF help

Sunny times at Rameswaram Jaishree Rotary clubs implement solar electrification in Rameswaram schools, unfolding into reality the fond dream of former President Dr Abdul Kalam.

M

ission Solar Rameswaram was an initiative launched in 2013 by late President Abdul Kalam to usher in solar energy in his hometown, Rameswaram on the southern tip of the Indian peninsula.

Dr M S Vijayaraghavan, a friend of Kalam and President of International We Serve Foundation, an NGO in Lexington, USA, was keen on bringing in the green energy to the island. They had been equipping homes, fishing boats, the Pamban Bridge and the streets with solar lighting.

Vijayaraghavan got in touch with Rtn Jeanne Clark, past president of RC Lexington and IPDG M Ashok Padmaraj of District 3212 to sponsor the solar electrification project in Rameshwaram schools.

Subsequently, a global grant was sanctioned by TRF along with Rotary Clubs of Rameswaram, Ramnad and Golden Ramnad of D 3212 and RCs Lexington, Richmond, West Liberty, Ashland, Pikeville, Hazard, Carlisle and Whitesberg of D 6740, USA. Twelve government schools including the Mandapam Panchayat Union

Rtn Jeanne Clark interacting with students.

School where the former President had his primary education were provided with solar lighting, last year, under the first phase. The total cost was $71,575 and “it will brighten the minds of 15,000 children every year,” says DGE Dr Chinnadurai Abdullah. Solar panels ranging from 3–5 kv capacity, depending on the consumption requirement, were installed in schools. Some schools in the periphery did not have electricity connection at all, observes the DGE. The inauguration was a grand affair with an exhibition of the miracles of space technology enthralling the children and adults alike. Former CBI Director D R Karthikeyan inaugurated the solar project in the presence of the then DG Navamani, Kalam’s Advisor V Ponraj, his grand nephew APJM Sheik Saleem and other past governors and Rotarians.

Jeanne, who had come for the inaugural, assured to arrange funds for providing solar power to another 10 schools under the second phase. “The estimate is $96,000 and this time we plan to equip all the 22 schools with multimedia kits too,” says Abdullah.

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ROTARY NEWS 33

Restoring burn victims’ dignity Team Rotary News

PRIP Kalyan Banerjee, Project Chairperson and member of RC Deonar Reema Nair, Rajendra Datye (PP) and A V Suresh, President, (in jacket behind Banerjee).

C

an you imagine the kind of life a burn survivor leads, if not treated in time? The kind of trauma she would go through everyday when looking at herself in the mirror? It would be a life of despair and rejection.

To give hope and decent life to victims of burns, in 2009, RC Deonar, D 3141, conceived and implemented its signature project “Operation Restore”. Under this project a surgery camp is organised to give relief to burn victims. As a result, 2-year-old Supriya from Odisha, who suffered 80 per cent burns when she was just 2 months old, is now able to fully use her right hand, which was fused into a mass due to the fire.

Burn injuries are commonly caused by accidents, cooking flames, suicide, dowry related issues or acid

34 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

attacks. Many of these victims can’t afford surgery and many don’t get proper treatment on time. Unable to afford medical and surgical treatment, many of these survivors lead a life of despair and lose their confidence to face the world again.

“We have undertaken the humongous task of giving these survivors their lives back through this project in association with National Burns Centre (NBC), Airoli, which is a 50-bed speciality and centre of excellence for research, training, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation for all aspects related to burn injuries. Dr Sunil Keswani (Director of NBC and a very senior Rotarian of our club) facilitates these operations in association with the NBC hospital staff. Through this project, we conduct three camps a year,

where we provide financial assistance for conducting these surgeries at no cost to these burn survivors who are from BPL families,” says A V Suresh, President, RC Deonar.

This year the Club conducted its 14th camp, in which 24 surgeries for burns survivors were conducted. The camp, inaugurated by TRF Trustee Chair Kalyan Banerjee, was supported also by Rotary Club of Bombay North and four other co-host Rotary Clubs.

“So far, we have treated 400 patients and brought smiles on their and their family members’ faces.

This being the Centennial Year for Rotary, we have pledged to perform 100 surgeries and are involving many more clubs to participate in this project to create a bigger impact,” adds Suresh.

Rotaractors forge crucial partnerships Rasheeda Bhagat hen some of us joined the Rotaract Club at our college, the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneswar, three years ago, we were not even able to speak up in front of 10 people, but now if you ask me to address a large gathering, I can do it without any problem,” smiles Amandeep Singh, a fourth year engineering student of computer science and President of the Rotaract Club at KIIT sponsored by RC Bhubaneswar Capital.

Not only that, he and his secretary, Shivam Satyam, also an engineering student, have learnt to “identify problems in the community”, forge partnerships with the local municipality and corporates, and also mentor Interactors at the adjoining educational facility for tribal students — Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, or KISS. Kumar Mohanty, Dean of Training at KIIT, and a member of the sponsoring club RC Bhubaneswar Capital, as well as a mentor to these Rotaractors, says that recently when the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation “wanted to spread messages related to road safety, it approached Rotary clubs and asked if Rotary could partner it.

Our Club immediately agreed. Now these Rotaractors are totally involved in spreading awareness on road safety through various measures.”

The most heartening aspect of this Rotaract club is that its 300 members have each ‘adopted’ 300 tribal children from poor families who are getting education at KISS. “We mentor them; they find it easier to voice their fears and discuss their problems with us rather than the teachers as we are closer to them in age,” says Singh.

So once he turns 25, will he join Rotary? “Most definitely; my father is a Rotarian. His brother, also a Rotaractor, passed out from KIIT three

Rasheeda Bhagat

“W

Rtr Shivam Satyam and Rtr Amandeep Singh with Rtn Kumar Mohanty.

years ago and is now employed with Tata Steel in Mumbai, and is planning to join a Rotary club there.

Mohanty adds that when he was a trainee at Tata Steel “he was picked up by Cyrus Mistry (Tata Group Chairman) for his confidence and assertiveness.” Apparently, after addressing them, when Mistry asked if they had any questions, he said he was interested in pursuing a career in HR at Tata Steel! “Mistry said you’ll have to go through two or three rounds of interviews. He cleared all the rounds; he is not an MBA, but he now goes to IIMs to recruit MBAs, as also IITs and is doing very well. Being Rotaractors gives them that confidence.”

Satyam adds that being a Rotaractor gives him not only confidence and leadership skills but “also immense happiness to know that you are contributing something to society through involvement in meaningful projects.”

One such project is greening the city; in July they adopted a garden in

Bhubaneswar called Jagannath Vatika and “the trees we’ve put up there will be utilised in the worship of Lord Jagannath and also in the construction of his rath,” says Satyam. Once a month the Rotaractors conduct their meetings in this garden to ensure that the trees they have put up are growing and looked after well.

Mohanty adds that with the Rotaract club doing so well (“we started with 30 members, and now it has 300”), they are now planning to start a full-fledged Interact club with KISS students.

Singh and Satyam are also very upbeat about corporates coming forward to work on their CSR projects with them. Tata Steel is saying that they’d like to do a CSR initiative in partnership with youngsters and these Rotaractors are very excited about working with this steel major. Singh adds that he was the President of the Interact Club in his school, and now is happy to lead a Rotaract club.

OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 35

P

lease don’t make anything of it.

I only did it out of goodwill,” says Captain Mohan Bir Singh when I call him. He is a bone marrow donor and a member of RC Chandigarh, his donation has helped save the life of a 13-year-old leukaemia patient in Delhi.

“If my act could inspire some more people, I’m happy. I don’t want any recognition,” he says, reluctantly agreeing for the interview. And true to his words, his action has created a ripple-effect as few of his friends and staff have signed up for bone marrow donation.

Four years ago, Singh, a former Army officer, and his wife, Bandana had registered on the bone marrow registry to save a cancer-afflicted relative.

“Though people scared us with a variety of misconceptions, we were firm in our decision to go ahead with the donation,” says Singh. But unfortunately, both their cells tested negative for the match and were stored at Gene Bandhu, a Delhi-based NGO that works to find a matched donor for cancer patients in need of bone marrow transplants.

Sometime in July, he got a call from the NGO asking if he was willing to donate his marrow for a blood cancer patient in Delhi. “I instantly agreed, but asked if it was okay to do it after returning from my vacation to Goa that was planned, and they agreed. But when I was relaxing at Goa, I got a call requesting me to begin the process immediately as it was an emergency and I returned to Chandigarh.” The day, August 3, was his birthday, and the process began.

A priceless donation Jaishree

Painful process He had to take injections thrice a day for five days. He felt uncomfortable, tired and had fever and body ache.

On the fifth day, he was admitted to a hospital at Mohali and as the doctors couldn’t extract the marrow from his arms, they had to take it from his groin.

The entire procedure lasted for seven hours and the extracted stem cells were frozen and taken to Delhi.

“But all the discomfort vanished when I learnt that my cells matched 36 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

Rtn Mohan Bir Singh with his family.

100 per cent with that of the child and that she had 90 per cent chances for survival,” recalls Singh who owns a restaurant in Chandigarh.

He adds that it takes quite a while for the body to get back to total normalcy, though one can resume routine chores and work a day after the procedure. The side effects wear off within a week.

He is happy that the child is doing fine. "I had made it clear that I don’t want to know my recipient because then the entire meaning is lost. It’ll be like charity which is not my intention,” he says.

He has shared his gesture on the social media so that others may be encouraged to replicate.

All discomfort vanished when I learnt that my cells matched 100 per cent with that of the child.

Public awareness on bone marrow donation is yet to gain momentum in our country and there are just about 20,000 donors registered in the two main registries across India. Over the years the procedure

has become much simpler and less painful, says Singh.

Will he repeat the act? “Of course, yes!” he says. And the doctors have told him that he can do so after three months.

Singh is a Rotarian for the past 15 years and his father, late Col A B Singh, was also a member of the same club. He loves Rotary “for the selfless work Rotarians do, the time and money they give generously for the underprivileged, and more importantly, for its work in eradicating polio from India, as also for the numerous corrective surgeries.” He and his architect wife Bandana are regular blood donors.

Bangalore South turns 50 Team Rotary News

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he members of RC Bangalore South, D 3190, had organised the ‘Royal Enfield Bike Rally 2016’ from Bengaluru to Ramanagar and back in August, along with the International Fellowship of Motoring Rotarians (IFMR), to celebrate their club’s golden jubilee. The rally, flagged off by District Membership Director Sameer Hariani, covered

110 km, promoting Rotary’s public image and the club’s various humanitarian activities.

“Join Rotary to serve humanity was the highlight of the event,” said Rajeshwari Sunil, the club’s Public Image Director. Twenty-one Royal Enfield Bullets, with 32 participants, all in bright green jackets, attracted attention as they thundered through the metro. The bike ride ended with

the riders gifting desks, benches and water filters to the government school at Ramanagar.

It was a grand finish for the bikers when Past RI President K R Ravindran and spouse Vanathy joined them at the Town Hall in Bengaluru where a grand celebration was organised for IPDG K P Nagesh for taking his District to the top in TRF contributions and membership.

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ROTARY NEWS 37

Meet your Governors Rasheeda Bhagat and Jaishree

A “daily wage worker” & AKS member!

Dr. Vinay Kumar Pai Raiker Gynaecologist RC Panaji Midtown, D 3170

O

n the day he was inducted into RC Panaji Midtown in 1999, the club had got a $15,000 TRF grant for operating on children with disabilities such as polio.

“I was very impressed that TRF is doing this kind of work; it had then come out with this $26.5 AKS pin, and I got one on the spot!”

That was Vinay Raikar’s first contribution to TRF, and he hasn’t looked back since then. “As a gynaecologist, I am a daily wages person, and these three days (the Lakshya meet in Hyderabad where we chatted), I won’t get any wages.” His late wife, a gynaecologist, “had no problem with my giving money to TRF,” he says.

It is interesting to know how he became major donor; he gave $500 the first year and kept doing so every year, not knowing that he had to donate $10,000 to become a major donor. The third year, his club president was felicitated as a major donor and since he wasn’t present at the meeting to collect his rose, Raikar stepped in. “Jagdish Khanna from Mumbai was there and he asked me when are you becoming one; I said I will do it.”

He came home and shared his donation plans for the TRF with his wife, and “already having a loan of Rs 18 lakh to repay for the hospital I had built, I wondered where the money would come from and she said: ‘Don’t worry, everything will be done’.”

Exactly after 6 days, an LIC agent told him an insurance policy he had taken as a resident doctor was maturing and he’d get Rs 3.5 lakh. “At that time the US dollar was Rs 36, and without any hesitation I wrote out a cheque for

the entire amount to TRF. My contention was I have outlived the policy which was meant for my children, and I had already taken 80G exemptions for the year, so why not give it to TRF?” When he became the President of his club another of his LIC policies was maturing for around $15,000, which he again donated to TRF. “As I told you, I am only a daily wage worker and not very rich, and in my medical practice I’ve never turned away anybody for want of money,” he says.

Raiker, a former Rotaractor, has decided to become an AKS member this year; he has already donated $60,000 and needs to give an additional $190,000. “Every morning I tell god give me enough money to achieve this dream, and there is always money!”

This time around, the money will come from some stocks in Bharat Forge that his father had purchased in 1960, and which he has inherited along with his two brothers. “The money has grown and grown and the shares are worth Rs 1.7 crore. This is money that I did not earn and don’t need, so I will give it to the AKS in the name of my parents, creating three or four endowment funds in the names of my wife, uncle etc.”

The amount from the sale of his shares will be more than sufficient to make up the remaining $190,000 required to become an AKS member. “I am not going to use that money; it is like having diamonds in your house that you don’t use; they are just like stones!”

His priorities as Governor this year will be to ensure that his District contributions to TRF, which has never crossed $500,000, gets doubled. “I want to collect $1 million this year.” He is planning to bring out a few souvenirs to raise the bar. “We might even go up to $2.5 million; my teacher always said: ‘Aim for the sky, and you may fall on the trees!’”

Membership will be another thrust area in his district with 125 clubs and over 5,300 Rotarians, as also projects. He has already tied up with the Federation of the Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Societies of India, of which he is the Vice President for his region, for rendering service.

Serving the Public Health Centres in rural areas, spreading awareness about rabies and taking up the vaccination of dogs will be his other priorities.

Sanjay Gupta Marble trading RC Sriganganagar East, D 3090

Rotary runs in my veins

I

f you draw blood from my body, each drop will resonate with Rotary,” says this Interactor-turned-Rotaractor-turned-Rotarian with 35 years of Rotary experience. “Now I am 48,” he grins. I ask Sanjay Gupta why this huge attraction for Rotary and he gives a long list: Rotary has showed him life, how to conduct business, maintain relationships, make friends and more. His role model is PRIP Rajendra Saboo and is inspired by the dedication of RID Manoj Desai, too.

Gupta is passionate about girls education and runs a girls school founded by his father in 1969. Last year the district had constructed 170 toilet blocks in various schools, “all designed beautifully that I feel proud to visit these schools today,” says this father of one girl and two boys. This year too he wants to construct as many toilets.

For the TRF Centennial, he aims to raise $1 lakh, “although it is quite an uphill task as most of our District comprises rural regions of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab.”

The district has 2,134 members and he is confident of bringing in 500 new Rotarians and increase Rotaract clubs to 50 from the present 32.

Service through Rotary has multiplying effect

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hen I comment about the number of doctors in the group of 201617 DGs, he smiles and says, “Oh yes, too many of us here!”

Kolvekar joined Rotary in 1988 after he was invited by a classmate. “I had just started my medical practice and he said this is a good service organisation and you must join.” Within two months he was made the project chair for a medical camp, and he never looked back. He became the club president in 1992 and participated in many cataract surgeries. “After the Bhuj earthquake, I joined a camp as a single anaesthesiologist and we did 88 surgeries in three days and though challenging, I handled all of them singlehandedly.”

So what did that experience teach him?

“That each member, each Rotarian can do a lot of good, if he/she just wishes to do it. It is a choice, which is in your hands.”

When asked what he enjoys the most about Rotary, Kolvekar says that a very good part of being a Rotarian is meeting so many different people who you would have otherwise not met at all. “But for me, the best part is that if you do service through Rotary, your efforts multiply. If you do service on your own, as an individual, you can touch 10 people. But if you do it through Rotary you can touch 100,000 people. That is the power and magic of Rotary. And as a doctor, this is a perfect fit for me.”

His favourite hobby is to “work out, and remain physically fit. Thanks to attending too many Rotary meetings, my tummy has come out. But seriously, I like to write, and have written many Rotary books.”

His priority this year in the District, a new one with 70 clubs and around 2,800 members, will be to reach the maximum number of people and “change the mindset of many people who see Rotary only as a lunch and dinner club.

I want to show them through direct exposure what thousands of beneficiaries have received from Rotary. That, I believe, is much better than our telling them what Rotary does for people.”

Also, underlining the importance of documentation, he adds, “I have told all my presidents that when you do projects, take pictures of the beneficiaries when the work starts and go back and take pictures again after six months, to show how their lives have changed.”

Dr Chandrashekhar Kolvekar Anaesthesiologist RC Ulhasnagar, D 3142

Dr K Vijayakumar Physician RC Marthandam, D 3212

Healthcare is his priority

H

e owes his leadership skills to 30 years of his Rotary membership. “Rotary has strengthened me and made me more vibrant,” says Vijayakumar, whose District theme is ‘Vibrant Rotary.’ He has served as president of IMA and vice president of the Commonwealth Medical Association.

His plans for the year include mega cancer detection camps, marathon for health awareness and a cardiac wellness camp for the Rotarians.

“We do not take care of our health.

Just last year four of our members died of cardiac arrest,” says the doctor.

He wants to start Rotary clubs in areas where it is not present and bring back past Rotarians. As his District is a coastal region, there is very little awareness about Rotary and he is keen on enhancing its public image.

On the TRF front, he aims to double last year’s contribution.

“Every moment is unforgettable,” says Vijayakumar, when asked to recount a memorable Rotary moment.

He wants to attract Rotaractors

Rotary has taught me patience

I

simply loved my Rotaract days; I received several awards and made a lot of friends,” says this Governor whose connect with Rotary began as Rotaractor in 1986 and Rotarian since 1994. His most unforgettable moment was a bike ride from Ahmednagar to Nepal as a Rotaractor. “It showed me the greatness of Rotary and was an opportunity to grow, and meet wonderful people,” he says.

His being a water-starved region, he is urging clubs to take up water conservation projects on a large scale. He wants to improve the literacy rate by installing 100 libraries and 150 e-learning centres. He has proposed to organise RYLA programmes and mega medical camps in various parts of his District in March.

Parikh is excited about the mobile app that updates the district website with the total number of projects, beneficiaries, expenses incurred and gives credits to the best performing clubs. He is happy that the app, ideated by him, won appreciations from RIDE C Basker.

For the Centennial, he hopes to contribute $3 lakh to TRF. “We collected $40,000 during my installation when PRID Shekhar Mehta was the chief guest,” he says. A sealed donation box has been given to each Rotarian which is to be returned to the District on June 15 next year. The money collected will be sent to the Foundation in the individual Rotarians’ name.

He plans to increase the number of Rotaract clubs to 60 from the present 28, with every club sponsoring 1 Rotaract and 2 Interact clubs. He has inducted 250 new members so far and chartered 2 new clubs. “I don’t want to spell out the final figure, but you can expect a miracle,” he confides.

Pramod Shashikant Parikh Electrical/electronic goods manufacturer RC Ahmednagar Midtown, D 3132

Dr Ravi Mehra Orthopaedic Surgeon RC Bareilly South, D 3110

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n the 1990s, he used to do a lot of polio corrective surgery, and his chartered accountant, a Rotarian, suggested that he join Rotary.

“When I asked why, he said anyway you are doing polio corrective surgery and in Rotary you’ll get a much bigger platform for your work.”

Ravi Mehra joined Rotary in 1994 and very soon got hooked; “and now it has become my passion.

Rotary has transformed me totally. I used to be so angry, but Rotary changed my behaviour and has taught me patience. Not only patience, Rotary also teaches you how to listen to others, and when, and when not, to answer them.” His wife, Kanwal Mehra, also holds a leadership position in Inner Wheel.

Mehra’s district has 109 clubs and his priorities this year will be to strengthen the clubs. “This is a big need of my district and of course this being the Foundation’s Centennial, I will concentrate on giving and also in enhancing Rotary’s public image.”

Coming to projects, the DG says his District has “suffered a lot due to deforestation, as it has attracted many natural calamities. So I have talked to many corporates and we are going to plant tens of thousands of trees. I will co-opt not only all the Rotarians in my district in the afforestation drive, but also school children.”

Tea, a drink like no other!

Sharmila Chand

E

ver heard of Aam Papad Chai or Bael Fruit Tea? Or Jasmine Pearl, Rosella Crab Apple, Infused Chrysanthemum? No… these are not flowers of the nursery but some of the exotic teas being offered. Tea has been a staple beverage for Indians for long, and it has now gone beyond the ubiquitous masala chai. Flavoured teas are the toast of the season. They come in different unique blends.

As says tea sommelier Anamika Singh, “People are becoming more tea-educated. They are keen to experiment tea with unusual flavours.”

Fun with flavours Take your pick from teas flavoured with flower petals, herbs and even chunks of fresh fruits and spices.

At Cha Shi and Café E in Delhi’s upscale DLF Emporio, one gets to savour interesting varieties, including the Bael fruit tea or the Hibiscus Infusion that has brown sugar added 42 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

to enhance taste. Besides, there are the organic varieties, of which Langlai Organic Tea is unique. It has a thick brew and is very good for health.

Another place which celebrates tea as a lifestyle drink is Cha Bar, nestled in Oxford Bookstores across India.

A rich, full-bodied, strong flavour, or a mildly fragrant masala chai or a diet tea, you name it and Cha Bar has it. From its kitty of at least 150 varieties, if not more, there is a tea for every mood and occasion. Enjoy the zesty flavours of clove and ginger in ‘Truck Driver 100 Mile Ki Cha’ to ‘Bollywood Masala Mix Cha’ or ‘Cha Hindustani’ with a combination of many spices.

If you read ‘Kathakali Chai’ on the menu, don’t mistake it for a dance form; it is a tea flavoured with star anise, clove, mace and fennel. The presentation is as authentic as it can be. So if Truck driver chai comes in a glass from the typical multiple glassholder, the Moroccan tea is offered in pretty

coloured glasses from kettles crafted specially for their bars. Next time you are there, take your pick from exotic and cultural blends like the Moroccan Mint, South African Rooibos, Decaf and ayurvedic teas with healing powers, to the Chinese Lapsang Souchoung, Verbena Tea, Licorice, Fruit Melange and Japanese Genmaicha. The list goes on.

Chaayos and Tea Trails are other outlet chains revolving around tea.

Chaayos justifies their tagline, ’Experiments with Chai,’ customising desi chai in 12,000 ways! Their USP, though, is the Chai Frappe. Their Aam Papad Chai, where dried aam papad is mixed in black tea, is quite a popular choice, says the manager.

One can experiment 80 varieties of tea at Tea Trails, including chai brewed with adrak, pudina, masala or lemongrass and the Taiwanese or Tapioca Bubble Tea. Tea Trails also offers tea-infused food menu. The signature tea-infused

dishes include Burmese Tea Salad, Tea Marbled Eggs and Tea Infused Thai Bowl. Uday Mathur, the co-owner says, “Brewing tea is an ancient art which is seldom paid attention to.

We at Tea Trails understand the importance of brewing and steeping high quality loose leaf teas to perfection, without which, the experience of drinking tea cannot be enjoyed to its fullest.”

Chefs across the country are glorifying tea as they whip up exotic dishes with tea as one of the main ingredients. Sharad Dewan, Director, Food Production at The Park, Kolkata, has been experimenting with flavoured tea-cupcakes, cookies, biscotti and even ice creams.

At Masala Library By Jiggs Kalra, there is Wild Mushroom Chai, which is actually a soup served as tea. Chef Saurabh Udinia says, “The wild mushroom chai is representative of the British Tea ritual.” Brewed in a kettle, the hot water is replaced with hot mushroom broth.

The truffle oil crumbs substitute milk powder.

The dehydrated mushrooms replacing the tea leaves add to the wonderful aroma of this chai, “making it a much desired beverage.”

Tea is savoured at the Pullman New Delhi Aerocity as a ritual where you can sample varieties of tea from the in-house Signature

The Cha Shi, Delhi.

Blends. Marissa D’Rozario, Director of Outlets, Pluck & Pling, suggests signature cocktails like Ananda Brew, a decoction of house blend masala tea with vodka and hint of orange zest, or Amelia with earl grey syrup and bourbon. According to her, a must try is their innovative tea mocktails and iced teas with floral and herb tisanes like the Valley of flowers — a blend of rose, chamomile, lavender and marigold or Chilled Sensation — a blend of hibiscus, lemongrass, mint and fennel.

So there is a riot of flavours to choose from in tea these days — in loose form as well as in tea bags. Perk up your tea experience, relax and enjoy.

After all, Hamilton urges us to enjoy the soothing benefits of drinking tea: “relax, sip slowly, and savour… take a moment to just be.”

A range of tea at a Chaayos outlet.

Designed by N Krishnamurthy OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 43

Indian Rotarians help Sri Lankan war victims Kiran Zehra

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alking about a 14-yearold boy Kasun, who lo lost his leg in the Sri L Lanka ethnic war, D 2982 ((earlier part of D 2980) PDG R Vasu recalls how the boy patiently waited for a technician to fit the pprosthetic limb to his hip.

He rose up slowly and took H a few steps forward and then ran back to hug Vasu. th ““I have no words to ddescribe how I felt,” he says, adding, “Rotary sa hhelped us change Kasun’s life and send him back to li school thanks to Project sc HOPE (Helping Other H People Evolve).” These Pe Rotarians have been rebuildRota lives of people who lost ing the li their limbs in the war-torn island, especially who stopped going es spe p cially children ch of their disability. to school because bec I early 2015, a 10-member In District Committee toured Sri Lanka Distri ict Com gauge to gau auge the impairment the war had caused. findings left the committee caused d. The fi tears”, “in tear a s”, and they made a firm resolve to helpp these children with artificial first set of measurements limbs. The fi were taken and a a consignment of 64 shipped to Sri Lanka within limbs was shi months. two mo m nths.

After more surveys at Trincomalee, A Af ter mor Batticaloa, Battic c aloa, JJaffna, Killinochi and Mullaitivu, Mullai a tivu, the t number swelled and raising raisin ng money was the next challenge. clubs of the District raised But the 63 clu $110,000 $110 0,000 in six months. “We owe it to the the h efforts of Rtn Sivakumar who visited the clubs, shared stories, visi s ted all th of the plight of videos and pictures vi p 44 RROTARY NEWS OCTOBER OCT TOBE OBER R 2016 2016

the people of Sri Lanka and got them to donate the money,” says Vasu. For better coordination, the then DG of D 3220 (Sri Lanka), George Jesudasan and presidents of the Rotary Clubs of Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Killinochi, Batticaloa and Trincomalee were made part of the execution committee.

Last September, a team of doctors and technicians involved in the manufacture of limbs visited north and eastern Sri Lanka for first-hand information on what was required.

While some people required only a part of the limb, others needed a full leg. Some had nothing beneath the hip.

After spending 10 days of preliminary work, 1,800 people were short-listed and the requirement was finalised for 405 below-the-knee-to-toe, 150 from hip-to-toe and 10 pairs of limbs.

Manufacturers were contacted and “Rotary’s business network did the job for us,” he says. The lowest quote for the limbs was made by Rtn Srikanth, an artificial limb vendor and member of RC Pondicherry. The cost varied from Rs 9,000–40,000, and two maintenance centres were set up in Sri Lanka.

Unlike the traditional single piece prosthetic limb that weighs 4 kg and has to be fastened onto the body using a belt, the committee chose to use the dura aluminium rod technology limb with fibre reinforced plastic weighing just 1.4 kg, to create a three-piece replica of the real limb, so that the wear and tear of any portion of the limb could be rectified easily.

Vasu wants to do more, and says, “Those who received the limbs are the lucky ones; there are still many more survivors of the war, mostly children, who need our help.”

Doing good with TRF help CONVENTION

Cancer care at Guwahati

Musical mélange

Team Rotary News

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PDG Arijit Endow (right) and Leela Sharma, Trustee, Deepsikha Foundation, inaugurating the Hospice.

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ancer patients around Guwahati can now get palliative care at the newly equipped hospice constructed by the Deepsikha Cancer Foundation at Mirza in Kamrup district of Assam. Rotary Club of Gauhati West, D 3240, has equipped the hospice with the necessary medical equipment, hospital furniture etc, at a cost of $31,000, through global grants. The partners for this project are RC Hsinchuchuchian, District 3500, Taiwan and TRF. Other organisations that pitched in for the cause include the State Bank of India, NRL, IOC and few other philanthropists. The land for the hospice was donated by the family of Babulal Jain of Mirza. IPDG Chandu Agarwal, PDG Arijit K Endow and Leela Sharma, Trustee, Deepsikha

Foundation, inaugurated the facility in April.

The palliative care centre is equipped to reduce pain of terminally ill patients and meet their spiritual needs. It also provides respite care for the care-givers and family conferences to update the family about the patient’s health. Professional counsellors are appointed to provide emotional support for the patients and their caregivers, and bereavement services for the family on the death of their loved ones.

Rtn Budhin Borthakur, the project’s primary contact, said that this self-sustaining project will provide love, care and dignity to terminally ill cancer patients by inculcating the highest standards of palliative care.

f you want to know what the music scene in Atlanta is all about, all you have to do is listen. Centennial Olympic Park, a short distance from the site of the 2017 Rotary International Convention from 10 to 14 June, is home to an outdoor summer music series, featuring everything from pop to jazz to old-school hip-hop. That range of styles is just a taste of the musical melting pot you’ll find elsewhere in the city — and beyond.

With a list of famous residents that includes names like André 3000, Ludacris, Lil Jon, and T.I., Atlanta has serious hip-hop credentials. You can hear the next big thing at spots like Apache Café and MJQ Concourse. Fans of rock music won’t feel left out in the ATL either; acts like indie favourites Deerhunter call the city home. And while jazz aficionados will miss the Atlanta Jazz Festival — one of the country’s largest free jazz fests, held in May — you can hear it in several local clubs.

About a 90-minute drive east of the city, music lovers will find a sort of mecca in Athens. Sometimes called “the Liverpool of the South,” the charming college town has had a significant influence on country, bluegrass and — most notably — alternative and new wave music. The list of artists who’ve called Athens home includes the B-52s, R.E.M., Of Montreal, Danger Mouse and Drive-By Truckers.

While you’re in town, take in a show at the renowned 40 Watt Club or at the historic Georgia Theatre.

– Deblina Chakraborthy Register for the 2017 Rotary convention Atlanta at www.riconvention.org.

OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 45

Weaving smiles Kiran Zehra

I

am a model. Have you seen my picture on the website?” asks Deepa Kevat, a weaver at Jhoole — a handloom weaving unit in Maheshwar village, Madhya Pradesh. Her photograph on the website (www.jhoole.org) shows Deepa in a bright yellow sari bordered with golden zari, swinging happily on a rope jhula tied to a tree branch.

“Hannah didi made us weave our own saris,” she says and that was “the first time we understood that weaving was not just menial labour, but an art.”

The beautiful portraits of the women weavers on the website chronicles a heart-warming story.

Hannah Warren, a student at the London College of Fashion, was sponsored by RC Loves Park, Illinois, D 6420, in 2005–06 to visit India as a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar. She remembers giving a child labourer money to buy a dress and wishing she could do more for the little girl, before she went back to the US. In 2008, as part of a project funded by the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, Hannah returned to India to photograph the sari weavers in Maheshwar. She

The weavers looked so beautiful and proud wearing the first saris they had designed for themselves.

46 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

wanted to shoot portraits of the women weavers wearing hand-woven saris.

Instead of simply buying new saris for these women, she gave them the money to buy raw material to weave their own saris. In their portraits, she says, the weavers “looked so beautiful and proud” wearing the first saris they had designed for themselves.

The experience motivated her and whenever she was invited to speak at Rotary club meetings in the US, Hannah would share the story and

smiles of the Indian weavers. In 2010, RC Loves Park and four other clubs from that District, RC Khargone, D 3040, and TRF provided $12,500 to set up a handloom unit at Maheshwar. The Matching Grant provided looms, other equipment, cloth and thread and took care of the office expenses, publicity, and website designing. It also covered the cost of training the women in weaving and sewing. The project received funds from the Indore School of Social Work too. RC Khargone further

donaated $2, donated $2,000 ,000 and provided lan land nd for another anoth her train training ning facil facility lity in Manpur.

Manpuur.

T he nam me Jhoolee (meaning swings sw wings The name in H indi) iiss inspired inspireed by the cu ulture Hindi) culture of ty tying ying sw swings wings on onto nto huge trees treees to mark k tthe he on nset off m onsoon that endss onset monsoon the unbearable heat in Maheshwar.

“Jhoole is a celebration of change and reason for relief for poor women as it provides them training, materials and an international market for hand-woven goods, so they can earn a decent living,” says Vikram Chouhan, President of RC Maheshwar.

Hannah has also created a direct market for the dresses, skirts and handbags made by the weavers by developing partnerships with designers and distributors, including Chicago-based Mata Traders. In India, Pratibha Syntex, a large garment factory in Preethampur, gives the unit stitching and weaving assignments. “They pay the women a per piece rate which works well for both the parties,” says Chouhan.

Jhoole gives 20 percent of its profits to Chetanya Sewa Sansthan, which aids elderly women and people with disabilities. Hannah estimates that more than 300 people have benefitted from both the organisations.

RC Maheshwar has helped fund two Jhoole fashion shows so far.

The website is classy and portrays a desi touch. “There is no way I could be doing this work, if not for my Ambassadorial Scholarship.

Rotary scholarships are not a onetime donation; they are an investment in goodwill,” she adds.

Pictures by Hannah Warren

111 magical days Jaishree

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e began Day 1 with a big bang, thinking it will be easy to identify and complete 111 projects for 111 days. But as the days inched on, we realised that it wasn’t as simple as we thought,” said Jayanthi Seenivasan, IPP of the three-year-old Rotary Eclub of Chennai, D 3230.

She and her 40-member global team have executed 111 projects between February 23 and June 12, commemorating Rotary’s 111th birth anniversary.

“Our projects reached out to elderly people, children, differentlyabled, youngsters and the ailing in several ways. It was an opportunity to touch so many lives every day without a break,” said the Project Chair,

Bringing cheer to HIV patients.

Anuradha Giri. The team also provided mobility aids to 100 polio victims in Africa, through the ‘Crutches for Africa’ project of Colorado, USA. Project 111 was appreciated by several past RI presidents. “I have been following the gifts that your EClub has been initiating… you have truly been translating the RI Theme,

Be A Gift To The World. You have also brought life to the EClub and its activity,” said PRIP Rajendra K Saboo in his mail to them, and PRIP Wilf Wilkinson wrote, “Rotary could receive no better public relations than your great efforts.” Their endeavour received special mention by PRIP K R Ravindran at the Seoul Convention.

OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 47

Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar (in red jacket) hands over books to students.

5,000 Libraries on 50th Year of International Literacy Day

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elebrating the 50th International Literacy Day (September 8), Rotary India Literacy Mission (RILM), along with the Union HRD Ministry, launched the creation of

5,000 libraries in schools. HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, kickstarting the programme, handed over books for a library to a school’s representatives.

“Libraries will come up in phased manner in a couple of years. This is an important step to empower children with knowledge. I welcome such initiatives,” said Javadekar.

Click for Literacy

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his time the celebration was not only limited to Rotarians. It also involved non-Rotarians through a Photography Contest ‘Click for Literacy’ which was organised by RILM. The contest was based on the theme ‘Literacy’. It was open from

48 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

August 25 to September 5, for all aged 14 and above.

The judges — Dinesh Khanna, Leena Kejriwal, Aditya Arya — selected the winning entries based on the aesthetics, focus on project and caption of the photographs.

The Champions: WINNER Harshit Sadana, Delhi.

1st Runners up Dr Murlidhar Srinivasiah, Bangalore; Shabuddin Rohini, Delhi; Deepali Khandelwal, Jaipur.

2nd Runners up Abhijit Chowdhury, Malda; Satabdi Chakraborty Chowdhury, Malda; Bijal R Mistry, Vadodara; Deepali Mishra, Noida; Ayush Khandelwal, Jaipur.

3rd Runners up Subhra Biswas, Kolkata; Sudheendra Chokkasamudra, Bangalore; Mrinalani Teotia, Noida; Soumendu Shekhar Roy, Kolkata; Shefali Agarwal, UP; Arijit Das, Kolkata; Rtr VishnuPriyan DRR, Pollachi; Umesh Kumawat, Jaipur; Amit Kumar Singh, Noida; Jayaprakash R, Chennai.

Rotary India celebrates International Literacy Day

Media Publications for International Literacy Day

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edia played a pivotal role in spreading awareness about literacy as an agent of empowerment in the lives of people everywhere, and its central role in the promotion of development, tolerance and peace.

Print Media: There were more than 120 print media coverages across India, in Hindi, English and vernacular languages.

Electronic Media: Covered and telecasted various programme from different States.

Social Media: Rotary India Literacy Mission page crossed 10,000 likes and it was also trending under International Literacy Day.

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ILM united the entire country for the cause of literacy on the International Literacy Day, when two lakh Rotarians and Inner Wheel members undertook various activities under T-E-A-C-H and also engaged the public in its celebrations.

International Literacy Day shone a spotlight on global literacy needs, which goes hand in hand with RILM’s aim to achieve Total Literacy and Quality Education.

This year the day was celebrated WPFGT C URGEKĹżE VJGOG 9JCV CTG [QW doing this International Literacy Day? All the districts performed activities such as training and felicitating outstanding teachers, setting up e-learning centres, tutoring adults or opening adult literacy centres, sending children back to school or transforming schools into Happy Schools, and campaigns like walkathon, drawing competitions etc.

OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 49

Star Pledges

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elebrities and ministers pledged to support RILM’s efforts in the eradication of illiteracy on the International Literacy Day. Ministers who participated in the programmes across the country include Union HRD Minister, Prakash Javadekar; Education Minister of Bihar Ashok Choudhary; Education Minister of Haryana Ram Bilas Sharma; Education Minister of Andhra Pradesh – Shri Vasudev Devnani and celebrities include Raveena Tandon, Sonakshi Sinha, Baichung Bhutia and Kabir Bedi.

50 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

2,500 outstanding teachers

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he Nation Builder Award felicitates outstanding teachers on Teachers’ Day and International Literacy Day. Outstanding teachers are identified after detailed evaluation process which includes participation of students as well as

the principal. The purpose is not only to acknowledge the best teachers but also get data of low performing teachers, who are later provided teacher training workshops.

This year Rotary and Inner Wheel across the country participated in this

Highlights of International Literacy Day 751 Nation Builder Awards given to outstanding teachers 6,318 teachers were trained 1,997 commitments for e-learning centres 3,194 commitments to educate adult non-literates 1,306 commitments to send children back to school under Asha Kiran 416 commitments to set up libraries 202 commitments for creating Happy Schools

programme, recognising more than 2,500 teachers with the Award. All the clubs followed the evaluation process laid down by RILM and approximately 200 Rotary and Inner Wheel clubs have become Star Clubs!

Launch of Literacy Hero awards

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iteracy Hero Award is one of the prestigious award in VJG ſGNF QH .KVGTCE[ 'CEJ CPF every day, ordinary people do extraordinary things to promote literacy and make meaningful contribution in our communities without getting acclaimed.

With the Literacy Hero Awards, RILM celebrates and recognises the selfless acts of these unsung literacy heroes who brought the light of knowledge into the lives of children.

The campaign began on Janurary 26 last year. A panel of six eminent jury drawn from diverse illustrious background decided on the five Literacy.

Heroes from 85 applicants and one popular award was decided by online voting by Indian Nationals only.

This year the campaign was launched on September 8th search will continue till December 1. Five applications have already been received till now.

OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 51

Book Review

Bombay’s early merchants TCA Srinivasa Raghavan

U

nlike the British who record every little detail of their lives with supporting documents, Indians used to leave almost everything unrecorded. Even such documents as existed vanished with time, as indeed they are vanishing even as I write. As a result, we know very little of people of consequence before the British conquered India. This is especially true of businessmen.

This volume by Lakshmi Subramanian seeks to fill that gap in a limited measure. She is a wellknown economic historian who has specialised in the Western part of India of the 19th century. Here she seeks to put together the lives of three 19 th century businessmen of enormous importance in those days.

They are Trawadi Arjunki Nathji, who was a banker in Surat in the late 18th and early 19th century; Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, who made his fortune from the opium trade with China and became a very important figure in Bombay; and Premchand Roychand, who was a stock broker and a major trader in cotton, gold and silver.

Trawadi Arjunki Nathji was a Surat-based moneylender-cumfinance-operator or shroff, as they were called in those days. Through the latter part of the 18 th century, when the East India Company was slowly replacing the Mughal Empire as the sovereign power and the Marathas as the ruling force, he helped the Company with money which promised and delivered 52 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

security. Without him, many of the Company’s wars and conquests may not have been possible. He thus became very important in the overall scheme of things. His story is fascinating, even though no one knows how his business slowly disappeared in the first quarter of the 19th century.

One thing is, however, well established: he could bend the British to his will, which he did frequently.

Three Merchants of Bombay: Business Pioneers of the 19th Century

By Lakshmi Subramanian Penguin Pp 235 Rs 300

Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy was born in 1783. He wasn’t rich or even well off. His parents died in 1799 and by good luck — and hard work — by the mid-1830s he had built a formidable business in association with William Jardine with whom he had become friends during a shipwreck. Jeejeebhoy traded in many things but it was from the China opium trade that he made

his money, huge amounts of it. Later on, he turned into a great philanthropist in Bombay and is remembered as such. He died in 1859. For those who are interested in fictionalised forms of history, Amitava Ghosh’s River of Smoke is based on Jeejeebhoy’s story.

He makes the characters come alive in a way that Lakshmi doesn’t but then hers is an academic work.

Premchand Roychand was a speculator, mostly in the stock and land markets. The legend is that whatever he touched turned, if not into gold, then at least into a neat profit. But there are two views about him, says the author.

One is that he was a do-gooder; the other is that he used other gullible people to make his fortune. The British also held him highly responsible for the collapse of the Bombay bank.

There is no agreement on which view is correct but one thing is beyond dispute: he played a major role in the development of Bombay, including in the area around Elphinstone Circle.

The author has chronicled the lives, achievements and failures of these three Indian businessmen in just the right amount of detail to give the reader a flavour of what happened at that time. The style could have been less academic but that shortcoming is more than made up by the fascinating stories of the lives of these three men and of the overall economic and political context in which they had operated.

It is a pity that there was nothing like business press of modern times. Had it been there we would have learnt even more about their lives.

From begging to school Kiran Zehra

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rom begging to selling children’s colouring book at the traffic signal in Thane, Mumbai, Bhuhan had done it all. But, “Mein kabhi school nahi gaya tha (I never went to school); Amma would never allow me,” says the seven-year-old boy. His family survives on the Rs 40 or 50 a day that he earns at the signal. “This is the truth of many children from disadvantaged backgrounds in Mumbai. We, at RC Thane Hills, D 3142, thought if they can’t go to school, let’s bring the school to them,” says club member Atul Bhide, who is also the District Coordinator for the project, ‘Right to go’, which was covered in the November 2014 issue of Rotary News.

Under a flyover opposite the signal at Thane is a 40 ft container painted in bright yellow, with a board on it that reads ‘Signal School’ and this is where Bhuhan is learning “ABC...123.

I also know the names of vegetables in English and my mother is happy, that

I get good food to eat here,” says the delighted boy. Munni, another student who was born under the same bridge where the school is located today, says, “I want to be a teacher, when I grow up and teach girls like me to desist from begging.”

Bhide recalls that this school was born, when the Municipal Commissioner sought the club’s support to start India’s first Signal School “and our Club President Anindya Dasgupta gave the green signal.”

The Municipal Corporation provided the place and a builder donated the 40 ft container. Painted and fitted with a bathroom and separate toilets for boys and girls, the Signal School also has a play area, a staff room and is equipped with e-learning equipment — all at the club’s expense. “Everything is bright and vibrant to attract the street kids,” adds Bhide.

Teaching and management support is undertaken by a local

NGO — Samarth Bharat. Apart from the regular lessons that are taught here, a separate art and music class is conducted by a flute artist, Pandit Vivek Sonar.

All students assemble by 8 am and are asked to brush their teeth followed by a bath. Hot breakfast is served to them and “it is a different menu each day,” says Bhuhan. Lessons commence by 11 am and school gets over at 2 pm. The children are allowed to use the play area during their breaks and before they leave for their homes. A medical check-up is conducted, once a month.

Bhide believes that the biggest achievement of the school came within three months of its establishment as “all the 20 children who were enrolled here have stopped begging.”

In September, the club was recognised for its support by the Mayor of Thane City, Sanjay More, and the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation, Sanjeev Jaiswal.

OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 53

Book Review

Decoding Tamil Nadu’s Industrial Quotient Venkatesh Krishnamoorthy

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n a welcome addition to business literature, Surge, a delightful debut by seasoned business journalist Sushila Ravindranath, provides a sneak peek into the industrial growth of Tamil Nadu in the last four decades.

Taking an approach similar to a case study, the author seeks to break myths surrounding industries in Tamil Nadu.

The reticence of men at the helm of some of the resounding successes in the State meant the national business press ignored, not only Tamil Nadu but almost the entire South India in its coverage in the 1980s. “The South simply was not on anybody’s radar,” explains Sushila, whose long stint in Business India enabled her to closely observe the industrial scene in the State.

The draconian licence quota regulations that stifled industrial growth across the country from the 1970s, had its impact on Tamil Nadu too. South Indian businessmen stayed conservative, not taking huge risks or seekingpublic markets in the 1980s.

Sushila sweeps over the range of businesses that shaped the industrial story of Tamil Nadu, decoding its black box in the 1980s. The really large enterprises, especially in the auto components sector, quickly scaled up as the Indian economy opened up in 1991. For well-established biggies — Amalgamations, MRF, TVS and Murugappa groups — liberalisation opened the floodgates of opportunities in export markets. She says the TVS group did not celebrate its centenary in 2011 and went about business quietly.

For a story in Business India, the top men did not want to talk to her. But the younger generation now at the helm 54 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

is not averse to media. Murugappa Group’s diversification and winning awards at the international level show the group’s steady focus on business ethics and sustained growth.

Popular and well-known faces from Tamil Nadu are given prominent coverage. N Srinivasan, till recently BCCI chief, brought passion and depth to India Cements, which grew multifold in the past few years on the back of his

Surge, Sushila Ravindranath, Westland Ltd Price: Rs 525

leadership, while the Marans-owned Sun group is facing rough weather, due to a host of reasons. Sushila doesn’t mince words in detailing the troubles, the Marans are facing.

The Shriram Group, CAMS, Apollo Hospitals, provide the diversity of successful businesses from Chennai. Some stupendous failures, and financial skulduggery that led to the astounding rise and ungraceful exit of some businesses in the 1990s are

worth a read. Especially, the account on P Rajarathnam, who gobbled up one business after another in Chennai, much to the astonishment and amusement of everyone, only to vanish into thin air, reads like a racy thriller.

The chapter on Coimbatore traverses a breathtaking cocktail of businesses that have made the city stand out, as an entrepreneurial hub in India. Quiet excellence marks pioneering ventures such as LMW. The author dips into areas such as foundry, pumps, wet grinders, textiles, and a host of startups in Coimbatore.

In several regions, agriculturists took to various businesses and made it big. Tiruppur is a world leader in knitted garments; Sankagiri, Tiruchengode, Namakkal and Sivakasi are covered as well. The leather industry, says the author, is “one of Tamil Nadu’s well kept secrets in that it accounts for almost 50 per cent of India’s leather exports and 40 to 45 per cent of footwear exports.”

Prominent coverage of the IT sector’s early days gives due credit to the early players such as TCS and Cognizant. Chennai’s homegrown IT startups that have grown massively such as Polaris, Ramco Systems, Bharat Matrimony, Zoho Corporation, and Freshdesk, and new-age startups give a flavour of what is happening in the technology space, where Chennai is making a quiet but forceful impact.

Although the Chennai bias is largely seen, the book also sufficiently provides an overview of the State’s industrial activity by covering successful global and national businesses in other regions.

Japan... where the clichés fall Preeti Verma Lal

In Japan, ignore the clichés, spurn the obvious, and find a spirit in everything!

I

had thought, well, one can only wear gold, gape at the cherry blossoms. Or lean on a magnolia. Find a spirit in a shrine. Or, climb up high walls made of cement. Not really. As I trudged through Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun, one by one, these tired clichés fell by the tidy sidewalks. In Japan, I could sprinkle gold flakes in my coffee and quaff it. Have my smoked salmon clad in sakura (cherry tree) leaves. Put a drop of miso paste and slow cook vegetables on a magnolia leaf. Normally, the gods live in shrines, but in Japan I learnt that 88 spirits live in one grain of rice. The brown tree, the gurgling river, the dark cloud — everything has a spirit and should be respected.

And the walls? Not all of brick. There’s an 8-metre high snow wall, where you can make

a snowman, or write your name in snow. In this land, clichés are ignored, the obvious is spurned and life and things acquire fascinating nuances.

The gold leaf, first. In Kanazawa, where the strapping samurais lived, the sound of hammers pounding gold sheets resonates in the air.

Gold sheets beaten to 1/10,000th of a mm. Gold leaves so thin that even one strand of human hair would seem obese. Sitting on a tatami mat in Kanazawa Katani, I try my hands at art that began in the 16th century and today accounts for 99 per cent of Japan’s domestic gold leaf production. Gold leaf glued on lacquered boxes, slathered on the face for a golden glow, added to a candy, spread over a raisin cake. And yes, the famous Kanazawa ice cream cones laden with gold sparkles.

In Kanazawa, you can find gold leaves so thin that even one strand of human hair seems obese.

Gold galore In Kanazawa, I see more gold, including a storehouse with gold leaf walls. In Higashi Chaya, now designated Japan’s cultural asset, latticed two-storeyed houses previously served as places of feasts and entertainment, where geisha girls entertained people by performing dances and playing traditional musical instruments. Most of these houses have now metamorphosed into tea rooms or boutique stores, including the one with a golden storehouse. There’s gold everywhere — gold thread turned into coasters, gold dust floating lazily in bottles of sake (Japanese rice brew); gold woven into silk; gold necklaces.

Can you imagine, gold is also used to fix broken pottery; Kintsugi is the Japanese

art for doing this. It is meant to embrace imperfections and treat breakage/repair as part of an object’s beautiful history instead of disguising it.

Healthy food From art to food, I partake in Washoku, traditional Japanese food, which has been added in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Before picking up the chopstick, I muse on the thought… never waste a grain of rice because 88 spirits live in every grain. Some tips on how to eat Japanese food… The rice on the left, miso soup on the right and side dishes beyond. Drink the miso soup from the bowl.

Slurping noodles is not bad manners. Eat sushi in one bite. Do not pour soy sauce over white cooked rice. At the end of the meal, return the dishes to how they were at the start of the meal.

And say “gochisosma,” to express gratitude for the meal.

Never waste a grain of rice because 88 spirits live in every grain.

Each of us had our own personal stove on the table, topped with magnolia leaf on which mushrooms and vegetables were simmering with a dash of miso. On the low table lay a traditional Japanese meal — sushi, sashimi, yakitori, udon noodles, a bowl of rice, wasabi paste, tempura and sukiyaki. Small morsels neatly stacked in ceramic bowls with a pair of chopsticks. That day in Takayama, a mighty meat-myth was dispelled — Japan has enough fare for vegetarians. Even vegans. If Japanese cuisine is not your food for soul, there are countless Indian restaurants all across the country. Stirring the vegetables on a burning stove, I realise how healthy the Japanese cuisine is. The standard meal of rice and Ichijusansai (soup, main dish + two side dishes) has the perfect nutritional balance.

With all the food down my gullet, I had to shed calories. I headed to the 56-mile long TateyamaKurobe Alpine Route. Also known as Roof of

Kanazawa is known for traditional gold leaf art.

Did you know? Å

Japan has the highest density of robots in the world — roughly 1 robot for every 310 people.

Å

There are 5 million vending machines (jidohanbaiki) in Japan. That’s one for every 25 people.

Å

The first Japanese novel, The Tale of Genji, was written by a Japanese noblewoman, Murasaki Shikibu, in 1007.

Å

In Japanese, karaoke means ‘empty orchestra.’

Å

Japan boasts the longest-reigning monarchy in the world.

Å

The fortune cookie dates back to the 19th century and was first made in Kyoto, Japan.

Å

Instant noodles were invented in 1958 by Momofuku Ando, a Japanese.

Å

February 22 is the National Ninja Day.

OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 59

Toyota Museum: Pictured here the making of Toyota’s first passenger car, Model AA, that was rolled in 1937.

Japan, the route is not merely about snow and the surreal landscape, it is about the journey that includes seven different public transports with five modes — funicular, bus, trolleybus, aerial tramway and walking. The biggest attraction of this mountain sight-seeing route is Yukino-Otani, the man-made snow wall that is open only in summer. Gigantic machines expel snow near the Murodo Terminal to create the walls that are sometimes higher than 20 metres.

Snowtime The walk is barely 500-metres but the thrill of moseying through a silvery snow corridor is unmatched. In the Snow Play Area, snowmen stand tall and on a stick hang plastic flat buckets to hurtle down the steep slopes. When the knees turn wobbly and the fingers freeze in the cold, head back to the wooden rest/restaurant area where the aroma of freshly steamed yam,

60 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

wasabi crackers and warm sake can drive away shivers from every sinew. Keep an eye out for the ptarmigan, a rare snow goose that has made Tateyama its home.

Washoku, traditional Japanese food, has been added in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

I returned to Tokyo and whooshed up Skytree, the world’s highest lookout. The service elevator that races 600 metres per minute took barely a few seconds to open into the Tembo Deck that sits 350 metres above ground zero. I peered out of a 5-metre high glass and Tokyo’s skyline unfolded in a panoramic view. I wanted to walk in the sky but I am no Spiderwoman to scale up the tower. So instead I spiralled up Tembo Gallery ramp that gains height as it circles the tower. That’s the world’s highest skywalk. High up in the sky, I found a cheeky sign: World’s Highest Toilet.

Pictures by Preeti Verma Lal Designed by Krishnapratheesh S

What your family should know N Ahuja

A

lthough many of us are efficient in our daily lives and keep meticulous records in our professions, most of us leave inadequate and incomplete records of our economic and personal affairs when we die. Experts recommend creating a comprehensive folder of documents that family members can access in case of an emergency. Here is a checklist of important documents you’ll need to have signed, sealed and delivered.

• Your will. Everyone must make a will even if all assets are in joint names.

• Bank accounts and bank lockers should be in joint names with instruction for operation by any one. Avail the nomination facility.

• Fixed/cumulative deposits with banks/post office with details of maturity date, interest receipt etc.

•

• • •

• • •

PPF book, vehicle papers and insurance.

Court decisions and pending litigation papers, if any.

Income tax/wealth tax files with complete record of vital information on taxation.

Policy files — LIC, GIC, Health/ Medical/Fire Accident insurance.

Pension papers, if superannuated.

Property files — real estate, flat ownership and property tax papers.

Deposit receipts for gas/electricity/ water/telephone, and rent receipt related correspondence.

• Name of legal advisers and their contact numbers.

• Passport, driving licence, identity cards and photocopies of all the documents.

• Medical history.

• Information on stockholding — either in demat accounts or physical certificates.

• Any other matter of interest to your family.

It is essential that you train your spouse to be able to deal with all the above mentioned matters independently or with the help of relative(s) you trust. After all, sympathy wave on account of death of head of family lasts only till one’s last rites.

Rotary for Rotaractors Team Rotary News

T

he applause inside the auditorium fade out the noise of the heavy rain outside, said DG Shyamashree Sen describing the impact of RI Director Manoj Desai’s presentation at an interactive session, ‘What Next – The future vision of Rotary’, organised at Bhasha Bhawan, National Library during the first week of September.

D 3291 hosted this programme to enhance Rotary’s presence amongst the Rotaractors in the district.

The highlight of the late afternoon programme was the inaugural dance by Unicorns Dance Company and a skit on language divide enacted by the Rotaractors. The DG felicitated the new members added in the

Rotary clubs this year. Paul Harris Fellows and Major Donors to The

Rotary Foundation were also recognised at the event.

OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 61

Bengal’s distressed jute farmers G Singh

A

nwar Ali has cultivated jute in his small field at Golabari area of North 24 Parganas in West Bengal.

He hopes to buy new clothes for his children after selling the crop. His eyes glimmer with joy as he thinks of a better future for his family. But soon a shadow is cast over his way and happy thoughts give way to despair as apprehensions of the money he has borrowed from moneylenders, and the anticipated knocks on his door brings him back to the grim reality.

62 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

The last season was disastrous for the jute industry in West Bengal, which suffered from severe shortage of raw material due to poor crop, forcing several jute mills to suspend work, leaving thousands of workers jobless.

Fifty-five-year-old Ali, who looks older than his age perhaps due to constant mental stress, was not spared either. He suffered massive losses after failing to repay the money that he had borrowed from private money lenders and banks after mortgaging his land.

Even the prediction by the Jute Commission that the ongoing year would be profitable for the industry because of the bumper crop, fails to lift up the mood of farmers like Ali, “The good crop would hardly make any difference to our lives. In fact, it will bring down the prices of raw jute because of ample supply. The middlemen will buy the raw jute from us at a very minimal price and then hoard it before waiting for an appropriate time to dispose it when the prices are high

as it happened last year. We have no alternative but to sell the crop to repay the loans. They make a killing while we live in starvation,� says, Muzaffar Ali, whose two sons Khalid and Imran put in hard labour to save their father the high cost of employing labourers in this highly labour-intensive industry.

Several farmers rued that lifting of the export ban on jute by Bangladesh has also spelled doom for them. The neighbouring country facing severe jute shortage, had imposed ban on its export last November. The ban was lifted in April this year.

Several other farmers this correspondent interviewed rued they often have to sell the raw jute even below the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 3,200 per quintal to meet household expenditure and repay their debts.

Shrinking jute space The reducing interest of farmers in growing jute can be gauged from the fact that the total land under jute cultivation has come down to 7.46 lakh hectares in 2015-16 as compared to 8.72 lakh hectares in 2012-13. Low returns have also deterred them from growing jute. As per an estimate, a farmer gets only Rs 1,455 per bigha in return for jute as against Rs 7,000 for maize on the same piece of land.

With an annual turnover of around Rs 10,000 crore, the industry employs four million jute growers and about 3,00,000 workmen. It is estimated that one-third of West Bengal’s total population is directly or indirectly linked to jute. Districts like Nadia, North 24 Parganas, Murshidabad, West Dinajpur, Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri,

The claim of bumper crop is a gimmick to create a psychological pressure on the farmers to sell their crop at a lower price fearing supply overtaking demand.

Hooghly and Malda, account for 71 percent of the area under jute cultivation in the country.

The Jute Commission of India (JCI) has, however, termed the ongoing year to be a game-changer for the industry that has witnessed closure of several mills in the past few years, “There will be no shortage of raw material as we expect the production to be around 100 lakh bales (1 bale is180 kg) as against the demand of around 90 lakh bales for the industry this year. We also have a closing stock of six lakh bales from last year and Bangladesh is also likely to export another six lakh bales to us, says Subrata Gupta, the Jute Commissioner, adding that with abundant supply of raw material being available, the Government thinks some closed mills will re-start operations.

Exploiting farmers But those closely following the industry are sceptical about the claims of a bumper crop. They think this is a calculated tactic by the government and hoarders to demoralise the

About Rs 300 crore worth of gratuity of over 50,000 retired workers is pending with the mill owners for several years.

OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 63

farmers. “This kind of rumours circulate every year before the crop is likely to hit the market. The claim of bumper crop is a gimmick to create a psychological pressure on the farmers to sell their crop at a lower price fearing supply overtaking demand,”

64 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

says SP Bakshi, former secretary of the Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA).

To curb hoarding, the mill owners sent a letter to the Ministry of Textiles in May 2016, seeking action against any malpractice. “We want the farmers to be benefitted and so have written to

the Centre to save the industry from the clutches of speculators and traders who exploit farmers. We are also trying to be in direct contact with the farmers to eliminate middlemen who exploit them,” says Sanjay Kajaria, a mill owner and former chairman of IJMA. The present turmoil in the industry makes it difficult to believe that the first jute mill of the country was set up in West Bengal by George Acland at Rishra in Hooghly district in 1855 because of the abundant supply of labour, ample coal for power and river connectivity.

At present, there are 67 jute mills in West Bengal of which 19 are closed mainly because of labour unrest and shortage of raw material. The ailing and closed mills have already taken a toll on the retirement benefits of the jute workers. An estimated Rs 300 crore worth of gratuity of over 50,000 retired workers is pending with the mill owners for several years.

Jute farmers and mill owners are also apprehensive about the growing clamour to reduce the use of jute bags in packing foodgrains.

Rotary

& Social media

Twitter

Twitter / Facebook

#Rio2016 #Paralympics

RILM storms social media

End Polio Now’s twitter handle keenly tracked the Rio 2016 Paralympic. From wishing its ambassador Alem Mumuni, a polio survivor and cyclist from Ghana, who has completed 500km for #rideoutpolio, to congratulating Varun Bhati from India for winning the bronze medal after clearing a jump of 1.86m, there has been a constant focus on #endpolio.

On Sep 8, World Literacy Day, Rotary India set out to storm the social media. Led by the RILM Chair Shekhar Mehta, senior Rotary leaders as well as celebrities urged Indians to send children back to school and also end adult illiteracy.

Facebook was the prominent medium which disseminated the literacy message across the world.

Twitter

Saluting polio’s women warriors Twitter

#100actsofgood

On the 100th anniversary of the first major US #polio outbreak, RI honoured on twitter “the heroic women who have worked tirelessly to #endpolio.” It may be recalled that many female polio workers in Pakistan have been gunned down in recent times by the Taliban.

Rotary is encouraging the youth to join Rotaract which provides opportunities to make new friends and improve the community. It has asked Rotaract Clubs around the world to share stories of their service with the hashtag #100actsofservice: on rotary.org/actsofgood.

FOLLOW US On our Facebook page @RotaryNewsIndia or on Twitter @NewsRotary for latest news and updates from the Rotary World.

Compiled by: Kiran Zehra

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Happiness Bharat and Shalan Savur

I

t happens to all of us. A song gets stuck in our brain and repeats itself all day long. Well, once, it happened to our friend Niki. She couldn’t get this Hindi song out of her head. It accompanied her defiantly to the office.

Mid-morning, her boss was explaining an accounting intricacy to her, but the song had taken over her auditory pathways completely. And Niki didn’t hear a word of what he was saying. Suddenly, to his astonishment, she burst out singing. As you can guess, she couldn’t help it, she didn’t even know she was singing, until the snorts and guffaws of amusement from her colleagues filled the office space and Niki returned with a jolt to her surroundings, covered in crimson embarrassment.

The lost fizz. You’d be as startled as Niki’s boss to know how much your inner noise affects you. How oblivious, even unconscious you become to life’s wonders because your mind is always thinking, analysing, protesting, complaining, criticising, expecting the worst outcome… Unlike Niki’s song, this commentary doesn’t even have

66 ROT 66 ROTARY R OT TA ARY AR R RYY NE N NEWS EW WSS OCTOBER OCT CT TOB OB OBE BEER 2016 2016 0116 0 16

a catchy tune or romantic lyrics! It’s riddled with doubts, fears, cynicism and the it’s-too-good-to-last belief. No wonder, our energy drops, motivation flops, we feel disgruntled, and as flat CU C UQFC YJKEJ JCU NQUV KVU HK\\ # UQFC PGGFU KVU HK\\ Bricks of blame. So do we. We need it as much as we need air to breathe. But, more often than not, we kill our natuTCN HK\\ QH JCRRKPGUU FTQYP YKVJ QWT dialogues, our natural melody of bliss.

I have a friend who blames everybody and finds fault with virtually everything — her family, friends, business partner and her circumstances. She doesn’t even spare herself! She has done exactly what artist Frida Kahlo de Rivera has warned us against: “Don’t build a world around your own suffering — it may devour you from inside.�

The result is that she is constantly ill.

Each day brings a different disorder — FK\\KPGUU JGCFCEJG G[G RCKP UJQWNder soreness, knee-pain, panic attack or a sinking feeling in the chest. So much so that she is terribly embarrassed. “I don’t dare talk about what’s going on inside me,� she told me. “People may think I’m pretending or being a hypochondriac.�

Accept imperfections. Yes, life is a mysterious mix of light and shades.

It’s not perfect, or so we think. But, we can’t allow its imperfections to take away our natural wholeness, can we? To be whole means to be joyously healthy in mind, body and spirit. To be whole also means to accept things and people (including our self) as they are and not reject them with disgust or disdain. Above all, to be whole means having a big, understanding heart, a great, loving vision so as not to allow some incidents of selfishness and meanness embitter our spirit.

The secret of Zen. Wholeness is being part of wholeness. Not standing apart

from it. The story goes thus: The disciple complained constantly to his Master, “You are hiding the ultimate secret of Zen from me.� He refused to accept the Master’s denial. One day, the Master said, “Come.� The disciple asked, “Where are we going?�

The Master said, “Everywhere.� The disciple fell into a profound silence.

As they walked up the hill, the Master asked softly, “Can you hear the stream in the distance?� The disciple nodded.

A little farther, the Master whispered, “Can you hear the bird sing?� Once again, the disciple nodded wordlessly.

As they walked down the slope, the Master asked gently, “Can you hear yourself?� The disciple shook his head. The Master said, “Now, you know the ultimate secret of Zen.� It’s only our thoughts that keep us from our wholeness.

Moments of wholeness. That’s why I suggest: Seek to create moments of wholeness away from all thoughts.

Take your cue from Nyoshul Khenpo’s poem, Rest in natural great peace/ This exhausted mind/Beaten helpless by‌neurotic thought‌. Take a few moments, three times a day, to be as at ease as if you are on your own without anybody watching you. In the ease, allow yourself to become spacious and natural as if you are sitting with your legs and arms splayed out. Say a deepfelt Aah! and slip out of the grip of your usual tensed-up self that worries, gets irritated, is bossy and‌ r-e-l-a-x.

Think of your anger, anxiety or pride as a block of ice inside you.

Visualise it melting‌melting‌melting in the sunlight offered by Life.

Feel your confusion clear, disorders re-arrange into order, unease dissolve into ease. Sit in this Aah!, this peace, in rich understanding, in deep trust, in firm certainty. Allow all thoughts to come and allow your thoughts to go without getting engaged by them.

View them as distant strangers. Let the

Don’t build a world around your own VX྾HULQJ ² LW PD\ GHYRXU \RX IURP LQVLGH

thinking river flow while you stay on the banks of ease.

These moments have a glorious effect. You gradually glide into positivity, patience, wisdom. You don’t feel stressed out, you find your earlier tendency to be self-serving, dominating or feeling victimised, fading into a new benevolence where you only wish for the well-being of all. Extraordinary insights flash in — “I’d rather be contented than victoriousâ€?, “I care more about living than impressing othersâ€?‌.

It is liberating. You stop cutting your person to fit the coat and‌ you are, in a subtle way, more than everything you always wanted to be. You are not just a body, you are a looming presence that is taller and broader than your physique. There’s kindness, benevolence, love emanating from this presence.

And it all feels so natural, so right.

One of the most heartwarming discoveries you make in these moments of wholeness, which the Masters define as “the journey without distance�, is that when you change the quality of your attention to thought, the mind becomes a radiant, restful, blissful companion. Everything is beautiful, everything is a benediction simply because there is no thought. There’s only a knowing: that wholeness is far superior to mere perfection.

The writers are authors of the book ‘Fitness for Life’ and teachers of the Fitness for Life programme.

Designed by N Krishnamurthy

OCTOBER O OCTOBE OCT CTOBE OBER R 22016 0166 ROT R ROTARY OTARY NE NEWS EWS WS 67

Home away from home Team Rotary News

S

aroj who serves as domestic help at a housing society in Bengaluru would carry her two-year-old son with her to work until one day “Madam told me not to bring him along.” She wasn’t happy leaving him at the neighbour’s house. Then she met Sister Elise Mary who enrolled her son at the Murgeshpalaya Crèche. A Franciscan nun serving at the Navjeevan Mahila Pragati Kendra, Sister Elise visits the slums of Bengaluru to “understand the difficulties of the women in the slums, counsel them (in case of domestic violence) and help them find a job.”

RC Delden Borne, D 1560, Netherlands and RC Bangalore Lakeside, D 3190, in association with Navjeevan Mahila Pragati Kendra, set up their seventh crèche in Murgeshpalaya locality to empower poor mothers to take up jobs while their children are fed and taken care of at the crèche. Inaugurated in May, the crèche has enrolled 30 children so far and has six caretakers. “The number of admissions are steadily increasing and we plan to remodel some existing crèches in two more places,” says Jayanta, a member of RC Bangalore Lakeside.

Saroj says there were times when she couldn’t feed her son well “but now he eats like a Raja! The breakfast menu at the crèche includes poha, idli, dosa and a glass of milk.” Between 8 am to 4 pm the children are taught rhymes, English alphabets and Kannada. There is also provision for these children to sleep comfortably and they are fed three times a day. Parent meetings are conducted twice a month to assess the child’s development, address parents’ grievances and provide nutrition and hygiene awareness to them.

Grooming adventuresome leaders PDG Sudhir Rashingkar

Management through the Woods & over the Rivers

By Dr Ranjan Garge, Notion Press Pp 232, Rs 250

M

anagement training is usually designed as Indoor Management Development (IMD) — and is done 68 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

through classrooms, seminars, conferences or case studies. Gurus including Peter Drucker have pioneered different aspects of management and written many books.

About 40 years ago, Outdoor Management Development (OMD) evolved for training managers and teams, using outdoors for providing real experience. Courses can be tailored depending on facilities and faculties available, needs and size of group. It is activity based and can include activities such as mountaineering, rafting, trekking, etc.

The military uses this effectively.

This concept has been neatly explained by Rtn Ranjan Garge of Rotary Club of Aurangabad East, D 3132, in his book on ‘OMD.’ An outdoor management expert, he is a mountaineer,

environmentalist, educationist and social worker. His earlier book on mountaineering received an award from the Maharashtra government.

The book elaborates on evaluating leadership quality, problem solving ability, experimentation, learning from past experiences and transferring knowledge acquired to participants.

Rotary International lays a lot of emphasis on training of Rotarians, has developed training tools, but these are more of the IMD type. Perhaps experts such as Garge can be roped in to design special ‘OMD’ training suitable for Rotarians.

Through this book the author has opened a new window for training methods, which are explained through charts, graphs and figures.

Attention all clubs RTGS Transfers

W

e are getting RTGS transfers without any details. Henceforth, please ensure that every RTGS transfer is immediately followed by an email to the Rotary News Trust, giving information such as Name of the Rotary Club, Amount and the Remittance date.

Failure to update us with these details will throw up the club’s name in the ‘Dues’ list.

Also send us the updated Address List along with PIN CODE and language option (English or Hindi) and Print or E-version. If your members opt for E-version, please update us with their phone numbers and email-id to send them the e-magazine.

rotarynews@rosaonline.org

ANNOUNCEMENT

Own a piece of Rotary history “Doing Good in the World: The Inspiring Story of The Rotary Foundation’s First 100 Years” commemorates the Foundation’s centennial in 2016–17. This book tells the fascinating story of how The Rotary Foundation became one of the world’s leading humanitarian organisations.

You can order a hardcover copy for $40 or a leather-bound limited edition for $100.

Order today at

shop.rotary.org

With effect from July 1, 2016 the revised RI exchange rate is US $1 = INR 67.00 Source: RI South Asia Office

Views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the Editor, trustees of the Rotary News Trust, or Rotary International.

Every effort is made to ensure that the magazine’s content is accurate.

Information is published in good faith but no liability can be accepted for loss or inconvenience arising from errors or omission. Advertisements are accepted at face value and no liability can be accepted for the action of advertisers. The Editor welcomes contribution of articles, news items, photographs and letters, but is under no obligation to publish unsolicited material. The Editor reserves the right to edit for clarity or length. Contributors must ensure that all material submitted is not in breach of copyright or that if such material is submitted, they have obtained necessary permission, in writing, for its reproduction.

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by Mukesh Arneja on behalf of Rotary News Trust from Dugar Towers, 3rd Flr, 34, Marshalls Road, Egmore, Chennai 600 008.

Editor: Rasheeda Bhagat.

Dazzling Dubai Rotary Zone Institute 2016 – Zone 4, 5 & 6A Dec 16–18, 2016

John F Germ RI President

Dr Manoj Desai RI Director & Convenor

Dazzling Celebrity Speakers Michael McQueen from Australia is a professional speaker and leading author on youth trends and strategies for engaging with generation Y. He has given presentations on topics such as career planning, interview skills, financial literature. He is member of the Rotary International Strategic Planning Committee.

V Raja Seenivasan RRFC & Chairman

Leander Paes, an Indian Tennis celebrity, considered to be one of the best doubles and mixed doubles players of all times. He has won eight doubles and ten mixed doubles Grand Slam titles, and is the oldest man to have won a Grand Slam title. He holds a career Grand Slam in men’s doubles and mixed doubles, and has achieved the rare men’s doubles/mixed doubles double at the 1999 Wimbledon tournament.

Bird’s Eye View 13 Dec 2.30 pm to 9.00 pm

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14 Dec 8.30 am to 2.00 pm

GETS (Lunch at revolving restaurant) Desert Safari

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GETS Graduation Ceremony DG’s Mid Year Review DGN Orientation Program Dist. Trainers Training Seminar TRF Centennial Dinner

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16 Dec 9.00 am to 1.00 pm 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm 7.00 pm to 9.00 pm

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Hotel Hyatt Regency Deira Jumeirah Beach Hotel Conference Centre Jumeirah Beach lawn overlooking Burj Al Arab

17 Dec 9.00 am to 2.00 pm 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm 7.00 pm to 9.00 pm

INSTITUTE Sight Seeing (optional) Dinner

Hotel Hyatt Regency Deira Refer Box Armani Pavilion at Burj Khalifa overlooking musical dancing fountains

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Desert Camp

Dubai Visa Dubai tourist visas can be obtained through your local travel agent. You don’t have to give your passport. It is e-paper visa.

If you need visa through DDZI, please contact: Concord Travels and Tours, Dubai (sudhakar@ cttdubai.ae). The cost is $80 per person. Please provide your passport copy, a photograph and a letter with your credit card details authorising Concord Travels to debit the cost.

Anshu Gupta, a Ramon Magsaysay Award recipient, he left his corporate job in 1999 to start the organisation Goonj at Delhi. The NGO undertakes disaster relief, humanitarian aid and community development in 21 Indian States.

It collects and delivers 1,000 tons of discarded clothes and household goods every year through a network of 500 volunteers and 250 partners, and recycles them into useful products, for the poor.

Accomodation The Institute venue Hotel Hyatt Regency Deira is full. However, Hyatt Regency Creek Heights (5-star) and Holiday Inn (4-star) are available.

Book early to avoid disappointment.

Transfers will be provided from all the three hotels to the venues.

Sightseeing at Dubai Dec 17 (3-6 pm) City tour or Gold Souk drop at $8 per person. Gold Souk is at a walkable distance from Hyatt Regency Deira.

Visit the world’s tallest tower Burj Khalifa at $40 per person, inclusive of entrance fee of $34.

Three weeks prior booking and payment is mandatory.

Stalwarts at the Dazzling Dubai Rotary Zone Institute Contact Chairman: PDG V Raja Seenivasan Mobile: +919840024466 Email: rajaseenivasan@gmail.com Kalyan Banerjee TRF Trustee Chair

Gary Huang Past RI President

K R Ravindran Past RI President

Sushil Gupta TRF Trustee

Vice Chairman: PDG TVR Murti Mobile: +919848021462 Email: murtitvr@hotmail.com Organising Secretary: DGE Abhay Gadgil Mobile: +919850900001 Email: abhaygadgil3131@gmail.com

Ronald Beaubien Past RI Director

Padmashree Dr J M Hans has done pioneering work in cochlear implant surgery and has done more than 1,000 cochlear implants in India and SAARC countries. He is the Founder Member of the Cochlear Implant Group of India.

Registrations Visit www.dubairotaryinstitute2016. org for one registration.

Please e-mail your queries to dubairotaryinstitute2016@gmail.com

TRF Centennial Dinner

Gary Huang Past RI President

Kalyan Banerjee TRF Trustee Chair

TRF Trustee Representative PRIP Gary C K Huang and Trustee Chair PRIP Kalyan Banerjee will lead the TRF Centennial Celebrations.

Venue : Hyatt Regency Deira Date : 15 Dec 2016, at 7 pm

Mikael Ahlberg RI Director

Hsiu-Ming Lin RI Director

C Basker RI Director-elect

New Concept PATRON Registration Patron couple registration includes: z C lub room accommodation at Hyatt Regency Deira for three nights (Dec 15-17) z Special reserved seating for all sessions — TRF Dinner (Dec 15), Vision 20-20 Dinner (Dec 16), and Institute Sessions (Dec 16-18). z Institute registration for two; TRF Centennial dinner for two; Vision 20-20 Registration for two z Exclusive Club lounge access for coffee/tea throughout the day and cocktail and canapés between 6-8 pm. z Patron registration is available only as couple.

Couple need not necessarily be spouses, could be Rotarians too. z Only 50 couples on first come first served basis. z Email your queries regarding Patron registration to dubairotaryinstitute2016@ gmail.com

Joint Secretary: PDG N Asoka Mobile: +919443364932 Email: nasoka@rediffmail.com

Emirates is the official airline partner for the Dubai Institute.

Emirates offers exclusive savings for Rotary into Dubai for Dazzling Dubai Rotary Zone Institute 2016. Book online

by Dec 18 for travel between Dec 10-22, and receive great savings across on Business Class and Economy Class fares, and experience exceptional service, fine dining and up to 2,000 channels of ice entertainment. First Class and Business Class passengers may also enjoy complimentary Chauffeur-drive service and access to luxurious airport lounges.

Savings are applicable on existing market fares at time of booking.

How to book this offer: Book online using special promotional code EVE6DAZ or logon www.emirates.com/ 1. Select “Book a flight” 2. Enter your promotional code on “Advanced Search” page 3. Enter your destination and travel dates 4. Make payment online You are also eligible to earn Emirates Skywards Miles when booking this offer, plus you can earn bonus Miles with our Skywards Miles Accelerator. If you are not a member of Emirates’ frequent flyer programme Emirates Skywards, enrol now and start earning.

Terms and conditions apply.

Simple Economics

Demystifying interest rates

O

ne man’s meat, goes the saying, is another man’s poison. Likewise in economics, the seller’s income is the buyer’s cost. This income-cost equivalence is called price. It is exactly the same with money, which also has a price. It is called the rate of interest.

When it is high, moneylenders earn a higher income than they would when it is low. Exactly opposite, the borrowers’ cost is higher when interest rates are high. This is why moneylenders always want a higher rate of interest and borrowers always want a lower rate.

While everyone borrows money — from parents, friends and professional moneylenders like banks — not everyone uses it to produce something.

72 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

Some people borrow to buy items of consumption like a car; others borrow to purchase a house which is both an item of consumption and an item of investment; and a third category borrows to produce something, usually in a factory.

But not all things that are produced are goods; some of them are services like the shopkeeper who borrows money to buy what someone else has produced and then sells it to those who ask for it.

Whatever may be the case, all these producers, buyers and sellers need money. Some of this comes from their own pockets and some of it they borrow. This is the reason why the price of money — the rate of interest — is so crucial for everyone: like inflation,

TCA Srinivasa Raghavan it influences the behaviour of everyone in society, the rich and the poor alike.

Reverse logic Big buyers of goods get discounts.

This means they pay less per unit. It is exactly the same with money. Those who borrow Rs 100 crore get a lower rate of interest than those who borrow just Rs 1 crore.

But there is a problem here for which economics offers no answers.

The problem is this: why should the bank offer a lower rate to the few who borrow a lot individually, but a higher rate to the many thousands who borrow far more?

Economics links the price of money to risk but there is no evidence that small borrowers are less likely to repay a loan than big borrowers.

If anything, globally, the evidence points to the opposite.

In fact, if we take the example of income tax, the bigger income earners are required to pay a higher tax than the lower income people. That is why we have four rates for income tax — 30, 20, 10 and 0 per cent.

It is legitimate to ask why the same principle can’t apply to the rate of interest! There is no logical or sensible answer to this question.

The result is that for every big borrower who gets a lower rate, there are thousands of small borrowers who get a higher rate. This is despite the fact that small borrowers account for around 50 per cent of industrial activity and GDP growth.

This has happened largely because of what has been called ‘lazy’ banking by the public sector banks. Why bother with thousands of clients when you need to deal with only a few dozen large ones?

Lesson from the past In the current context when private investment is not picking up and the economic activity is dependent on the high level of (mostly wasteful) government spending, there is an

urgent need to reduce interest rates which are too high at present.

The past provides a useful guide here. Between 1997 and 2003, the same situation prevailed with private investment being low. So from 2000 onwards, the RBI gradually started lowering interest rates, as a result of which between 2003 and 2009, private investment zoomed to unprecedented levels.

The risk of inflation was present then too, in the same degree as now.

The RBI needs to take a risk, just as a

batsman does when the chips are down and he throws his bat at everything.

A gradual lowering will not do. It has to cut rates drastically during the next six months if private investment is to revive.

In any case, it will take the banks another 18 months to pass on the lower rates to the small borrowers. So if it starts now, we can expect a revival of private investment from early 2018, which is a year before the next general election.

The timing would be perfect for the incumbent government.

Fundraising for our Foundation PRID Ashok Mahajan

W

hen, in 1917 at the Atlanta RI Convention, Arch Klumph proposed to create an endowment fund for Rotary for doing good in the world, he wanted fellow Rotarians to create something that salutes the spirit of Rotary. The Rotary Foundation, as it stands today, is based on his belief in our skills and ability to match up to the best standards of fundraising worldwide.

According to GoI, 3,068 Indian NGOs received a total funding of $3.29 billion during 2014-15 from various donors abroad, 83.3 per cent more than what was received during 2013-14. During last three years, NGOs in India have received a total funding of $7.72 billion, which are used for rural development, child welfare, construction of schools and other humanitarian projects.

This is a valuable resource for our DGs, RRFCs and DRFCs to work on for our Foundation’s fundraising goals.

Every DG and RRFC must identify NGOs in their region which have raised such huge amounts and study how they were able to market their programmes across the world. Though a bulk of the contributions worldwide to TRF, which ranges between $190 to 220 million

annually, come from Rotarians, there are other donors who contribute to our cause. This list needs to be expanded every year to meet our bigger targets.

Donations to Indian NGOs have come from countries such as US, UK and European nations, North Korea, Malawi, Greece, Swaziland, Bosnia, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and war-ravaged Yemen.

If the DGs and RRFCs in every country have the statistics of how donors from their place help NGOs elsewhere, they may be able to tap some part of that contribution to TRF in

their country. The training programme for those willing to serve TRF should include volunteers and expert Rotarians who can influence big donors. Every country can have a sub-committee of fundraising experts and this should not be restricted to some past RI officers.

To move on to a higher level, we have to change our fundraising methods. The most valuable real estate is the space Rotarians occupy in other people’s hearts. With this, anything is possible.

(PRID Ashok Mahajan is member of TRF’s Fund Development Committee) OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 73

Club RC Kallakurichi — D 2982

C

lose to 300 villagers were screened for cataract and 120 surgically treated at a camp conducted by the club in association with Sankara Eye Hospital, Coimbatore. This camp was conducted to provide good eye care for the villagers who would otherwise simply neglect the treatment because of the expense and travel to the city, said Club President R Dwaraka.

RC Madurai North — D 3000

S

chool children from in and around Madurai got sporty at a district level Inter School Athletics meet conducted by the club. The event had 54 track and field events. Over 800 students from 68 schools participated in the sports meet. PDG Ravindranath awarded the overall championship to OCPM Girls Higher Secondary School, Madurai, for their “good and fair performance.”

RC Sidhpur — D 3051

A

iming at a total literate India, the Rotaract and Interact clubs of the club have jointly started an Adult Literacy Centre. It was inaugurated by DGE Maullin Patel who lauded the efforts of the youngsters.

RC Phagwara — D 3070

T

he club in association with the Inner Wheel Club of Phagwara donated sports equipment to the Government Primary School, Gulabgarh, at a colourful ceremony involving students in fun activity and games. This will help improve the basic infrastructure and sports facilities of the school that caters to students from rural regions.

74 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

Matters RC Agra North East — D 3110

R

otarians distributed stationery and nutrition kits to the students of an aided school in Agra.

New school material would help children develop interest to attend school regularly.

RC Faridkot — D 3090

T

en students from underprivileged backgrounds were honoured at Veerawala Khurd village for their exceptional academic performance. Each student was given a potted plant and Rs 5,000.

“Whenever we come here to carry out our literacy projects, the children ask us: ‘Polio ki dawa dene aaye ho, (have you come to give us polio drops),” says the Club President Pritpal Singh Kohli.

RC Pune Cosmopolitan — D 3131

W

hen the club members realised that the haemoglobin level of women blood donors at Kalpataru was low and hence they could not donate blood, they hosted an awareness programme to sensitise women about anaemia.

This programme emphasised on home remedies to increase haemoglobin levels, said Club Secretary Sanadiip Bbiswas.

RC Bombay Hanging Gardens — D 3141

M

umbai’s women police stationed at the busy Western and Eastern Express Highway can breathe a sigh of relief as the club has set up 16 portable toilets at various chowkis that fall under the highway region. Recycled from discarded containers, each toilet includes a western facility, wash basin, mirror and a water tank. Each toilet costs Rs 90,000.

OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 75

Club RC Nizamabad — D 3150

T

he management of the Raoji High School in Delhi was grappling with lack of clean drinking water. Rotarians from this club not only installed a drinking water filter at the school but also upgraded the classrooms by providing benches and desks and sports equipment; total cost Rs 1,50,000.

RC Miraj — D 3170

A

s part of its youth services, the club, along with RC Sangli, conducted its Annual Rotary Shree 2016 body building championship. Winner of the title advances to compete at the National level championship. “We have so far won two national titles,” says Rtn Ramkrishna Chitale, organiser and judge of Rotary Shree. He adds that this is to encourage the youth of the region to stay fit and keep away from substance abuse.

RC Karkala — D 3180

K

nown for its natural and historical landmarks, the small town of Karkala was losing one of its ancient lakes to Solvenia weeds. Club members initiated a clean-up project at a cost of Rs 40,000.

After ten days of hard work the lake was cleaned and opened for the general public. The municipal authorities thanked the club for restoring the lake.

RC Bangalore West — D 3190

T

he Club organised a comprehensive health check-up camp in association with Himalaya Health Care and Oracle at the Rotary 3190 Nephrology Centre. Nearly 300 people benefitted from this camp. Those diagnosed with disorders were referred to the hospital associated with the Centre.

76 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2016

Matters RC Gauhati West — D 3240

I

came here to be the person I always wanted to become, and I can positively say that I am a changed person,” was the feedback of a participant at the International RYLA that was organised by the club at Downtown University, Guwahati. Students from Nigeria, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh were among the 44 students who participated in the three day RYLA.

RC Erode — D 3202

E

mphasising the need for outdoor sports and recognising local sports talent, the Rotarians conducted a District Level swimming championship.

Over 300 students participated in the competition.

“Through this event we reached out to students and their parents and in turn enhanced Rotary’s public image,” said Club President Ar K K Vijayachandhran.

RC Bhubaneswar Temple City — D 3262

T

he club, along with the National Aluminum Company, conducted a cleanliness and hygiene drive in Bhubaneswar. The Rotarians sensitised people on cleanliness and participated in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan programme by sweeping the city roads.

RC Kasba — D 3291

U

nder its ongoing literacy project, the club provided spoken English classes and basic computer training to over 200 girls from various schools around Kasba.

Compiled by Kiran Zehra Designed by L Gunasekaran OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 77

Membership in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives

WHERE CAN YOU LEARN TO BE A MORE EFFECTIVE ROTARIAN?

THE LEARNING CENTER PUTS THE TRAINING YOU WANT AT YOUR FINGERTIPS.

GET STARTED AT ROTARY.ORG/MYROTARY

Rotary at a glance As on June 1, 2016

Rotarians

: 12,21,915

Clubs

: 35,463

Districts

: 534

Rotaractors

: 2,19,029*

Clubs

: 9,523*

Interactors

: 4,68,464*

Clubs

: 20,368*

RCC members : 2,08,633* RCC

: 9,071*

* As on August 1, 2016

As on September 1, 2016 RI RI Rotary No of Women Rotaract Interact Zone District Clubs Rotarians Rotarians

5 5 5 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 6 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

2981 2982 3000 3011 3012 3020 3030 3040 3051 3052 3053 3060 3070 3080 3090 3100* 3110 3120 3131 3132 3141 3142 3150 3160 3170 3181 3182 3190 3201 3202 3211 3212 3220 3230 3240 3250 3261 3262 3271 3272 3281 3282 3291 3292 Total

Non-districted.*

109 63 117 74 79 85 99 95 66 67 61 96 108 75 81 77 112 73 123 91 81 78 95 64 129 65 78 147 139 129 134 96 75 147 86 102 74 84 65 119 193 118 148 104 4,301

4,372 2,803 4,891 3,014 3,421 4,358 5,379 2,230 2,491 3,579 2,424 3,881 3,205 3,210 2,128 1,827 3,754 3,008 5,629 3,922 4,891 2,950 3,299 2,254 5,402 2,874 3,179 5,750 5,168 4,940 4,290 3,860 1,950 5,954 2,972 3,791 2,419 3,102 1,242 2,197 5,483 3,319 3,858 3,815 1,58,485

192 76 372 522 601 242 662 249 196 563 336 367 291 205 75 79 192 288 1,139 397 822 382 301 112 341 185 207 656 302 265 231 208 252 495 336 602 230 364 193 343 707 238 645 516 15,977

51 43 191 39 54 102 66 48 45 37 16 50 56 57 31 10 49 35 71 58 96 50 70 17 46 28 23 120 80 82 11 95 76 165 54 45 15 40 41 31 209 118 61 106 2,788

211 106 389 92 106 454 239 105 144 131 32 102 147 187 36 73 49 49 219 130 221 170 174 42 265 163 258 324 104 404 70 235 187 430 137 193 100 67 14 35 79 24 119 100 6,916

RCC

167 39 112 29 54 353 139 135 334 130 91 122 55 99 122 146 71 49 69 110 84 63 109 81 158 90 86 46 46 39 121 126 78 305 132 173 42 70 13 35 184 38 564 95 5,204

Source: RI South Asia Office

R

otary District 3141 has signed an MoU with Aditya Birla Finance Limited under which it will contribute Rs 50 lakh for Rotary’s diabetes detection and treatment programme. The picture shows Rajashree Birla and PRID Ashok Mahajan.

R

otary Club of Dhone, D 3160, presented cheque for $5,000 to RIDE C Basker for The Rotary Foundation, during the installation programme of DG K Sreerama Murthy.

R

tn R Srinivasan, RC Madurai Midtown, D 3000, on a vacation to Washington DC, poses with a bronze medallion of Rotary founder Paul Harris, along the Extra Mile lane adjacent to the White House.

OCTOBER 2016

ROTARY NEWS 79

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In Brief

Meet the Bag Ladies

NGO bags UNESCO literacy prize Jan Sikshan Sansthan (JSS), an NGO based in Malappuram, Kerala, bagged the UNESCO Confucius prize for Literacy for their focused skill-development programmes for citizens to improve their employability. Over 50,000 villagers have been trained so far, of which 40,000 are women. Subjects include health, sanitation, legal and financial literacy and entrepreneurship. An innovative ‘talking pen’ that reproduces the sound of written text as it moves across the letters is particularly helpful for the visually-challenged learners and tribal people who are not ready to read or write.

Collective Power “Want to change something? Start a petition,” says the footnote of Change. org. Recently, Dr Alaknanda Vaidya, a single mother with 90 per cent disability, caught the attention of the Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, after her petition seeking her transfer to Pune to be with her 11-yearold daughter, was signed by 90,000 people. She was posted in a government hospital, 100 km away from home. “Got your request, Dr Alaknanda Vaidya, from Change.org.

Director, Health Services, will be in touch with you. Needful for your transfer will be done by tomorrow,” tweeted the Chief Minister. Her daughter is overjoyed. “Now my mom can work close to me and help me with my homework. I can’t wait to cuddle next to my mom every night as I fall asleep. Thank you!” says her e-mail.

The plastic bags that we hoard in our kitchens are finding much better use in Tennessee as they are being recycled as bedrolls and donated to the homeless. Age doesn’t slow down this group of elderly women who meet regularly at church.

They cut donated plastic bags into strips, tie them together into what they term plarn (plastic yarn), which are crocheted to create sleeping mats measuring 3 by 6 feet. About 600 bags go in the making of a bed.

Shhh! ‘Silent snacks’ in theatres Taking civility in cinema viewing to another level, Teatime Productions has trialled in two theatres in London ‘silent snacks’ to combat noisy crunching and chomping. Moviegoers can choose between quiet popcorns containing ground popcorn, cocoa butter and dates, muffled truffles or dehydrated pear slices, and wash it all down with lime and mint non-carbonated drinks served in rubber glasses to make it as quiet as possible, provided one does not slurp!

The snacks come in fabric bags to eliminate the rustling noise.

The idea has received plenty of positive support.

It is e-blessings now Fret not if you’re unable to attend your relative/ friend’s wedding. You can still ‘bless’ the newlyweds, thanks to Paytm. One such wedding card is doing the rounds in the social media where the electronic wedding invite includes the QR codes of Paytm and Sudexo at the bottom. So blessings can be given online through Paytm. Guests can also procure their favourite sweets from nearest Haldiram outlets using the Sudexo code.

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ϯ͘ tŚĞƌĞ ĞůƐĞ ĐĂŶ LJŽƵ ŵĞĞƚ ĂŶĚ ŶĞƚǁŽƌŬ ǁŝƚŚ ZŽƚĂƌŝĂŶƐ ĂƌŽƵŶĚ ƚŚĞ ǁŽƌůĚ ĞƐƉĞĐŝĂůůLJ ĨƌŽŵ ĂŶŐůĂĚĞƐŚ͕ EĞƉĂů͕ ŚƵƚĂŶ͕ WĂŬŝƐƚĂŶ͕ dŚĂŝůĂŶĚ͕ ^ƌŝ >ĂŶŬĂ ĂŶĚ͕ ŽĨ ĐŽƵƌƐĞ͕ /ŶĚŝĂ͘ ϰ͘ KƵƌ tŽƌůĚ WƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƚ :ŽŚŶ 'Ğƌŵ ĂŶĚ :ƵĚLJ͕ dZ& dƌƵƐƚĞĞ ŚĂŝƌ <ĂůLJĂŶ ĂŶĞƌũĞĞ ĂŶĚ ŝŶŽƚĂ ǁŽƵůĚ

ϳ͘ ,ĞĂƌ ƐŽŵĞ ƚŽƉͲŶŽƚĐŚ ƐƉĞĂŬĞƌƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĨŝĞůĚ ŽĨ >ŝƚĞƌĂĐLJ ĂƐ ƚŚĞLJ ƐŚĂƌĞ ƚŚĞŝƌ ƐƵĐĐĞƐƐĞƐ ĂŶĚ ĐŚĂůůĞŶŐĞƐ͘ ϴ͘ KƵƌ ƉĂƐƚ ƉƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƚƐ ZĂũĂ ^Ă ĂŶĚ <͘Z ZĂǀŝŶĚƌĂŶ ǁŽƵůĚ ďĞ ƚŚĞƌĞ͕ ĂŶĚ ƐŽ ǁŽƵůĚ ďĞ ƚŚĞ ĞŶƚŝƌĞ ZŽƚĂƌLJ ůĞĂĚĞƌƐŚŝƉ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĐŽƵŶƚƌLJ͘ ZƵď ƐŚŽƵůĚĞƌƐ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞŵ͘ ϵ͘ Ğ ƉĂƌƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĞŶƚĞŶŶŝĂů ĂŶƋƵĞƚͲĂ ƐŝƚͲĚŽǁŶ ĚŝŶŶĞƌ͘ ƵŶŝƋƵĞ ŽƉƉŽƌƚƵŶŝƚLJ ƚŽ ŚĞĂƌ ǁŽƌůĚ ůĞĂĚĞƌƐ ĂŶĚ ĚŝŶĞ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞŵ ƵƉ ĐůŽƐĞ͘ ϭϬ͘ ŚĞŶŶĂŝ͕ ƚŚĞ ĞƚƌŽŝƚ ŽĨ ƐŝĂ͕ ƚŚĞ ůĂŶĚ ŽĨ W: ďĚƵů <ĂůĂŵ͕ ŚĂƌƚŝ͕ Z͘<͘ EĂƌĂLJĂŶ͕ ZĂũŶŝ <ĂŶƚŚ͕ ^ƵŶĚĂƌ

ďĞ ƚŚĞƌĞ͊ /ƚ ǁŽƵůĚ ďĞ Ă ŐƌĞĂƚ ŽƉƉŽƌƚƵŶŝƚLJ ƚŽ ŚĞĂƌ ƚŚĞŵ ŽŶ ŽŶĞ ƉůĂƚĨŽƌŵ͘ ϱ͘ dŚĞ ŝŶĂƵŐƵƌĂů Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ŚĞŶŶĂŝ dƌĂĚĞ ĞŶƚĞƌ ǁŝůů ŚĂǀĞ Ă ƐĞĂ ŽĨ ŚƵŵĂŶŝƚLJ ʹ ŽǀĞƌ ϱ͕ϬϬϬ ƉĞŽƉůĞ ʹ ƚŚĞ ďŝŐŐĞƐƚ ĞǀĞŶƚ ƵŶĚĞƌ ƚŚĞ ďĂŶŶĞƌ ŽĨ ZŽƚĂƌLJ ŝŶ /ŶĚŝĂ

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͘ DĂŶŝ Z/ ŝƐƚ͘ Ϯϵϴϭ

^ŚĂŶŵƵŐĂƐƵŶĚĂƌĂŵ d͘ Z/ ŝƐƚ͘ ϮϵϴϮ

D͘ DƵƌƵŐĂŶĂŶĚĂŵ Z/ ŝƐƚ͘ ϯϬϬϬ

ƌ͘ ^s^ ZĂŽ Z/ ŝƐƚ͘ ϯϬϮϬ

ZĂƚŶĂ WƌĂďŚĂŬĂƌ ŶŶĞ Z/ ŝƐƚ͘ ϯϭϱϬ

<͘ ^ƌĞĞƌĂŵĂ DƵƌƚŚLJ ƌ͘ sŝŶĂLJ <ƵŵĂƌ WĂŝ ZĂŝŬĂƌ Z/ ŝƐƚ͘ ϯϭϲϬ Z/ ŝƐƚ͘ ϯϭϳϬ

Affix your colou passport size photograph he

ƌ͘ Z͘ ^͘ EĂŐĂƌũƵŶĂ ĞǀĂƌƵŶĚĂ ^ƵďďĞŐŽǁĚĂ ZĂǀŝ Z/ ŝƐƚ͘ ϯϭϴϭ Z/ ŝƐƚ͘ ϯϭϴϮ

ŶĂŶƚŚ ,͘Z͘ Z/ ŝƐƚ͘ ϯϭϵϬ

ƌ͘ WƌĂŬĂƐŚ ŚĂŶĚƌĂŶ ƌĂĐŬĂů ƌ͘ :ĂLJĂƉƌĂŬĂƐŚ W hƉĂĚŚLJĂ Z/ ŝƐƚ͘ ϯϮϬϭ Z/ ŝƐƚ͘ ϯϮϬϮ

ƌ͘ :ŽŚŶ ĂŶŝĞů Z/ ŝƐƚ͘ ϯϮϭϭ

ƌ͘ <͘ sŝũĂLJĂŬƵŵĂƌ EĂƚĂƌĂũĂŶ EĂŐŽũŝ Z/ ŝƐƚ͘ ϯϮϭϮ Z/ ŝƐƚ͘ ϯϮϯϬ

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REGN. NO. TN/CCN/359/2015-2017 LICENSED TO POST WITHOUT PREPAYMENT NO.TN/PMG(CCR)/WPP-421/2015-2017 REGISTERED WITH REGISTRAR OF NEWS PAPERS FOR INDIA TNHIN/2001/5271 ROTARY SAMACHAR PUBLISHED ON 1ST OF EVERY MONTH

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