December 2020.Indd 1 11/28/2020 3:38:03 PM Enrich Your Rotary Exposure

DDecemberecember 20202020 ΛΛEĞǁƐZŽƚĂƌǇEĞǁƐZŽƚĂƌǇ ͬͬZŽƚĂƌǇEĞǁƐ/ŶĚŝĂZŽƚĂƌǇEĞǁƐ/ŶĚŝĂ 420 ` ͮŶŶƵĂů^ƵďƐĐƌŝƉƟŽŶ

Vol.64, Issue 6 Vol.64,

P_Wrapper_Front_Front_Inside_December 2020.indd 1 11/28/2020 3:38:03 PM Enrich your Rotary exposure

Institute Convener Listen to leaders such as RI Director Kamal Sanghvi RIPE Shekhar Mehta, RIPN extends a warm welcome Jennifer Jones, RID Peter to you to enjoy the Kyle, TRF Trustee Chair K R Ravindran, TRF Trustee Rotary Zone Institute — Larry Lunsford, Swiss The Odyssey, a virtual Ambassador Arthur Mattli, experience — from the Judge Silvia Fernandes de comfort and safety of Gurmendi, Argentina and \RXUKRPHRURIÀFH many more…

For more details contact: Block the dates: January 15, 16 /ŶƐƟƚƵƚĞŚĂŝƌŵĂŶ Sanjay Khemka: 9431121176 and 17, 2021. Time: 4 to 8 pm. Email: [email protected] /ŶƐƟƚƵƚĞ^ĞĐƌĞƚĂƌǇ ZĞŐŝƐƚƌĂƟŽŶĨĞĞĨŽƌZ/ŽĸĐĞƌƐ John Daniel: 9249559999 (past, present, current and Email: [email protected] incoming): `Ϯ͕ϱϬϬ͘;ZĞŐŝƐƚƌĂƟŽŶ Visit ǁǁǁ͘ƌŽƚĂƌǇŽĚǇƐƐĞǇ͘ŝŶ ĨĞĞŝƐǁĂŝǀĞĚĨŽƌƐƉŽƵƐĞ͘Ϳ

P_Wrapper_Front_Front_Inside_December 2020.indd 2 11/28/2020 3:37:57 PM Inside

10 10 Chennai’s flower sellers move from fragrance to frustration 3FBEBCPVUIPXUIF$PSPOBQBOEFNJDIBTBġFDUFE 16 UIFTFÝPXFSTFMMFST XIPTFXBSFTGPSNBOJOUFHSBM part of Southern culture.

16 RC Pune turns 50 with a bang 4FSWJDFQSPKFDUTJOIFBMUIBOEIZHJFOF XPNFOT FNQPXFSNFOUBOEFEVDBUJPO NBSLUIFHPMEFO jubilee celebrations of this club.

22 Challenges and opportunities for Rotarians in a post-Covid world 53'5SVTUFF$IBJS,33BWJOESBOUBMLTBCPVUUIF 'PVOEBUJPOTÜOBODJBMTUBUVTBUBXFCJOBSPSHBOJTFE by RC Madras. 26 26 RC Bombay mends little hearts with help from two global grants Over 100 little lives have been saved by this club UISPVHIJUTQBFEJBUSJDIFBSUTVSHFSZQSPKFDU

32 Rallies, awareness campaigns mark World Polio Day 3PUBSZDMVCTPSHBOJTFBXBSFOFTTBDUJWJUJFTUP commemorate World Polio Day.

42 A treat for aficionados of Gujarati food 32 1BSVM#IBUUTDPġFFUBCMFCPPLDBOCSJOHEFMJDJPVT (VKBSBUJEFMJDBDJFTUPZPVSLJUDIFO

48 Women Rotarians beat pandemic with novel ideas & projects Women Rotarians from across the world come UPHFUIFSUPGPSNB3PUBSZ"DUJPO(SPVQGPS NFOTUSVBMIZHJFOF

60 Power, energy, razor-sharp enunciation of 42 Manna Dey "QPSUSBJUPGUIFMFHFOEBSZNVTJDJBOXIPIBT NFTNFSJTFEHFOFSBUJPOTXJUIIJTFODIBOUJOHTPOHT

On the cover: A flower seller in Chennai. Photo: Kiran Zehra.

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 3

K_Inside _December 2020.indd 3 27-Nov-20 12:07:44 PM LETTERS

Community farming shows the way

ctivist Mayank Gandhi has touched a have stressed the importance of TRF, Amagic lamp by introducing commu- our shining jewel. It’s good that measles nity farming in Maharashtra. This region, and rubella will be eradicated by 2023. once known for farmer suicides, has RC Bombay Rotarians’effrot, despite become a prosperous area. PDG Rahul monsoon floods, are laudable.Delighted Timbadia has proved that Rotary, with to read A Rotarian doctor recalls his its extraordinary network of people with brush with coronavirus and the article focus and skills, can create big change. on RC Quilon turning 70. Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus Club Matters was more apt than Club spelt out reasons for the world heading Hop. The earlier photos were clearer and towards disaster — Global warming, con- of viewable size, which is important to centration of wealth and growing, mas- clubs. The content is meaningful; I appre- sive unemployment. An eye-opener. ciate the good work of the editorial team. K M K Murthy, RC Secunderabad — D 3150 Philip Mulappone M T, RC Trivandrum Suburban — D 3211 he cover story on community farming was T motivating, informative and imparted knowledge. If he November issue has impressive content. The farmers in Marathwada can achieve acche din through Tstory on community farming is interesting and the passionate efforts of Mayank Gandhi, then there is in tune with Gandhiji’s vision. The planting of fruit hope for India to realise the same. PDG Timbadia’s trees will promote the economy and conserve ecolo- acts are inspiring and worth emulating. Your write-up gy. My compliments to the Editorial team for giving deserves wide circulation for motivating Indians. such useful articles. The gifting of a laptop to a de- Rajeev Chhabra, RC Nagpur — D 3030 serving girl, the article on our melody icon SPB, with striking photographs, are interesting. Yet another ommunity farming can add so much in the growth landmark in the history of Rotary is the nomination Cof our nation. Glad to hear from the RI president of Jennifer Jones as the first ever woman RI presi- that the RI board is forming a task force to assist clubs dent.With its sparkling inputs, this issue is a befitting to attract new members, the need of the hour. Diwali gift. Editor’s note covers many important aspects PDG Tarachand Dugar which require Rotary’s intervention. RI directors RC Madras East — D 3232

Great Indo-Pak initiative must come together to amicably settle he points made by Yunus were am very pleased with the Indo-Pak all outstanding issues to establish peace Tthought-provoking. The recog- I projects by Rtn Ravishankar Dakoju. and goodwill. nition of Rtn Tunji Funsho by Time Let these projects be the first steps to Ramakrishna K, RC Puttur — D 3181 magazine and S R Madhu’s article on resolve misunderstandings and the fes- Kishore Kumar were great. Though tering border dispute between the neigh- Great articles on Yunus, Kishore sang his own songs whenever bours. I request all the PDGs named in our music legends he acted, for some songs when the the article and Dakoju to adopt some he October cover story on Yunus music director felt that Mohammed Rafi more fellowship programmes and get Twas an eye-opener. So many fac- could sing them better, Kishore readily more PDGs from India and Pakistan ets of his personality have been brought agreed. Once when a song to be sung by to join. Rotary, as a friend of both the out. His faith in Rotary’s ability to bring Rafi required yodelling, he requested countries, should persuade and suggest change in the world was heartening. the music director to get it done by means to promote peace and our pro- Rotary News has done yeoman service Kishore, the master of yodelling. But jects and programmes must become a by bringing us this article. when the music director insisted on people`s movement in both countries. Group Capt V G Deodhar Rafi singing it, he went to Kishore, got We the people of India and Pakistan RC Nasik — D 3030 valuable tips on yodelling and then sang

4 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

Letters to the Editor - Dec 2020.indd 4 11/28/2020 1:36:55 PM LETTERS

the song, which was filmed on Feroze father, the late Rtn Jayant Shah, had Vatika at the Jagsundri temple. We Khan. That was the camaraderie singers travelled specially to meet Yunus. This planted around 300 saplings dedicated shared in the past. was before he got the Nobel Prize. He to our Rotary leaders. We also planted Santosh Tiwari, RC Jalna had gone to understand about micro- saplings in the name of Kiran Zehra and Rainbow — D 3132 finance and the Grameen Bank, and Editor Rasheeda Bhagat. On behalf of was very impressed by Yunus’s work. all Rotarians from our club, I thank you he article on SPB’s journey was After returning, he started microfinance for the article. Tinteresting. He has carved a niche through the Disha Trust in association Sunil Kumar Dogra, president in the hearts of Tamils with thousands with RC Poona North and Janki Devi RC Kangra — D 3070 of songs, entertaining lakhs of people. Bajaj Trust. It catered mainly to the Of course, one of the high points of his remote villages near Pune. he September and October issues career is Sankarabharanam in which he Yogesh Shah, RC Poona Tare just fabulous with both the cover has sung under K V Mahadevan’s music Central — D 3131 stories epitomising the distinct character composition. of Rotary. Dr S Subramanian uhammad Yunus has nicely I have listened to Nobel laure- RC Puliangudi — RID 3212 Mexplained the concept of social ate Muhammad Yunus in the webinar entrepreneurs, touching on a host of programme and his presentation was hanks to Rotary News for bringing developmental issues. His visionary impressive and realistic. Covid has Tout the concept of micro entrepre- thoughts and plans will make the right opened new opportunities on the virtual neurs as envisioned by Yunus. His com- impact in the world. Thanks for the platform where we can listen to distin- ment on not going back to pre-corona excellent write-up. guished persons. I also admire the lines days is thought-provoking. His concern Dr Pon Muthaiyan spoken by RIPE Shekhar Meta, “soft on Covid vaccine distribution needs to be RC Aduthurai — D 2982 spoken, mild mannered, humble…” on addressed by policy-makers. Rotary can the late PRID Yash Pal Das. take a role in vaccine distribution among great story on the newly-formed Soumitra Chakraborty weaker sections. A Rotaract club in Arunachal RC Calcutta Innovation — D 3291 Vinod Kumar A K Pradesh. It was with absolute delight that RC Nileshwar — D 3202 I read the news of the charter of RAC Kudos to PDG Sylvia Whitlock Namsai. This will help bring parity for he article When the mouse roared eading the cover story on Prof Yunus the youth of the region with the rest of Tin the September issue is an eye- Rthrough your article was great. India in the coming years. More power opener. PDG Sylvia Whitlock, who I could not retain much on the webi- to President Khusbu Sharma and DRR fought the legal battle for the right of nar and was looking for details, which Tushar Jalan. women to join Rotary, in spite of stiff I got in our magazine, and which have Gopinath N Pandalai, RC Bangalore opposition by the then leaders, and created a deep impression of his ideas in Indiranagar — D 3190 went on to become the first woman my mind. Our district has adopted micro- governor. It is great to learn that for the credit projects. The newly-designed Club e are thankful to Rotary News first time a woman, Jennifer Jones, will Hop looks nice and beautiful. Wfor publishing our project on become the RI president in 2022–23. R K Bubna, RC Belur — D 3291 environmental protection. This was our This is true empowerment of women first ever project published in this mag- in Rotary. read the cover story on Muhammad azine since 1979. It was a great drive Major D K Zarekar I Yunus with lot of interest as my initiated by our club to develop a Rotary RC Nashik-Ambad — D 3030

We welcome your feedback. Write to the Editor: [email protected]; [email protected]. Mail your project details, along with hi-res photos, to [email protected] Messages on your club/district projects, information and links on zoom meetings/webinar should be sent to the Editor only at [email protected] or [email protected]. WHATSAPP MESSAGES WILL NOT BE ENTERTAINED. Click on Rotary News Plus on our website: www.rotarynewsonline.org to read about more Rotary projects.

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 5

Letters to the Editor - Dec 2020.indd 5 11/28/2020 1:36:55 PM President Speaks

2020: A year of strength for Rotary

in person. — Liza Larson, Rotary E-Club Engage s I look back on 2020, I reflect on how our and Rotary Club of Plano East, Texas. lives have changed. The global Covid-19 I was president of my club when Covid-19 hit, Apandemic brought pain and loss to many and many members didn’t yet have zoom. Only 10 of us. And for almost all of us, our daily lives, of our 53 members participated in the first zoom family time and work also changed this year. But meeting during the pandemic. I thought that reach- we’ve made it to the end of this difficult year, not ing out and getting guest speakers from around the on our own but by reaching out to one another, as world to engage our members would help. Many we always do in Rotary. With each passing year, Rotary leaders, a Rotary Peace Fellow, and even RI I become prouder of our organisation. President Holger Knaack visited virtually and spoke I will choose to remember 2020 as a year of to our club. Meeting attendance improved, while we great change and strength for us; Rotary didn’t reduced running costs by cutting out meals. Some stop, despite the pandemic. We removed obsta- members who worked outside our city and had Liza Larson cles, found new ways to connect, and embraced missed our meetings even rejoined us. Registering Rotary new approaches to service, such as online projects our online meetings on My Rotary enhanced contacts E-Club and virtual fundraising. I have invited two Rotar- with clubs across the world, and the joint meeting Engage and ians to share their stories about how Rotary grew addressed by Holger attracted more than 300 vis- Rotary Club of Plano East, stronger this year. itors. We also raised more funds as members and Texas. When the pandemic shut everything down, our visitors contributed to our projects. To continue being emerging e-club was already providing digital ser- flexible for all, we are now offering hybrid meetings. vice, including internationally. Fourteen US women For me, 2020 has been the best year in Rotary as I’ve and I, members of multiple Rotary clubs, were made many new friends. — Blessing Michael, Rotary using WhatsApp to mentor women entrepreneurs Club of Port Harcourt North, Nigeria. in rural Costa Rica, helping them to grow their These stories should give us all reasons to be ecotourism business, RETUS Tours. The project has optimistic about Rotary in the year ahead. We are grown, with 30 Rotarians now providing consulting not just surviving; we are gaining strength. We are Blessing and help with the RETUS website and social media. discovering how resilient our organisation truly Michael Rotary Club Most importantly, we continue building relation- is. We are seeing for ourselves how Rotary Opens of Port ships and empowering these women to transform Opportunities — even during pandemics — to Harcourt their own lives, and we are doing it online. I’ve grow, connect, and engage our members and the North, even helped one of the women, Rosa, prepare a communities we serve. Nigeria. presentation in English for an online international From our home in Ratzeburg to yours, Susanne conference. While our engagement with the Costa and I would like to bid you and your family the Rican women still requires some hands-on activity, warmest of season’s greetings. We can’t wait to the most transformative impacts haven’t had to be see the good things that 2021 will bring.

Holger Knaack President, Rotary International

6 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

President Message - December 2020.indd 6 11/26/2020 8:46:44 PM After Covid relief, India’s poor need economic rehabilitation

he all-round distress brought about by the Covid to offer for a loan, they are at the mercy of the village Tpandemic notwithstanding, if one were to go by moneylender, and the interest rates are so exorbitant, that the Indian equity markets, our economy is booming, the they send your head reeling. The most common is 10 per equity indices have touched an all-time high and mutual cent a month; or a mind-numbing 120 per cent a year! funds are registering great returns. But the sobering fac- This is where one of the focus areas of Rotary — tor is that this razzle-dazzle on Dalal Street is confined enhancing livelihoods — comes into the picture. We all only to a minuscule percentage of Indians. You have know that several Rotary clubs in India and overseas to read our December cover story, which features the have embraced the microfinance model and through club famed flower sellers of Chennai, to realise the kind of and district projects are disbursing loans to women’s economic distress that the small and unorganised sectors, self-help groups. Having studied the Grameen model so valuable to our economy that kick on the streets of from the grassroots level in Dhaka and the surrounding India, are facing. But underlying the economic woes that villages way back in 1998 and later in 2006 when Prof the women, who string together the fragrant jasmine and Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Prize for other flowers, are facing, is their grit and determination Peace, I have seen at close hand how group dynamics to put their shoulder to the wheel, and carry on. These work. If one member of the group faces a problem and feisty women need our salute of course, but also our is about to default on a payment, the other members visit help and patronage. her home, counsel her, try to help as much as possible, Through my four decades in journalism, and wide and ensure that she keeps up with the repayment of her travel throughout the country, particularly to our smaller instalments. Because in microfinance, only if you com- cities and villages, I have personally witnessed the stran- plete payment for one loan, do you become eligible for glehold that moneylenders have on our vulnerable sec- the next and bigger loan. tions… the small vegetable and fruit vendors, flower Rotarians across India have emerged as knights sellers, domestic help and others who need to borrow in shining armour when it came to providing relief to money for emergencies. While medical emergencies are migrant workers, daily wage labourers, the homeless, understandable, regrettably, in our social ethos, even as also safety and medical equipment to health workers the poor have to spend much more than what they have and hospitals. But relief has to be followed up with reha- earned or saved, for weddings. And of course, those bilitation. In the immediate post-Covid world, India’s with daughters have their burden multiplied severalfold, economically crippled people, such as Chennai’s flower with the dowry evil sucking the last paisa from them, sellers, are going to need a massive infusion of economic and putting them at the mercy of moneylenders. With no rehabilitation. Will India’s Rotary clubs rise to the chal- bank willing to touch the poor, who have no collateral lenge and do whatever they can? I know they will!

Rasheeda Bhagat

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 7

P_Editors Note _Dec2020.indd 7 11/27/2020 12:19:26 PM Governors Council RI Dist 2981 DG R Balaji Babu RI Dist 2982 DG K S Venkatesan Message from RI Dist 3000 DG A L Chokkalingam RI Dist 3011 DG Sanjiv Rai Mehra RI Dist 3012 DG Alok Gupta Sound mind, RI Dist 3020 DG Muttavarapu Satish Babu RI Dist 3030 DG Shabbir Shakir RI Dist 3040 DG Gajendra Singh Narang sound body RI Dist 3053 DG Harish Kumar Gaur RI Dist 3054 DG Rajesh Agarwal RI Dist 3060 DG Prashant Harivallabh Jani he way the world looks at and treats dis- RI Dist 3070 DG CA Davinder Singh Tease and illness has undergone remarkable RI Dist 3080 DG Ramesh Bajaj change over the centuries. In the 19th century RI Dist 3090 DG Vijay Arora doctors did not know how to prevent infection. RI Dist 3100 DG Manish Sharda In field hospitals doctors cut off hands and legs of soldiers who suffered RI Dist 3110 DG Dinesh Chandra Shukla even minor limb injuries, fearing gangrene. All this has changed in the last RI Dist 3120 DG Karunesh Kumar Srivastava RI Dist 3131 DG Rashmi Vinay Kulkarni two centuries. Pills, injections and surgeries save us from various illnesses RI Dist 3132 DG Harish Motwani and injuries today. RI Dist 3141 DG Sunnil Mehra The average life expectancy in India has jumped from around 31–32 RI Dist 3142 DG Dr Sandeep Kadam years in the early 1950s to 70 years in 2018. The focus now is increasingly RI Dist 3150 DG Nalla Venkata Hanmanth Reddy on preventive healthcare. Preventive care helps detect or prevent serious RI Dist 3160 DG B Chinnapa Reddy diseases and medical problems. Today non communicable diseases (NCDs) — RI Dist 3170 DG Sangram Vishnu Patil including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, lung diseases, kidney failure and RI Dist 3181 DG M Ranganath Bhat RI Dist 3182 DG B Rajarama Bhat cancer — are common health problems across the world. NCDs account RI Dist 3190 DG B L Nagendra Prasad for nearly 5.8 million deaths in India. One in four Indians is at risk of dying RI Dist 3201 DG Jose Chacko Madhavassery from an NCD before he/she can reach the age of 70. Many of these chronic RI Dist 3202 DG Dr Hari Krishnan Nambiar diseases are preventable, as they are linked to poor diet and lifestyle choices RI Dist 3211 DG Dr Thomas Vavanikunnel including tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption and inadequate RI Dist 3212 DG P N B Murugadoss physical activity. RI Dist 3231 DG K Pandian Sugar is more dangerous than gunpowder. A person is more likely to die RI Dist 3232 DG S Muthupalaniappan RI Dist 3240 DG Subhasish Chatterjee from drinking too much cola than being blown up by a terrorist attack. The RI Dist 3250 DG Rajan Gandotra biggest problem is not the junk we eat but the nutritious food we don’t eat. RI Dist 3261 DG Fakir Charan Mohanty The good news is that you have the power to help prevent chronic disease by RI Dist 3262 DG Saumya Rajan Mishra making positive diet and lifestyle changes to help reduce risk. RI Dist 3291 DG Sudip Mukherjee In this Disease Prevention and Treatment month we once again focus on Rotary’s Project Positive Health — Stop NCD. Its three important pillars are: Lifestyle modification — the Ek chamach kum, char kadam aage campaign; Printed by P T Prabhakar at Rasi Graphics Pvt Ltd, Regular check-ups — the ‘Know your Numbers’ campaign and Awareness — 40, Peters Road, Royapettah, Chennai - 600 014, India, and published by P T Prabhakar on behalf amongst Rotarians, our community and especially amongst school children. of Rotary News Trust from Dugar Towers, 3rd Flr, The One spoon less (of salt, oil and sugar); four steps forward (regular exer- 34, Marshalls Road, Egmore, Chennai 600 008. cise daily) and ‘No Tobacco’ should become the guiding mantras for all. Editor: Rasheeda Bhagat. This pandemic has also brought into sharp focus the issue of mental health. The stigma associated with mental health conditions needs to be The views expressed by contributors are not replaced with empathy, support and medication, and underscoring the impor- necessarily those of the Editor or Trustees of tance of mental health in the overall well-being of an individual. The focus Rotary News Trust (RNT) or Rotary International (RI). No liability can be accepted for any loss should be on a sound mind in a sound body — mens sana in corpore sano. arising from editorial or advertisement content. Contributions – original content – is welcome but the Editor reserves the right to edit for clarity or length. Content can be reproduced with permission and attributed to RNT. Dr Bharat Pandya RI Director, 2019–21

8 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

P_RI Direstors Message_Trustees list_December 20.indd 8 28-Nov-20 7:57:55 PM Board of Permanent Trustees & RI Directors Executive Committee PRIP Rajendra K Saboo RI Dist 3080 PRIP Kalyan Banerjee RI Dist 3060 Rotary Zone Institute RIPE Shekhar Mehta RI Dist 3291 PRID Panduranga Setty RI Dist 3190 2020–21 PRID Sushil Gupta RI Dist 3011 PRID Ashok Mahajan RI Dist 3141 PRID P T Prabhakar RI Dist 3232 otary prioritises the safety and health of PRID Dr Manoj D Desai RI Dist 3060 Rour participants, and the RI Board has been PRID C Basker RI Dist 3000 continuously assessing local and global health TRF Trustee Gulam A Vahanvaty RI Dist 3141 conditions when making decisions about Rotarians RID Dr Bharat Pandya RI Dist 3141 gathering around the world. Based on a thorough analysis of a variety of RID Kamal Sanghvi RI Dist 3250 factors, and in sync with the RI Board policies, the Zone Institute committee RIDE A S Venkatesh RI Dist 3232 has decided to conduct the 2020–21 Rotary Institute for Zones 4, 5, 6 and 7 RIDE Dr Mahesh Kotbagi RI Dist 3131 virtually during January 15–17, 2021. I believe the committee’s decision is the best one based on current Executive Committee Members (2020–21) conditions, though I understand that you may be disappointed not being able DG Sanjiv Rai Mehra RI Dist 3011 to gather in Kochi. I personally assure you that the Institute team will leave Chair – Governors Council no stone unturned to create a high quality Rotary experience for a successful DG Sudip Mukherjee RI Dist 3291 virtual Institute. The programme will be robust and will include updates on Secretary – Governors Council Rotary programmes, initiatives, and inspirational speakers from the world over. DG Sangram Vishnu Patil RI Dist 3170 Enjoy the Zone Institute — The Odyssey, a virtual experience — from the Secretary – Executive Committee comfort and safety of your home or office. DG Prashant Harivallabh Jani RI Dist 3060 Block the following dates: January 15, 16 and 17, 2021. Time: 4 to 8 pm. Treasurer – Executive Committee Registration fee for RI officers (past, present, current and incoming): DG S Muthupalaniappan RI Dist 3232 `2,500. (Registration fee for spouse is waived.) Member – Advisory Committee Registering for the Institute will give you: • Access to passcode for the virtual space. ROTARY NEWS / • A gift for you and your spouse. ROTARY SAMACHAR • Access to Rotary booths and other facilities. Editor • Certify that you attended the virtual institute. Rasheeda Bhagat Registering for the Zone Institute shows your commitment to the programme and will only defray a small portion of the actual expense. I look Senior Assistant Editor forward to 100 per cent participation of the RI officers at the Institute on the Jaishree Padmanabhan virtual platform.

Kochi Institute Registration Refund ROTARY NEWS / We will begin the process of refunding your registration fees for the Kochi ROTARY SAMACHAR Institute from December 15 with no cancellation charge. We will also auto- ROTARY NEWS TRUST matically register you for The Odyssey — Rotary Institute 2020–21 and send 3rd Floor, Dugar Towers, the balance amount after deducting `2,500. 34 Marshalls Road, Egmore However if, for some reason, you do not wish to register for the Institute, Chennai 600 008, India. please inform Institute Chair PDG Sanjay Khemka who will do the needful. Phone : 044 42145666 e-mail: [email protected] Website: www.rotarynewsonline.org

Kamal Sanghvi Now share articles from RI Director, 2019–21 rotarynewsonline.org on WhatsApp.

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 9

P_RI Direstors Message_Trustees list_December 20.indd 9 28-Nov-20 7:57:56 PM P_Chennai’s flower sellers move from fragrance to frustration.indd 10 11/27/2020 5:04:25 PM Chennai’s flower sellers move from fragrance to frustration

Kiran Zehra

The lockdown and the corona pandemic have spelt death knell of the famed flowers sellers of Chennai. They are coping with a tsunami of turmoil, as they sell their fragrant and colourful wares in this coastal city.

alyani’s fingers move fast as she selling enough. So, our work has been twists the thread and adds fresh reduced,” she sighs. Stringers, she says, K malli poo (jasmine) to the long could easily make `100–150 a day earlier. flower string she is knitting together. “But now we make `10–25. How will that Seated beside her on plastic sheets two be enough? Do you know we have eaten other women — Rani and Vimala — are nothing in the last seven months other working on their flower strings too. For 35 than rice kanji (porridge)?” years now the trio have met every day at Not much is different for the flower 5 am in front of a pawn shop at the Perambur vendors either. Rolls of scented malli market in Chennai to string flowers for strings, bright and colourful samanthi and a vendor. “Except for the lockdown, we sampangi (chrysanthemum, marigold), were busy all through the years,” says vibrant December poo (Philippine violet) the 62-year-old Kalyani, adding, “those were the worst months of our lives. For three days I survived on biscuits and water because I wasn’t prepared and everything Stringers could easily make happened so suddenly and quickly.” `100–150 a day earlier. But now In the pre-corona days, “oru muzham (a cubit measured from the elbow to we make `10–25. Do you know we the tip of the middle finger) ku oru have eaten nothing in the last seven ruba kadaikum (we used to get `1 per measure),” Rani says. But now that has months other than rice porridge? been reduced to 25 paise. “The more Rani, a flower vendor. we string the more we make now. But unfortunately, the vendor herself isn’t

P_Chennai’s flower sellers move from fragrance to frustration.indd 11 11/27/2020 5:04:26 PM and pink jasmine, adorn Disappointed after three flowers.” Pointing at the time at all as we are still the roadside stall owned failed attempts of hawking, few rupee coins and a bearing the aftermath of by Sumathi, at the Kilpauk she says “nobody’s buying! couple of `10 notes on the lockdown.” After her Gardens. She waits to Last November the road her rugged stall, she says husband’s death, she began catch the eye of the few was abuzz with walkers, “this is all I have made so selling flowers for a living. passersby and calls out joggers, and temple goers far today. You can check “It was a flourishing busi- “aaiya poo vangi konga and by 7.30am I would under the covers too. This ness earlier and I got both (Sir, please buy flowers).” have sold most of my is all I have got and am my daughters married with returning home with this the money I made from poor income.” selling flowers and had to Has anything changed take a very small loan.” Her It was a flourishing business earlier and for better for these ven- daily income has plunged I got both my daughters married with the dors after the puja and rapidly from `500–`850 to Diwali season arrived? In `150 and during the lock- money I made from selling flowers and response, Kamala Amma, a down her total borrowings had to take a very small loan. 75-year-old flower vendor, piled up to `30,000. says, “what Diwali? It “I can only hope to pay doesn’t feel like a festive back interest now and will

Vendors at the wholesale flower market at Madhavaram, Chennai.

P_Chennai’s flower sellers move from fragrance to frustration.indd 12 11/27/2020 5:04:42 PM has been lifted. There is of malli and says “take it some hope that our situa- amma, no one else is going Everyone has suffered from the lockdown and tion will change. Everyone to buy it anyway.” has suffered from the “Like Swiggy, that tells the situation could have been worse. We could lockdown and the situation you the body temperature have got infected and died because of corona. could have been worse. We of the delivery boy, I wish could have got infected and there was a way to tell that Susheela, another vendor. died because of corona.” the flowers we sell are Navratri and Diwali are not infected. This way we the best seasons for flower could sell flowers without vendors. “We make good being looked at like people have to visit my grand- flowers to devotees and money during this season. who will infect you,” says daughters empty-handed housewives. How can But this Navratri, as the Soundar, who has a flower for Diwali,” she rues, anyone worship without rates were down, we made shop at the Perambur almost bursting into tears, flowers?” very little money, but that bazaar. but manages to control her is a hundred times better Both Malathi and emotions. Some feisty women than no money at all.” She Rekha worked as office Let’s not forget that And yet, they show resil- offers me a free muzham attenders, but lost their jobs most of these vulnerable ience. Susheela, another during the lockdown. sections borrow money at vendor, says “at least we “My office closed in April abominable interest rates have got work to do and I received a salary for that range between 120 to now that the lockdown three months after which 500 per cent an annum, and even more. In some cases, especially among vegetable Susheela waits for customers vendors, a loan of `50 in at her roadside flower shop. the morning has to be paid off at the end of the day with `100. Work the math. Kanamma, a roadside vendor, is lost in thought and snaps at me in response to my question. “There is nothing to say. I don’t know if I will be able to sell even one garland today. If you aren’t here to buy flowers, please leave.” A few yards away a mother and son sit at their roadside stall awaiting customers. “I did not send my son to school. All he knows to do is to sell flowers! I’m not scared for myself but his future. This is not just a job, it’s our life,” says the mother who blames Covid for “destroying our traditional trade of selling

P_Chennai’s flower sellers move from fragrance to frustration.indd 13 11/27/2020 5:04:45 PM 20,000 people earning beautiful flowers. Some their livelihoods there. of us borrowed money to Sumathi shows The market complex buy the flowers hoping her meagre was shut after it emerged to make money. But earnings. as a Covid hotspot in everything seems to be April. Senthil, a whole- going against us now.” sale flower vendor from The ride to the Koyambedu, who had Madhavaram wholesale no choice but to move to flower market, which Vanagaram, says, “only was set up as a temporary 50 per cent of flowers measure to move vendors arrived at the market out of the Koyambedu compared to last year and market complex, is to add to our problems bumpy as the approach it rained exactly before road badly needs repair. Ayudha puja. Most of our But no pucca roads, flowers were spoiled as makeshift tents of plastic there is no facility to store sheets and bamboo to them. Whatever arrived in store and sell flowers the market could not be isn’t that bad a deal for sold because everyone is the vendors who have too scared to buy. We had moved there. “Everything no choice but to dump the is alright. Even if there

The Koyambedu market complex that once housed 4,000 shops with 20,000 people earning their livelihood was shut after it emerged as a Covid hotspot.

I was told that I will be and during the day works contacted if the office as domestic help in three opens again,” says Rekha. homes. No call came for another two months and “I couldn’t Wholesale market scene depend on my drunk Flowers, along with fruits husband to support my son and vegetables, are traded and me.” She asked her at the Koyambedu whole- aunt who sold flowers by sale market since 1996 and the railway station for help. the complex once housed Now Rekha sells flowers close to 4,000 wholesale in the morning and evening and retail shops with over

14 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

P_Chennai’s flower sellers move from fragrance to frustration.indd 14 11/27/2020 5:05:00 PM Those must be about 100 tonnes of different flowers that were battered in the rain last month. That isn’t garbage, it’s our hard earned money turned into waste now.

Thirumal, a wholesale flower merchant.

was a problem what can 300 but the local vendors we do about it?” asks bought it wholesale at a Vijay, a commission much lesser rate and sold agent there. He says the at higher prices. “Our wholesale flower prices customers, the whole- in the city crashed ahead sale vendors, did not of Ayudha Puja because benefit as local vendors of the rains. Samandhi, he could not lift the newly says, was sold at `150– arrived stocks (at the 200 a kg while malli was wholesale end) because sold at `300 and sam- the retailers continued pangi was sold at `260 to to sell their flowers at

Kalyani, Rani and Vimala stringing flowers in front of the pawn shop in Perambur, inflated rates which puts up the plastic sheets on Chennai. off regular buyers”. Many the bamboo frame to pro- people across the city were tect his flowers from the unwilling to buy flowers rain. “We did not have to due to exorbitant prices. worry about the monsoon “We can’t blame the local rain affecting our busi- vendors either because no ness at Koyambedu.” he one has made money for a says and points to a huge long time,” he adds. pile of flowers dumped in Thirumal, a wholesaler the corner of the market at Madhavaram, points out and adds, “those must “we continue to struggle be about 100 tonnes of to make a living without a different flowers that proper marketplace to do were battered in the rain business. The Koyambedu last month. That isn’t market has pucca build- garbage, it’s our hard- ings, proper transportation earned money turned into and storage systems, and waste now.” enough workers to load and unload the flower Pictures by Kiran Zehra baskets.” As it starts drizzling, Designed by he runs to his shop to tie Krishnapratheesh

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 15

P_Chennai’s flower sellers move from fragrance to frustration.indd 15 11/27/2020 5:05:07 PM RC PuneSouth@50

RC Pune South turns 50 Rasheeda Bhagat

his June, the Rotary Club people in the forefront of this drive, improvement in their working condi- of Pune South, one of the the workers engaged in sanitation and tions, and providing enhanced safety oldest clubs in RI District drainage cleaning, work under almost measures for their health and hygiene. T3131, and with 100 mem- inhuman conditions. That one such The club, in partnership with the bers, completed its golden jubilee with worker dies every five days in India KAM Foundation, domain experts in a rush of remarkable service projects due to suffocation and other hazards this field, conducted a 12-day pilot in areas such as health and hygiene, is an embarrassing statistic for every training programme in the field and women’s empowerment, education Indian.” classroom for 35 “sanitation sol- and skilling, etc. Moreover, due to lack of knowl- diers”, as it called them, to bring According to the golden jubilee edge, these workers are careless about about in them behavioural change, president Abhijit Joag, one of its most safety measures they should undertake inculcate self-respect and pride in impactful projects during the year was and hence end up with all kinds of their work, and follow strict safety to bring dignity, self-respect and rec- infections, resulting in a much lower measures.” ognition to sanitation workers. He said, life expectancy. Recognising that all The workers were given a set “through Swachh Bharat, India has these workers are a demoralised lot, of personal protective equipment achieved phenomenal success in build- who feel that nobody cares for them that included a cap, goggles, mask, ing new toilets and creating awareness as they do a menial job, the club hand gloves, a jacket and gum boats. about cleanliness and hygiene. But the decided to take up their welfare and “We felt that universally a person in

16 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

K_RC Pune South turns 50 with a bang_1.indd 16 27-Nov-20 12:14:17 PM project was funded by Andreas STIHL, a German MNC, from its CSR funds. The first two batches that completed the training course were given certificates and safety kits in a with a bang meeting attended also by Parind Prabhudesai, MD, Andreas STIHL India, senior officers of Pune Munic- ipal Corporation, club members and their Anns. “The grateful and overwhelmed workers said for the first time they felt their work was important and recognised.” He added that such training programmes will bring a positive change in the lives of people at the bottom of the pyramid. The past president added, “we also wanted to give them a machine, costing around `10 lakh, that will dignify their labour. Andreas STIHL, which gave us the `20 lakh, is so happy with this project that they want to be further associated with us, but the corona pandemic has upset and delayed our programme. But it will be done.”

Making soap from goat milk Child beneficiaries Another iconic project of RC Pune of RC Pune South’s South is helping farmers’ families Suvarnakanya project. to make soap from goat’s milk. Joag explains that due to frequent droughts resulting from scanty rainfall, “in the uniform gets attention, recognition and Osmanabad district of Maharashtra, respect. The workers who attended this mere survival becomes difficult for We felt that universally a person programme discovered this too, and farmers and suicides are rampant here, in uniform gets attention, probably for the first time in their life, posing a huge challenge both for the felt good about themselves and their government and the voluntary sector.” recognition and respect. The work,” added Joag. To the rescue came the Shivar workers who attended this The club was quick to strike up Foundation, a group of youngsters, programme discovered this too, another important partnership with the who took on this challenge head-on Pune Municipal Corporation, which to offer a sustainable supplemen- DQGSUREDEO\IRUWKH¿UVWWLPH supported this activity and actively tary income to the families engaged in their life, felt good about encouraged their employees and con- in farming. Joag explains that the tract labour to get trained. Enthused by Osmanabadi goat is a unique breed, themselves and their work. the positive feedback from the partici- and “its milk has exceptional proper- Abhijit Joag pants and “the tremendous impact the ties that are really good for nourishing president (2019–20) programme had on their self-esteem and taking care of the skin.” One of RC Pune South and safety habits, the club extended the youngsters, who is in advertising, it to 1,000 sanitation workers and the first approached Joag on a commercial amount of `20 lakh required for this venture for making soap from goat’s

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 17

K_RC Pune South turns 50 with a bang_1.indd 17 27-Nov-20 12:14:17 PM milk. “But I felt that we should make the vast experience and knowledge of it a service project Rotary should be Rotarians in various areas of business involved as it is a farmers’ welfare and industry to help budding entrepre- Under the Suvarnakanya project project, and hence our club took it up.” neurs and mentor them through the dif- `20,000 was put into FDs for 50 Shivar (‘farm’ in Marathi) now ficult initial period of their business,” JLUOVEHORZWKHDJHRI¿YH7KLV buys goat milk, which would other- says PDG Arun Kudale. wise be thrown away, and it is now Thus, Rotary Udyojak Mitra amount, which will grow to over used by the agri-families, mainly worked closely with the Shivar Foun- `1 lakh, will be given to them women, who add to this milk, organic dation to develop a brand for the once they turn 18, to help with herbs and other natural ingredients, to goat milk soap, design its packaging, make goat milk soap. The Foundation develop a marketing strategy and plan their higher education. helps the farmers to market this soap, the launch. Rotarians also helped in costing about `150, and it is also avail- patenting the product and printing the able on Amazon. packaging boxes, with one Rotarian This project is linked to the larger volunteering to place this soap on project of the golden jubilee milestone. retail counters across India. Kudale adds that as the sales from Named the Rotary Udyojak Mitra, its The soap was launched in Novem- this soap may not be that substantial, objective is to enhance livelihoods ber 2019 in Pune by popular Indian the club also has plans to donate four and increase income “by leveraging cricketer Ajinkya Rahane. female and one male goat, costing `40,000, to farmers’ families in the area, “providing them an end-to-end Doctors performing a surgery at the endoscopic sustainable solution that will prevent surgery camp organised by the club in Ethiopia. farmer suicides.” Currently goat milk is being purchased from 250 families in one taluka of Osmanabad district, and in one year, the Shivar Foundation, with RC Pune South’s help, plans to cover 10,000 families across all the eight talukas of Osmanabad. district.

A surgical camp in Ethiopia The club also conducted an endoscopic surgery camp in partnership with the Lokmanya Hospital for Special Sur- geries, Pune, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the St Paul’s Hospital from Feb 10 to 15, 2020. Operations were done in general surgery, urology, orthopaedics and gynaecology. A team comprising four specialist surgeons, two anaesthetists and several Rotary volunteers worked with “both speed and commitment, and did about 100 surgeries, most of which were highly complex and critical,” says Joag. As doctors skilled in endoscopic surgery are not available in Ethiopia, many of the surgeries were being done

1818 ROTARYROTROTTARYA NEWSNEEWWSS DECEMBERDDEDECECCEEMEMBBER 20202020220

K_RC Pune South turns 50 with a bang_1.indd 18 27-Nov-20 12:14:18 PM Geetanjali Purohit (second from R) handing over books to a school principal and teachers.

for the first time in the African coun- football, and was “in huge pain for the Dr Suprashant Kulkarni treated her try, giving great relief to the patients last three years. Dr Bhushan Ganvir with a bloodless, endoscopic surgery.” living with pain and discomfort for conducted knee arthroscopy on him Another traumatised patient who extended periods. and he will be able to play football could not pass urine and stools nor- One of the operations performed again after four months. A woman mally as he was badly injured in an was on a young boy, who injured a suffering from a huge hernia could accident and had to live with the indig- ligament in the knee while playing not get treatment for eight months. nity of two bags attached to his body, which needed to be cleaned regularly, had Dr Sandesh Surana coming to him as an angel, and reconstructing both his tracts. Now the grateful patient will be able lead a normal life. These doctors, along with Dr Mukund Thatte, Dr Rajendra Gosavi and Dr Ganesh Ghongate, gave hands-on training to local doctors to perform these procedures and also gave lectures to both doctors and medical students. “This knowledge transfer and training was highly appreciated by the local medical fraternity. Our press conference, attended by India’s Ambassador Anurag Srivastava, was widely covered by the local media. We were invited to a meeting of RC Addis Ababa West, and met the presidents of all the Rotary clubs in Addis Ababa, and they all expressed their happiness and gratitude to us for helping the poor and needy patients in Ethiopia. We Abhijit Joag (L) and cricketer Ajinkya Rahane at the launch of goat milk soap. understand that this was the first ever

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 19

K_RC Pune South turns 50 with a bang_1.indd 19 27-Nov-20 12:14:21 PM international surgical camp organised by a single Rotary club in India, without any help or assistance from Rotary International,” he added. Of the `20 lakh spent on this medical camp, `10 lakh was donated by the Lokmanya Hospital in Pune and the other half was raised by the Rotarians. He added that the local doctors were “so grateful and overwhelmed that we wanted to do this camp every year but thanks to Covid, we might continue this project after a year’s gap.”

For gender equity Another worthwhile project which could be done thanks to the active involvement of the Anns, was a gender equity programme for girls from poor families titled Suvarnakanya project Sanitation work in progress. planned and executed independently by the women. Under this, `20,000 `1 lakh, will be given to these girls Other projects include publishing was put into an FD in the names of once they turn 18, and help with their a book in Marathi on 15 iconic entre- each of the 50 girls below the age of higher education. The strict condi- preneurs which was distributed to over five from low-income group families. tion is the girls should not be married 125 schools in and around Pune, the This amount, which will grow to over before 18. purpose being to inspire senior students to consider becoming entrepreneurs instead of being job seekers. The book reached about 50,000 students in these schools; to ensure they are read, a written test based on this book was conducted in about 50 schools. Over 5,000 students participated and the top three winners were given cash prizes of `10,000, 7,500 and 5,000. In Nov 2019 40 Rotarians and Anns from RC Pune South went on a car rally from Pune to Goa to promote the message of Swacchh Bharat. Dur- ing the Covid lockdown too the members did service such as distributing food packets to migrant workers, sanitisers, PPE kits, masks, etc to others. It’s not all work for these Rotarians. In Sep 2019, 50 members of the club enjoyed a three-night Mediterranean cruise and five nights in Spain. “Our Abhijit Joag gives a safety kit to a sanitation worker as Parind club has a history of such tours for 10 Prabhudesai, MD, Andreas STIHL India, looks on. years; this creates a strong bond of fellowship amongst members.”

20 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

K_RC Pune South turns 50 with a bang_1.indd 20 27-Nov-20 12:14:23 PM Humankind is our business

n a foggy Christmas Eve in Vic- The year-end holidays are upon us. It is a time of giving torian London, the old miser sits and sharing, but it is not limited to our loved ones. It is also for Oat his desk. the people we have never met and will never see, for those who Bitter and disillusioned with the are not so fortunate as we and could use a helping hand. The world, Ebenezer Scrooge has only one miracle of giving that Scrooge discovered on Christmas Eve interest: his bottom line. He declines his is exactly what The Rotary Foundation does 365 days a year. nephew’s invitation to Christmas dinner, Our Foundation serves simultaneously as charity and per- refuses to support the poor and deprived, former in the field; Rotarians are on the ground, volunteering and reluctantly grants his underpaid clerk, Bob Cratchit, time their skills and business expertise in support of grants that are off for Christmas Day. funded by you. In this way, we carry out some of Rotary’s most After he arrives home, strange things begin to happen. important work, such as protecting mothers and their babies Jacob Marley, his deceased business partner, appears as a and helping communities recover from the shocks of Covid-19. ghost tethered to a chain, telling Scrooge to change his Please remember The Rotary Foundation during this sea- self-centered ways, lest he meet the same fate. son of generosity. Remember that your gifts to the Foundation That is the premise of A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens’ amplify our work in all areas of focus. They are perpetuated, classic tale of a man’s transformation from hardened recluse not just today but long after we are gone. And the Foundation to generous humanitarian. To me, it offers valuable lessons will continue to work its miracles in service to others tomor- for all, regardless of belief or time of year. row as long as we keep supporting it today. On behalf of TRF In one of my favourite passages, a spirit magically trans- Trustees, I thank you for sending your generous contribution ports Scrooge to the Cratchit household. There, he sees his before December 31. clerk from a new vantage point, observing a humble but heart- felt holiday gathering. Scrooge then understands that gifts like friendship, family and gratitude can’t be recorded into any ledger. By the end of the story, Scrooge has learned the most important lesson of all: that as long as we are still alive, it’s K R Ravindran not too late to devote ourselves to serving humankind. Foundation Trustee Chair TRF: A beacon of hope

e celebrated a subdued Diwali do good in the world, it needs contri- officer to another. Wa few days ago. In November, butions, especially to the Annual and Please do confirm we also celebrated The Rotary Foun- Polio Funds. who your current dation month. Diwali signifies victory My fellow Rotarians, it’s more than regional grants of good over evil, light over darkness, likely that the World Fund for global officer is. For many knowledge over ignorance, and hope grants will be exhausted by end Decem- areas, there is no over despair. And isn’t ‘hope’ what our ber, if not earlier. This only strengthens change. Foundation provides to those who face the fervent appeal to give to the Annual Thank you for despair? Yes, Diwali and TRF’s objec- Fund because more money there will your patience as your Foundation staff tive of doing good in the world are so mean more in the World Fund. adjusts to these changing assignments similar! Diwali is a never-ending quest We, the TRF Trustees, are grate- and the increase in files handled by each for light. For many, the light they seek ful for your support to the Foundation grants officer. We value your support to is at the end of the tunnel. and recognise that the Trustees must our Foundation so that it continues to For over a century, TRF has been also take steps to address the financial keep doing good in the world. the torch-bearer which carries the bea- pressure on the World Fund result- con of hope for millions of people. TRF ing from Rotarians’ strong interest in needs you to contribute by monetarily implementing global grants. As a result, lighting the diya that provides hope the Rotary grants staff has been restruc- for those in the dark tunnel in need of tured. This necessitated that some grant Gulam A Vahanvaty our support. For TRF to continue to files be moved from one regional grants Trustee, The Rotary Foundation

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 21

Trustee Chair's Message + Gulam Message - December 2020.indd 21 11/26/2020 8:48:00 PM Challenges and opportunities for Rotarians in a post-Covid world K R Ravindran

ords cannot express the let me dwell a bit on the elephant in the They had ideas about how it might begin gratitude the Trustees feel room. And when it’s there, you can’t infecting people and how easily trans- Wfor those of you who have pretend it isn’t and just discuss the ants. missible it could be, and even plans on so generously contributed to the Foun- At a meeting in Feb 2018 at the how to detect and stop it. But when the dation. As Goethe said “Enough words WHO headquarters, a group of scien- disease did come they found they were have been exchanged; now at last let tists met to discuss and plan what they caught flat-footed. me see some deeds!” And the donors had warned and expected for decades: As someone said, governments we recognise today have certainly acted an unknown pathogen with no known spend trillions of dollars to build vast on that principle. treatment or cure that would likely militaries, track the movement of armies Today our Endowment consists of originate in animals, jump to humans across the planet and practise wargames. $500.5 million in net assets and $838.3 and start spreading silently and quickly. And yet the world was unprepared to million in commitments, for a combined Scientists couldn’t predict the precise defend itself against a tiny microbe about total of $1.34 billion. Today we have genetic makeup of the pathogen, or one 10,000th the size of a full stop at the 1,096 Arch Klumph Society members; when it would strike. But they knew it end of a sentence. Till now, over 46 mil- 37,675 Major Donors and 1,765,280 Paul would come and even picked locations lion people have been infected and over Harris Fellows. But as I face you today, where such a virus might originate. 1.2 million have died around the world.

22 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

K_Challenges and opportunities before Rotarians in a post-Covid world_3.indd 22 28-Nov-20 1:22:54 PM When one dies of Covid, the death its without tables and benches? How do often a lonely death, usually in a hospi- our cadre members visit project sites? tal, the victim saturated with fear, seeing And how do our scholars thrive in an Governments spend trillions of only ghostly figures covered in a space isolated environment when they don’t dollars to build vast militaries. suit with not a friendly face in sight. have a campus to go to? Yet the world was unprepared Grieving families have to further incur The new clubs that are being indignities — no proper funerals, hurried formed and the old clubs being lost are to defend itself against a tiny burials, barely a chance to mourn. both happening in a virtual world not a microbe about one 10,000th the And there are also other costs. The real one. TRF’s response to Covid was equivalent of nearly 400 million jobs swift and impactful. We awarded 319 size of a full stop. have been lost. IMF says global out- Covid specific disaster response grants put will fall five per cent this year; far for $7.2 million. And we awarded 331 worse than during the financial crisis of Covid global grants for proximately 2008. The World Bank says 100 mil- $21.7 million, making a total outflow the most, and is most challenged, when lion people will be pushed into extreme of nearly $29.6 million in a matter of people face independent threats, when poverty. The World Food Programme weeks. Many grants were processed customary ways of working are no believes that a wave of hunger and and awarded in days. Our staff did a longer possible, and when confusion famine threatens to sweep across the fabulous job. and anxiety overflow. globe. UNICEF says 872 million stu- In fact, the world over, the phil- During crises, leaders must make dents in 51 countries are unable to go anthropic response to the Covid pan- tough choices so that their organisations to school and vaccination rates among demic has been phenomenal. At least can survive in the short term and thrive children has dropped badly. And we see $10.3 billion have been donated glob- in the long one. And one of the tough governments grappling with the diffi- ally by May 2020. All this augurs decisions we made with great unhappi- cult decision — should we shut down well for Rotary which relies on ness was to eliminate for the moment to keep people alive or should we stay philanthropic-minded people and enti- the 50 per cent match TRF gave from open to keep the economy going? Either ties to raise funds. its World Fund to cash contributions choice comes with drawbacks. from clubs for next year. The problem Challenges is that our global grants have become Covid vaccine The flip side is that Rotarians themselves so popular that we have now become Finding a vaccine is the only answer to face unprecedented challenges. Many victims of our own success. For exam- all these travails. But even if we do, the Rotarians have lost jobs, and some have ple, in 2013–14 there were 868 grants painful truth is that we are not returning even succumbed to the virus. We have worth $47 million; in 2018–19 there to a pre-Covid-19 world, the recovery all lost those who are near and dear. The were 1,403 grants worth $86 million. So is a long way off and it isn’t likely to income of many others remains slashed. contributions increased by 10 per cent, be smooth. When a vaccine emerges, The businesses of so many Rotarians whereas the global grants increased by making and administering billions of have seen substantial drop in revenues 80 per cent. doses will take much of next year. Early and some are struggling to meet recur- Our expenditure on our GGs only vaccines may well need two shots, and ring costs. In this situation it’s a worry in the months of July and August was complex cold chains to keep them fresh. whether our membership numbers on $48 million, compared to a budget of Medical glass could run short. Freight- the one hand and contributions to TRF $16 million and a comparison of $19 ing these vaccines across the world in on the other hand could suffer. million for the corresponding months cold boxes will be a challenge. IATA But history shows that Rotarians in the previous year. We funded 715 estimates that we need 8,000 747 air- have always been resilient and able to projects this year in these two months craft to deliver all the vaccines! withstand challenges that others might alone as against 271 last year for the Life for us will certainly be different — succumb to. They are visionaries; an same period. We were extraordinarily at least for some time. When we are not idealistic lot that dream big; and dream successful! mobile how can our members see the of a better world. However, TRF trus- But there is a negative aspect to this. sickness left uncared for; how do we see tees do have an onerous responsibility As each of you know you have to put the parched land which requires water; of steering our Foundation at this most money in the bank to draw it out! We how do we notice bare classrooms challenging of times. Leadership matters have reached the point that the money

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 23

K_Challenges and opportunities before Rotarians in a post-Covid world_3.indd 23 28-Nov-20 1:22:54 PM Rotarians are putting in is not keeping ones who can play a significant role in The way we communicate what we pace with the money we are giving out the distribution of Covid vaccines when do, needs to change. to fund projects. Not surprising, since it is time to do so. I ask you to be hopeful, and remind nearly 20 per cent of our clubs do not In fact, just last week the London you to not forget, that we will be meas- contribute to our Annual Fund. Times commented that by working ured on our ability to handle the cur- I must compliment J B Kamdar together and learning from the success- rent adversity and uncertainty. We of your club who is doing a great ful polio vaccination by Rotary Interna- have a responsibility to provide the job in increasing contributions to our tional and others, we can consign other inspired leadership our members yearn Annual Fund. These supporters of the deadly diseases, including coronavirus, for, to serve as a lighthouse for our Annual Fund are the ones who have to the history books and save many more Foundation, when the fog of life seems the vision to see what others cannot — millions of lives. The polio infrastruc- to leave you wandering in circles, and the problems, potential, promise and ture Rotary helped build is being used to demonstrate in action our support for the purpose. help prevent the spread of Covid-19 by our Foundation in a tangible manner. Apart from Annual Fund which supporting preparedness and response Also, the responsibility to vin- drives our World Fund, you are the activities in many countries, just as it did dicate the figure that Johns Hopkins ones who can see that we have to raise in the past to respond to outbreaks of University put on the value of work enough money for Polio and be able to Ebola, yellow fever and the avian flu. done by Rotarians in terms of volun- take advantage of the Gates match. It So you see the nature of the busi- teer hours spent — $850 million per makes business sense when $1 of your ness we do has not changed. We are still annum. If we have faith in God and DDF is matched by $1 from the World reaching out to people in distress, except step out boldly, we will succeed. Fund and those $2 is doubled by the that our methodology needs to change. Excerpts from the speech deliv- Gates Foundation to make a total of Our process of preparing and delivering ered by the Trustee Chair at a webinar $6! And speaking of Polio, you are the the project needs to change. hosted by the Rotary Club of Madras.

otary Club of Pune Sports City, R RID 3131, provided solar lanterns to light up the tents of the Dhangars, a nomadic community of shepherds who roam around the hilly grassland of the Solar lanterns illuminate Saswad region near Pune. They are basically from south shepherds’ tents Maharashtra and reside here for four months during the monsoons letting Team Rotary News their cattle graze on the grass and then migrate to the Konkan region during summer. The local landlords allow free grazing and camping for them in exchange for the cattle droppings that serve as organic manure. The weeds on the land also serve as fodder for the cattle. Plastic sheets serve as tents to protect them and their meagre belongings. “Oil lamps were being used to light up their ‘homes’. They eke out a living them fuel costs and safeguard them from about this urgent need of the Dhangars selling milk and other cattle produce wild animals such as wolves, hyena and and helped in distributing the lanterns. and the oil cost cuts a huge hole in their reptiles. In the next phase the club plans to pro- pockets,” says club member Sandesh The Grassland Trust run by about vide lanterns to the Pardhis, another Savant. These solar lanterns will save 100 young volunteers alerted the club nomadic tribe near Morgaon in Pune.

24 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

K_Challenges and opportunities before Rotarians in a post-Covid world_3.indd 24 28-Nov-20 1:22:56 PM ADV_varnajalam.indd 25 27-Nov-20 12:04:38 PM Doing good with TRF help

RC Bombay mends little hearts with help from two global grants

Rasheeda Bhagat

ith the help of two suc- 2018–19 for $175,285 (about `1.26 with a much bigger GG — $509,653 cessful global grants, and crore). Till now, we have completed and have already received an initial Wa dedicated team manning 97 surgeries, through the first grant amount of $255,780 equivalent to its paediatric heart surgery project, and six more through the second one. `1.9 crore The balance amount of `1.9 Rotary Club of Bombay, RID 3141, We have already disbursed or commit- crore will be disbursed by them once has been helping to mend the hearts of ted over `1 crore for this project. Dur- we utilise the first tranche,” he added. children and the figure has crossed ing this year alone, we have As the corona pandemic hit India, the 100 mark, with the children completed 25 surgeries there was a lull in this programme as operated upon being 103. and expect to complete “due to the fear of Covid-19 and strict “Our club had applied another 25 surgeries government rules, families were reluc- for a GG along with RC in the coming months tant to attend health camps and admit Bombay Pier during and close this grant,” their children to hospitals. However, says past president of now with the relaxations in govern- the club Vijay Jatia. ment norms, this is changing and fam- He said that last ilies are now trusting hospitals to treat year, with many of their children, taking adequate precau- “our club members tions and observing safety norms,” generously con- said Swati Jagodia, a club member tributing money to involved in this project. Very recently, sponsor heart sur- six heart surgeries on children have geries for children, been successfully completed and the we applied to TRF patients discharged. Jaymin Jhaveri, chairperson of the paediatric heart surgery committee of RC Bombay, says the club identifies beneficiaries through health camps conducted in villages in partnership with hospitals such as the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, SRCC Hospital in Mumbai and the Rotary Haria Hospital, Vapi, Gujarat. These camps are attended by a cardiologist and a couple of doctors and tests are conducted on children brought here for complaints related to heart diseases such as breathlessness, murmurs in the heart, or palpitations. On the cost of the operation, he Alisfa Sayyad, a says hospitals do offer a special rate beneficiary, with

2626 ROTARYRROROTOTOTAARARYRYY NEWSNNEEWWS DECEMBERDDECECCEEMMBBERR 20202022020 0 her mother.

K_RC Bombay mends little hearts with help from two global grants.indd 26 28-Nov-20 7:41:04 PM for Rotary. Also, different hospitals have different categories and “our commitment is to drastically reduce the financial burden of the parents. Those who can pay five or 10 per cent of the money, do so and we take care of the rest. But the extremely poor who can’t offer to pay anything at all, get their child treated totally free of cost.” On an average a heart surgery, at a special rate, can cost about `1.5 –1.75 lakh. There are a bunch of government schemes that also offer financial relief for the treatment of the poor classes, and the hospitals help to get money from them for the economically- disadvantaged patients.

I catch up over phone with Chavhan, the father of four year-old Sahil, who was born with a common congenital heart defect known as Swapnil Pawar with his child Shivanya. AVSD (atrioventricular septal defect), loosely defined as a hole in the heart, Chavhan is a daily labourer who us turn to the reality of Chavhan’s which results in too much blood flow- used to cut sugarcane from the fields in life. He says since the lockdown was ing or gushing into the lungs and thus the Yawatmal district of Maharashtra. announced in March 2020, he has overworking one side of the heart. If His village is about 750km from found no work in the sugarcane fields. not treated, the right side of the heart Mumbai. He and his wife Gita were But he and his family have been eventually enlarges and weakens. really distressed at Sahil’s condition. saved from starvation thanks to the The blood pressure in the lungs can “He could walk but when he started common practice in agri families of also increase, leading to pulmonary playing or running, he would get buying their food grains annually. hypertension. breathless and his heartbeat would Chavhan too had bought three quintals increase terribly, frightening us.” of wheat, jowar (millet) and pulses, to As his daily wage hardly fetched last him a year. “So madam, we are him about `200–300 a day, there was managing to fill our bellies with that.” no way he could afford open heart sur- What about rice? gery for his child. He also has an older No, we don’t eat rice, he responds. Sahil could walk but when he started son, who is eight and “studies in an And how does he manage to buy playing or running, he would get English medium school,” Chavan tells subzi (vegetables)? me proudly. With a grim laugh, the man comes breathless and his heartbeat would Thanks to help from RC Bombay out with a shocking response: “We increase terribly, frightening us. and their paediatric heart surgery pro- have never purchased subzi in our ject, Sahil’s heart was repaired through lives. Where is the money to do that?” Chavhan an open heart surgery done in 2019. The And yet his elder son goes, not to IDWKHURI6DKLODEHQH¿FLDU\ child is now well “and has no problems.” a government school (“udhar padhai But to understand the kind of acchi nahi hei — the education is no people who get help from Rotary let good in those schools) but to an English

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 27

K_RC Bombay mends little hearts with help from two global grants.indd 27 28-Nov-20 7:41:05 PM Rotarians with doctors at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai. DGN Sandip Agarwalla (second from left), and past president Vijay Jatia (fourth from left) and IPP Preeti Mehta (centre) are also in the picture.

medium school. The commute to the little daughter. He is a migrant worker school is through an auto or a three- who has always worked in Andhra wheeler, for which he pays `500 a Little Shivanya Pawar, another Pradesh. The lockdown saw him month. “Another `500 goes for his child whose life this project has saved, returning home “as I had no work”. monthly fees. The total cost of his was born with a defective heart, which But now he is back at the shop in AP education is `25,000 a year.” her parents discovered a month after her where he works at a monthly wage of Gita adds to the family income birth, as she “struggled to breathe and `7,000. He tells me that though after by the money she gets from stitch- was perspiring all the time.” Her father the surgery Shivanya was fine, in the ing clothes. But even those are now Swapnil Pawar got a VSD (Ventricu- last couple of weeks she has not been reduced, and “she makes `300–400 in lar Septal Defect) closure done with keeping well. “We first admitted her a week,” he adds. help from RC Bombay. She was only to a local hospital near my home and That shows us the great impor- nine months old. Normally an opening she was given some treatment and was tance that even those in the poorer in the wall (septum) dividing the two okay. But yesterday, my wife told me segments of our communi- lower chambers of the heart (ventricles) that she has once again got fever and ties place on quality closes on its own before birth. When it a bad cold — earlier too she had got education.edducatiion. doesn’t, oxygen-rich blood in the left pneumonia — and I am very worried. chamber can mix with oxygen-poor They are rushing her to the Kokilaben blood in the right one, causing com- Hospital in Mumbai tomorrow.” 4-year-old plications for the baby. He too plans to take a train to Sahil Chavhan With Pawar being just a daily Mumbai, “but I had to get permission wage labourer, he could not afford to leave. I will take a train tomorrow to get his child treated. His family but it will take me 30 hours to reach lives in a village in Sangli district Mumbai,” says the distressed man. of Maharashtra “and it takes me One has little doubt that the dedicated over eight hours by bus to project team from RC Bombay will reach Mumbai,” he says. extend all possible help to ensure that Luckily for him, the child recovers and gets back home. under this paediatric Meanwhile this mega project con- surgery project, his baby tinues. “We have also planned a few was operated upon in Oct camps at various places in and around 2019 at the Kokilaben Mumbai to identify more children Ambani Hospital and afflicted with heart disease,” says she was fine for Jhaveri. some time. “If anyone wishes to recommend But when I any poor and needy child suffering reach Pawar by from a congenital heart disease, she phone, I find him can contact either me or Swati,” worried about his he adds.

2828 ROTARYROROOTTAARARYRRYY NEWSNNEEWSWS DECEMBERDECDECECEMBEMEMBMBERE 20202022 0

K_RC Bombay mends little hearts with help from two global grants.indd 28 28-Nov-20 7:41:06 PM Doing good with TRF help Two clubs donate 14 dialysis units in Bengaluru

Team Rotary News uring the Covid lockdown, two DRotary clubs in Bengaluru have joined hands to donate 14 dialysis machines to the Bangalore Kidney Foundation (BKF) at the newly-constructed block on the premises of the Rangadore Memorial Hospital. “PDG Sameer Hariani was supposed to inaugurate the new facility on March 14, but due to pandemic restrictions we have postponed the opening ceremony to a later date. All the machines are fully operational now for kidney patients,” says global grant chair U B Patients undergoing dialysis at the Bangalore Kidney Foundation. Shankar from Rotary Bangalore Northwest, RID 3190. The GG project needed some more, and next two years, as there a session, those from worth Rs 91 lakh has been we provided 14 machines, is growing demand from low-income families are done with support from ” says Shankar. The club kidney patients. charged `600 and dialysis RC Fort Collins Breakfast, has a goal to provide 100 While well-to-do is free for BPL patients, RID 5440, Colorado, US. machines in all over the patients pay `1,500-2,000 who are also given food or BKF is providing dial- foodgrains. ysis to patients suffering “We have done 14 GG from renal failure at many projects with our global hospitals in Bengaluru partner, RC Fort Collins for quite some time and We have done 14 GG projects with Breakfast, in over two its founder-chairman our global partner, RC Fort Collins decades,” says Shankar. Dr P Sriram, a Rotarian The local community in Breakfast, in over two decades. from Rotary Southwest, Basavanagudi is greatly cemented the partnership benefitted by this dialysis between the two clubs U B Shankar centre, especially during in this project. The new global grant chair Covid restrictions, adds BKF block already had RC Bangalore Northwest, RID 3190. KT Suresh, IPP, Rotary 50 machines, “but they Northwest.

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 29

Two clubs donate 14 dialysis units in Bengaluru.indd 29 11/27/2020 4:18:27 PM PDG Dr Tunji Funsho

ynergy Rotary is for Rotary. Rotary has Friendship Alli- been on this mission for A prelude to Sance comprising 35 years and incidentally 12 Rotary clubs from 10 that was the year I joined countries honoured Rotary. And I literally World Polio Day Dr Tunji Funsho, Rota- dived into handling polio ry’s Nigeria National eradication because PolioPlus Committee of my profession,” he Team Rotary News Chair, for his instrumen- recalled, addressing the tal leadership to eradi- online meet. cate polio in the African In 1996 when the region, at the Prelude to Kick Polio Out of Africa World Polio Day virtual initiative, following event hosted by RC Rotary’s recommenda- Ampara, RID 3220, Sri tion, was inaugurated by Lanka in October. former South African PDG (RID 9110) President Nelson Dr Funsho, a cardiologist Mandela, Africa was see- and a fellow of the Royal ing 70,000 cases of wild College of Physicians of poliovirus every year. London, was recently rec- This initiative galvanised ognised as one of Time’s the African countries 100 most influential peo- to launch regular mass WGM founder Susanne Rea (R) ple for 2020. “The award campaigns, going from

30 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

K_A prelude to World Polio Day_1.indd 30 27-Nov-20 12:05:10 PM About Synergy Rotary Friendship Alliance

ynergy is Rotary friendship alli- Participating clubs: Sance of 12 Rotary clubs from 10 RI District 3201/3202 RI District 3292 countries in Asia. Synergy aims to: RC Kalamaserry RC Thimpu, Bhutan z foster strong friendship among RC Cochin Harbour RI District 3292 clubs across nations RC Udumalpet Central, India RC Dhulikhel, Nepal z organise joint meetings on a RI District 3220 scale that a single club or coun- RC Ampara, Sri Lanka RI District 3300 try cannot do RC Melawati, Malaysia RI District 3271 z progress later to international RC Karachi, Pakistan RI District 3420 exchange programmes and RC Semarang Kunthi global grants RI District 3272 Indonesia z harness the power of the inter- RC Jalalabad, Afghanistan nationality of Rotary. RI District 3790 RI District 3281 RC Baguio Summer RC Dhaka Mavericks Capital, Philippines Bangladesh

house to house to make sure that Speaking at the meet, TRF readiness to meet the crises with more every child is protected with the oral Trustee Aziz Memon said that coordinated actions,” he added. polio vaccine. Nigeria was the last countries like Nigeria, Pakistan and Susanne Rea, founder of the African country to be declared polio- Afghanistan are leveraging Rotary’s World’s Greatest Meal (WGM), a free by WHO in August this year. existing PolioPlus infrastructure to funding initiative for eradication of “If we can do it in Africa, we can check the spread of coronavirus. “The polio, said, “from as little as a dinner do it in the world. If we can do it in battles for both, polio and Covid-19, for two and a minimum gift of $10, to polio, we can do it for any other kind are yet to be won, but the experience leaping out of a plane with a banner of intervention,” said Dr Funsho. with polio has provided Rotary the to raise awareness, to tramping in the wild bush with coffee and biscuits and then donate generously online, nothing is too small or too big!” A polio survivor herself, Susanne has been motivating Rotarians to organise various WGM programmes to raise awareness and funds for polio, and her efforts has helped raise $7 million so far, with matching funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The virtual event garnered more than 200 participants from Switzerland, the UK, Australia and Brunei. INPPC chair Deepak Kapur, Afghanistan Polioplus chair Mohammad Ishaq, RID 3220 DG Ajit Weerasange and DGE Cindy TRF Trustee Aziz Memon administering polio drops to a child. Bachtiar participated in the meet.

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 31

K_A prelude to World Polio Day_1.indd 31 27-Nov-20 12:05:11 PM Rallies, awareness campaigns mark World Polio Day

Kiran Zehra

From L: AG Ankur Garg and District 3011 secretary Mohit Anand Bhatia accepting a cheque for Polio Fund from RC Delhi Regency Next president Ashcharya Khanna.

3232 ROTARYROTROOOTAARARYRYR NEWSNEEWWSS DECEMBERDECCEMBE EERR 202020220200220

K_Rallies, awareness campaigns mark World Polio Day_1.indd 32 28-Nov-20 3:40:02 PM n World Polio Day, rally. “We received more than 500 more than 4,000 registrations, but had to curtail the Rotary clubs in 136 number of participants to only 125, countries hosted because of Covid restrictions,” Africa being declared polio-free around 6,000 events said district secretary Mohit Anand is a great achievement made Oto celebrate and raise funds to root Bhatia. An additional 100 Rotarians out polio from the world. INPPC from various clubs in the district possible by the dedication and chair PDG Deepak Kapur and were present to cheer the cyclists persistence of Rotary and its DG Sanjiv Rai Mehra flagged at the flag-off and various pitstops. off the Ride to End Polio cycle At every pitstop, the clubs in the global partners. rally organised by RID 3011 in region came forward and handed New Delhi. out cheques towards the Polio Fund M Pavan Kumar Despite Covid restrictions, there with RID 3011 collecting $10,000 president, RC Kakinada, RID 3020 was an overwhelming response towards this fund. Cyclists were from Rotarians to the End Polio seen sporting End Polio Now t-shirts

and caps in the 30km rally that ended at the India Gate, New Delhi. Addressing the gathering, Sanjiv Mehra said, “India is polio-free for the last ten years. But we have to be on our guards and create awareness about keeping the country polio-free as our two neighbouring countries — Pakistan and Afghanistan — are still polio endemic and there is always a danger of transmission. We must participate with enthusiasm in all the polio NIDs and help in administering the two life-saving polio drops to all children below five years.” In 2014, India was declared polio-free by the WHO after three years of reporting nil cases and now Africa has received such a certificate in August 2020. “Africa being declared polio-free is a great achievement made possible by the dedication and persistence of Rotary and its global partners. This year we celebrate a polio-free Africa, and hope to rid the world of polio soon,” said Pavan Kumar M, president, RC Kakinada, RID 3020. His club flagged off a car rally to mark World Polio Day. Rotarians visited a village, Boddu Chinna Venkatayapalem, near Kakinada, and conducted a polio awareness programme followed

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 33

K_Rallies, awareness campaigns mark World Polio Day_1.indd 33 28-Nov-20 3:40:03 PM With safety norms insisting on ‘stay home, stay safe’ we had a tough job deciding what impactful activity we could do on World Polio Day.

Ashwani Kinger president RC Bangalore Brigades, RID 3190 East Godavari SP Adnan Nayeem Asmi flags off the car rally organised by RC Kakinada, RID 3020.

Below: RC Dehradun, RID 3080, donated giant umbrellas with the Rotary Wheel and End Polio Now logo to local vendors.

by the distribution of immunity-boosting med- icines for children. The awareness programme was sponsored by polio chair Dr Shahzad Ali who expressed his disappoint- ment “that the pandemic has forced immunisation efforts to stop. All we can do at this point is to create awareness and help strengthen the immune system of children.” To create an impact and awareness on polio in the community RC Dehradun, RID 3080, conducted a Vintage Car Rally and a cycle rally. Forty cyclists from the Dehradun Cycling Club participated in the event alongside Rotar- ians. The vintage cars were decorated with polio awareness banners and the cyclists too displayed placards highlighting polio

34 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

K_Rallies, awareness campaigns mark World Polio Day_1.indd 34 28-Nov-20 3:40:06 PM Cycling rally by RC Kangra, RID 3070. RID 3232, Rotaract Clubs of Bangalore Golden Rocks and School of Ancient Wisdom, Ramaiah Institute of Man- agement Studies, Pres- idency College, AIIMS Institute of Higher Educa- tion, and Subhash Chan- dra Bose School took up awareness campaigns. Posters and placards were made and displayed in local languages, followed by street plays sensitising people on the importance of immunisation. The RC Bangalore Brigades, RID 3190, marked World Polio Day with an clubs also conducted awareness campaign in villages. a follow-up campaign before the National awareness. Bright umbrel- 50 members with all insisting on ‘stay home, Immunisation Day. las with the Rotary Wheel sanitation and hygiene stay safe’ we had a tough A Walk to End Polio, and End Polio Now logo protocols in check. RC job deciding what impact- an event by RC Kasargod, were distributed to roadside Bangalore Brigades, ful activity we could do RID 3202, helped create vendors. RID 3190, marked on World Polio Day. We polio awareness in the city. RC Kangra, RID World Polio Day with an decided to reach out to the Rotarians walked through 3070, conducted two awareness campaign in rural population and create residential areas and slums cycling rallies on Oct 37 villages in Tamil Nadu awareness.” to sensitise people. The 23–24 to celebrate World and Karnataka. Ashwani Alongside RC rally was flagged off by Polio Day. The event Kinger, club president, Kanakapura, RID 3190, Mahin Kunil, a polio survi- saw a participation of said “with safety norms and RC United Chennai, vor from Kasargod.

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 35

K_Rallies, awareness campaigns mark World Polio Day_1.indd 35 28-Nov-20 3:40:07 PM Help provide safe drinking water to the distressed Kevin Barclay

36 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

K_Help provide safe drinking water to the distressed1.indd 36 27-Nov-20 12:07:03 PM orldwide, there are over 800 Wmillion people who do not have access to safe drinking water. Infra- structure projects provide long-term solutions but do not provide disaster relief, and don’t go into con- flict zones. That is where Aquabox comes in — we are first responders, aiming to get our water filters to disaster zones as quickly as possible. Aquabox is a volunteer-led charity and community project, based in Derbyshire, England. It operates worldwide, providing safe drinking water (using filtration units) and about ways of improving challenges in getting our communities recovering humanitarian aid to crisis the aid box which the club aid through and ensuring from the aftermath of nat- zones and refugee camps was then sending to dis- its safe distribution. ural disasters such as hur- around the world. aster areas. Each box was We have a long- ricanes/cyclones. Recently Aquabox saw its filled by volunteer groups standing relationship with we supported communities beginnings at a Rotary with items like blankets, Nepal, supplying our aid who had been devastated by garden party in the early pots and pans, cutlery and boxes for rapid distri- the super cyclone Amphan 1990s. Mike Hoole and so on. Mike and Peter bution from Kathmandu in the Bay of Bengal. Peter Hare, both mem- thought there was a way to remote communities The next project, bers of RC Wirksworth, to make the box more affected by the all too working with a German England, were chatting useful. It could be used regular earthquakes, mud- Rotary club, is to deliver to hold water — preferably slides and landslips which filters to remote communi- for drinking. plague the area. ties in Senegal. Fast forward to the Although this was a As part of our due present era; in 2018–19 challenging activity for us, diligence, we ensure that Aquabox saw its Aquabox supplied water we were able to safely dis- all of our aid distribution beginnings at a Rotary filtration units capable of tribute our aid to Rohingya is managed locally by producing over 4,000 litres refugees fleeing Myanmar agencies who are famil- garden party in the early of drinking water every into Bangladesh iar with the communities 1990s, and has distributed minute, providing lifesav- The floods in Kerala affected and in all of the over 115,000 boxes to ing support to over 50,000 in 2019 brought further above cases, Rotary is the desperate people through- suffering to local inhabit- trusted partner and a major FRXQWULHVVX൵HULQJIURP out the world. ants. Aquabox was able to player in this work. QDWXUDODQGPDQPDGH Over the years distribute its water filters Since its formation Aquabox has provided sup- as an immediate response in 1992, Aquabox has disasters. port throughout Asia. We with further aid from us at distributed more than respond to both natural and a later date. 115,000 boxes of water man-made disasters and We have a a proud filters and aid, to countries at times face considerable record of working with suffering from natural and

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 37

K_Help provide safe drinking water to the distressed1.indd 37 27-Nov-20 12:07:03 PM man-made disasters, helping hundreds of thousands of people in more than 50 countries throughout the world. It is run entirely by volunteers, so we have extremely low overheads, which means that the majority of the money raised goes where it is needed. It relies entirely on donations and the fundraising activities of its supporters to fund the work and purchase the items which are supplied in the aid boxes. Historically, this support has come from within the Rotary fam- Risk Index where we of providing sufficient beneficial relationships ily; Rotary, Inner Wheel, are yet to ship filters; the filters to dispense water with companies with Rotaract etc. need is growing, With the to 100,000 people a year similar values. In return Aquabox is acutely increasing frequency of by 2025. for valuable support it can aware that it is only natural disasters, countless To do so, it realises provide a range of oppor- addressing a fraction of long-running conflicts that it needs to expand tunities to satisfy its part- the world’s need for safe and continuing political its traditional funding ner community’s social drinking water. Whilst we instability in vulnerable base beyond the Rotary responsibility objectives. have supported disasters regions, water supply is family, and is embarking So, whether you wish on all five continents, threatened. on a corporate partnership to support Aquabox as a there are many countries Hence Aquabox has initiative. It is keen to Rotary club, a corporate in the top 25 of the World set an ambitious target create long-term, mutually partner or an individual; any funding will provide much needed clean water to desperate people around the world. You can donate on the website; www.aquabox.org or the dedicated JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving. com/campaign/Aquabox It only takes a £250 donation to provide water filters which will supply enough clean water for 10 families!

For more information contact the writer, who is a Trustee, at kevin.barclay@ aquabox.org

38 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

K_Help provide safe drinking water to the distressed1.indd 38 27-Nov-20 12:07:10 PM District Wise TRF Contributions as on October 2020 (in US Dollars) District Annual PolioPlus Endowment Other Total EREY Donors EREY Number Fund Fund Funds Contributions (in numbers) % India 2981 21,880 2,206 5,000 0 29,087 122 2.5 2982 9,158 8,249 20,770 36,270 74,448 41 1.3 3000 5,890 4,439 10 10,800 21,139 34 0.7 3011 (5,325) 7,381 40,450 157,646 200,153 52 1.4 3012 10,025 1,141 0 8,329 19,495 40 1.1 3020 44,091 16,041 0 2,726 62,858 115 2.8 3030 3,233 1,839 0 127,975 133,048 41 0.8 3040 1,604 67 0 50 1,721 12 0.6 3053 9,733 303 0 60,668 70,703 27 1.0 3054 60,315 343 0 79,108 139,766 218 3.6 3060 29,907 (579) 22,100 57,642 109,069 615 14.1 3070 5,453 100 0 17,745 23,298 49 1.6 3080 13,277 10,113 0 0 23,390 61 1.9 3090 15,871 0 0 (736) 15,135 34 1.5 3100 12,805 252 0 4,224 17,280 9 0.4 3110 10,509 0 0 0 10,509 25 0.7 3120 0 1,769 0 (1,769) 0 0 0.0 3131 31,066 21,799 109,000 275,715 437,580 211 4.1 3132 4,145 2,010 0 3,801 9,956 22 0.7 3141 175,428 9,178 15,865 587,079 787,550 372 7.0 3142 92,130 5,311 0 4,693 102,134 296 9.2 3150 17,406 801 42,667 22,023 82,896 260 7.9 3160 5,712 4,908 16 0 10,637 22 0.9 3170 8,623 13,836 125 93,979 116,562 46 0.8 3181 9,416 1,538 0 7,050 18,005 30 0.9 3182 17,975 2,865 0 7,265 28,105 31 1.0 3190 35,243 3,577 25,000 111,859 175,679 329 6.6 3201 12,478 13,634 0 110,591 136,702 205 3.7 3202 26,279 12,277 8,468 10,272 57,297 92 1.7 3211 934 1,899 0 39,738 42,571 3 0.1 3212 13,262 15,570 14 44,733 73,579 15 0.4 3231 (513) 245 0 10,194 9,925 2 0.1 3232 616 23,373 2,000 99,850 125,840 53 0.9 3240 19,146 12,050 0 46,117 77,313 106 3.5 3250 2,239 241 0 93 2,573 10 0.3 3261 9,578 601 0 2,833 13,013 21 0.8 3262 2,721 1,801 0 0 4,521 10 0.3 3291 6,584 643 0 44,004 51,231 23 0.6 India Total 738,892 201,822 291,486 2,082,565 3,314,765 3,654 2.5 3220 Sri Lanka 22,946 5,371 0 15,015 43,332 106 5.6 3271 Pakistan 1,006 1,025 0 22,100 24,131 0 0.0 3272 Pakistan 17,450 9,725 0 1,063 28,237 93 5.6 3281 Bangladesh 39,102 3,880 1,000 68,923 112,905 288 4.1 3282 Bangladesh 8,205 2,560 0 7,670 18,435 9 0.2 3292 Nepal 17,303 7,813 0 94,780 119,896 284 5.7 South Asia Total 844,903 232,196 292,486 2,292,116 3,661,701 4,434 2.6 World Total 28,722,251 6,783,831 8,243,500 10,116,324 53,865,905 Source: RI South Asia Ofﬁce

TRF Details - December 2020 issue.indd 39 11/27/2020 3:06:32 PM RC Madras Pallava to raise funds through special souvenir

V Muthukumaran

IPE Shekhar Mehta celebrates pandemic had thrown up challenges government-owned Swayam Prabha every moment of his life. No, but also given the new opportunities channel. “We have made 1,400 videos Rthis is not a hyperbole… “Being and possibilities, he said, referring for the TV channel to broadcast the in Rotary is an occasion for celebration. to so many virtual meetings done by curriculum for students across India. We relive the moments we brought Rotarians. The content is now available in Hindi, smiles back on the faces of villagers by On the common question he had Gujarati, Marathi and Assamese. It will bringing them water, by serving people been asked about being “excited” at be translated into other languages too.” through various service projects, and we being nominated RI president, Mehta He thanked RIDE A S Venkatesh for rejoice in their happiness,” he said. said while it was a “great privilege to valuable inputs and ‘being a sounding He was speaking at the online have the top post”, what made him most board’ in the creation of the e-learning launch of a specially-crafted souvenir happy was doing things. The secret of curriculum. “There is nothing that can- by RC Madras Pallava, RID 3232, to his energy: “I am always happy.” not be done.” commemorate 100 years of Rotary in He said that a team under the guid- India. Rotary is a celebration of giving New opportunities ance of PDG J B Kamdar is working on ‘life’ to others, Mehta said and recalled Underlining the need to aim big and a coffeetable book which will feature the joy of an old woman in Nepal who keep doing big projects, Mehta said some of the milestone projects of Rotary had her vision restored after surgery in fundraisers can be done online, now India. RIDE Ventakesh noted this club both her eyes. “She saw her grandchild that “more Rotarians can attend online is known for thinking out-of-the-box for the first time and her joy was over- club meetings. My club (RC Calcutta and doing mega projects over the years. flowing from her Mahanagar) is now able to attract 2,400 “The souvenir will bring a sense of joy, face. That was participants at its virtual regular meet- enable newcomers to know more about a moment of ings.” Rotary India hosted one of its Rotary and old-timers to rededicate happiness largest fundraisers, Chhoti si Asha on themselves to the organisation.” All the for me.” The June 26, a huge PR exercise, in which 128 clubs in RID 3232 can make this a over a million took part, for three hours common district souvenir an occasion including Bollywood celebs and busi- to refresh their knowledge about Rotary nessmen. “This was made possible and its great lineage, he said. only because of the lockdown.” DG S Muthupalaniappan said When RC Delhi South the spotlight would be on India after West invited him to inaugurate Shekhar Mehta takes over as RI pres- a drawing contest for children, ident in 2021–22. Project Orange, an “I was a bit hesitant, but found eye care initiative with vision centres, 12,000 kids from 22 countries will soon get seven global grants worth had joined, instead of the $1.7 million and it will be implemented usual 6,000 participants from by 30 clubs. The project envisages 2.5 Delhi. Just look at the positive lakh eye surgeries and distribution of side of the lockdown.” over one million spectacles. From October, around 25 PDG Kamdar noted the strong crore students from Class 1–12 are foundation laid by charter president joining e-learning programmes, A L Chidambaram had motivated the RIPE Shekhar Mehta developed by Rotary, through the club members to do flagship projects

40 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

RC Madras Pallava to raise funds through special souvenir.indd 40 28-Nov-20 3:47:22 PM like Happy Village and Schools into of 100 years of Rotary in India with RIDE A S Venkatesh Smiles which were later adopted as something unique, during his tenure. district projects. “The past presidents “Our secretary D Ravi suggested we continue to be active in RC Madras Pal- should do a specially carved souvenir lava in designing and mentoring mega which can be sold to many Rotarians projects,” he said. and money raised for projects,” said In his speech, Chidambaram said 90 M V Robert, president, RC Madras per cent of the club members were Paul Pallava. The club hopes to sell 3,000 Harris Fellows, three were major donors, of these souvenirs — a beautifully two had made endowment gifts and one sculpted peacock Rotary and two was an AKS member. The club is ranked wheels — at `750 each. While 10 eighth in TRF giving in the district. per cent of the funds will go to TRF, Started in 1992 with 30 members, the rest will be used to reclaim a lake it now has 45 Rotarians drawn from in Thirumullaivoyal on the suburbs various professions. DGE J Sridhar, of Chennai. PDGs A Subramaniam, Babu Meanwhile, 50 per cent of the Peram, ISAK Nazar, A P Kanna, G work on creating giant murals has Olivannan, V Rajkumar and other also been done and “we will be district leaders took part in the meet. installing them at busy locations in IPDG G Chandramohan Chennai as a PR exercise,” added wanted to mark the celebration Robert. Addressing renal patients’ needs Team Rotary News

RC Pune Central, RID 3131, has a In keeping with this tradition, paediatric dialysis ward to address tradition of creating medical infra- the club installed six dialysis kidney failure in children. “The structure in Pune and has imple- machines at the KEM Hospital in waiting time for dialysis for renal mented multiple projects in eye care, February through a global grant patients has greatly reduced and cancer care and health awareness, funded from the CSR contribution the charges are subsidised for the where facilities are inadequate and of Arya Omnitalk Wireless Solu- poor,” says Lekha. expensive for the poor and needy, tions. The project cost `45,29,000 More recently the club installed says Lekha Nair, the club’s joint ($64,700). Two of these machines a dialysis ward at the Surya secretary and PR director. were installed at the hospital’s Sahyadri Hospital, which had a renal department but was divert- ing patients elsewhere for dialysis, through another global grant involving RC New City, RID 7210, US, and TRF. The facility, costing `95 lakh ($131,500), includes 13 dialysis machines, a washer and a bicarbonate mixer, and can serve 45 patients a day. Since the hospital is empanelled under the medical insurance schemes of the state and central government, dialysis is offered Rotarians at the dialysis centre in KEM Hospital, Pune. free for the poor here, she says.

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 41

RC Madras Pallava to raise funds through special souvenir.indd 41 28-Nov-20 3:47:23 PM Rasheeda Bhagat

s a little girl, Parul Bhatt papads and podis and other would watch in fascination, savouries as her friends Asquatting on the floor, as encouraged her to share with her grandmother turned out deli- a larger group her expertise in cious, aromatic, vegetarian food cooking. for the family, on her modest stove But the elegantly produced placed on the floor. As the various coffee table book — Parul’s Magic:gic: ingredients came to life under her Everyday delicious easy to cook expert hands, the little girl devel- Gujarati dishes — really took shape head that she should come out with oped a passion for cooking, which “when I was in the US in 2014, to a recipe book. only grew with the passing years. be with my elder daughter, during “But I had no idea how to go “Just like my grandma, my mother, her delivery,” she smiles. The newly about writing a recipe book, or for and also my foiba (paternal aunt) anointed mama and her younger that matter, writing anything at were great cooks, and I learnt so sister back in Chennai, then 22, all.” But while helping her husband much from them,” she says. both loved their mother’s cooking. Satyan Bhatt, a Rotarian, in the Her love for cooking trans- “Every night, when I chatted with family run PR business, and working formed into her marketing pickles, my younger daughter, she would closely with the late S Muthiah, complain that she doesn’t like the foodfood prepared by the cook. She was longinglo for my food. So I would compose on my iPad a simple recipe that she could prepare and then send it to her. She would try it out, share it with her colleagues at lunch in office and report back that they all loved the result,” smiles Parul. By the time she returned home from the US, she had a neat pile of about 40 recipes on her iPad. Of course they were all Lasun chutney, traditionaltrad Gujarati, vegetarian Kothamari chutney and Khajoor imli chutney. Khichdi recipes,recip and the idea took root in her

42 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

P_A treat for aficionados of Gujarati food.indd 42 11/27/2020 12:20:49 PM Lapsi (Kansar) Kansar Bhakshan is the first meal Lapsi or Kansar is a traditional Gujarati sweet served as Prasad, or prepared during any auspicious occasion in the family. My aunt used together for a couple immediately after to tell me that Kansar was one of the first sweet to be prepared in those the marriage. The bride’s mother brings days. This authentic sweet requires only four ingredients. Kansar on a plate and the couple feed It is also customary to make Kansar on the wedding day in a Gujarati family. each other to symbolise their union. Kansar Bhakshan ceremony: It is a first meal together for a couple immediately after the marriage. The bride’s mother brings Kansar on a plate and the couple feed each other to symbolise their union. a historian and passionate chronicler of Madras, on Madras Day, she once Ingredients told the latter about her dream to • 1 cup wheat flour coarse (like fine semolina) publish a recipe book. “After that, he • 2 tablespoons ghee for mixing would constantly ask me about the • 1 cup water progress I had made with this book. • ½ cup jaggery powder When I told him that frankly I had • For serving no idea how to go about bringing out • 4 tablespoons ghee such a book, he put me in touch with • ¼ cup castor sugar / powder Chandra PadmanabPadmanabhan (with expe- rrienceience iinn wrwritingiting and publishing).” Procedure This wwasa in 2016 and by • Take wheat flour in bowl and add now ParuParul’sl recipe bag had 2 tablespoons ghee and mix 60 inteinterestingr Gujarati thoroughly with your hand. rrecipes.ecipe Chandra gave • Take 1 cup of water in a heavy hherer oone entire week bottom pan or nonstick pan, add anandd ““over lengthy jaggery and boil it for 10 minutes sessisessions in seven days, or till jaggery melts. Remove from ggaveave me a very good the heat and strain it with steel idideaea aand constructive strainer to remove any impurities in susuggestionsgges on what and the jaggery. hohoww I shshould do the book. • Again boil jaggery water in heavy She said jjustu saying ‘add bottom pan, add wheat flour in boiling wwaterater Lapsi sasaltlt or water’ iiss not enough… and stir it thoroughly with wooden spoonn or specifspecifyy ¼ teaspoon of salt, two cups rolling pin. Make sure no lumps are there.e. of water, etc. Be specific. Because • Keep tawa / griddle under the pan and cover the pan with the lid. everybody is not an expert like you. Cook for 10 minutes on low heat. She taught me the importance of • Remove from the heat. Stir it with rolling pin and make sure there measurements and said: ‘Go back are no lumps. to your kitchen, make the dishes, • Add remaining ghee and mix thoroughly. Serve hot adding castor measure how much spices or water, sugar. oil or ghee you put into the dish and • You can mix this with your hand and serve. then write the recipe. She literally hand-held me through how a book Note: like this should be done.” • Quantity of water depends on the quality of wheat flour. Parul took her advice seriously, • If you find Lapsi too dry sprinkle or add little more water at the time went back to the drawing room — in of mixing. this case her kitchen — and rewrote

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 43

P_A treat for aficionados of Gujarati food.indd 43 11/27/2020 12:21:15 PM Thepla

Who would have guessed Theplas are Gujaratis’ ever green comfort food and they can never get tired of eating. that along with haldi, There are days when theplas find place at breakfast table with masala chai / pepper powder and honey, Tea, in kids lunch box with chundo and as a dinner with plain dahi and batata nu rasaloo shaak (potato in gravy). Theplas are Gujaratis’ travel and picnic you also have to put ghee companion also. into haldi milk? Masala Thepla Ingredients • 2 cups wheat flour • 2 tablespoons besan flour everything. Finally, the book • 4 teaspoons red chilli powder took both shape and structure • ¾ teaspoon turmeric powder and the result is this fasci- • 1 ¼ teaspoon salt nating book which has 142 • 1 ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds recipes, which promise you • 3 teaspoons sesame seeds Parul’s ‘magic’. • 3 teaspoons amchur (dry mango powder)wdder) Take for instance bajra • 2 tablespoons oil and 1 tablespoon gheehee Thepla vada; the very name tells you • ¾ cup for kneading the dough that it will be healthy as the • Oil for shallow frying basic ingredient is a millet Procedure and not maida or wheat flour. “Today, not many people • Mix all ingredients in a broad bowl (except oil for shallow frying). make it, even in Gujarat, but • Pour water little by little and knead a soft dough. Cover the dough with if you make it the right way, a wet muslin cloth and keep it aside for 20 minutes. and follow my recipe, which • Divide dough into equal size balls. is simple enough, these vadas • Roll each into a thin circle (5” diameter). will stay good for seven days • Heat tawa on a low flame. Once tawa is hot, place thepla on it and allow even without refrigeration. it to cook. It’s a very healthy snack and • When you see bubbles forming turn and cook other side. Put you can have it at teatime 1 teaspoon oil on thepla and press it with a ladle and cook till both sides with pickles or curds.” turn brown. Remove from tawa and keep it on a plate. Another healthy dish she • Repeat the same with remaining dough. recommends is the handvo, • Serve hot with chundo — sweet mango pickle or any other pickle or curds. “a typical Gujarati spicy Goes well with tea / coffee also. baked dish, which has all Methi Thepla the proteins and nutrition, because you can make it with To make methi thepla add 1 ½ cup fresh fenugreek leaves (picked, washed and any vegetable; I have given finely chopped), ½ cup plain yogurt, 2 teaspoons green chilli paste and the recipe with doodhi (lauki) 2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste and knead a soft dough with yogurt, (add but you can use any favourite water if required). Follow the same procedure as above. vegetable or yours,” she says. Tip: One recipe that catches the eye is the good old lapsi, • Can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container. Also handy a typical Gujju sweet made when travelling. with wheat rava, ghee, • You can add little more oil while roasting on tawa.

44 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

P_A treat for aficionados of Gujarati food.indd 44 11/27/2020 12:22:17 PM WhWhoho wowoulduldu hahave guessed that along wiwithth hahhaldilddi, peppepper powder and hohoney,neyy, yyououo alsalso have to put ghee inintoto hahaldilddi milkmilk? And that honey shshouldouuld nneverevere bbe added when the mimilklk iiss vevveryry hhot? LeLearnaarn frfromom Parul’s book how to make delicious chutneys — be they coriander, lasun (garlic) or khajoor (date) and even the ever popular Gujarati snack — Bhindi na ravaiya gathiya! Those who easy and quick to make, and most travelled or attended of the ingredients required are Rotary events when normally available in an Indian Manoj Desai was kitchen. Parul Bhatt with her recipe book. RI director will be The book is a veritable delight delighted to find a for vegetarians as it gives so many jaggery and sugar sprinkled on top. range of recipes for mouth-watering simple and tasty options. But, “I remember that in my childhood, different kinds of khichdis. He would says Parul, even though she didn’t as soon as it was ready, my mother always root for any kind of khichdi! plan it that way “I now realise that would sprinkle sugar on it, make it Parul is particularly fond of Jains who are very strict about into balls with her fist, and give it to the stuffed dhokli that her mother not eating onions, garlic etc can us. Now which child would refuse used to make; “she would stuff it use many recipes from my book. such a delicacy?” with doodhi, and as it is best eaten This was brought home to me by a From the humble dal or cream fresh and hot” she would make it Punjabi friend who said that dur- of tomato soup to the exotic badam on Sundays. “But as my father was ing Navratri they don’t consume soup, this book has it all. particularly fond of the potato, she onions and other roots, but as she Those of us who have been told would stuff it with potato too,” she had just bought a copy, she was to put haldi (turmeric) in everything laughs! able to make so many dishes from that we can, to ward off the evil The best thing about these there which didn’t have onions, coronavirus,, can root for haldi milk. recipesp is that theyy are simple, garlic, etc!” Printed on art paper, and with beautiful illustrations — most of the pictures she has taken at home on her iPhone — the book comes at a price of `3,000 ($50). When I comment that the price might not be affordable to many people, she says that she is toying with the idea of coming out with a paperback, which will be priced modestly, in the near future. The book costs `3,000 and can be ordered at www.parulsmagic.com. Bajra khichdi Designed by Krishnapratheesh

DECEMBERDECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 45

P_A treat for aficionados of Gujarati food.indd 45 11/27/2020 12:22:48 PM WE’RE BUILDING THE FUTURE OF ROTARY

A bold plan, for and by People of Action

Rotary is charting a new course to a stronger, more effective and vibrant future. At the center of the effort is our Action Plan: a multi-year strategic roadmap that will help us become the Rotary we want to be—and the Rotary the world needs us to be. The Action Plan builds on the remarkable capabilities we’ve developed in our own professional lives and careers, and it plays to our strengths as leaders, as clubs, and as a global community of people of action.

To create our plan, we looked at data, membership projections, and emerging social trends. And we listened to Rotarians, Rotaractors, and others who shared their hopes for the future of Rotary and told us we needed to:

Be more nimble and open to new ideas and faces, so we can evolve along with demographic and social changes

Gather and use data more rigorously to improve programs and make a lasting impact on humanitarian needs

Capitalize on new technologies and provide more enriching, engaging, and accessible experiences, so more emerging leaders will connect through Rotary

We assessed what it would take to move from where we are now to where we want to be. Our Action Plan is ambitious—and achievable.

K_We are building the future of rotary_1.indd 46 27-Nov-20 12:15:03 PM The Action Plan’s Four Priorities

PRIORITY 1. PRIORITY 2. INCREASE EXPAND OUR OUR IMPACT REACH

PRIORITY 3. PRIORITY 4. ENHANCE INCREASE PARTICIPANT OUR ABILITY ENGAGEMENT TO ADAPT

Want to know more? Take action with us to help create Rotary’s future. Visit rotary.org/actionplan to get started.

K_We are building the future of rotary_1.indd 47 27-Nov-20 12:15:03 PM Women Rotarians beat pandemic with novel ideas & projects

Jaishree

he Covid lockdown notwith- Women Rotarians are welcome six women on the RI Board and during standing, a group of four women to join RIW, says Dakshayani. “Our RIPE Shekhar Mehta’s tenure there TRotarians from across the world projects are concentrated on Rotary’s will be nine, including RIPN Jennifer have created an exclusive platform for seven areas of focus and as a global Jones,” he said. women Rotarians to brainstorm and group we look at activities for the In this interactive meet, he urged coordinate activities that can transform global good. Rotary leaders all over Rotary Action Groups (RAGs) communities. What began as a casual the world have been supportive of our to work in tandem with clubs/ Whatsapp group by Sharmila Nagarajan group,” she adds. districts in the region as “RAGs sup- of RC Towers Hamlets, London, to beat RIW has been organising virtual port Rotary to achieve its strategic boredom, has now transformed into a full- sessions every month. The audience plans and enhance membership.” fledged Rotary International Women’s has male Rotarians too who are vocal His wife Susanne shared her jour- (RIW) group which had 251 members with their constructive suggestions and ney as a Rotarian since 2014 when across 21 countries by November-end. appreciation. The July session titled she chartered an e-club in Germany. Sharmila, along with B Dakshayani, Power Up had RI President Holger “We started in September and by RC Chennai Meenambakkam, Vidhya Knaack as chief guest where he December we had 14 women and Srini, RC Chennai Temple City, and stressed on Rotary’s diversity, equity nine men. Now we are 36 members — Denise Kilschan, RC Ibiza, Spain, are and inclusion policy. He called upon 11 women and 25 men.” To Vidhya’s the founding members of RIW which clubs to encourage women in leader- question on what would bring more was formed in April this year. ship positions. “This year we will have women to Rotary, Susanne said, “Flexibility,” adding that her e-club Children learn to make cloth sanitary is convening meeting at 9pm “instead pads — a project of D 3060 (file photo). of the lunch or breakfast meeting that regular Rotary clubs follow.” Would you be interested to serve as a director for an RAG in your region, asked Vidhya. Susanne’s reply: “For now I am happy to be in Holger’s team. His role is more important now. If his woman is doing another important role, that is not good for Rotary. We need diversity; not a couple who is doing a lot of things.”

RAG-MHH On the second Saturday of every month the group discusses women-related issues with a global audience. Menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) was discussed

4848 ROTARYRROROTOOTAARARY NEWSNEWSW DECEMBERDECD EMBMBEERR 202022022002020

K_Women Rotarians beat pandemic with novel ideas & projects.indd 48 27-Nov-20 3:16:08 PM in one of the meets and thus was born urged Rotarians to usher in a behav- We will have teams to work on the the idea for a Rotary Action Group ioural change in girls and women various focus areas.” for MHH. Its registration with RI is similar to what is being done for RIW has had PDG Bill Gray (RID under process. WinS projects. 7040, Canada), TRF Trustee Geeta In a recent meet titled Happy Periods, When Prabhakar said, “This is Manek and RI Vice President Johrita Global WinS Chair PRID P T Prabhakar such a wonderful topic, I wonder why Solari address their virtual meets. assured WinS’ support for the group’s Rotary did not think of it earlier,” on “RIPN Jennifer Jones has also accepted menstrual hygiene programmes. “Your a lighter note Denise commented, our invitation to address us. We are RAG is the need of the hour as it will “I think there are too many men in planning a bigger meet with senior lead- address poor menstrual hygiene which Rotary,” and Meenakshi added, “Men ers including PRIPs Mark Maloney and is a bane in most of the third world can’t think of periods!” Wilf Wilkinson in February in line with countries,” he said. This RAG is open to Rotarians and the International Service month,” says Dr Meenakshi Bharat, member of non-Rotarians and it facilitates sharing Dakshayani who is the district director RC Bangalore West, RID 3190, spoke best practices from across the world, for International services for the year. about the menstrual cup and reusable says Dakshayani. “We have curated a RI has set a goal to increase the cloth sanitary napkins. Her suggestion global project on menstrual health to number of women in Rotary and in that Rotary should stop investing in be carried out in 25 countries in May leadership positions to 30 per cent by sanitary pad dispensing machines and 2021. Next, we will form an RAG for 2022–23 and RIW will work in that incinerators was well received. She environment protection through RIW. direction, she smiles.

his Diwali the hhomesomes ooff a tribal communitynity liv-liv- Ting in Saag Padada hham-am- let near Nashik will shineine a llotot Lighting up lives brighter, thanks to RCC Nasik,Nasik, RID 3030, that has providedrovided Team Rotary News them an income generatingating opportunity through ththee sale of colourful diyasas extensively used to dec-c- orate homes during thishis festive season. Earlier the club presidentsident Mugdha Lele, secretary Vijay finished products to markets in Dinani and past president Anil Nashik, Pune and Mumbai. “We Sukenkar visited the hamlet and, also included boarding and lodg- with Diwali round the corner, ing expenses for the craftsmen to decided to train the villagers in stay for a week and sell their ware painting earthen lamps. “Around in the various markets.” 12 men and women were trained The club has been extending in the art. They were excited at microloans for specific purposes the idea of making the diyas and in the last five years through its earn some money by selling corpus of `5 lakh and “not once them,” says Vinayak Deodhar, have we faced any default.” club member. Deodhar is confident that the The club extended a micro- decorative lamps will fetch a net credit of `1 lakh to source the income of at least `40,000, pro- diyas, paints and packaging viding `3,500 to each villager for Rotarians teach villagers to paint lamps. material and transport the a week-long work.

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 49

K_Women Rotarians beat pandemic with novel ideas & projects.indd 49 27-Nov-20 3:16:09 PM Pandemic relief by Rotarians across India

V Muthukumaran

racing up to the Covid chal- Hariprasad Somani, RID 3132, in con- Project Karuna lenge, Rotarians across the sultation with presidents of six Rotary RC Belur, RID 3291, donated 6,600 country have reached out clubs in Latur and district officers PPE kits, 6,600 N95 masks and 3,300 Bto the frontline warriors, including PDG Vijay Rathi and DGE face shields to the frontline warri- hospitals, health departments, needy Dr Omprakash Motipawale, supplied ors. Karuna - Save our Saviours is a families and migrant labourers during oxygen concentrator machines to global grant project that has received the lockdown. As the pandemic raged needy patients at their homes. Many $47,774 from TRF. A sizeable infecting lakhs of people, Rotary clubs Rotarians donated for the purchase of amount was crowdfunded through have done Covid-relief projects worth 11 machines for the project managed social media. The project was con- $30 million till October, including set- by Sudhir Lature and Raj Dhoot. ceived by the club’s medical director ting up Covid care centres, donating Latur district collector G Sreekanth Anand Agarwal with inputs from his equipment, PPE kits and other critical and mayor Vikrant Gojamgunde friends — Ayan Sen from Singapore, supplies to hospitals and distributing appreciated the efforts of Rotary. Monalisa Sen from Belgium, Arpita food and grocery kits on a large scale “AfterAfter seeing the response from Chatterjee and Arkadeep Kumar from ttoo thousands of needneedyy families. patients,patients, RotarRotaryy clubs have decided AustraliaAustralia.. “We“We are thankful to ourour WWithith hoshospitalspitals runnirunningng out of beds to purchase more such oxygen ggloballobal partners RCs Singapore and for Covid patientspatients and more ppeopleeople machinesmachines for the community,”community,” said Singapore North who played an active bbeingeing home quarantined, PDG Dr PDGPDG Somani.Somani. role in fundraising,” said Aloke Kumar DG Rashmi Kulkarni (L) along with RIDE Dr Mahesh Kotbagi (6th from L) DGE Pankaj Shah (4th from R), DGN Dr Anil Parmar (3rd from L) and PDGs unveiling the PPE kits with Rotary logo.

5050 ROTARYRROROTOTOTAARARYRYRY NEWSNEWSW DECEMBERDDECDEEECCEEMEMBMBMBERER 202020202200220

K_Pandemic relief by Rotarians across India.indd 50 27-Nov-20 3:19:43 PM Interact Club of Lakshmi School coordinator Padmaja Rishi donating Covid-relief material to the Madurai corporation commissioner S Visakan.

Kanodia, president, RC Belur. DGE Meghdoot and Indore North with vendors by Rotary Bangalore Lake- Prabir Chatterjee, PDG Ravi Sehgal, RC Kathmandu, RID 3292, as their side, RID 3190, through crowdfunding secretary Amar Kumar Malhotra and international partner. RC Indore from the residents’ welfare association. club members were present at the dis- Meghdoot, the implementing club, In the first phase, the club reached tribution of Covid kits. is doing Covid-relief projects worth out to 1,300 families in a migrant col- RC Calcutta New Alipore, RID $35,000 to support hospitals treat- ony. As the lockdown stretched, the 3291, gave smartphones to school ing corona patients. “IPDG Dhiran Rotarians helped another 2,000 fam- girls in a remote village for attending Datta supported us in this GG project ilies in the eastern and southern parts online classes during the lockdown, and found the global partner,” said of Bengaluru, this time with support said club president Ajay Baldawa. Ghanshyam Singh, IPP of RC Indore from the Azim Premji Philanthropic DG Rajesh Agarwal presented Meghdoot. Initiatives (APPI), at a project cost three BiPap machines to the Krishna Over 100 reusable PPE kits with of `14 lakh. “We have been working Sarvajanik Hospital under a global Rotary Wheel emblazoned on it were with APPI in other projects for long grant project for Covid-relief initia- donated to two charitable hospitals and and they were happy to partner with tives by RC Himatnagar, RID 3054. a dialysis centre by RCs New Panvel us,” said Jayanta Tiwari, club member. DRFC Lalit Sharma, PDG Jagdish and Panvel Central, RID 3131, in In the third phase, with funding Patel and other Rotarians were pres- the presence of DG Rashmi Kulkarni, of €22,000 from Freudenberg Inter- ent at the handover event. RIDE Dr Mahesh Kotbagi, DGN national, a German corporate, the Dr Anil Parmar, DGE Pankaj Shah, Rotarians distributed groceries to Equipment to Indore Hospital RPIC Dr Deepak Shikarpur and dis- orphanages, auto drivers, Asha Kiran DG Gajendra Singh Narang, RID trict PDGs. workers, transgender communities and 3040, handed over 10 BiPap machines RC Amritsar North, RID 3070, rag pickers in various parts of the city. (for infusing air into lungs), 25 nebu- had a project meeting for distribution of The club partnered with Project lisers, 100 oximeters, 500 special PPE kits at the circuit house in the city Durga, a women’s empowerment non-breathing masks, a coffee vending for the district grant project sanctioned programme, and provided ration kits machine, 25 wall clocks and supportive under IPDG Sunil Nagpal’s tenure. and toiletries to 3,000 more needy items for treatment of corona patients people. “We have travelled to around at the MRTB Hospital in Indore. Grocery kits 10 villages spanning 400km from the This global grant project Grocery kits were donated to daily city in the four months of lockdown,” was done jointly by RCs Indore wagers, migrant families and roadside said Tiwari.

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 51

K_Pandemic relief by Rotarians across India.indd 51 27-Nov-20 3:19:44 PM From L: Project co-chair Raj Dhoot, PDG Dr Hariprasad Somani, DGE Omprakash Motipawale, Latur mayor Vikrant Gojamgunde and district collector G Sreekanth.

The club is providing medical the children’s division of the Rajaji Interact advisor. The Interact club equipment and PPE kits to hospi- Government Hospital, Madurai, also donated Oximeters, PPE kits tals in Victoria, Bowring, Nimhans funded by Smile Microfinance, said and furniture to the district collec- and Kidwai in Bengaluru, Mysore, IPP D N Govardan. torate, police commissioner’s office Mandya and Kolar. Also, the club is In a novel fundraiser, the Interact and the district health department. supporting Mercy Angels, a group of Club of Lakshmi School, Madurai, volunteers, to perform the last rites of sponsored by RC Madurai Midtown, Oxygen line station at Dondaicha Covid victims. RID 3000, organised a digital art RC Dondaicha Seniors, RID 3060, competition for students. “The Inter- set up a central oxygen line through Special devices to GH, Madurai actors raised `2.32 lakh with the help which a single cylinder can meet the To protect children from Covid, RC of their parents and handed over the needs of 12 Covid patients simulta- Madurai North, RID 3000, has money to the Madurai district collec- neously. This was installed within 24 donated equipment worth `7 lakh to tor Dr T G Vinay,” said R Srinivasan, hours of the request made by doctors at the Sub District Civil Hospital, Dondaicha. This service, costing `3.47 lakh, helps to avoid or min- imise Covid deaths. The club will maintain the oxygen supply network. A swab collection chamber has also been set up at a monthly expenditure of `35,000. The project was inaugurated by legislator Jaykumar Rawal; DG Prashant Jani, AG Anish Shah, participated in the online inaugural. With increasing number of patients pushing up the demand of oxygen cylinders, the club has decided to supply five cylinders daily to the Sub District Civil Hospital. The monthly expendi- Rotarians of RC Bangalore Lakeside distributing groceries to the needy. ture is `75,000.

52 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

K_Pandemic relief by Rotarians across India.indd 52 27-Nov-20 3:19:44 PM Taipei’s fascinating temples Susie L MA

hen you’re in Taipei for the 2021 Rotary International WConvention, June 12–16, take time to visit some of the city’s temples and other monuments. The Lungshan Temple, one of Taipei’s most popular, is primarily Buddhist, but it also incorporates Taoism and Chinese folklore. This ornately carved and painted structure was originally constructed in 1738 and remains an active place of worship. The temple compound is a calming space that includes a small waterfall, fountains and a koi pond. More than 100 deities are repre- sented in this temple, including the The Xiahai City God Temple is of China. The hall is part of a complex goddess of mercy and the god of war. known for its statue of the matchmaker that includes two performing arts build- Students come to pray to Wenchang, god (pictured), or the “Old Man Under ings, a large plaza, manicured gardens, the patron deity of literature, before the Moon,” as some call him. This tem- and peaceful ponds. You can see the exams, and on matters of justice and ple is on Dihua Street, home to trendy changing of the guard honour, people consult Guan Yu, a boutiques and cafes alongside tradi- on the hour between famed warrior of Chinese folklore. tional medicinal and artisan shops. 9am and 5pm. The temple is easily accessible via The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial its own stop on the blue line of the Hall is Taipei’s most prominent his- Learn more and MRT, Taipei’s public transportation torical structure, built as a tribute to register at system. the former president of the Republic convention.rotary.org

Apply to serve on the 2021–22 Interact Advisory Council

or the first time in Rotary’s history a group of Inter- the past 5 years) a member of an Interact club. Complete Factors and Interact alumni will be able to serve at the the application, including a short video, telling in your international level and advise the RI Board to shape the own voice why you think you should be selected for the future of Interact. The Interact Advisory Council will be assignment. comprised of eight current Interactors from around the The application must be submitted before December world and two recent Interact alumni as advisers. 20, 2020. Applicants who are able to communicate in English are preferred. Eligibility criteria Council members must participate in 2–3 virtual meet- Interactor applicants must be at least 13 years of age and ings and collaborate through email while being able to meet current member in an active Interact club at the time of your personal commitments to school, family, work, club, application. He/she must plan to be an active Interactor etc; be passionate about Interact and have innovative ideas through June 30, 2022. aligned with Rotary’s Action Plan. Interact Alumni Adviser applicants must be a Rotar- Visit http://on.rotary.org/InteractAdvisory Council for ian, Rotaractor, or an alumnus that was recently (within more information.

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 53

Convention - December 2020.indd 53 11/28/2020 1:19:11 PM For a successful global grant approval

Utsav R Doshi

Rainwater harvesting facility provided by RC Mumbai Cuffe Parade through a global grant (file photo).

RF has an extremely credible Dos compliances; (h) payment con- system of vetting global grant z Open a separate bank account for firmation receipts; (i) warranty/ Tapplications. SOPs are fol- each grant with clear demarcated maintenance agreements, et al. It is lowed while receiving applications, responsibilities as recorded in the best practice to scan all these doc- before disbursing funds, and while minutes for operating that account. uments and upload them on cloud reviewing the implementation. This z Keep a dedicated file accessible to or as attachments in your mailbox. three-tier filter system has played a grant committee members which z Think of sustainability at all points role in making Rotary what it is today contains everything, including but of time. A toilet block made of apropos its transparency, integrity and not limited to (a) minutes of club gold is useless if the tank remains most importantly the ability to create meeting confirming the project broken. And likewise, a school “living” projects. proposal, community assessment bench with one leg off is a burden, Grants may be sampled for audit at surveys, etc.; (b) stamped bank not a blessing. One way to keep any stage of a project. During audit, I statements (not the ones down- a project alive is by monitoring it often see that not all mistakes are mala loaded from net-banking); (c) periodically. Form a committee fide; mistakes are mainly due to the quotations and purchase orders; amongst the existing club members club members not being well-versed (d) invoices; (e) minutes of grant to delegate the tasks with close with TRF protocols. The objective of management committee meetings monitoring. this article is to give precise pointers (f) print outs of communication z Put up a loud and clear Rotary sig- on things to do and not do for a suc- done with Rotary and vendors; (g) nage at the project site. Every ben- cessful audit. proof of statutory and regulatory eficiary walking in must get to read

54 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

For a successful global grant approval - FINAL - Dec 2020.indd 54 11/27/2020 11:53:45 AM Rotary’s name. A signage which that the total number of walk-ins Don’t seek credit of funds from the carries the names of donors, cor- in the entire hospital is 12,000. Foundation when there is a delay porates, cooperating organisation, Hence achieving that count for the in project execution. club officials and a tiny Rotary diagnostic centre per se would be I hope this article helps you to logo will fail to bring out the good impossible. bid adieu to your cadre auditor bare- work by Rotary as an organisation Don’t procure goods or services handed, with an empty slate of obser- and its Rotarians. from club members or their rela- vations but a happy heart. I thank the z Sign an MoU with the cooperat- tives unless that is warranted, abso- cadre chair, stewardship staff and fel- ing organisation. It could be in a lutely necessary and thoroughly low cadre colleagues for their valuable regional language also which can disclosed to every single person in inputs. be subsequently translated by a the grant management committee Disclaimer: The scope of this arti- certified translator. as well as to the Rotary officials. cle is limited to the words it can print. z Get inputs from a cadre resource. Don’t finalise a vendor unless 3-5 At all points of time, notwithstanding RISAO can help in identifying a quotations are received for the anything contained herein, kindly stick nearby cadre Rotarian. same set of goods or services. to TRF guidelines for grant compli- Don’t make large value payments ances. Different types of audit have Don’ts in cash; make the vendor agree different requirements; the items men- Don’t give a random beneficiary to transacting via banking mode. tioned here are a mere guidance to pro- count in the application. Be real- Remember even a farmer has a ject’s financial audit post facto. istic. For example, when you basic bank account these days. say 20,000 patients annually are Don’t take the requirement of The writer is a expected to benefit from a diag- training for granted, this is a must global grants technical nostic centre whereas the fact is for any successful project. coordinator – financial audit. Tribal women learn mushroom cultivation Team Rotary News divasi women and hygiene. “As Ain Jabapanposh Western Odisha and other villages lacks an agricul- surrounding tural research Rourkela are centre to supply at learning to cultivate subsidised rates, mushrooms for their we will provide the livelihood, thanks to seeds to the SHGs,” the initiative of RC says Annabelle. Rourkela Steel City, She is confident RID 3261. “Life has that each family been hard for the can earn at least villagers. Covid had `100 daily from taken away their jobs the vocation and and they could not “we will also help go out to seek work,” market the produce says club secretary Project co-chair Gouri Nag teaching mushroom in our circles.” Annabelle DeSouza. cultivation to women in Jabapanposh village. Project Chairman Gouri Nag, the Kumar Behera project co-chair, is in club president Suchismita The local Food and Safety is working with the mushroom cultivation Biswas, she has trained to explained the procedure government to support and with support from grow oyster mushrooms. to maintain cleanliness the women.

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 55

For a successful global grant approval - FINAL - Dec 2020.indd 55 11/27/2020 11:53:46 AM otary launched The National Rotarian, a Extra, extra magazine for its mem- As part of a pilot R programme, bers, in 1911. Since then, we’ve Rotary Russia undergone two name changes, to is published as a digital-only The Rotarian in September 1912 magazine serving and to Rotary in September 2020. Chechnya and As the Rotary movement spread Russia. And in Venezuela, where across the globe, members from K\SHULQÀDWLRQ other parts of the world began pub- makes subscriptions lishing magazines of their own to prohibitively spotlight local Rotary stories; there expensive, Revista Rotaria continues are now 34 regional magazines in to publish 25 languages serving members for a limited in 129 countries and geographic readership. areas. Rotary’s magazines provide (Rotary News a direct link between Rotary Inter- Trust (RNT), India, also brings national and each of its members, out a quarterly sharing news and information issue of Rotaract News which is and inspiring readers with stories mainly a digital of people of action. In honour of publication. RNT th believes this is this magazine’s 110 anniversary, the only Rotaract here’s a look at the scope of all of magazine that is published by a Rotary’s magazines. regional Rotary Compiled by Donna Cotter magazine.)

56 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

K_Read all about them_1.indd 56 27-Nov-20 12:14:41 PM DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 57

K_Read all about them_1.indd 57 27-Nov-20 12:14:41 PM 58 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

K_Read all about them_1.indd 58 27-Nov-20 12:14:43 PM DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 59

K_Read all about them_1.indd 59 27-Nov-20 12:14:44 PM Power, energy, razor-sharp enunciation of Manna Dey

S R Madhu

oung singer Kavita “This song insults the Indian to sing if a lyric smacked of Krishnamurthy was woman, it calls her an object. vulgarity or had double entendre. Yexcited. A film song of How can you sing such a song, His singing too was hers had become a chartbuster and denigrate your own gender?” principled and organised. He and she visited her guru Manna Kavita left the house in tears. would come to recordings fully Dey to share the happy news But the guru’s harsh words, prepared, armed with notes and with him. “Which song?” Manna (which he later regretted) didn’t notations — a practice no other Dey enquired. Tu cheez badi hai diminish Kavita’s regard for him. playback singer followed. mast mast from the film Mohra, This incident highlights Manna Dey was the last of she responded. Manna Dey’s approach to music. the super six male singers of the Manna Dey lost his temper He shunned anything obscene golden era of Hindi film music — and gave Kavita a dressing down. or in bad taste. He would refuse the others being Mohammad Rafi,

60 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

P_Music and Melody_Power energy.indd 60 11/27/2020 12:19:23 PM Hemant Kumar, Mukesh, Talat of compositions and sings them Aman Ali Khan. His strengths Mahmood and Kishore Kumar. beautifully.” as singer, apart from classical He outlived all the others — he training, were the power, energy was 94 when he passed away in and expressiveness of his voice, 2013. (Mukesh departed in 1976, his razor-sharp enunciation, and Rafi in 1980, Kishore in 1987, He was a master of many his emphasis on originality. He Hemant Kumar in 1989, Talat styles. But connoisseurs lauded pursued his own style. Mahmood in 1998). He sang him for the classical excellence His proficiency with classical some 4,000 songs in nearly a he imbibed from his uncle — music was however both a gift dozen languages (mainly Hindi the legendary blind singer K C and a curse. He wanted to be and Bengali) in a career that Dey — as well as from Ustad a singer of mass appeal, but spanned six decades. got branded as a classicist. It is often said that Rafi used His songs were often filmed to pour his heart out in songs; on elderly, mythological or well, Manna Dey poured out his Manna Dey’s secondary characters. His very soul. Rafi would tell his fans, proficiency with first playback song was filmed “you may listen to anyone, but I on sage Valmiki! classical music listen to Manna Dey.” Composer He won many honours — the Anil Biswas perhaps paid Manna was both a gift Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Dey the best tribute — “He and a curse. He Dadasaheb Phalke Award, can sing anyone’s songs, be Filmfare and Central government it Rafi or Kishore or Mukesh, wanted to be a singer of mass awards for best playback singer, but they can’t sing his songs.” appeal, but got branded as a and lifetime achievement awards. Kavita Krishnamurthy remarked: A documentary film on him in classicist. “Manna Dey gets the toughest Bengali was made in 2008.

(From L) Actor Mehmood, Mohammed Rafi, music director Kalynanji, Manna Dey and I S Johar.

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 61

P_Music and Melody_Power energy.indd 61 11/27/2020 12:19:25 PM He inspired reverence in many. In his 2007 autobiography, he recalled a touching experience. When he went to a hospital in Bengaluru (the famous Narayana Hrudayala hospital set up by Dr Devi Shetty) for treatment of chest pain, he was astonished to see the entire hospital staff at the gate with bouquets for him. He was treated free of charge: Dr Shetty said that treating Manna Dey was a privilege. Manna Dey was amazingly versatile. Reputedly the king of qawwalis (he was the prime singer of the inimitable classic Na to karavan ki talash hai, the longest qawwali of Hindi cinema, composed by Roshan in Barsaat ki Raat), he was equally captivating with bhajans. The divine Tu pyar ka sagar hai composed by Shankar- Jaikishen for Seema is really soul-stirring. He excelled both Salil Chowdhury for Anand. did pranks and tomfoolery. And in romantic duets such as Nain His patriotic songs, such as of course, music. “As my first mile chain kahan, the peerless the heartbreaking Aye mere uncle, singer and composer, K C duet with Lata Mangeshkar pyare watan composed by Salil Dey, was always singing, there composed by Shankar- Chowdhury for Kabuliwallah, was always music at home.” He Jaikishen for Basant Bahar and were as magnetic as his toe- sang at school stage shows at philosophical reflections such tapping numbers, such as Ae the age of 10, and won several as the unforgettable Zindagi bhai, zara dekh ke chalo from music contests in college. kaisi hai paheli, composed by Mera Naam Joker composed by He didn’t take up law (which Shankar-Jaikishen, for which he his father wanted him to) or won a Filmfare Award. Yet, he engineering (as his second uncle couldn’t shake off the “classicist” suggested), but music — as When Manna Dey went to tag and that unfortunately limited desired by K C Dey. the Narayana Hrudayala his opportunities. Manna Dey moved to Bollywood in 1942 along with hospital in Bengaluru uncle Dey. But it was a long hard for treatment of chest struggle for recognition, and he pain, he was received Born in Kolkata in 1919, often thought of giving up his Manna Dey belonged to a large playback dreams and returning to with bouquets by the entire joint family of 32 members. Kolkata. hospital staff at the gate. Sports (football, cricket, kite- His first hit song, Upar flying, boxing and wrestling) gagan vishal in the 1950 film consumed his early years, so Mishaal for which S D Burman

62 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

P_Music and Melody_Power energy.indd 62 11/27/2020 12:19:27 PM composed music, dramatically changed his career. The singer later became a disciple of S D Burman, almost in the guru- shishya tradition. He would regularly buy groceries and bananas and puffed rice for Burman. He would also organise a supply of paan — which Burman was always chewing. But Manna Dey says he did not resent doing such chores for Burman, because there was (From L) Manna Dey, music director Khayyam and Mohammed Rafi. a deep bond of affection and respect between them, cemented by many common interests. Shankar-Jaikishen, particularly For example, both were crazy Shankar, in promoting his career. It is often said that Rafi about football. While Manna He said, “Shankar was the first Dey supported Mohun Bagan, music director who made me used to pour his heart Burman was a votary of East sing romantic numbers… He felt out in songs; well, Bengal. The two sparred often. that my masculine rendering of Manna Dey’s most famous love songs would appeal to the Manna Dey poured song for Burman was the public.” out his soul. matchless Poocho na kaise His first song for Shankar- main rain beetayi (Meri Jaikishen was the Awara duet soorat teri ankhen, 1963), a Tere bina aag ye chandni classical masterpiece filmed with Lata Mangeshkar. masterpiece with Lata, Pyar on Ashok Kumar. Several chartbusters followed. hua ikrar hua (Shri 420); and The singer was eloquent Like Lapak jhapak in Boot the two majestically beautiful and emotional about the role of Polish; that eternal romantic Chori Chori duets with Lata Mangeshkar — Aja sanam and Ye raat bheegi bheegi. It was again for Shankar- Jaikishen that Manna Dey sang three alluring classics in Basant Bahar — Sur na saje, Bhey bandana and Ketaki ghulab juhi champak ban phoole. The last one etched its way into immortality — a song with Hindustani classical giant Bhimsen Joshi.

Manna Dey says he was petrified of competing with — with Kishore Kumar. let alone defeating — a maestro like Joshi for this song. In fact,

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 63

P_Music and Melody_Power energy.indd 63 11/27/2020 12:19:29 PM he left Bombay and his Kerala-born wife disappeared for some Sulochana Kumaran time when the idea of Lata Mangeshkar lauded Manna Dey’s gave him helpful the song was mooted. lessons — became a He said, “I thought it Marathi pronunciation — saying it was runaway hit. ridiculous that I should as impeccable as that of a learned His immortal prevail over Bhimsen melody Kasme wade Marathi Brahmin. Joshi.” But he was pyar wafa sab for coaxed back and went Kalyanji-Anandji for on to record the song. the film Upkar created He was elated when national euphoria. It Joshi complimented a listener anywhere. Roy’s epic Do Bigha didn’t win the expected him, and urged him The two Bawarchi Zameen. Salil also national award for to become a classical songs Tum bin jeevan gave him memorable Manna Dey but won music singer. and Bhor aai gaya songs for Madhumati, him a beautiful tribute Talking about other andhiyara composed Kabuliwala and Anand. by Lata. She said: “This composers, Manna Dey by Madan and filmed Importantly, Salil song keeps haunting me, said Madan Mohan’s on Rajesh Khanna were helped Manna Dey gain even when I’m about to compositions stood a rage. a foothold as a playback record a song, and I’m out with their excellent Manna Dey was singer in Bengali films, tempted to cancel my fusion of classical and full of admiration for and got him to sing own recording session! folk melodies. The Salil Chowdhury, for the mesmerising love How did you manage famous song Kaun aya whom he sang Dharti song Manasa maine to emote so well?” mere man ke dware for kahe pukar ke — varu in the Malayalam Two other much-feted, Dekh Kabira Roya, is a paean on mother blockbuster Chemmeen. much-loved Kalyanji- so beguiling, it can stop earth — for Bimal The song, for which Anandji songs sung

with Lata Mangeshkar.

64 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

P_Music and Melody_Power energy.indd 64 11/27/2020 12:19:30 PM by him were Yari hain imaan mera, yaar meri zindagi from Zanjeer, filmed on Pran; and the delightful, magical Ae meri zohra jabeen in Waqt, based on an Afghan song and filmed on Balraj Sahni. Manna Dey describes R D Burman as “the last genius of Hindi cinema”. His music knowledge and his flair for synthesising Western and Indian classical notes were extraordinary. For him, Manna Dey sang Ao twist karen in Bhoot Bungla (RD told the producer that only (From L) Mahendra Kapoor, Manna Dey and Raj Kapoor. this singer, and no one else would sing that song); Aayo kahan se laughed. She lauded to cut down Rafi’s Krishnamurthy. Which Ghanshyam in Buddha Manna Dey’s Marathi kite often, much to the is one of many reasons Mil Gaya (which pronunciation — saying latter’s discomfiture. he must be remembered demonstrated RD’s it was as impeccable Manna Dey was and honoured. mastery over Indian as that of a learned surprised that in later ragas); the riotous and Marathi Brahmin. years Bollywood Editor’s pick zany Ek chatur nar singers couldn’t stand • Laga chunari mey (with Kishore Kumar in each other. “It was daag mitaaoo kaisey Padosan); and Yeh dosti, never like that in our • Poochho na kaisey hum nahin chhodengey, Rafi was another time. Outside the studio mainey raat bitayi the boisterous Sholay self-confessed fan of we were the best of • Ae mere pyare watan, motor cycle song with Manna Dey — he once friends and shared our ae merey bichhrey Kishore Kumar. hugged Dey after a joys and sorrows with chaman, tujh pe dil He was the recording, saying just each other.” kurbaan. quintessential singer’s one word: “Lajawab”. Though he didn’t • Yeh raat bheegi bheegi, singer. Fellow-singers, Manna on the other climb the dizzy heights yeh mast samaya Lata Mangeshkar for hand considered Rafi of musical stardom that • Ae meri Zohra jabin example, showered the best Bollywood Rafi and Kishore did, him with lavish praise. singer. Both shared a he was admired by one The writer is a senior Manna Dey quotes passion for kites and and all as a singer of journalist and member Lata saying that she battled each other from exceptional brilliance. of RC Madras South. had sung 107 duets their terraces when they He was also one of with him. “She must were for some time the straightest and be right, I have not neighbours in Bombay. cleanest men in the film Designed by kept count myself,” he The Bengali managed industry, says Kavita Krishnapratheesh

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 65

P_Music and Melody_Power energy.indd 65 11/27/2020 12:19:30 PM 30 small clinics to offer healthcare to needy families Alok Gupta Self-adhesive tape manufacturer RC Ghaziabad Shatabdi, RID 3012

edical projects are Alok Gupta’s top priority, and his first project was the inauguration of a plasma bank at the Rotary MNoida Blood Bank in early July. “It was a district project costing `1 crore and a first-of-its-kind in UP. We will open 30 dis- pensaries and small clinics in Delhi and UP, where patients will be charged only `20 per consultation,” he says. A Rotary Medicare Centre will be operational in Noida by next January, with diagnostic services including CT and MRI scans, and a cath lab, under a GG project worth `2.5 crore. “A small fee paid for the diagnostic services will make the centre self-sustainable.” Recently, his district hosted a three-day artificial limb fitment camp in Ghaziabad and identified 92 amputees who will be fitted with artificial limbs. “We have contributed `50 lakh to RILM this year, and will do 100 Happy School projects including setting up of e-learning facilities, toilet blocks and handwash stations,” explains Gupta. The project, costing `2.5 crore will be done through a mix of GG and DDF. He plans to add 500 new members and five new clubs. In Rotaract, he wants to open 25 new clubs. With a target of $1 million for TRF he has asked every Rotarian to donate at least $100. A third generation Rotarian, his father inspired him to become a Rotaractor in 1987, and he joined Rotary in 2005, adds Gupta.

Meet your Governors

V Muthukumaran

66 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

K_Meet your Governors_December 2020.indd 66 27-Nov-20 12:08:56 PM He wants to make “every Rotarian feel important”

M Satish Babu Stockbroking, RC Vijayawada Midtown, RID 3020

efore taking charge as DG, he got the district water distribution system directory printed and distributed to all the (GG: $160,000) will be B4,075 Rotarians in 73 clubs of his district to installed at an orphanage with make “every member feel important,” says Satish. 1,000 students. Toilets will be built Even the GML is physically delivered to all Rotar- at a cost of $40,000 in schools. ians each month. One of his pet projects is paediatric heart surgery Recently, a high-tech equipment was installed (GG worth $80,000 was sanctioned) and at least 70 through a GG worth $200,000 at the Goutami Eye surgeries will be done this year. He is confident of a Institute in Rajahmundry. An expanded retina centre 20 per cent net growth in membership which is poised with an advanced microscope (GG worth $32,000) will to cross 4,800. On TRF giving, his target is $1 million. be given to the Rotary eye hospital run by RC Vuyuuru. He will be opening 20 Rotaract and 20 Interact “The retina centre will do both OPD services as well as clubs with around 20 per cent growth in their member- surgeries for free. Total cost of expanding the surgical ship. In 2007, when a Rotarian friend invited him to his retina wing is `4.5 crore.” club meeting “it changed me forever.” His home club, Sewing machines will be given to 1,000 women RC Vijayawada Midtown, among the largest in the after training to increase their income. A state-of-art world, “will touch the 1,000 mark this year,” he says.

Rotary is his family mantra Gajendra Singh Narang Realtor, RC Indore Dynamic, RID 3040

epresenting the third generation in Rotary, Multidistrict events Gajendra Singh Narang wants to grow the dislike National Wildlife Rtrict membership “by 50 percent, and maintain Seminar, Global Green cent per cent retention.” Photography Contest, Baand- A new Rotary and Interact club and five new havya and an auction for polio Rotaract clubs were chartered, and “many more fund are some of the projects on the RCCs and clubs are in the pipeline.” A roadmap drawing board. The district has tied up is ready for doing projects in all the seven areas with Lions International, Red Cross Society and other of focus — one lakh saplings to be planted, 1,000 NGOs to do joint community projects. Nation Builder Awards, health camps for at least Rotary has captivated his family; he watched his par- 75,000 people, each club adopting at least one ents working for the voluntary sector as a child. When Happy School, RYLA events, friendship exchanges he set up the factory in Indore, his chartered account- and robust End Polio campaigns. ant, PDG Nitin Dafria, insisted he join Rotary. His wife On TRF giving, he has a target of $100,000; Sarthika is charter president of RC Indore Dynamic and “I have designed special programmes to induct more an assistant governor. His daughter Samartha, a past dis- women such as The Big Pink Card for health aware- trict Interact representative, is now president of RAC ness camps.” With literacy “important for the country’s Indore Dynamic. His son Avhaan as the youngest DIR development” he is giving literacy projects a big push. at 13 and has hosted national and global online events.

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 67

K_Meet your Governors_December 2020.indd 67 27-Nov-20 12:08:57 PM Rotary Swaman stores to help the poor Prashant Harivallabh Jani Financial consultant, RC Wadhwan City, RID 3060

ill October, 22 Rotary Swaman stores are being In February, a mega car opened across the district to give dignity to rally will be flagged off from Tpoor families and give them utility products. the Somnath temple to Dhule “These collect, repair and repack used household items covering a distance of 2,000 km in eight like furniture, fans, electric appliances, clothes, shoes days. The idea is to spread awareness on Rotary pro- and trinkets. These are sold at modest prices ranging jects. He expects around 700 participants. The district from `20–100 to needy families,” says Prashant Jani. will add 1,640 new Rotarians taking membership to Around 40 stores will be opened this year. over 6,000 by year-end. “I am confident of opening 25 He wants to install at least 1,000 handwash stations new Rotary clubs, 35 new Rotaract clubs and inducting and so far, 250 units have been put up in government 400 new Rotaractors,” he says. schools and public places like temples and parks. Two On TRF giving, his target is $1.25 million. An cancer detection vans for mammography, Pap Smear avid social worker, he waited for over three years to and oral cancer tests will screen over 75,000 benefi- become a member of RC Surendranagar, an iconic ciaries. While one van is already doing the rounds, club, but “they put me in the waiting list for so long the second one, procured through a global grant worth that I decided to become a charter member of RC $150,000, will be pressed into service shortly. Wadhwan City in 2001.”

Finding funds for service projects is his mantra Manish Sharda Plywood manufacturer, RC Meerut Mahan, RID 3100

ith the pandemic bringing to nought as DG, the district member- many project ideas, Manish Sharda is ship was 2,249 and so far, 60 Wnow visiting clubs “to motivate Rotar- new Rotarians have been added. ians to do whatever projects that are feasible.” “I will open 10 new Rotary clubs, 10 He has applied for a global grant worth $60,000 new Rotaract clubs and add 5,400 Rotaractors for for a vaccination project to prevent cervical cancer the current year,” he says. On July 1, in an online and another GG worth $50,000 for installing eight meet, he chartered RAC IIMT Umang with 5,000 dialysis machines — four at the Rotary dialysis Rotaractors. centre in Meerut and the rest in a private hospital For the Foundation, he has set $100,000 as his in Muzaffarnagar. But his problem is paucity of target. Though he joined Rotary in 1997, “I was not funds “as our district was delisted for three years active as I was pursuing higher studies. Within six till 2018.” Sharda is in touch with RIPE Shekhar years, I became a member of RC Meerut Mahan Mehta, Trustee Gulam Vahanvaty and others to with past president Ramesh Kapoor being my men- find funds for service projects. tor.” In this new club, Sharda became involved in His first priority is member retention and club meetings and project activities, thanks to the adding 300 new members. When he took over inspiration from his mentor.

68 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

K_Meet your Governors_December 2020.indd 68 27-Nov-20 12:08:58 PM A virtual meet on Basic Education & Literacy

Team Rotary News

otary has committed Rto achieve 100 per cent literacy in South Asia by 2025 and it is therefore the responsibility of every Rotarian in the region to work for the fulfillment of this grand objective, said RIPE Shekhar Mehta addressing a virtual meet to promote Basic Educa- tion and Literacy (BEL) programme under leadership of PDG Ramesh Agrawal, member, Major Children working with computers at the Ideal Jawa Rotary School (file photo). Gift Initiatives (MGI) Committee, BEL. The event jointly Rotary Bangalore Vahanvaty cited the Anne Mathews nar- hosted by the RISAO Orchards, motivated the various studies at Rotary rated anecdotes to show team had the participation audience with his own and UN to highlight that that the most impactful are of TRF Trustee Gulam story of being able to literacy was perhaps the endowment contributions Vahanvati, BEL-MGI chair make a difference in the most important millen- to BEL. Anne Mathews, Nafisa communities around him. nium goal. A 100 per AKS members Suresh from RI headquarters He pointed out that every cent literacy is the prime Poddar and Uday Pilani and Sanjay Parmar from penny contributed results need for a sustainable made presentations on RISAO. Ravi Shankar into a well-spread out, prosperity and lasting their Happy Schools Dakoju, past president, multiplier effect. peace, he said. projects.

Rotary Podcast from RC Theni Metro Kings

otary Club of Theni Metro Kings, RID 3000, recently figuring out ways to executing something similar,” says Rlaunched Planet Rotary, a podcast series to talk about Narmadha. Rotary and its many worthwhile causes. The idea was con- The club’s podcast had a virtual inauguration with DG ceived by club president Narmadha Vijayakumar. She, A L Chokkalingam, DGN I Jerald and PDG Dr Zameer along with her husband Rtn A R Vijayakumar, have hosted Pasha logging in. ARRFC P Gopalakrishnan released two episodes so far. the Planet Rotary logo. The first episode — Who is a A podcast is a recording of audio discussion on Rotarian — was released by PDG R V N Kannan a specific topic and often uploaded on apps such and the second one has Rtn Raja Govindasamy as Spotify, Anchor and iTunes. “This dynamic sharing his experiences as a beneficiary medium is a perfect way to humanise our rela- of Rotary’s Graduate Fellowship Programme tionship with each other and propagate ideas. which supported his higher studies at the Ohio This means, sitting in Theni we can talk about University in the US. our Happy School project while someone sit- Tune in to Planet_Rotary on Spotify or ting in Toronto could be listening to the podcast Anchor.

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 69

A virtual meet on Basic Education & Literacy.indd 69 11/27/2020 4:48:21 PM wealth at an impossibly fast pace and were not averse to vulgar displays of that wealth. For this they earned the Wordsworld sobriquet ‘robber barons’. The phrase ‘gilded age’ is apparently from American writer Mark Twain, Money money money, ‘describing a period that glittered on the surface, as if painted in gold, but was decaying underneath. That decay it’s so funny was to be found in politics above all, as the expansion of the franchise in the Sandhya Rao early 1800s gave birth to the rampant corruption of the “spoils” system. The world of India’s gilded age and Powerful urban political machines traded bribery and patronage for jobs the spawning of newbie billionaires. and votes’. Crabtree goes on to write that he thought India might be going t was the docu-series Bad Boy mega-compromise: Vijay Mallya, through something similar after reading Billionaires that finally pushed Nirav Modi and Subroto Roy. The an article in the Financial Times by Ime to read The Billionaire Raj book goes far further, examining the venture capitalist Jayant Sinha and by James Crabtree, published by business of business at the topmost academic Ashutosh Varshney. ‘In Tim Duggan Books. This beautifully echelons, the number of billionaires its rot and heady dynamism, India bound item featuring on its dust jacket who have emerged on the Indian scene is beginning to resemble America’s the Ambanis’s home Antilia reaching thanks in large part to their willingness Gilded Age,’ they argued in the article disjointedly up into a purple sky had to mix risk with savvy, and not afraid headlined, ‘It is time for India to rein in landed on my shelves almost two of wheeling-dealing. While the docu- its robber barons’. years ago, courtesy my son. However, series left me feeling indignant, the Crabtree does an organised, thor- despite his constant prodding, I had book stirs up questions on both sides ough job, talking about the rise of such not got down to reading it, although of the coin as it even-handedly draws industrialists in the first chapter enti- that had always been on my cards. an enormous picture that demands tled, interestingly, ‘Robber Barons’. Perhaps the fact that the makers of the your attention. They were, undoubtedly, inspired docu-series occasionally called upon There’s a context to the description and daring; equally undoubtedly they Crabtree to share his views on this or that follows the title: A Journey through paved the way for others on the road to that matter finally tipped the balance. India’s New Gilded Age. The term super-wealth, particularly in a climate Whatever the reason, I now find ‘gilded age’ is taken from a reference to of economic liberalisation. However, myself unable to dislodge my nose the period between the end of the Civil from the pages of this curious, complex War in 1865 to the turn of the twentieth story communicated in clear, engaging century — in the United States. Crabtree prose. Innumerable voices share quotes a historian as saying it was the innumerable experiences: some come era of ‘the great corporation, the crass as a bolt from the blue for the average plutocrat [and] the calculating political reader, others jog the recall button and boss’. A nation that had all along seen the memories come flooding back. itself as ‘a rural, egalitarian idyll: a And as you read you get a sense of the nation of yeoman farmers governed by socio-political, socio-economic and gentlemen politicians’ was transformed eco-political implications of making ‘into a giant continental economy more than ‘just a living’ in a country and the world’s leading industrial with potential for corruption. power’. This ‘growth gave birth to a The series that’s airing focuses new generation of plutocrats’, people on three dubious stars of corporate who grew their businesses and their

70 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

P_Wordsworld_Money money money, it’s so funny.indd 70 11/28/2020 1:14:23 PM Debt’, that laid bare the financial mess that followed some years of investment boom. Crabtree writes, ‘Beginning in the early 2000s, many of the country’s major tycoons had gone on a serious borrowing binge, vacuuming up bank loans, layering on leverage and using the resulting funds to fire up bold new projects, from power stations and toll roads to ports and bauxite mines.’ Most of these did well. Then there was another round of big investments and bank loans around 2008… and these ran into trouble. While the Tatas and Reliance as India’s most celebrated intellectual, had decent balance sheets, others did the economist Amartya Sen, com- not. They were found to be running ments, while ‘economic reopening had entirely on debt. The unravelling of this days of celebrations. All this bang in indeed created a more vibrant econ- period of India’s economic history is an the middle of the demonetisation drive! omy, [it was] one that was less equal eye-opener. Reddy claimed he had spent some `300 and fair’. Crabtree reminds us that ‘Sen Crabtree makes no judgements in million; the media put the figure at also looked to the successful “tiger” his unravelling of the particularities and about `5.5 billion, to quote Crabtree. economies of east Asia, but mostly peculiarities of India’s various systems The IPL features in the account as because of the way that they grew rich and Indians’ financial practices. also the current bad boy of television, by investing heavily in basic health Whether it is Naveen Jindal, or Gautam Arnab Goswami. Yes, ‘India’s ultra- and education, which in turn helped Singhania or the Reddy brothers of wealthy are thriving’ today, despite to provide social support to poorer Satyam Computers fame… the writing everything. Crabtree brings us back workers as they moved from farms to is clear and objective, the book a must- down to earth with sane voices, such factories and onwards into the middle read. Incidentally, Singhania’s JK as that of Amartya Sen: ‘There is class. Modern India, by contrast, more House in Breach Candy, Mumbai, is something a little deceptive about often looked like an economy in Latin the tallest family home in India, rising focusing on the very rich. Having lots of America, with a weak social safety net up 36 floors. And his speedboats are rich people is not always a big problem and yawning inequality.’ named after James Bond movies: so long as they get no special favors Then the book goes on to discuss GoldenEye, Goldfinger, Octopussy and pay fair taxes.’ While India’s gilded the Narendra Modi effect, the series and Thunderball! There’s mention age has transformed India, Crabtree of scams that upturned the economic of impossibly fancy weddings too. writes, ‘into one of the world’s least climate, the collusion of money, power A wedding in the family of mining equal countries’, he goes on to say and politics and the special brand of tycoon Gali Janardhana Reddy that ‘without action, this gap between cronyism practiced in South India, (remember the iron ore scandals in rich and poor is only likely to widen. with special mention of J Jayalalithaa Karnataka?) bears recounting. The Perversely, the closer India comes to its and Tamil Nadu. The book then winds invitation to his daughter’s marriage ambitions of near-double-digit growth, down with a section entitled ‘A New came in a box that had a small television the faster this will happen’. We might all Gilded Age’. Here Crabtree discusses screen built into the lid. This played a want to think about this. The Billionaire the ‘House of Debt’ companies; it’s a video in which the bride, groom and Raj definitely helps us think about this. fascinating account of how stock analyst Reddy himself danced, Bollywood Ashish Gupta sniffed out the fact that style. The wedding was conducted The columnist is a children’s many big industrial houses were caving in a set constructed to resemble the writer and senior journalist. under mountains of debt. His research Hampi heritage site and was attended led to a 35-page document, ‘House of by about 50,000 guests over several Designed by Krishnapratheesh S

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 71

P_Wordsworld_Money money money, it’s so funny.indd 71 11/28/2020 1:14:23 PM Membership Summary As on November 1, 2020 Rotary News Subscription RI Rotary No of Women Rotaract Interact Remittances RCC District Clubs Rotarians Rotarians % Clubs Clubs You can pay the 5RWDU\1HZV»5RWDU\6DPDFKDU 2981 120 5,137 6.33 51 39 225 subscription online 2982 72 3,151 6.54 87 96 56 3000 188 256 211 Our Bank details: 130 5,261 8.34 3011 4,193 25.97 64 103 35 Bank : HDFC Bank 107 SB Account 3012 110 3,866 24.86 60 71 59 3020 73 4,491 6.48 58 156 351 Branch : Montieth Road 3030 5,157 14.76 125 184 325 Egmore, Chennai 95 3040 92 2,256 12.01 44 52 147 A/c Name : Rotary News Trust 3053 64 2,786 16.73 23 40 112 A/c No. : 50100213133460 3054 142 6,482 19.64 101 149 524 IFSC Code : HDFC0003820 3060 103 4,710 14.76 61 63 147 3070 116 3,454 17.46 49 22 59 E-mail us following details: 3080 84 3,385 9.51 107 148 116 Name of club 3090 81 2,290 5.94 44 9 122 President/secretary’s name 3100 100 2,331 8.32 14 14 146 Amount/date of transfer/UTR number 3110 135 3,746 8.97 29 7 105 3120 3,362 14.72 50 21 54 For physical payment by cheque or 83 cash in bank, write Club Name only 3131 138 5,303 21.44 117 199 121 without prefixing “Rotary Club of”. 3132 88 3,483 10.13 41 97 165 Eg. Rotary Club of Delhi Central 3141 105 5,744 24.79 134 147 94 should be written: Delhi Central. 3142 91 3,346 21.04 84 118 69 3150 89 3,540 10.68 66 124 118 3160 78 2,586 6.81 28 3 83 3170 134 5,778 13.59 84 213 169 Rotary at a glance 3181 83 3,437 9.16 63 192 118 3182 83 3,201 8.15 50 103 98 Rotarians : 1,196,478 3190 145 6,128 16.16 157 166 66 3201 146 5,701 8.35 109 73 52 Clubs : 36,397 3202 141 5,893 6.82 103 252 48 3211 144 4,705 7.10 9 24 132 3212 108 4,359 9.08 104 187 150 Districts : 525 3231 100 4,006 12.23 53 81 419 3232 128 5,905 19.39 136 199 93 Rotaractors : 211,714 3240 92 3,205 13.57 60 393 203 3250 101 3,811 18.32 72 65 185 Clubs : 11,077 3261 76 2,736 16.19 20 21 43 3262 107 3,789 13.06 54 40 78 3291 3,873 105 88 629 Interactors : 351,762 159 21.04 India Total 4,043 156,587 2,804 4,215 5,927 3220 71 1,960 15.05 86 126 74 Clubs : 15,294 3271 116 1,839 17.67 70 19 22 3272 160 1,906 17.52 59 15 44 RCC : 11,412 3281 240 7,163 17.23 249 51 201 3282 160 4,120 10.90 179 42 46 As on November 17, 2020 3292 141 5,581 16.27 148 121 121 S Asia Total 4,931 179,156 3,595 4,589 6,435 Source: RI South Asia Office

Membership Details - December 2020.indd 72 11/26/2020 8:58:23 PM Paul Harris’ statue installed in Aurangabad

Team Rotary News

Rotarians with the newly-installed statue of Rotary Founder Paul Harris.

ow the residents inscription in Marathi on formed a three-member The bust was sculpted of Aurangabad the pedestal to inform committee for this by Niranjan Madilgekar, Ncan appreciate the the public about the purpose. The committee son of late Rtn Subhash role of Rotary in making origin of Rotary and its briefed ward member Madilgekar. Only 15 the world a better place global activities over the Surendra Kulkarni from Rotarians including with the inauguration of decades. The then DG the municipality on the Vaidya, PDG Prafulla its founder Paul Harris’ Suhas Vaidya liked the project. “Kulkarni is well Mirajgaonkar, Kulkarni, bust at a prominent spot suggestion and agreed aware of Rotary’s work as AKS member Asasingh, in the city. As part of its to part-fund this project. we have joined hands with Toshniwal, committee public image building Toshniwal called a the municipality in doing members and club presi- exercise and to pay meeting of all eight club several projects in the dents were present on the homage to Harris, his bust presidents in Aurangabad city. He liked the idea and occasion due to lockdown was unveiled by IPDG to explain about the extended his support to restrictions. Suhas Vaidya at a simple project and expressed facilitate the installation of “A brief information ceremony due to Covid his willingness to donate the statue,” said Vaidya. in Marathi about Rotary, restrictions. space in his building The project work its founder and the global RID 3132 district complex located at a began on June 24 and work being done was secretary Ashok three-road junction. was completed in quick put up on a granite stone Toshniwal (2019–20) RC Aurangabad Cen- time for Rotarians to below the bust for the put forth the idea of tral agreed to implement inaugurate the Paul Harris people of Aurangabad to installing the statue of the project and its then statue through a simple take note of our organisa- Paul Harris with a short president Bharat Chopade ceremony on July 12. tion,” said Vaidya.

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 73

Paul Harris’ statue installed in Aurangabad.indd 73 11/27/2020 11:47:06 AM Health

ore than ever we need to live in a huge, transparent emotional Of emotional Mbubble. The reason being: there is so much information about Covid, war clouds, drugs, economic distress, suicides, murders, deaths and destruction around us intelligence that we could end up in an emotional mess if we are not careful. According to the US Supreme Court Justice W Douglas, our and maturity emotions direct our life — “90 per cent of our judgements is how we feel about things and 10 per cent is used to justify Bharat & Shalan Savur these feelings.”

Power off to power on. A good way to test your emotional state is to switch off your cellphone — Now, sit quietly by yourself. Is your mind racing, jump- ing all over the place, are thoughts running around, dialogues and monologues happening continually? “Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings,” Friedrich Nietzsche had said. If due attention is not given, they make your emotions swing like a monkey from tree to tree, from like to dislike, from pleasure to despair. To be buffeted between opposites is tiring. And this is where emotional intelligence comes in. It’s the ability to understand how our feelings and thoughts work on our mental state and manage our emotions wisely. Don’t become the emotion. The way is: not to push away the feeling. Feel, but don’t become the emotion. Mean- ing, don’t flip your lid! It’s like stubbing your toe accidentally against a heavy table, getting wild and becoming the pain and kicking the table. When we lose our equilibrium to anger, the prefrontal cortex in our brain that regulates our emotion loses its ability to control our emotional limbic system. Thus we act stupidly and give ourselves more pain. How do we hold on to our equilibrium? Do not label yourself as ‘an angry person’ or ‘an emotional person’, but understand that somewhere within you there exists a supremely intelligent, con- scious self who is eternally in peace and bliss. With this knowledge, you hold on

K_Health_Of emotional intelligence and maturity.indd 74 27-Nov-20 12:06:26 PM to your equilibrium and feel the emo- being swept away.” Ergo, we retain our tion release itself. equilibrium and sense of balance even in these disruptive, different times. $WDJH¿YHFKLOGUHQOHDUQDERXW The heart is big enough... Jack When we are not drawn into the me and mine, become more Kornfield, a spiritual teacher, explains drama of the information coming our self-focused. Then, in school, the process beautifully. He observes, way, we are able to view it from the “A desiring mind can take you any- transparent emotional bubble I spoke unfortunately, they are not taught where — to the mall, to marriage, to about in the beginning. This does not kindness but competition. divorce... .But to be able to sit and say mean we become unfeeling, rather it ‘Ah, this is desire, this is longing, this means, with the practice taught by Jack, is love...’ you begin to discover that the we become emotionally unshackled and heart is big enough to hold it all.” Isn’t emotionally mature. We cannot work on the effort... that’s important.” He says that a wonderful revelation — the heart what’s happening outside of us except he will never give up on Tibet. “We is so large that it can hold all desires silently send out healing thoughts to will always make the effort!” and all kinds of emotions. He reels off, all troubled people, but we can, in When we forget ourselves, we are “You say, ‘this is restlessness, this is our new maturity, work on ourselves. emotionally free. Watch infants. They joy, this is fear, this is hate...’ When A long view. “Educate the heart,” urges are emotionally free and compassion- you acknowledge it, you get curious, the Dalai Lama. He advocates taking a ate. You ask them for something they you wonder, ‘What is this energy in me, long view. Calm all inner turmoil. Be are holding in their little hands and how does it feel if I let myself expe- selfless and compassionate. Create a they give it readily. Experts say, at age rience it?’ Then, you invite it to open force that acts for good — small acts five, children learn about me and mine, out and say, ‘All right, show me... the like cooking for the old lady down the become more self-focused and not so whole nine yards...!’” street from where you live. Let people ready to part with their toys or biscuits Most of us are normally caught up know they are not alone. He points out: after that! Then, in school, unfortu- in the current of our thoughts, feelings Every day there are many more acts of nately, they are not taught kindness but and emotions. We resist our fears and kindness than the headlines show. It is competition. And this attitude, with few sorrow. It’s uncomfortable to be pushing important to remember that and keep a exceptions, remain with far too many of against those emotions, for sadness can sense of proportion. us. The Dalai Lama wants every school be an overhanging dark malevolence in In his words: “The whole world to include kindness in its curriculum. the mind. We don’t even know that we is interdependent, just one family. He lives in a bare room, has a few are fighting with shadows. But when Have a feeling of oneness and come robes and that’s it. The only time he we identify each emotion by name, as closer.” He cites his own experience shopped, he bought a little bowl for Jack tells us to, and say, ‘It’s okay to which he says may help us: “When we his cat! The world needs him, we need show yourself,’ magically, the intensity were in Tibet, we were isolated. When his spirit of selflessness, his kindness dies down. The shadows fade under our we came to India as refugees, we have to pervade us. I have looked into the attention — that’s why it’s referred to as that feeling that we are the same, all Dalai Lama’s eyes when I met him ‘the light of attention.’ And, as Tenzin are human beings. Then we feel much at Dharamshala. There’s something Palmo, a Buddhist teacher, says, “With happier!” It’s a marvellous perspective transformative in being with him. He awareness, we can observe it all without without trivialising the truth. personifies John F Kennedy’s beautiful words: “Peace is a daily, a weekly, a Never feel helpless. “Use human monthly process, gradually changing intelligence!” He taps the side of his opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, Emotion is always very narrow. forehead. “Then you can see real- quietly building new structures.” ity. Emotion is always very narrow. Let’s be a force for the good. And Human intelligence is very Human intelligence is very helpful usher in a new healing world. helpful to develop our emotion to develop our emotion and become and become wiser, otherwise only wiser, otherwise only emotion is The writers are authors of Fitness just me, me, me...!” he says, “Never for Life and Simply Spiritual – You emotion is just me, me, me...! feel helpless. Without losing self- Are Naturally Divine and teachers of confidence, make the effort... make the Fitness for Life programme.

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 75

K_Health_Of emotional intelligence and maturity.indd 75 27-Nov-20 12:06:26 PM CLUB HOP

RC Mannai Green City — RID 2981 RC Delhi Manthan — RID 3011

Polio drops were A neglected pond given to over 100 at Mannargudi children at was spruced up the Sudhaar by Rotarians camp in a in the pres- slum area ence of AG G at Kalkaji. Manoharan and Three club president Rotarians J Sudhakar. including club secretary Srinivas Kotni were present.

RC Sankagiri — RID 2982 RC Sonepat — RID 3012

A tailoring class for Scholarships needy women was worth started. Certif- `10.6 lakh icates will be were given given on com- to 45 needy pletion of the students. course and job Project assistance will Chair also be provided Sanjeev Bali to them. contributed from his family trust.

RC Madurai Elite — RID 3000 RC Waltair — RID 3020

A walkathon titled A sanitiser produc- Kalam’s Vision Walk tion unit was was organised to set up. Over mark the 89th 10,000 litres birth anniver- of sanitisers sary of former have been President A P J distributed Abdul Kalam. and seven More than 300 villages were students took part disinfected. in the event.

76 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

Club HOP - Final - December 2020.indd 76 11/28/2020 7:59:50 PM CLUB HOP

RC Chandrapur — RID 3030 RC Kapurthala Elite — RID 3070

To mark Breastfeeding Week, a special camp was held The club members for pregnant distributed eye women at drops, masks Jibgaon, a and spectacles tribal village. to inmates of Nutritious the Kapurthala food and sani- district jail. tary napkins were distributed.

RC Bhopal Hills — RID 3040 RC Umbraj — RID 3132

The club, alongwith Welcome gifts are being RCs Bhopal Arera given to around and Bhopal 200 mothers of Shahpura, newborns at the provided primary health food grains centre, Umbraj, to around 50 in Karad families whose tehsil, Satara, houses were under the Shishu washed away by Shubhachintan floods at Lalit Nagar. project.

RC Navsari — RID 3060 RC Mumbai Greencity — RID 3141

Huge quantity of waste collected after Tribal students at an Ganesh utsav adopted school in and from Samba village in river banks Palgarh district were trans- were guided ported to the to save water Agricultural and avoid use of University for plastic. Cloth bags converting into were distributed. organic fertiliser.

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 77

Club HOP - Final - December 2020.indd 77 11/28/2020 7:59:52 PM CLUB HOP

RC Thane Aces — RID 3142 RC Karkala — RID 3182

Under a multidistrict On World Heart Day, the project Ankur, fertil- club joined hands isers, micro nutri- with Cardiology ents and seeds At Doorstep were given to Foundation 40 families of (CAD) kin of deceased and Senha farmers in Jyothi Karmad and Friends to Phulambri taluks hand over an near Aurangabad. ECG equipment to a PHC, Muniyal.

RC Nizamabad — RID 3150 RC Coimbatore Vadavalli — RID 3201

On World Polio Day, a Masks with Rotary giant banner was logo were released along distributed with posters at the by the district Bharathiar health officer University to create and to the awareness on employees Rotary’s efforts of P N Pudur to eradicate this post office. disease.

RC Navanandi — RID 3160 RC Karamadai — RID 3202

Around 7,000 Sewing machines pamphlets on were given to 30 polio aware- needy women ness were in the pres- distributed. ence of DG The club B Chinnapa members Reddy at a cost with polio of `2 lakh. t-shirts and masks took part in a walkathon.

78 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

Club HOP - Final - December 2020.indd 78 11/28/2020 7:59:54 PM CLUB HOP

RC Trivandrum North — RID 3211 RC Sibsagar — RID 3240

Twenty Covid boards with a list of safety precautions The club mem- were given to bers distributed the medical fruits to 100 college police patients at a station to be Covid care installed at hospital. prominent spots in the city.

RC Ramnad — RID 3212 RC Phulbani — RID 3262

DG P N B Murugadoss Blankets were flagged off a distributed to End Polio needy families car rally. to keep them ARRFC warm during Chinnadurai the winter Abdullah season. released a postal stamp.

RC Cheyyar Temple City — RID 3231 RC Serampore — RID 3291

Fifty pregnant DG Sudip women, doctors, Mukherjee gave frontline work- away clothes ers including to children health vol- and women unteers were under Paridhan feted at the project. Masks PHC, Kovilur. and sanitisers were An RO water given. unit was installed. Compiled by V Muthukumaran

DECEMBER 2020 ROTARY NEWS 79

Club HOP - Final - December 2020.indd 79 11/28/2020 7:59:56 PM From RI South Asia Office desk

Webinars on diversity, equity and Paul Harris Society — way to Foundation Recognition Points inclusion enhance Annual Fund contribution Foundation recognition points are Throughout 2020–21, Rotary will host The Paul Harris Society (PHS) recog- awarded to donors who contribute a webinar series to explore diversity, nises Rotary members and friends of to TRF through the Annual Fund or equity and inclusion. The first in TRF who contribute $1,000 or more PolioPlus, or who contribute to spon- the series was held in September on each year to the Annual Fund, Polio- sorship of a Foundation grant. Design and inclusive plan for your Plus Fund or approved global grants. Donors receive one recognition organisation. The Paul Harris Society has more point for every dollar contributed Some of the other topics in pipeline than doubled in size since 2013–14. to these funds. Contributions to the are Holding each other accountable; Society members make up a vital Endowment Fund are not eligible. No justice, no peace; Intergenerational community of leaders whose contri- Donors can transfer Foundation rec- relationships and Building an inclu- butions account for over 18 per cent of ognition points to others to help them sive brand. Recording of all webinars the donations to TRF’s Annual Fund qualify as a Paul Harris Fellow or Mul- will be available at https://vimeo.com/ and over 17 per cent of donations to tiple Paul Harris Fellow. A minimum channels/rotarymembership the Foundation overall. This support of 100 Foundation recognition points allows the Foundation to fund extraor- must be transferred at a time, and the PAN requirement for RF(I) dinary projects and activities close to donor must complete and sign the Rec- contributions home and around the globe. ognition and Transfer Request form. Effective April 1, it is mandatory to To strengthen Paul Harris Society The points may not be transferred from provide PAN numbers for all contri- within your district/club, you may individuals to a club or district. butions made online/offline towards access the Paul Harris Society report Club and district leaders can RF(I), irrespective of value or the available under Foundation Reports in view the online Club Recognition donor’s intention to claim tax exemp- My Rotary. This report helps you to Summary, which includes the rec- tion under Section 80G of the Income identify prospective members based ognition amount, recognition points, Tax Act 1961. Contributions received on past giving, thank members who current Paul Harris Fellow level, and without PAN details will not be pro- have fulfilled their annual commit- date that level was achieved through cessed by RI South-Asia Office. ment, and remind those who have not. My Rotary login. Rotary gifts a blood analyser to a hospital

Team Rotary News otary Clubs of Salem South and RSalem Central, RID 2982, donated a fully-automated six-part blood analyser to Sri Ramakrishna Mission Charitable Dispensary in the city that caters to 50,000 patients annually. The equipment costing `4.55 lakh is used to count and identify blood cells at high speed and accuracy to diagnose various diseases. DG K S Venkatesan handed over the equipment to the dispensary in the presence of RRFC P Vasu, ARC C Sivagnanaselvam and AG P Prabhakaran.

80 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

RISAOffice - Dec 2020.indd 80 11/28/2020 8:01:03 PM On the racks

The New Wilderness Author : Diane Cook Publisher : Harper Pages : 416; `299

Shuggie Bain group of twenty people Author : Douglas Stuart Afrom a world overrun Publisher : Grove Press by pollution and population Pages : 430; `499 are sent to the only remaining pocket of nature — The New Romancing the Heart ith a dream of a perfect Wilderness. In the group is Author : Dr Akshaya Mehta Wlife, Agnes Bain leaves Bea who desperately wants Publisher : Kindle Edition her husband for a taxi driver to improve her daughter Pages : 320; `285 who later abandons her. Agnes Agnes’s health spoiled by the believes in having everything contaminated city they used eeping both the young and old picture perfect as opposed to to live in. The wilderness Kin mind, Dr Akshay Mehta how it is actually supposed to is governed by Rangers, lays out affordable, effective and be. She puts up a proud face, who check the movements universally available means to a when in reality her world is of the group. With minimal healthy heart and spells out how falling apart. She turns alcoholic possessions, the group is heart diseases can be avoided to cope with her struggles and expected to live by hunting altogether. He points out to the early it is up to her six-year-old son while carefully leaving no warning signs of a heart attack, and Shuggie Bain to take care of trail of themselves behind. if struck by it, the correct choices of his mother. We follow the life All of them are strictly treatment and guidance to the path of journey of this small boy from supposed to adhere to the recovery. age six to 17 giving up on rules laid out in a manual. With 30 years of experience in everything for the sake of his While the daughter thrives cardiology, the author explains in mother, who wrecks his life. in the new setting, learning details some of the most frequently As a result, he grows up amid new skills and taking things asked questions and also some of poverty and violence. Bain also positively, the mother misses the lesser known facts about heart struggles to conform with the her old life and finds herself disease. This book shares knowledge standards of his society in terms becoming a reluctant leader and works as an actionable guide of proving his masculinity. of the group. The story to aid anyone who wants to lead a Winner of the Booker Prize follows the community’s healthy life. 2020, this book weaves a tragic struggle to survive in a new For a hard copy of the book tale that showcases the grim land as they step out of the email: [email protected] realities of life. guidelines.

Compiled by Kiran Zehra

DECEMBERDECEMBER 20202020 R ROTARYOTARY NEWNEWSS 8181

P_On the Racks_Dec20.indd 81 11/28/2020 11:35:12 AM A slap in time

TCA Srinivasa Raghavan

ecently I was asked a easily afford it.” So that’s what I did open cockpit and dual controls. He strange question by a by filling a simple form that asked showed me the speed meter and the young nephew. He is only for my name, address and hun- altitude meter and finally gave the sign Rabout 10 years old and, dred rupees as membership fees. to the winch man to pull us up. And according to his parents, overly ener- The first two weekends were spent off we went, up into the cold Decem- getic. They said a teacher in his school on ground instruction which consisted ber air. Believe me there’s nothing to had given him a whack one day. I said of how to tell wind direction — you beat that soft hiss of air rushing past, he probably deserved it, whereupon he just looked at the wind sock — and no other sound and everything below angrily asked his question: have you how the controls worked. The rest you, floating by silently. The only ever been slapped by a stranger, that was doing coolie work of pulling the other sound was the occasional sound too in front of others? If so when was gliders out from the hangar, wiping of a car horn. It was blissful — till the the last time? them, and helping to attach them to the third flight. I thought back and realised I had winch that pulled them up into the air. As soon as we had got up to 800 been whacked only twice. Once was I must say I enjoyed it all very much. feet, the instructor asked me what when I was caned by the headmas- My turn for my first flight came on would happen if I pulled the stick ter for laughing during the morning the third weekend. The instructor was back. I should have said the nose will prayers. I was 13 at the time. The sec- a tough, no-nonsense man. He asked go up but I said we will climb. OK, ond time was in 1978 when I was 27 me to get in on the front seat and he said the instructor, let’s climb. I pulled years old — and about 1,000 feet up took the back seat. The glider had an the stick back, the nose went up — and in the air. after a few seconds, we started falling It happened like this. My girlfriend towards the ground like a stone. I was had dumped me a couple of months frightened out of my wits but worse earlier. As a result weekends which I was to come. Suddenly the glider’s used to look forward to had become Suddenly the glider’s nose nose was pointing down, and from the a terrible burden. In the 1970s there was pointing down, and front seat I saw the ground rushing up was absolutely nothing to do except at me. I almost passed out with fear mope and drink. Moping was free but from the front seat I saw the when the thing quietly righted itself, drink cost money, of which I didn’t ground rushing up at me. and we were floating gently down to have enough. land. It was then that I got the stinging I almost passed out with A very close friend of mine who slap, wham! “That,” said the instruc- was a pilot got worried and suggested fear when the thing quietly tor, “will help you remember that a I become a member of the gliding righted itself, and we were glider has no engines and if you pull club to learn the basics of flying. “It the nose up, it will stall.” takes so long to get your turn that the floating gently down to land. I told my nephew the story and weekends will go by quickly,” he said. told him that he too would stall if he “Also, it is very cheap and you can didn’t remember to do well in tests.

82 ROTARY NEWS DECEMBER 2020

K_LBW_A slap in time.indd 82 27-Nov-20 12:07:57 PM In Brief Goddess Durga as migrant Indian-American teen develops mother potential Covid drug Barisha Club’s Durga Anika Chebrolu, a 14-year-old from Texas, won the Puja Committee in 2020 3M Young Scientist Challenge for her work on Kolkata is paying developing a molecule that can bind to a certain protein a tribute to migrant of the coronavirus workers with a statue and prevent it from depicting the goddess functioning. The as a migrant mother Indian-American with her children. The installation of the statue teenager has been highlights the plight of migrant workers who were awarded $25,000 left without jobs and forced to walk hundreds of for her research on a kilometres home during the lockdown. Rintu Das, potential drug to treat the sculptor, has gained a lot of online appreciation Covid-19. for creating the statue.

Pregnant woman runs Assam doctor dances for a mile in less than 6 min Covid patients In a viral video on Instagram ENT surgeon Dr Arup and Twitter, Makenna Myler, a Senapati from Silchar 28-year-old pregnant woman, ran a Medical College, Assam, mile in less than six minutes. This is winning hearts with his was her response to her husband’s dance moves to the song $100 bet that she could not run the Ghungroo from the movie distance in less than eight minutes War. Clad in a full PPE kit, while being nine-month pregnant. the doctor was trying to Myler dreams of representing the cheer up Covid patients at US in the Olympics. Her husband, captured the feat on video the hospital. Within few minutes of his colleague and asked “Someone find whether this is a world record?” on Dr Syed Faizan Ahmad sharing the video, it had his Instagram and TikTok posts. over two lakh views.

PDG Agarwal donates blood for the 100th time

PDG Anil Agarwal, RID 3054, donated blood for the 100th time on his birthday on Sep 18. He was accompanied by Dr Sudhir Bhandari, principal and controller of SMS Medical College and Hospital, the largest government hospital in Rajasthan. Dr Bhandari honoured him for his commitment to blood donation. RIPE Shekhar Mehta also tweeted and congratulated him.

Compiled by Kiran Zehra; Designed by Krishnapratheesh S

P_Wrapper_Back_Back_Inside_December20.indd 83 30-Nov-20 12:15:06 PM Regn. No. TN/CCN/360/2018-2020 Total number of pages in this monthly Licensed to post WPP No.TN/PMG(CCR)/WPP-431/2018-2020 issue, including cover, 84. Price: `35 Registered with Registrar of News Papers for India 3880/57 Rotary News Published on the ﬁrst week of every month

P_Wrapper_Back_Back_Inside_December20.indd 84 30-Nov-20 12:15:05 PM