COMPLIMENTARY COPY NOVEMBER 12, 2017 Volume III, Issue 21 4 PAGES BFMC TIMES THE WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN MEMORIAL CLUB IN THIS ISSUE News & Update | Editorial - Ben Venkat | Subscription update | UnScramble | Crossword | Interview of the week | Special Article - Ben Dr. Gita Sharma | Meeting Report - Nov 5, 2017 | News in Pictures BEN HARSHA IS THE NEXT PRESIDENT - BNS (Nov 5) President – Ben Harsha (9 votes) against Ben Utkarsh (8 ALMOST THERE - Keep watching this space for a detailed coverage on how the votes), Ben Siddharth (1 DONE IN BY Elections have taken place. Or haven’t! We ended our last vote). RETURNING week’s story with this line. Vice-President OFFICER! Sunday, November 5, 2017 Spellbound institute. 2:45 p.m. 4 (Administration) – Ben Ben Utkarsh members present: Mouli, Venkat, Sunil, Krishnaveni. No Tushar (12 votes) against gave a valiant nominations received for Elections 2017. Ben Ayush (5 votes). fight to the It looked like it was going to be a washout. It looked like Vice-President BFMC Times would, after all, report how the elections Presidential (Education) – Ben Krish- c o n t e s t haven’t taken place. naveni (Unanimous). polling an * * * General Secretary – Bens Praharsha (13 votes) against equal number of votes as Ben Cut to the scene a couple of hours later. The Benjamin Srikanth (4 votes) Harsha the other contestant. Franklin Memorial Club election process for the year 2017 Joint Secretary cum Treasurer – Ben Sriram However the Returning Officer's is complete. A new Governing Board Elect is in place. (Unanimous). vote to break the 'Tie' resulted in eventual winner Ben Harsha The Score Card * * * piping Ben Utkarsh to the post. Electorate: 17 voters (Bens Mouli, Jayaraman, Muralimohan, It was Déjà vu all over. Last minute nominations. Last mi- In his defence Ben Utkarsh gave Sethuraman, Kamal, Venkat, Sairam, Krishnaveni, Harsha, nute rules (not a secret ballot, RO’s vote is tie-breaker). A Tushar, Praharsha, Srikanth, Siddharth, Bhargav, Ayush and sleek & shiny ballot box. Unanimous elects. Campaign a positive campaign speech and Vybhav) and 1 Returning Officer (Sunil) whose vote would speeches. Near invalid votes. Nail biting finishes. And, of fielded questions with aplomb. come to count in case of a tie anywhere. course, a brilliant one-time campaign almost upsetting a His presence at the meetings Nominations: President – Bens Utkarsh, Siddarth, Harsha; favourite with a commendable track record. more often could have enabled him garner more votes, however Vice-President (Administration) – Bens Ayush, Tushar; Vice The baton has passed over. The stage is set for the new -President (Education) – Ben Krishnaveni; General Secre- order to take over with a bunch of young Bens soon to be he did give Ben Harsha quite tary – Bens Praharsha, Srikanth; Joint Secretary cum Treas- some anxious moments. the helm after the yet-to-be-announced Installation Nite. urer – Ben Sriram. Yes, Keep watching this space! Final Tally: A STRONG OPPOSITION? INVALID VOTE CAUSE FOR TIE? BEN SRIRAM WINS IN The support for the Governing board in the While both the Presidential candidates polled equal number ABSENTIA elections while overwhelming, the President- of votes, it is pertinent to note that one Vote was allowed as Ben Sriram was one of the two governing elect did have a tough contest before he "valid" by the Ben Sunil, the Returning Officer (RO) in the board members to be elected scraped through. BFMC Times foresees a absence of clear instructions prior to the start of the unanimously. The Jt Secy-cum-Treasurer stiff opoosition from the General Body and election process. Pointed out by the Counting officers Ben elect was however conspicuous by his some healthy discussions in the GD. Sairam and Ben Venkat that one Senior member had signed absence on polling day with his Meanwhile a Senior member, on condition on the ballot paper and that it should be disqualified as nomination too being filed in proxy. of anonymity, remarked "Could we have Ben "Invalid", Ben Sunil stuck to his ruling. Interesting to note BFMC Times learns that the Returning Utkarsh as Opposition leader?". Well what that one of the contestants would have then polled a vote Officer was reluctant to allow his does the Constitution say? Do we have such less, and the RO's vote would have been avoided, with a nomination, but was prevailed upon by a provision? We shall hear more on this clear winner in view and no difference to the final result. Did Ben Venkat citing a precedent of a soon! the RO want his Vote to count? We would never know! governing board member getting elected similarly in 1993. CARTOON OF THE WEEK A Branch of BFMC? Ben Shankar Unwell - BNS (Nov 8) - BNS (Nov 9) A proposal to start a branch of BFMC has It has been a time of anxiety for all Bens, as been put forth. It is reliably learnt that the their favourite “senior” Ben was hospitalized principal of Aurora Degree College, Uppal with high BP, infection and respiratory prob- showed keen interest in having the students lems. Though his situation is not alarming, he of the college be a part of meetings similar to continues to be in ICU with a certain com- that of BFMC when Ben Ravichander met him fort level . Last heard Ben Shankar was al- recently. More details are awaited. ready turning his charm on the doctors and nurses. We wish him a speedy recovery! The Road Ahead... Subscriptions Galore! BFMC Times takes pride in joining all members in Congratulat- Our Finance Minister.. er.. Treasurer Ben M Murali Mohan has presented a neatly ing the newly elected Governing Board of Benjamin Franklin hand written statement of accounts which shows a healthy Rs. 33491/- in BFMC. Memorial Club. Post our last report in BFMC Times dated Oct 22, 2017, we wish to place on Today, BFMC has moved to a certain stage of certainty, with a record the payment of subscriptions from the following members: new set of members and an elected governing board all set to Towards Annual Subscriptions: be installed soon, the dozen years of dormancy can finally be Ben Guru Moorthy :1200 Ben Anand Varanasi :1200 confined to history. The efforts of members from the 1969 Ben N Madhavan :1500 charter era to the 2000s have culminated in a fruitful transition. Ben D Parthasarathy :1500 The team led by Ben Harshavardhan has its hands full. While Ben D Narayan :1500 the earlier years of the club had, at any given time, about a doz- Ben L Jayaraman :1500 en odd active members they could still fall back on a few dozens Ben Krishna Kamal :1200 of peers. The current team however has just over a dozen Ben Durga Prasad :1200 members and the challenge would be to sustain the club with Monthly Subscriptions from Young Bens: interesting debates and discussions, innovative literary and fun- Tushar, Harsha, Krishnaveni, Bhargav, Ayush, Utkarsah, Srikanth, Vybhav, Prahar- filled sessions, external competitions. The bigger challenge sha, Siddharth, Pooja and Sriram would be to enhance the membership and retain interest in the The current financial status : Cash in Hand: Rs. 2291 and Cash in Bank: Rs. 31200 activities. for a Total of Rs. 33,491/- Ben Harsha and team would do well have a plan to keep the Editorial - Ben Venkat CRICKET CROSSWORD - Ben Narayan activities going with increased membership. Quality is the key. Mentorship from senior members is always available, and the young Bens can take lot of tips by picking their experience. Par- ticipation in competitions across the twin cities in various col- lege fests is a surest way to gauge their level of performance vis -à-vis other forums. We would have dozens of ideas to share from the senior Bens flowing in about what to do and what not to do… this Editorial just attempted that. I wish to acknowledge the role of Bens Utkarsh, Siddharth, Ayush and Srikanth, for their participation in the elections and it is heart- ening to note that with their enthusiasm they are sure to make a big difference to the club in the days to come. Simple straight advice to the team of Bens Harsha, Tushar, Krishnaveni, Prahar- sha and Sriram – You have understood what this club is about and how to take it forward. Do your best and have fun! LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Across Guyana's gunner? #SameGuy. (6,4) 2. Viru Sehwag is not an anagram for 15. Is it a gigantic party down under? this player, but a synonym possibly. One You could say so. (3,4) To the editorial team! Congrats on another glorious edition! is the other's idol, and both have the What is the status on the discontinuation of this wonderful master same approach: see ball, hit ball. (11) Down piece. Keep it coming and try to motivate everyone to contribute an 5. Lack a blinder? Not when you're the 1. The Princess' mouth? Would fit Sar- article. I will come up with something soon. world's first double centurion in inter- desai and Vengsarkar. (6) - Ben PS Mohan national ODIs. (7,5) 3. I had had Le Carre, mistakenly, as the 6. We go Dravid now, but, believe it or top test wicket-taker at one time. (7,6) not, there actually was an English player 4. Who put slide? Does it show you who epitomized grace before him, at what to do when Dhoni is at bat for U n S c ra m b l e least at bat. (5,5) CSK? (7,4) 7. Chandra, Bedi, Venkat have all said 10. E.g.