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Issue 4 • JULY 28, 2020 BULLETIN OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF MADRAS DIST 3232 • 2020-21 Pursuit of Rotary designated peace month JULY 2020 New Leadership Month EDITORIAL T H E L I G H T H O U S E • J U LY 2 8 , 2 0 2 0 2 We need them on that wall… Birthday 4th Aug – Rtn. Prashanth S. Kharche 5th Aug – Rtn. Abdul Kareem Sait 5th Aug – Rtn. Rohit Toshniwal 5th Aug – Rtn. Rani Muralidharan 6th Aug – Rtn. N. Vivek Pai 7th Aug – Rtn. Dr. Gauthamadas Udipi 9th Aug – Rtn. PP S.N. Srikanth 4th Aug – Ann. Meenakshi (Rtn. Ravee Malhotra) 6th Aug – Ann. Priya (Rtn. R. Rajenderan) Wedding 9th Aug – Rtn. Ashok Bajaj and Ann. Jyothi 10th Aug – Rtn. L. Gopinath and Ann. Anitha Sunshine Rtn. Krishnamurthy Vijayan – `5,000 Rtn. Niloufer Seth – `1,000 President Rtn. Kapil Chitale – `10,000 Rtn. Alankrit Arora – `10,000 A soldier holds a special place in the hearts of citizens, no matter how little we know Rtn. Antony Lobo – `2,000 about them or how far removed we are from a their way of life. That demeanour. That carriage. That uniform. That mindset. That courage, dignity, discipline and steely focus - it is all truly admirable and aspirational for us “mere mortals”. The title of my editorial, taken from the famous dialogue by Jack Nicholson in A Few NOTE: Good Men, aptly wraps up our necessity for that brave soldier, thanks to whom we citizens can sleep a peaceful sleep. Ref.: Lighthouse Issue Last week’s meeting was poignant and invigorating all at once. 03-2020/21 - We had with us Col. V.N. Thappar, father of Kargil war hero Capt. Vijyant Thapar. Col. Thapar was joined by his wife Mrs. Tripta Thapar. We felt energised hearing Charter Nite. stories of the war and a soldier’s life. We were melancholic hearing accounts of the heroic actions of their brave son, which cost him his life. We wept when Col. Thapar Rotary Club of Calgary is the read out the letter his son wrote to him, just before he went to war and made his home club of James Wheeler ultimate sacrifice for his motherland. Truly, it was a meeting to remember with special Davidson and NOT the guests we can never forget, whom we will always salute. mother club of the Rotary In this edition of Lighthouse, Rtns. Indrani Krishnaier and Dr. Sharon Krishna Rau Club of Madras, as was give us their views on the talk given by our guest, including highlights of the end-notes reported. we heard from Rtn. N. Prakash during the meeting. You will also find the heartrending, yet heartwarming letter written by Vijyant, that Col. Thapar himself sent to us. Meanwhile, the biography of Capt. Vijyant Thapar - Vijyant at Kargil - is available for purchase, should any of our RCMers be interested. Moving on, we cover the amazing work done by the Lake Restoration team, which Rtn. P.N. Mohan has kindly information of. We bring back our go-getter Women in Rotary and we wrap up with a focus on peace-building and fostering human-to-human harmony, despite the cloak of constant preparedness in case of war. As I leave you to the read, let’s remember our soldiers and the women and men in our Defence Forces who embody all that is heroic, good and brave. Jai Hind! - Rtn. Shri Shakthi Girish GLIMPSES T H E L I G H T H O U S E • J U LY 2 8 , 2 0 2 0 3 MINUTES T H E L I G H T H O U S E • J U LY 2 8 , 2 0 2 0 4 MINUTES OF THE MEETING TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2020 fter collaring, President Rtn. Kapil Chitale called the objective of the contest was to create an awareness of the A4th e-meeting of RCM to order. invaluable sacrifices of our Defence Forces, to keep our The minutes of the Charter Nite meeting were duly borders protected and our citizens safe. Winners will be confirmed. He appreciated all for making the event a great presented with prizes and gifts. one with their team effort. Speaker Col. Thapar spoke on leadership & motivation PP N.K. Gopinath pointed out that Rotary Club of with a visual presentation and anecdotes. The visuals Calgary is the home club of James Wheeler Davidson but included a glimpse of our soldiers’ lives at our borders, not the mother club of Rotary Club of Madras. battlefields and how we can all sleep peacefully because Rtn. Yadav Murthi spoke on the 4-Way Test and these heroes protect us. recollected how he, as an interactor of Vidya Mandir, on Mrs. Thapar read out their son Vijyant’s last letter – a 23rd sept 1965 had inculcated the tenets of 4-Way Test in moving, poignant moment. him. Theirs was the first interact club of this part of the Pres. Kapil said that it is a great sacrifice made for the world, sponsored by RCM & chartered by Rtn. R.P. Sarathy. country and saluted his unmatched bravery & supreme The guiding principles of the 4-Way Test have paved the sacrifice, bringing pride to the nation & to his family. way to do lot of projects in the interact – support for Kargil Rtn. N. Prakash thanked Col. Thapar for his inspiring victims, Gujarat earthquake, old age homes, medical speech and read out a patriotic verse in tribute to the camps and more. He cherishes these memories, he said. Kargil war heroes and offered gratitude and a salute to President welcomed Guest Speaker Col. V.N. Thapar with their heroic son. a deep sense of gratitude, Probus Club members, spouses, The meeting was then adjourned. Interactors and Rotary members across the district. President was glad to announce that he had attended more than 20 installations on the virtual platform which S.No. Name of Winner Name of Interact Club Grade were well-conducted. Also, steps have been taken to 1 Harsh Vardhan K. Sri Sankara Vidyashramam STD IX connect with the other JWD clubs who could not join at the Mat. Hr. Sec. School Charter Nite event. 2 M. Sreelaya Sri Sankara Senior Secondary School, STD XII Secretary Rtn. P.B. Prasad read out the birthdays/ Adyar wedding anniversaries list of members/ spouses for that 3 S.V. Akshaya Vidya Mandir, Estancia STD XII week and thanked them for their Sunshine. The announcement was made for the next weekly e- 4 Jessinth A. Kerala Vidyalaym HSS STD IX meeting: August 4, 2020 at 1.30pm. 5 V. Saadhanaa Lalaji Memorial Omega STD VIII The guest speaker would be: Mr. Pawanexh Kohli, International School founding Chief Executive & Advisor of National Centre for S.No. Name of Winner Name of Rotaract Club Coal Chain Development (NCCD) and the topic of his talk would be ‘Coal Storage Chain’. 1 V. Billvin Rex AVIT Final Year, Rtn. Abhay Mehta introduced the guest speaker Col. V.N. Civil Engineering Thapar, father of the Kargil hero, Capt. Vijyant Thapar; 2 Jayane GSS Jain College for Women B.Sc. CS and his wife Mrs. Tripta Thapar. 3 Shireen Zithara Rotaract Club of Chennai Rtn. Abhay thanked Rtn. Balaji Chinni for conducting the Elocution Contest for Interactors and Rotaractors on 4 Dharika Reddy Rotaract Club of SDNB Vaishnav College the topic of Kargil Vijay Divas, on 26th July’20. The 5 Shajeeth Rotaract Loyola College SPOTLIGHT T H E L I G H T H O U S E • J U LY 2 1 , 2 0 2 0 5 AN IDEA WORTH DYING FOR By Rtn. Indrani Krishnaier India is an idea worth dying for. He then deftly manoeuvred to show Every year, on Gandhi Jayanthi, we how courage, discipline and the power hear moving stories about the of motivation would be equally “Father of the Nation” and the applicable to corporate leadership sacrifices that were made by so many situations as well. His astute to win our freedom. This year, it was observation was that resounding time to hear such tales about a “Son success comes only when people do of the Nation”. ‘what they want to do’ and not ‘what To mark Vijay Divas, our honoured they have to do’. It is the role of and very special guests Colonel V.N. management to make this subtle but Thapar and Mrs. Tripta Thapar took powerful transformation in the minds us on an unforgettable journey of people who work with them. In his through a battlefield… and beyond! opinion, the hallmarks of leadership We were given a rare glimpse into are competence, character and courage. the life of a glittering “Son of the While dealing with the harsh Nation”. We were transported to the reality of military conflict, Colonel heroic battle for the recapture of Thapar gently and almost Tololing-Knoll by a small group of imperceptibly brought in the soulful determined fighters from the softness that lay deep in the heart of Rajputana Rifles II, led by 22-year the fierce young warrior – Vijyant’s old Vijyant. chance meeting with a young war- Captain Vijyant Thapar VrC. making the impossible possible. victim; a young girl who could not This extraordinary tale of ultimate Colonel Thapar narrated the speak as if she were mute, from the valour and sacrifice was supremely heart-rending, yet heart-warming trauma of having witnessed the poignant, because the narrator was his story of a young braveheart and his horrors of war. bereaved father, Colonel V.N. Thapar “Dirty Dozen”, in whom echoed the Robin – as Vijyant was fondly who has himself served in the Indian patriotic fervour of every proud called – held a filial affection for her Defence Forces for nearly four decades.

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