Roary News - February 2016

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February 2016

Vol.66, Issue 8

Annual Subscription Rs.420

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Taare Zameen Par

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otary International President K R Ravindran, accompanied by PRIP Rajendra Saboo, TRF Trustee Sushil Gupta and RI Director Manoj Desai, paid a courtesy call on the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee,

at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Sharmishtha Desai and Vanathy Ravindran were also part of the delegation.

The leaders briefed the President on Rotary’s various welfare activities across India.

RI leaders meet the President of India

10 – 17 Rotary International Assembly 2016

Contents 22 Cracking two vital Rotary concerns RI Director Safak Alpay has the satisfaction of seeing more youngsters and women joining Rotary in his Zone area.

26 D 3060, the most “peaceful district” An account of the District Conference of D 3060 at Rann of Kutch.

30 Humanitarian crisis in Syria A peace fellow is risking her life to work among women who have suffered at the hands of ISIS.

35 Inspiring incoming leaders Training seminars for the DGEs, DGNs and District trainers at the Rotary Institute, Jaipur.

18 Maha milestones of an iconic club As RC Calcutta Mahanagar celebrated its silver jubilee, the presence of 100 of the 750 children whose little hearts it had helped to mend, lit up the hall.

62 Gender Balance at Workplace It is all about striking the right balance between career and home.

64 Why Politicians are needed on sports bodies Everyone says politicians should not intrude into sports bodies.

But they are needed there.

68 Patiala - majesty from an era gone Travel back in time to read interesting anecdotes of Patiala’s royalty.

44 Colours of Kutch

42 Initiating women’s livelihoods in Ankleshwar RC Ankleshwar’s special empowerment project trains women in tailoring.

On the cover: Rajiv, a happy recipient of free heart surgery, thanks to the ‘Healing Little Hearts’ of Rotary Club of Calcutta Mahanagar.

Picture by Rasheeda Bhagat

At the Rann Utsav, the gleaming white of the receded saline water was more than compensated by the exquisite and colourful arts and crafts of Kutch.

LETTERS Family matters

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Colourful Institute issue

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he cover of the January issue showcasing the myriad hues of Rajasthan and a lovely artist performing folk dance was very beautiful. The reducing female ratio in some of the States is a burning problem. Beti bachao, beti padhao and flagship programmes including WinS and Literacy are the need of the hour. Education is much needed for young India and washing hands before taking meals is a good habit that can be taught to children at a young age. Rotarians are doing motivating work in both these important fields.

Thank you for these inspiring articles.

Rtn Neelima Garg RC Dehradun West-D 3080

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ongratulations to the editorial team for bringing out the colourful January issue which covers extensively the Rotary Institute at Jaipur. The lively photographs, illustrations and the articles RI President’s Report Card and Towards a clear Rotary Vision need to be read by every Rotarian.

Rtn Dr Sudam Basa RC Bhubaneswar-D 3262

4 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

our editorial Gender Sensitivity at Jaipur was very informative. India cannot afford to ignore gender discrimination and it is time to combat the social evils of female foeticide, child marriage, girl child abuse … and celebrate the girl child.

The readers got a flavour of the Jaipur Institute thanks to the article A treat for senses & sensibility.

Rtn Ranjit Kumar Das RC Cuttack-D 3262

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he January edition was fantastic. The various subjects covered were interesting and appealing to all types of readers.

The write-up of My impressions of India by a Swiss student Selina Ehrenzeller was really amazing. It effectively portrays her joyful experience as a student in India. Her testimonial, “I was hosted by different Rotarian families who took me in and cared for me as if I was their own child,” shows the bond between Rotarian families and their love for one another. My compliments to the Rotarians of District 2980.

Rtn M T Philip RC Trivandrum Suburban-D 3211

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he January issue, put in one word, was simply fantastic.

The photographs speak for themselves and the manner in which they are displayed is noteworthy.

The editorial Gender sensitivity at Jaipur was highly praiseworthy. My heartiest congratulations to Rotary News team.

Rtn Gopinathan RC Wadakanchery-D 3201

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ats off to RI Director Manoj Desai’s editorial Family Matters, published in December. It drives home family’s importance among young, highly-paid professionals in IT and other MNCs. Most of them prefer the nuclear family system, ignoring the values and benefits of joint family system, where the upbringing and character of the children is groomed with the love and affection of the family members. Such situations are common especially in the urban areas.

Rtn GV Sayagavi RC Davanagere Vidyanagar-D 3160 WinS & Salaam

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am a regular reader of Rotary News and it caters to myriad tastes.

The magazine is very interesting and informative, especially the article Salaam Chennai. It makes me feel proud to be a part of the Rotary movement.

Rtn PHF Anitha Natarajan RC Nagercoil-D 3212 Winning with WinS

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he article D 3211 strikes gold with WinS was excellent as it illustrates the District’s commitment to the society. Jaishree has very well illustrated the efforts taken by the Rotarians, and the write-up will greatly encourage other clubs to do similar projects.

Rtn P Mohan Kumar RC Chengannur-D 3211

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he article WinS and Literacy will transform India in the January issue made very interesting reading.

I agree we need to change the mindset of students and here Rotary can play a crucial role.

Rtn Dr Ravindra Shukla RC Bhusawal-D 3030

LETTERS Twinkles & Travels

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ongratulations to the editor for publishing such a beautiful magazine. I admire her energy, enthusiasm and extensive travels around the Rotary world giving the readers a taste of the diverse events of Rotary International.

It was fascinating to read the views of Rtn Ramgopal Mehra, a very senior Rotarian celebrating his 100th year, in the article Vintage Rotarians. He says, “In my days people used to join Rotary not for furthering personal interests but to make new friends and do service.

These days some people join Rotary only to further their business interest.”

It is heartening to see him with his family, attending Rotary meetings regularly, conveying his experiences and contributions in Rotary and his advice for all Rotarians to adopt a similar style.

In the article, Twinkle in the eye of Leelaben, the editor has narrated the story of Leelaben, who is doing commendable service in her area by propagating the adoption of modern agri-techniques and educating women.

She is rendering selfless service with remarkable dedication and her enthusiasm and passion can set an example for one and all.

Rtn Raj Kumar Kapoor RC Roopnagar-D 3080

Great coverage

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he Jaipur Rotary Institute coverage was great. This was an unforgettable experience for 1,000 delegates but Rotary News made it a live experience for 1,40,000 Rotarians.

I feel journalism was at its best with your editorial on the girl child. It added a different dimension to the deliberations. You have projected all the leaders in right perspective and their speeches and missed none, covering the speeches, hospitality, fun, entertainment, discussions, deliberations, presentations, all of which had one undercurrent — Dignity and Grace of Rotary. Team JRI can look back with satisfaction

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was very happy to read your editorial in the December issue. The topics covered by you in the editorial are very inspirational.

PDG Hitesh Kumar Sharma RC Meerut Central-D 3100

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t is an honour for us that our IPDG GV Mohan Prasad was recognised for achieving highest membership

that both the host and guests had a memorable time.

Rtn Ajay Kala (Organising Secretary, JRI) RC Jaipur Round Town-D 3052

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he quality of Rotary News increases issue by issue.

The articles are very useful and interesting, and supported with excellent photographs, making them a great read. The articles How an RI President is selected, Smart Women and Vegetarian delights in Korea forced me to read the magazine again and again, and wait for the next issue. My compliments to the Editor and the team.

Rtn V Jayaprakash RC Salem East-D 2982

award for Zone 5 from RI President KR Ravindran. The entire District is proud of him for his contribution as reported in Star Performers of Zones 4, 5 & 6A in the January issue.

The write-up on DG M Jagadeeshwara Rao under Meet your Governors was impressive.

Rtn N Jagatheesan RC Eluru-D 3020

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

ROTARY NEWS 5

Board of Permanent Trustees

Governors’ Council RI Dist 2981

DG

Dr Gunasekaran Chinnathambi

RI Dist 2982

DG

R Vasu

RI Dist 3000

DG

R Theenachandran

RI Dist 3011

DG

Sudhir Mangla

RI Dist 3012

DG

Jitender Kumar Gaur

RI Dist 3020

DG

M Jagadeeswara Rao

RI Dist 3030

DG

Dr Nikhil Arvind Kibe

RI Dist 3040

DG

Sanjeev Gupta

RI Dist 3051

DG

C A Lalit Sharma

RI Dist 3052

DG

Pradhuman Kumar Patni

RI Dist 3053

DG

Anil Beniwal

RI Dist 3060

DG

Parag Sheth

RI Dist 3070

DG

Kuldip Kumar Dhir

RI Dist 3080

DG

David Joseph Hilton

RI Dist 3090

DG

Dharam Vir Garg

RI Dist 3100

DG

Suneel Kumar Gupta

RI Dist 3110

DG

Sharat Chandra

RI Dist 3120

DG

Ved Prakash

RI Dist 3131

DG

Subodh Mukund Joshi

RI Dist 3132

DG

Dr Deepak Prabhakar Pophale

RI Dist 3140

DG

Subhash Kulkarni

RI Dist 3150

DG

Gopinath Reddy Vedire

RI Dist 3160

DG

Dr Gautam R Jahagirdar

RI Dist 3170

DG

Shrinivas Ramkrishna Malu

RI Dist 3180

DG

Dr A Bharathesh

RI Dist 3190

DG

K P Nagesh

RI Dist 3201

DG

Kamlesh V Raheja

RI Dist 3202

DG

George Sundararaj

RI Dist 3211

DG

C Luke

RI Dist 3212

DG

J Navamani

RI Dist 3230

DG

C R Raju

RI Dist 3240

DG

Chandu Kumar Agarwal

RI Dist 3250

DG

Dr Bindu Singh

RI Dist 3261

DG

Rakesh Dave

RI Dist 3262

DG

Sibabrata Dash

RI Dist 3291

DG

Jhulan Basu

PRIP PRIP PRID PRID PRID PRID PRID PRID PRID RID

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

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

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (In addition to Board of Permanent Trustees)

DG Chandu Kumar Agarwal

RI Dist 3240

Chair - Governors Council

DG C R Raju

RI Dist 3230

Secretary - Governors Council

DG Subodh Mukund Joshi

RI Dist 3131

Secretary - Executive Committee

DG Dr Gautam R Jahagirdar

RI Dist 3160

Treasurer - Executive Committee

DG Sudhir Mangla

RI Dist 3011

Member - Advisory Committee

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

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

From th e E d i t or ’s Desk

Hope & humanity pitted against brutality & violence

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his is that time of the year that incoming District Governors look forward to with anticipation and expectation. In January, DGEs from all over the Rotary world travelled to San Diego, along with their spouses, to participate in the International Assembly where world class training leaders fine-tuned their skills, deepened their understanding and knowledge of Rotary and its essence, and enlightened them on what Rotary expects from them during their year as Governors.

And of course, where senior RI leaders — past and present — motivated and inspired them to give their best to Rotary during their year as DGs. As the TRF Centennial is just around the corner, incoming TRF Trustee Chair Kalyan Banerjee delivered a stirring speech and urged the Governors of tomorrow to ensure that the good that “our Foundation” does around the world is highlighted by them not only within but also outside the Rotary world. An integral part of that story should be that, thanks to Rotary’s untiring work, 350,000 children will not be “stricken with polio this year, or next, or ever again, because 31 years ago Rotary began working towards a polio-free world.”

He also unveiled the Foundation’s goals for its Centennial in 2016–17, putting them at “$150 million for our Annual Fund, with a target of $300 million in total giving for the year.” He said these were “ambitious but not impossible goals,” and could be met if the incoming Governors challenged themselves. Coming to India, he said not that long ago he wouldn’t have even imagined that India would be among the top 10 in the TRF list of givers. But its transformation from being “strictly a receiving country to one of the leading donor countries” happened partially because India had made economic progress, but also due to excellent leadership in the districts and Rotarians seeing first hand TRF’s wonderful work.

Preceding the Assembly was the highly impressive Rotary Peace Conference in California where eminent conflict resolution experts and Rotary peace scholars shared their experiences. Unfortunately our world is getting caught up more and more into conflict, hate, violence brought by wars and acts of terrorism. The never-ending Syrian war, part of the reason being the proxy war some world leaders are fighting, and the largest migration of people resulting in the worst humanitarian crisis we’ve seen in recent times; the continuing violence in Iraq; the war in Yemen; the increasing atrocities of the ISIS who are indulging in mind-numbing brutality; the continuing atrocities of the Taliban in both Pakistan — where they have once again mercilessly killed young students in Balochistan — and Afghanistan, and the terror attack in our own Pathankot, not to mention the Paris bombings, are all making our world a cauldron of hate and violence. Even by its own abysmal standards, the ISIS hit a new low when one of its members, 20-year-old Ali Saqr al-Qasem, publicly executed his own mother, shooting her in the head after accusing her of ‘apostasy.’ Her crime — she was trying to influence her son to leave the ISIS and suggested both of them flee the region.

It numbs the mind to even think that we live in an era where a son would not only shoot down his mother, but do it publicly as though it were an act of heroism. So on the one hand you have entities such as the TRF that is working so hard to wipe tears from distressed faces and the incoming RI President John Germ releases his theme for next year which is Rotary Serving Humanity; but on the other, you have the ISIS with such a horrendous ideology of hate and violence that it defies all that humanity stands for.

Rasheeda Bhagat

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 7

President Dear Fellow Rotarians, In life, sometimes the experiences that matter the most are the briefest. They pass in the blink of an eye: a few days, a few hours, a few moments. They are the experiences that illuminate the landscape of our memory, shining brightly even years later. They are the moments in which we see, suddenly, something we had not seen; we understand something we had not understood; we forge a connection we had not expected.

For me, this has been a Rotary year like no other. I have been around the world, traversing countries and continents. I have been to places I had never seen before, and I have returned to familiar places and seen them, as for the first time, through the lens of Rotary.

When you travel for Rotary, you travel with a different sense of perspective and a different sense of purpose. There is an awareness of being part of something larger than yourself. When you board a plane or a train, or leave your home in the dark hours of early morning, you may be leaving for lands unknown — but at your destination, there will be no strangers. There will be Rotarians, waiting and welcoming. There will be work to do, something to learn, and perhaps something to teach.

There will be connections to forge, friendships to build, and memories to carry for a lifetime.

This year, I have been the traveller, and I have been welcomed by Rotarians around the world. A few months from now, from 28 May to 1 June, I invite you to step into my experience: Allow me to welcome you to Seoul for our 107th International Convention.

The Koreans have a saying: ꩡꅁ넩 驍ꐩ ꫑끭ꈑ ꚩ驩ꄱ . In English we would say, “When a person is born, send them to Seoul.” For Seoul is a city of opportunities: a wonderful destination with rich traditions, modern conveniences, and a culture unlike any other. But I ask you to join me in Seoul not only for all of this, but also for the experiences you will have there with your fellow Rotarians.

For a brief moment in time, you will experience Rotary as I have experienced it: in all its diversity, all its warmth, and all its potential. You will be greeted as an old friend by people you have never met; you will share your thoughts, even without a shared language. You will learn with wonder of what Rotary has achieved, and leave inspired to achieve even more.

Before this Rotary year comes to its close, I ask you to do what I have done: to leave your homes, to board your flights, to travel toward the unknown with an open heart and an open mind, confident that Rotary will welcome you. Join me, and your fellow Rotarians, as we Connect with Korea - Touch the World.

K R Ravindran President, Rotary International 8 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

Speaks

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iving in peace is about living harmoniously with yourself, others and all beings around you. While you will find your own meaning of peaceful existence and outward manifestations of a peaceful life according to your beliefs and lifestyle, there are some basics underpinning living in peace that cannot be overlooked. These include being non-violent, tolerant, holding moderate views and celebrating a wondrous life. Here are some tips of important ingredients for achieving and living in Peace:

For Inner Joy & Peace

1. Understand that living in peace is both an outward and inward process. Outwardly, living in peace is a way of life in which we respect and love each other in spite of our cultural, religious and political differences. Inwardly, we all need to search our hearts and minds. Please understand that fear causes the impulse to violence; if you continue to ignore the rage within, the storm outside will never subside.

2. Seek to love, not control others. Ceasing to seek power over people and outcomes in your life is the first major step to living peacefully. Trying to control people is about seeking to impose your will and reality on others without ever trying to see their side of things. A controlling approach to relationships will put you in conflict with others. Instead, replacing a will to control with a broad approach of loving others, including their faults and differences, is the way to a peaceful life. Think peace before power. Gandhiji said that power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the power gained through threat of punishment.

3. Be tolerant. Tolerance in all that you think and do will make a difference in your life and in the lives of others around you. Tolerance for others is about appreciating diversity, plurality of modern society and willingness to live and let others live too. When we fail to tolerate others’ beliefs, ways of being, and opinions, the end result can be discrimination, repression, dehumanisation and ultimately violence. Practicing tolerance is at the heart of living peacefully.

Rotary is what it is in its second century only because of this Tolerance.

4. Be peaceful. Gandhiji said “There are many causes that I am prepared to die for but no cause that I am prepared to kill for.” A peaceful person does not use violence against another person or animal (sentient beings). While there is much violence in this world, make a choice to not let death and killing be a part of your philosophy of living.

5. Reflect and not react. Reflection of thought is important — many a hasty response has resulted in a tragic outcome because time to think through all of the issues and angles has not been taken. Naturally, there are times when fast action is essential to ensure safety. But these times do not excuse the many other times when reacting with care and consideration will result in much better outcomes for all concerned. Is not our Four-Way Test telling us the same?

6. Broaden your understanding of peace. You’re free to choose your path. At the end of the day, living in peace will be your own conscious, daily action founded on your own strivings and understandings, gleaned from all corners of the world, from all people you’ve ever met and known, and from your own consciousness and knowledge.

My dear friends, you may find many articles and tons of books written on this subject of Peace. You have already read the article written by Rasheeda which told you of my journey from an Angry young man to ...! Let me confess, Rotary has a big role to play in it. Realities of life after the Gujarat earthquake shook me up. What we did after that gave me My Inner Joy and Peace — just remember, God has sent you with a purpose of making you an instrument in Changing lives. Listen to that Inner Voice and let us continue our Quest for Peace. Enjoy World Peace Day in your own way!

Manoj Desai Director, Rotary International

Tell our Foundation story to the World Rasheeda Bhagat

At the International Assembly Incoming Trustee Chair Kalyan Banerjee unveils TRF’s Centennial goals.

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major reason for the success of The Rotary Foundation was that “we set ambitious, but reasonable, goals every year,” and thanks to these goals and the projects that result from them, disadvantaged people across the world get help in different forms, incoming Trustee Chair Kalyan Banerjee told a rapt audience at the International Assembly Marveling at the “incredible opportunity” he had been given to lead TRF during its milestone year — the centennial — “when we will celebrate

10 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

our Foundation’s century-long history of doing good in the world,” he said Rotarians indeed had much to celebrate.

For one, each day they were marching closer to eradicating polio from the world. Rotary Peace Centres were sending trained peacemakers “into our troubled world every year.” But most of all, they could celebrate the millions of lives that TRF had either saved or transformed over the last 100 years.

A child in Ethiopia was alive today because a TRF vocational training team from Germany had taught local

health-care workers new techniques for stimulating breathing in newborns after birth.

Gilberto, a Mexican, paralysed during a mugging in the US and despairing that he would have to live as a beggar, was trained by ALEM, an organisation supported by TRF, to repair wheelchairs. “Now Gilberto has a skill, a job, and hope for a brighter future.”

Combating breast cancer Six Indian women from Tiruchi in South India will not die from breast cancer thanks to the initiative of two local Rotarian doctors who reached mobile cancer screening facilities to villages and small towns. Alarmed at the rising number of deaths from breast

cancer in their region, and realising that the women had neither the time nor the Rs 1,200 (less than $20) required for a mammogram, they got their club — RC Srirangam — involved in a Global Grant project. Through this, a bus fitted with not only screening equipment but also educational material in local language to spread awareness on cancer prevention and teach self-examination to women, and armed with a doctor and two female health workers, went around the region and effectively combatted the dreadful malady.

“All of this cost $34,000. That’s not really much money, but its potential for saving lives is enormous,” he said. As the bus drove through villages, stopping where large groups of women were sighted, the doctor and health workers were also consulted by the women for other health problems.

“And those six women whose cancer was detected? They are receiving treatment that is covered by government insurance, and their chance of survival is very good,” said Banerjee.

When it was said that TRF saved and transformed lives, it was no exaggeration. “It is happening in communities all over our world. And it’s been happening for 100 years.”

Better syncing RI and TRF goals In order to sync better TRF and RI goals, he had worked with incoming RI President John Germ to establish priorities for all Rotary goals. The first goal was to end polio, “now and forever.

And we are making great progress. Yes,

doing good in the world for 100 years.

These are members in good standing.

They attend club meetings and pay their dues and participate in club projects.

But they don’t know about their, about our … Rotary Foundation.”

That “unfortunate reality” would have to change, he said emphatically.

“Let’s educate these members so that by the time we meet to celebrate the Foundation’s centennial at the 2017 Convention in Atlanta, every Rotarian in every club knows about TRF and its good work.”

Tell TRF story to the world Also, said Banerjee, it was important to tell the TRF story to the whole world and this was its final goal — raising public awareness of TRF’s achievements and “100-year record of doing good in the world.”

This would include the story of the “350,000 children who will not be stricken with polio this year, or next, or ever again, because 31 years ago Rotary began working towards a poliofree world. We can also talk about those thousands of people in Africa who no longer live with the threat of guinea worm or other devastating water-borne Manoj Desai

Six Indian women from Tiruchi in South India will not die from breast cancer thanks to the initiative of two local Rotarian doctors, and a TRF Global Grant.

we are now not just this close, but closer still, to finishing the task.”

The next two goals were closely connected; to strengthen all Rotarians’ knowledge, engagement and financial support for TRF; and to increase the “quality and impact of Rotary’s humanitarian service efforts through our Foundation grants in our six focus areas.”

These two goals were closely connected because “we’ve found over the years that when Rotarians know about the good work TRF does, they are more likely to get involved with humanitarian grants and projects, and also contribute to the Foundation.”

Over 10 years ago, every Rotarian was asked to give to TRF’s Annual Fund $100 every year, “which, frankly, is not an unreasonable expectation. While we know that many Rotarians give much more than $100 a year, we also know that too many of our members give nothing at all. I find that very disturbing. It seems to me that our Foundation should be the charity of choice, for all our members,” Banerjee said.

A disturbing reason for this non-contribution from many Rotarians was “they don’t even know that Rotary has a Foundation, let alone that it’s been

PRIP Chuck Keller compliments incoming TRF Trustee Chair Kalyan Banerjee for his address at the Assembly.

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 11

Our Foundation has spent $3 billion on programmes and projects in our 100-year history.

While many Rotarians give much more than $100 a year, we also know that too many of our members give nothing at all.

diseases, because of TRF-sponsored water projects.

Or, again, how in South Africa, local and American Rotarians are partnering giant international corporate houses to keep in check the scourge of AIDS.” Or the girls who can today get a more complete education because TRF projects are “providing schools with sanitation facilities that offer essential privacy. Such initiatives can change the world. There are thousands of such stories in the Foundation’s history, and hundreds of them are happening right now, all over the world. It’s up to us to make sure that those stories reach a much wider audience.”

Once these “inspirational tales” were related, it would attract others to “join our clubs, or support our Foundation, or volunteer their time, or donate goods for a project.”

Taking the delegates down memory lane, Banerjee said that beginning with an initial contribution of $26.5 to TRF in 1917, from Arch Klumph, “it has today become a leading humanitarian organisation with $1 billion in 12 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

assets. We have spent $3 billion on programmes and projects in our 100-year history.”

This could happen because visionary Rotarians understood TRF’s great potential and worked hard to raise more money every year.

Centennial goals Unveiling TRF goal for its centennial in 2016–17, Banerjee said it had been set at “$150 million for our Annual Fund, with a target of $300 million in total giving for the year.” Total giving includes contributions to the Endowment Fund, Rotary Peace Centres and PolioPlus, in addition to the Annual Fund.”

The incoming Trustee Chair said these were “ambitious but not impossible goals.” For success, Rotarians would also need to seek support from those who had never given to TRF, and hence raising awareness about TRF’s great work in the larger community was essential.

He was happy that when TRF tallied the top giving countries in terms of dollars and per-capita giving, India had made it among the top 10. “Not that

If you don’t ask, you may never get. How, when and where well, that’s for you to decide.

long ago, I would never have dreamed that my homeland of India would make it into the top 10 list. Yet, for several years now, we’ve been on that list, and I’m proud to say that last year India ranked number four. And it is looking further up this year.”

So how did India progress from being “strictly a receiving country to one of the leading donor countries?”

The reasons included economic progress of India, Rotarians seeing first hand TRF’s wonderful work, and excellent leadership in “our districts that has encouraged more contributions.”

Banerjee related the story of Javier Sotomayor, the current world record holder in high jump from Cuba who had held his 8ft and quarter inch world record for the past 23 years. Once asked how he managed to jump so high, much higher than his own height, he just thought for three seconds and said: “Well, I tell myself I want to jump this high, and my body just seems to follow. That’s what I’m asking each one of you to do next year. Challenge yourself and your clubs to increase your district’s giving over last year and move your country higher on the list of top givers.

Believe me, if you don’t ask, you may never get. How, when and where … well, that’s for you to decide.”

But that leadership would have to come from those assembled at San Diego. “Now is our time to enable our Foundation to serve humanity for centuries to come, by making sure it is financially strong and recognised internationally for its good work. Now is the time to show the world that if we set our hearts and minds to achieving an objective, we will unfailingly reach that goal,” Banerjee concluded, to a standing ovation.

Past RI Presidents share memories D

uring the International Assembly a special limited edition book named Rotary Presidents: Themes and Visions, was released. A slick publication containing the themes and vision statements of every Rotary President from inception, it includes the full text of the speeches they delivered during their Assembly.

Both a tribute to the past Presidents of Rotary and a rich resource for all Rotarians, the first copies were purchased by RI President K R Ravindran, RIPE John Germ and RIPN Ian Riseley.

You can order this book through the website: shop.rotary.org. Price: $35.

From left: RIPE John Germ, RI President K R Ravindran and RIPN Ian Riseley.

Spot your leaders

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ook close and you will find, along with the batch of 2016–17 District Governors from our part of the world, senior Rotary leaders such as RI President K R Ravindran, PRIPs Rajendra K Saboo and Kalyan Banerjee, RI Director Manoj Desai and their spouses Vanathy, Usha Saboo, Binota Banerjee and Sharmishtha Desai.

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 13

Serving Humanity Team Rotary News Unveiling 2016-17’s theme, RIPE John Germ urged incoming DGs to grab every little opportunity to change lives.

“A Greek philosopher once wrote that great enterprises begin with small opportunities. But I don’t think it’s true. Great enterprises don’t begin with small opportunities. They begin with great opportunities, which have a way of looking small. Every one of us here has been given a great opportunity.”

And that was not in being a DG or an RI President, said RI President Elect John Germ, delivering, unfolding his theme Rotary Serving Humanity at the International Assembly in San Diego.

That came when a Rotarian invited you to his club meeting. “That was an interesting chance to meet some good people, and do some good work, and have some fun along the way.” And to serve.

All those at the Assembly had been given a great opportunity … “to motivate, inspire and direct our clubs to better, more effective and more ambitious service. What we do with that opportunity — that’s up to each of us.

But the decisions we make won’t end with us. The effects of our work, our decisions, will ripple out all over the world to people we’ll never meet, but whose lives Rotary will change.”

Such as the women who now walked down dirt paths with water jars on their heads, to fetch water from a 14 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

polluted stream an hour away from their homes. But next year they’ll get safe water from bore wells Rotary will dig near their homes. Similarly, girls in India, who now leave school at 12 or 13 because their school has no toilets, will get toilet blocks that Rotary is building.

Next year children of Pakistan and Afghanistan won’t have to worry about being paralysed by polio “because we’ll have vaccinated those children.

And soon, their countries and the whole world will be polio-free. All of that can happen if you, and your club presidents and your Rotarians, recognise that the opportunity to join Rotary was the opportunity of a lifetime.

A great opportunity to change the world for the better, forever, through Rotary’s service to humanity.”

Rotary was poised at that moment which might “be known as the greatest year in Rotary’s history: the year that sees the world’s last case of polio. We are so close — so much closer than we’ve ever been before.” Almost all of South Asia and Africa were now polio-free. The work started over 30 years ago, Rotarians stuck with it all this time. “And soon, $1.4 billion — and more than 2.5 billion immunised children later — we’re going to finish

it. And when that moment comes, we need to be ready for it, to be sure that we are recognised for that success, and leverage that success into more partnerships, greater growth, and even more ambitious service in the decades to come.”

But the world would have to know and recognise Rotary’s work, “because the more we are known for what we’ve achieved, the more we’ll be able to attract partners, funding and members to achieve even more.” But Rotary’s credit won’t come from Evanston, Germ said.

“We need you to get the word out through your clubs and in your communities about what Rotary is and what we do. And we need to be sure that our clubs are ready for the moment that polio is finally eradicated.”

Apart from membership focus should be on greater service. “We can’t forget that the reason Paul Harris founded Rotary, 111 years ago, is still very much the reason people come to Rotary today: to find people who share their values, believe in honesty, diversity, tolerance, friendship and peace, and who believe that serving humanity is the best thing they can do with their time on this earth.”

Ignore women at your peril RI President K R Ravindran warns Rotarians at the International Assembly that discriminating against women will doom Rotary into irrelevance.

Rotary’s diversity is its strength; “we still hang The Four-Way Test on the wall, because high ethical standards don’t ever go out of style.

And we still believe, as Paul Harris believed, that serving humanity is the most worthwhile thing any one of us can do with our lives. And that is why our theme in 2016–17 will be simply Rotary Serving Humanity.”

And next year Team Rotary — all its 1.2 million members, will continue to work, serve and strive together, “for our shared goal of a better world.”

Urging the incoming DGs to use every opportunity, however small it seemed, to change lives, Germ said: “One good work at a time. One day at a time. That’s all it takes. That’s what we’re here for in Rotary. Next year, it’s going to be your responsibility to make sure that Rotary serves humanity as much as it can, as well as it can, and that Rotary changes as many lives as it can for the better. So that the mothers who are still carrying water on their heads, and the girls who have had to leave school, and every one of the world’s children who are still at risk for polio, see their world change for the better next year because of Rotary Serving Humanity.”

“We have 1.23 million members, in more clubs than ever before. New members continue to join, and choose to stay; our numbers have grown by over 8,500 new members just since July 1,” said RI President K R Ravindran addressing the session on ‘Benefits of Membership’ at the International Assembly.

While appreciating the progress Rotary has made in attracting women members who now form 20 per cent of Rotary membership, from five per cent in 1995, he pointed out that nearly one-fifth of the clubs today continue to exclude women, claiming that they simply cannot find women who are qualified for membership.

“Any Rotarian who makes this argument, or believes it, lacks the two most basic qualifications for Rotary membership: honesty and good sense.

Those who choose to live in a Jurassic Park era should take a moment to remember what happened to the dinosaurs. They became extinct!”

Equality for women is not just “a nice extra. It is absolutely essential to our service, to our future. If we don’t put it front and centre, we are dead in the water before we even begin.

A club that shuts out women shuts out much more than half the talent, half the ability, and half the connections it should have. We have had women in Rotary for only the last quarter of our history, and it is no coincidence that those years have been by far our most productive.” Gender discrimination will make Rotary less attractive to potential members, especially the younger generation.

Urging the incoming DGs to rise up to the challenges they may face in their year, Ravindran concluded with a quote of Archimedes: ‘Give me a lever that is long enough, and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I can move the world.’

“The fulcrum is Rotary. And Rotarians are the lever. Together, we can move the world. And we will.”

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 15

A veteran Rotary Spouse down memory lane Rasheeda Bhagat The role a spouse can play in a DG’s road to success is phenomenal and unmatched, says Usha Saboo

M

y husband Raja (PRIP Rajendra K Saboo) joined Rotary at a fairly young age. The excitement and demands of a married life and motherhood were so overwhelming that I was hardly ready for Rotary. What was in it for me, I thought. All that I knew of Rotary at that time were routine meetings and boring speeches.”

With these words Usha Saboo took the spouses of the batch of 2016–17 DGs assembled at the International Assembly in San Diego, down her journey as a Rotary spouse over 50 years … “its highs and lows, joys and rewards, what I gained and what I lost.”

Speaking on the topic “A drop in the ocean” and urging the spouses to step into her shoes and “experience this great adventure in service called Rotary,” she said that for years “nothing exciting” happened, “and then one fine day Raja was nominated as the District Governor. I can’t say I was happy.”

Soon it was time to attend the International Assembly in Florida; though, excited she had no idea what to expect there. While today’s spouses were lucky as the Zone Institutes prepared them for the Assembly, “way back in 1976, we did not get much advice on our role as a spouse or what to do there.”

Hugs and kisses galore She walked into a shock; so many people from across the world, so many 16 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

What was in it for me, I thought. All that I knew of Rotary at that time were routine meetings and boring speeches.

languages, people addressing one another by their first names, and most of all, “people we had never spoken to before hugging us and exchanging gifts. Coming from India where even husband and wife hug and kiss behind closed doors,” they could imagine how she felt to be “kissed on the cheek by total strangers,” Usha said, evoking peals of laughter.

Once her initial shock was over, she realised the value of this experience to learn about Rotary, particularly about her role as a DG spouse. “And I became determined to perform my

role as best as I could.” Soon both Saboo and she, along with Rotarians of District 3080, set about setting up blood banks, rehabilitating leprosy patients, facilitating free heart surgeries and more. From a wide-eyed timid spouse she was transformed into a game changer, “all for enhancing the image of Rotary.”

Time moved on, and she was caught in a whirlwind when Saboo was nominated the RI Director. “It was Rotary first and Rotary last,” and she wondered, “did I marry him for this!” When they were in Evanston at the Rotary headquarters in 1982, she learnt an invaluable lesson of her life from Miriam, a DG spouse, who was mending countless torn stockings, as her husband, DG Bill Cable drove them for over four hours from Evanston for their district conference in Indiana. As she did this in the car, “I thought this woman was either crazy, stingy, or both.” And when both of them did not join the rest for the meal, digging into their own sandwiches and fruits, her fear was confirmed.

That night, at the hotel, the fire alarm went off, and everybody came down except the two of them. Next morning, when asked, Miriam casually said that she was busy saving her husband’s Rotary papers; “if those got destroyed, how can he be DG,” she said. This “unique commitment” taught Usha to what extent a Rotary spouse could go.

A shocking gift And then came the astonishing moment when the couple turned up at the RI President’s office, when Saboo held the post, to announce that they were gifting their entire estate of $1.6 million to TRF. “That day, everything changed for me. Inspiration came to me in such an unexpected manner … one who I had thought of as pinchfisted misers had turned out to be an epitome of generosity. What a great example of humble living and big giving. I felt inspired.”

After that she never looked back; “we soon decided to dedicate our time, thoughts, hearts and money for the good of others. Till then ‘Look beyond Yourself’ was just a Rotary theme for me.”

Then began their journey to do so and they started serving beyond borders. “Life started afresh for me at the age of 63,” she said, adding she has served in over 30 medical missions over 17 years in Africa, Cambodia and India “touching thousands of lives and transforming my own life.”

Invaluable lessons Her spouse journey has taught her lessons no book can; the nurse Stella in Malawi always laughing so heartily or else the pain, suffering and death she saw everyday would drive her and those around her insane. Little Marvin in Ethiopia who said he could communicate “with Madam (Usha) because she smiles in my language.” Or the little girl in Zimbabwe, who shared the other half of her only biscuit when Usha gave her a gift.

“Sharing in abundance is ordinary, sharing when you have nothing but one biscuit is generosity.

Immunising our own children is ordinary; immunising all the children of the world against polio is Rotary.

Travelling for pleasure is ordinary, travelling to distant lands and giving vision, mobility and life to others is Rotary.” Similarly while some only

PRIP Rajendra K Saboo with Usha Saboo.

make homes for themselves, educate their own children or donated their blood only for dear ones, Rotary does all this and more for others.

She was grateful to Rotary for giving her such precious opportunities; “now on the other side of 80, I am neither tired nor retired. Strength comes from holding the hand of my husband.”

Reiterating that she had many more milestones to reach and so many more lives to change, Usha said she was aware that the spouses in that room had their own businesses or professions,

families and even elders to look after, “but this year your spouse seeks your time the most and the success of his term as DG depends on you.”

The spouses were the only ones who could give the incoming DGs “constructive criticism, console them at moments of disappointment, inspire them to reach great heights, and yet keep them humble. Who else but you can have the courage to tell the DG that his jokes are not always funny,” she asked, amidst thunderous applause from the wives!

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 17

Maha milestones of an iconic club Rasheeda Bhagat As RC Calcutta Mahanagar celebrated its silver jubilee, the presence of 100 of the 750 children whose little hearts it had helped to mend, lit up the hall.

T

he frail woman could barely be heard over the mike as the Rotarians at the Birla Mahagarh hall in Kolkata strained their ears to decipher what she was saying. Supriya Mandal, the mother of Vinod, a poor boy with a congenital heart disease whose surgery was done with help from Rotary Club of Calcutta Mahanagar, was asked to speak again, using another mike. But while her words did not register, her

choked voice and the sobs she tried to control, told the story. That her child was healthy and normal thanks to the Rotarians of this Club.

The occasion was RC Mahanagar celebrating its 25th anniversary and recalling various milestones in its journey; 750 heart surgeries for poor children with help from famous Cardiac Surgeon Dr Devi Shetty and his team took the pride of place.

Other achievements were providing 6,000 shelter kits with 52 items, helping 30,000 people in 20 natural disasters across India and Nepal; building 1,000 toilets in rural Bengal by the end of this year, setting up 100 e-learning centres in Government schools, 100 libraries, starting a bloodline project which has become very popular in Kolkata and

that Rotary clubs

for which a mobile app is now available, sending 500 children back to school this year, giving 150 scholarships under its iconic Udaan project and giving the City of Joy the Mahanagar Peace Park adjoining the Victoria Memorial.

do in India is totally

Nostalgic note

The service

unmatched by Rotary clubs anywhere else in the world.

– Kalyan Banerjee

Striking a nostalgic note at the meet, PRID Shekhar Mehta, a member of this club, recalled several of its milestones.

He described how over 25 years the club had evolved … “we learned to dream big, scaled new heights of service, faltered and had setbacks and yet we came out triumphant, identified the needs of community and fulfilled them.”

He said a turning point in his and the club’s journey was his visit to RC Vapi, the club of PRIP Kalyan Banerjee, who was the chief guest for the celebration. “I found it to be an amazing club which then had only 54 members, but it showed me the power of what only one Rotary club could do.

Seeing them, we learned to dream big, conceive projects which were beyond our capacity and capability. People derided us and said you’re building castles in the air but our members eventually proved them wrong. We said we will try. Chaley, girey, sambhalkar phir girey lekin, manzil tak zaroor pahunchey. (We walked, stumbled and fell, but recovered to reach our goals.)”

To honour club members who are no more, he announced scholarships in the names of Pradeep Tibrewal, Ramesh Khaitan and Prem Fatehpuria.

Indian RCs unmatched Addressing the meet, PRIP Kalyan Banerjee said the milestones of RC Calcutta Mahanagar detailed at this “awesome event proves once again that the service that Rotary clubs do in India is totally unmatched by Rotary clubs anywhere else in the world. Our clubs are changing lives of thousands and thousands time and again.”

All praise for Mehta, who he had known since 1995 when both were in Nepal doing a Presidential Conference

for RI President Herbert G Brown, he congratulated the club for its great work, and urged them to think of what they would do in the next 25 years.

“But well before that, you are going to give RI a President whose roots are in Kolkata. The other day somebody in Delhi asked me ‘Kalyan, you are an experienced Rotarian, what does it take to become an RI President?’

I said sabse pehle shift to Kolkata, and I’ll tell you the rest later.” He added that all RI Presidents from India were either born in Kolkata or had strong links with the city.

TRF Centenary As the incoming Trustee Chair of the Foundation, he would wait till the next fortnight to divulge his goals for total giving for the Centennial. These would be unveiled at the International Assembly in San Diego later that month. But the tremendous service being done by Rotary clubs in India, be it in WinS, literacy or so many other life-transforming projects, was giving India a terrific exposure at the international level. Lauding Mehta for the “tremendous leadership he has shown in the goal to make South Asia totally literate,” he said when he had espoused this cause as RI President in 2011–12, “I had no idea how we would make South Asia totally literate. But along came Shekhar from nowhere and took up the challenge, and has worked in a way that has surprised even me.

There have been doubting Thomases and nay-sayers, just as we had in polio, but ultimately we did it … we eliminated polio from India.”

Thanks to Mehta’s initiative, drive and energy, today Rotary’s literacy programme was recognised by the Indian HRD Ministry. “We want India to be literate by 2017; it may happen or it may not happen. But let’s remember we had thought of making India polio-free initially by 2000, and then 2005, when Rotary was celebrating its 100th year.” Subsequently India became polio-free, and Nigeria FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 19

From RC Vapi we learned to dream big, scaled new heights of service, faltered, had setbacks but came out triumphant.

–Shekhar Mehta

followed very quickly, and Pakistan was on its way. “Don’t be surprised if Pakistan reports zero cases within the next six months. This might just happen. And after that Afghanistan cannot be far behind,” he added.

By 2016–17, “if we can make India 80 or 85 per cent literate,” it will be a centennial to remember. For this landmark year, he urged each South Asian club to take up at least one signature project during the year. “But it should be new and it should be big; finish it if you can during the year or else continue it the next year.”

Banerjee gave the example of a club in Belgaum which had taken up a traffic project mainly for the young as many youngsters were speeding on motor cycles without licences and causing several accidents. This project was making a huge difference to the community.

20 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

TRF targets for 2016–17 While he would announce TRF Centennial targets at the International Assembly in San Diego (the next fortnight), “some leakages” had already taken place, so he’d share a little secret, he said. At the GETS at the recent Jaipur Institute, “I believe the incoming Governors from India have decided to raise the total giving target to $27 million from India.

I said ‘Wow’ because right now India is at $13 or 14 million. If this target is achieved we will become the No 2 giving country, only behind the US, and would have by far overtaken Japan which gives something like $18 million.

This is something all of us can cherish.”

As for the future of Rotary, it could be what each Rotarian dared to dream.

“For me, polio showed that we Rotarians can do anything, be it polio, literacy, housing. Thanks to polio, the Indian government today thinks Rotary can do

anything, and now we’re working with it to make illiteracy history in India.”

So what next, he asked. “How about banishing hunger, or ensuring that every Indian family has a home?

As chairman of TRF I am going to bring back low-cost shelters as part of Rotary’s programme in the coming year.

How about making sure every young Indian has a job, whether in agriculture, technology, infrastructure or teaching?”

Urging the Club to plan for the next 25 years, Banerjee related the story of a brash young reporter telling Winston Churchill on his 90th birthday that he looked pretty healthy, and he hoped to see him on his 100th birthday too.

“Churchill took out his cigar, looked him up and down and said: ‘I don’t see why not, you seem to be in perfectly good health!’ So when you celebrate your 50th birthday and call me, I am going to be there. Watch out for that.”

President of the Club Raakesh Jain thanked four other Rotary clubs — RCs Calcutta Mega City, Calcutta South City Towers, Central Calcutta and Calcutta Merlin — which had joined his club to celebrate this milestone.

To mark its silver jubilee, RC Calcutta Mahanagar had started four new flagship projects this year and three more would be launched in the next 6 months, taking the “total value of the work done by us this year to Rs 6 crore,” he added.

Congratulating the club, DGE Shyamashree Sen urged other clubs in the District to “learn from this club how to do Rotary.”

Pictures by: Rasheeda Bhagat Designed by N Krishnamurthy

RIPE Germ visits

Kolkata Team Rotary News

RIPE John Germ endeared the hearts of club members of RC Calcutta Mahanagar, District 3291, as they celebrated their 25th anniversary.

RIPE John Germ addressing a packed audience.

RIPE John Germ and his wife Judy, on a visit to Kolkata, visited the Rabindranath Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Science to take stock of the children who have benefitted under the ‘Healing

Little Hearts’ initiative, a flagship project of RC Calcutta Mahanagar, as it celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

He interacted with the patients and presented them with gifts.

It was a special moment for the Rotarians when two of their most important projects — the ‘Bloodline App’ and ‘E-Learning Centres’ were launched.

Addressing an intercity meet organised by the club, Germ spoke about ‘Rotary Looking Ahead;’ PRID Shekhar Mehta, DG Jhulan Basu, DGE Shyamashree Sen, DGN Brojo Gopal Kundu attended.

It was a special moment for the Rotarians when two of their most important projects — the ‘Bloodline App’ and ‘E-Learning Centres’ were launched, impressing Germ. He also visited the Mahanagar Peace Park to plant saplings, and was inducted an honorary member of RC Calcutta Mahanagar.

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 21

Cracking two vital Rotary concerns Rasheeda Bhagat RI Director Safak Alpay has the satisfaction of seeing more youngsters and women joining Rotary in his Zone area.

H

e may only have some 60,000-odd Rotarians under his umbrella as an RI Director, but Safak Alpay’s writ runs over a whopping 80 countries in part of Zone 19 and 20. “If you consider that Rotary International has some 200 countries under it, then geographically at least, though not by numbers, a little less than half the countries are in my Zone area, which has 29 Districts,” he smiles as I catch up with him for an interview on the 18th floor of the One Rotary Centre, the RI Headquarters in Evanston, USA. “But that is not the most interesting part of my Zone area; it is the multicultural and multi-language countries I deal with that makes it remarkable. I have under me Central Asia, Middle East upto the UAE in the east, Africa upto Morocco in the west and what was earlier Eastern Europe — the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Hungary, etc.

So do all these different cultures come into Rotary as one melting pot?

“Not really. Even though in Rotary our goals are the same … our worries are sometimes different and we certainly have different needs in the northern part of my zone, which is so very different from the Middle East; Africa, again, is entirely different.”

22 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

Joined Rotary at 27 Alpay joined Rotary in 1974 as a young manager of his company which was dealing in electronic instruments. Later he switched his profession to ICT (Information and Communicat Communications Technology).

Actually, the 27 27-year-old joined Rotary “by chan chance.” At that time in Ankara, Turke Turkey, where he lives, there were only two Rotary clubs.

“Rotarians in Ank Ankara were very high profile people, inf influential and at senior managerial po positions.” After 10 years of existence of the second club, it was decided to start a new club important, take in young and, more import members. became one of the 7 Thus Alpay be chartered members of his club. But even Rotary on an though he had joined j invitation and a “without knowabout it, or just ing too much m pin, eventually I realfor a pin ised that Rotarians are doing extremely good service to extreme society.” At that point, sevsociety. villages around Ankara eral villa were in dire need of speservices in areas such cial se as hhealth care, teaching material for or training tr schools, and so on. So scho he got involved in carrying out such projects ry for the villagers and fo in the process “learnt hhow our community iis actually living.

I was only 27 when I joined Rotary and had no idea of the real needs of our community.

Rotary gave me an opportunity to understand my people and my country.

And I really started A eenjoying my engagement with Rotary m aand through it, to my ccommunity.”

On how difficult a journey it has been to an RI Director’s level, Alpay says, “If you do the service or different activities in the way they are meant to be done, it just happens. As a young Rotarian, I was very happy, enjoying of course the service project activities as well as fellowship, but slowly club management and project management responsibilities came. And if you deal with all these roles properly, naturally people ask you to join various committees.”

He went on to become the youngest club President in Turkey at 37, and “at 44, I became the youngest District Governor, and I am still keeping that record,” he smiles.

Till then I had no idea of the real needs of our community.

Rotary gave me an opportunity to understand my people and my country. And I really started enjoying Rotary.

He is proud of the fact that some very good projects were done during his year as Governor and the membership went up too. Next, he served on some international committees, “particularly those involving Rotaractors, Interactors, etc.” Being relatively younger at the Rotary International level, he engaged better with the youngsters and enjoyed interacting and working with them.

But, stresses Alpay, Rotarians should always bear in mind that “you should have a family and business backing you to support your work in Rotary. I learnt from my leaders that we have to take care of our family first, then business and then Rotary, in that order. If we change the order, then it becomes very difficult.”

He is grateful for the fantastic support he got from his family — wife and two daughters.

So how important is spouse support? “Very important; my wife has always supported me and been very closely involved with Rotary activities.”

That brings us to a fascinating nugget this RI Director shares with us. He says that while in some cultures in his zone, the involvement of spouses is very limited, “families in Turkey and countries of the Middle East and Africa are immensely involved with Rotary and almost act like members of the Rotary club! In my family, not only my wife, but also both my daughters are very involved in Rotary.” While his elder daughter is a Charter president of both a Rotary and Rotaract club, his younger daughter is at present the president of a Rotaract club!

Challenges before Rotary today On the challenges Rotary faces in getting younger members and women, he surprises me by saying that today’s younger managers, businessmen or professionals are “caring much more about society and the community than we did in our generation. They recognise their social responsibilities, and want to get involved in community affairs. But they have worries, they have a family to look after and a job or a business, which is very competitive.”

But what helps, adds Alpay, is that “to be competitive in your profession or job, you have to be social, which means they have to attend either a sports club or participate in some social activity.” Today most companies have CSR activities, which have to be carried out by the executives, who in turn have to depend on their families. “So this way, family and business networking is essential and among these Rotary can find a fit, though by some evolution,” he explains.

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 23

Men have their own way of understanding and handling business or activities. Women are different. If they want to do something they will do it.

Safak Alpay with TRF Trustee Orscelik Balkan.

The good news is that youngsters are being drawn into Rotary in his Zone area. “In Africa young people are establishing clubs ... I call them young professionals. And they are doing so with the support of experienced Rotarians; they organise many club activities according to the needs of the community.”

Another positive for Alpay is that the second Rotary objective, of attracting more women into Rotary, is working wonderfully in some, though not all, areas of his region.

“In Africa, women in Rotary are close to 25 per cent; in Africa women have always been very active. It is incredible how active women are

I learnt from my leaders that we have to take care of our family first, then business and then Rotary, in that order. If we change the order, then it becomes very difficult.

24 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

in both business and social life in Africa. The same is true of Turkey, and in Arabian countries.”

Mixed clubs more successful Another interesting disclosure from him is that “mixed clubs are much more successful, at this moment, than single-gender clubs.” And this is because, explains Alpay, “they give another spirit to the entire club. Men have their own way of understanding and handling business or activities. Women, on the other hand, are different. If they want to do something they will do it. And the men join. They are giving motivation to club members and participating in decision making and they and their families enjoy all this tremendously.”

So he has solved both the challenges of Rotary — to get younger people and women — I tell him.

This is only partly true, he says, “because in the northern part, we have difficulty in getting women … in both East and Central Europe.”

But isn’t that a paradox, as women in these countries are more educated and emancipated? “Yes, that is true, but the result is contrary. In Czech, Hungary, etc, we have on an average only 12 per cent women members.

They are more conservative when it comes to understanding Rotary. They understand Rotary as a ‘man’s club;’ they say if it’s a new club they might be willing to look at it, but they have a great difficulty in joining clubs which have a predominance of men.”

Integrated projects Coming to projects, Alpay’s preference is for integrated projects; even if it’s a water project, “we also pack in other elements such as health, literacy, microfinance, etc, depending on that community’s need. I find integrated projects are much more effective and respected.”

On his one big wish for Rotary, Alpay says he and other RI leaders would like to have “Rotary understood, especially by all parts of society. Because as soon as we are able to explain what we are doing, not so much who we are, we have success.

Especially among the young generation. If we can give them adequate opportunities to take part in club activities, positions as president, secretary, etc, more young people will join Rotary and help us make a greater impact in society.”

Pictures by: Rasheeda Bhagat Designed by N Krishnamurthy

District Wise TRF Contributions as on December 31, 2015 (in US Dollars)

District Number

APF

2981 2982 3000 3011 3012 3020 3030 3040 3051 3052 3053 3060 3070 3080 3090 3100 3110 3120 3131 3132 3140 3150 3160 3170 3180 3190 3201 3202 3211 3212 3230 3240 3250 3261 3262 3291 India Total

23,763 33,881 8,298 17,845 1,51,586 68,688 4,845 172 0 0 1,993 85,414 12,190 33,772 30,728 35,718 43,392 48,508 87,013 28,627 3,70,546 7,005 11,724 7,389 1,06,589 2,75,264 1,04,642 37,185 45,863 40,702 1,63,032 38,140 28,844 1,111 73,800 (961) 20,27,307

3220

1,01,801

3271 3272

15,045 5,901

3281 3282

27,576 46,660

3292 South Asia Total World Total

1,14,231 23,38,522 5,36,86,747

PolioPlus*

Other Restricted

India 2,066 0 8,763 0 525 0 4,748 530 9,163 97,082 14,225 0 20 45,366 45 25,314 0 0 0 30,783 0 0 2,188 15,183 397 0 10,323 18,941 0 0 0 0 6,627 13,230 156 0 1,220 42,417 2,015 0 15,138 21,880 4,000 0 0 0 1,290 25,534 313 447 9,000 78,310 3,213 100 1,712 0 1,000 0 1,459 0 25,075 1,13,277 0 100 1,300 8,000 0 0 25 12,028 0 65,400 1,26,006 6,13,921 Sri Lanka 20,070 46,959 Pakistan 22,795 989 4,408 0 Bangladesh 0 35,960 0 0 Nepal 1,300 1,80,700 1,74,579 8,78,529 1,10,03,429 65,39,355

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

Total Endowment Contributions Fund 0 0 0 3,030 0 14,848 0 0 0 0 0 22,000 0 9,258 0 2,000 0 0 3,063 27,500 1,64,515 25,010 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,000 (308) 11,643 0 0 0 39,000 0 3,22,560

25,829 42,644 8,823 26,153 2,57,831 97,761 50,231 25,531 0 30,783 1,993 1,24,784 12,587 72,294 30,728 37,718 63,249 48,664 1,33,713 58,141 5,72,079 36,015 11,724 34,213 1,07,349 3,62,574 1,07,955 38,896 47,863 41,853 3,13,027 38,240 38,144 1,111 1,24,853 64,439 30,89,794

7,583

1,76,414

0 0

38,829 10,309

3,000 2,000

66,536 48,660

0 3,35,143 97,11,660

2,96,231 37,26,773 8,09,41,190

Source: RI South Asia Office

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D 3060, the most

“peaceful District” Rasheeda Bhagat

I

n some of these places, a district conference is arranged as though there is a marriage or similar important event in the District Governor’s family,” a senior Rotarian tells me when I comment on the festive atmosphere at the D 3060 Conference organised at the sprawling Tent City in the iconic Rann of Kutch, bang in the midst of the Rann Utsav. Everything is done in style … from the camel ride RI Director Manoj Desai and RIPR Ricardo Acosta Roderiguez take to arrive at the inaugural session, to the Kutch delicacies on offer at the various meals.

The team put together by DG Parag Sheth had enough and more on its hands as over 2,400 registrations

were received, necessitating the organisation of two back-to-back conferences, perhaps for the first time in the Rotary world.

Addressing the meet, Desai regaled the audience with anecdotes.

But, he said that as this was his District (he is a Charter member of RC Baroda Metro, which is a part of D 3060) he felt a “little sad” that he needed a video introduction. But then, earlier in the day, somebody had asked him if he was a Rotarian. “And before I could reply, another person said: ‘Don’t you know him, he is bahu jhuna (very old) member of Agambhai’s club.’ So I suppose I do needed an intro here!”

Speaking on the future of Rotary, he unfolded for the delegates his “Vision

20:20”— clear vision in the days to come. He challenged the delegates to spell out for him the vision statement of Rotary, which was doing such splendid work all over the world. “But when the changes in the outside world are faster than inside an organisation, then you are facing the danger of extinction.”

These were days when smart phone models changed every 3–6 months, and yet the Council on Legislation of RI met only once in three years.

The world had fascinating examples of vision … the pyramids which lasted 5,000 years and the Taj Mahal which was built 500 years ago. These structures are irreplaceable because those men had a vision. While Paul Harris had a vision for Rotary which was ‘Service

(From Right ) RI Director Manoj Desai, Sharmishtha Desai, Myriam Roderiguez, RIPR Ricardo Acosta Roderiguez, DG Parag Sheth and Poonam Sheth.

26 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

Rotarians at the white sands of the White Rann of Kutch.

above Self,’ Mahatma Gandhi coined the song which goes “Vaishnav jan toh teney kahiye, Je Peed parayi jaane re” (Godly people are only those who understand other people’s sorrow); both these visions were strikingly similar.

Summing up Rotary’s ‘persona’ in three words, Desai said, “These are Dare, Care and Share… Dare to do the impossible, Care for the underserved and share what you have.” He said that while many other Rotary Districts had shown a zigzag graph in performance when it came to the core areas of Rotary, “our District’s graph has only gone up. I have visited 17 Rotary Districts so far this year, and I can tell you that ours is the most peaceful district; nothing can shake us when it comes to the focus on projects, TRF and membership. Year after year we are only improving.”

But when it came to overall membership, he was sorry to tell them that last year while “our Zone had added 15,000 members, this year till now it

had lost 11,700 of them.” Also, this year the growth was only 3,000. “This is the number game I don’t want to play; that is not what Rotary is all about,” Desai added.

Recently at the Jaipur Institute, he had introduced electronic voting and the participants had appreciated two values above all — integrity and service. This meant the priorities of Rotarians were correct.

DG Sheth said the District, which had a membership of nearly 4,000, could be proud of many of its achievements. This year 12 new clubs had been started and by the end of the year it aimed to have 100 clubs. Over the years it had undertaken some great projects and continued to do iconic projects; had produced two AKS members and 33 Major Donors.

RIPR Roderiguez, a PDG from Columbia (D 4281), said all Rotarians could be proud of the work they had done for the eradication of polio.

“We hope to see the last of polio cases

We have to reposition our image because our image has faded in many parts of the world.

this year, but we will have to wait for three years after that for the world to be declared polio-free.”

He said even though Rotary had done great things over the 110 years of its existence “we can’t continue to talk about Rotary the way we did 100 years ago. There is a new reality today and it requires a new focus. We have to reposition our image because our image has faded in many parts of the world.”

Apart from this, TRF needed more funds “so it can do even more good in the world. We need new members, but we can’t ignore older members. There are no easy answers to all these challenges but you will have to find them.”

As RI President K R Ravindran keeps saying, the Rotarians themselves knew what their problems were, particularly in their clubs, “so you will have to fix them,” he added.

Some of the interesting speakers at the conference were Swami Nikhileshwaranand from the Ramakrishna Math, who spoke on the topic ‘Peace is possible;’ Ekta Sodha, who runs low cost private schools; and Chavvi Rajawat, a female sarpanch from Rajasthan, who is making waves by solving the community’s water problems.

Pictures by: Rasheeda Bhagat FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 27

The Cost of Peace RI President K R Ravindran’s address at the Rotary Peace Conference in California.

T

his amazing conference shows the diversity of Rotary and the needs we must work to address. We have so many people here today, to share with us their own expertise and experience on so many critical and timely subjects. The breadth of topics in the next two days is so extensive I cannot possibly comment on them all, so I will simply begin by sharing my own experience on the importance of peace, gained over the course of my country’s 25-year-long civil war.

Even though the hostilities ended more than ten years ago, that war is in many ways still with us. We are still living with the effects of having lost so many of our best minds, people who left Sri Lanka for countries where they could live in peace. We are still dealing with land mines, which move and shift every summer when the rains come.

We still have tens of thousands of people living without documents, people born in areas where the Government had no control, or born of refugee parents, living illegally abroad.

We are still living with the financial impact, in the families that have lost breadwinners, in the infrastructure that was never built, in the critical resources that were

28 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

diverted for so many years toward the fighting. And the war is still living within us — in the trauma, in the many memories that none of us will ever be able to forget.

My two children grew up entirely during this war. Their childhoods were punctuated by bombings, the way other childhoods were punctuated by school outings. When my daughter thinks about her years in primary school, she probably divides them into the years before the building next door to her school was bombed, and after. Even today, when any of us see an abandoned bag on a park bench, the first instinct is to give it a wide berth, to walk as far as possible around it.

And that is what life was like for all of us in Sri Lanka, for many, many years. If you ask anyone outside of Sri Lanka, what they know of Sri Lanka, if they know one thing, it’s that we had a war. If they know two things, it’s the war and the tsunami, which washed away much of the coast around the island on the day after Christmas in 2004.

Building schools after Tsunami

After the tsunami came, despite the war, despite all of the challenges we were already facing at that time, we in Rotary felt that we had to react and do something significant. We

“

I am not a fool. I knew exactly

what that threat meant. I was no

“

Rambo or John Wayne, but a middle-aged Rotarian, with a couple of kids.

“

My two children grew up

during this war. Their childhoods

“

didn’t want to just donate bandages or bottles of water. We wanted to do something to really help rebuild the country and build its future. And so we conceived this plan of building 25 schools … schools that were absolutely best in class, evenly distributed, and covered the country in a way that all communities were equally served.

But of course we faced tremendous challenges before and during construction. Areas under rebel control were mined. Some of the schools got taken over as refugee camps and families fleeing the violence moved into these buildings under construction.

And then we had unexpected problems that affected us, the Rotarians, directly and part of it was due to the transparency that we employed in all our accounting. We published on our website every dollar of our donations and expenses for our donors to monitor. And that meant that people who we’d rather not look at it, also viewed these details.

At a certain point the contractors of 3–4 of the schools came to us and said: “Look, it’s very nice that you are being so transparent here but you are causing us a problem.”

Because in those militant-controlled areas, any time you do any contracting, you have to pay the militants a fee for every transaction. The contractors told us, we are being approached and told to pay 10 per cent of the fees you are paying us, to these people. Even though our donors were willing, we refused to do this, saying we cannot use donated money to pay bribes.

Well a few days later, my office telephone, and that too my direct line, rang. On the other end was a voice, quite polite, saying, “Mr Ravindran, you are the person who is obstructing the payment of these fees.” And I said, “No, it isn’t me, it’s the committee that decided this. It’s donated money, we can’t be paying bribes with it, etc.” He said, “No, this isn’t a bribe, this is a service charge.”

I said, “You can call it what you like but we cannot pay it, if this is a problem then we will simply pull out of the project.” He said, “No no, we don’t want you to do that. We want you to build the schools. But you need to pay this charge.”

I said no again, and then he said, “Mr. Ravindran, we know you travel a lot. Please know that we can get you anywhere you travel.” Now I am not a fool. I knew exactly what he meant. I am also not Rambo or John Wayne. I was

were punctuated by bombings, the way other childhoods are by school outings.

a middle-aged Rotarian with a couple of kids, and because of this war that we were in, I was sitting at a desk in my office, getting my life threatened.

I would be a liar if I said I wasn’t scared. I was scared like hell. But without even thinking about it I said, “We are not paying you anything. And you should know that I am a Trustee of The Rotary Foundation. It is in every part of the world, we have influence in every country, and if you come after me, if you touch one hair on my head, your funding will be cut off in every part of the world where you function.

Your money will dry up from everywhere, overnight. And that is the price that you will pay.” And I put the phone down.

I was shaking so hard that I could not even pick up the cup of tea on my desk. I would have spilled it all over the place. Of course I was bluffing. I knew that Rotary was not going to come after the Tamil Tigers because of me.

But I didn’t know if they knew it.

Fortunately for me, it seems that they did not. We were left alone thereafter and we successfully completed the project. And today, those schools graduate 14,000 children every single year. They are some of the best government schools in all of Sri Lanka. They educate Tamil, Sinhalese …

Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim children. And perhaps, that is the best thing that any of us can do to build a peaceful country; build it ourselves.

If we have learned one thing from the bloody century behind us, it is that if we still hope for peace — and we do — we cannot hope that others will build it for us. We cannot wait for governments, for the United Nations, or for cooler heads to prevail. We cannot expect peace to be handed to us, from above. We must build the foundations for it, from below.

And that is what we have always endeavoured to do, in Rotary. We have been guided by the principle that when given the chance to do so, people can and will work for the common good; that even the most intractable conflicts can be resolved when people have more to lose by fighting, than by working together. And so we in Rotary work to help those who need it, whoever they are; to remove the suffering that causes violence; to work together for the common good; to do our best to see that there is no one in the world with nothing to lose.

Designed by L Gunasekaran FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 29

Humanitarian crisis in

S

he sends me her alias in a Skype message. Who she is, what she does, and where she does it make it too dangerous to use her real name. She is in Kurdish Iraq, in the northern part of the country, which is in the middle of so many battles, wars, and conflicts that it’s hard for outsiders — and sometimes even for local people — to keep track. But she has a focus amid the chaos: She works with Syrian and Yazidi refugees who have been targeted, tortured and driven out of their homes by the Islamic State.

30 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

The name she has chosen to use is Evin.

She is 32 years old. She is Kurdish too, although from Turkey, not Iraq, and she has close family ties with Yazidis.

“They are Kurds too,” she says. The world knows little enough about Kurds; Yazidis are even more obscure, although they have been in the headlines in recent years. In Iraq, they numbered some 500,000, many of them living near Mount Sinjar, close to the Syrian border.

Their religion is an ancient and syncretic one, with elements from Zoroastrianism,

Mithraism and Islam. Some Yazidi practices resemble Muslim ones: They won’t eat pork, for example. But for centuries, Yazidis have been persecuted, mostly by Muslims, as “devil worshippers.”

Yazidis no longer live in the town of Sinjar, because there is hardly any Sinjar left to live in. When ISIS forces invaded it in August 2014, they massacred or enslaved whomever they could. Thousands of women were sold as sex slaves. The rest of the population fled, some to Mount Sinjar, where

SYRIA ROSE GEORGE

A peace fellow is risking her life to work among women who have suffered at the hands of ISIS.

‘All I can do is tell their stories.’

The body of Baby Aylan Kurdi, who drowned in his family’s attempt to reach Greece from Turkey, washed ashore a Turkish beach.

they have been sheltering ever since, suffering through brutal winter and hellish summer temperatures on the mountain. Many have died.

Evin’s route to her work with refugees has been a circuitous one.

After earning a degree in humanities, she worked to highlight human rights violations against Kurds in the region known as Kurdistan, which encompasses parts of Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran. Then based in Turkey’s Kurdish region, she turned her focus onto huge dams that Turkey is building and their

impact on people and the environment.

She first visited northern Iraq to see how the dam-building was affecting the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which descend from the Turkish mountains and flow through Syria and Iraq to the Persian Gulf. The Euphrates is already nearly dry.

Then, as the situation in Syria deteriorated, she began to work with humanitarian nongovernmental organisations as a translator. After meeting her fiancé, a Kurd from Syria who was living in Iraq, she went there to marry

him and to live, and began to volunteer in the refugee camps to which thousands of Syrians and Yazidis have fled. She was trying to figure out how to continue her studies when a native Iraqi who was a 2014 graduate of the Rotary Peace Centre at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok suggested she apply for a Rotary Peace Fellowship.

There was a problem, however: there was no Rotary club in Iraq to sponsor her. But Evin is resourceful. Her application was taken on by the Rotary Club of Asunción, Paraguay, and she was

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 31

Refugees on a boat.

They killed all the men; they took the women and children. Girls were sold in the bazaar.

accepted. “The peace fellowship was a milestone in my life,” she says. She was captivated, first by travelling outside her region to a “whole new world,” and then by the people she met on the fellowship, who came from countries that she had only read about: Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, the United States. She travelled to Cambodia, where, having read about the Khmer Rouge, she met people who had suffered under the regime. “I learned so much,” she says, and she shared her own knowledge with the other students in the programme. “Kurdistan has so many difficult problems,” she explains, adding that outsiders aren’t aware of most of them. A teacher and peace fellow who promoted music as a peace-building mechanism, for instance, didn’t know that in Turkey, playing Kurdish music could lead to imprisonment.

LaMonte Adams is a lieutenant in the Philadelphia Police Department who studied with Evin at the Rotary Peace Centre. His first impression of her was of a quiet person and an intent listener.

32 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

“I found that she will tell you exactly how she feels and what she thinks about a topic, yet she always does it in the most respectful way possible,” he says. “She will only engage in conversations when she has a relevant opinion that will enhance the discussion. She does not talk just for the sake of talking.”

By the end of the programme, Adams says, he considered her the “standout” among a group of talented peace fellows. “I could not have been more impressed by an individual,” he says. “She is deeply passionate about issues that relate to the lives of people in her community, but is also very concerned about people across the globe.”

Now, Evin works for NGOs and for journalists, setting up interviews and translating. She goes wherever she is asked, travelling to Syria three or four times a year and spending a lot of time in the camps with displaced Yazidis and Syrian refugees. Although there are schools and international organisations, she says, conditions are poor. People

live in tents, which are hot in Iraq’s punishing summer and cold in winter.

She also works with the United Nations and other organisations to document the stories of Yazidi women and girls. “I am trying to do my best to tell anything they want to tell.” Evin recounts the story of a young girl whose experience was typical. Her village was overrun by ISIS, and the girl was raped. “They killed all the men; they took the women and children. Girls were sold in the bazaar.”

Women who won’t sell are often killed. In Sinjar, recently retaken by Kurdish fighters, mass graves, including one where only older women were buried, have been discovered.

The buying, selling and mass rape of women and girls by ISIS has been well-documented, including by Human Rights Watch, which published a chilling report last year. ISIS has openly admitted that it uses enslavement and mass rape as a policy. Women are considered spoils of war.

But there’s another, coldly strategic reason for the selling of girls: They can be used to lure foreign fighters.

I ask Evin if it’s easy for the women to talk after so much trauma.

“It depends on the woman,” she says.

“Some are so strong.” Others are not.

She translated for one woman who started laughing when she told how her brother was killed. Another, she recalls, “had been sold several times.

She got pregnant. She had an abortion.

She was telling me this, and at one point I stopped breathing. She touched my shoulder and said, ‘I’ll be OK.’ ” Evin knows her role is a sensitive one. “What upsets me,” she says, “is the approach of journalists who come here and try to make these women talk, to get the detail of how she was raped, just to get one side of the story and attract attention.” The stories can

G

rowing up in India, Sachin Rane dreamed of being a police officer like his father and grandfather. “Our walls were decorated with uniformed pictures of my ancestors,” he says. But he never imagined how far police work would take him.

Rane became a Mumbai police officer in 1991. He investigated bombings, kidnappings and murders while working for a variety of law enforcement branches, including the Central Bureau of Investigation, the immigration unit, and the serious crimes unit. In 1999, he came across a federal government call for officers needed at the United Nations International Police Task Force. He was fascinated by the job description and the opportunity to work internationally. He applied and was sent to Kosovo.

There, Rane worked as a firearms instructor and helped train Kosovo’s nascent police force. Later, he was one of eight Indian officers chosen for a UN peacekeeping mission in Cyprus, which has been divided between Turkey and Greece since 1974.

In 2013, Rane was selected for a short-term Rotary Peace Fellowship at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. There, he studied international human rights law, security sector reform, theories of neutrality, racial discrimination, and the importance of neutral third-party intervention in conflicts. That year, Rane put what he learned into practice when he was selected to be a crime investigation officer at the UN Headquarters in Juba, South Sudan, a new nation still suffering from decades of civil war. The tensions between Dinka and Nuer groups kept everything on edge and often boiled over into violence. The demands of the job were high stakes.

SACHIN RANE AREA OF FOCUS

:

AGE

:

OCCUPATION

:

LOCATION PEACE CENTRE

: :

Promoting peace 49 Detective inspector Mumbai Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 2013

be told, she says, “but you can’t show her face or give her name.” Once, she says, after a girl was interviewed, her face clearly visible, her family — still in captivity with ISIS — was killed.

She feels strongly about the plight of the Yazidis, whom she calls “a peaceful people,” so she continues to live in northern Iraq despite conditions that have only worsened since she arrived.

“It used to be safer and richer, here.”

“One day, I received a call to immediately rush to the site where a mob had held a person suspected of murdering his wife and child,” he recalls. “I responded and found a man tied to a wooden pole amid an angry mob trying to lynch him. I had to use all my diplomatic qualities to pacify the mob and prevent them from harming that suspect. I held the mob back successfully until reinforcements arrived and we could evacuate him safely for further legal action.”

Back in Mumbai investigating economic offenses like fraud, Rane is different today. “After the training that I received in the Rotary peace course, I have become more people-oriented rather than a rigid law enforcer,” he says. “I try to study the causes that lead to an incident.”

– Frank Bures

She continues to live in northern Iraq despite conditions that have only worsened since she arrived.

These are turbulent times in a turbulent region. The UN calculates that ISIS still holds 3,000 Yazidis in captivity.

More frightening for Evin is that ISIS wants to target Kurds too. “We met some ISIS prisoners and asked them who they are fighting against. They said, ‘We are fighting the infidels called Kurds. If we find one, we kill them.’ ” A year ago, one of her cousins, a young girl, was killed in Syria. “Murder and killing are a normal part of life here,” she notes. But earlier this year, a nephew also died there in an explosion. “My nephew was like my little brother. His death still really affects me.” She supports Kurds who travel to Syria to help. “They are fighting ISIS, which is the enemy of all humanity.”

One day, she will write all this down. She feels a responsibility to the women she meets. For now, she does her job and works on a master’s degree in history online. “There’s not much I can do but tell their stories and describe what they face.” When I ask her which women have inspired her most, she doesn’t pause for thought.

“All of them.”

Reproduced from The Rotarian Designed by N Krishnamurthy

34 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY INSTITUTE

- JAIPUR

Grooming and inspiring

incoming leaders Jaishree

RI Director Manoj Desai and spouse Sharmishtha Desai greet incoming RI President John Germ and spouse Judy Germ at the Jaipur Institute.

T

he Rotary Institute at Jaipur opened with training seminars for the DGEs, DGNs and District trainers for three days from December 15–17, giving them an opportunity to break the ice and bond with each other. Inaugurating the seminar, RIPE John Germ called the incoming governors, the ‘All Stars Team.’ It was a record of sorts — the first time in Rotary history that an

RIPE inaugurated the seminar, said GETS Chair Kamal Sanghvi.

Germ urged the incoming leaders to take charge and gear up for their year ahead. If each Rotarian contributed his bit towards community service, it would not be difficult to achieve all the focused goals of Rotary, he said.

The Rotary Coordinators provided training on various Rotary aspects

Judy Germ urged the spouses to break out of their inhibitions and interact freely with their counterparts to make the experience interesting.

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 35

such as connecting with the clubs, polishing public speaking skills, goal setting, online working tools, planning a District Conference, etc. RI Director Manoj Desai emphasised the importance of Strategic Planning and called upon the governors to instruct the clubs to create their own plans.

Each club must draw up one long-term goal, “extending for three years on a continuous basis,” and work towards it, he said.

The COL Training Seminar gave an orientation on COL, its rules and regulations. Mock COL sessions were conducted which trained the incoming governors to put across their Zone’s proposal succinctly, as each delegate will be allotted just two minutes to present his proposal in the COL meet.

At the review meet, the progress made by the current governors in membership, TRF, WinS and TEACH, in each District, was assessed.

Spouses’ session The Spouses’ session was inaugurated

by Judy Germ who reached out to the spouses of the incoming District leaders through her inspirational speech.

She counselled them to be participative and supportive and actively involve themselves in their partner’s

36 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

Rotary ventures. She urged them to break out of their inhibitions and interact freely with their counterparts to make their year as governors really meaningful. Usha Saboo, Vanathy Ravindran, Manju Das, Rashi Mehta, Sharmishtha Desai and Margarita Hewko shared their personal experiences on how they lend a hand in Rotary activities in their region.

The Rotary Foundation Jayashree Raveendiran, Manager, TRF, RI South Asia Office (RISAO), made a presentation at the GETS seminar on the services provided by RISAO. She also conducted a Q & A session with the current DGs on the mid-year review. Joseph Thomas, Coordinator, Club and District Support, RISAO, explained the concept of Rotary Central and other online tools.

Toy for Joy An initiative by Sharmishtha Desai, the ‘Toy for Joy’ project chaired by Jayanthi Raja Seenivasan, attracted donation of toys and board games from the delegates. The team visited schools and orphanages in the city and distributed these to the children.

The highlight of the seminar days were the dinners at the famed Jaigarh

Vanathy Ravindran addressing the Spouses’ session. Also on the dais: Usha Saboo, Margarita Hewko, Sharmishtha Desai, Manju Das and Rashi Mehta.

From left: RID Manoj Desai, Institute Chair Ashok Gupta, Sharmishtha Desai, Vanathy Ravindran, RI President K R Ravindran, RI General Secretary John Hewko and Margarita Hewko with the Institute team.

Fort, which opened its doors for such an event after 33 years; and the banquet, the next day, hosted by Ajay Kala at his farm house, the K-Villa, to celebrate RID Desai’s birthday.

For the first time, the DGEs had an official, convocation-style graduation ceremony replete with the graduation cloak, with the event being presided over by RI President K R Ravindran and Vanathy Ravindran.

The Institute Chair Ashok Gupta bestowed the title ‘Sawai,’ meaning one and a quarter times more, on RIPN Germ for his grit and determination to serve humanity. “He will definitely be one and a quarter times more successful than normally expected,” said Gupta. It was the Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb who conferred this title for the first time recognising the administrative abilities of King Jai Singh II, who had ruled over the erstwhile princely State of Rajasthan.

The plenary sessions were interactive with ample time given for

exchange of ideas; the session ‘TRF Lifeline of Rotary’ was addressed

by PRIP Kalyan Banerjee; ‘working with your Foundation team’ was addressed by incoming RRFC Kamal Sanghvi; ‘Major Giving’ by Endowment Major Gift Advisor Ravi Vadlamani; ‘Developing Leaders’ by Training Leader Ghulam Vahanvaty and Incoming RPIC Ashish Desai; ‘Connecting with Clubs’ by Training Leader Gulshan Thukral, ‘Planning your District Conference’

by IPDGs Ajay Gupta and Gowri Rajan.

The next day PRIP Rajendra K Saboo addressed the incoming Governors on ‘Paradigm Shift.’

There were training sessions for the Facilitators, Special Aides and Sergeants at Arms. As RID Desai put it, “For the first time Facilitators were trained, so that when they go overseas for international events they are better equipped for interactive sessions and can ask appropriate questions to get the necessary information.”

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 37

Partner with us to clean up India Rasheeda Bhagat Energy Minister Piyush Goyal, a “proud Rotarian” himself, commends Rotary for the “great work” it does to change lives.

W

e would love to partner with Rotary on the Swachh Bharat Swachh Vidyalaya scheme. And you don’t even have to spend your money. The ministries and PSUs under me, along with other public-spirited citizens have made 1.28 lakh toilets in 2014–15 (Aug to Aug). We will even spend the

We are engaging with all political parties to pass the GST Bill.

But if that doesn’t work, we have alternative routes to reach the benefits of GST to business and industry.

38 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

money to maintain them … just help me supervise them.”

This was the enthusiastic response of Union Minister of State for Energy (Independent Charge) Piyush Goyal when the Rotary India WinS Chair Sushil Gupta said that Rotary was interested in working with the Government on a core Rotary project Wash in Schools. The Minister was addressing a session at the Jaipur Institute on the “Role of Rotary in the Power Sector and WinS.” Reiterating that enough and more Government funds are available for deserving projects, he said where he wanted Rotary’s help was in getting important information. “If you find any government school in the entire country that does not have a separate toilet for boys and girls, just inform us, you don’t even have to do anything. We will build a toilet there.”

Disclosing that he was a “proud Rotarian” himself, the Minister said that similarly he wanted the Rotary fraternity’s help in ridding India of manual scavenging. “Just like you took up Pulse Polio, take up manual scavenging; the government will spend the entire money.

You don’t have to spend anything but find out and tell us where this is happening.

Approach, educate and sensitise people that this should not happen. Often budgeted money doesn’t get spent.

Help us enhance India’s capacity to

spend the allocated money to implement schemes.”

Public government partnership Underlining the need for more public-government partnerships, he urged Rotarians to play the “role of a change agent. Revolutions are not made by millions of people; all it takes is one person or a small team ... a set of soldiers with deep commitment and passion to make a difference.” Complimenting Rotary for the “great work you people are doing … you do free heart surgeries, provide lighting in villages, do water projects, etc.,” he urged them to scale up their work. This could be done particularly in engaging with Government schemes and enabling their effective implementation.

He said the delegates in the room were the “privileged, intelligent, and above all influential people. ‘Influence’ is a very powerful word in India.

I know there are enough people in this room who could have got 10 ministers to come for this conference. But are we going to use all this influence, time and energy only for our personal good or for the public… this is the thought I want to leave with you.”

Goyal said the main challenge before the Modi government was to “perform,” as people had voted for it with such high expectations. “In the last 18 months we have created a fundamental policy shift in the way the Government works, bringing in certain principles of governance to make it more transparent.”

In a bid to end “rent seeking” the NDA Government had cancelled overnight 204 coal blocks in 2014, when there was a severe coal shortage. “The media was screaming of huge shortage of power and coal,

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is very clear that we should achieve nothing short of 100 per cent power for all by 2019 and we are committed to this goal. and for me it was baptism by fire, with Parliament sessions being all about coal shortage and plants shutting down because of it.”

The option was to import coal but instead of dipping into precious foreign exchange “we dared to dream that we will increase production and India will produce a billion tons of coal.”

Renewable energy Having cracked this, his ministry concentrated on improving renewable energy production “so that we could reach power to the remotest of villages where 69 years after Independence, India has not been able to give this basic amenity, and for decades people had lived without power. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is very clear that we should achieve nothing short of 100 per cent power for all by 2019 and we are committed to this goal.”

Saying that every challenge can become an opportunity, Goyal said the cancellation of coal blocks became an opportunity to bring transparency into the system through auctions. “The days of rent seeking are over; we now allow everybody to compete.”

In renewable energy too his ministry decided not to look “at incremental growth but expand the frontiers of imagination. We thought why should India plan for 20,000 MW of solar

energy when it has a huge potential, so let us plan for 100,000 MW. That’s what we did and India’s role in Paris at the Climate Summit was exemplary.”

Answering a question on the passage of the GST Bill, Goyal said that the BJP was trying to engage with all parties to get it passed. But even if it failed to convince the Opposition parties to co-operate, “I promise you that we will not give up. We will find another way to bring the law, or the benefits of the law, so that industry and business do not suffer. People who work with strategy always have exit routes, alternate routes and this Government believes that without strategy, you will not be relevant. We know where we are going, and we will find an alternative.”

Replying to another question raised

by PRIP Rajendra K Saboo whether the Modi Government would “dare to dismiss any one high placed leader belonging to your party and known to be corrupt,” he said, “Absolutely. But we will not be driven by the media or an Opposition party. We are driven by reports of investigative agencies, and will not react if somebody throws stone or makes false allegations, or campaigns on social media or television channels.

But if there is proof and proper investigation, strict action will be taken, however highly placed a leader might be.”

Designed by K Vishwanathan FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 39

CONVENTION MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDATION CHAIR

MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDATION CHAIR

Souvenir shopping

Rotary’s birthday – and chats about The Rotary Foundation

W

I

f you’re heading to Seoul for the 2016 RI Convention on 28 May–1 June, you’ll probably want to pick up some souvenirs for the folks back home.

You would do well to start at Namdaemun Market. This is an oldfashioned market in the city centre with vendors who pound on tables to get your attention. You’ll find souvenirs galore, along with Psy masks, Obama socks and dog sweaters.

If you’re willing to trade sleep for shopping, head to Dongdaemun Market, where stores stay open until 5 a.m.

Dongdaemun is made up of several large shopping malls, as well as rows of street vendors who sell mostly clothes. If you like to wheel and deal, this is a good place to do it.

For a less frenetic shopping pace, try Garosugil, a neighbourhood full of fashion boutiques carrying both homegrown labels and international brands.

When your feet need a break, stop at one of Garosugil’s trendy restaurants.

The shopping district of Myeongdong is best-known for Korean cosmetics, a beauty trend spreading worldwide. Don’t be afraid of unusual ingredients (snail slime or bee venom, anyone?).

Korea is known as a high-tech haven, and if you want to remember Seoul with a souvenir of the electronic type, stop by Yongsan Electronics Market.

Yongsan is several buildings that sell computers and peripherals, software, cameras, cellphones, audio equipment and appliances.

– Susie Ma

40

Register for the 2016 RI Convention in Seoul at ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016 www.riconvention.org.

hen I joined Rotary many years ago, the fireside chat was a popular, simple and effective method of communication among Rotarians. One Rotarian would invite a small number of fellow members to his home (this was before the admission of women in 1987) to talk about the value of Rotary in their lives. The evening would provide fellowship and increase knowledge about Rotary programmes, including The Rotary Foundation. In some parts of the world, particularly Down Under, they were called poolside chats, but the concept was the same.

As the 111th anniversary of Rotary on 23 February approaches, I hope you will take the opportunity to spend the evening with some of your Rotary friends, men and women, to talk about Rotary, particularly the Foundation as it prepares for its centennial year in 2016–17. The anniversary falls on a Tuesday this year, and as Tuesday nights are normally not heavily booked for social activities, there are many ways to celebrate.

In today’s world, our chats about Rotary may be held online through social media avenues or in person in homes, restaurants or pubs. I encourage Rotarians around the world to commemorate both the birthday of Rotary and the 100th anniversary of The Rotary Foundation by inviting some Rotary friends to join together in fellowship and service for conversations about the organisation. Just as Rotary grew out of the idea of one individual, Paul Harris, the idea of Rotary chats can be revived by individual Rotarians and clubs in a variety of ways.

Who will step forward to try the idea in their respective clubs this year? If it is you, please send me a note at rayklaw@sbcglobal.net to tell me about your chat. By whatever name and method, our chats on 23 February about Rotary’s founding and the Foundation’s centennial will be good for our Rotary clubs!

Ray Klinginsmith Foundation Trustee Chair

RI President K R Ravindran launches the ‘Bal Kavach’ scheme.

Goa welcomes RI President

K R Ravindran Team Rotary News

G

oa hosted RI President K R Ravindran for two days in December. An interview with the President by PDG Jorson Fernandes

was telecast on the local TV channel, which threw light on various aspects of Rotary ranging from its humanitarian activities in Goa and across

The scheme ‘Bal Kavach,’aims to provide personal accidental insurance for over 10,000 school children from rural and backward areas of Goa, in partnership with New India Insurance.

the world to its vision in the years to come.

An Intercity Meet was organised at the National Institute of Oceanography auditorium in which over 400 Rotarians participated. Ravindran launched the insurance scheme, ‘Bal Kavach,’ of RC Panaji Riviera, which will provide personal accidental insurance for over 10,000 school children from rural and backward areas of Goa, in partnership with New India Insurance.

The total sum insured is about Rs 50 crore. Students and their school Head Masters were present at the launch.

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 41

Doing good with TRF help

Initiating women’s livelihoods in

Ankleshwar

T

ehzib, a 35-year-old Muslim woman in Ankleshwar hails from a socially disadvantaged family. Her husband works as a driver, and on his monthly salary of Rs 5,000 it was a struggle to take care of his wife and two children. Till she was picked up by the Rotary Women’s Empowerment Project — tailoring lessons — run in a spanking new, cheerful, well-lit hall in Ankleshwar.

She now stitches school uniforms, salwar-kameez, blouses, and comfortably makes a monthly income of about Rs 5,000–6,000. Her children are in school; “Rotarywalo ne mujhe ek (sewing) machine bhi diya hei (Rotarians have also given me a machine), so now I make extra income from stitching at home,” says Tehzib, whose daughter is now in Class 9 and son in Class 6. “When she stitched her 42 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

first salwar-kameez and got Rs 100, we asked her what she did with it, and felt very happy when she said it went to pay her child’s school fees,” says Meera Panjwani, who started the project when she was President of RC Ankleshwar (2013–14), and wanted to do “something for women’s empowerment.”

Rasheeda Bhagat

In this industrial belt, a natural fit was starting tailoring classes for women. With the help of fellow Rotarian Rashmi Joshi, who runs several women’s welfare initiatives, including a beauty parlour, in the city, Meera did a survey and found “there were many women who wanted to learn tailoring but couldn’t afford these classes.”

When details of this project were put online on Rotary Ideas, RC Columbia Metro, USA, donated $5,000 and we purchased more sewing machines and furniture.

Next we want to train these women to stitch industrial uniforms, aprons, etc; as this is an industrial belt, they will be able to get huge orders.

Meera Panjwani oversees progress made at the women’s empowerment centre in Ankleshwar.

Since the club already had a Rotary Hall, which it has lost now, she purchased 10 sewing machines and distributed pamphlets saying free training was available. They got 70 applications, and not wanting to turn anyone away, classes were done in three batches of two hours.

Tehzib.

Nikita is only 18, and came here for training “as after Class 10, when I wanted to do a fashion designing course, my parents refused permission.

So I decided to learn sewing, which will come in handy for pursuing my dream to do fashion designing,” she smiles.

She is from a lower middle class family, y her father works as a clerk in LIC. “The problem is that while it is easy for the poor to seek help, women in many lower middle class families are caught in a trap how to support their families or pursue their dreams.

For girls like Nikita, this is a great opportunity,” says Meera.

In two years, the Centre has flourished; when the club lost its Rotary Hall, it bought its present hall for Rs 28 lakh, raising money through several fund-raising initiatives.

Another past president of the club Manish Shroff recalls that when details of this project were put online on Rotary Ideas, RC Columbia Metro, District 6080, USA, US A “approached us and donated

$5,000 and we purchased more sewing machines, and furniture for this hall.”

Many of these women make their money by stitching school uniforms apart from women’s clothes. Says Ashok Panjwani, PDG of D 3060, and Meera’s spouse, “Next we want to train these women to stitch industrial uniforms, aprons, etc; as this is an industrial belt, they will be able to get huge orders.”

As Meera is also the Chair of the fund-raising committee and the club raises substantial funds during the Navratri season, there are plans to extend the tailoring section by buying an adjacent hall in the same building for Rs 42 lakh. The deal has been done and the money has to be paid in the next 18 months. “We now want to expand our activities and train women for beauty parlours and also in handicrafts. On advice from Rashmi not to make everything free, we now do the initial two months tailoring class free, but charge them a nominal Rs 400 a month for advanced classes, otherwise absenteeism is rampant.”

About 150 women have been trained and earn a decent livelihood through this Rotary initiative, she added.

Pictures by: Rasheeda Bhagat FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 43

Colours of

Kutch Rasheeda Bhagat

At the Rann Utsav, the gleaming white of the receded saline water was more than compensated by the exquisite and colourful arts and crafts of Kutch.

T

he vibrant colours — the reds, blues, oranges, yellows, purples — that greet you at every nook and corner in the Great Rann of Kutch, and of course Bhujodi, about 8 km from Bhuj, can dazzle anybody. Taking in the brown and the beige and the dusty, dirty green as you approach the Tent City in the White Rann of Kutch, it is easy to understand why the Kutchi women artisans, the best that you can find anywhere in the world and who can make such magic with their fingers, have filled their handicrafts — saris,

44 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

How can you say no to an invite for a conference held in the exotic Rann of Kutch?

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 45

stoles, shawls, kurtis, cloth bags, wall panels and patches — with such energetic colours.

I am invited to address a conference of District 3060, but before I can decline the invite, the venue dangles before me like a juicy carrot — the conference will be held at the Rann of Kutch, says the invite from DG Parag Sheth. How can you say no to the treasures that Kutch offers you?

We land at Bhuj, and are scheduled to drive down to the Tent City — a distance of 85 km — the next morning. The short drive to Bhujodi village unfolds a treasure trove of the best crafts and embroidery, bandhni and

A woman markets the products of Kutch artisans at Bhujodi village.

A view of the Tent City.

46 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

Bhujodi village offers a treasure trove of the best crafts and embroidery, bandhni and weaves that Kutch has to offer.

weaves that Kutch has to offer. This is a 500-year old village, which is famous for its woollen carpets — made from both camel and sheep wool. Given the harsh winters, carpet making was once an essential, but today the skilled weavers of Bhujodi send their products across the world. While for the mass market a plethora of machine embroidered patches are churned out, to be slapped on to kurtas, the unique beauty of Kutchi bags, patches, chunnis and stoles lies in the meticulously hand embroidered pieces.

While woollen carpets were not a big draw to someone from Chennai, I found the rest of the treasures in Bhujodi irresistible. Beautiful cloth bags crafted by hand and complete with mirror work; bandhni stoles, dupattas and shawls made by the local women, who infuse so much colour and beauty into these garments, really take your breath away. And by

Chennai, Mumbai or Delhi standards, these are so inexpensive, and so much fine labour goes into them, that it is criminal to bargain with the artisans.

I walk into the shop of Abdul Miya who has a treasure trove of bandhni silk sarees; granted the silk is not of the finest variety being art silk, but how he manages to sell a bandhni sari, with beautifully embroidered motifs, and a blouse piece with a border … all for a mere Rs 1,500, beats me.

Huge rush The next morning, we head for the Tent City, where nearly the whole facility has been booked for the District conference. DG Sheth had no idea when he announced the conference venue as the White Rann that he would get 2,400-odd registrations! The result was that perhaps for the first time in the history of a Rotary District Conference, there were two conferences, held back to back! For there was no way to accommodate all the delegates

While luxury tents are for the rich, Gujarat Tourism also takes care of rural artisans during the Rann Utsav by giving them a vibrant marketplace outside the Tent City.

at the same time in the Tent City. PDG Deepak Agarwal, Advisor to the Conference Committee, said that the Tent City normally has just over 400 tents, but to accommodate the Rotarians, an additional 200 tents were set up. And which other State in the country except Gujarat would do such a thing? But then which Gujarati would say no to extra business, and the Tent City is run by the Gujarat/Kutch Tourism.

There was such a huge rush to attend the conference that at one lunch I shared with Sheth’s two sons, they said they, along with all the 30 members

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 47

of the conference committee, had no permanent place to stay. So they were camping outside the Tent City!

Tent City The Tent City is a small township by itself and is built over a whopping 1.5 million sq metres in Dhordo, the village adjoining the White Rann. The unique thing about this exotic travel destination is that it springs to life only for three months in a year (midNovember to mid-February). That is because for the rest of the time the White Rann turns into a massive salt water marsh. Only in winter the water recedes, leaving behind what seems like a massive white sea, unless you feel the crunch under your feet when you walk.

For avid travellers among us, used to shoddy accommodation and terrible

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The 1,000-odd Rotarians and their families created a festival-like atmosphere at the White Rann, riding camel safaris and carts and taking selfies with the setting sun.

service when any Government — State or Central — runs a tourism venture, the beautifully done up Tent City, so beautifully combining the rustic with the modern, comes as a pleasant surprise.

It is difficult to imagine that the luxury tents on offer, complete with air conditioning and an attached bathroom with running water, spring up only during the winter or the Rann Utsav, as Gujarat Tourism brands this facility. It is the first week of January and the City has sprung up, vibrant with colourful tents, aesthetically done up street lamps, with straw bins as lamp shades, and traditional bhunga-like structures dotting the landscape. The bhungas are circular mud huts; built with thick mud walls and conical thatched roofs. These are the traditional dwellings of villagers near the Greater Rann of Kutch region and are perfectly designed for the hot, arid summers and freezing cold winters.

An exquisitely and tastefully done VIP Lounge was recently set up when Prime Minister Modi visited the Rann Festival. Two large dining halls, VIP areas, and different clusters are laid out to give you an ample feeling of space.

After all Kutch is believed to be the largest district in India spreading over a whopping 45,000 sq km. But when in the tents, visitors would be well advised to keep their voices low; the tent linings don’t make great sound mufflers and what you speak can be easily heard by passers-by! Vehicles are normally not allowed inside the Tent City, and battery operated cars take care of the pollution.

Delicious Kutchi food The food on offer is delicious and encompasses the best of Kutchi

cuisine, which is simple and yet exotic at the same time. Where else can you get hot Bajra Rotlas with a variety of vegetables? And then there is of course the Kutchi dabeli, which is a spicy potato preparation spread between two layers of pav or burger bread and garnished with pomegranate, peanuts etc.

It is served with a variety of chutneys made from tamarind, dates, garlic and red chilly. To Maharashtrians it will be reminiscent of their own vada-pav, but trust me, the two are very different. To me, the piece de resistance was of course the unbeatable combine of masala khichdi and kadhi, sweetened with jaggery.

But while the luxury tents and the Kutchi delicacies are for the well-heeled, it was great to note that each year, as the Rann Utsav kicks in, immediately

The food on offer is delicious, encompassing the best of Kutchi cuisine, simple and yet exotic -- hot Bajra Rotlas with vegetables; the dabeli, and the unbeatable masala khichdi-kadhi combo.

outside the Tent City and at a walkable distance springs up a beautifully designed marketplace where the rural artisans can sell their wares to the tourists. Once again, because touts are mostly eliminated, the products on offer — from beaded neck pieces, dazzling ear rings, embroidered bags, jackets, cholis, patches, door frames, jootis, bandhni

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Mandvi Magic

Vijay Vilas Palace in Mandvi.

D

escribed often as one of the well-kept secrets of Gujarat, the town of Mandvi offers history, culture and of course pristine, less-known white sand beaches from where a spectacular sunset can be enjoyed while you enjoy a camel ride. If you have deep pockets, you can have your private beach by booking accommodation at the Vijay Vilas Palace, owned by the royal family and a part of which is let out to tourists.

A 75-minute drive away from the town of Bhuj, on smooth and pothole-free roads for which Gujarat is famous, Mandvi is as famous for its beach as its dabeli, a Kutchi delicacy. Not to mention its traditional shipbuilding industry, where even today ships are manufactured. This is not surprising as once upon a time Mandvi was this region’s leading

50 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

port of entry, and famous for its ships that were handcrafted with blocks of wood. Ship building was started by the Kharva caste and they still build small wooden ships. Among Gujaratis, the Kutchis are considered very hardworking people.

Apparently the Mandvi merchants owned a fleet of a few hundred ships and before the advent of steamboats these were used to trade with East Africa, the Malabar coast and the Persian Gulf. Being at the junction of two important trade routes — spices and the desert camel caravan route — this was a money-making city of Kutch, even more prosperous than Bhuj. There are folktales of how Mandvi’s shippies would sail to Africa and bring back huge talking parrots.

A major attraction in this town is the Vijay Vilas Palace. Built

with red sandstone and many Mughal style domes and cupolas, it has a mix of architectural styles; Moghul in the domes, Rajput in the intricately carved marble jalis and jharokas, which form a definitive part of this splendid palace. Built in the 1920s, it has impressive and decorated arches and coloured glass doors and windows. Small wonder that it is a favourite shooting haunt of Bollywood films, and the caretaker was at pains to point out the carved jalis on the terrace where the most famous songs of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam were picturised.

Another attraction of Mandvi is the Jinalaya Jain temple, a spectacular white edifice which is built in a sprawling 80-acre plot.

A major Jain Pilgrimage centre, it offers accommodation too, but only for Jains.

Jinalaya Jain temple at Mandvi.

stoles, shawls, chunnis, saris, wall hangings, table runners, kurtis and salwar sets — are very reasonably priced.

Of course bargaining should be avoided as most of the money goes to the artisans and craftsmen, but alas … I heard haggling going on all over the place.

Spectacular sunset Though I didn’t make it to the Flamingo City where thousands of flamingos

congregate to breed, we did what is religiously done by every visitor … watch the sun set over the gleaming white sands of the desert. As this is a border region, which was on high alert after the Pathankot terrorist attack, the BSF team was very much in evidence. Now and then we saw BSF men riding on camels, waving to us, and before heading for the sunset point too, you have to cross a BSF check-post.

A craftsman directly markets his ware at a stall outside the Tent City.

Mandvi is famous for its traditional shipbuilding industry; ships are built here even today.

With over 1,000 Rotarians heading to this spot, it was a festival-like atmosphere with the colourfully decorated camels getting a lot of work! Entire families enjoyed camel rides, with the less adventurous opting for the camel carts. As the sun gently dipped over the horizon, the rapidly changing colours of the desert skyline were mesmerising.

One would think that there would be nothing to beat the deep orange globule painting the sky in a riot of colours as it set and well after it had bid adieu.

But apparently being at the White Rann on a full moon night is an even more spectacular experience.

Well a good reason, along with the Flamingo City, to return!

Pictures by Rasheeda Bhagat and Pervez Bhagat Designed by S Krishnapratheesh FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 51

Doing good with TRF help

Mobile

eye-care van donated Selvi

From Left: IPP Prasanna Deshingekar, Rtn Ujwal Sathe, PDG Ganesh Bhat, Shree Kada Siddeshwar Swamiji and Rtn Raj Ramchandani.

M

illions of people lose their eyesight due to negligence or ignorance which can be prevented with simple eye tests and treatment. To help the rural population which cannot reach an ophthalmologist, District 3170, in association with District 5300, USA and TRF, donated an ophthalmic van, costing $39,400 and equipped with all modern equipment to Siddhagiri Hospital and Research Centre, Kaneri.

This air-conditioned unit will go to interior regions to treat underprivileged people. From this van an ophthalmologist can do detailed eye check-up for eye diseases relating to retina, cornea, vision problems, etc.

The project was funded by the DDF of Districts 3170 and 5300 and RCs Kolhapur Sunrise and Walnut Valley (Diamond Bar, USA) and other associates which was matched with TRF’s Global Grant of $17,723.

The 200-bedded Siddhagiri Hospital extends free medical service to poor patients. Through this van, three ophthalmologists will conduct eye screening camps in and around 70 villages nearby Kolhapur to benefit over five lakh people.

52 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

Three ophthalmologists will conduct eye screening camps in and around 70 villages nearby Kolhapur to benefit over five lakh people from this van.

During the handing over of the van, PDG Ganesh Bhat, D 3170, said “This Global Grant project will not only save the rural community from preventable blindness but also educate people on eye-related issues.” Rtn Raj Ramchandani, a member of RC La Habra, D 5350, USA said, “Though I am settled in the US for the past 51 years, my mind and soul are Indian and I feel it is my responsibility to help the underpriveleged in India and I will continue to do so.”

Reviving Chennai Varsha Makhija

K Vishwanathan

Whenever a challenge arises, Rotarians work hard to rise to the occasion.

Revival kits getting assembled at the 10,000 sq. ft. facility on the campus of Dr MGR Janaki College of Arts and Science for Women, Chennai.

F

ollowing the torrential rains which lashed Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu, Rotarians of RI District 3230 quickly put up the “Revive Chennai” project, headed by DRFC Muthu Palaniappan.

It aims to provide the flood-affected Chennaites 50,000 revival kits containing 40 essential items.

A 10,000 sq ft facility was set up on the campus of Dr MGR Janaki College of Arts and Science for Women in Chennai to pack and distribute revival kits. “The volunteers have worked round the clock with devotion and the results are phenomenal,” says Sangeetha S, store manager of the unit. During the rains, food and water were supplied through community kitchens at several locations. Next, medical camps were set up to combat

epidemics that normally follow due to waterborne contamination. The need of the hour was to rehabilitate every household washed away by the flood. Kits costing Rs 3,300 and comprising essential items such as a stove, vessels, rice, dhal, oil, salt, water, basic clothing, etc., packed neatly in a metal trunk box, were made ready.

“We have partnered with Equitas, a microfinance organisation, for identifying flood victims and helping them,” says Palaniappan. After identifying over 50,000 people, the Rotarians visited the affected areas to assess the damage. Through bar-coding, duplication is avoided.

Apart from Rotarians and Rotaractors, other volunteers in this project came from IT companies and city colleges.

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 53

PRID Shekhar Mehta Chairman, Rotary India Literacy Mission

LITERACY FOCUS

Well done Rotarians! You are the true literacy warriors in our war against illiteracy.

Dear Fellow Rotarians, As I look back at the last six months of the work done under Rotary India Literacy Mission, I feel overwhelmed by your tremendous efforts. Each District has taken up one part or more of the T-E-A-C-H Programme; In this edition, we are highlighting some of the outstanding performances. I am sure this will also inspire others to put in their best efforts.

I am very happy to inform you that in most cases, even at halfway in the year you have surpassed the target set

by District Governors, a summary of which is as follows.

Teacher Support : Goal – 1,000, Achieved – 4,100 E-learning : Goal – 10,000, Achieved – 4,870 Adult Literacy : Goal – 1,00,000, Achieved – 65,000 Child Development : Goal – 1,00,000, Achieved – 10,000 (25,000 in progress) Happy School : Goal – 1,000, Achieved – 733 I am quite sure that if we keep up the same momentum we will successfully overdo all our commitments for this year as we come towards the end of it.

What is given here is not the complete story, as many Clubs and Districts have not yet reported. So please tell us your great work.

Our special thanks to Inner Wheel and their National leadership for the tremendous support to this programme.

On behalf of Chief Advisor PRIP Kalyan Banerjee, Patron PRIP Raja Saboo, RID Manoj Desai, Trustee Sushil Gupta and the RILM National Committee, I thank each one of you for your sincere efforts and wish you the very best.

Let us march towards a totally literate India.

Let us all meet at the Presidential Conference (March 11–13, 2016) to share our success and challenges, set new goals even as we savour the good work all of us have done.

See you in Kolkata!

Shekhar Mehta Chairman, Rotary India Literacy Mission 54 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

TEACHER SUPPORT Trained 4,100 teachers Key achievers RID 3030, 3051, 3160, 3060 & 3190 RC Bangalore Yelahanka D 3190 & D 3160 conducts a Teacher Training Workshop with Yusuf Hamid Foundation.

Specially modeled for Science teachers to enhance their teaching skills with hands-on experience under Teacher Support vertical of RILM’s T-E-A-C-H, a two-day workshop was organised by RC Yelahanka in association with Yusuf Hamid Foundation. Seventy five science teachers of Yelahanka cluster from different Government Higher Primary Schools participated.

It was followed by two more workshops in Bangalore, with full support from State education department. One hundred and ten science teachers from Davangere district participated in the programme organised by D 3160.

Teacher Training being conducted in D 3190.

RC Hospet, D 3160, organised a taluk level workshop for pre-primary and high school teachers in science subjects.

The workshop was attended by 120 teachers.

RC Visnagar D 3051 conducted a teacher training.

In the last three months various clubs in Districts 3030, 3160 and 3190 organised some major Teacher Training Seminar to improve the standard of primary education and arrest student dropouts. Seven Rotary Clubs of Zone 17 (Chandrapur, Chanda Fort, Gadchandur, Warora, Ballarpur,

Hirai and Bhadrawati) led by RC Chandrapur trained 900 teachers from various schools in this zone.

Another seminar was organised by Nagpur President Enclave in line with the MoU signed between Zilla Parishad Nagpur and Rotary Clubs of Nagpur, where all the 19 clubs of Nagpur jointly put up the event. Six hundred delegates from over 200 ZP schools including Headmasters, teachers, DIET staff and ZP Education Department officials attended the workshop.

This session drew attention to the importance of quality education and infrastructure and how Rotary could work with schools and make education more effective and interesting. Emphasis was laid on E-Learning set-ups and Rotary has offered economical packages for ZP schools.

Other workshops include training of 650 teachers from 286 ZP schools at Koradi Road, 250 municipality school teachers by RC Nagpur and 1,200 teachers by RC Amraoti.

ADULT LITERACY 65,000 adults are being made literate

Key achievers RID 3012, 3110, 3120, 3132, 3140, 3150, 3250, 3262 & 3291 The Rotary India Global Dream campaign reached out to nationwide students, to enroll themselves as volunteerteachers to educate one adult illiterate, after school hours.

The student volunteer-teacher is provided with a Toolkit, in a language of their choice that will prepare their adult learner to be literate within 45 – 60 days, ready to take the government-aided NIOS examination, which certifies the non-literates as literates or a similar evaluation.

E-LEARNING Established 4,870 E-Learning Centre Key achievers RID 3291, 3250, 3230 & 3051 During the recent visit of RIPE John Germ and his spouse Judy to Kolkata, 250 E-Learning Centres were committed to be set up by D 3291 and D 3250. RC Calcutta Mahanagar has plans to set up 150 centres in West Bengal while D 3250 plans 100 centres in Bihar and Jharkhand.

A Student-volunteer in D 3291

The Toolkit available in Hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Marathi, Gujarati and Telugu languages has been modified and made compatible under the guidance of RILM specially for this project, with inputs taken from the primer available with Devi Sansthan, the National and State Literacy Council, to maximise the effectiveness. Rotary’s nationwide network has helped in translating the Toolkit in various languages.

RC Calcutta Mahanagar, Dist 3291

RC Mehsana, D 3051, distributed E-Learning software in 960 Government schools at a District level programme.

At another programme organised by all Rotary Clubs in Bhuj, D 3051, 2,000 Government and Panchayat schools of Kutch revenue district were facilitated with E-Learning software, with support of District Panchayat, the Education Department and Revenue Coordinators.

D 3230 is installing 50 E-learning software from Educomp’s Samacheer Syllabi in English and Tamil with high quality 3D video in State-funded schools.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT Asha Kiran … a ray of hope Rotary along with The Association of Inner Wheel Clubs in India has committed to send 27,000 children (Rotary 21,000; IWC 6,000) back to school through the Asha Kiran Programme. With funds received for over 10,000 children Rotary in India are bridging the gap to bring in quality education in the lives of underprivileged children. Till date we have 123 Star Clubs, 9 Superstar, 9 Megastar Clubs and 1 Supreme Star Club from Rotary & IWC Association and the numbers are increasing in leaps and bounds every day.

Asha Kiran continues to remain the focus programme of RILM. With proposals received from 94 NGOs across 18 States in India, Rotarians nationwide are interviewing and FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 55

HAPPY SCHOOL

DG Bindu Singh interviews a child in Patna, Bihar.

IWC Chair Mamta Agarwal visits an NGO.

733 Elementary schools transformed into Happy Schools Key achievers RID 3190, 3040 & 3051 and IWC D 305, 313, 312, 318, 298, 317, 326, 306, 325 & 302 District 3190 with RC Bangalore, Bangalore IT Corridor and other clubs have undertaken to transform 61 Government Schools, to Happy Schools at an estimated cost of Rs.2.18 crores with funding from various corporates.

RC Sagar Phoenix, D 3040, made a Happy School by providing computer lab, water filters, sports equipment and a library. The club has also committed to build 22 more Happy Schools. Rotary Clubs of Ratlam, Indore North and Nadga have each completed work in their undertaken Happy Schools in the same district. 21 Happy Schools have been made in D 3040.

Uniform distribution by IW District 315.

screening children for eligibility to be taken under this programme. Till date NGOs have been visited in West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu with more being visited every day.

Some experiences of Rotarians from the children screening process in Patna, Bihar.

After screening process each day, Rotarians are taking home all the interview approval screening form; they verify and fill the compilation sheet based on their interview approval forms of children.

The next day, NGO representatives collect the compilation sheet from the Rotarians’ residence. This process is being undertaken since the second day of screening in Bihar.

It ensures that the rejected forms during screening remains rejected throughout the process of children selection.

The extra effort made by Rotarians show the concern, commitment and ownership towards achieving the common goal of sending 100,000 children back to school by end of this Rotary year.

Major commitments received from Rotarians of RID 3012, 3051, 3120, 3060, 3140, 3160, 3201, 3240, 3150, 3262 & 3291. Major commitments received from Inner Wheel Club Members in India – District 301, 302, 306, 313, 314, 316, 321, 326 & 329.

56 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

School shoes given by RC Ratlam, D 3040.

In D 3051, RC Palanpur City is already maintaining and monitoring 14 schools. Twenty Rotary clubs of this District have transformed 31 schools into Happy Schools with various other clubs committing to transform 126 more schools into Happy Schools by this year.

IW District 313 completed 8 Happy Schools and has 18 more in the pipeline. D 312 and 318 have together transformed 14 schools; D 298 has completed 10 schools; D 317 - 11 schools; D 325 and D 306 - 40 Happy Schools; Districts 329, 326, 325, 302, 324, 315, 316, 305 have jointly completed 69 Happy Schools with 46 more under process.

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Now you can recommend

Literacy Heroes

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major highlight of the Presidential Conference is crowning a “Literacy Hero.” In the last two Literacy Summits, this heartwarming award programme was well appreciated. This year, it will be much grander.

The award felicitates unsung heroes who’ve done exemplary work in the field of Literacy against all odds. For example, Babar Ali is widely known as the youngest headmaster, comes from a poor family, lives in a village, but from childhood has ensured literacy for children in his village.

Rotary India Literacy Mission will recognise outstanding Literacy Heroes by felicitating them with a cash award of Rs1 lakh and citation during the event with over 3,000 delegates and 6,000 participants and beneficiaries from all over South Asia. The award will be given to 5 individuals/ organisations from India on March 11 at the Netaji Indoor Stadium, Kolkata.

Anybody can apply or recommend an Individual/Organisation for this award. Winners will be selected by an eminent Jury.

Members of the Jury

M N Venkatachaliah, Sudarshan Agarwal, Rtd. Chief Justice of India Former Governor of Chairman of the Jury Uttrakhand and Sikkim

Prof Shantha Sinha, Dr. Kavita A. Sharma Magsaysay award winner President South Asian and eminent educationist University, Delhi

K.N. Memani, Radhe Shyam Agarwal, Former Chairman, Ernst & Chairman, Emami Group Young India of Industries, Kolkata

Please read these instructions carefully before filling the application form.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILLING UP THE APPLICATION FORM Eligibility criteria, Rules & Regulations for Applicants: J Indian National – or an Indian Organisation (formed or registered in India).

J Both self-application and recommendation allowed.

J Work done should directly relate to Literacy – contribution to promotion of literacy through direct programmes, creating awareness, sensitisation, etc.

J Currently active and/or involved.

J Consistent work over at least last 5 years J Should have substantial visible social impact.

J Should not have received any major State/National/International recognitions or award/s.

J Should not be a member of a Rotary Club or blood relative of any Rotarian.

J In case of organisations, no member of the Governing Body should be a Rotarian or blood relative of any Rotary Club member.

Applications can be submitted only online at www.literacyheroawards.com Tax implications, if any, of cash award will be borne by the recipient.

Documents to be attached: J Duly filled application form J Photographs (not more than 6) related to the work mentioned in the application form. (Each photo sent online should be within 1 MB size) Forms to be filled only at www.literacyheroawards.com. Last date for form submission is 21st February 2016.

On the shelf It’s ok to fail, my son Rtn Vasant Kallola RC Thane Downtown, D 3140 vkallola@gmail.com Times Group Books Price: Rs 299

Fellowship over a bowl of soup Kiran Zehra Rotarians of RC Jaipur Midtown, D 3052, cooked up a storm of fellowship and fun.

S

achin is torn apart by his parents’ separation and is an academic wreck. Rahul who is at the pinnacle of his career, chooses to be part of his son’s (Sachin) teaching faculty. That parents’ expectation ruin the creativity and originality of a child is highlighted from the very beginning of the book. To prevent Sachin from slipping, Rahul takes up the cause of prevention of child labour and promotes literacy.

The author engages the reader with thoughts of anguish over the current educational system and says change is the need of the hour. In the end, it teaches parents to say: It’s ok to fail, my son.

The rear-view mirror Rtn Vineet Bhatt RC Hyderabad Gachibowli, D 3150 vineetrbhatt@gmail.com Partridge Price: Rs 399

L

iving in a comfortable house in New York and having a job that placed him right at the top in his consulting firm, Philip Young had the life many would desire but an attitude that can take him nowhere. All hell breaks loose when Philip is moved to India to extend the firm’s business. Here he meets Feroze, a young taxi driver, who, in his own desi style, teaches the foreigner that being idealistic is tough but not impossible. The author’s vivid portrayal of a peaceful and content Indian village, highlights our growing restlessness to achieve things that are only temporary. The rear-view mirror is Philip’s journey to find himself with the help of his wife Rose, Feroze, and a book gifted to him by one Mr Chatterjee.

-KZ

Rtn Vinod Haritwal and PDG Anil Agarwal.

W

hen I announced a cooking competition for the men in the club three months ago, it sounded like a joke,” says RC Jaipur Midtown president Kiran Poddar.

This January she hosted the Rotary Midtown Master Chef Competition at her residence. PDG Anil Agarwal’s wife Seema laughs as she recalls, “For five days, before the event, we had to drink the soup Anil made and I had to work overtime in the kitchen.” But his efforts paid off and he won two awards for his ‘Spirit of Rotary Soup’ and best work station and creative name. Quizzed about his clean work station and taste of the soup, he smiles and says “Seema taught me, I was her photocopy out there.”

D-day was “Serious fun,” for Rtn Vinod Haritwal, whose dum aloo preparation emerged as the runner-up for the best taste. “We had practically never entered the kitchen earlier, not allowed to get help from our spouse during the competition and the time limit, added to our anxiety,” he says. But the wives managed to help and “ankhon hi ankhon mein ishara hogaya (eyes did the talking) and the Rotarian behind the chula-chakki knew when he added extra mirchi or namak,” laughs Agarwal.

Judges from the International Institute of Hotel Management chose Rtn K P Bajaj’s dish — Pune special vada pav as the winner and gave out tips on cooking. This was not only a fellowship event for club members but also “a time to bond with our better halves and I am sure most of the participants will go back and continue to help them in the kitchen,” says Haritwal. His encounter with cooking made him realise that he was “not a bad cook after all.”

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 59

Men crusade against Child Marriage

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ost people aspire to have a comfortable home, rewarding career and a loving family and work hard to put together the pieces of this perfect life, bit-by-bit. But what if one never even got a decent shot at fulfilling his/her ambitions or breaking free from the cycle of illiteracy, early marriage and poverty? Raj Kumar, in his mid-40s, is one of those unlucky men, who had to leave school in his teens to earn a living, get married before he was ready to take on the responsibility of a wife and children who followed immediately after the marriage.

“This is one reason why I have zero tolerance towards early marriage. It has devastating consequences for both girls and boys. There was no one to save me but if anyone informs me about an underage alliance in our neighbourhood, now I make every possible effort to dissuade the family. This regressive social custom has robbed many of their childhood,” says this resident of Nai Abadi, a slum settlement on the outskirts of Agra.

He wasn’t always the anti-child marriage crusader that he has become today. It was an intervention involving men and boys in his community, initiated by World Vision India (WVI), an international agency working on gender and child rights, which enabled him to first recognise and find workable solutions to some of the gravest social problems that afflict society. In several impoverished localities around Agra, WVI has catalysed the formation of Men Care groups that have emerged as

60 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

a strong force against gender injustice meted out in the name of ‘tradition.’

Karoline Davis, Head - Gender and Development, WVI, says, “Around 24 all-men groups have been formed in different traditional communities of

“If anyone informs me about an underage alliance in our neighbourhood, I make every possible effort to dissuade the family from going through with it. This regressive social custom has robbed many of their childhood.”

Agra and regular discussions are held to talk to them about existing gender stereotypes and inequalities within their families and communities. The idea is to address these issues from within by involving the men because it is they who are often the perpetrators.”

Febamol, WVI’s Gender and Development Coordinator in Agra, says that generally, women in these localities have no real decision-making powers and are deprived of even their basic rights — education, sanitation, healthcare and safety, among others. “We had started out by creating women’s groups in a bid to empower them, but we realised that it would not work till the men were on board.”

So in 2013, 60 men, who showed an inclination towards this change, were handpicked and they set up their own groups. By redefining the parameters

of masculinity, the Men Care volunteers tackle many problems that emerge out of a rigid patriarchal social set-up. Child marriage is one such serious concern.

Ram Kumar, who heads the Nai Abadi group, relates how he saved Rajkumari (16) from getting married. Her parents, Ashok, a rickshaw puller and Munni Devi, a daily wager, finalised her elder sister, Madhu’s marriage in a family from a neighbouring community. What ought to have been a joyous occasion for the teenager became a total nightmare once relatives told her parents that it would be more economical if both Madhu, 23, and Rajkumari got married in the same mandap.

As they had already taken a loan of Rs 2 lakh, a sum they could illafford, the duo decided in favour.

“This was the easiest way to save on marriage expenses and dowry.

Since her father drinks heavily, we were not certain of his health and wanted to see her married while he was still around,” said Munni.

In an attempt to provide Rajkumari “security,” they overlooked the fact that their actions were illegal and would expose her to emotional and physical trauma. The only good they did was to convince her prospective in-laws to let her stay on till she turned 18. Rajkumari, who was not happy with her nuptials, says she agreed only because of her father’s poor health. Unfortunately things did not go as planned. After the ceremony, her in-laws started pressurising Ashok and Munni to send Rajkumari with them.

They had almost agreed to their wishes when news reached Ram Kumar.

Appalled at the marriage and the impending ‘gauna’ (bridal send-off) he counseled the parents against it.

“Like most parents of the bride, they lacked the confidence to stand up to the groom’s family. They felt this would have an adverse impact on their elder daughter’s relationship. So we

Rajkumari and her mother Munni Devi.

told them about the laws they were flouting. But, more importantly, we assured them that we would stand by them when they inform Rajkumari’s in-laws of their decision,” he recalls.

And everything worked out for the best.

These days, Rajkumari is busy doing a beautician’s course. She plans to start her own small salon one day; though her mother knows that this would require a lot of money she encourages her wholeheartedly. “Ram Kumar bhaiya made us realise that it is essential to let girls follow their dreams instead of just getting them married. Rajkumari can take care of herself so why should she end up like me?” says Munni.

Had this incident occurred three years back, Rajkumari would have been married and already become a mother.

Child marriages are quite common in UP. As per the 2011 Census, 17 million children between 10 and 19 years in India are married and, of these, the highest number —2.8 million — is in Uttar Pradesh.

Elaborating on the reasons that drive this practice, Pramod Kumar, the only graduate in the Nai Abadi group, says, “Over 95 per cent of the men in this area are involved in shoe making and have no fixed earnings. Generations have worked in small, suffocated homes making little money.

So girls, in particular, are married as soon as possible because it is the easiest way to get rid of their responsibility.”

Raj Kumar Paras from Barakhamba colony, admits that “previously, our energies were spent in arranging money — either to make ends meet or pay for marriage. Our horizons have now widened considerably and we have begun to comprehend the implications of early marriage, domestic violence and illiteracy. We are there for anyone who needs our backing to fight these problems and mentor the younger boys to follow our lead.”

The positive influence of the Men Care groups has been widespread.

Despite immense pressure, Bilawar Sagar, 19, from Rahul Nagar, has neither given up his studies yet nor has he consented to marriage. Moreover, he has been instrumental in stopping the union of a little girl from his neighbourhood with a 14-year-old boy from Rajasthan. “The ‘baraat’ had already arrived from Dhaulpur but I wasn’t deterred. Ten people from our group told the respective families that this was against the law and that we would inform the police. The groom’s family created a furore but we didn’t back down. In the end, we triumphed,” he narrates, his voice ringing with pride.

These groups have invested a lot of time and energy to prevent child marriages and their network always remains alert to this threat. “We are still fighting poverty but at least we have a sense of purpose and we feel good about ourselves — that was missing from our lives earlier,” concludes Raj Kumar. (© Women’s Feature Service) FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 61

Saundarya Rajesh

50:50

Gender Balance at Workplace

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few days ago, I opened a letter that bore the insignia of the Government of India. It said that I had been chosen as one of the 100 Women Achievers of India and was scheduled to meet the President of India for a lunch on the 22nd January 2016.

Flash back to the Malayalam movie How Old Are You? (or its Tamil version – 36 Vayadhinile). It tells the story of a woman who works in a dead-end job and then does something amazing which gets her a lunch with the President.

Spoiler alert! My story is anything but that. About 25 years ago with a newborn, an increasingly demanding job at a leading multinational bank and a husband with his own fast-paced work schedule, I realised I was burning both ends against the middle. After great deliberation, I went to my manager and proposed a flexible working arrangement that would ensure I finished my job while also managing my home-care and child-care duties. My manager reacted as if this was as rabid an idea as someone suggesting that Free Basics is actually free internet.

Soon after, with not much deliberation, I took the decision of quitting my job.

Within just a few weeks, I realised I wanted my career back. Not that same job in that same bank, but my career.

And that means my economic freedom, time with people other than my kids or mother-in-law, the adrenalin surge that came with completing a project, the acclaim and appreciation from peers — the whole package. I wanted my identity back. I wondered if it was a fundamental human right to desire to

62 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

be intellectually and economically liberated and if so, was there some organisation, some impassioned evangelist who would fight for that right for me?

No company, I repeat, no company was ready to employ a woman with my credentials on a flexi-time basis. It was either full-time or bugger-off! And on full-time, it was equal opportunity, the way the fox offered the crane equal opportunity to drink soup in a bowl.

I decided to take the more scenic route and embarked upon a circuitous journey into HR consulting, Teaching, Radio production, Face-painting (yes I did that!) that finally led to my own entrepreneurial adventure — AVTAR. I realise today that I was the change I was waiting for.

Those four were life-altering.

And also defining; as a mother I realised what worked for one woman did not necessarily work for all women. And that set me on the path to the consulting work that I do today. As a Ph D in women’s workforce participation, my interviews with thousands of women on how they wrestled with work-life balance shows just one thing — there is no silver bullet.

Even today, about two decades from when I first walked into my manager’s office, as I sit on the other side of the table as the founder and president of the AVTAR group, I know just how tough it is to ride these double horses. Today, as my colleagues walk through my door and share with me their joys and

struggles about parenting, relationships, elder care or a business challenge they face, I realise how difficult it is for both men and women to just shut out the rest of their lives in pursuit of their careers.

And they shouldn’t. As someone who has written paper after white paper on enablers for women and advised over 100 companies on how they can leverage the power of gender diversity at the workplace, I should be able to rattle off a list of things you should do to enjoy that elusive work and life Utopia.

But I won’t. Instead, I shall share with you some deeply personal thoughts on how I think women (and men) should approach the work-life case.

People take the brunt out of work: Through years of working with people, I now realise how important they are in my life. Have a good rapport with your colleagues and peers at work — it not only helps professionally but creates friends at workplace. Many women

A break need not have to be a longwinded journey that requires a downtime to recover from — instead, tune your mind to take short, stay-at-home breaks.

who have quit working did so because they did not have allies in the workplace or at home. *

Office productivity ideas work well at home too. Do not think management is only for office. It is equally important to be efficient at home — with things as well as time. You would have heard of the secretary managing the calendar of the boss.

The same idea can be used at home.

My husband’s calendar and mine are synchronised and we both can see each other’s appointments/ commitments/travel plans. Within a few months of implementing it, I realised how this simple tip can prevent such a lot of confusion and heartburn. Now, three years into using it, I swear by it and cannot imagine how life was before Rajesh and I could see each other’s days. Reminders are another awesome office idea that would help you equally well at home. * Fads are good. That new diet which you wanted to try? Go ahead and do it. That Yoga class which everyone raves about? Sign up for it. Sometimes new fads can turn out to be a super routine that becomes a part of your life. But you would never know that until you tried it. You will be amazed at how you can make time for it and still feel ‘balanced.’ * Breaks need not be defined as ‘Long Vacations.’ There’s a friend of mine who always thought that she could unwind only if she went away for a few days to a vacation far away from home. She broke free from that trap, that a break

need not have to be a long-winded journey that requires a downtime to recover from — and discovered to her delight that she could unwind just as happily at home. When you have small kids, planning a vacation can be a nightmare. Instead, tune your mind to take short, stayat-home breaks. A break is anything that helps you unwind and bounce back with new vigour and zest. Find what rejuvenates you and indulge a little — it sure helps in getting a good perspective on your life.

In August, 2015, the nominations opened for the #100 Women Achievers award. When the results were announced on December 31st, I was overwhelmed by huge numbers of people who voted for me. But my greatest joy is that I was nominated not by the thousands of women who we have helped return to the workplace but my own colleagues — a dozen of them — who are the direct beneficiaries of the “Integration” thinking that I described above. Like charity, work-life integration too begins at home.

You can watch the video of our nomination here: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=vRnqsv293pw.

In the book The Seeds of Greatness Denis Waitley says these immortal lines : “It is not in the pursuit of happiness that we find fulfilment, it is in the happiness of pursuit.” The 100 Women Achiever’s award has proved to me that happiness lies in the pursuit of a 50–50 gender balance in all the workplaces of India!

(The writer is Founder-President of AVTAR Career Creators & FLEXI Careers India.)

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 63

Why Politicians are needed on

Sports bodies TCA Srinivasa-Raghavan Everyone says politicians should not intrude into sports bodies. But they are needed there.

B

y one of those strange ironies of history, or its paradoxes, most English educated people know what Catch-22 means, at least approximately. But very few, I am ready to bet, actually know that it comes from a book of that name. The author, Joseph

6644 RO ROTARY ROT OTAR ARYY NE NEWS WS FEBRUARY FEB FEBRUA E RUA RUARY RY 2016 201 201 016

Heller, is mostly forgotten now but not the title which is simply a new name for an old paradox.

The paradox arises, for example, when a mad person is judged to be sane if he applies for treatment on such a ground: “If he has applied for treatment, he can’t be mad.” It is a

version of the Cretan Liar Paradox where a man says, “I am lying.” Do you believe him?

Likewise, in the book Catch-22, there is a situation when the hero refuses to go on a bombing mission.

The chaplain of the squadron asks him, “What if all pilots thought the way

Bureaucrats in South Asia are trained to obey, not cooperate.

They obey only those who can harm them … someone senior or more powerful than them.

you do?” The hero replies, “I would be mad to think any other way then, wouldn’t I?” Hence my view that when everyone is agreed that politicians should not intrude into sports bodies, it is time to ask why not? Decision by general consensus may be democratic. But is it always sensible? For instance, if the consensus is that women should be oppressed in thousands of small ways, is the consensus correct? Or, if the consensus is that everything should be subsidised by the government, is it the right thing to do?

I can multiply these examples but the point is clear: consensus is a bad guide to the rightness of a decision.

Politicians and Sports If you Google the above three words, you will be astonished at how everyone, especially politicians, are in total and complete agreement that politicians are bad for sports organisations. The reasons range from their feathering their already large nests in South Asia to their getting some cheap publicity through piggybacking on sports events and stars in the rest of the world.

But this is a populist view. It may be true, but it is an incomplete view because politicians do bring some value to the table. This is especially so in South Asia where status begets status because of the essentially feudal nature of our societies. In countries where you are more likely to receive unequal treatment, you need clout to get just treatment, and it is a sad truth of life there that the politicians provide it. The fault, as Shakespeare said, lies in us, not our stars.

You may well ask: don’t successful sportsmen like Sunil Gavaskar or Sachin Tendulkar or Leander Paes or P Gopichand or Jwala Gutta or any of the scores of the champion sportspersons have clout? The dismaying answer is a big No. To see why, you have to understand the South Asian system whose innate feu-

dalism has been overlaid with a thick coating of bureaucracy.

Bureaucrats in South Asia are trained to obey, not cooperate. Not just that: they obey only those who can harm them, namely, someone senior to them or more powerful than them.

This makes them ignore or neglect everyone else. This is just how it is, and will be, until someone teaches them otherwise.

Sorry, no Politicians fulfil both criteria of threat and reward when it comes to bureaucrats. This means that if the sports body needs some permission or the other, it had better get a politician to speak to the bureaucrat who is in charge. That’s how it works in our part of the world and, until things change, everyone needs a politician to lend a helping hand.

And why do we need so many permissions? The answer lies in our governance code, its DNA or its DOS. The British, when they were devising it for us in the last quarter of the 19th century, came under the highly judgemental influence of the Victorian clergy. Without getting into the details, it is enough to say here that the new system required specific permissions for almost everything that was not personal because the Victorian priests were convinced of our venality.

This, as it happens, was the exact opposite of the governance code in England. There you can do anything as long as it is not specifically prohibited by law. In South Asia, you can’t do anything unless it is specifically allowed by the law. This is what gives the bureaucracy its power. You need to ask for permissions at every step and unless bribed or ordered, the bureaucrats are bound to say ‘No’ because that is the surest bet to safety.

It is a ridiculous system but what to do except get a politician on board to smoothen life’s myriad travails in our part of the world?

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 65

Women on wheels Jaishree

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n a rainy evening in Trivandrum, Sheeja smoothly pulls up a pink and white cab at my hotel’s doorstep, dodging auto rickshaws and two wheelers riding haphazardly on the crowded road. Smartly dressed in a pink and blue salwar kameez, she gets out of the driving seat and greets me cheerfully and we weave through the heavy traffic to the airport. The tagline on the car reads: ‘24x7 Safety enabled taxi service for women by women’.

Even while calling up the cab agency, SheTaxi, I was intrigued by the fact that it is an all-women taxi service … and even more surprised to learn that Sheeja is not a mere driver … she 66 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

is an entrepreneur! She owns the sedan she drives. So do all her colleagues at SheTaxi.

The SheTaxi service is a groundbreaking initiative of the Kerala State Social Welfare Department, with women at the helm and at the wheel, with the objective of providing safe travel options for women. Launched in Trivandrum in 2013 with just two cars, today the SheTaxi force is 25 strong, and the service is available in Calicut and Kochi too. The call centre however is at Trivandrum for all the three cities. The fleet includes 4 SUVs besides several hatchbacks and sedans.

Holistic empowerment The agency works on an entrepreneurship driven model strategised to

empower women economically and socially. Each of these women owns her car purchased through bank loans facilitated by the agency. “I bought this car on a 5-year loan and repay Rs 1,000 every month to the bank,” says Sheeja.

With seven years of driving experience, she relocated from a nearby town, Kollam, and is with SheTaxi for 18 months now. “I hail from an impoverished background and was hell bent on giving the best education to my children … and SheTaxi shows me the way. Today I am happy that I am able to support my family with a decent earning.”

So how comfortable is she in taking male passengers, I ask. While booking the taxi service SheTaxi ensures that there is at least one woman passenger.

Even after reaching the pick-up point,

if the driver finds that it is an all-male team, she can just refuse to take them in. Only women passengers share the front seat.

“We are trained in self-defence and are groomed to stay alert,” she says. Further, the taxis are fitted with GPS-based tracking systems and loaded with advanced security technologies that provide protection both for the drivers and the passengers. Personal emergency alert switches and a range of emergency response systems connected to the security control room that operates round-the-clock ensure access to information and communication on the go. “Our residences are also recorded with the nearest police station for further safety.” The team is comfortable driving even late at night.

So do they face problems from fellow road-users? “All of us are efficient drivers, but sometimes, we get bullied by male drivers who abuse us for petty driving issues.” At the time of recruitment

Sheeja is not a mere driver … she is an entrepreneur! She owns the sedan she drives. the women are taught to handle difficult situations calmly. There were times during her initial days, Sheeja recalls, when she used to cry if she had lost her way or if someone abused her. But now she is a seasoned driver and can confidently handle any situation. The biggest challenge, however, was to convince her own folks who criticised her for taking up this “unconventional” career.

The She force also drives long distances. Sheeja had just returned from a trip to Kollur, about 1,200 km up and down, driving a customer to the Mookambiga temple. “For long-distance

trips, I get extra bata which is quite a decent amount, and most often, the client provides us food and accommodation.”

As we were talking, Sheeja glanced at the back seat and exclaimed that the earlier passenger had left her handbag behind. Immediately she called the woman and assured her that she would return the handbag after dropping me at the airport.

The team has regular patronage from overseas customers too. “Some of them call and inform us about the arrival of their children by a particular flight. We receive and drop them at the hostel or whatever destination.

The parents are comfortable with us,” says Sheeja, further adding that they have over 3,500 repeat customers and a customer base of 7,000-plus.

Now there is a move to replicate the success story in Hyderabad too.

While in this part of Kerala, ladies, do dial 859 00 00 543 for a safe and friendly ride.

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FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 67

Patiala majesty from an era gone Robin Gupta

I

t happened some 80 years ago in the times of Maharaja Bhupendra Singh of Patiala on a hot summer day. The inimitable Maharaja was holding interviews in a secluded part of the palace. A number of European candidates seeking posts in the Patiala State were standing under the sun. They had not been provided with chairs and were exposed to the scorching heat since it was impossible for anyone to sit on a chair when the Maharaja was in that part of the palace to hold interviews.

This scene from the well of memory came alive when I chanced upon a sheaf of yellowing sheets with notes recorded by D P Bhandari, Masters from Cambridge, a maternal uncle who served Patiala State as Development and Constitution Secretary and, among the Secretaries, was placed at first position. The old papers with fading letters ticked from a vintage typewriter recount some interesting anecdotes about Patiala and its rulers.

When Bhandari was called in for the interview after a short wait of half an hour, he recalls that the large room in which the Maharaja

Maharaja Bhupendra Singh of Patiala.

than the cook who was always a Kashmiri Brahmin. Even when he invited people to dinner he would entertain them without taking his food with them. He would only take some dry fruits when presiding over the meal. He made no departure from this rule even when he was entertaining the senior-most British officers. Because of this Raja sahib was respected all the more.

“Hari Krishan Kaul was a widower and his only passion was to work on the files submitted to him. He went into minute details in every case and worked very hard,” recalls Bhandari, “He was a chain smoker and either a pipe or a cigar was Maharaja Bhupendra Singh driving a Rolls Royce car. always in his mouth. Raja sahib was a model of honesty. He kept a separate stenographer for his private work. No one could tempt him to take any undue advantage. He treated was sitting was cold, air-conditioned and that there were me like his son and took me in his car whenever he went dark curtains all around. on official work.”

Bhandari recalls, “His Highness had just read a few After completion of his three years of service a motilines of my papers when he made a whistling sound. vated propaganda encouraged by the new Maharaja against I thought the whistle was for some pet dog. But I was astonished that from behind the curtain an officer wearing an achkan and a turban on his head came into the room in response to the whistle. He was crouching almost half Many Europeans stood in the bent in the presence of the Maharaja.

The Maharaja made a one word order ‘Thandi’ which scorching heat since it was impossible meant cold drink. The officer bent low and retreated without turning his back to the Maharaja. I later learned that this for anyone to sit on a chair when the officer was Rai Bahadur Boota Ram, MBE, a favourite of the Maharaja, and a sort of minister-in-waiting and notoMaharaja was present. rious for doing odd jobs for the Maharaja. I was struck by such servile manner in which that officer had acted in taking an order of refreshment from the Maharaja.

My interview went off quite well and after 3–4 minutes the Maharaja surveyed me with a penetrating gaze. I gave him my assurance of loyalty and integrity. My interview was over.

I got my appointment orders on the next day.”

The Development and Revenue Minister in Patiala Government at that time was Raja Hari Krishan Kaul, who was about 75. He had retired as a senior Commissioner of the Punjab government. He had joined service under the British as a statutory civilian. He was the elder brother of Raja Sir Daya Krishan Kaul.

A noble and dignified gentleman he was famous for his orthodoxy in food. He did not eat in the company of anyone and took his food in the kitchen, thus avoiding pollution if served outPatiala necklace. side the kitchen and handled by anyone other FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 69

Moti Bagh Palace.

Bhandari started saying he was a pampered officer, who abused his position. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So I resigned and after paying my fervent respects most sorrowfully to Raja sahib, left service of the Patiala government.â&#x20AC;? Raja Hari Krishan Kaul also left service of the Patiala State, after a few months.

During his tenure, Bhandari negotiated the erection of an ACC factory at Surajpur which was then in Patiala territory and only five miles away from Chandigarh. Its capacity was initially 60,000 tons and later enhanced to one lakh tons. The supply of limestone from Mallapahar through one ton containers was by an aerial ropeway from the nearby hill to the factory. The factory soon flourished.

In addition to the setting up of the cement factory in Patiala territory, a number of mandis (markets) were set up and the old markets expanded. In addition, a lot of other development work was done which augmented revenues of the State. All this good work was of no avail in the atmosphere of driving out officers who did not belong to Patiala.

The ethos and ambience at Patiala during the princely rule were markedly regal; its reminiscences are of camphor-laden breeze playing upon Belgian glass bearing the State insignia at the entrance of Moti Bagh, of a forest of chandelier lights tinted in the hues of Bohemia, of the

During his tenure, Bhandari negotiated the erection of an ACC factory at Surajpur, then in Patiala, with an initial capacity of 60,000 tons.

palace lake 2,000 ft in length and a handsome width as well, surrounded by a jungle and a mono rail; high electrified walls; with an island pavilion at its centre built for the heightening of pleasure; of the Dakotia Mahal in which lived 400 ladies, graded for their beauty; of the King playing Holi, the Indian festival of colours that marks the end of winter and a marble baradari drenched in the colours of saffron, brilliant green and the Indian rose; of shehnai players awakening the palace at dawn and moonlit gardens older than 100 years.

Patiala stood apart for its manners and courtly etiquette, which with the advent of Kayastha families from Delhi, Agra and Lucknow into the palace created a language blending Punjabi with Urdu â&#x20AC;Ś akin to vigour fortified by polish. And Moti Bagh Palace resounded with the voice of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan who established a distinctive gharana for Patiala.

The Patiala rulers were great equestrians and Maharaja Bhupendra Singh, according to chroniclers, on receiving the British Resident at the railway station at Rajpura, on a wager, raced the train carrying the Resident, and was well in time to formally receive him within the Patiala State borders.

In the fairy tale kingdom of Patiala, the subjects of the king had little to do with life in the palace apart from catching a glimpse of the royal cavalcade on its way to some splendid event.

The vast territory of Patiala was largely prosperous; the durbar had little to do with the villages, and for the king, governance was another engagement in the palace.

(The writer is a retired IAS officer and author of the book: And What Remains in the End: The Memoirs of an Unrepentant Civil Servant.)

Designed by S Krishnapratheesh

70 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

Replacing leaking taps in Pune Kiran Zehra Rotarians, students and plumbers come together to fix the leaking taps of Pune.

PDG Deepak Shikarpur, Club President Gauri Shikarpur and Rtn Makrand Tillu supervising the tap replacement work.

K

isan Ubhe felt like a “Neta, jo vote mangne nikla hai. Sabki nazar mujh pe thi (a politician, who is canvassing for votes. All eyes were on me),” he laughs and adds “I truly felt proud of being a plumber.” All this thanks to RC Pune Shivajinagar, D 3131, that has undertaken the replacement of leaking taps in Pune. A survey undertaken by the Pune Corporation revealed that 40 per cent of water wastage (about 10 million litres of water every year) was a result of leaking taps in the region. Shocked at the rate of water deficit, Rtn Makrand Tillu from the club prepared a blueprint for a “leak-proof city,” and was “supported by club President Gauri Shikarpur, who advocated this initiative to every club in the District,” he says.

Being a laughter yoga trainer for different schools worked to his advantage, and with the help of fellow Rotarians, he began shortlisting schools close to the slums in Pune. “Public

Over 31,000 students from 735 school, with the help of all the Rotary clubs in D 3131, have successfully replaced 5,000 taps. taps are a pathetic sight in the slums and everyone thinks maintenance is the Government’s job,” he says. The first task was to sensitise the students to conserve water. “Sir (Tillu) made us understand that rich or poor, our source of water comes from the same place and we need to conserve it for the future,” says Madan, a Class 7 student.

The students prepared placards, banners and slogans to sensitise the public on conserving water, says Nilima Pradeep Khonde, the Principal of Madyamic Vidyalaya. Each rally had about 600 students and it looked like a “Baraat (wedding procession),” except that “dulhe ki jagha plumber tha aur music ke badley narey (a plumber in place of the groom and

slogans instead of music). These kids did a wonderful job,” says Rtn Sanjeev Choudari. Students advised the locals to put a bottle beneath a leaking tap and inform the school close by so that it could be replaced immediately.

“Our Interact club identified 172 defective taps,” says Rtn Gauri Shikarpur. “Rotarians donated 172 taps on the same day and we replaced them immediately,” she adds. Today over 31,000 students from 735 school, with the help of all the Rotary clubs in D 3131, have successfully replaced 5,000 taps and “we saved 60 ml of water per 60 seconds.” Anu Anil Singh, a class 8 student, works the Math mentally and quips “that would be 31,536 litres per tap each day.”

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 71

L

et us decide, “I refuse to contribute anger and negativity to my environment. I commit myself to promoting love and health.” This is today’s necessity.

A team that researched 36 sub-Saharan countries in the African continent says, violence and HIV incidences are linked. The data collected and analysed threw up a disquieting pattern: new HIV infections rise dramatically in the five years leading up to conflict and bloodshed in a country. Ergo, simmering discontent and resentment are lethal to the health of citizens.

Allow awareness. To start with, desist adding to the existing volatile negativity via our thoughts, tone, speech, attitude or action. We cannot deny anymore that anger, grief, worry, fear and hatred weaken and sicken us. For sure, the good doctor can help us with medicines but only we can help ourselves with awareness. Being aware is like allowing the glorious golden rays of the sun to penetrate the ominous grey clouds of negativity. As the awareness grows and spreads, the sky of our personal horizon lights up, effacing our inner gloom.

Healing beams. Then, we can recognise and live increasingly from these wonderful beams of healing knowledge: Contentment strengthens our liver, joy elasticises our lungs, tranquillity relaxes our stomach, even-mindedness gentles our brain, love nourishes our heart, desirelessness expands our intellect, positivity uplifts our spirit, creativity shores up our kidneys, humour balms our perception, laughter banishes our stress, smiles connect and spread our sense of belonging.

We experience all these healing benefits not by denigrating and trying to wipe out our differences but by respecting and celebrating them. This is harmony, this is health, oneness. And it follows that to bring 72 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

Lead an

health to our environment we must be organisms of health. To bring happiness to our surroundings, we must be conduits of happiness. To bring peace to our relationships, we must ourselves be great reservoirs of peace. And all this will happen when we deeply cognise that to disagree does not mean to be disagreeable; that the ghosts and glories of history need neither limit nor dim the shining prospects of the present and future. When we grow in this knowledge, wiser, newer worlds have to open up.

Susan’s symphony. A wonderful woman is already showing the way.

Fittingly, she is a teacher. A Muslim by faith, Susan Carland of Melbourne’s Monash University combines a lovely sense of rightness, humour and goodwill to create something useful, loving and special. Earlier when she received hate-tweets, she’d block, mute or ignore them. Until, one day,

a line in the Quran — ‘driving off darkness with light’ — emitted a flash of wisdom and inspired her. “I felt I should be actively generating good in the world for every ugly verbal bullet sent my way,” she says.

The Australian teacher blazed a marvellous new trail. Each time she received a hate-tweet, she simply transformed its hate-spirit to a heal-spirit by donating one dollar to UNICEF. Interestingly, on October 22 last year, Susan’s donations touched $1,000. Her tweet that day read, “Nearly at $1,000 in donations. The needy children thank you, haters!”

Well, what can you say when faced with a loving, healing spirit? You can only bow your head to its grace. And emulate it to the best of your ability and capacity.

An examined life. Can we transform the hate-spirit to the heal-spirit? Oh yes, a thousand times, yes. How? By

examined life Bharat & Shalan Savur

living an examined life. To know others requires a bit of intelligence, but to know oneself requires heaps of wisdom! Sit in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. Fold your fingers inwards towards the palm, thumbs touching each other along their sides.

This folded namaste pose — held by Reiki practitioners when they want to go inward for answers — symbolises the mind and body being together

There still is a huge populace with good hearts who greet everybody with a smile,

“

“

harmoniously. Settle your mind with three deep breaths. Now, ask yourself: “What kind of toxins am I putting out?” The question startles. It’s like “Hey! I’m the good guy here, remember?” Be firm about receiving an answer. In this receptive silence, you awaken to many truths. That’s good. Continue: “What kind of discussions am I having?” “What kind of reactions am I exhibiting?” “What

humbly await their turn in the queue, allow other cars to overtake theirs ... they keep the world going.

kind of environment am I creating at home, the work-place, in my relationships?” You become aware of the toxins you bring into your body and mind, upsetting yourself and causing pain to your loved ones. And you start watching yourself — your thoughts, words, tone, behaviour. You modify, gentle down, even stay silent where earlier you castigated. It’s amazing how leading this examined life freshens the entire environment. Irritations vanish, fears dissolve, friction smoothens. Even during difficult moments, peace prevails. It’s important to end such sessions by sending good wishes and blessings to all. A garden flourishes when every flower in it blooms.

Circle of gladness. An attitude of great goodwill increases oxytocin — a hormone which lowers blood pressure and helps the heart to function sweetly.

Bonding reverses depression, dispels stress and enhances emotional resilience. A kind act a day eases another’s life and energises the environment with optimism. My grandmother often said, “Pleasant words are honey to the soul, health to the bones and courage to the heart.” Old-timers knew instinctively that being well-meaning and giving is the only way to overcome our frailties and move inch by inch into a widening circle of radiant, healing gladness. We haven’t lost our way.

Behind the curtain of the acts of terrorism and hostile takeovers, there still is a huge populace with good hearts who fill their days with good deeds.

They greet everybody with a smile, express gratitude, apologise for any inconvenience, avoid doing things that trouble others, humbly await their turn in the queue, allow other cars to overtake theirs, listen with wholehearted attention, are courteous to their near ones.... Content in their sunshine, they keep the world going. Let’s be one of this multitude.

(The writers are authors of the book ‘Fitness for Life’) FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 73

RC Nagore RI District 2981 In a step to promote a greener world the club along with the region’s forest department conducted tree plantation drives at different crematoriums in the region.

RI District 2982 Under its project ‘Warm Hug’ Rotarians from the district distributed bed sheets to the flood victims of Cuddalore to help them overcome the cold.

74 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

RI District 2982

RC Karur Angels RI District 3000 Stressing on Rotaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s WinS programme the club conducted hand wash drives at various schools in the region.

RC Delhi Vasant Valley RI District 3011 Hundred free cleft lip and palate surgeries were performed at a camp conducted by the club in association with RC Faridabad Central, Sarvodaya Hospital and a medical team from Rotaplast, USA.

RC Karur Angels RI District 3000 FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 75

RC Pilkhuwa RI District 3012 Shoes and socks were distributed to students of Pratmik Vidyalaya and Junior High School, Mandi.

RC Nagpur West RI District 3030 E-learning kits were distributed to underprivileged and physically challenged students.

RC Irinjalakuda RI District 3201

RC Bhuj RI District 3051 Over 110 patients with hearing problems were screened at a medical camp.

participated in the annual quiz competition conducted by the club.

RC Jaipur Pinkcity

RC Theog Hills

RI District 3052 Artificial limbs were distributed to the needy under the club’s ongoing Jaipur limbs project.

RI District 3080 The club honoured teachers with the Nation Builder Award.

RC Moga City RC Bikaner RI District 3053 Rotarians constructed a shed at Vridh Bharman Path, in order to help exercise enthusiasts continue with their daily workoutwithout worrying about the rain.

RC Vapi Riverside RI District 3060 Close to 7,000 students

RI District 3090 The club’s Rotaractors distributed food and blankets to the underprivileged.

RC Mathura West RI District 3110 Students of the GLA University exchanged their views on the ‘Preamble of the Constitution’ at a debate conducted by the club.

RC Lucknow RI District 3120 A medical camp under the name ‘Swaastha Mela’ tested and treated needy patients in the region.

RC Pune Shaniwarwada RI District 3131 In order to raise funds for its various humanitarian projects the club hosted a Marathi drama ‘Suryachi Pille’ sponsored by Veracity Landmark Developers.

RC Solapur North RI District 3132 To promote financial literacy the club conducted a banking seminar for school students in the region.

RC Kalyan Riverside RI District 3140 Out of the 150 patients who were examined at a lung health check up camp at Balak Patil School, 12 were referred for further investigation.

RC Tenali Vaikuntapuram

RC Chanchal RI District 3240 76 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2016

RI District 3150 Promoting oral health and hygiene, the club conducted dental awareness programmes at various schools in the region.

RC Navanandi RI District 3160 The club distributed dental kits to students of the Municipal Urdu School.

RC Ichalkaranji Textile City RI District 3170 The club in association with RCs Vijayapura (D 3190) and Bagalkot (D 3170) and Sadhu Vasvani Mission, Pune conducted an artificial limb fitment camp.

RC Ripponpet RI District 3180 Educational kits along with 500 notebooks were distributed at the Government Primary School.

RI District 3250

RC Tirupur South

RI District 3230

RI District 3202 The club inaugurated its tree plantation drive to plant 3202 saplings at Jay Shriram Group of Institutions.

Rotarians distributed relief kits to flood victims in Chennai.

RC Chavara Mineral Coast

RC Bangalore Cantonment RI District 3190 To enhance leadership skills among students the club conducted a RYLA.

RI District 3211 To create awareness on diabetes Rotarians conducted a mass walk in Chavara.

RC Irinjalakuda

RC Karaikudi Heritage

RI District 3201 Mattresses were distributed to St Thomas Bala Bhavan, Nadavaramba which is home to destitute children.

RI District 3212 The club distributed food and clothes to old age homes and orphanages in the region.

RC Chanchal RI District 3240 Training on collection and storage of paddy and other grains was imparted to the farmers of Bamua Dangi village.

RI District 3250 A cycle rally to create awareness and promote the conservation of fuel and protect the environment was conducted in the district.

RC Dhamtari RI District 3261 The club organised an entertainment programme to enhance fellowship amongst Rotarians and Innerwheel members.

RC Cuttack Millennium RI District 3262 Rotarians distributed footwear to the students of Dadhibamanpur Primary School.

RC Calcutta Megacity

RC Cuttack Millennium RI District 3262

RI District 3291 The club inaugurated its adult literacy programme for its 4th batch at Nayantara Memorial Charitable Trust, Birbhum.

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 77

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

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Editor: Rasheeda Bhagat.

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 79

Membership in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives As on January 4, 2016

RI RI Rotary No. of Women Rotaract Interact Zone District Clubs Rotarians Rotarians

Rotary at a glance Rotarians

: 12,19,129*

Clubs

: 35,081*

Districts

: 535*

Rotaractors

: 2,01,342

Clubs

: 8,754

Interactors

: 4,41,278

Clubs

: 19,186

RCC members : 1,99,732 RCC

: 8,684

*As of January 04, 2016 As of December 31, 2015

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

2981 2982 3000 3011 3012 3020 3030 3040 3051 3052 3053 3060 3070 3080 3090 3100 3110 3120 3131 3132 3140 3150 3160 3170 3180 3190 3201 3202 3211 3212 3220 3230 3240 3250 3261 3262 3271 3272 3281 3282 3291 3292 Total

104 63 111 65 70 78 93 93 63 68 56 95 110 75 79 85 104 71 123 82 145 95 64 124 141 107 135 132 133 89 76 144 79 96 73 78 54 104 179 123 148 91 4,098

4,296 2,867 4,750 2,722 2,950 3,993 5,137 2,121 2,449 3,398 2,199 3,956 3,122 3,180 2,004 2,014 3,594 2,851 5,380 3,486 7,560 3,359 2,273 5,273 5,831 4,711 5,056 4,951 4,192 3,693 2,045 5,956 2,795 3,627 2,420 2,915 1,061 1,741 5,196 3,245 3,895 3,242 1,51,506

178 104 383 367 350 227 571 247 177 508 219 343 269 183 85 109 158 260 985 344 1,083 283 102 319 292 434 261 262 241 190 253 485 336 577 244 315 159 306 701 260 649 413 14,232

44 38 179 35 48 76 59 39 40 32 15 44 56 50 28 10 47 33 63 50 117 74 10 34 47 85 73 73 9 58 69 145 48 40 15 36 35 26 198 112 51 97 2,438

207 102 362 89 97 333 221 97 122 128 30 100 141 163 36 81 49 48 200 112 362 167 38 254 403 187 96 375 67 185 188 403 126 187 97 62 12 35 79 21 106 98 6,266

RCC

166 37 98 28 52 294 127 135 330 126 90 114 54 98 122 146 71 48 70 95 141 109 80 156 148 43 46 39 119 118 77 295 127 171 42 68 13 35 181 38 548 89 4,984

Source: RI South Asia Office

Ratan Naval Tata, Chairman of Tata Trusts, was conferred the Sayaji Ratna Award by the Baroda Management Association at Vadodara. Rtn Kalpesh Shah, IPP of RC Baroda Sayajinagari, D 3060, honoured Sir Tata with the Rotary Pin symbolising this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theme, Be a gift to the world.

The Past District Governors of D 3211 along with DG C Luke, celebrated the cake mixing ceremony for Christmas at Poetree Resort in Thekkady.

Rtn Dr Janki Saran Rastogi of RC Moradabad Midtown, D 3100, probably the oldest Rotarian with 62 years of membership, celebrated his 100th birthday by sponsoring a cataract surgery camp where around 30 people were screened and successfully operated.

FEBRUARY 2016

ROTARY NEWS 81

IN BRIEF Indian Armed Forces woo young students

Telephone users in India cross 1 billion India’s telecom subscriber base has crossed one billion, including 978 million with mobile connectivity. Around seven million new connections are added every year, and 300 million Indians enjoy internet connectivity, says a TRAI report.

The HRD Ministry has initiated a pilot project — Seema Darshan — to inspire school students to join the Armed Forces. In the initial phase, 30 boys and girls from Kendriya Vidyalaya and Navodaya Vidyalaya schools across India will travel to Wagah-Attari border and J&K LoC and spend a week with the soldiers, see their lives, the environment they operate in and understand the prevailing security situation. On their return, they will file an audio-visual project report of their trip for their schoolmates. Based on the success of this pilot project, more students will be taken to sensitive areas such as the Siachen Glacier, borders of Arunachal Pradesh and North Kashmir.

Mumbai has another feather to its cap....

India’s first LGBT-run (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) radio cab service named ‘Wings Rainbow’. This initiative will offer employment opportunities to the LGBT community and comes from a partnership between Wings Travels and Humsafar Trust, an NGO. The service will begin in 2017 as the drivers are now undergoing training.

Kerala cent per cent literate, yet again.

Kerala is now a 100 per cent literate State. A special scheme, Athulyam Aksharotsavam, launched by the Kerala State Literacy Mission ensured that all citizens were educated at least till Class 4 levels. Illiterate people between15-50 were identified through family registries prepared by anganwadis and surveys, and given a five-month course in primary education. Exams were conducted across 6,615 centres and the pass score was pegged at 30/75 in English and 20/50 in other subjects. Out of the 2.6 lakh people who took the test, 2.2 lakh qualified. Earlier in 1991, the State was declared a complete literate State, although it lost its steam in the following years with the literacy rate dropping to 93.9 per cent as per the 2011 census.

82 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY NOVEMBER2016 2015

China ends one-child policy China has lifted the one-child policy it had instituted in 1978 with the signing of a bill allowing all married couples to have a second child. The legislation, however, maintains a limit on additional births.

This move, in the most populated country of the world (population 1.37 billion), is to cope with the ageing population and shrinking workforce. Though the controversial one-child policy served as a key factor in the country’s economic boom, forced and sex-selective abortions or female infanticide were rampant. The new rule has evoked less enthusiasm as families are reluctant to have a second child owing to the heavy living costs.

Loveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s labour About 10 km from Bhuj town in Gujarat is located Bhujodi village, which is a treasure trove of exquisite and colourful Kutchi handicrafts, hand woven carpets, embroidered shawls, stoles, wall and other panels, and of course a wide collection of bandhni chunnis, stoles and sarees. In this little shop I stumbled into,

the owner had a collection of exotic sarees for every taste and every pocket. The prices were so reasonable that they made you wonder what the women who tie and dye the fabric and then embroider it so exquisitely and meticulously, get for their labour.

Text and picture by Rasheeda Bhagat

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