February 2014 part2

EXPERT ANALYSIS

A CONVERSATION WITH CIRO DE QUADROS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE SABIN VACCINE INSTITUTE

ILLUSTRATIONS BY OTTO STEININGER

iro de Quadros is one of the world’s leading authorities on public health.

An epidemiologist, he led the eradication of smallpox in Ethiopia and the elimination of polio, measles and rubella in the Americas. He lives in Washington, D.C., where he is a member of the Independent Monitoring Board of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and a professor at Johns Hopkins University and George Washington University. In this excerpt from an interview originally published in Brasil Rotário in partnership with District 4651 (part of Santa Catarina, Brazil), he talks about the final stage of polio eradication, Rotary’s role, and how the experience will help combat other diseases.

northeast of Nigeria and northwest of Pakistan. With the last election in Pakistan, it is not known how the new government will solve these problems.

In the 1980s, you led the efforts to eliminate polio through the immunisation programme of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO). Why did you choose polio at that time and not measles?

Polio was chosen because there was already interest among governments to control this disease, and several countries had already stopped its transmission. Because of this, it made more sense to choose polio. And we were right, because after the elimination of the disease in the Americas, the governments started to work on the successful elimination of measles and rubella in the region.

How did Rotary become involved?

What are the main challenges that the poliovirus creates in countries where it is still endemic?

The PAHO decision to propose polio eradication coincided with

At this time, the main challenges are related to the management

we could work together to achieve this goal.

Rotary’s interest in the same goal. We discussed with Rotary how

aspects of the programmes in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as the security of the vaccinators in areas where there are social conflicts in these three countries — especially in the

You’ve said that polio was eliminated quickly in the Americas and the Western Pacific because there were enough resources FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 41

TOP CHALLENGES AND WHAT WE ARE DOING TO OVERCOME THEM

(1)

INSTABILITY After attacks on aid

workers in Pakistan and Nigeria, national governments and Rotary’s partner agencies began adapting operations to protect the safety of health workers. In Nigeria, measures such as “firewalling” — immunising children travelling through unstable areas to halt the spread of the virus — were put in place. Health teams are also working with security agencies to go quickly into dangerous areas to immunise children, usually for a maximum of two days. In Karachi, Pakistan, police protect teams doing door-to-door campaigns. In other volatile areas, immunisation teams ride in vans escorted by police to avoid becoming easy targets for terrorists.

(2)

in those regions. You’ve also said that lack of resources in recent years has forced frequent changes in the strategy and caused delays in ending polio. But might it have been the opposite — that constant delays discouraged donors, which led to a lack of resources?

This is the catch. On one hand, the chronic lack of resources has always been a big obstacle for the programme; on the other, failure to achieve the goals worried supporters. Right now, for the first time in the programme’s history, the Abu Dhabi meeting conducted by Bill Gates secured commitments for most of the resources needed to carry on this initiative until completion. Now there is no longer the excuse of lack of resources, and if the problems mentioned above are handled properly, the programme will end the way we all desire.

COMMUNITY APATHY To promote

local ownership of the eradication effort, the national programme in Afghanistan rolled out a communication strategy with the theme “Ending polio is MY RESPONSIBILITY.” In Nigeria, the Volunteer Community Mobiliser Network has forged partnerships with religious groups and leaders, including Tsangaya (Koranic) schools, to target high-risk areas. Sani Musa Danja, a popular Nigerian actor and musician, became a Rotary polio ambassador to help with public education and to counter propaganda against the oral polio vaccine. Food and other necessities are also distributed to attract families to immunisation drives. In Pakistan, the national PolioPlus committee has engaged with local nongovernmental organisations in high-risk areas to conduct polio immunisations and other health interventions.

42 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2014

Since 1988, the polio eradication programme has spent US $10 billion. Until certification of the end of the disease, targeted for 2018, another $5.5 billion will be needed. That is more than half of all that has been spent so far. Why is the final phase, the endgame, more expensive than the previous one?

In general, in such programmes it is necessary to increase resources in the final phase, which is always the most difficult of all. Problems with security, logistics, access to remote areas, and populations that refuse to cooperate have to be overcome.

What are the lessons learned from fighting a global disease, and how can they help us tackle similar problems in the future?

An important lesson is that a programme of this magnitude cannot be launched without making sure there are enough resources available. The strategies have to be re-evaluated constantly, so

(3)

any needed tweaking can be implemented without compromising the results.

During the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi in 2013 you announced that we had reached the $4 billion mark. You said, “Polio eradication now is no longer a public health programme, but a diplomatic one.” Could you explain what you meant?

We have resources, a good plan, and excellent scientific and technical support to end polio. The stumbling blocks along the way are safety, terrorism and social hurdles. To achieve our goals, we have to use all of our diplomatic expertise to open a dialogue with those who oppose the eradication programme.

After polio is gone, is there another disease that the world can eradicate?

After polio, measles and rubella could be tackled. Both are already eradicated in the Americas.

How do you evaluate Rotary’s role in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative?

Rotary is a very important partner in this initiative, not only for its tremendous financial contribution but for the advocacy with governments and the active work Rotarians perform during immunisation campaigns.

For many, including people in your home country of Brazil, polio has become a thing of the past and doesn’t pose a threat.

What do you say to people who think this way?

The world today is a small village. As long as polio occurs somewhere on the planet, even in faraway lands, no country in the world will ever be free of this disease.

ACCOUNTABILITY Each of the three

polio-endemic countries has tailored its approach to developing effective immunisation teams and addressing community concerns. In Nigeria, traditional leaders select team members.

Nigerian Rotarians from the south of the country, which is polio-free, are helping to monitor immunisation campaigns in the north. India is providing technical assistance, deploying its medical officers to Nigeria’s worst-performing areas to apply lessons learned in its eradication campaign. Afghanistan increased technical support to high-risk districts, including adding full-time district immunisation managers. In Pakistan, a summit was held in Islamabad to address issues in high-risk districts. Rotary also launched a network of polio resource centres to promote routine immunisation of newborns and infants, create awareness about polio, and build confidence in the vaccine.

(4)

MISSED CHILDREN Rather than relying on maps drawn from memory, health workers now use satellite imagery to identify settlements and to ensure that they consistently reach remote places, many of which have nomadic populations. Pakistan’s top challenge is in North and South Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, where militant leaders banned polio immunisations in June 2012. Many people fear for their lives if they allow their children to be immunised.

Because of conflict, many families have fled the region. Rotary, Pakistan’s government, UNICEF, and the World Health Organisation are working together to track transient families and children missed by health workers through mobile clinics at bus stands located at all major railway stations and at all border exit and entry points, where they reach 800 to 1,000 children daily. Recently, Pakistan agreed to immunise children at points set up in the international terminals of airports.

(5)

INSUFFICIENT FUNDS Rotarians

around the world are engaging all levels of government and the private sector, as well as the public, to urge them to provide the necessary financial support to eradicate polio worldwide.

Advocacy is critical to raising the $5.5 billion needed to finish the job.

FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 43

ENDING POLIO

The four objectives of the GPEI endgame strategy

(1) Stop transmission

India was long regarded as the most difficult place to end polio, but through innovation and hard work, the country has gone three years without a case.

The endgame strategy builds on this success with a plan to interrupt all wild poliovirus transmission by the end of 2014.

It will require rapid detection of the poliovirus, reaching all children in the three polio-endemic countries, preventing outbreaks in areas prone to re-importation by maintaining immunity levels above a set threshold, rapidly responding to any new outbreaks, and enhancing the safety of immunisers.

immunisation systems and replace the (2) Strengthen oral polio vaccine with the inactivated version

The new plan lays out a strategy to use the existing GPEI best practices and infrastructure to build a stronger system for the delivery of polio vaccine and other lifesaving vaccines, working closely with the GAVI Alliance, a global partnership of public- and private-sector organisations dedicated to immunisations for all.

The oral polio vaccine has been the vaccine of choice for the polio eradication effort because it’s affordable, easy to administer and induces “passive immunity” in the community.

That is, because the vaccine is made from a live but weakened version of the virus, the vaccine-virus replicates in the intestines, is excreted, and then spreads through areas with poor sanitation, inducing immunity in others before it dies out. In very rare cases, the excreted vaccine-virus can mutate back to a more virulent, transmissible version and cause paralysis and outbreaks. As the end of polio draws near, the GPEI plans to introduce at least one dose of the inactivated polio vaccine into routine immunisation systems. It is more difficult to administer but is made of a killed version of the virus, which cannot mutate and cause infection.

(3) Contain and certify

For a region to be certified poliofree, it must go three years without any reported cases.

To be sure there are truly no cases of polio, the region relies on a highly sensitive surveillance system to seek out and test cases of paralysis for the poliovirus. The area also needs a way to safely handle the poliovirus for vaccine production, research and diagnostic facilities, to ensure that the virus doesn’t escape and cause an outbreak. So far, the Western Pacific, European and Americas regions of the World Health Organisation have been certified polio-free, and the South-East Asia region could be certified by the end of the year, leaving only the African and Eastern Mediterranean regions to be certified.

(4) Plan polio’s legacy

Over the past 25 years, the GPEI has trained millions of volunteers, influencers, and health workers. It has reached the most marginalised and vulnerable populations in the world and developed an unprecedented global surveillance and response network, which is already helping to combat other vaccine-preventable diseases and providing assistance during humanitarian disasters. By sharing this blueprint, not only will polio be eradicated but a legacy will be created that will support other health and development initiatives.

44 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2014

TRACKING POLIO S

urveillance is the foundation of the entire polio eradication initiative; without it, pinpointing where and how wild poliovirus is still circulating is impossible. Acute flaccid paralysis — sudden floppiness or lifelessness in an arm or leg — is the most characteristic symptom of poliovirus infection among infants and children, and monitoring regions for the condition is the standard for poliovirus detection. Health officials follow these four surveillance steps to identify new cases and detect importation of the wild poliovirus:

A health worker reports a child with acute flaccid paralysis People who work in health facilities

Determine are the first links in the surveillance chain. virus type.

They are responsible for reporting every case of floppy, lifeless limbs they encounter in children younger than 15. Public health employees also periodically visit at-risk communities to look for new cases of suspected polio. In areas with few health workers, some regions rely on local pharmacists, traditional healers or religious leaders to serve as community watchdogs and a source of information on paralysed children. In these areas, posters alerting villagers to what acute flaccid paralysis looks like and how to report potential cases hang throughout many towns.

1

Report child with paralysed limb

Deliver two stool samples taken 24-48 hours apart

2

Workers take stool samples and transport them for analysis When polio is suspected, a doctor conducts a complete physical exam to determine whether the patient has lifeless limbs and other signs consistent with paralytic polio. Several disorders can cause acute flaccid paralysis, so all children with lifeless limbs must have their stool tested for polio within 48 hours of the onset of paralysis. The samples must be taken 24 to 48 hours apart to account for any variability in the excretion of the virus.

2

Experts map the virus and create an immunisation strategy Once virologists have identified wild poliovirus in a stool sample, scientists perform additional tests to determine where the strain originated. They sequence a specific portion of the virus’ genome and compare the resulting pattern to reference samples of already sequenced polioviruses circulating in different geographic areas. Once they find a match and pinpoint the new virus to a precise location, scientists can identify the source of importation — both long-range across regions and local cross-border — and determine the appropriate immunisation strategy to prevent further spread.

4

Determine geographic origin of poliovirus.

3

Create immunisation strategy.

Compare genome of virus to reference sample.

Re-immunise children.

Scientists isolate the poliovirus Scientists treat

Child has polio.

Test stool samples.

Wait two weeks.

Immunise children.

special cells with extracts from the stool samples and place them in an incubator. The cultured cells are examined over a period of two weeks for the growth of the poliovirus. Once the presence of poliovirus is confirmed, virologists distinguish between the wild (naturally occurring) and vaccine-related poliovirus.

The latter refers to rare strains of the virus that have genetically mutated from the original strain contained in the oral polio vaccine. If wild poliovirus is isolated, the virologists identify which of the two surviving types is involved. Only types 1 and 3 continue to circulate in polio-endemic areas.

Keep immunising children.

WORLD FREE OF POLIO

Child does not have polio.

Continue regular immunisation campaign.

FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 45

TAKE ACTION}

1

T H E E N D G A M E P L A N depends on us. Rotarians made a promise to fight to the finish to ensure that no child suffers the paralysing effects of polio ever again. Here’s what you can do right now:

BUILD AWARENESS Become a

polio eradication advocate by signing a petition, sharing the PolioPlus story over social media, launching a fundraising campaign, or telling your polio story to local news media. In the fight to end polio, your voice is a powerful tool.

3

REACH OUT Identify

corporations and organisations in your community that may be friendly to our cause and ask them to contribute money or provide in-kind support.

2

RAISE FUNDS Rotary and the

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are extending their partnership during the critical endgame phase of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

From 2013 to 2018, the Gates Foundation will match two-to-one (up to $35 million per year) every $1 that Rotary commits in direct support for polio eradication.

Contribute at endpolionow.org.

4

ADVOCATE Invite elected

officials to visit your club or participate in events, encourage their support, and thank those who get involved.

Support the effort until the world is certified polio-free.

46 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2014

On January 13, 2014 India completed three consecutive years without a single wild polio case being reported from any part of the country, thereby achieving the three-year milestone necessary to achieve polio-free certification from World Health Organisation. To commemorate this landmark achievement, several significant buildings in various parts of our country were illuminated at Rotary’s initiative. The Air India building in Mumbai (left) and India Gate, New Delhi (right) are among the structures that were dramatically lit on that day.

FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 47

GRAMMAR GURU Can you spot the mistakes?

My colleague Vincent is elder than me.

As he gets a less salary, he is unhappy.

Of the three plans, this is better.

There’s a best teacher in that class.

When we compare two or more adjectives, we add ‘-er / -est’ to the word if it is short; if it is a longer word, we use ‘more / most’ before it. Often we tend to use double comparatives or superlatives. (e.g.) more better; most happiest. Strictly speaking, they are ungrammatical.

Let’s consider the pair older / elder, oldest / eldest. We should not use elder / eldest unless we are talking about the members of a family. So the first sentence above is wrong.

We should say: My colleague Vincent is older than me. It is common to use ‘elder’ before a noun. (e.g.) My elder sister is a doctor. ‘Elderly’ on the other hand means ‘old.’

I saw a saintly looking elderly man running to catch his bus. It was raining and the street was full of puddles. Just as he appeared to be winning the race, the bus driver, with a fiendish smirk pulled away from the stop and the wheels splashed a shower of muddy water over the old man. Softly, this kindly man murmured, “May his soul find peace.” Still more softly he added, “And the sooner, the better.”

The second sentence should be corrected as: He receives a small salary. We use less / more only when we compare.

The comparative ending ‘-er’ is never used with less / more.

We use ‘less’ with uncountable nouns. With countable nouns in plural form, we use ‘fewer.’

Less traffic would mean fewer accidents. The three degrees of comparison for less / more are: little-less-least; much-more-most. Remember the famous quotes: “The more, the merrier” “The less said, the better.”

The last two sentences relate to the set: good / better / best. They should be corrected as: Of the three plans, this is the best.

There is a very good teacher in that class.

“I used to eat a lot better when Ronald Reagan was the president.”

“Oh … so you think that things were better back then?”

“No … I had my own teeth.”

‘Had better (not)’ is a specialist usage. Often ‘had’ is shortened to ‘d’. Sometimes it may not be heard at all.

Wife: “You are a very good husband. It is very hot here.

Please send me to Kashmir. While there, I will see you in my dream every night.”

Husband: “Well, we can modify it. You had better stay here and see Kashmir in your dream.”

We use ‘better’ to compare two things and ‘best’ for more than two. The phrase that follows ‘best’ usually begins with ‘in’ (not ‘of’). You should say: “It is one of the best restaurants in Chennai.” But not, “It is one of the best restaurants of Chennai.”

A fellow met his friend, a notorious horse race addict on the street. The guy looked like he had just lost his best friend. “Why so sad?” he was asked. “I had thousand rupees slashed away to bet on the ponies today,” he said, “but my wife found it and blew it all on the rent and groceries!”

Dr. V. Saraswathi, Vice President, English Language Teachers’ Association of India, Reproduced with permission from Education Times, The Times of India, Chennai.

SEND SUBSCRIPTIONS ONLINE TO ROTARY NEWS Name of the Bank

:

Vijaya Bank

Name of the Branch

:

Egmore, Chennai

A/C Name

:

Rotary News Trust

A/C No.

:

300501010015503

IFSC Code

:

VIJB0003005

Kindly send the details of your remittance along with latest Members Address List with PIN codes and members‘ language option. Payment cannot be processed without these particulars.

MISCELLANY

Sachin Tendulkar named Ambassador for hygiene and sanitation Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar is going to bat for hygiene and sanitation in South Asia, promoting the use of toilets and hand washing, the United Nations children’s agency announced on 29 November.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) named Mr. Tendulkar, known as the “Master Blaster,” to support its work in the region with the lowest access to toilets worldwide.

Every year, more than half a million South Asian children under the age of five die of diarrhoea, caused by unsafe drinking water, lack of sanitation and poor hygiene behaviours, according to UNICEF. “I look forward to working with children and communities in the region,” Mr. Tendulkar said. “Following simple practices can contribute to a hygienic lifestyle which is important for the good health of children and women across the world.”

Sanitation has a strong connection not only with personal hygiene but

also with human dignity, well-being, public health, nutrition and education, the UN agency said.

“When playing cricket, Sachin Tendulkar had the unique power to reach everybody in all corners of South Asia and the world,” said Karin Hulshof,

UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia, adding that Mr. Tendulkar will do the same to reach “everybody in all villages and communities in South Asia with hygiene and sanitation messages.”

Source: UNEWS December 2013 issue

FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 49

Do’s Sending text contributions • Provide us with the facts: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? • Use detailed descriptive language.

• Emphasise the human interest element of your story.

• Use anecdotes and quotes from club members, beneficiaries and others.

• Lengthy articles rarely hold reader interest. So, keep articles simple and brief.

• Word limit for news items: 150–250 words; Half-page features: up to 350 words and full page articles: 700 words with a couple of good photographs.

Want to send an article or news item for publishing in Rotary News and Rotary Samachar?

Here are some guidelines.

• Include the name and telephone number or e-mail ID of a contact person who can provide us more information.

• Send submissions by regular post, courier or e-mail. Matter should be typewritten on one side of the paper.

Give double line spacing in normal lower case and use capitals only where required.

• Send all communications in the club’s letterhead.

Give your club the world There are many worthwhile activities in which nearly all clubs take part.

Most clubs award Paul Harris Fellows, hold installations and charter nights, sponsor new Rotary clubs, plant trees and finance scholarships. Information on these events is not likely to make it into the magazine unless there is an angle that distinctly sets them apart.

As a policy, we cannot promote or endorse future events or projects. We prefer to receive news of events which have already taken place, and projects that are complete.

We cannot find space to display every project done by over 3,100 clubs in the 34 districts in India. We cannot promise publication and the editor remains the final arbiter as to what is to be published.

50 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY DECEMBER2014 2013

• Mention RI District number and club name when you are filing the report.

• Send communications in English or Hindi.

• Focus the articles on events rather than on personalities.

• Contribute clean jokes for publication.

• Send articles about outstanding projects done by Rotaract and Interact clubs.

• Send articles about outstanding projects done by Rotary Community Corps.

• Report innovative programmes and projects done by clubs and districts with grants from The Rotary Foundation.

• Encourage Rotarians / Anns / Annets who are artists to send good cartoons for publication.

Sending Photographs

• Report significant achievements

by Rotarians.

• Use e-mail for faster communication.

The best images show action. We recognise that a snapshot which perfectly captures a moment is rare and your subjects may have to pose. But your goal should be to create an image that appears candid and natural. Photographs should depict Rotarians and / or project beneficiaries participating in hands-on activities.

• If you have any doubts, just call us.

• Send articles, subscriptions and queries, if any, separately.

Don’ts • Don’t send photographs depicting handshakes, cheque presentations or people posing in front of a banner.

• Always give details of the photographs. Include names, locations, dates and photo credits and permission if the photograph is protected by a copyright.

• Don’t use pins, triangular clips or staplers to attach the photographs.

• Write legibly. Include club name and RI District number.

• Don’t fold the photographs.

• Suggest use of professional photographers.

• Don’t send printouts of the photographs.

• Send colour prints.

• Black-and-White images may be acceptable on a case-by-case basis.

• Don’t write on the reverse side of the photographs.

• Photographs should be of Maxi size (152 mm X 100 mm). Glossy prints only.

• Don’t send photographs by fax.

• Photographs should be sharp and composed properly.

• Don’t send photographs by email. They do not reproduce well unless they have been scanned professionally.

• Don’t send digital photographs embedded in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint Document or PDFs. • Do not send copies of monthly reports.

Rotary clubs conduct a variety of activities.

Obviously, every news cannot be published due to paucity of space.

Only important, interesting news and articles will find a place.

Decide if the event or activity is of interest to Rotarians all over India and other countries.

• If you submit photographs digitally, it should be at least 300 dpi.

• The photographs should be in ‘.tiff’ or ‘.jpg’ format only.

WHEN TO SEND CONTRIBUTIONS? Articles intended for publication should reach Rotary News office at least six weeks before the month of publication. Send articles and news items directly to Rotary News Trust.

Please note that publication could take much longer than two months.

Send contributions to: The Editor Rotary News Trust Dugar Towers, 3rd Floor, 34, Marshalls Road, Egmore, Chennai – 600 008, India.

Phone: 044 42145666 Fax: 044 28528818 E-mail: rotarynews@rosaonline.org DECEMBER FEBRUARY 2014 2013 ROTARY NEWS 51

An outstanding scientist and an accomplished speaker, Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, the pioneer in polymer science and engineering is a man of many talents; a man who strongly believes that the future of India lies in IT — Indian Talent when he says that each of the 1.2 billion Indians have a potential and the question lies in realising that potential. Welcome to this series of thought-provoking lectures/articles of Padmabhushan Dr. Mashelkar that is sure to stimulate and kindle the innovative spark in you.

(Continued from previous issue) Finally, for a cash-starved but intellectual capital rich country like India, emergence of knowledge industry is a good news. But harnessing the full potential of knowledge industry requires an aggressive and visionary policy framework, creative planning, daring and risk taking. It needs to be recognised that the knowledge industries such as software development, pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology, engineering services etc. operate in a highly competitive environment with great demand on the speed of response in dynamic market conditions. A high operational efficiency and functional flexibility is crucial for such industries. The Government policies, therefore, have to be conducive to provide these. For example, the knowledge based companies that employ knowledge workers are in great demand and some of them may require global level compensation with schemes to create and share wealth.

Employers’ stock option plans need to be made available in such industries.

52 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2014

India has yet to set up proper technology financing mechanisms, which are risk taking and which can cater to the knowledge industries. In particular, the venture capital financing is very poor in India and yet at the same time we recognise that Intel, Microsoft, Apple, etc. would not have seen the light of the day but for the venture capital financing. Appropriate regulatory frameworks need to be set up. The labour laws in India are obsolete when one considers the environment in which knowledge workers in knowledge industry thrive. For instance, Shops & Commercial Establishment Act, 1961 and Rules restricts working hours to 9 hours on any day and 48 hours in a week whereas in knowledge industries, flexible timings to meet the needs of the global customers are absolutely essential. It is important to recognise that knowledge work in knowledge intensive industry cannot be governed by using the laws meant for physical labour. Several other changes in foreign exchange regulations etc. will be

needed to cater to the needs of export intensive knowledge based industries.

Options on knowledge generation and acquisition I was attending a meeting of the Third World Academy of Sciences in Trieste recently. Fredrico Mayor, the Director General of UNESCO made an interesting statement. He said “Knowledge flows from north to south and wisdom flows from south to north.” I remember making a small correction; ‘knowledge’ may flow from north to south but ‘usable knowledge’ does not flow that easily from north to south, since usable knowledge has the potential to create wealth. No country, no corporation gives a competitive advantage to another, excepting at a price. India itself has realised this in the post liberalisation era.

In India we always considered the ‘make’ or ‘buy’ options, which unfortunately got converted to ‘importing’ and ‘import substituting’ in the closed economy that we had. But if India has

to create the best practice in economics of knowledge then it will have to carefully consider not just the two options of ‘making’ or ‘buying,’ but also ‘buying to make better,’ ‘making to buy better’ and ‘making it together.’

Let me explain what I mean. ‘Making’ has been a preferred course of action, but one cannot make everything. Also if one has to reach a high rate of economic growth, then other alternatives have to be sought. ‘Buying’ the knowledge embedded in a technology or a machinery is possible, when the owner is willing to part with it. Even in the post liberalised era, India has realised that when Mark III technologies are available with the owner, one has managed to discuss only Mark II and one has been lucky to get Mark I, since no one wants to give away a competitive advantage. Let us realise that India is not being looked at as a bottomless pit of demand but as a global competitor.

Smart countries like Japan opted for the third option of ‘buying to make better’ route. They acquired knowledge through licensing, absorbed it and developed superior products, which competed with the best in the world. India did not do that; we kept on buying and buying. We have also not followed the fourth option of ‘making to buy better.’ Familiarity with a knowledge or a technology domain gives one an advantage in negotiations, strategic positioning and so on. It is only then one can negotiate for Mark III and get Mark III from a position of strength.

For a resource poor country like India, ‘making it together’ is the preferred option in the long run. This means creating knowledge networks between all knowledge centres in the academic world, national laboratories, etc. and our productive sector. Let me pursue this option in some depth.

Building knowledge networks How do we build knowledge networks between the productive sector and R & D institutions and what are the hurdles? Publicly funded R & D

institutions should be used as idea generators and providers of new concepts by the industry. Industry should not look at institutions as super markets where off-the-shelf technologies are sold. Indian industry should be prepared to assume the role of partners, who have the technical, financial and marketing strengths to take ideas to the market place. As regards the products emerging from R & D laboratories, these invariably come out as some sort of packages containing knowledge and information, whereas the business units will have to convert these into goods and services, which are saleable.

The Indian industry should willingly integrate national R & D resources into their business strategy.

The Indian industry should willingly integrate national R&D resources into their business strategy. Improved communication and understanding, faith in mutual growth and development of healthy working relationships is necessary. The fact that new knowledge has to make an economic sense has not been realised by our institutions. On the other hand the fact that competitive advantage in business will be reached by using cutting edge knowledge has not been realised by our industry. There has to be a meeting ground between the long-term horizon of R & D institutions and the short-term horizon of business units. CSIR, as a large publicly funded R & D system, is trying to make a cultural shift in its operations,

by looking at research as a business, defining a new product, defining a new process and doing it in a business like manner. The transformation process has just begun, but CSIR hopes that it will become an effective hub in the Indian knowledge network and play a crucial role in driving forward the issue of getting economic gains from a vibrant Indian knowledge bank.

I have spoken about Indian knowledge networks, but I see equally exciting possibilities for global knowledge networks for economic gains, where India could assume a dominant position. The chain of concept to commercialisation necessarily crosses transnational boundaries today. Thus many major multinational corporations in USA and Europe, whose R&D budgets are larger than even India’s R & D budget, are becoming partners of India’s R & D laboratories. CSIR’s partners today include giants such as Mobil, General Electric, Du Pont, Boeing and so on. For India, rather than remaining a perennial seeker of knowledge from the west, opportunities are opening up for doing even reverse transfer of knowledge.

What is driving this process?

Many companies across the world today consider it to be rather unwise to attempt for self-sufficiency in technology development, particularly in an era, where the R & D costs are FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 53

increasing rapidly. The concept that technology could be acquired rather than reinvented is gaining momentum.

As a part of the global innovation strategy, several companies world over are scouting for new ideas and patents.

These companies believe that the surest way of becoming technically strong is through knowledge networking with premier organisations across the world.

In an era of global connectivity through modern information technology, the concept of virtual laboratory is gaining ground. These global networks are allowing the real-time management and operation of laboratories in any part of the world. Thus, companies are seeking to gain a competitive advantage by using the global knowledge resource and working with a global time clock.

Basic skills are gaining importance and the new paradigm is skill-based competition. The high technology companies are asking as to what skills, capabilities and technologies should they build up, rather than asking a stereotype question, as to which markets should they enter, and with which products. I see an enormous opportunity for India to become a global knowledge platform in the coming century, by partnering these companies in areas where we can cooperate, leveraging strategically those Indian niches, where we have a competitive advantage.

Role of IPR in economics of knowledge I made a reference earlier to the expensive wars in the knowledge market that the Indian industry will have to face, as it integrates its economy with the global economy. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) will be crucial in fighting these wars! Indeed in the world of knowledge based competition, IPR will emerge as a key strategic tool. India is way behind the rest of the world and the continuing illiteracy in IPR will hurt us badly. Incorporating strong systems on generation of IPR, its capture, documentation, valuation, protection and exploitation will need a massive thrust.

54 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2014

IPR must be made a compulsory subject matter in the law courses in the universities in India.

The issue of patents in particular, has created a national interest and debate of great dimension. I thought it might be useful to focus on this specific area. A weak physical infrastructure, inadequate intellectual infrastructure, poor public awareness and delays in implementing government policies is hurting India today. We are behind the rest of the world in patents, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Why is this so? The basic criterion for the grant of a patent is that the innovation must have elements of novelty, non-obviousness and utility. How much of the research that we do today meets even some of these basic criteria? Many of the Indian R & D institutions and industrial firms have so far focussed on imitative research or reverse engineering. How do we change our mindsets so that we move on to doing truly innovative research or doing forward engineering?

This is the first big challenge.

Skills in filing, reading and exploiting patents will be most crucial in the years to come; but our ability to read or write patents is very poor. Neither can we properly protect our inventions nor can we understand the implications of the patents granted to our competitors. Many of the patents written by our professionals could be easily circumvented. Manpower planning for IPR protection needs priority. IPR must be made a compulsory subject matter in the law courses in the universities in India. Our graduates coming out of

engineering and technology streams have no idea about IPR, and yet it is these young people, who will have to fight these emerging wars in the knowledge markets. A number of patent training institutes will have to be set up.

China has already set up 5,000 patent training institutes! Judicious management of patent information will require well-structured functioning of information creating centres, information documenters and retrievers, information users, IPR specialists and information technology experts.

Need for rethinking IPR There are several areas of conflict and debate in the existing patenting system. One issue is that of public vs. private knowledge. Some types of knowledge—for example educational technologies, life saving technologies, must be available to all, not just to the rich. We need to develop principles by which we determine as to when the knowledge will be publicly available and when it will be kept private. Agencies should be set up to buy knowledge for the public good, including by using those principles used in land-acquisition proceedings — but this requires a clear legal and policy framework.

The present patent system is made applicable to all types of industries, types of inventors and types of knowledge. This cannot work. The electronics industry, where product life cycles are small, wants speed and short term protection. Whereas pharma industry, where profits are earned, after a long time of rigorous evaluation of safety, toxicity etc., wants long term protection. We must realise that one size does not fit all and revisit the patenting system based on the issues of cost, speed of issuance, dispute settlement and so on based on the type of industry, inventor, knowledge, etc.

The industrial property systems were set up centuries ago for inanimate objects, and that too in formal systems of innovations. A great

challenge is now emerging to look at the systems that will deal with animate objects (such as plants and animals) and with informal systems innovation (such as those by grass root innovators like farmers, artisans, tribes, fishermen and so on). The standard intellectual property system will certainly not suit such innovators and their innovations.

We need innovation in the intellectual property system itself. Shorter duration patents for smaller innovations, including specific improvements in the traditional knowledge need to be conceived. They will involve simple registration-cum-petty patent system where the inventive threshold would be lower but even a small improvement in material, process, product or use could be protected at much lesser costs and for shorter duration. This will give a boost to the creative capabilities of otherwise deprived innovators. We, in India, will have to develop our own models for this.

New IPR regime and Indian knowledge industry The knowledge based industry in India, such as the IT industry, pharmaceutical industry, etc. will have to face new challenges in the new IPR regime.

The IT industry has maintained an impressive growth rate. But if we have to achieve a non-linear growth rate, then we will have to reduce the content of body shopping and move on to innovative IT products, which will need IP protection. The Indian IT industry has not so far cared for this, but it will have to play an increasing attention to this aspect.

The same is the case with our pharma industry. From an importer of even the formulations in early 50s, our pharma industry has become a net exporter. We need to recognise that it will start feeling the heat of the global competition soon. The global pharmaceutical industry is a knowledge industry and the emerging Indian pharma industry will have to be no exception. It has survived so

If we have to achieve a non-linear growth rate, then we will have to reduce the content of body shopping and move on to innovative IT products, which will need IP protection. far without developing new molecules.

Indeed, only fourteen new molecules have been developed so far in the last forty years, out of which eleven have been from the CSIR system. But with the advent of the new patent regime, the strategies will have to change. I do strongly believe that the Indian industry can once again rise to the occasion just as it did in the 70s under the provisions of the Indian Patents Act 1970. Indian pharma industry, apart from pursuing novel synthetic routes to known molecules must pursue basic research for patent-worthy inventions comprising new molecules. It will have to forge partnerships with national laboratories in a Team India spirit to surge ahead. As a new strategy, the pharma industry could pursue the development of new molecules up to the point of pre-clinical stage and then forge strategic alliances for co-development or license these to national and international partners. Some of the enlightened pharma players in the Indian

industry are already beginning to reap the benefits of this strategy.

Before we protect IP, we must generate IP which is worth protecting.

Our institutions, national laboratories and industrial R & D laboratories will have to gear up for this. Nurturing a strong innovation base through a balanced system of recognition and rewards is the need of the hour. We will have to invest liberally to enhance the skills and knowledge base of scientists, through structured in-house and external professional training programmes, some even abroad, on understanding, interpreting and analysing the techno-legal and business information contained in IP documents, and in drafting of IP documents. For this we need to avail the services of high-class national and foreign consultants and attorneys.

We need to encourage the publication of R & D results in scientific papers only after careful consideration of the consequences on IP rights. It is hard to estimate the loss of Indian intellectual property due to the inadvertent publication of usable knowledge in the last few decades. Monitoring national and international patents and other IP through access to on-line databases, to ensure effective protection and to ward off infringements and threats to India’s IP portfolio will be crucial.

Analysing and assessing techno-legal and business information and market intelligence to identify strategic alliances and to exploit potential uncovered niche areas of opportunities itself will give rise to new knowledge based business.

I believe that we will have to mobilise public opinion and influence government decisions and policies on diverse IP issues. This should be done, not through emotional cries, but on the basis of analytical and scientific studies taken up in-house or commissioned nationally and internationally. We must spearhead a movement towards formulating a national IP policy.

(To be continued‌) FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 55

ROTARY ACTS

Dynamics We’ve all heard about the tooth fairy but have you ever heard of the ‘Vision Fairy?’ Lodged within the mobile eye clinic launched by RC Bangalore Jeevanbimanagar, RI District 3190 is the vision fairy who is endowing the gift of sight across rural villages in and around Hoskote — vision personified to change and touch the lives of the needy so that they know that there’s someone who cares.

Eye screening being performed.

K

nowledge, novelty and experience together comprise technology while selflessness, concern and responsibility give birth to ‘service’ — the one thing that is part of every Rotary Act. RC Bangalore Jeevanbimanagar, RI District 3190 in association with GEF Eye Hospital, RC Valkeakoski-Tohka, RC Jyvaskyla-Tourula, RI District 1390, 56 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2014

Finland and The Rotary Foundation have blended technology in the veins of service by way of the mobile eye clinic in order to assist a group of the society that needs a dosage of care and concern.

With no proper facility available the villagers had to travel long distance for a simple eye check up. If further treatment was required they would

have to remain in the city for days together which in turn ruined their daily life routine and also pinched their pockets. Eyes of the villagers from in and around Hoskote are a testimony of gratitude of free eye care delivered at their doorstep by the mobile eye clinic launched by the club. Not mere eye care but quality enhanced eye care characterises the club’s service. The club has all reasons to feel proud as it is assisting in the development of India’s village health.

Hoskote is the largest rural district in Karnataka with 333 villages and the mobile eye clinic will now be able to reach more villagers who are in need of eye care. The mobile eye clinic while on rounds detects the fault in the patient’s eye by way of optometric equipment available in the van and then transports these patients to the GEF Eye Hospital where they are given further treatment, all for free. The club hopes to make Hoskote famous for its free eye care facility apart from its agriculture, apiculture and horticulture that the district is known for.

In its noble service of breathing vision into needy eyes the club has partnered with Global Eye Foundation (GEF) a non-profit organisation that has been providing eye care services to the people of Hoskote since 1995. The international Rotary club partners too have played an active role in planning and executing the state-ofthe-art mobile eye clinic. The mobile eye clinic was launched in August

by DG Nagendra in the presence of Dr. Sundaram Shetty, the Chairman

Mobile Eye Clinic.

of GEF Hospital. Heading this noble project Rtn Abhishek Ranjan, President of RC Jeevanbimanagar states his journey has began and describes his thoughts with words from Robert Frost’s poem, “And miles to go before I sleep.”

Illuminating the candle of vision with style and class is now becoming a habit for Rotary. Hands down RC Jeevanbimanagar has not just joined the brigade of service with style and class but is materialising thought to action.

The club within the first 100 days of the

inauguration of the mobile eye clinic has touched 5,000 lives. An outstanding performance of treating 1,828 adults, 4,083 children with an additional 165 adults receiving diabetic retinopathy and 200 children being checked for eye defects has now become a regular routine of the club. The club is hopeful that in the future it will be able to reduce the rate of eye patients in the rural district.

The club with the help of the mobile eye clinic has hosted a number of eye screening camps in various villages and in different village schools in order to help the young students to improve their vision and in turn study better. RC Jeevanbimanagar is all set to create a new fairytale each time it waves the vision wand and blows in vision into a lifeless eye. So here comes the vision fairy who is going to make the world brighter, better and blur-free.

Kiran Zehra

FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 57

ROTARY ACTS

An Eye Opener to Karna Vidya is an exemplary service of Rotary Club of Madras Coromandel, RI District 3230, that offers a valuable platform for the empowerment of the visually challenged and the underprivileged, through assistive technology. The recently inaugurated Karna Vidya Technology Centre takes care of the social integration of these people by taking cyber technology in an accessible format straight to their minds.

J

ust as air, water, food and shelter are essential for all living beings, the sense of sight is a quintessential requisite for us humans. Eyesight is a blessing; it compliments and enhances the experience offered by other faculties. The ability to see kindles most of our thoughts, ideas and decisions.

To really understand the value of one’s eyesight, one should go about one’s chores blind-folded just for an

hour! A power-cut by night for even half-an-hour is just intolerable for us city-bred citizens. Imagine a life of darkness, a life devoid of colours, and just distorted imaginations to trigger ideas — that is what is experienced by the blind.

It is our duty to reach out to these special human beings with a dash of compassion and thoughtfulness; we can be their eyes; we can show them

Students at Karna Vidya Technology Centre.

58 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2014

the way; lead them from darkness to light; empower, enable and enhance their life; and help them focus on their ‘vision’ to stand on their feet— physically and economically.

For the Rotarians of RC Madras Coromandel (RCMC) this empathy for the visually challenged was triggered in the year 2000 when few such students approached the then President of the club, Dr. Hari Ramesh for financial help to complete their education. Dr. Ramesh and his spouse not only assisted them financially but also offered to read out their lessons to them regularly for a few hours every day. The students were happy with the arrangement and they readily agreed. The seeds for ‘Karna Vidya’ (meaning ‘learning through hearing’) were thus sown. The Rotarians of RCMC took it up from here and had their eyes trained to recognise the visually challenged for their abilities, so that the world does not identify them by their disability.

Karna Vidya thus became the nerve centre and the vision of every Rotarian of the club. The project helps the visually impaired youngsters to build their future by making use of their keen hearing capabilities.

Rotarians and their spouses got actively engaged in the services of Karna Vidya, three centres, two at Adyar and one at T.Nagar are being functional since 2001. Reading sessions are conducted twice a week of two hour duration each which is extended for longer periods during examination days. Presently, 100 students have enrolled in these centres and they are assisted by 150 volunteers/readers. The students listen to their readers and memorise their lessons and also take notes in Braille for their revision later. The volunteer readers include a varied section of the society such as office goers, young students, home makers and retired persons who are keen on sharing their abilities to reach out to these vulnerable people.

Most of the students come to the centre straight from their college and the Rotarians have introduced a thoughtful system of providing refreshments such as tea/coffee and snacks for them at the centre itself.

This is an immensely wonderful gesture as these people hail from economically weak background and they would not have the financial means to appease their hunger on the way.

Apart from this, the volunteers also share the happiness of their personal celebrations like birthday and anniversary, at the centre, providing a sumptuous feast for the students.

Karna Vidya also takes care of the college fees for the most deserving and needy students. Periodical eye camps are also conducted for the students and a few corneal transplants have also been facilitated. A comprehensive library has been set up at Adyar and the space for it was provided by the club President, Rtn. Ravi Raman.

Books, both regular and Braille, covering college syllabi and general interest, audio tapes, CDs, dubbing machines, recorders and playback machines fill the library shelves. Blank cassettes are given to students for recording the lessons and at the end of the academic year, these recorded cassettes are returned to the centre to be kept in the library. Students can also bring their own cassettes and have their chosen lessons dubbed.

Karna Vidya offers scribe facilities to aid the visually challenged in writing the exams. Escort help is provided especially for students pursuing higher studies such as M. Phil and Ph.D., to guide them through the library and help them browse through the books and collect information. Volunteers at Karna Vidya thus provide the supreme service of being the eyes for the visually challenged. This pioneer institution was recognised by Rotary International as ‘Significant Achievement’ of RC Madras Coromandel in 2011–12.

A volunteer reader reads out a lesson for the visually challenged students.

The Rotarians of RCMC recently made yet another big leap in their endeavour to empower the visually impaired community, with the inauguration of Karna Vidya Technology Centre (KVTC) on September 28, 2013. The centre is established at Guindy in Chennai in association with Matching Grant partners, RI District 1400, Finland and The Rotary Foundation. While Karna Vidya, over the 13 years, have assisted the education of the visually challenged with the help of volunteers, KVTC will use the latest technology and ‘accessible’ formats, bringing all relevant texts, reference books and periodicals and information available on the internet to aid the visually challenged, independent of volunteers.

The goal was set to train and empower the youngsters by exposing them to the world of computers and prepare them for the various next-gen jobs. The Rotarians strongly believe that loss of vision need not necessarily deprive the visually challenged of higher education or reduce their scope of employability. This thought saw the

team establish the technology centre with an investment of USD 27,000 on equipment alone, to facilitate professional, business and other vocational studies for the visually impaired. The centre equipped with 20 computers thus has the infrastructure designed to provide a support system to make the dreams of the visually impaired students a reality. The space for this centre was also provided by Rtn. Ravi Raman.

Hi-tech visual aids, networked e nv i r o n m e n t a n d a p p l i a n c e s developed worldwide are provided at the centre. The sophisticated screen-reading software, JAWS, which converts a normal PC into a talking PC, the Braille printer (bought earlier with funds received from RC Providenciales, RI District 7020, West Indies) that can provide access to course materials and other manuals printed in Braille, a scanning and reading appliance camera edition which is a next-gen self-contained scanning and reading appliance for the visually challen ged — all these assistive technology will enable the visually handicapped to rise up to the challenges FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 59

and realise their educational and vocational aspirations in IT companies and IT enabled services.

Presently, courses are offered in Computer Application with Screen Readers (CASR), advanced software-centric employability, soft skills development and competitive exams efficiency. The club plans to introduce courses for the postgraduate and doctorate students and professional and business courses such as law and information technology.

Courses are also planned, in consultation with the Office of the Commissioner for Differently-abled, to train the students for the state government jobs under the one percent quota for the visually challenged. Rtn. G. Balasubrahmanyan, Past President of RCMC says, “Visually challenged students have enormous capacity to learn and gather information through their keen hearing capabilities. We want to create an independent and accessible learning atmosphere and impart

Rtn.M.Chandra Prakash Corporate identity

The Karna Vidya project of RCMC is a wholesome service which prepares the visually impaired to face the future with a supreme confidence that their disability is not an inability. It renders them the moral courage to tell the world that they are equally competent as others and they need no hand-holding. Technology is the game-changer. The amazing developments in digital and information technology provides an opportunity for the visually challenged community to integrate well with the mainstream society, and the life-changing options enhances their chances of realising their aspirations and become self-sufficient instead of being looked down upon as an object of pity and misfortune.

Jaishree with inputs from Rtn. G. Balasubrahmanyan RC Madras Coromandel RI District 3230

Air-conditioned Conference Hall with a seating capacity of 30 persons in the office of the Rotary News Trust

Brochures Branding Logo creation Hoarding Magazine ads E 4 / 3 - H D F C Colony,Chinchwad, Pune - 19.

CREATIVE HUB FOR YOUR BUSINESS GROWTH.........................

International Advertising Professional

professional training programmes to enhance students’ competence.”

The centre is run by a manager and a tutor — both visually challenged. RCMC has assumed the role of support, and help in running and maintenance of KVTC. The course plan is designed by the mentors of Rotaract Club of Drishti, which is also sponsored by RCMC in 2012 and which has youngsters with visual disability as members. ‘Drishti’ means ‘Vision’ in Sanskrit. The panel of advisors of KVTC is also drawn from those visually challenged who have etched themselves a successful career path, overcoming their visual disability. Such role models can convince their community that theirs is not an inability. The idea is that the advice from their own community that undergoes similar challenges would essentially provide the spark to light the enthusiasm of the visually challenged to aspire for higher educational and vocational goals.

News paper ads Graphic Designing News paper ads Graphic Designing Advertising photography Photography workshops Stock images Artifacts & Paintings

WWW.WINGSDESIGN.IN

MBL 750 707 1820 wingsdesignpune@gmail.com Head Office,Pune. Branch office,Chennai.

60 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2014

Contact:

TARIFF Rs.2,500 for 2 hours Rs.4,000 for 4 hours Addl. Rs.1000 per hour

ROTARY NEWS TRUST

3rd Floor, Dugar Towers 34, Marshalls Road, Egmore, Chennai - 600 008 Phone: 044-4214 5666 Fax: 2852 8818 e-mail: rotarynews@rosaonline.org

XXXXXXXXX

2 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2014

ROTARY ACTS

Southend Sparsh, the paediatric dialysis centre, an initiative of the Rotarians of RC Delhi Southend, RC 3010, brings enormous relief for children suffering from renal failure, besides saving huge expenditure on dialysis for the economically weak families, by providing its services free of cost.

T

he Rotarians of Rotary Club of Delhi Southend were eager to undertake a long term project that would give sustainable and valuable advantage to the society. Many options were brain-stormed. To effect an effective transformation in the medical field so as to bring benefits to the poor, consultations were held with various hospitals to understand their needs.

Dr. Bagga, Head of Paediatric Nephrology at AIIMS, when contacted, explained the need for a paediatric dialysis centre as the capacity of their said centre was fully utilised and they have to turn back many children suffering from renal diseases.

The country’s capital, Delhi sees at least 300 children develop chronic renal failure every year. All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi has reported 50 percent rise in chronic renal failure cases in the last decade. While there is no precise data on the incidence of renal diseases in children, paediatric nephrologists assume that the kidney-related disorder consists roughly five percent of all diseases among children.

Dialysis is a life-saving treatment done when the kidneys do not work well. The main job of the kidneys is to remove the toxins from the blood.

A buildup of such waste can lead to death. Dialysis is a mechanical process where harmful waste products from the blood are removed when

62 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2014

Dialysis in progress at Southend Sparsh.

the kidneys cannot do its function.

There are various kinds of dialysis such as haemodialysis where the patient’s blood is passed through a filter to remove toxins, and peritoneal dialysis wherein the peritoneal membrane, the lining of the abdomen is used to filter blood. Children with renal failure need kidney transplant.

Donors are available, in most cases family members; but transplant takes time. Till the time it is possible for transplant to be performed, dialysis is required to be done at least twice a week. Only two units are there in entire North India, equipped to perform paediatric dialysis. Moreover,

each dialysis costs Rs. 2,500. It is obviously difficult for the poor parents to afford this cost until the transplant happens.

Rotary Club of Delhi Southend decided to set up a paediatric dialysis unit in Delhi, and Dr. Bagga of AIIMS offered to provide technical and medical assistance. The club under its charitable trust, established a paediatric dialysis centre under the name ‘Southend Sparsh’ in the premises of Batra Hospital, Delhi. The hospital has provided space for the dialysis centre free of charge. Technical assistance and guidance has been provided by a team headed by Dr. Bagga.

A capital investment of Rs.36,00,000 on machines, equipment and furniture was required to set up the centre. Besides this, working capital of Rs.4,00,000 per month was required to run the centre and meet expenses such as doctors’ and staff salary and cost of consumables. This financial requirement of capital investment and the recurring expense cost was met through fund raiser events organised by the club.

Besides this, the club managed to get most of the consumables sponsored by the manufacturers and suppliers, and some of the recurring expenses were met with the monetary support of the club’s members on a regular basis.

‘Sparsh’ in Sanskrit means ‘touch.’ The mission of the gentle yet

all-important touch provided by Southend Sparsh is to extend dialysis facilities free of cost to needy children from weak economic background. The centre, inaugurated on June 20, 2013, is headed by Dr. Amit Aggarwal. Till December 2013, Southend Sparsh has facilitated dialysis for more than 450 children. Children are brought to this centre from other states such as Haryana and West Bengal too. Three dialyses are performed per day. Efforts are being undertaken to increase this facility to six dialyses per day by doing double shifts.

The dialysis facility especially for little children is indeed a boon for the families. “Love is not patronising and charity isn’t pity, it is about love. Charity

and love are the same — with charity you give love, so don’t just give money but reach out your hand instead,” said Mother Teresa. By setting up the facility, the Rotarians help save several innocent lives, besides giving the treatment free of charge thus enabling the poor parents to bring their ailing child to avail the medical need.

The thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi resonate in this service act of the Rotarians: “The simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.”

Jaishree with Rtn. Kamal Passi RC Delhi Southend RI District 3010

FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 63

ROTARY ACTS

Rotarians at the cattle distribution site.

Rotary Club of Chilakaluripet, RI District 3150 is giving out golden eggs to poor agricultural labourers. These eggs will hatch into money, lending dignity and a bright future for generations to come. One of its kind, this project aims at the development of the downtrodden society.

R

ural, rustic and rueful Indian villages have always been a point of contention. We boast of the agriculture, customs, tradition, etc. While on the other hand, villages suffer from adversities like illiteracy, lack of hygiene, poor health care and information. An urbanite fancies a car, a two BHK apartment and a five or let’s say, six digit salary. Contrary to this, we have the poor farmers who wish they would have enough money just to survive the inflation period. But all thanks to Rotary in India who are trying to put things in place in our Indian villages.

Here’s the true and tragic story of the agricultural labourers from the rural areas of Chilakaluripet in Andhra Pradesh and how Rotary is working towards their overall development.

Landless and dependent entirely on the wages earned from their day-long labour at someone else’s paddy field, these labourers were further saddened by the monsoon failure. Poverty, hunger

stricken and helpless, the labourers who were on the verge of taking up menial and lesser-paid jobs were suddenly handed over the gift of income by RC Chilakaluripet, RI District 3150 along with Rotary Club of Verona and other clubs of RI District 2060, Italy and The Rotary Foundation. RI District 2060 through its District Designated Fund also made a significant contribution to the cause. The project cost of US $50,926 was spent on buying 110 female buffaloes in order to assist the poor labourers to earn a dignified living.

The labourers who mostly are women found it difficult to make both ends meet. The distribution of milch cattle has helped them in many ways to make money at the cost of their hard work. RC Chilakaluripet, RI District 3150 has gifted these women with a capital asset. Also referred to as living tractors, these buffaloes can plough paddy fields and transport sheaves during the harvesting seasons. They can

also be used in the haulage of heavy loads. The dung of the buffalo can be used to produce fertilisers and can also be used as fuel. Milk from the buffalo can be used to make dairy products such as butter, ghee, curd and cream.

By breeding the cattle they could also multiply and reap extra benefits.

Like the famous story of the farmer who found a hen that could lay golden eggs this domesticated animal will now help the distressed labourers from rural areas from Prakasam and Guntur district realise their dreams and think of a bright future. Provision to bring a smile on troubled faces has been a part of the project planning of RC Chilakaluripet, RI District 3150 and Rotary Club of Verona and other clubs of RI District 2060, who have walked the extra mile to not just help these agricultural labourers exist but exist with honour and pride through their own hard work.

Kiran Zehra FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 65

ANKLESHWAR UDHAMPUR SAHARANPUR GREATER RAJPURA GREATER MORADABAD MIDTOWN SHAHJAHANPUR VARANASI CENTRAL PANVEL MIDTOWN SOLAPUR NORTH KAMAREDDY ANANTAPUR CENTRAL PANAJI RIVIERA SHIMOGA RIVERSIDE KOTHAMANGALAM TIRUPUR METROPOLIS KOTTAYAM CENTRAL VALLIYOOR CENTRAL MADRAS SOUTH RANIGANJ KODERMA BHUBANESWAR NEW HORIZON CALCUTTA RIDGE KATHMANDU MIDTOWN CHIDAMBARAM MIDTOWN JAMBUKESHWARAM CHANDRAPUR JODHPUR VAPI RIVERSIDE AMRITSAR EAST MOHALI AGRA WEST AHMEDNAGAR PRIYADARSHINI MUMBAI NORTH ISLAND GUNTAKAL QUILON CASHEW CITY MARTHANDAM MARAIMALAI NAGAR KUMBAKONAM SHAKTHI DINDIGUL VIZAG METRO AKOLA GODHRA FEBRUARY 2014 MIDTOWN NOKHA BARODA JALANDAR SOUTH ROOPNAGAR RAJPURA GREATER MORADABAD CIVIL LINES HALDWANI VARANASI SUNRISE PUNE SPORTS CITY LONAND DOMBIVLI WEST KAMAREDDY DHONE ANKOLA RURAL KUNDAPURA MIDTOWN COCHIN AIRPORT TIRUPUR Su JAMSHEDPUR Mo Tu We Fr COSMOPOLITAN Sa COTTON CITY QUILON LOTUS RAJAPALAYAM CENTRAL VELLORE SOUTH DURGAPUR WESTTh RAIPUR CALCUTTA UPTOWN BUTWAL SALEM COSMOS THURAIYUR PERUMALMALAI VIJAYAWADA VISIONARY COUPLES NAGPUR SOUTH EAST VISNAGAR GANDEVI RAJOURI FATEHABAD GREATER GANGA BIJNOR BAREILLY SOUTH PUNE KOTHRUD SOLAPUR NORTH POWAI 1 GWALIOR WARANGAL RASIPURAM TIRUCHIRAPALLI REWARI MAIN ANAKAPALLE JALGAON INDORE MEGHDOOT AHMEDABAD MIDTOWN VEERANGANA VAPI RIVERSIDE JULLUNDUR DEHRADUN WEST RAJPURA GANGA BIJNOR AGRA HERITAGE VARANASI CENTRAL POONA MIDTOWN MADHA THANE HILLS WARANGAL TADPATRI PANA JI RIVIERA MANGALORE SOUTH BANGALORE SADASHIVANAGAR 8 GREATER 7 6 BURDWAN 5 4 3 CENTRAL 2 KOTHAMANGALAM TIRUPUR GANDHINAGAR QUILON NORTH NAGERCOIL CENTRAL MADRAS AADITHYA GAYA CENTRAL INFOCITY BHUBANESWAR CENTRAL CALCUTTA DHULIKHEL SALEM TEXCITY DINDIGUL VIJAYAWADA CHANDRAPUR CAMBAY LUDHIANA GREATER KARNAL MIDTOWN NABHA BAREILLY CENTRAL BAGALKOT BUTWAL KOMARAPALAYAM PERAMBALUR 15 METRO 13 14BAREILLY 10 11 12 KHURJA VUYYURU CHANDRAPUR BIKANER BHAVNAGAR UDHAMPUR BHAKRA NANGAL 9SRI GANGANAGAR BAHRAICH PUNE TILAK ROAD WAI BOMBAY JUHU BEACH SATTENAPALLI RAICHUR KARW AR BELUR CHANNAPATTANA COCHIN VYPIN ISLANDS TIRUPUR WEST QUILON LOTUS TINNEVELLY VANDAVASI GREATER TEZPUR RANCHI SAMBALPUR WEST CALCUTTA 22 LUDHIANA 21EAST 18 19 20SURAT 17 MARUDHARA MID SOUTH BUTWAL HOSUR PERIYAKULAM RAJAHMUNDRY RIVER CITY AKOLA 16 BIKANER CITY ROORKEE RAJPURA PUNE SHIVAJINAGAR MUMBAI GHATKOPAR WARANGAL GUNTAKAL SANGLI KOMARAPALAYAM KARUR ANGELS SONEPAT UPTOWN ICHAPURAM JALGAON GOLD CITY INDORE MEGHDOOT PALANPUR CITY JAIPUR GWALIOR VEERANGANA 28 JALNA CENTRAL 27EAST 25 26PUNE 23 24BAHRAICH SHINDKHEDA UDHAMPUR ROOPNAGAR RAJPURA MORADABAD CIVIL LINES HALDWANI BOMBAY MID CITY WARANGAL TADIPATRI HONAVAR SHIRVA PUNGANUR CENTRAL COCHIN VYPIN ISLAND SAKTHINAGAR ALLEPPEY EAST GOLDEN RAMNAD GUWAHATI DAMODAR VALLEY KORBA BHUBANESWAR FRIENDS SALT LAKE METROPOLITAN BUTWAL PONDICHERRY BEACH TOWN PUDUKKOTTAI PALACE CITY BHUSAWAL LUDHIANA NORTH FARIDABAD CENTRAL MATHURA CENTRAL SANGOLA ULHASNAGAR MIDTOWN SALT LAKE CITY AARCH CITY MADRAS MANNARGUDI MADURAI NORTHWEST FARIDABAD MIDTOWN

ick P OF THE MONTH

RC MANDYA RI District 3190 A unique flower show was organised by the club in order to enhance the public image of Rotary. Polio slogans written in Kannada were also displayed.

RC PERAMBAVOOR RI District 3201 Students from MGM Higher Secondary School participated in the club’s signature project, ‘Say No to Tobacco’ to pledge against the use of tobacco.

The oath ceremony witnessed over 1,400 student participants.

RC KETTI VALLEY RI District 3202 The club in association with Nankem Hospital, Coonoor conducted a breast and cervical cancer camp at Adigaratty village. Further testing was recommended to eight women out of the 64 who were screened.

66 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2014

NTRAL GALAM R NEW VAPI SHEW NOKHA PUNE UPUR OLITAN EAST POWAI ALIOR NTRAL AGAR EATER RAPUR BALUR METRO OCHIN CUTTA HIANA ARUR NGANA NTRAL EPPEY UTWAL NTRAL TOWN

RC KOLLAM RESIDENCY RI District 3211 Food, new clothes, mattresses and toys worth over Rs.2,00,000 was handed over to Gandhi Bhavan, a home that houses orphan children. The children were delighted to receive these gifts of love and care.

RC TIRUNELVELI CENTRAL RI District 3212 In an endeavour to encourage sports, the club sponsored Rs.1,00,000 to poor boys who are biathletes to participate in the International Biathlon Competition that was held in Cyprus.

RC MADRAS CENTRAL RI District 3230 The club under its ongoing project buried nine unclaimed dead bodies at Kailasapuram crematorium. This project is aimed at providing a dignified end to orphaned bodies.

RC RANIGANJ RI District 3240 Over 150 infants received immunisation at the club’s Weekly Immunisation Centre at Raniganj run in association with Rotaract Club of Raniganj.

FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 67

RC JAMSHEDPUR EAST RI District 3250 Children with special needs were in for some action at a sports event organised by the club. This event boosted the morale of the children as well as entertained them.

RC JABALIPURAM RI District 3261 The club donated classroom furniture to the Government Girls Primary and Middle School. The desks and benches would provide a better environment to study for the children.

RC KEONJHARGARH RI District 3262 Cataract operations were done for 560 tribal people following the eye camp organised by the club. The 8-day programme was organised in association with JPM Rotary Eye Hospital, Cuttack and District Headquarter Hospital, Keonjhargarh.

RC BELUR RI District 3291 The club in association with La Martiniere School for Boys and Sushila Birla Girl’s School flagged off the ‘No Horn’ campaign, a unique way to prevent drivers from honking unnecessarily.

68 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2014

RC MADHYAPUR RI District 3292 The club along with Nepal–Australia Friendship Association jointly distributed woollen sweaters and caps to poor and underprivileged students of Gyan Bikas Primary School. This would help the children to fight the cold.

RC SALEM SOUTH RI District 2980 The club along with RI District 1760, France and TRF set up toilet blocks at the Municipal Government Higher Secondary School. This would help the girls to attend school without worrying about how to attend nature’s call.

RC TIRUCHIRAPALLI NORTH RI District 3000 Under the club’s Routine Immunisation Programme, nearly 100 orphan children were given Hp B and TT vaccinations at Cornerstone Home, DKSHA, Mullipadi.

RC RAZOLE RI District 3020 School bags and nutritious food were given to children whose parents are suffering from AIDS and cannot support their children in any way. The attention would also cheer these children.

FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 69

RC BHOPAL MIDTOWN RI District 3040 The club organised a sports meet for special children from all over Madhya Pradesh. This sports event encouraged and entertained the children.

RC GWALIOR YUGAL RI District 3053 A health camp to diagnose malnutrition in children was conducted at Shant Baba Ashram. The children of the home were prescribed further treatment as well.

RC JETPUR RI District 3060 Water cooler was donated to Jagruti Nagar School in order to provide the school children with clean and hygienic drinking water.

RC LUDHIANA GREATER RI District 3070 Financial assistance to perform heart surgeries in small children was provided to poor parents.

This would help them to restore the health of their children.

70 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2014

RC KARNAL MIDTOWN RI District 3080 The club in association with Vivekanand Senior Secondary School flagged off an AIDS awareness rally to create and spread knowledge about the disease.

RC NABHA RI District 3090 Under its aim to curb female foeticide and spread awareness amongst young school girls the club organised slogan writing and painting competition and felicitated the winners.

RC HASANPUR AASTHA RI District 3100 In order to assist poor students in their studies the club distributed note books and stationery items to 135 students from different schools in the region.

RC BAANS BAREILLY RI District 3110 Woollen clothings were distributed amongst the inmates of Kashinath Dham Bridh Ashram. This would help the old men and women in the ashram to stay warm during the winter.

FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 71

CULTURE Soaring tower of Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at the foothills of Mangalagiri.

72 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2014

Welcome to Panakala Narasimha temple, Mangalagiri and rejoice the joy of seeing the Lord partake your offering of ‘panakala’ through his wide mouth, and also leaving a share of the delicacy for you too!

I

t is customary Hindu tradition at all temples and even while performing prayers at home to worship the Almighty with several offerings ranging from fruits, milk and sweets. Ever heard of God partaking of the offerings lovingly given to him by his bhaktas? This miracle happens at the Narasimha swamy temple at Mangalagiri in Andhra Pradesh.

In the southern part of our mystic country much loved by worldrenowned poets, writers and travel enthusiaists, is a small town called Mangalagiri meaning ‘auspicious hill.’ This little hill town, located 13 km south-east of Vijayawada and 21 km north-east of Guntur is the abode of Panakala Narasimha swamy, considered to be one of the eight significant Vaishnavite sacred places in India.

Lord Vishnu manifested himself in these eight places namely Srirangam, Srimushnam, Naimisam, Pushkaram, Salagamadri, Narayanasramam, Venkatadri and Thothadri. Thothadri is the present Mangalagiri. It is also believed that Goddess Lakshmi meditated on this hill and hence it derived the name ‘Mangalagiri.’ Three important shrines dedicated to Lord Narasimha are present at Andhra Pradesh — Ahobilam, Simhachalam and Mangalagiri.

Legends Lord Vishnu, in his fourth avatar, descended on the earth taking the form of half-man, half-lion in his avatar, ‘Narasimha,’ to protect his devotee, Prahlad from his demon-father,

Hiranyakashibu. Even after killing the demon, Narasimha was ferociously angry. The gods try to appease his anger but in vain. His consort, Goddess Lakshmi was also too scared to go near him. The gods then ask Prahlad to pacify the angry Narasimha. On seeing his devotee, the Lord’s anger melts away. Goddess Lakshmi then approaches him and gives him nectar to quench his thirst. She then sits on his lap, and Lakshmi Narasimha thus takes a form. The Skanda Purana and the Brahma-vaivrata Purana tell that Mangalagiri is the place where Lord Narasimha’s anger was appeased.

Three temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu are present in this hill town viz., Panakala Narasimha Swamy temple is a cave temple on the hill, Gandala Narasimha Swamy temple on top of the hill and Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at the foot of the hill.

The shape of the hill is like an elephant and the temple for Panakala Narasimha forms the mouth of the elephant. An interesting legend is popular in this region as to this peculiar shape of the hill. Prince Hrasva Srungi was born with several deformities to King Pariyatra. On visiting several holy places to get rid of his deformities, the prince was advised to meditate upon Lord Narasimha at Mangalagiri hills.

Several years later, the king came to persuade the prince to get back to his kingdom. But the staunchly devout prince took the form of an elephant so as to remain at Mangalagiri and dedicate himself to a life of prayer.

Another interesting tale about the existence of the Panakala Narasimha Swamy temple is also popular among the people of the region: Namuchi, a demon, after rigorous penance was blessed with a boon from Brahma that he would not be killed by any weapon, wet or dry. Strengthened by this immortality, he went about harassing the devas and mankind. The gods then approached Lord Vishnu to save them. Vishnu threw his Sudharshana Chakra (discus) in fury.

The disc fell into the Milky Ocean, came out and fell on the foam of the ocean. Thus the discus was neither wet nor dry. Sensing trouble, Namuchi ran for cover and hid himself in a cave shrinking his body to protect himself from the weapon.

However the Sudarshan Chakra grew in size and blocked air-flow into the cave, causing suffocation and thus putting an end to the life of the demon. Through this episode, Lord Vishnu is referred to as Sudarshana Narasimha. Unable to withstand the fiery anger of the Lord, the devas prayed for appeasement. They offered him nectar to cool him. This was in Krita Yuga. In Dwapara Yuga, he was offered milk; he was appeased with ghee in Treta Yuga; and now in Kali Yuga, he drinks Paanagam, a concoction made of lime juice, jaggery and water and sprinkled with cardamom and camphor to enrich it with a pleasant flavour. This is how he earned the name ‘Panakala Narasimha’ or ‘Panaga Narasimha.’

FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 73

Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple As you enter the hills of Mangalagiri, you will be spell-bound at the sight of a lofty, magnificent gopuram — you just look up and you will find the tower almost touching the skies. This is the entrance to the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at the foothills of Mangalagiri. Thoorpu Gali Gopuram, as it is called is on the eastern side and it is an eleven storied structure.

With a height of 153 feet and width of 49 feet, it is broad at the base and narrows towards its peak. The first three storeys were constructed during the Vijayanagara reign, and the other eight were commissioned by Raja Vasi Reddy Venkatadri Naidu, a prominent king who ruled this place from Amaravati about 200 years ago.

It is recorded that it took two years (from 1807 to 1809) to complete the extended portion of the tower. It is said that the tower was leaning on one side after its completion. An architect from Kanchipuram (in Tamil Nadu) suggested digging a tank opposite the tower, after which the structure became straight. This stupendous tower dwarfs the central shrine. It is considered to be one of the tallest towers in South India.

The temple is further surrounded by the Utthara Gali Gopuram on the north which is open on Vaikunta Ekadasi day and Dhakshina Gali Gopuram on the south side. When the Padmavati Gali Gopuram was being constructed on the west side, some stones fell down accidentally, killing a few workers.

Subsequently work was stopped and to this day this tower is left unfinished.

The temple traces its origin to the period of the Pandavas when the eldest of the Pandava princes, Yudhishtra is believed to have visited this shrine and prayed to Lord Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy here. This region seems to have significant connection with the Pandavas. Arjuna is believed to have performed a penance at Indrakeeladri, a hillock close to Mangalagiri, to obtain the Pasupata weapon of Lord 74 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2014

Shiva. Mangalagiri is also referred to as Bhimadri since Bheema, the Pandava prince is believed to have stayed in this hill and meditated here.

It is also believed that Lord Rama after completing his incarnation, advised Hanuman to stay at Mangalagiri and thus the latter took his abode at Mangalagiri, serving as the Kshetrapalaka (guardian) here.

The central image of a calm Lord Narasimha with his consort, the resplendent Goddess Mahalakshmi

seated beside him at his left forms the sanctum sanctorum of this temple. The garland of the Lord which consists of 108 saligramam is of special significance here. Dakshanavrutha Sankham, a special conch used by Lord Krishna is still used in this temple during the daily rituals. It is said to have been gifted to the temple by Maharaja Sarafoji, the eminent ruler of Tanjore (present day Thanjavur).

Besides the main shrine, the niches for Goddess Rajyalakshmi,

A bird’s eye view of the temple amidst the town landscape.

generous gifts to the temple in the sixteenth century.

The temple tank is called ‘Lakshmi Pushkarni.’ Puranas relate that this pushkarni was created by the gods by combining the waters of several holy rivers of the land. Mahalakshmi, who emerged from the Milky Ocean when it was churned by the gods and the demons is said to have bathed in this pushkarni before she married Lord Vishnu.

Lord Rama and Sita with Lakshmana and Hanuman are also equally divine. At the west is the Vahanasala (a hall that has the temple’s rathas such as the golden Garudavahana, the silver Hanumanthavahana and the Ponnavahana). The ancient temple car with ornamental wood carvings depicting scenes from Ramayana and Bhagavatha is also present here. The stone inscriptions of the Vijayanagara kings relate that Thimmaraju Devaraju, a military

chieftain of the Vijayanagara rulers had contributed remarkable improvements at the temple precincts and also had granted lands to the temple. He seems to have constructed the prakaras, a festival chariot, ten mandapas (courts) for various annual ceremonies and tanks. The processional deities (utsava vigrahas) are also his gifts to the temple. Records also show that Chinna Thirumalayya, son of Annamacharya, the 15 th century saint and musician, has showered

Panakala Narasimha Swamy temple Further up the hill is the unusual Panakala Narasimha Swamy temple which can be reached by climbing a flight of about 600 steps or through a well-laid road that has come into existence in 2004 before which it was just a rough path. The steps were constructed in 1890 by one Channapragada Balaramadasu. Mahaprabhu Chaitanya is also believed to have visited this temple and his footprints are preserved half way up the stairs that lead up to the temple. Inscriptions also indicate the visit of Vijayanagar monarch, Krishnadeva Raya to this temple.

The Lord here is swayambhu or self-manifested Narasimha inside a cave. A tall Dwajasthambha (erected in the year 1955) in front of the cave greets the devotees. Unlike in other temples, you cannot find the archa vigraham (main idol) of Lord Narasimha; but instead there is a wide open mouth. This is covered with the face of the God to give the devotees a clear picture of him.

The priest there holds aloft a lamp and one can see the disc and conch etched on the rock inside the mouth. There is no other shrine except that of Lord Narasimha here.

The most amazing miracle awaits the devotee visiting this temple. The archaka (priest) takes a pot of the sweet solution, panagam and pours it into a FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 75

Rathotsav celebrations at the temple.

conch. He then feeds the solution into the wide-open mouth of the benevolent deity and lo, behold! The Lord drinks the offering with much gusto. You can even hear the gurgling sound that one makes while drinking. The important feature here is that Lord Narasimha accepts only half the quantity of the panagam offered to him, the other half is served to the devotee as Prasad. This phenomenon is not just limited to once in a day, but it is a recurring feature during the course of the day, whenever a devotee offers him the sweet solution.

While the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at the base of Mangalagiri is open between 5 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and again from 4 p.m. to 8.30 p.m., the temple timing here is from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

It is not open in the evening, because there is a religious belief that the gods descend on this temple and perform the worship during the evening.

During the earlier days, people used to carry water and other ingredients up the hill, and prepare the panagam for Lord Narasimha. But today, the open courtyard in the temple complex is lined with shops selling panagam in stainless steel pots of various sizes to offer to the deity. It is interesting to note that despite the liberal use of sweet, one cannot spot even a single ant or a fly here. A scientific reason is also cited here about the offering of the panagam. It is said that the hill was a volcano. Jaggery water is said to neutralise the sulphur compounds found in a volcano and thus prevents volcanic eruptions.

Behind this temple, there is a shrine for Goddess Lakshmi which can be accessed from a few more steps up on the hill. There is a tunnel at the west of this shrine and it is believed that sages used to access the banks of River Krishna through this tunnel for their ritual bath in the river. Now it is not open to public for safety reasons.

Gandala Narasimha Swamy temple Further up from the Panakala Narasimha Swamy shrine there is a 76 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2014

small temple of Lord Narasimha, called Gandala Narasimha Swamy. There is no particular deity in this shrine except a provision to light a lamp. It is a customary practice and belief that one would be protected from all dangers of life and get relief from their troubles, if they come up to this temple and light a lamp here. Since most devotees find this path too arduous to climb, they light a lamp and place it in front of the dwajasthamba at the Panakala Narasimha Swamy temple.

Festivals The hills of Mangalagiri reverberate with joy and divinity during the various festive seasons. The Brahmotsav of Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple is an important annual festival. It is said to have been initiated by Yudhishtra at the behest of Lord Krishna. The story goes that Pradyumna, son of Lord Krishna, requested his father to celebrate his birthday annually for seven days from Phalguna Suddha Sapthami. Lord Krishna then entrusted this to Yudhishtra when he ascended the throne to Hastinapur.

Presently, the festival is celebrated for 11 days commencing from Phalguna Suddha Sashti in February– March and the Lord and his consorts are taken on different vahanams daily through the thoroughfares of the town.

Special rituals are performed in the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at the base of the hills and also at the Panakala Narasimha Swamy temple atop. A day before the Full Moon day during this month, on Chaturdashi, the people gather here to celebrate the marriage of Lord Narasimha Swamy with Sridevi and Bhudevi.

Before this wedding ceremony, the Chenchus celebrate the occasion of the celestial wedding of Narasimha Swamy with their daughter, Chenchu Lakshmi. Chenchu people are the primitive tribal community of Andhra Pradesh and they confine themselves to the foothills of the region. Chenchu Lakshmi

Presiding deity at Panakala Narasimha Swamy shrine.

is the incarnation of Goddess Mahalakshmi, born to the Chenchu tribal head. According to mythology, she is supposed to have wooed Lord Vishnu incarnated as Narasimha and married him. The processional idol of Lord Narasimha is brought on a Sesh Vahana to participate in the wedding rituals. Lakhs of devotees congregate at Mangalagiri to celebrate the festivities. On the final day of the Brahmotsav, the Lord and his consorts are taken on a procession on a richly decorated chariot, through the streets of the hill town.

Other festivals which are also observed with great fanfare include Narasimha Jayanthi, Vaikunta Ekadasi, Sri Rama Navami and Hanumath Jayanthi. The Lord is

taken out on a procession during the Mahashivaratri too.

Mangalagiri is also famous throughout the country for its unique cotton saris. It is an ancient town which is in existence even from the olden yugas. It was referred to as Anjanadri in Krita Yuga, the first of the four yugas; Thotadri in Treta Yuga; Mangaladri or Muktyadri in Dwapara Yuga and Mangalagiri in this Kali Yuga. Whatever be its name, the hill town is considered very holy and divine because in all these four yugas, mankind were promised salvation from their sins, when they visit Mangalagiri and pray to Lord Narasimha wholeheartedly and with devotion and faith.

Jaishree FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 77

HEALTH WATCH

F

or a natural and tasty way to improve your health and boost your body’s healing capacity, add fresh pineapple to your diet. This delightful tropical fruit is high in the enzyme bromelain and the antioxidant Vitamin C, both of which play a major role in the body’s healing process.

Bromelain is a natural anti-inflammatory that encourages healing, promotes well-being and has many other health benefits like treating bruises, sprains and strains by reducing swelling, tenderness and pain. Bromelain, has been discovered to be effective in reducing the risk of blood clots in the body, thus reducing to a great extent the risk of heart attack or stroke.

Additionally, it can also relieve indigestion. Research reveals that pineapple also contains ferulic acid, that helps in preventing the formation of substances that can cause cancer. The enzyme contained in fresh pineapple helps break down the amino acid bonds in proteins, which promotes good digestion.

Meanwhile Vitamin C as we all know, protects the body from free radical damage and boosts the immune system. It also helps in metabolising fats and cholesterol, absorbing iron, and increasing the body’s ability to fight invading bacteria that contribute to gum disease.

The Perfect Pineapple Always choose the fresh fruit over canned or dried pineapple because it has the most healing properties. Most of the bromelain in canned pineapple is destroyed due to the heat used in the canning process.

When choosing a fresh pineapple, do not judge ripeness solely based upon colour. There are several varieties in the market that range from green to golden yellow. The most important factor in determining ripeness is smell. Ripe pineapples give off a sweet, fresh tropical smell. Once home, keep the pineapple at room temperature until ready to use. This will preserve its sweet and tangy flavour.

Pineapples can be added to salads and entrées for an exotic flavour, or made into tasty tropical drinks and smoothies.

78 ROTARY NEWS FEBRUARY 2014

Here are some unusual facts about Pineapples: A pineapple is actually a berry, native to Brazil and Paraguay.

Initially called ‘anana,’ a Caribbean word for ‘excellent fruit,’ the name ‘pineapple’ came from European explorers who thought the fruit looked like a pinecone with flesh like an apple.

Hawaii is one of the top pineapple producers in the world, producing one third of the

world’s pineapple crop and 60 percent of the world’s canned pineapple.

Most fruits develop in 3 to 4 months, but it takes about 18 months to 2 years for a pineapple to grow to its full size, after which it weighs 9 kgs.

If you want to speed up the ripening of a pineapple, you can do it by standing it upside down (on its leafy end).

When you cut a pineapple at home, you normally chuck the skin, core and ends in the bin. However, these bits are used to make vinegar and animal feed.

Pineapple juice mixed with sand is often used in tropical countries to clean boat decks and knife blades.

Source: The Indian Vegetarian Congress Quarterly

Princely Visit

I

was in Delhi in November first week to attend the planning meeting of ‘South Asia Literacy Summit,’and I got a call from an unknown number. I called back and was told it was UK Consulate. I was wondering why would I get a call from UK Consulate. Upon enquiring I was told that Prince Charles will be visiting Pune and he along with his delegation would like to spend some time with me.

I started asking more questions and I learnt that His Royal Highness was visiting Serum Institute in Pune for an hour. Founder of Serum Institute Padmashri Cyrus Poonawalla, an Arch Klumph Society member and a large donor to TRF had discussed the various aspects of Rotary with him and one of the topics was polio. We were given five days to put up a stall on Rotary and our ‘End Polio Now’ campaign. Three of us were permitted to be the part of VVIP visit showcase. The D-Day arrived. After completing all security formalities, we moved to the exhibition area. Besides Rotary, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and UNICEF representatives were also there with their display.

Prince Charles arrived at the Serum Institute. When he came to our stall, he greeted us with warmth. I briefed him on Rotary’s efforts to end polio. We then requested him to wear ‘End Polio Now’ scarf and took photographs with him.

Later we met again at a Reception at Turf Club. When he saw me, Prince Charles recalled and said, “Rotary man Polio.”

I was pleasantly surprised with his recall. I am told that on his return to UK, he had told some Rotarians in Wales that he is aware of Rotary’s great work in polio eradication.

It was like a dream come true for me. All this was possible because I was a Rotarian and was at the right time at the right place with the right person. It is truly an unforgettable Rotary Moment for me.

DG Dr. Deepak Shikarpur, RI District 3131 FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 79

Subscribe 2013–2014

NOW!

For the year

Annual Subscription India - Rs.480 No. of copies Rotary News (English) Rotary Samachar (Hindi)

For new members pro-rata subscription at the rate of Rs.40 per month, per member may be sent.

Please attach the TYPED list of individual members with their complete address and PIN Code.

Intimate language preference (English / Hindi) against each member’s name. Please do not send the Semi-annual Report for address list.

Rotary Club of .......................................................................................................... RI District ................................

Name of the President/Secretary ...............................................................................................................................

Address ...................................................................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................................................................................

City ............................................. State ................................................................ PIN

Mobile ........................................ Fax ................................................... E-mail .........................................................

DD No. ................................................ Dated ................................................. for Rs. ...............................................

Drawn on ..................................................................................................................................................................... in favour of “ROTARY NEWS TRUST” payable at CHENNAI is enclosed.

Outstation cheques will not be accepted Date:

80

President/Secretary

Mail this form to: Rotary News Trust, Dugar Towers, 3rd Floor, 34, Marshalls Road, Egmore, Chennai 600 008.

ROTARY NEWS JULY 2007 Tamil Nadu, India. Ph: 044 4214 5666, Fax: 044 2852 8818, e-mail: rotarynews@rosaonline.org

RECOMMENDED READING

Key to Life Swasth Rahein Safal Baney (Hindi) PDG Dr. Yashwant Sinha Kothari RC Udaipur, RI District 3052 Trade Centre 27 – 28 Bus Station Road Outside Surajpol Udaipur - 313001 Email Id: yashwantskothari@gmail.com Phone: 9352507222 Price: Rs.200

T

ired of seeing a doctor for all the ailments you’re suffering from?

Haven’t lost weight even after working out at the gym? Eating disorder? Restless nights? Late to office every day?

Not able to give your family proper time? No doctor, no therapy and not even a super hero is going to come to your rescue until you swallow down a miracle pill! Be it a headache, a broken leg or heart, Dr. Yashwant Sinha Kothari has one pill for all your complications. Ladies and gentlemen, presenting to you the solution to all your problems, the miracle pill — Swasth Rahein Safal Baney. The author has outlined all possibilities to make you healthy and happy. Written in a rhythmic sonnet style this book is sure to remind you of Kabir Das’s poetry.

PDG Dr. Yashwant Singh Kothari has been involved in hosting and participating in national and international campaigns against addiction and has been a supporter of healthy lifestyle.

He has written over 250 books and over a dozen of books an public interests.

Few of the books that he has written are Paga Dandiya Seva Ki, Apna Baag Baagicha and Rotary Parichay Mala.

In this book he describes the human body as an amazing creation. Each and every mechanism of our body is an extraordinary process without any ‘on’ or ‘off’ button. Within a healthy body resides a healthy mind that acts like a magnet to attract well-being and prosperity.

Elaborating on laughter, the author explains how human beings among all creatures have the unique quality of expressing joy and excitement by way of laughing. Laughter personifies amusement and delight.

Likewise silence epitomises the strength of the mind. Silence has been a victim of underestimation.

But within the mind silence states strength and courage that stands unmatched to any other power in the world. The author further describes how soul destruction takes place when the human mind houses tension. But the remedies for stress management and thought control follow suit. The interpretation of addiction as an instalment towards death is also a very interesting chapter in the book.

While the whole world is battling it out with obesity and fat control, the author has stated remedies to combat this universal malady. Sleepless nights would just vanish if you follow the prescribed steps to sleeping jotted down in this book that holds the secret to good health and good life by way of eating healthy, making your kitchen a storehouse of healthy food and fighting disease by making healthy food a weapon. The book briefs the reader on a few yogasanas and simple manoeuvre that have the power to dust the shackles of laziness and re-energise your spirit. Herbal treatment and the use of vegetables and fruits to fight it out with different

diseases are also enlisted on the pages of this life saver.

Success is a fruit of hard work and only the deserving get to taste the sweetness of this fruit. Dr. Yashwant Singh Kothari has aligned the formulas to earn the sweet fruit in a very comprehendible manner. The formulas include dosage of prayer, love, care, friendship, learning, dreaming, determination, self-confidence, responsibility, good behaviour and human skills to attract wealth and accomplishment.

But the most important, boundless, tried and true formula to success is family and this book classifies all ways and means to keep your family happy while on your sojourn to success topped with planning and time management.

As we all know success is not limited to career or goals. It is part of our day-to-day life. As time slips by, we never realise when old age embraces our body. Even at this stage the book has something special in store for those seeking a dignified second childhood.

Realisation of self, faith and belief are elaborated in a meaningful fashion.

Good health, good life and all that’s good surmounts to the interesting read Swasth Rahein Safal Baney. This book has a prescription on every single page to set your life on the right track, not by swallowing bitter pills but by simply understanding the fundamentals of our body and mind.

Kiran Zehra FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 81

Make sure Rotary News Moves with you!

Changing your address? Please write to us before you move, two months in advance. Mention your Club name, RI District Number and Rotary News Account Number from your magazine address label or simply attach the label itself.

Your Rotary News Account Number Name Rtn. __________________________________________________________________________________ Rotary Club of __________________________________________________ RI District ____________________ New Address (Please write your NEW Address below, in CAPITAL letters) ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ City / Town _____________________________________________________ PIN Code ___________________ Mail this coupon to: ROTARY NEWS TRUST, 3rd Floor, Dugar Towers, 34, Marshalls Road, Egmore, Chennai-600 008.

3PREAD THE WORD 3PREAD THE WORD 3PREAD THE WORD

3PREAD THE WORD Invite someone to become a

)NVITE SOMEONE TO BECOME A

Rotarian

2OTARIAN

TODAY

today.

)NVITE SOMEONE TO BECOME A

2OTARIAN

TODAY

)NVITE SOMEONE TO BECOME A

2OTARIAN

TODAY

)NVITE SOMEONE TO BECOME A

2OTARIAN

TODAY

Adv_ Ear Aids_Moving.indd 82

1/27/2014 11:22:07 AM

Rtn. Himal Pandya (extreme left) of RC Bhavnagar Royal, RI District 3060, who is also a renowned Gujarati poet, released an album of his compositions recently to raise funds for polio eradication.

About 4,000 audio CDs of the album were sold by the club and the sale proceeds amounting to about Rs.4,50,000 was contributed to the Polio Fund.

Rotarians of RC Malpura Green, RI District 3052, handed over a DD for Rs.1,01,111 towards Uttarakhand Flood Relief Trust.

PDG Badri Prasad was honoured and presented Rotary Excellence Award by the President of RC Nagamangala, RI District 3190, for achieving several milestones in contributing to The Rotary Foundation.

FEBRUARY 2014 ROTARY NEWS 83

PHOTO FINISH

Oh My God!

Wrapper_Back_Back_Inside-Feb14.indd 3

1/27/2014 3:37:02 PM