Day: August 1, 2024
A garden for the body, soul and planet
If someone has summed up the meaning of what it feels to keep a garden, it is Victorian poet Alfred Austin. He said, “The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.” And to his poetic words, allow me to add, a ‘green’ soul that has taken saving nature to heart.
Pedal Power
On a Sunday morning, three students — Vedant and Mayank Desale, and Chinmay Ratnakar — from the Zilla Parishad School in Sogay village near Mumbai, made their way through the empty
Mapping Goa’s biodiversity
Once a pristine oasis of greenery, scenic waterfalls and exquisite, bluish coral beaches, “Goa is being swamped by unbridled tourism which is badly affecting our ecosystem, and so we thought of a
Ironing out Carbon
Narasimha first heard the term “carbon footprint” while watching a street play performed by students from the Interact Club of Samskar School. The play, part of an initiative by RC Hyderabad
Project vignettes – August 2024
RC Madurai Sangamam, RID 3000, inaugurated a girls’ toilet block worth Rs.5.5 lakh at the Government HS School, Avaniyapuram. The project, funded by both a global grant and a CSR grant
A Rotary nursing institute in Goa
RC Panaji, RID 3170, in collaboration with Montfort Academy and Veejay Facility, Panjim, has established the Institute of Nursing at the Montfort Academy in Corlim, Goa.
Let’s continue to create magic
As we step into a new Rotary year, a world of possibilities unfolds before us. July marks the beginning of this exciting journey, filled with
West Bengal villages get sanitation facilities
Over 500 households in villages across West Bengal are now complete with toilets, thanks to a global grant project of RC Calcutta Chowrenghee, RID 3291, along with international partner RC New York Metro City, USA, and TRF. “Open defecation was rampant in the villages, and women and girls particularly were at danger, as this made them vulnerable to health risks and gender-based violence, and affected their dignity and self-respect,” says Vikram Tantia, Foundation Committee chair of the host club. Hence the club decided to install toilets in individual houses in these villages.
From challenge to opportunity
If we are to truly change the world with The Magic of Rotary, it’s up to all of us to foster a sense of belonging
Wellness in a Box
A silent crisis affecting young people — a rise in anxiety, depression, and even suicide. It is a national reality and as a mental health professional for 35 years, I’ve been seeing the warning signs. There was a 20 per cent increase in anxiety and depression during the Covid pandemic. Deaths by suicide were also going up, especially among high school students. Due to the stigma surrounding mental health, awareness about it was low. Young people suffered in silence and took recourse to the last option. In India, where over 50 per cent of the population is below 25 years of age and one-third is under the age of 18, this is a critical issue.
RID 3250 on a giving high
This is their maiden contribution to TRF for 1,150 Rotarians across 56 Rotary clubs in our district,” says Sushil Poddar, past president of RC Patna Samrat, RID 3250, as he relates how the feat was achieved.
Donkey Libraries in Ethiopia
In the villages surrounding Hawassa City, Ethiopia, an unconventional yet heartwarming sight catches the eye: a small caravan of donkeys laden not with burdens of trade, but with books. This is
The language of grief… and hope
Most of the times WhatsApp is a huge pain in the neck, and even more so, when people think it is okay to spam your
Pink autos to empower women
The staid-looking Chennai Convention Centre sported a vibrant look with 100 pink autorickshaws parked on its grounds, with 100 women, all dressed in khaki overcoats, with pink collars on which the Rotary Wheel was embroidered, all excited and ready to drive the vehicles home. Project Pink Auto is an endeavour of RID 3233 (bifurcated from RID 3232) to mark the installation of its charter governor Mahaveer Bothra. PRIP Kalyan Banerjee adorned the collar on the new governor and handed over the vehicles to the assembled women. The project which was launched in 2020 by RID 3232 aimed to empower less privileged women by giving them financial freedom.
Embrace change to be relevant
Rotarians must be flexible to change with the evolving times to stay relevant and sustain growth, said TRF trustee Bharat Pandya at the installation of N S Saravanan as the DG of the new district 3234 in Chennai.
An awards night in memory of PDG Rekha Shetty
The first death anniversary of its club member and past district governor (RID 3232) Rekha Shetty was commemorated by the Rotary Club of Madras Temple City through a fitting Awards Night. At this dignified and well-conducted event, the PDG Rekha Shetty Memorial Award was presented to two young women achievers — Umamaheswari K and Saraniya Periaswamy of Agnikul Cosmos, who were instrumental in helping the first private sector company in India to successfully launch a rocket.
Sustainable livelihood project for mentally disturbed women
When Madhura Zaware, president of the Rotary Club of Ahmednagar Mid Town, RID 3132, read a book titled America, written by the Marathi writer Anil Avchat, about a unique project done in the US to facilitate the rehabilitation of Vietnam Veterans, it left a deep impression on her mind. It described how the war veterans were kept in close proximity to horses for mental stability. The honest, genuine and unpretentious love of animals gave them mental healing.
Members are the magic
I love our many Rotary traditions, especially our emblem: the wheel. Whenever I put on my Rotary pin, admire a new club’s logo, or spot
Canada’s country capital
Shouts of “Yaahooo!” echoed across the House of Friendship in Singapore as members snapped pictures in cowboy hats at the Calgary convention booth and lined up to register for their trip to Canada’s West.
Can writers be apolitical?
It’s been a season of elections all round — with interesting results — in India, the UK, France, and Iran, for instance, and the season is upcoming in the US. It was serendipitous that I had occasion
The delights of Indore street food
When you think of food streets, you think of busy and crowded lanes, with calls from servers beckoning you to their stalls, steam wafting off pans and aromas that draw you in. You think them as