Month: August 2024
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
Meet your Governors
From an Ann to district leader Deepa Khanna began her Rotary journey as a Rotary Ann, helping with the polio National Immunisation Days (NIDs) in
‘Child farmers’ of Gandhinagar
For the batch of 30 schoolchildren who participate in a session of fun-filled farming initiative of RC Gandhinagar, RID 3055, titled Kids’ Farm School, it
Fascinating coincidences
Coincidences have always fascinated me. These are events or occurrences, the probability of which happening is close to zero. In mathematics, the fifth letter in the Greek alphabet, e, denotes this. It means infinitesimal. These have happened to me twice in the last 30 years, one of which happened last month on a flight. But let me start with the oldest one, which was in 1993.
Stay fit and flexible
Preservation begins with proper preparation. The principle is to live young as long as possible. Internally, there can be a 20-year difference between our chronological age and our chromosomes. For example, a 40-year-old could be 60 or 20 within himself or herself. Inherited genes and a gainful lifescape make the vital all-important difference.
Saying dhanyavad with saplings of gratitude
When the man in Indian Rotary who is always known for his hatke thinking, district governor nominee (RID 3192) Ravishankar Dakoju, who shook the Rotary world a few years ago by pledging to