Day: December 2, 2024
Health camps to handmade crafts
For Kumudh, a 50-year-old woman from Zari, a tribal hamlet 60km from Nashik, threading a needle was once an impossible task. “My
Where no TikToker has gone before
Samantha Cristoforetti’s journey to space began during her childhood in a tiny village in the Italian Alps, her taste for adventure whetted by
Nagpur Rotarians work for welfare of specially abled
During his recent visit to India, incoming RI President Mario de Camargo inaugurated a vocational centre at a residential facility put up for special children and adults in Nagpur by RC Nagpur North, RID 3030. The cost of the vocational centre was over Rs.4 lakh.
Turning the Wheel of hope & service
Dear Friends in Rotary, As December casts its nostalgic glow, it brings with it a time of reflection and renewal — a season to cherish
Tackling Delhi’s pollution
As I write this month’s edit and read the latest alarming update (Nov 18) about Delhi’s average air quality index (AQI) at an unbelievable 492,
A season of lasting giving
December is a time for generosity and reflection when we think not only about our loved ones but about how we can make a difference
A traveller’s convention
When you’re already travelling to the Rotary International Convention, why not add on a side trip?
Jaffna Eyes… through Jaffna eyes
It is the early 1980s. Sashi, short for Sashikala, is almost 16 and set on becoming a doctor. She has three older brothers and one younger.
With heart and mind
To adapt, as laid out in Rotary’s Action Plan, we must occasionally step out of our comfort zone and try something new. Here are two
When dreams take flight
It was an unforgettable day for 40 domestic and commercial helpers as they boarded a plane for the first time in their lives,
Rotary introduces India’s first AI-integrated Anganwadi
In an ambitious project to apply one of the latest technological tools — Artificial Intelligence (AI) — to revolutionise the learning methods of Indian children from underprivileged backgrounds who attend anganwadis, which are poor children’s equivalent to the plush and fun-filled playschools frequented by the rich and upper class urban Indian children, RI District 3012 has launched an interesting and futuristic project in Uttar Pradesh.
Project Vignettes – December 2024
Supported by a ₹75 lakh donation from club member B D Agarwal, RC Belur, RID 3291, aims to vaccinate 5,000 girls against cervical cancer.
Meet Your Governors
He joined Rotary in 1985 guided by Dr Vijay Aradhye, a Rotarian. “I was impressed by its global efforts to eradicate polio, and diverse work for needy people,” says Dr Suresh Saboo.
Club Matters – December 2024
RC Chopda – RID 3030 Around 400 youngsters were offered jobs by top companies at a job fair held jointly with three other entities.
Nostalgia for a Delhi of yore
Having lived in Delhi since 1958 I have some very fond memories of it, before it started becoming a gas chamber about 40 years ago. Very few people now remember Delhi as it was before the Asian Games of 1982. Those games turned the old bucolic and bureaucratic Delhi into a boom town and it has not stopped booming since then. The fixed population of Delhi today is around three and a half crore. Another crore or so people float in and out annually. In 1980 the population was barely 70 million, mostly rural, living in the areas of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh surrounding Delhi like Gurgaon and Noida. Indira Gandhi’s farmhouse, by the way, was on the very southwest outskirts of Delhi. Today it’s south central. All those rural areas have been assimilated into a single toxic zone called the National Capital Region (NCR) and they are fully urban now. The NCR is so huge that when you fly into Delhi you can see the pollution the region causes rising up to 15,000 feet and extending some 200 miles in all directions. This is largely because in 1980 there were barely a lakh motorised vehicles. Today there are around three million.
Footloose and injury free
Those who don’t learn from history are condemned to repeat it. That most times we learn more from mistakes than from success is a well-known fact. Here is a unique lesson from Larsen and Toubro (L&T) which tells us that one can simply be too good for the given task.
The philosophy of giving
Prioritise your health, and never procrastinate when it comes to work and major decisions in life,” advised DGN Ravishankar Dakoju, RID 3192, at a meeting of RC Madras, RID 3234. “Life is unpredictable. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow or even the next moment. So, don’t postpone critical decisions and burden your children. Even though children today are smart and know what to do when, with a clear vision,” he said.
Habits to improve our habitat
An environmentalist friend has wisely said that green habits should be gently inculcated rather than pushed down people’s throats. Her take is that humans like to break the rules and dislike being dictated. So, any harsh list of dos and don’ts will likely be discarded or forgotten quickly. The more rebellious may even follow all the don’ts diligently and avoid the dos!
Strategies for Rotary’s growth
As Rotary president, one of the key priorities of RIPE Mario de Camargo will be “to retain you all, keep you engaged as too many — 155,000 Rotarians — are quitting Rotary each year. But we don’t own Rotary as we are here for a purpose, and we have to keep it going for the next generation with a good succession plan,” he said, addressing the membership conclave in Hyderabad.