The installation of Ravishankar Dakoju as the fourth district governor of RI District 3192 in Bengaluru was unlike a conventional Rotary event. The venue resembled a forest, with lush greenery forming the backdrop. The national anthem video celebrated India’s forests and wildlife, and, in a moment that reflected the governor’s love for animals, Dakoju’s pet Indian-breed dog Ponyo walked onto the stage to greet him and his wife, Paola. The setting offered a fitting introduction to the governor’s theme for the year — Dhanyavaad: Gratitude in Action.
The event also celebrated a remarkable act of philanthropy. Earlier this year, at the International Assembly, Dakoju and Paola had pledged to donate 85 per cent of their wealth — estimated at $50–60 million — to TRF. It may be recalled that in 2022, Dakoju had announced his commitment to donate ₹100 crore to TRF. He had also auctioned his barely year-old Mercedes-Benz car, with a mileage of less than 3,000km; when the car fetched ₹42 lakh, he added another ₹8 lakh from his own pocket and donated ₹50 lakh to TRF.
Installing Dakoju as governor, RI director K P Nagesh described him as “a person with the ultimate attitude of gratitude,” adding that after serving people throughout his life, Dakoju now wanted “to give back to Mother Earth.”
“My deepest dhanyavaad goes to my late parents, Indira and D Kamesh Rao,” Dakoju said, recalling that his father had donated the family’s entire wealth to the Bhoodan movement. “Their values, sacrifices and blessings continue to guide me every single day.”
‘Thanks’ is just a word. Dhanyavaad is gratitude in action, the purest human emotion. From our birth until the day we die, we depend on society, but have forgotten to say ‘thank you’.
— DG Ravishankar Dakoju
Explaining the district theme, he said it went far beyond simply saying thank you. “‘Thanks’ is just a word. Dhanyavaad is gratitude in action. It is the purest human emotion. From the moment we are born until the day we die, we depend on society. We have forgotten to say thank you,” he said. His vision is to restore gratitude as a way of life — not only towards fellow human beings, but also towards the Earth, animals and every form of life that sustains humanity.
The Dhanyavaad movement brings together 44 Rotary districts across India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives in a series of Rotary-led initiatives promoting ecological restoration and social responsibility, supported by the Paola Dakoju Foundation.
Among its major initiatives are the planting of one million trees, with support from institutions including the Ryan International Schools, and the distribution of one lakh water bowls for birds and animals in schools, communities and homes in partnership with the NGO Water for Voiceless.
“Forests alone can keep the planet green and healthy. If forests die, the planet dies,” said Dakoju. Calling tribal communities the true custodians of India’s forests, he announced a partnership with the Friends of Tribal Society to support 5,000 tribal schools, strengthening education in remote forest regions.
His long-term vision has been inspired by Rotary’s watershed development and afforestation work at Challakere, one of Karnataka’s driest regions. “Lakes are full today, animals are coming back, and in a few years there will be a thick forest there,” he said. He thanked TRF for supporting the project through grants.
The district will also establish a Transgender Skill Development Centre to provide vocational training and dignified employment, organise Paralympics and special sports meets, work with Rotaractors on anti-drugs campaigns, and collaborate with the Nari Shakti Foundation on women’s empowerment initiatives. Projects such as Lakshya Kalpavruksha, which aims to provide two coconut saplings to every rural household, and Kamadhenu, which supports rural women with milch cows for livelihood, will further strengthen village communities.
Forests, rivers, grasslands and wildlife sustain both biodiversity and human life, and protecting them is essential for a healthy society.
— MP and animal welfare champion Maneka Gandhi
Observing that nearly 80 per cent of India’s population lives in rural areas while Rotary has traditionally flourished in cities, Dakoju said, “We will strengthen Rotary by taking it to rural India.” He also contributed ₹1 crore as a Directed Gift to TRF for environmental projects.
Parliamentarian, environmentalist and animal welfare champion Maneka Gandhi was named brand ambassador of the Dhanyavaad movement. Congratulating Rotarians for choosing stewardship over consumption and restoration over exploitation, she described ecological restoration as “an act of gratitude” to Mother Earth. Drawing on decades of work in environmental conservation and animal welfare, she said humanity’s future depended on recognising that people are part of nature, not separate from it. Forests, rivers, grasslands and wildlife sustain both biodiversity and human life, and protecting them is essential for a healthy society, she said.
Urging Rotarians to plant more native trees, encourage kindness towards animals through schools and community initiatives, and make compassion the foundation of sustainable development, she said: “The measure of our success will be the condition in which we leave this planet.”
Handing over the governor’s mantle, outgoing DG Elizabeth Cherian said: “The world knows you as a great donor, but I know you as a passionate environmentalist willing to go to any extent to protect and conserve nature. Your passion to recreate and restore, renovate and reinvent is unmatched. I am confident that, with your unique thought process and a heart that beats for the less fortunate, you will deliver a year of compassion to all life forms. Paola, your quiet but meaningful presence in his journey is precious.”
Organising committee chairman Vijay Tadimalla described Dakoju as someone who openly shares both successes and failures, and carries people’s stories with him long after meeting them. “He wears his heart on his sleeve,” he said.
As part of the installation, saplings were planted simultaneously across eight states and at 116 Ryan International School campuses, with the events livestreamed at the venue. Ryan Group CEO Ryan Pinto pledged to plant 10 lakh saplings across the schools during the year.
Past and future district leaders of RI Districts 3191 and 3192, along with members of Dakoju’s home club, RC Bangalore, and his alma mater, RC Bangalore Orchards, were present at the installation.
Pictures by Jaishree