An Institute for all tastes
The best part of the Kochi Zone Institute convened by RI Director Anirudha Roychowdhury and chaired by PDG John Daniel was reserved for the last. It was the delicious sadya feast — a traditional, elaborate Kerala meal — the participants were given for lunch on the final day. For one, it was a huge relief to have a meal while seated; where is the fun in holding onto a heavy china plate, balancing the food, spoon and fork on it, while standing? Served on the banana leaf, the aroma wafting from the delicacies served, combined with the flavour of the leaf, to satisfy the most demanding palate. Not only was the food served delicious, it was the manner and love with which it was served that bowled over the participants. The women serving the extra helpings hovered around you, keeping a close watch on the disappearing items from your banana leaf and offered to refill it with a warm smile. It felt like every guest was a mappillai (groom) at his own wedding! The appams at breakfast were perfect too!
Now that credit has been given to the most important aspect of any event — food — Team Kochi members were found hitting the ball out of the park on other aspects as well. Take for instance, transport, which is a major headache at many Rotary events. Even though one can understand the dilemma of the organisers handling a huge number of delegates, the 1,200-odd delegates in Kochi found that the wheels carrying them from various hotels to the venue and back, as also airport and railway station transfers, rolled smoothly and without glitches.
I’m sure it must have taken a lot of brainstorming and executing skills to achieve the results, but at the end of the day, this Institute had an eclectic mix of events to satisfy every taste, passion or preference. Whether it was the entertainment, either during the sessions or laced with the right mix of spirits in the evenings, sporting activities like the traditional Kerala snake boat race or the half-marathon to raise funds for TRF, or service projects, the fuel which fires the imagination of so many Rotarians, they were all there. The Kerala flavour came through from the line-up of mock elephants, chenda melam performances, Kerala-style street food and backdrops for memorable photo opportunities.
Last, but not the least, the choice of speakers, gave the RNT team some interesting speeches to report on. Environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk, even though he took a mild potshot at the unnecessarily excessive air conditioning in the hall where the main plenary was held, was brilliant in the simplicity with which he spelt out the grave challenges we were inflicting on Planet Earth by such thoughtless acts, that triggered catastrophic consequences in the high Himalayas where he lives. Parliamentarian and Kerala boy Shashi Tharoor regaled the audience with his wit and charm — a woman delegate who had to leave urged me to send her a video recording which I declined of course — in a Q&A session where he successfully deflected a few googlies bowled by his interrogator PRID A S Venkatesh, with intelligent and fact-filled answers delivered in his impeccable diction and near-perfect English. Nobel Peace laureate and champion of children’s rights Kailash Satyarthi held the audience spellbound with his heartfelt appeal to remember that “every child and every childhood matters”.
The choice of the venue — Grand Hyatt Kochi, a waterfront luxury resort overlooking the backwaters of the Vembanad Lake, gets full marks too. The service the hotel staff offered was exceptional, complete with sparkling clean and stink-free women’s loos at the event venue.
Rasheeda Bhagat
