On Valentine’s Day four non-Rotarians were feted with Rotary India Humanity Hero Awards for their selfless work for humanity at the three-day Rotary Centennial Summit in Kolkata. More notably, the awardees were chosen through an online poll which received eight million votes over 45 days for 253

Former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral passed away just five days before his 93rd birthday on Dec 4, 2012. We felt we had lost a family friend. My father-in-law F C Sondhi and Avtar Narain Gujral (father

I still remember the day I got a peek into the office of the legendary cartoonist, R K Laxman at the Times of India building in Mumbai. The year was 1975 and I had come to meet Khushwant Singh, the famous

When you have to cover the proceedings of a Rotary Zone Institute for the magazine, in however spectacular city the conference may be held, you can say goodbye to really seeing or “experiencing” the city, in all senses of the word. Unless you are a late-night swinger,

Rotarians from RC Dombivli Midtown, RI District 3141, celebrated Rakshabandhan with the jawans at the BSF outpost at Dholavira in Kutch, Gujarat. Women Rotarians tied rakhi to over 125 jawans. “It was an emotional moment when one of the soldiers pulled out a rakhi he received from

The tragic news that 39 people were found dead in a container in Essex on October 23 is a reminder that smuggling of illegal immigrants from the Continent into the UK still continues. The tragedy brought to mind events from 25 years ago, when I was on

What defines a super power? Experts have suggested many definitions — money, muscle, culture etc — but I have just one criterion: what time does your plane take off on an international flight from India. By this definition, India is far, far away from being even a simple power, let alone

Rotarians have planted trees in the name of fellowship, friendship and community service since the early 20th century. These trees, planted worldwide, have grown into enduring monuments of Rotary’s ideals. Margot Lassagne, an Exchange student from Toulouse, France, planting a

Jamir Sardar is a meritorious student, an avid dancer and a good painter. His teachers are fond of him and acknowledge his talent. The sixteen-year-old had performed dance shows along with his friends in Denmark last year under a cultural exchange programme. Despite his skills in dancing,

Here is the updated Rotarian Code of Conduct; the last aspect has been included since Jan 2019.   As a Rotarian, I will: Act with integrity and high ethical standards in my personal and professional life Deal fairly with

It’s the lack of shoes that I remember most. It was 1993. Melinda and I were travelling through Kenya, ­Tanzania, and Zaire (now the ­Democratic Republic of the Congo). During our visit, we were struck again and again by seeing people walking along the side of the road.