Letters to the Editor – October 2018 issue

Great content, high calibre

As a regular reader of Rotary News, I find the content worth reading and the magazine of high calibre. Shakti Sinha deserves kudos for the way he portrayed Atalji. RC Madurai Next Gen’s initiative in connecting employees with job seekers should be followed by elite clubs in big cities. The Gift of Life project facilitating heart surgery for children, undertaken by RC Greater Tezpur, is laudable as it cuts across borders, caste, creed and religion. Is your trainer fit for you by Sheela Nambiar is an eye-opener for fitness buffs. It is great to note that over 150 countries have brought out commemorative Rotary stamps. The support given to the people of Kerala during this difficult time is heart warming.

M T Philip, RC Trivandrum Suburban — D 3211

The Editor’s note and other articles describing various projects are marvellous. I am a regular reader of the magazine and at 85, I enjoy reading the entire content.

T M Venkataraman — D 3231

A request to RIPN Sushil Gupta

I humbly request RIPN-designate Sushil Gupta to increase Rotary’s humanitarian projects as human relations are going through testing times. Rotary can strengthen our bond of love, affection and mutual respect. I wish him all success.

Dr NRUK Kartha, RC Trivandrum Suburban — D 3211

Congrats to Sushil Gupta for being ­chosen as RIPN for 2020–21. When I interacted with him at a district conference, I found him sincere and dedicated to the community as well as Rotary.

As RI President Rassin calls for strong Rotary clubs to “do more good”, we need more new clubs with younger members to generate more enthusiasm. Articles like Eliminating measles and rubella from India are informative and inspirational. The coverage of club activities with ­photos in Club Matters is wonderful. Kudos to the Editorial team for coming out with a quality publication with colourful pages.

P R N Chandra Mouli, RC Berhampur Midtown — D 3262

Kudos to RC Chandausi for running a charitable eye hospital for 60 years. But I feel the hospital should not charge more than ₹1,000 from poor patients, as it has sufficient reserve funds. We are doing annually 200 IOL implants at ₹1,200 per patient.

Shivraj Bhargava, RC Agra Taj City — D 3110

The September issue has some ­interesting articles; From a Leo to a Rotarian (Meet your Governors) reminded me of my younger days, and how in 1976 we had formed the first Leo Club of Calcutta.

Piyush Doshi, RC Belur — D 3291

Membership retention is the key

To augment our membership, ­retention is the key. Any member leaving the club must be reported to a district  committee and the reasons analysed. Often members leave due to ­differences with other members. Spouses ­joining Rotary should be given a 50 per cent concession.

Rakesh Bhatia, RC Belur — D 3291

Great message from RI Director

The message from RI Director  C Basker (Aug issue) is an absorbing one. Retention of members is critical for a club’s growth.

A R Bhaskar Raj, RC Sivakasi Central — D 3212

Director C Baskar’s message where he quotes Robert Frost: “I have miles to go before I sleep”, is inspiring. As he says, a lot of work has to be done in ­community service to create more awareness about Rotary. The project of RC Hyderabad ­Gachibowli giving girl ­students ­bicycles and sewing machines to the needy is praiseworthy, as also the Happy School project of RC Gwalior Imperial, D 3053, ensuring toilet blocks to schools.

Naveen R Garg, RC Sunam — D 3090

RI Director C Basker has nicely expressed how he gave RI ­President Barry Rassin the great news of Rtn
D ­Ravishankar donating ₹100 crore to TRF. This brings great pride to every Indian.

S Mohan, RC Madurai West — D 3000

An innovative project

The article Water wheels make ­fetching water easy has impressed us. A nice, innovative and productive project led by Rtn Amrish Daftary has changed the life of rural people carrying water over long distances. Under your editorship, Rotary News is making giant strides.

Paramesh Dev Choudhury, RC Gauhati South — D 3240

A wonderful Convention article

Thanks for the article It’s Rotary ­everywhere in Toronto (Aug issue), written in a lucid style and providing a wonderful read. Even though I missed the convention this time, I enjoyed the walk with the writer to the breakout sessions, House of Friendship and the whole venue celebrating Rotary ­Friendship. It was a delight to view the colourful flag march of 178 countries and listen to the renowned speakers through the writer’s expression of words, which radiated the exotic fragrance of our great Convention.

Giti Bujarbaruah, RC Gauhati South — D 3240

Skewed gender ratio

It was distressing to see only two women amongst 40 odd DGs in the ­centrespread picture mapping the ­present DGs. Rotary must do something to ­correct this skewed gender ratio. In our club we have two women poised to take over as club ­presidents in the next few years. We need a similar change at the district-level.

V G Deodhar, RC Nasik — D 3030

It is inspiring to read How to kick out a bad habit in the August issue. In step with this, can we stop providing liquor at district conferences, seminars and other Rotary events? Let us try this and see the impact on registration.

Srinath, RC Shimoga North — D 3182

A touching Editorial

The Editorial A season of heartbreaks and generosity in the August issue was insightful. RI President Barry ­Rassin’s message to start at home to build a strong organisation reminds us to follow Rotary principles, treating everybody with respect. RID Basker’s message was inspirational. I was touched by Ravishankar’s `100 crore donation to TRF. The August issue was a commendable one.

Om Prakash Modi, RC Raigarh Steel City — D 3261

Club CoL with RI Convention

Vision Quest in the April issue gave us a glimpse of what RI President Barry Rassin thinks and wants to do. He has hit the nail on the head when he says that CoL as it stands is one of the ­challenges in Rotary. A wait of five years to accomplish change is simply ­unacceptable in today’s fast paced world. A welcome change was made at the last CoL by ­separating ‘Resolutions’, to be taken up annually by video conferencing. CoL could be made an annual meeting, along with the RI ­Convention, as done earlier. The work load will come down if it meets annually to sort out things.
Limitation on the number of ­proposals/ enactments on a district or zone-wise basis and use of video conference and other ­technologies can result in a huge saving in cost and time.

PDG Rajkumar Vaiyapuri — D 3201