for private circulation vol 50 issue 04 october 2017...

OCTOBER 2017 1 Mid-Town Bulletin

DISTRICT 3141 | CLUB 15496 | MUMBAI, INDIA

Vol 50 • Issue 04 • OCTOBER 2017For Private Circulation

BulletinMID-TOWN

R. I. President | IAN RISELEY

Club President | MANOJ JALAN

District Governor | PRAFULL SHARMA THE ROTARY CLUB OF BOMBAY MID-TOWN


news

The deluge on 29th August paralysed our city with many spending hours on the road or the night in their workplace. Many unfortunate ones never made it home as the fury of nature combined with missing or crumbling civic facilities wiped away several lives. A similar, if not as intense, situation hit the city again on 19th-20th September. Fortunately, though it was very windy and it rained a lot, the damage to life and property was not as bad as on the earlier occasion. These events however, brought out the true spirit of Mumbai and Mumbaikars. People opened up their homes and hearts to stranded friends and acquaintances and even strangers.

With the Exchange Students from Germany coming in October, Rtn Gargi Mukherjee and I spent time with the host students here planning the itinerary for the visitors. Their time in Mumbai has to have a right mix of educational, cultural and tourist exposure and fun for teenagers. On 25th September, Rtn. Jamsheed Patel, Sonali and I were guests at the Installation of the incoming Interact President at the

Walsingham House School. It was sheer pleasure to meet disciplined and well spoken children with impeccable manners. The new Interact team has taken over and they showed a lot of enthusiasm for the year ahead.

After a long gap we enjoyed a Fellowship at Wodehouse Gymkhana on 6th September. It was a very nice evening with good food, a keyboard player and singer. Birthdays and anniversaries were celebrated with cake cutting. Rtn Kamlesh Sonawala turned 75 that very day and he was present to spend time with us. On 13th September, Mr. Sanjay Bhatia IAS, Chairman Mumbai Port Trust was the speaker. After a brief update on the plans of MbPT to change the face of the eastern seaboard of our city, he spoke about his journey into embracing of Heartfulness Meditation. He conducted a brief meditation session which left everyone stunned and calmed at the same time. It was the Rotary DG Prafull Sharma’s OCV to our Club on 20th September. The DG interacted with office bearers, Inner Wheel and other partners-in-service and members. The formal meeting had him appreciating the good systems we have in place and the great work being done by our Club. On 27th September, our meeting was a Know Your Member session. Rotarians Prafull Sabadra, Sujata Anandan, Jigisha Parikh and Jagar Thakur spoke about themselves for all of us to know them better.

My best wishes and greetings to you all on the occasion of Diwali and may the year ahead bring greater prosperity and happiness in your life.

Thank you.

Pres Rtn Manoj Jalan

From the President’s desk...


Rotary Clubs in India have changed face from what they were in the 20th century to what they are today! Change is a sign of growth in tune with the coming century but in what direction the flow of growth is going is the most worrying factor.

This is because of the liberty given to the Clubs in relation to the recruitment of the members, dilution of personal attachment due to electronic communication resulting in poor weekly attendance, crumbling of classification system due to fabrication of vocational involvement thus allowing any Tom, Dick and Harry to become a member. Liberty to reduce weekly four meetings to two has resulted in poor relations amongst the Rotarians thus resulting in the poor personal attachment among members and club attendance.

Today, Rotary Clubs in India, talk for money, ask for money and enjoy the happy hours because of

Lucia along with Rtn Deepak Mehta, Pres Manoj Jalan and his wife Sonali.

news

Rotarians Jaidev Mehta, Anil Kejriwal, Gargi Mukherjee and Sonali Jalan.

Rotarians Naren Mohatta and Gaurav Kapadia with Pres Manoj Jalan.

6th Sept: Fellowship evening

money. Due to the fabrication of classification system our image has been spoiled and Rotary is no longer different from any other international NGO in the country.

The concept of quality has been lost. Members are not invited to join Rotary but like an army, the members are recruited, this affects our public relations and image. We pay the money and get the community service done. Our Rotary Foundation is the only hope which can salvage our image and a better tomorrow.

This has all happened because of our lawmakers sitting in counsel of legislation.

Hope the wise thought comes to our godfathers and mentors in Rotary. Let us hope for a better future.

Rtn PDG M.B. Deodhar

The Changing Face of Rotary in the 21st Century


news

RCBMT members had the pleasure of being addressed by Sanjay Bhatia IAS, Chairman, Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) on 13th September. PP Kersi Hilloo introduced Mr. Bhatia. Mr. Bhatia has extensive experience of working on various important positions with the Government of Maharashtra and the Government of India including being Chairman of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, VC & MD - CIDCO and as the Commissioner of Sales Tax. His contribution to each organization has been enormous in bringing a positive change in the mindset of people that he worked with and in transforming the departments. Following his tenure in these departments, transparency was evident in almost all the areas and an atmosphere of long-term inclusiveness was noticed, which has yielded better understanding and successful results.

He shared the proposed plans of MbPT on the eastern front, where it plans to develop a ropeway from Mumbai to Elephanta, a bigger international cruise terminal and a domestic cruise terminal, development of parks and gardens on the eastern seaboard of the city and development of Sassoon Docks. “It is estimated that approximately 4 million travellers will be soon cruising from India, of which 3.2 million will be cruising from Mumbai. The plans are ready and we are waiting for the Centre’s nod,” said Mr. Bhatia.

While sharing information about the Mumbai Port Trust, Mr. Bhatia also shared his secret to deal with such high profile jobs – intensive meditation. Mr. Bhatia shared his journey of discovering the method of meditation that most suited him the most. He meditates daily for two to three hours

13th Sept: Speaker Sanjay Bhatia

Speaker Sanjay BhatiaRtn Abuzar Zakir, Sanjay Bhatia, Pres Manoj Jalan and

Rtn Dr. Deepak Garg.

and finds peace and solace in it. He practises meditation at the work place and has passed on the knowledge to many of his colleagues, which according to him is instrumental in achieving results through long-term relationships. He commented that meditation has mellowed him down and has changed his lifestyle and food habits. His wife Anuradha Bhatia who is the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax was initially reluctant for the first 6 years but eventually after seeing changes in his behaviour and thought process, started practising meditation, which has helped her hugely to moderate the purpose of her life as well.

Meditation plays such a huge role in Mr. Bhatia’s life that he has converted half his home into a meditation area. He practises daily and finds it to be deeply satisfying.

At the end Mr. Bhatia asked all present in the meeting to meditate for 15 minutes and observe the difference. Overall, it was an extremely helpful session. The meeting ended with a heartful vote of thanks by Rtn Dr. Deepak Garg.

Mr. Bhatia welcomed all those interested in meditation to join any of the regular Heartfulness Meditation sessions being conducted at his residence at 7.00 pm every Wednesday and 7.30 am, 11.30 am and 5.00 pm every Sunday. His address is: Bungalow No. 7 , North End, Mumbai Port Trust Chairman's Bungalow, Next to BMC Commissioner's Bungalow, M.L Dahanukar Marg (Carmichael Road), Mumbai 400 026.

– Rtn. Jagar Thakur


news

The Official Club Visit (OCV) of the District Governor (DG) is one of the most important events in the annual calendar of a Rotary Club. RCBMT had the OCV on 20th September despite the inclement weather.

As per regular agenda of OCV, it began with a closed door meeting with the Office Bearers of our Club. President Manoj Jalan and Honorary Tresurer PP Anil Kamath apprised the DG of our Club’s activities. Our Club being one of the older ones and with systems well in place, the DG did not really have much to ask as our paperwork and books were in order.

The closed door meeting was followed by a meeting with members of our Innerwheel. Mrs.

We take great pride in the fact that our Club will soon be entering its 50th year, having been chartered in 1968. Equally important for us is the fact that The Taj Mahal Hotel has been our home for as long!

20th Sept: OCV of DG Rtn Prafull Sharma

Appreciation Award to The Taj Mahal Hotel

DG Rtn Prafull Sharma

Sachdev, President of the Innerwheel Club with her colleagues updated the DG with the activities undertaken during the year.

The lunch session was a great way for all members and the DG to interact one-on-one. Many of our members knew the DG personally having closely worked with him and enjoyed talking to him. The formal meeting began with Pres. Manoj apprising the members of the earlier part i.e. the closed door meeting. After the Secretarial announcements by Rtn. Abuzar, Pres. Manoj introduced AG Ashok, who in any case is well known to the Club. AG Ashok then introduced DG Prafull Sharma.

DG Prafull Sharma spoke about our Club’s preparedness to handle projects and admired our systems. He informed the members about the changes that the District is trying to bring in the working of clubs to make it more amenable to the younger generation as all Clubs need younger members to keep the Rotary movement alive and kicking. He strongly suggested that each member needs to seriously bring in young members. In the end, he thanked the Club and members for the respect and hospitality accorded to him at the OCV. A formal vote of thanks was offered by Rtn. Dr. Deepak Garg.

Great memories are associated with this institution. We have had memorable events here. Speakers, renowned and regular persons, have come and addressed us here. We have had some fantastic fellowships here. We have inducted new members as well as paid tributes to some departed ones here. The Taj Mahal Hotel has been our first home. We have received great love, respect, gracious hospitality and delectable food here.

It was only befitting that we show our gratitude and respect to the hotel for all these years of togetherness and that we did on 20th September when the District Governor Prafull Sharma came visiting for the OCV. An Appreciation Award was presented by Rotary Club of Bombay Mid-Town at the hands of DG Prafull Sharma to The Taj Mahal Hotel, its management and staff. Ms. Mahtaab Sidhwa, Director – Catering Sales along with her colleagues Ms. Samrudhi More and Mr. Akshay Gupta, received the award on behalf of the hotel.

DG Rtn Prafull Sharma presents the Appreciation Award to Ms. Mahtaab Sidhwa and her colleagues Ms. Samrudhi More and Mr. Akshay Gupta


news

Rotary Mid-Town President Manoj Jalan accompanied by his wife Sonali and Jamsheed Patel attended the installation of the President of Interact Club of Walsingham House School.

Outgoing President Hinanshi Rathod welcomed the Rotarians and presented her report for the year 2016-17.

"Good morning to one and all present here. The Walsingham House School Interact Club Installation Ceremony for the year 2016-2017 was held on 26th of August, 2016. We've had a successful year with a number of activities held. On 2nd October 2016 the office bearers and Interactors participated in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan started by our Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi. By cleaning Worli Sea Face some of our students contributed towards India's golden perspective of clean India. We also visited the Kamla Mehta Dadar School for Blind and the King George Hospital which encases the Vatsalya

25th Sept: Installation of President of Interact Club of Walsingham House School

Walsingham House School students Pres Manoj Jalan and Rtn Jamsheed Patel present an award.

Students of the Interact Club with Rotarians.

Foundation, an orphanage for street children, Om Creations, an institute for the mentally challenged and an old age home. We went to different classes of the blind school and learnt how with the help of Braille they learn their subjects. They excelled in everything they did. We were not only amazed but spellbound to know that though they were visually impaired they completed their task successfully. When we went to the Vatsalya Foundation we were informed that all children shared a common birthday that is 14th February. Thus another enriching year has passed and we look forward to keep learning through our experiences. I would like to thank my team for co-operating with me and a special thanks to the Rotary Club for giving me this wonderful opportunity."

The Intaract Trophy was handed over by President Manoj Jalan to outgoing President Hinanshi Rathod. President Manoj Jalan also handed out lapel pins to the incoming office bearers for 2017-18.The new office bearers are:

President: Tanisha VoraVice-President: Ria ShahSecretary: Abeer MemonTreasurer: Riddhi ShahDirectors: Saaha Seth, Vinaya Joshi, Hanish Savla and Ananya Sanghvi

President Manoj, Sonali Jalan and Jamsheed Patel addressed the meeting. After a vote of thanks the meeting was adjourned.

– Rtn Jamsheed Patel


news

The meeting on 27th September was an informative Know Your Member session. PP Anil Ambo was the moderator for the session. Rotarians Dr. Prafull Sabadra, Sujata Anand, Jagar Thakur and Jigisha Parikh shared details about themselves. .

Rtn Dr. Prafull Sabadra runs a dental practice at Lady Ratan Tata Medical Centre, Cooperage. Prafull hails from Lasalgaon in Nasik district. He came to Mumbai to pursue his dental degree. He studied at Government Dental College and Hospital attached to St. George's Hospital. He later went on to pursue his post graduation in prosthodontics from King's College, London. He is married to Dr. Nehal, his sweetheart from dental school. They are blessed with a 15-year-old son Krish and 9-year-old daughter Brahmi. Prafull joined Rotary at the behest of PP Khalid Ansari. He has been an active Rotarian since the past 7-8 years. Prafull has been bestowed with an ‘Outstanding Dentist’ Award in 2013 and his practice has also won an award for being the ‘Best Clinic’.

Rtn. Sujata Anandan introduced herself as a journalist with 30 years of experience who has done it all and seen it all, so is a bit of a cynic. She is hard-core anti-establishment, sparing no government in residence any blushes. She has been writing a popular column for the Hindustan Times for the past 12 years on the shenanigans of state politicians. Recently she has begun another column for Lokmat Times on national issues. She also writes for other publications and websites. She was looking to widen her circle of friends and when IPP Sucharita suggested she join Rotary, Sujata jumped at the opportunity. Sujata is considering writing a book about her experiences. After her debut book on Bal Thackeray, she has three more books in the pipeline.

25th Sept: Know Your Members

Rotarians Sujata Anandan, Jagar Thakur, Anil Ambo, Pres Manoj Jalan, Dr. Prafull Sabadra and Jigisha Parikh.

Rtn. Jagar Thakur was born and brought up in a small town in J&K and started his exciting hospitality journey with Centaur Lake View Hotel, Srinagar way back in 1985 after completing Hotel Management from IHM Srinagar. In 1989, he moved on to the Clarks Group of Hotels and worked in Agra and Lucknow. Thereafter he was part of the dynamic team that launched ITC Hotels' Grand Kakatiya Hyderabad. It was during his tenure with The Leela and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts' that he was sent for cross exposure and pre-openings to Bali, Singapore, Riyadh, Dubai and Geneva. He has worked with Hyatt Regency and Grand Hyatt in Mumbai followed by an international posting as Director of Rooms to a beautiful Hyatt Regency Resort in Malaysia. Since his family is settled in Mumbai, he was looking to come back to India. He joined Fariyas Hotels and Resorts, Lonavala as General Manager for their flagship property. This is one of the premium resorts in Lonavala, catering to the upmarket discerning guests for the last four decades.

Rtn Jigisha Parikh is a jewellery and interior designer. She works with her husband and they cater to clients in India and USA. She has done her schooling from GPP School, Vile Parle and B.Com from NM College. She is a diploma holder in interior designing from Raheja School of Arts. She is learning the Rotary way of life under the mentorship of Rtn. Yogesh Pandya on the Child Nutrition & Sanitation Program in rural areas and also on the Little Heart Paediatric surgeries for the poor and underprivileged. She looks up to and is trying to follow the footsteps of her father-in-law Dr. Shirish Parikh, who used to do social work in Dang and Valsad in Gujarat. She is grateful that through the Rotary platform she is able to serve society under the guidance of experienced and able Rotarians.


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naseoh

Inauguration of e-Interactive Classroom Facility at NASEOH

Pres Manoj Jalan unveils the e-interactive unit.

Through the support received from Rotary Club of Bombay Mid-Town, NASEOH set up a Computer Training Unit in 1998. This facility has supported basic computer education and English language skill development of many disabled youth ever since.

As many of the students seeking admission for this training face different challenges on account of their disabilities and basic education shortcomings, there is a constant effort to upgrade the training process to mitigate these challenges to the extent possible.

NASEOH with the financial support received from Rotary Club of Bombay Mid-Town has set up e-interactive classroom facilities with the following equipments:

1 LCD projector.

1 Multimedia computer / access system.

1 Audiovisual speaker.

1 Audio system amplifier.

1 Projector overhead stand.

1 e- Interactive unit.

Lockable teacher’s cabinet.

This facility will enhance the quality of training inputs substantially and students with challenges of comprehension, retention and absorption will benefit immensely.

This facility was inaugurated by President of Rotary Club of Bombay Mid-Town Rtn Manoj Jalan on 1st September 2017. The event was also attended by senior Rotarians from the Club Rtn Om Duggan, Rtn Gaurav Kapadia and Rtn Naren Mohatta.

On the occasion, two ex-students of the Computer Training Unit who stood first in their respective batches during the year 2016-17, were also felicitated by the Club with cash awards. The students Syed Gulfafshan Pary, orthopaedically handicapped, and Vijay Vasant Bhagat, a paraplegic, shared their thoughts and thanked the Rotary Club of Bombay Mid-Town and NASEOH for the support, guidance and encouragement.

NASEOH is grateful for the continuous support and participation of Rotary Club of Bombay Mid-Town in complementing the efforts of NASEOH in providing meaning and direction in the lives of persons with disabilities.


milestones

Edited and published for Rotary Club of Bombay Mid-Town, Navjivan III Commercial Society Premises Ltd, 10th Floor, Room No. 10 (R), Lamington Road,

Mumbai – 400 008. • Tel: 022 2307 6265 Tel/ Fax: 022 2308 2279 • Mobile: +91 98336 85849

• Email: [email protected] and Printed at Spenta Multimedia Pvt. Ltd.

Editors: Anil Kejriwal and Gargi MukherjeeEditorial Consultant: Aliya Ladhabhoy • Design: Amol Patkar

Peninsula Spenta, Mathuradas Mill Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai - 400 013.Page coordinated by Allan Chenyen. For previous issues, please visit www.bombaymidtown.in

The paper for Mid-Town Bulletin is donated by Rtn Bimal Shroff for which the club is extremely grateful.

Please send your articles and news for the Bulletin to Allan Chenyen ([email protected]) preferably by the 10th of every month.

ROTARY CLUB OF BOMBAY MID-TOWN OFFICERS & DIRECTORS 2017 - 2018

President Manoj JalanImm. Past President Sucharita HegdeVice Pres. & Pres. Elect Dr. Deepak GargHon. Secretary Abuzar ZakirJt. Hon. Secretary Vicky PunjabiHon. Treasurer PP Anil KamathHon. Jt. Treasurer Rajeev ThakkarSergeant At Arms Munna Mitha

Advisory Committee:PDG Dr. Shirish Sheth, PP Tilak Mehta, PP Mohan Lalvani, Ashwin Shah

Director Club Service Dr. Deepak GargProgrammes Deepak MehtaCo-Chairman Abuzar ZakirEvents & Fellowship PP Mohan LalvaniFinance Kiran ShahAttendance Bye Laws PP Yog ShankardassEvents Sucharita HegdeClassification Mahesh KrishnamurthiMembership & Retention Membership Development Navin Shah Rotary Information PP Om DeganBulletin & International Travel Anil KejriwalPR, Social Media &Club Website Prasanna Bhagat

Director Vocational Service Vicky PunjabiCareer Guidance Scholarships & Voc. Awards Krishan Khanna 4 Way Test Prafulla SabadraSr. Citizens Welfare Arvind KasbekarF.O.F. Rajeev ThakkarLiteracy Mission (Thrust Area) PP Tilak Mehta

Director Community Service Anil AmboChild Welfare: Midday Meal /SKMDS/ADAPT/UMEED/ Anugraha School Naren Mohatta Nare-Vaje Development Nirbhay JainPolio & Physically Challenged (NASEOH) Gaurav Kapadia Medical Camps Dr. Deepak Garg Co-Chair Abuzar N. Zakir Plastic Surgery, Jalna Dr. Anil Tibrewala Director Youth Service Gargi MukherjeeInteract Jamsheed PatelRotaract Sports Bharat ParekhInner Wheel Uttara Bhandare

Director International Yogesh Pandya Projects Global/ Matching/ PP Anil Kamath District Grants Deepak GargInternational Family Suruchi R. Chand Exchange International Youth Gargi Mukherjee Exchange The Rotary Foundation PP R.P. Anand [TRF] Director District Projects Deepak Mehta Asst. Governor Ashok ShettyDist. Secretary Jhankar GadkariAsst. Trainer Jay Toshniwal

02 NovemberAbuzar Zakir

06 NovemberPP Bimal Shroff

23 NovemberPiyush Khaitan

21 NovemberDr Madhav Kamat

05 NovemberMurlidhar Jalan

08 NovemberPP Mehernosh

Currawalla

16 NovemberKirit Jasani

24 NovemberShailendra Mittal

14 NovemberDr Prakash Mody

16 NovemberSunil Agrawal

24 NovemberGhansham Dembla

17 NovemberReyaz Mama

27 NovemberKrishan Khanna

NOVEMBER 2017

THE ROTARY FOUNDATION MONTH

WEDNESDAY, 01Speaker: Mr. Milind Deora, Former Union

Minister of State & M.PSubject: “India Ahead”

Venue: Taj Mahal Hotel at 1.15 p.m.

SATURDAY, 1149th Fellowship Charter Night Celebration

Venue: Sunvilla BanquetsTime: 7.30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, 15Speaker: TBA


WEDNESDAY, 20 Speaker: Official Club Visit of DG

Prafull Sharma, [II Club Assembly]Venue: Taj Mahal Hotel

Lunch 12.30 p.m. Business 1.15 p.m.

THURSDAY, 16Program organised by

The Wisdom Foundation on its 11th Anniversary Chief Guest Former Hon’ble President of

India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee,Venue: Auditorium, Nehru Centre, Worli

Time: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.





Spouse’s Birthdays 01 Pushpa Krishna Khemka 04 Kate Mehernosh Currawalla05 Sarika Deepak Garg13 Sandhya Anil Kamath14 Bindu Krishna Mehta15 Thrity Sam Daruwala21 Bindu Rahul Mehta29 Shobha Gopal Motwane

Anniversaries 01 Jyotika & Atul Premnarayan11 Shanti & Mohan Shahani17 Seema & Dinesh Kanabar21 Nainu & Shaunak Thacker22 Nishi & Nitin Mathur24 Pragati & Deepak Gupta24 Kalpana & Prabhat Srivastava25 Alifiya & Abuzar Zakir30 Sushma & Raju Barwale

Birthdays in November 2017 ❧

for private circulation vol 50 issue 04 october 2017...

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