for private circulation only Vol. 56 I Issue No. 3 I Mumbai I July 15 July 21, 2014 I Pages 8 I r 3/- Mahesh Dube wows Club members with his sense of humour The well-known comedian and guest speaker entertained Rotarians with his four liners and jokes in last week's meeting Each week, members of the Rotary Club of Bombay gather as a group for a meeting (and have been lucky!) to hear from speakers who present a multitude of topics in their speeches. The programme committee has relentlessly strived to get personalities from wide and varied backgrounds to ensure that their lectures are of informational, motivational or entertainment value to all members. While a lot of serious topics have been covered in the past, the new programme today's speaker shekhar gupta Shekhar Gupta ranks among the country s most well-known and respected journalists. In June, he ended his 19-year stint with The Indian Express and the Express Group of publications, and is presently the Vice Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of the India Today Group. During his illustrious career, he has reported on several Indian and international events. He has also hosted Walk the Talk, a popular show on NDTV 24x7. committee decided to do something different they invited stand-up comedian Mahesh Dube as the first speaker of the new Rotary year. At the meeting, Programme Committee Chairperson Rtn. Nanik Rupani introduced Mahesh as the man who makes everybody laugh without a smile on his face and said, We have seen many serious speakers in the past and we felt let the first speaker this year make members laugh and give them their money s worth. Mahesh, who then took over, ensured that he lived up to his introduction. It is said that in stand-up comedy every comedian follows a process he assesses his audience, builds his act and shapes/filters his jokes depending on the response. Mahesh was no different. He began his speech by thanking Rtn. Nanik for a flattering introduction and got down to business right away. His amusing four liners, poetry and unique narrative style had the Rotarians in splits. Throughout his speech, Mahesh took a satirical approach mixing serious issues with humour which was an instant hit with the audience. His jokes and poems dealt with topics such as corruption, social inequality and the financial position of poets in our country, thereby, giving Rotarians some food for thought. Drifting a little towards philosophy, he said that the world may throw many problems at us some small and some big and when we climb the ladder of success we often forget how to laugh and thank God for the small joys of life. He urged the audience to use their ability to express emotions because he feels that a life without laughter is not worth living. Most of Mahesh's jokes weren't calculated they thrived off audience interaction. He managed to combine comedy and philosophy flawlessly through his poetry. He said that if a man finds peace within himself then no power in the world can make him cry; all he needs to do is put his ego aside. When Rotarians clapped and cheered for him he smiled and said, "Kaviyon ke liye sirf taaliyan hi petrol hoti hai aur kuch nahi." He then joked about himself by explaining how his audience laughs at his jokes. "They laugh thrice at my jokes they first look at their Guest Speaker Mahesh Dube at last week's meeting neighbours laughing and join in. They then understand what I am saying and laugh. And, in the end, they wonder why they laughed earlier! But it is important to laugh irrespective of how silly a joke is. We know how to get angry and upset get involved! The Rotary Club of Bombay has spent `1,50,000 for the Annapoorna project which fed more than 3,000 children at the Colaba Municipal School on July 1. Members are requested to donate to this noble cause to feed more children in the near future and eliminate malnutrition. Our Club's President Rtn. Shailesh Haribhakti has contributed `11,000 towards this project. Speaker topic: Budget 2014-15 Walked the Talk? 1
Rotarians and Rotaryannes at last week's meeting Rtn. Dr. Sonya Mehta introduces the Club's new members over the smallest of things. Learning how to laugh over those things instead can make our lives easier," he said. Towards the end of his speech he spoke about how his travelling experiences across the country taught him many things in life and said that a person who doesn't care about his country does not deserve care himself. After his speech an amusing Q&A session followed where Rotarians asked him a couple of questions and his witty answers were met with roars of laughter. He also said that he was glad to see many senior citizens present for the meeting and hoped that they enjoyed his performance. He then thanked the programme committee for inviting him and said that he felt privileged to perform at the Club's meeting. New members inducted Rtn. Dr. Sonya Mehta affixes the Rotary Worldwide Association pin on Rtn. Dr. Mehernosh Dotivala Rtn. Dr. Sonya Mehta affixes the Rotary Worldwide Association pin on Rtn. Murad Currawalla An Evening Fellowship with Brett Lee Cricket fans, rejoice! Book your evening on July 25 and join us for an exclusive fellowship with former Australian fast bowler Brett Lee. After castling world-class batsmen with toe-crushing yorkers for years, the dashing cricketer will be here to interact with you and answer your questions. When: 7 p.m. Rtn. Dr. Sonya Mehta affixes the Rotary Worldwide Association pin on Rtn. Natasha Treasurywala 2 Where: Palladium Hotel, Lower Parel
Donors to the Rotary Club of Bombay Charities Trust No. 3 (2014-15) Name Cause Amount Rtn. Pradeep Mafatlal Hasanali Tobaccowala Eye Centre `10,00,000 Rtn. Natasha Treasurywala General Donation `50,000 Rtn. Naresh Kumar Jain Birthday Donation `11,000 Rtn. Hoshang Billimoria Birthday Donation `10,000 Rtn. Suresh Lulla Birthday Donation `5,001 Donors to the Rotary Foundation (India) Name Cause Amount Rtn. Meera Alreja Annual Programs Fund $10,000 IPP Rtn. Nirav Shah Annual Programs Fund $1,000 Rtn. Natasha Treasurywala Every Rotarian Every Year $105 Inner Wheel Club inducts its new President and Office Bearers The Inner Wheel Club of Bombay, which is into its 52 nd year, recently installed its new President, Rupali Sen, her team of office bearers and the executive committee. In her first speech as the President, Rupali lauded the projects conducted in 2013-14 and spoke about the ones which will be implemented in the current year. Noteworthy among those include a project in association with the Welfare of Stray Dogs (a non-profit organisation), an initiative to supply solar lamps to students and underprivileged families, and a plan to organise medical camps for differentlyabled children in the schools supported by the Club. The theme for this year is 'Light the Path'. The highlight of the installation ceremony was the Mira Mehta Awards function. A citation and cheque were awarded to Rescue Foundation, which promotes the dignity and rights of underprivileged women. Kalpana Lajmi, keynote speaker for the event, spoke about the role of women, over the years, in Hindi films and in the film producers fraternity. She traced the degeneration of a woman's status in society from the revered Lakshmi, Saraswati, Durga and Kali to an era where women are not treated as equally as men. She added that equality is possible only when a woman enjoys financial, emotional and sexual independence, all of which is possible only through vocational training and education. The Guest of Honour was President of the Rotary Club of Bombay Rtn. Shailesh Haribhakti, who recalled how he used to help his mother with the Club's activities when she was an active Inner Wheel Club member. He suggested that the Club should appoint champions for particular projects and added that the Rotary Club of Bombay will help them raise funds of upto `10 lakhs. President Shailesh was introduced to the audience by Past Inner Wheel The Inner Wheel Club's team for the year 2014-15 President, Sweta Vakil. The Chief Guest of the event was Jyoti Doshi, who is not only a member of the Inner Wheel Club but also a past District President. She spoke about the significant role that the Club plays for the betterment of society and added that the Club gives its members a chance to add new dimensions to their lives while serving the needy. Along with its new projects, the Club will continue its rural development programmes in villages near Panvel in collaboration with Kushtarog Niwaran Samiti, a voluntary rural service organisation. Their objective is to provide villagers with amenities such as water, sanitation, education, vocational training and rehabilitation to those affected by leprosy. 3
4
5
Lady Rotarians host a grand cocktail dinner fellowship June 24 was a special day for the Rotary Club of Bombay. For the first time in its 85-year history, lady Rotarians of the Club got together and hosted a remarkable cocktail dinner fellowship to bid farewell to outgoing President Rtn. Nirav Shah and welcome incoming President Rtn. Shailesh Haribhakti. Dressed in different shades of pink, the lady members played perfect hosts to the Club members and took meticulous care of all the arrangements. Hon. Rtn. Smt. Rajashree Birla was the Chief Guest of the function, which saw approximately 300 Rotarians, Rotaryannes and guests in attendance. Inner Wheel Club 2013-14 meets for the last time The 10th General Body Meeting and Annual General Meeting of the Inner Wheel Club of Bombay on June 18 marked the end of a remarkable year for President R/Anne Vandana Daga and her team. It was an eventful year, replete with social service projects, belying all the apprehensions she mentioned feeling at the beginning of her year. In her vote of thanks, Vice President Geeta Gogia said that Vandana ensured continuity of the ongoing projects while initiating several new ones all of this with her unfailing good cheer. The bonhomie engendered supported her team not only at the GBMs but also during the execution of projects. The meetings were a fine blend of serious discussion and fellowship, as each one was rounded off by a spot of entertainment in keeping with the general theme of the changing seasons. The year s projects ranged from rural to urban, from personalised aid to that for institutions, from medical help to entertainment, from students to the aged, from special attention and facilities for girls and the differently-abled to community service. While appreciating the support extended by the members, Vandana made special mention of Geeta and awarded her the BP Agarwalla Trophy for Sustained Interest in Club Activities. Ankita Bagri, a new member, was also singled out for the Ambarish Kaji Trophy for maximum participation in the Club s projects. Kudos to the outgoing team and a warm welcome to the incoming team, which will have to measure up to the standard set in the previous Rotary year! 6
7
Published on Tuesday, July 15, 2014. Regd. No. MH/MR/South-109/2012-14; R.N.I. No. 14015/60, WPP license No. MR / TECH / WPP-89 / South 2014-15 License to post without prepayment. Posted at Mumbai Patrika Channel Sorting Office, Mumbai 400 001, on Wednesday, July 16, 2014 rotary club of bombay Founded 19 march, 1929 Charter No. 3128, Dated 08 May, 1929 97-B Mittal Tower, Nariman Point Mumbai 400 021, India Tel.: 91 22 22024089 Fax.: 91 22 22024509 rotaryclubbombay1@gmail.com Office Bearers 2014-15 President Shailesh Haribhakti Immediate Past President Nirav Shah President-Elect Dr. Sonya Mehta President-Nominee Dr. Mukesh Batra Honorary Secretary Nandan Maluste Joint Honorary Secretary Ritu Prakash Desai Honorary Treasurer Manish Reshamwala Club Service: New Members Dr. Sonya Mehta Classifications and Membership PP Arun Sanghi Rotary Information PP Paul George Membership Development and District Conference Dr. Mukesh Batra Sergeant-at-Arms and Assimilation Tara Deshpande Club Service: Programmes and Meetings Meera Alreja Programmes Nanik Rupani Fellowship PP Ashish Vaid Attendance Arvind Agarwal Bulletin and Website Dr. Prakriti Poddar Fundraising Pradeep Chinai Sports Hiranmay Biswas Community Service: Medical Dr. Nayna Dastur Chairman Emeritus Talwada PP Dr. Rahim Muljiani Hasanali Tobaccowala Eye Centre PP Dr. Rumi Jehangir Ajit Deshpande Medical Centre PP Nowroze Vazifdar Medical and Cancer Aid Dr. Anand Shah Differently Abled and Polio Plus PP Kalpana Munshi Community Service: Non Medical Alok Sekhsaria Women Empowerment Arin Master Environment and Water Sanitation Madhusudan Daga Legal Aid Sameer Tapia Old Age Home (Ambarnath) Ravi Fotedar Vocational Service Vikram Daiya Rotary Public Awards Shernaz Vakil Vocational Training and Night Study Centres Sunny Pariyaram Happy Birthday spouses Nirav Shah July 15 Kamal Bulchandani July 18 Nandini Narvekar July 15 Sumitra Kothari July 15 Parmeshwar Godrej July 16 Yasmin Chibber July 18 Rekha Tanna July 16 Framroze Mehta July 18 Pradeep Gupta July 20 Dr. Indu Shahani July 17 Dr. Ashok Kripalani July 19 Malti Jain July 18 Neha Jotwani July 20 Forthcoming speaker: Edmundo Da Cunha On July 22, participate in an interactive session with master illusionist Edmundo Da Cunha Forthcoming Meetings july 22 Edmundo Da Cunha to speak on "Master Illusionists" july 29 Bank Holiday The statistics for the meeting held on Tuesday, July 8, 2014 are as under: Rotarians 159 Visiting Rotarians 01 Economic Rotaryannes and community development 02 Guests 08 Total attendance 170 Service above Self International Service The Rotary Foundaion and TRF Grants Corporate Social Responsibility Youth I Education Bhavishya Yaan Merit-cum-Means Scholarships Youth II Early Act Interact Rotaract District Thrust Areas Committees on District Initiatives Hiren Kara PP Sandip Agarwalla Suresh Goklaney Preeti Mehta Shivkumar Israni Roda Billimoria Freyaz Shroff Sidharth Punshi Gaurav Nevatia Manoj Patodia PP Pradeep Saxena Edmundo Da Cunha, an award-winning magician, has been performing professionally for the past 15 years. He hails from Goa and is a member of the US-based International Brotherhood of Magicians. The master illusionist is known for his interactive sessions, where he presents a breathtaking display of sleight of hand, mind-reading and psychokinesis in his unique style. His performances backed by effective communication skills and motivational tips work well as stress busters. His talent has won him both national and international acclaim. With years of professional experience, Edmundo now develops his show based around the audience at hand. Editorial Consultant: Divya Aiyer, Spenta Multimedia, Peninsula Spenta, Mathuradas Mill Compound, N.M. Joshi Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai 400 013. Landline: 022-24811010 E-Mail: divya@spentamultimedia.com WPP license No. MR / TECH / WPP-89 / South 2014-15. License to post without prepayment Regd. No. MH/MR/South-109/2012-14, R.N.I. No. 14015/60 Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2014 Printed, Published by Rtn. Arjun Bulchandani on behalf of Rotary Club of Bombay and printed at Spenta Multimedia, Peninsula Spenta, Mathuradas Mill Compound, N.M. Joshi Marg, Lower Parel (West), Mumbai 400 013 and Published at 97/B, Mittal Tower, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021. Editor: Arjun Bulchandani 8