Bulletin

The Grand Old Rotarian S.B. ANAND It is with pleasure that I write to compliment a long-term friend Rtn Satya Bhushan Anand. We have been very close to each other and have shared many experiences together as a part of Rotary. Bhushan was born on 17th February, 1923 in Bhera, then in undivided India (now […]

Rtn R Barwale’s success in the hybrid seed industry has gained him international and national recognition. He has also contributed to the cause of seed industry and agriculture by serving as member of many prestigious bodies. Some of such notable bodies are the Oil and Fibre Seed Section Committee and Executive Committee of International Seed Federation, Switzerland, the Joint Apex Committee of […]

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During this month, clubs are urged to develop at least one club program to the Foundation. (RCP 8.020.) (MOP 2013) November is the time to celebrate the wonderful work of The Rotary Foundation. It’s a good time to reflect on the Rotary Foundation sponsored programs we support and on how each of us can contribute to make […]

Dear Rotarians, In September, we had some very good speakers on diverse subjects. September 7 was the installation of the new Interact Club of Walsingham House School attended by Interact Committee Chairman Jamsheed Patel and myself. In response to an appeal by NASEOH, for support of physically challenged persons to take part in the Mumbai Marathon 2016, Anil […]

The Annual Sophia-Rotary scholarship awards function was on August 8, where I was invited as guest of honor. Others present at the function were Rtns Deepak Mehta, Kiran Shah, Naren Mohatta, PP Navin Shah, Anand Didwania and MK Jalan. Our club has an annual tradition of awarding scholarships to five students and a teacher’s grant of R10,000/- sponsored by Rtn Arun Jatia in memory of his mother Smt Sumitra Devi. For the year 2015-2016, the grant was awarded to Dr Hema Subramaniam for her research project, Characterization of Drosophila Alzheimer’s GMR – AB mutant.

The Rotary year 2015–16 started with my installation on July 1, 2015 as the President of the club for the second time taking over from Mohan Lalvani (who was also serving as president for the second time). I am happy that my club has entrusted me this task and I will do my utmost to keep the flag of RC Bombay Mid-Town flying high.

Cover profile President RP Anand NEWS SKS Chakshu Foundation Committee Current Committee Members Photo feature June 24, 2015: Awards Night July 1, 2015: Installation of Pres RP Anand Dr Hemant Sachdev: Politics isn’t a ‘bad’ word anymore Projects Women’s Empowerment through Infrastructure Milestones August 2015   Download PDF

This year, our club has agreed to participate in Long term (one year) International Student Cultural Exchange Program at the district level.

Under this program, our club sends a student for a one year period to a Rotary Club in a foreign country. Their club reciprocates by sending a student to us for one year. The foreign student usually stays with three or four volunteer Rotarian families who host them in their houses.

The selected student going from our side is Rtn Vicky Punjabi’s son, Naren Punjabi and the country he will be going to is Taiwan.

Ever wonder why the Rotary year begins 1 July? The Rotary International Convention initially
played a key role in determining the start date of our fiscal and administrative year. Rotary’s
first fiscal year began the day after the first convention ended, on 18 August 1910. The
1911-12 fiscal year also related to the convention, beginning with the first day of the 1911
convention on 21 August. At its August 1912 meeting, the Board of Directors ordered an
audit of the International Association of Rotary Clubs’ finances.

Dear Rotarian friends, Of late we have had many speakers who came to educate us on the health issues. Mental health, the gastro system, etc. But, the one that was the most beautiful was Dr Rahul Joshi, who with his wife Trishna, thrilled us with music as therapy. This was a refreshing change and helped us realise that […]

Dear Rotarian friends,

Rotary’s international calendar this month has been devoted to literacy. This is particularly important for us, as Rotarians in India have been dedicating themselves to promoting literacy throughout the country for many years. In February, the Second Rotary India Literacy Summit was held in Pune with representation from all Indian districts.

My Fellow Rotarians, I had a very interesting experience last month. The team of Gaurav Kapadia, Naren Mohatta, Ashwin Shah and Anil Kejriwal asked me to accompany them to meet Swami Radhakishan Prabhuji of Iskcon. The purpose of this visit was to hand over an accumulated amount collected for the Midday Meals activity which we carry out along […]

Does ‘stylebhai’ ring a bell?

Narendra Modi, the man who has made a style statement with his Movado watches, Bvlgari frames to Montblanc pens. Nehru jackets, bandh galas… always well-dressed, befitting the occasion and the gathering. This is how the world looks up to a well-dressed leader who visits and addresses gatherings, parliaments.

How about following his example and restoring the glory of Rotary Club of Bombay Mid-Town?

There was a time when we walked into our meetings at the Taj — which itself is an icon and we are proud to be meeting there — dressed chic in a tie and jacket. I joined the club in 1996 and looking at all the well dressed folks around me felt so nice and classy, and fell into the groove of dressing well. One of the senior members appreciated it and told me that it is always good to be dressed formally with a tie and jacket and that I could be summoned to introduce the speaker or propose a Vote of Thanks at short notice.

In the year 2008, I was the President and on Wednesday, 26 November, we had our last regular meeting at the Taj Gateway Room. I remember that day clearly because we finished our meeting and left the venue at around 3 pm. The same evening I was near the Taj at the Wodehouse Gymkhana. We suddenly started getting calls and TV images which initially looked like a gang war. Eventually, it turned out to be a terrorist attack. Some of our Rotarians, to name a few—Naren Mohatta, Gaurav Kapadia, Arvind Kasbekar, Bipin Jain, Atul Premnarayen and a few others—also recall this day very vividly. We had to shift our regular meetings to the Wodehouse Gymkhana which came to our rescue in this time of need. Hence, we made it our permanent place till we could go back to the Taj.

Dedicated to Rotary: Rtn DEEPAK MEHTA Deepak Mehta was born in 1940. He completed B-Com in 1960 from Podar College of Commerce. Then he joined his father’s stock broking business. He sold his BSE membership card in 2000 and since then he is an investment consultant. He was a member of Bombay Jaycees for many years and held various portfolios and received International Jaycees President Award for […]

Prioritising Sanitation My Fellow Rotarians, You will agree that the prestige and importance of our Rotary Club of Bombay Mid-Town in the field of community service is well recognised in our District 3140. Findings of the latest government survey revealed that as many as 70 per cent rural households do not have access to toilet facility even […]

Focus on Families Every year at the Rotary Club of Bombay Mid-Town, we dedicate August as the month for Membership and Extension. We remind ourselves of the importance of membership early in every Rotary year because the job of growing membership is one that we can never begin too soon. We have talked for many years about the […]

Mohan Raises The Bar
Sometimes I wish I was an orator. Then I could have become a political leader – The Honourable Mohan Bhai Modi or I could have been someone like Asaram Bapu. Of course, I could have made a lot of money and be surrounded by lovely people. But today I am grateful and I thank God that I am here in the midst of such good friends and families from the Rotary Club of Bombay Mid-Town. They say you can choose friends but you cannot choose family. I am among those fortunate enough to have the best family.

DR. B. R. BARWALE: Dedicated to uplifting rural India Dr. B. R. Barwale was born in Hingoli, Maharashtra on Ganesh Chaturthi in 1931, a very significant day in the Hindu calendar. As a young boy, he was involved in the freedom movement of India and therefore could not continue his college education. Today, he has built colleges and schools for the benefit of the […]