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BULLETIN OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF MADRAS | 2019-20

L I G H T H O U S EL I G H T H O U S EL I G H T H O U S EEdition # 47 JUNE 9, 2020 10 Pages • •

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

Rtn.Biswajit

I leave you with a quote…–GeorgeOrwell

Foracreativewriterpossessionofthe'truth'islessimportantthanemotionalsincerity.

This issue has two very interesting articles – (1) A collection of sel�ie pictures which appeared in the Lighthouse a few years ago and (2) Rotary and Me story from this very interesting gentleman who can narrate story after story full of wit and a sense of adventure – Rtn M Balasubramanian.

Read on and enjoy this issue of the Lighthouse. Stay Home, Wash your hands, Stay Safe!

Dear Members, PRESIDENT SPEAKSRtn.Dr.VijayaBharathiRangarajan

Maybe it's time to embrace the sacred trinity - spirituality, simplicity and serenity, a common thread found in the lives of the world's great spiritual teachers and traditions.Wishing you all a week of Health, Hope and Happiness.Even in these days of continued lockdown, let us �ind that quietude to remind us that we can make the choice every morning to live in the present moment.

On a Sunday morning, I �ind myself sifting and sorting some pictures, �iles, and letters that have been sent out during the year on the various projects. It resembled a hurricane that's thrown scraps of paper in various directions. I realised that it was time to return everything to where it belonged and I �inally felt some source of contentment that all will be well.

“Outoftheclutter,�indsimplicity” -AlbertEinstein

MINUTES OF THE MEETING LAKE RESTORATION TOTAL RECALL

SELFIE MOMENTS

Secretary Rtn M Sesha Sai read out the birthdays and wedding anniversaries for the week of the members and spouses who celebrate that week.

President Rtn Dr Vijaya Bharathi welcomed the Rotarians to the Close Door Meeting.

CallingtheMeetingtoOrder

The President requested a video to be played of Rtn Vidya Amarnath speak on the Four Way Test.

President Rtn Dr Vijaya Bharathi Rangarajan adjourned the Meeting of Rotary Club of Madras.

Secretary'sRemarks

VoteofThanks

FourWayTest

The Secretary informed that the next weekly Meeting on June 16th and the speaker Mr Gunjan Samtani, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs.

The President called for the con�irmation of the Minutes of the 46th Meeting and it was acknowledged. WelcomebythePresident

He also informed the Members present that this Meeting will be a Close Door Meeting.The President thanked all the Members for their support in conducting the Closed Door Meeting.

The President Rtn Dr Vijaya Bharathi Rangarajan called the 47th weekly Meeting to order after she was collared with the Presidents Jewel.

AdjournmentoftheMeeting

Con�irmationoftheMinutes

BirthdaysandAnniversaries

Mr Gunjan Samtani is the Head of Goldman Sachs Services India and Head of Engineering from 2010 and is based in Bengaluru.

Speaker:Mr Gunjan Samtani;Topic:COVID-19 and Beyond

T H E L I G H T H O U S E • J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 02MINUTES OF TH MEETINGe

BIRTHDAY

WEDDING

June 22nd - Rtn Harish Dhingra

June 20th - Rtn Tarun SethJune 20th - Rtn Chella Krishna G

June 21st - Rtn Chidambaram M Ct P

June 17th - Rtn Ashok Doshi

June 21st - Rtn Srinivasan M June 22nd - Rtn Lala Mathai

June 20th - PP Raman KK June 18th - Rtn Goenka SB

Closed Door Meeting ofRotary Club of Madras, June 9th, 2020

NEXT MEETING

Four Way Test –Rtn Vidya AmarnathAs a child we are taught 3 magic words; PLEASE, SORRY and THANK YOU. These magic words help us shape our perspective and our personality. They form the foundation of our value system. Similarly the Four Way Test forms the foundation of how we take ethical decisions and our morality. Many a time we become cynical and we may be thrown off the path. We may not be able to keep up with the four way test. Yet, reiterating the Four Way Test in the way we think, say or do helps us come back on the right path and become relevant in our everyday lives.

T H E L I G H T H O U S E • J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 0 3COMMUNITY SERVICE

Restoration Work Startsat Madambakkam Lake

President Rtn Dr Vijaya Bharathi Rangarajan was there along with PP Rtn PN Mohan, Secretary Rtn Sesha Sai and the lake Committee member Rtn Sumit Kalra. Air Marshal Var Dhaman was also p r e s e n t , w h o r e p r e s e n t e d t h e Madambakkam Committee and assured all support to maintain the lake year on year.

n June 8th, 2020, the dredging work Ostarted with a puja on the banks of Madambakkam lake to start the dredging. This lake is about 250 acres and will bene�it over two lakh people.

COVID-19 Relief Project

• F ace ShieldBalancePPE'stobereceived:• N 95 masks • P rotective Goggles

n 10.06.2020, as part of Covid-19 GG O#2011502, Rotary Club of Madras has supported the Government Covid Relief work by donating 10,000 Pieces of the following PPE material. • S plash Proof Coverall• S hoe Cover• N itrile Gloves

Total worth of 10,000 Pieces of PPE is Rs. 47,77,500 and they will be donated to �ive Government Hospitals in Chennai.MembershipProposalDr Anisha Ashok who was a past Member of Rotary club of Madras has shown interest in joining our Club. She has been proposed by Rtn Bejamin Cherian and seconded by Rtn Yeshwanth Srinath . Any objection if any can be sent in writing to Rtn Sesha Sai, Honorary Secretary within ten days.

T H E L I G H T H O U S E • J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 04

Total Recall – AVM Balu Unplugged(Excerptsfromthe�ilmscript)

ROTARY AND ME

Scene1:Year 1973 …When Chennai was called Madras and trams moved down Mount Road and many of you who are in Rotary Club of Madras (RCM) were not even born, I joined the Rotary Club of Madras. The period when I joined RCM the Rotary movement not known to many and it was a completely new experience for me. In the normal course it would have been a phase in life when you would have been focussing on settling down at work and in family life and here I was, thrown into a ring with to come face to face with Chennai's celebrity fraternity.

Those days when anybody joined RCM there was already leader in your profession in RCM as a member. They had to approve and propose your membership to the Club. So was my case even though I came from a family that was involved in �ilm production I was given the classi�ication as - Additional active - Motion Picture Production. Only the leader of the Profession in that Classi�ication was given direct Classi�ication without the tag – Additional Active. I was inducted to RCM by R Ratnam of TVS family – a leading industrialist of his time. During the same year V P Raman father of our incoming President Mohan Raman was the Additional Secretary.

Scene2:

After joining RCM every Tuesday I had to meet these Senior Rotarians who came from different professions. RCM had top Bank of�icials, members of the diplomatic community, business tycoons, top doctors from the medical professions etc. They all walked into the meeting sharp on time in full formal attire. Imagine at that young age hob knobbing with industrialists like DC.Kothari, MAM Ramamsamay, MV.Arunachalam, TVS Ratnam and Dr.CRR.Pillay to name a few. I felt like a freshie among college seniors…minus the ragging for sure.

Scene3:

– Rtn AVM Balasubramanian

T H E L I G H T H O U S E • J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 0 5

Scene4:This tense and formal atmosphere in RCM saw a Green Rotarian like me seeking solace at a more relaxed and newly formed RC of Madras South ( RC South). There I could communicate freely and be myself with the members. To name a few who took care of me and made me feel at home are - Raja Ramakrishnan. C V George, Prof.Hegde, Alwar Chetty. Attendance was very important in those days and we had only 3 options to make up the attendance as against 120 and odd clubs now. I enjoyed the fellowship meetings of RC Madras South to the extent and many assumed that I was a full member of that Club.

RCM never had any full club fellowships but had a fellowship committee. Members of the committee contributed individually to defray the cost and met at Madras Gymkhana Club. The excess money collected would be given to the Club projects. There were a few big projects like Rotary Nagar project and Midday meal schemes which

today look like really small projects. I joined the Road safety committee which gave me an opportunity to go with my seniors around the city and study Road Safety issues. We made notes and later met the City Police Chief to give our recommendations. They used to take our suggestions seriously and took a lot of effort to implement it. We used to have annual family sports in YMCA but over time it got discontinued.

Scene5:

Scene6:As days went by, I slowly started moving with big guns and there were two groups which used to meet just before the club lunch meeting. Both the groups met in the heart of the city on Mount Road and in fact at venues opposite to each other. I was pulled into the group which used to meet in an of�ice located in Spencer's complex. Strategies used to be discussed before going to the meeting along with few shots of rum or gin. Being the youngest I was given the job of the bar man. Dr.Sundaraman, R P Sarathy, PCM Somasundaram (father of our Rajesh Somasundaram), Dr.C.R.R. Pillay, V.Chidambaram (popularly known as CT) and of course Air France Gopal were some of the notable names of this team. From here we quickly went to the meeting through a short cut behind Spencer's to reach Connemara Hotel. There were 100 plus members and they had time only to come for lunch meetings. That is why we had our meetings during lunch time on Tuesdays. We had an option to either buy snacks coupons for Rs.4 or lunch coupons for Rs.7. Trust me that

was a lot on money …eggs used to cost 5 paisa. Members had to stand in the queue and buy coupons before entering the meeting hall. There was subscription bar too. Club admin subscription was a meagre amount. RP Sarathy used stand at the door and welcome each member by name as they entered the hall. This made new members to feel at home.

T H E L I G H T H O U S E • J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 06

Since the membership was only a little over 100 members Presidents Installation and Governor's Visit were always the main gala events where all members came in their best business wear and looked dapper. Charter night was not a big event like we have today. Since those days since many members of�ice was situated on Mount Road lunch meeting was very comfortable for everyone and there was never a change to this schedule. Every fourth meeting was an evening meeting which never had good attendance. (As I was writing this article this was acknowledged by my brother M Saravanan.)

Scene7:

Attendance was very important and even if you take medical leave the Attendance committee Chairman at times used to call the Doctor and cross check. If the reason provided was found to be false, the member was sent out of the Club and his name was removed from the attendance register at once. Minimum 60 percent was compulsory and if we fell short, we were technically out of RCM as a member. The board had to condone it and your membership was reinstated. Under Krish Chitale presidentship many big names were terminated or asked to resign for want of attendance.Scene8:Since travelling abroad was next to impossible and RBI permission was required to release foreign exchange and that too it had to be backed with export guarantee etc. Anyone travelling abroad for business was given a Bon voyage message in the meeting by the Club Secretary and on his return was welcomed back in the Club meeting. They were granted leave of absence on the condition that

they should make up attendance wherever possible during their travel abroad. Their make - up attendance details were published in the Lighthouse magazine irrespective of whether it was in India or abroad. There used to be many visiting Rotarians from outside Chennai to RCM. This list was also carried in the Lighthouse for a long time. RCM was known as the Main Club from where many Rotary clubs were started. Also from our RI district the other RI Districts in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Ceylon branched out.

A member could become President only if he served as Secretary and in the Board. Sergeant at Arms were invited to the board meeting as a goodwill gesture but cannot vote in the decisions. I remember R Ratnam as Attendance Chairman use to sit at the entrance to check up whether the member leaving early without 60 percent of the meeting being completed. I also remember Parthasarthy Reddy used to call the family when he was the President and request them to send their husband ( sorry then there were no lady members) to the Rotary meeting .In case you have to leave early you will have to inform President and the Sergeant at arms. Connemara Hotel was kind enough to give our Rotary of�ice a

Scene9:

room in the hotel till they went in for renovation. After that we lost that privilege and moved into one of our Rotarians of�ice premises in Fagun Mansion and now to Halda's Mount Road property kind courtesy Ranjit Pratap. I had the rare privilege of interacting with three generation of the same family in our RCM. M.C.Cunnan grandfather of Pratap Kumar (who use to come with panchakatcham and jibba) followed by his father Prabhat Kumar and now Pratap Kumar.

T H E L I G H T H O U S E • J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 0 7Scene10:I had one bad experience …..I was included in one of the committees during the Pandurang Shetty's period. It was end of April and President requested me host the committee meeting at the Madras Gymkhana Club in the �irst week of May and I readily accepted. My whole family was leaving for Kodaikanal and they were upset because I was not joining them. I wanted to keep up my promise and stayed alone in my house in the heat. On the day of the meeting I reached the Club with all that was required for the fellowship around 7 pm and ordered snacks etc and was all set for the meeting. To my shock I didn't �ind any committee member come that evening. Eventually I packed up and left dejected and to my surprise even the President didn't call me. On that day I decided to keep away from any committee meetings.Scene11:During Krish Chitale's period measles vaccination was introduced and the whole team including then secretary N.Kumar and the team consisting of Air France Gopal, the local head of Air India ( I am not able to recollect his name) and Dr Jacob John from Vellore coordinated the activity. They used to rush to airport to receive the medicine which used to come from US by Air India cargo �light. They had to remove the packaging and put it in ice box and send it to different parts of our districts. For his service Krish could have easily become District Governor but he was not interested. When it came to matter of attendance, he used to be worse that the strictest college principal you would have ever known.

Elections…..There used to be election for every post. During prohibition times we use to have our Fellowship sessions at Queens Hotel and then come back to Connemara Hotel for dinner. Once we even had a close contest for

the post of District Governor within the Club…that was only once but never had happened again I think… R Ramakrishanan (known among friends as RK) was the youngest District Governor from our Club and District. He used to say that he had the record of becoming the youngest Member of Parliament, youngest Mayor of Madras, youngest Governor in Rotary and the youngest to undergo bypass heart surgery. He was true leadership material.

Scene12:

When they decided to renovate Connemara Hotel we were forced to move to Hotel Ambassador Pallava. Shifting to ambassador Pallava was a disaster since the food was average and car park was a big problem. Since valet parking was not a known concept then. The Hotel was not happy with token system for lunch meetings and wanted a lump sum as guarantee and that is where the system of minimum guarantee started, and it was added to subscription. When Benji was proposed to be President only he took a promise from his close friends not to run away but stay for the full meeting. This in turn got us involved in Rotary activities and inspired us to take leadership roles. When the request to take leadership came to our family, we decided to propose M S Guhan.

Scene13:

T H E L I G H T H O U S E • J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 08

That was the start of the next generation staring to play a role in RCM. M S Guhan period was a year �illed with a lot of mega activities and packed with colourful events. He had made an attendance register for the whole year During the course of the year they

discovered that members were signing for 4 or 5 meetings in advance. That is when attendance register for every week was introduced. During this period I joined the Board of RCM and started participating in district activities. We kept wondering why after doing so much of good work by RCM we were not able to get a District Governor elected from our

Scene14: At the end of that year my brother M Saravanan and my nephew M S Guhan resigned. I was not in the country and when I returned, I came to know that they have resigned due to some misunderstanding with someone, but I tried to convince them, but I failed. They told that if I wanted, I could continue or resign and left the decision to me. Since I was not convinced with their reason I decided to continue since I felt this was the best platform to interact with so many people from different walks of life.

Scene15:

club. We had a devoted Rotarian in M.Balaji who we thought was a worthy choice. There were factions in the District and we were backing the wrong group and had struck a deal with them only to realise we were misled .At that point I had the opportunity of meeting R Ganapathi (Ganpa as he known was a member of RC of T Nagar) accidentally in Kodai at the local Rotary meeting. We got talking as were both from Chennai. Later then Past President Benji and I met Ganpa in at Benji's of�ice and worked out the strategy to make M Balaji District Governor. To ful�il our request he set one condition that I should I take up a position in the District administration. We both agreed thinking it is not possible to make it to the District team without being a Club President but he managed to do both - made M Balaji as District Governor and me as District Director for International Service.

Scene16:I cannot count the number of true friendships I have made because of Rotary. It had become a passion and I continued with RCM. I took up various positions in the District 3230. A few years later was made the District Conference Chairman which is normally given to a potential District Governor candidate (even though I was not one…as I was not even a Club President). This gave me more opportunities to interact with members of other Clubs who feared dealing with a member of RCM. I managed to bring RCM closer to the District. Later I was also the District Awards Chairman….even now having gone through this long stint In Rotary activities my energy levels remain the same as in the year 1973 when I joined RCM - young and happy to serve which ever faction comes to power. I know for sure it's a large world out there with a lot more friends yet to be made. Whenever I made a speech in Rotary at the District I used to �inish with a punch line and todays punch line is “Age is strictly mind over matter, if you don't mind it does not matter”.

T H E L I G H T H O U S E • J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 0 7RtnSandhyaSridhar,inoneofhermanyyearsaseditorofTheLighthouse,introducedthislovelyandengagingSel�ieMomentscornerinthenewsletter.Inthesetestingtime,isn'titgreattoseethosecarefreedayswithoutabotherformasks,socialdistancingandvirtualmeetings?

LIGHTHOUSE COMMITTEE:Editor: Rtn. Biswajit Balasubramanian

Rtn Mohan RamanRtn Sanjay ParikhRtn Niloufer SethAnn Harsha Sajnani Ganeriwala

Send in your articles, news, write-ups to be considered for publication here on lighthouse.rcm@gmail.comBe in touch with the Lighthouse, your very own RCM magazine!

EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY:Rtn. Asst. Secretary, Rotary Club of Madras, 'Rayala Towers',2nd Mezzanine Floor, 158, Anna Salai, Chennai - 2, Ph: 28591020.

Visit: www.rotarymadras.inContact club secretariat at: office@rotarymadras.in

Contact the editor at: lighthouse.rcm@gmail.comDesign: www.studiodescience.com

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENTRtn. Ranjit Pratap

DIRECTOR SERVICE PROJECT 2Rtn. R. Ravishankar

TREASURER(CHARITABLE TRUST)Rtn. Rajasekar Gorantla

HONORARY SECRETARYRtn. M. Sesha Sai

PRESIDENT ELECTRtn. Kapil Chitale

PRESIDENTRtn. Dr. Vijaya Bharathi Rangarajan

PRESIDENT NOMINEERtn. P.V. Mohan Raman

Asst. SECRETARY/BULLETIN EDITORRtn. Biswajit Balasubramaniam

DIRECTOR CLUB ADMINISTRATIONRtn. Shanno Ravi

DIRECTOR YOUTH SERVICERtn. Balaji Chinni

DIRECTOR PUBLIC IMAGEAND FUND RAISINGRtn. Hemant Chordia

DIRECTOR SERVICE PROJECT 1Rtn. S. Ravi

DIRECTOR ROTARY FOUNDATION &INTERNATIONAL SERVICESRtn. M. Balasubramaniam

DIRECTOR VOCATIONAL SERVICERtn. Dr. Anuradha Ganesan

TREASURER (CLUB FUNDS)Rtn. Aditya Agarwal

TREASURER(SPECIAL PROJECTS)Rtn. Nimish C. Tolia

T H E L I G H T H O U S E • J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 010

My RotaryJourney

As COVID-19 reached around the globe, we found ourselves in a world transformed. We have been forced to connect in ways we could never have imagined, testing our ability to adapt. We have made tough decisions, including canceling club meetings, district conferences, presidential conferences, and, much to our regret, the 2020 Rotary International Convention in Honolulu. Together everyone is placing the public good and welfare �irst, despite the loss of meetings, events, and experiences that had been planned for years.

This year Rotary launched our new Action Plan, and I trust each club is putting that plan to use. And I have been energized by the efforts to embrace the priorities I set for this Rotary year: engaging families, providing leadership opportunities for all ages, celebrating our history with the United Nations in its 75th year, and, most signi�icantly, growing Rotary.

As I have witnessed the members of the Rotary community act to care for humanity amid the coronavirus pandemic, I have seen the aloha of Rotary. We are indeed people of action. Every day, but particularly during this pandemic, the Rotary community has demonstrated its aloha spirit. It is a gift to be shared, and we are each a steward of this gift of Rotary. Gay and I have been amazed, inspired, and humbled by all of you within the family of Rotary.Indeed, I would say that the last part of our shared Rotary year was transformational. We found new ways to make the lives of others better, new ways to move forward together. And, together, we will continue to grow Rotary so that we may increase our gift of Rotary to our local and global communities.

My Rotary journey began 40 years ago when I joined the Rotary Club of Decatur, Alabama, at the age of 25, and it has brought my family and me many unforgettable moments. But nothing could have prepared me for connecting with the world as president of Rotary International. My individual Rotary journey has become a shared Rotary journey with each of you.All of the incredible people Gay and I met this year — Rotarians, Rotaractors, and the extended family of Rotary — will be an inspiration for the rest of our lives. We visited clubs and projects from Uruguay to Ukraine, from Nigeria to New Zealand, and beyond. We were privileged to crisscross the globe, circumnavigating it twice and moving back and forth between the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Each country and each stop held its own Rotary magic. While in Zimbabwe in March, we participated in a medical vocational training team mission with Rotarians from India, providing health, hope, and life itself to the thousands who came for treatment. We also felt the energy of more than 300 young people at a Rotary Youth Symposium in Harare. What a thrill it was to be with these young people!

As we looked forward to the Rotary Convention in Honolulu, we learned about the aloha spirit. Our Rotary friends in Hawaii showed us that "aloha" means mutual regard and affection. It extends warmth and caring with no expectation of anything in return. The spirit of aloha applies wherever in the world we may live. As Rotarians, Rotaractors, and members of the family of Rotary, we are connected, and as aloha has been de�ined to me: Our connection to one another is based upon mutual respect for our differences as well as our appreciation for what we have in common. Community is the sum of individuals — individuals who have concern for one another, who care, share, and take responsibility.

Gay and I will always remember and treasure our year with you, our shared journey, as Rotary Connects the World!

MarkMaloney Rotary International President, 2019-20