We meet every Friday at 6.30 p.m. at Hotel Rajdhani Regency, Dispur Last Gate, Guwahati-781006

UDAYANFORTNIGHTLY BULLETIN OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF GAUHATI SOUTH

Rotary International District-3240, IndiaEngage Rotary Change Lives(RI Theme, 2013-14)

R.I. PresidentRtn. Ron D. Burton

Dist. GovernorRtn. Arijit Kr. Endow

PresidentRtn. Dr. R. N. Mazumder

SecretaryRtn. Mrinmoyee G. Sarma

VOL. XXXXII NO. 63 Date : 31st JANUARY, 2014

UDAYAN SPECIAL ISSUE 31 JANUARY 2014

ROTARY’S NEW LOGO

ROTARY CLUB OF GAUHATI SOUTH WELCOMESDG RTN ARIJIT KUMAR ENDOW

The man who was destined to take the rein of leading RID3240 for RY 2013- 14, ArijitKumar Endow was born in 1949 at Silchar. He passed out from Government Boys’ HigherSecondary School, Silchar, and then joined his Alma Mater, Assam Engineering College,Guwahati, from where he graduated in 1970. He then joined the Flood Control and IrrigationDepartment (later renamed as the Water Resources Department) of the Government ofAssam, where he served in various capacities during his tenure, and ultimately retired asAdditional Chief Engineer. He is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution ofEngineers, India, and Life Member of the Indian Water Resources Society.

A chartered member of the Rotary Club of Silchar, Rtn Arijit Endow is a multiple PaulHarris Fellow and has worked tirelessly in several initiatives in the region during the last

fifteen years. He was adjudged the best president of District 3240 for the year 2002-03. During his tenure asPresident, several Goodwill and Friendship Exchange programmes were organized. An Inter-city Meet on WorldUnderstanding and Conflict Resolution with Rotary clubs of Bangladesh and an inter-district RYLA with District3280 (Bangladesh) was also held at Silchar under his initiative. During 2004-05, Rtn Arijit served the District asAssistant District Governor and had the honour of receiving the Best Assistant Governor Award. Over the years, he

Rotary

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has served the District in several official capacities.He demonstrated his skill and ability as an organizerby very successfully holding just concluded 24th RIDistrict 3240 Annual Conference at his home town Silcharwhich the attending delegates claimed to be one of themost successful district conferences of RID 3240.

Rtn Endow is an active sportsperson and isassociated with several sports organizations of the regionand a successful organiser. He is also a keen traveller

and has travelled widely within the country and abroad.His other interests include interior designing andplanning. Rtn Endow is actively involved in the areas ofwetland development and channel dredging and atpresent is a Consultant for the Guwahati MetropolitanDevelopment Authority, Assam.

Happily married to Minaxmi, an Associate Professorin a college at Silchar, blessed with two sons, Amberjitand Arkojit.

K.R. “Ravi” Ravindran, a businessman from Colombo,Sri Lanka, has been selected by the NominatingCommittee for President of RI in 2015-16. A member ofthe Rotary Club of Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lankahe begins his one-year term on July 1, 2015. He is thefirst Sri Lankan to hold the position. Ravindran said hismain priority will be to strengthen clubs by attractingthose committed to volunteer service.

After the devastation of the 2004 Indian Oceantsunami, the Sri Lankan led Rotary’s recovery efforts byhelping raise $12 million to rebuild 22 schools, enablingnearly 15,000 children to resume their studies. “Thetsunami could take away schools, homes, possessionsand even loved ones, but it would never be allowed totake away the spirit of children," Ravindran said.

He was also involved in tsunami-related projects inSri Lanka, Indonesia, India and Thailand. The projectsincluded housing, orphanages, water and sanitationsystems, solar oven technology, community-based credit

unions, health centers andreplacement of destroyed fishingtrawlers.

As president, Ravindran willoversee Rotary’s tophumanitarian goal of eradicatingpolio. As chair of Rotary’s polioeradication campaign in SriLanka, he led efforts to eradicatepolio from the country, whichbecame one of the first in Asia to be poliofree.

Ravindran is founder and CEO of Printcare Plc, apublicly listed tea packaging company. He is alsofounding president of the Sri Lanka Anti-NarcoticsAssociation, the largest antinarcotics organization in SriLanka.

A Rotarian since 1974, Ravindran has been a directorand treasurer of Rotary International and a trustee ofThe Rotary Foundation.

ROTARY EXPECTS INDIA TO BECOME FULLY LITERATE BY 2017Gary Huang, President-elect, Rotary

International in conversation with Governance NowTrithesh Nandan | January 01 2014

Till a few years ago, polio was not uncommon inIndia. But there has not been a single case of polioin the last three years, and India will be declaredpolio-free in March 2014. Rotary International, theservice organisation working for humanitariancauses, has also contributed in large measure tothis achievement. Gary Huang, the president-electof Rotary International, was particularly impressedwith India’s achievement in polio eradication whenhe visited the country in December. Since gettingelected as president in 2013, Huang has beenvisiting several countries to take stock of Rotary’swork and chart the future agenda. In India, theorganisation is going to focus on the literacy missionin a big way, he tells Trithesh Nandan.

Edited excerpts from an interview:

You have come to India at a time when India

has been successful in curbing polio for three

consecutive years and is about to be declaredpolio-free. Rotary, too, has contributed to this

journey. How do you feel about thisachievement, and what next ?

India is one of the growing economies of theworld. It has also seen a strong growth of Rotaryclubs structure. In the last few years, the countryhas been in an overdrive in the polio eradicationprogramme, reducing the incidence of polio to zeronow. This was achieved with active involvement ofall players, with Rotary India playing a key role –not only in India but worldwide.

Tell us more about Rotary’s activities.

The first project of Rotary International is to endpolio incidence around the world. The target is tocompletely eradicate polio by the end of 2018. Weare happy that India doesn’t have a polio case forthree years. By March 2014, the Unicef and WHOwill announce India as polio-free (since it has nopolio cases for three years). It is a dream come truefor India. We are also here to find out what else we

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can do to maintain India’s record as a polio-freecountry. We have been campaigning for global polioeradication for the last 25 years. From 1,979 poliocases worldwide in 2005 to just 223 cases in 2013,our most ambitious project has borne fruits. Thatdoesn’t mean we have finished our job. We havedecided to continue with the immunisationprogramme wholeheartedly.

What are the gains from India?

India was always regarded as the most difficultplace to end polio. But the country has a greatsuccess story to tell the world. I will share the Indiastory with other countries too. Then we can givemore support for the last battle.

India may not be out of danger, as Pakistanand Afghanistan are stil l battling toeradicate polio.

We expect that we will be able to complete thepolio eradication programme in the three countries– Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria – where it isstill a problem by 2018. We are assistinggovernments in those countries. That’s why we areraising more funds; we still need to pay attentionand watch closely.

There have been cases reported of someclerics in Pakistan campaigning against poliovaccine. Have you spoken with them?

There is good news from Pakistan. The Pakistanpresident had assured us that they won’t be lastin eradicating polio. If a top leader makes suchstrong statements, it will definitely help. Now evenclerics have realised the importance ofadministering polio drops.

What next for India? Are you planning another

ambitious campaign here?

We are supporting the literacy campaign in thecountry. Through Rotary Foundation, we aresupporting many schools to get a computer, properlighting, tables and chairs. As India grows, RotaryIndia has an ambitious programme of aiding theliteracy mission in the country. We are now puttingin a lot of effort towards literacy – it is not onlyliteracy but better education for everyone byproviding good infrastructure in schools.

Is there a target year for this?

By 2017, Rotary expects India to become fullyliterate.

You are from Taiwan and will take over as

president of Rotary International on July 1,2014. How does China view this?

I am very glad to say that I will be the firstTaiwanese-Chinese to serve this chair.

I grew up in Taiwan. As an organisation we don’ttalk about politics; we are a service organisationand try to help the needy. China recognises Rotary’sservice work and they do want Rotary Internationalto work in China. We have two clubs in China – inBeijing and in Shanghai.

These clubs were sponsored by the Taiwan Cluband Hong Kong Club 19 years ago. Most of theirmembers are the Chinese expats. But what hindersthe growth of Rotary in the country is a law. Agathering of more than 20 people is not allowed atone place. We can’t expect them to change this lawvery quickly but slowly I hope they will do so.

SNIPPETS OF WEEKLY MEETING HELD ON 17 JANUARY 2014

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PHILANTHROPY : THEIR OWN HUMBLE WAY“As the purse emptied, heart gets filled.” – Victor

Hugo There are good people in our society whodemonstrate true universal brotherhood in letter andspirit and compassion for others, the less orunderprivileged and those whose lives becamemiserable due to tragic circumstances and helpthem live with dignity. One such instance is Guzdercouple – Cirus Guzder, 76 and his wife Lyla, 70 fromMumbai. Guzders lived and worked in Nigeria forlong 33 years before returning to India. They havespent over Rs. 10 lakh so far on providingeducational support to the children, helping widowsset up small enterprises and enabling them to livedignified life.

As debt-ridden farmers continue to commitsuicide in Maharastra`s Vidarbha region due to“government apathy”, a Parsi couple from Mumbaihas extended healing touch to around 25 widows andtheir children bringing their broken lives back to track.

“This is our small and humble gesture to dowhatever we can to mitigate the sufferings of thefarming community here,” Guzder, reluctant tospeak about his philanthropy, told IANS.

He discussed the problems of farmingcommunities with NGO Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samity(VJAS) led by Kishore Tiwari, local officials and otheractivists to ascertain how more help could beextended to the widows and children.

“We have seen that many families are facingvirtual starvation. They live in misurable conditions,lacking basic food and health security, educationand employment opportunities. As per figures, over10,000 farmers have ended their lives in Vidarbhaalone,” Guzder said.

Tiwari alleged that central and state reliefpackages amounting to around Rs. 50,000 croresover the years have barely reached the beneficiaries.“The money is siphoned off by the politician-bureaucrat-contractor nexus and the farmerscontinue to suffer and commit suicide,” he said.

Gudzer who lived and worked in Nizeria for 33years, has a strong love for Vidarbha as hecompleted his early education in Nagpur. In fact, hecontinues to regularly travel between Mumbai andNagpur to care for his ailing 95 year old mother. “Gudzer and Lyla`s zeal to return to his roots andrepay his debt to society is indeed commendable.We salute them,” Tiwari said.

Meanwhile, the Gudzers visited the huts ofPoornima Kopulwar, 32 , whose husband committedsuicide in 2010 and she struggled to feed her twominor children.

Last June, she suffered a hip fracture whileworking in the fields. The Gudzers promptly cameforward and footed her Rs. 50,000 medical bills andother expenses.

Gita Rathode, 27 lives in Both- Bodan village ofYavatmal which shot into limelight after Congressleader Rahul Gandhi visited it few years ago - to littleavail. Again the Gudzers stepped in and help her setup a small stationery shop last month. Now Gita earnsabout Rs 6,000 a month and became independent.

When the dwelling of Gita Chincholkar inKopamandvi collapsed , she was at the verge ofcommiting suicide, but the Gudzers donated Rs80,000. Her home was reconstructed and her familylives there in full security.

Other major beneficiaries include Archana Raut,who got Rs.40,000 for her son and daughter`seducation in a technical school, Anju Bhusari whogot Rs 45,000 to dig a tubewell in Pada village andher neighbor Nirmala Shinde, who got Rs 25,000for agricultural purpose.

Moved by the sentiments of villagers the Gudzershave promised to return to Vidarbha and instructedVJAS to identify more widows and families in direneed of financial support.

(Based on a writeup by Quaid Najmi published in Timesof India dt. January 18, 2013 : Source : IANS) u

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SWAMI VIVEKANANDA-HIS CALL TO THE YOUTHRtn Sweta Pegu

On 12 January every year in India, we celebrate‘Youth Day’. The Country celebrated the 150th birthanniversary of the great wandering monk with ayearlong celebration (2013-14). I grew up readingSwami Vivekananda, listening to accounts about him,reciting him in sundry competitions in school and alsobagging many prizes in the process. The spirit ofSwami Vivekananda, his zest, his devotion to hiscountry, his efforts to awaken the youth of the countryby shaking them out of their slumber never failed toinspire me during my growing up years.

Today, I am outside the ambit of the area calledthe ‘youth’ but I deal with the youth everyday and Ifeel and deeply realize that the relevance of SwamiVivekananda is all the more acute in today’sfragmented world fraught with conflicts and dividedon the grounds of sectarianism, bigotry, casteism,religious and ethnic lines. I also feel the absolutenecessity of taking Swami Vivekananda to the youthof the country who sadly is at a crossroad. On oneside, he is attracted by the bright side of somethingalien and foreign to him. The allure of all thingswestern- is too strong for him to resist. Moreover, hehas become a prey to modern technology. He hasaccess to all kinds of information. The other side ofthe story is that now he has no time for others, forhis family, worse still, for himself. Technologically, heis far, far ahead but spiritually, he is bereft.

Swami Vivekananda foresaw this situation yearsago. I quote him:

On one side, new India is saying, ‘If we only adopt

Western ideas, Western language, Western food,Western dress, and Western manners, we shall be

as strong and powerful as the Western nations’; onthe other, old India is saying, ’Fools! By imitation,

other’s ideas never become one’s own, nothing,unless earned, is your own. Does the ass in the lion’s

skin become the lion?’

On one side, new India is saying, ‘What the

Western nations do is surely good, otherwise howdid they become so great?’ On the other side, old

India is saying, ‘the flash of lightning is intenselybright, but only for a moment; look out boys, it is

dazzling your eyes. Beware!’

Our boys today have lost their faith in themselves.Our effort should be, as Swami Vivekananda saidhelp them regain their faith and belief in themselvesand help them find the divinity within.

What we want is Western Science coupled withVedanta, ‘brahmacharya’ as the guiding motto and

also ‘shraddha’ and faith in one’s own self. Vedantasays that within man is all knowledge – even in a

boy it is so- and it requires only an awakening,and that much is the work of a teacher…. But the

root is religion.

Swamiji laid stress on strength of character andmind. For him, there never was any place forweakness of any sort. He always tried to infuse inthe youth a vigorous sense of moral strength; hewanted them to shake off their delusion that theywere ‘sheep ‘, awaken them and make them realizetheir immense potential and power within. He hadoften harped on this saying:

Men, Men, these are wanted: everything elsewill be ready, but strong, vigorous, believing young

men, sincere to the backbone, are wanted. Ahundred such and the world becomes

revolutionized.

He emphasized that this strength would ofcourse emanate from the depths of Truth and wouldbe dependent upon tremendous perseveranceand and tremendous will – the type that wouldenable one to even drink the ocean and crumbleup the mountain, if need be. He had said:

Have that sort of energy, that sort of will, work

hard, and you will reach the goal.

Swamiji exhorted the youth not to despair andnot look back but to move forward, to arise, awakeand find the ideal, the goal.

Today, we have all gone abysmally wrongsomewhere. Our youths have gone awry; theyhave fallen into the depths of misery, andweakness of mind and character, they have takenresort to all kinds of immoral activities. Mostimportantly, they have lost their moorings.Depression is a common factor and suicide ratesare showing an alarming high trend. Friends, don’tyou think it high time we take Swami Vivekanandato today’s youth? I feel an attempt should be madeby all well meaning people to rescue our youthfrom falling into this dismal abyss before it’s toolate. Taking them along the path shown by thegreat monk is one way of doing so. At the sametime, we have to remember that the key word hereis ‘Be and Make’ in the words of SwamiVivekananda. We have to realise ourselves firstbefore trying to mould others. We shall be better

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able to give direction to others if only weourselves have the same spirit and zest in us andcelebrate the same strength of mind and character.

Today’s Youth is Tomorrow’s leader. SwamiVivekananda had tried to draw upon this youthpower. He had often talked about building a newnation wherein everyone would participate willinglyin the nation- building process irrespective of casteand creed.

In his words:

Let new India arise, out of the peasants’ cottage,

grasping the plough;

Out of the huts of the fisherman, the cobbler,and the sweeper. Let her spring from the grocer’s

shop, from beside the oven of the fritter-seller. Lether emanate from the factory, from marts, and from

markets. Let her emerge from groves and forests,from hills and mountains.

A present day management guru like RobinSharma, author of books like The Monk who sold

his Ferrari and The leader who had no title have

also drawn on this thought and talked along thesame lines when he says that a leader in the truesense of the term is he who has a capacity to leadand that is done by doing one’s duty properly andresponsibly. A leader need not be steeped in power;he may be anyone in the streets and just has to be

imbued with zest and enthusiasm to effect amomentous change in society. We have to awakenthe leader in us –

regardless of what we do in our organizationsand the current conditions of our life; it is importantto remember we have the power to show leadership

where we are now planted and shine in brilliance inwhatever we do.

Today Swami Vivekananda has been accordedan iconic stature. We shall be paying our real tributeto this great man by following in his footsteps. Weneed to regard the whole world as one and everyoneas our brethren.

AT THE PICNIC !

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SIMPLE HOME REMEDIESCURE FOR ACIJDITY :

Acidity, it is said, is worse than Cancer. It is one of themost common diseases people encounter in their dailylife. The home remedy for Acidity is Raw Grains of Rice.

The Process:

1. Take 8 – 10 grains of raw uncooked rice

2. Swallow it with water before having your breakfastor eating anything in the morning

3. Do this for 21 days to see effective results andcontinuously for 3 months to eliminate acidity fromthe body

The Cure:

Reduces acid levels in the body and makes you feelbetter by the day.

CURE FOR CHOLESTEROL:

Cholesterol problem accompanies with Hypertensionand Heart Problems. This is also one of the commonproblems in people who have High Blood Pressure andDiabetes. The home remedy for Cholesterol problem isRAW SUPARI.

The Process :

1. Take Raw Supari (Betel Nut that is not flavoured)and slice them or make pieces of the same

2. Chew it for about 20– 40 minutes after every meal

3. Spit it out

The Cure:

When you chew the supari, the saliva takes in thejuice that is generated and this acts like a Blood Thinner.Once your blood becomes free flowing, it brings downthe pressure in the blood flow, thereby reducing BloodPressure too.

CURE FOR BLOOD PRESSURE:

One of the simple home remedy cure for BloodPressure is Methi or Fenugreek Seeds.

The Process:

1. Take a pinch of Raw Fenugreek Seeds, about 8

– 10 seeds

2. Swallow it with water before taking your breakfast,every morning

The Cure:

The seeds of Fenugreek are considered good toreduce the blood pressure.

CURE FOR DIABETES:

There are 2 home remedies for Diabetes. One is LadiesFinger and the other is Black Tea.

BLACK TEA :

Due to high medication, the organ that is worst affectedis the Kidney.

It has been observed that Black Tea (tea without milk,sugar or lemon) is good for the Kidney. Hence a cup ofblack tea every morning is highly advisable.

The Process:

1. Boil water along with the tea leaves (any tea leaveswill do).

2. Drink the concoction without adding milk, sugaror lemon.

The Cure:

Black Tea will help in enhancing the function of thekidney, thereby not affecting it more.

LADIES FINGER or OKRA:

Ladies finger is considered to be a good homemedicine for diabetes.

The Process:

1. Slit the ladies finger into 2 halves vertically and soakit in water overnight.

2. The next morning, remove the ladies fingers and drinkthe water, before eating your breakfast.

The Cure:

After the ladies fingers are soaked overnight in thewater, you can observe that the water becomes sticky inthe morning. This sticky water is considered to be goodfor people who suffer from Diabetes. u

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Published by Rotary Club of Gauhati South and Printed at Brahmaputra Offset, M.C. Road, Guwahati-3

BOOK POSTIf undelivered please return to :

Editor : Rtn. Priyam GoswamiRotary Club of Gauhati South,Hotel Rajdhani RegencyH K Chowdhury ComplexDispur Last Gate, Guwahati-781006, AssamE-mail : goswami.priyam@gmail.com

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VISIT TO AMAR GHAR BY CLUB MEMBERS ON 26 JANUARY 2014

Thirteen Rotarians from our RC went to the old age home, Amar Ghar on 26th January afternoon. The 35 elderlypersons who have made this their home interacted with us, shared their experiences, and were in general, quite happy toexchange ideas freely and to answer any questions. We had taken token gifts of fruits and hand towels for the inmates.

I was surprised to find that old people have come to Amar Ghar from as far as West Bengal, Bihar, andMeghalaya. There is a lady from the Lakhimpur area who is 96 years old, who looked reasonably fit and happy. Sheis the universal Aita of the Home, and everyone , we saw, was alert to her needs. When I asked her why and how shehad come to this home, she told me very firmly that she had come of her own free will and would stay here till her"last day in this world". She seemed happy, - which is the most important aspect of an Old Age home.

One of the requirements is that every person who wishes to stay in the Home must be sponsored by a relative orguardian. In case of any serious ailment that requires hospitalization, the Home's responsibility is only up to thetime the patient is taken to the hospital. After that it is the guardian's responsibility. This seemed somewhatproblematic. One of the male inmates, a widower, is from Shillong. His only son has gone to work in Sweden, andso had no option but to send him to Amar Ghar. But what happens if this gentleman falls seriously ill, - he is 88years old? Obviously his son who is his guardian, cannot come at short notice. Details like this could probably berectified, or modified, in relevant cases.

It was a very pleasant evening we spent there and a nice way to celebrate Republic Day. All the people werehappy to have us with them, to talk with us and to exchange ideas. We need to thank our President, Rtn. Dr.Mazumder for this enjoyable meaningful programme on Republic Day.

Rtn. Gayatri Bhattcharya