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Peace march on 26/11, the day of infamy‘Group of 1929Over 4,500 people took part in thepeace programme held to mark26/11, the day of infamy.It was an unfortunate anniversary,one that marked four years since thedastardly attack on the city ofBombay by ten infiltrators from Pakistanwho caused untold mayhem in apeace-loving country.But like all things sad and unpleasant,this anniversary, too, had to beobserved, if only to remind citizensthat eternal vigilance was the price ofliberty and to spread the message ofpeace.On Sunday, November 25, the eveof the darkest day (November 26),three groups of youngsters congregatedat three of the main sites where theworst mayhem was unleashed – V.T.station, the Taj Mahal Hotel and theTrident Hotel.As proof of the fact that the woundsinflicted by the marauders had not becomea thing of the past, there wereroughly 4,500 youth and others whotook part in the marches and in thepeace programme that was held at theGateway of India.While one group gathered at theTrident and marched under the leadershipof Ms Kia Scherr, who had losther husband and her daughter in themassacre, another one, led by Sheriffand Principal Indu Shahani, startedfrom Churchgate station; the third, fromV.T. station, was led by Dr. UdaySalunkhe, Group Director ofWelingkar’s Institute of Management.All three sets of marchers convergedat the special enclosure created at theGateway of India where they werewelcomed by various religious heads,government officials, Consuls- General,Ambassadors, Bollywood actorssuch as Vivek Oberoi and Raageshwariand other dignitaries.Dr. Shashi Tharoor, the country’sMinister of State for Human ResourcesDevelopment, was one of the principalspeakers at the programme.The Rotary Club of Bombay andother Clubs from District 3140 werein the forefront; the Club was led byFour MOUs signed by the ClubThe Rotary Club of Bombay signedfour MOUs (Memoranda of Understanding)with organisations workingfor the betterment of the less-privilegedsections of society.First, it signed an MOU with theCentral Society for the Education ofthe Deaf (CSED). The finance offeredto the CSED would be utilised for theimport of sophisticated testing equipmentto set up an ambitious BERA(Brainstem-Evoked Response Audiometry)project.The second one was signed with theSalvation Army which would utilisethe funds it would receive for the renovationand restoration of the old agehome that it had been conducting forseveral years.A third MOU was with the ChildReach Society, the 25-year-old organisationthat ran a school for learningdisabledchildren and slow-learners.One of its objectives was to see thatthe children joined the mainstreamalong with normal children.Instead of agreeing to an appeal bythe Society to sponsor a series of SilverJubilee seminars (at a budgetedoutlay of Rs. 2 lakhs), the Club madeit an offer it could not refuse.It offered not only to be the solesponsor of the seminars (at a cost tothe Club of Rs. 1 lakh), but also toassociate with the Society by partfundingits activities through a onetimedonation of Rs. 1 lakh and providingRs. 10,000 every month, initiallyfor three years.The fourth MOU was signed withthe N.K. Dhabhar Cancer Foundation,an NGO which provided financial andmedical assistance to cancer patientsfor treatment and also spread awarenessabout prevention and early detectionof cancer. The Club would donateRs. 3 lakhs per annum for an initialperiod of three years to enable it tocarry out its activities.For its part, the Foundation wouldconduct an awareness camp once a yearfor the members of the Rotary Club ofBombay. Besides, the Club would beentitled to refer five patients for examinationand treatment and for whichthe Foundation would bear the cost(not exceeding Rs. 1,50,000 a year).President Nowroze Vazifdar and wasably represented by PP Gul Kripalani,its man for all seasons.PP Gul, who also represented theGlobal Peace Initiative, gave an inspiringaddress in the course of which he“renamed” the Gateway of India asthe “Gateway of Peace”.Delivering an impassioned speech,Dr. Shashi Tharoor said it was a “savageirony” that the horror in Bombayon November 26, 2008, began withterrorists docking not too far from theGateway of India.He also paid tribute to Bombay’sindomitable spirit by stating that it“combined all the four elements of itsprecursors”; by attacking it, the terroristshad attempted to hit India’seconomy, its tourism, its internationalismand its openness. “That waswhat they tried to destroy. Theyfailed.”Several children from the NationalAssociation of the Blind, accompaniedby the popular singer and actressRaageshwari, rendered some soulfulmusic that moved and touched thehearts of all those present.When the Shillong Choir was calledupon to perform, its exuberant energy,glorious interpretation of familiarsongs and spectacular tonal variationsshowed why they continued to be theNo. 1 choir in India.Finally, an oath of peace was takenand doves were released into the airby Ms Scherr and PP Gul to signifythe message of peace.The programme was sponsored bythe Taj Welfare Group, the AdityaBirla Group, the Oberoi Group ofHotels and the Global Peace Initiative.In his vote of thanks, Gul Kripalaniacknowledged the presence of PresidentNowroze and thanked the RotaryClub of Bombay for its supportin the planning of the event.Clubs’ meetsin MadrasMembers are aware that Rotaryis 108 years old and the RotaryClub of Bombay, Chartered in 1929,is 84 years old. But few know thatthere are not one or two but another180 Rotary Clubs that were Charteredin the same year, 1929! All those Clubs,spread all over the world, are now 84years old.One of them, the Rotary Club ofMadras (District 3230), took the leadto organise a unique Fellowship ofRotary Clubs Chartered in 1929 andstyled it the “Group of 1929 Clubs”.It suggested that this group should meetannually, with one Club taking up theresponsibility of hosting the eventevery year.A week-long celebration was heldin Madras at the end of February,2013, and attracted participation bythe Rotary Clubs of Bombay, CanonCity and Seremban. (Members of theRotary Club of Colombo could notmake it.)Host Club President Rajendra Sabanayagamand his team, including Hon.Secretary Sathiaram Ram, left no stoneunturned to ensure that the programmewas an unforgettable one and that everythingwent without a hitch.Hon. Secretary Sitaram Shah, Dr.Rohini Chowgule, Vinod Juneja andAshok Chinai, accompanied by hisspouse Nayna, represented the RotaryClub of Bombay.There were no heavy-duty speechesand the itinerary was filled with Fellowshipevents, visits to project sites,the famed beaches of Madras and a lotof banquets, breakfasts and dinners.Management of healthwith YogaAs part of the Rotary Service Weekorganised at the District level inthe Phoenix Mills compound fromAccounts for year ended March 31, 2013 January 25 to 27, a free, multi-purposemedical camp was arranged byPresident Nowroze Vazifdar announcedat the meeting of June “a very, very healthy financial situa-experts from the KaivalyadhamHe stated that both entities were in the Rotary Club of Bombay along with11 that normally the accounts for the tion... our current corpus exceeds Rs. Ashram at Lonavala.Rotary year (from July to June) were 7 crores and it keeps on increasing”. The focus was on Yoga as a meanspresented at the Annual General Meetingin December. But this year, the after year. On account of some rules, a tors to the camp on various preven-The Club had run a surplus year of healing. (Yogic) doctors guided visi-Club had decided to make a departure certain amount was transferred (as part tive and curative aspects of Yogicfrom the practice.of tax saving/planning) to the corpus. therapy.The accounts for the financial year There was hardly any year when there Yoga enthusiast and Hon. Secretaryending March 31, 2013, had been preparedand hence it was decided to “We are in a very healthy financial participation with the management ofhad been a deficit.Sitaram Shah coordinated the Club’spresent excerpts from the same in orderto give members a fair idea of the money should there be a good project.” the camp were able to leaf through asituation and we are never short of the Kaivalyadham Ashram. Visitors tostate of affairs.Nowroze chipped in to say that a large number of books on treatment ofTrustee PP Arun Sanghi shared significantfigures through a presentation, mean that there would be a surplus in Among the visitors to the campsurplus in one year did not necessarily various diseases through Yoga.first of the Club’s Charity Trust and the next.So also with a deficit in any were President Nowroze, IPP Paulthen of the Rotary Club of Bombay. given year.George and Rotaryann Radhika MehtaJune 25 to July 1, 2013 THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay Page 31