Gateway 100810.pmd - Rotary Club Of Bombay

Rotaractors of H.R. College hold a celebration as theClub enters its Silver Jubilee YearThe Rotaract Club of H.R. Collegehas entered the 25th year of serviceto the community.At the meeting of July 13, the Principalof the College, (Dr.) Indu Shahani,presented a silver salver as a mementoto President Pradeep Saxena to thankthe Rotary Club of Bombay for its help,support and guidance over nearly aquarter of a century.A few days before that, on July 9,the Rotaractors organised a grand eventwhich featured dances, short plays,skits, videos, awards and other entertainingitems before an audience of over400 people.The programme was called “AchievingMilestones” – the theme for theClub’s 24th year – and was held in theK.C. College Auditorium next door.(Dr.) Indu was the guest of honour andgave an inspiring talk to the young, enthusiasticgathering.Suveer Bajaj, a former student, actedas the master of ceremonies and tookthe audience on a walk down memorylane, recalling several significant happeningsand milestones from the richhistory of the Rotaract Club of H.R.College.One interesting video presentationwas followed by another. The inspirational“Milestones Achieved” videocame before the one that looked back atthe first few years of the Club, from1986 to 1995.And, wonder of wonders, CharterPresident Ritu Chaudhri turnedup to attend the programme. Shetalked about her experiences andthe difficulties of the first few formativeyears. She recalled receivinga great deal of help from thethen President, Arjun Bulchandani,and from Deepak Kapadia who hadhelped establish the Club.Videos depicting the next two stagesof the Club, from 1996 to 2005 andthen from 2006 to 2010, were alsoplayed. While PP Navin Chawla talkedabout the activities of the first of thesetwo stages, PP Yashraj Jain spoke aboutthe activities between 2006 and 2010.To break the monotony, there weredances, plays, skits and other performancesby present and former membersof the Club, as also from non-membersand outsiders, which had the audiencecheering and applauding lustily.Six former alumni, who had contributedto the Club’s activities even afterthey had ceased to be members, werepresented with mementoes. And everyPast President who had served theClub and was present at the programmealso received a memento.Special citations were presented torepresentatives of District 3140, theRotary Club of Bombay and H.R. Collegefor their ceaseless nurturing andsupport of the Rotaract Club of H.R.College.Interestingly, citations were presentedto the teaching and the nonteachingstaff – including the peons –of H.R. College.The Principal, (Dr.) Indu Shahani,made a brief speech on the occasionwhen she lauded the successive Office-Bearers for taking the Club to unprecedentedheights and making it the bestRotaract Club in the city of Bombay.A cheque for Rs. 2.50 lakhs – representingthe collections from the PankajUdhas Nite held on May 28 – wasgiven to the Parents’ AssociationThalassaemic Unit Trust (PATUT) asa donation. With this, the H.R.Rotaractors had donated a total of Rs.20.5 lakhs to this trust over the lastseven years.Another memento was presented toMr. Sajjanraj Mehta who had been supportingthe Club’s Inter-School AthleticsMeet for intellectually-impairedchildren for the last 15 years.Then it was time to receive the blessingsof President Pradeep Saxena of theRotary Club of Bombay. He made aninspiring speech that was not devoidof warmth and affection.Also present on the occasion werePP Gul Kripalani and Mehul Sampat,the Rotary Club Chairman for Rotaract.A sumptuous spread helped dousethe pangs of hunger as the celebrationsto mark the entry of the Club into its25th silver jubilee year came to an end.The Rotaractors of H.R. College arepoised on the cusp of a historic datewith destiny. But they have many moremiles to go...Snapshots of the new Office-Bearers of the Rotaract Clubof H.R. CollegeYet another set of pictures ofthose who will be hard at workat the RCHRThe installation meeting forthe new team is just roundthe corner, says NihariekaAugust 10 to August 16, 2010 THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay Page 5