THE CHAKA
VOL. 77   NO. 20
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Editor :  S B Bhattacharya

Bulletin of Rotary Club of Calcutta (First Published in 1925)


www.rotacal.org/chaka



TODAY
________________________________________________________

CHITRA GHOSH
Majored in Economics & Political Science from Calcutta, and did
her post-graduate research on Asian studies at SOAS, London
with a British Council fellowship. She joined the West Bengal
Education Service, working in the department of Political science
of Bethune & Lady Brabourne Colleges. She joined the Netaji
Institute for Asian Studies as Professor of Social and Political
History to complete her academic career. Her many books include
'The World of Thai Women" and "Opening the closed Windows".

After retirement, she has devoted herself for the welfare and
uplift of underprivileged women and children, She is in-charge of
Project 5-0 at Thakurpukur, which has been functioning for more
than 25 years.
Chitra Ghosh has been President of UWA of Calcutta; the Indian
Federation of University Women's Association & ended by being
the President of the International Federation of University
Women 1992-1995.




NEXT WEEK :
________________________________________________________

15 Dec Tue 1:00 pm
RTN SAUMEN ROY
to address.




ONE WORLD
________________________________________________________

Today we raise a toast to
ROTARY CLUB OF BOMBAY
India, R.I. Dist. 3140


LEAD STORY
________________________________________________________

FROM THE RI PRESIDENT

My fellow Rotarians

December 2009
The idea of the family of Rotary is a simple one, and one that we
celebrate every December during Family Month. Every Rotarian is
part of the Rotary family - but our family is much larger than just
our 1.2 million members. The family of Rotary includes every one
of the men, women, and children who are involved in our work:
the spouses and children of our members, our Rotary Foundation
program participants and alumni, and all of those who are part of
our programs, in the tens of thousands of Rotary communities
around the world.

The youngest generation of the Rotary family is composed of our
Rotaract clubs and Interact clubs, the participants in our Rotary
Youth Leadership Awards program, our Ambassadorial Scholars, and
our more than 8,000 Rotary Youth Exchange students every year.
As in any family, our youth are our brightest promise for the future.
Of course, it is my sincere wish that many of these young people
go on to become Rotarians in good time. But Rotary is a part of
them even today - and they are a part of us.

My wife, June, and I have been married for over 40 years, and
I have been a Rotarian for nearly as long. Although women were
not eligible for Rotary club membership at that time, June has
been a part of the Rotary family from the day I first entered the
Rotary Club of Grangemouth. There is no question that my Rotary
service has demanded a great deal of both of us since then - but
there can be no question that we have both reaped more than
we have sown.

I believe that Rotary club membership can and should enhance
our home lives and family interactions. As we work to attract
more and younger qualified members, we would do well to remember
that today's young professionals are often balancing work and
family responsibilities. Adding in a commitment to Rotary service
should complement, never compete with, those responsibilities.
By scheduling meetings outside of the workday, planning activities
that involve family members, and welcoming family members
whenever possible, we help to ensure that every Rotary family
will feel a true part of the greater Rotary family.

Every club should strive to achieve a balanced interaction
between Rotarians and their families -and the family of Rotary.
Only by working together, as a family, can we ensure that the
Rotary of today grows into an even stronger Rotary of tomorrow.

John Kenny
President, Rotary International



ANNOUNCEMENTS
________________________________________________________

SECOND CLUB ASSEMBLY :
The Second Club Assembly of the Club will be held on
Saturday, the T9th December, 2009 at 4.00 p.m. at the
Rotary Sadan.
All members especially PDGs, Past Presidents, Board Members,
Committee Chairpersons, Co-Chairpersons and New Members are
requested to make a note of it and attend the important meeting.


CHANGE OF TIMING OF WEEKLY MEETING :
The regular weekly meeting of our club schedule to be held on
Tuesday, 22nd December, 2009 at 1.00 p.m. will be held at 7.00 p.m.
followed by Fellowship and Dinner to be hosted by Rtn. Swarup Mitra
and R-Ann. Indrani Mitra, instead of Lunch meeting but Day and date
remain unchanged . Members are requested to kindly note the
changes and attend.


FELLOWSHIP GET-TOGETHER :
Rtn. Swarjjp Mitra and R-Ann. Indrani Mitra request the pleasure
of your company along with your spouse at the Fellowship and
Dinner on Tuesday, the 22nd December, 2009 at 8.00 p.m.
(After the regular weekly meeting) at Rotary Sadan.
All members are requested to kindly make a note of it and attend.



DISTRICT NEWS
________________________________________________________

DISTRICT 3291 CONFERENCE 2009-2010 :
Rotary International District 3291 District Conference 2009-2010
will be held on 15th to 17th January, 2010 at Nazrul Manch.
Registration form will be available from Clyb Office(Rotary Sadan).



ROTARY FOUNDATION NEWS
________________________________________________________

CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION

THE ROTARY FOUNDATION OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL
The Rotary Club of Calcutta
is presented a certificate of appreciation for its financial support
of Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge. Together, we will fulfill our
promise to the children of the world and eradicate polio.

Chair, The Rotary Foundation Trustees
President, Rotary International



REPORTS
________________________________________________________

INTERACT CLUB OF SILVERPOINT
This year our club has opened a new Interact Club -"Interact Club
of Silver Point". President Dilip Sircar handed over the charter and
other documents to the President of the Interact Club and
introduced the other members of the club at our regular weekly
meeting held on December 1, 2009.



MINUTES
________________________________________________________

OF THE 4278 REGULAR WEEKLY MEETING HELD AT ROTARY SADAN
ON TUESDAY, 1st DECEMBER, 2009 AT 1.30 P.M

Total Members: 282
Exempted Members: 83
Members Present:  78
Visiting Rotarians: 1

The President Rtn. Dilip Kumar Sircar called the 4278th regular
weekly meeting of the Club to order at 1,00 p.m.
The National Anthem was led by Rtn. Sujata Pyne.

The Minutes of the 4277th meeting of the Club held on 24th
November, 2009 at the Rotary Sadan were confirmed.

The President announced our PP. Rtn. Partha Sadhan Bose was
the speaker of the day and would speak on "My Visit to China".

The President welcomed visiting Rtn. Dr.Sukanti Tarafdar, Rotary
Club of Rochdale East.

The President announced the following  :
i) On Sunday,29th November'09-The Health Care Committee
organized a free Health and Eye Check-up Camp at
Krishnachandrapur.
ii) President congratulated Rtn. Dr. Sudipto Roy on his election
as a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from
Shreerampur, Dist. Hooghty. At the request of the President,
Rtn. Dr. Roy addressed the members.
iii) The 2nd Club Assembly of the club will be held on Saturday,
the 19th December, 2009 at 4 p.m. at Rotary Sadan.
iv) President informed that this year the club has opened a new
Interact Club -"Interact Club of Silver Point". He handed over the
charter and other documents to the President of the Interact
Club and introduced the other members of the club.

The President then requested Hony. Secretary Rtn. Dr. Ashoke
Kumar Basu to conduct the club business.

Hony. Secretary Rtn. Dr. Ashoke Kumar Basu announced
the following: -
i) Hony. Secretary greeted the members, guests of members and
visiting Rotarians.
ii) He also greeted the members celebrating their birthdays and
wedding anniversaries during the week ending 7th December, 2009.
iii) He then announced that the next regular weekly meeting of the
club will be held    on Tuesday, the 8th December, 2009 at 1.00 p.m.
at the Rotary Sadan.R-Ann. Chitra Ghosh will address the meeting.
iv) Hony. Secretary informed that the club has received a Certificate
of Appreciation from District 3291, for the special efforts made, in
hosting the seminar on Rotary Foundation. This was held on 28th
September'09 at Rotary Sadan.
The proceedings were then handed over to the President.

At the request of the President, PP. Rtn. Partha Sadhan Bose
addressed the audience.
Rtn. Shatarupa extended a hearty vote of thanks to the speaker.
President presented a memento PP Rtn. P.S.Bose as a token of
appreciation from the club.

The Sunshine Box collection was Rs 750/- with special contribution
from Rtns. Sutanu Ghosh, Chandan Chakravarti, P.S. Chauhan,
Dr. Asok Kumar Ghoshal and Subhas Ch. Aggarwal.

The Club remembered with good wishes Rotary Club of
Geraldton North, Australia, R.I. Dist. 9450.

The meeting was terminated at 2.35 p.m.

Rtn. Dilip Kumar Sircar, President
Rtn. Dr.Ashoke Kumar Basu, Hony. Secretary



LIGHT OF WIADOM
________________________________________________________

QUOTES FROM TAGORE

o Amidst your numberless stars, let me place my own little lamp of
humanity
o Fill your heart with the songs of the innocent, reserve a corner
there that always remains a child
o Let me always sing your praise, my Lord, even when I am
whipped with the harsh sticks of sorrow
o The endless blue of the sky tells us silently that clouds really do
not matter in the long run Be alert. You never know when the door
will open and He will come to visit your conscience



CONTACT US
________________________________________________________

We meet every Tuesday at 1:00 for 1:30 pm at
ROTARY SADAN
94/2 Chowringhee Road, Kolkata 700 020
Tel: 2223-8686 / 8787, Fax: +91-33-2223 2573
Email: rccalcutta@...
Website: www.rotarycalcutta.org

Editor The Chaka
Rtn S B Bhattacharya, susanta_bhattacharya@...

Editor eChaka
Rtn Dr Dipak R. Sarbadhikari, drdipak@...

Vol. 77 No. 19
Tuesday 24 November, 2009

TODAY
________________________________________________________

24 Nov Tue, 7:00 pm
MATCHING GRANT TEAM
from Australia



NEXT WEEK :
________________________________________________________

01 Dec Tue 1:00 pm
PP. RTN. PARTHA SADHAN BOSE
Subject: Visit to China



ONE WORLD
________________________________________________________

Today we raise a toast to
ROTARY CLUB OF EPSOM
England, R.I. Dist. 1140



LEAD STORY
________________________________________________________

ANNUAL CHILDREN'S TREAT

On 15th November, 2009 the Rotary Club of Calcutta celebrated
the 84th Annual Children's Treat at Nicco Park with over 1600
children from about 35 schools and institutions like
Manovikas Kendra, Bustee Welfare Centre, Don Bosco Ashlayan,
Indian Red Cross Society, etc.

The day turned out to be an eventful day not only for the children
but also for all the Rotarians. The day started early as Rotarians,
Rotaractors and Interactors reached Rotary Sadan at 6am.
School buses meant for taking the school kids to Nicco Park
assembled in front of Rotary Sadan. Then the process of allotting
the buses started and it carried on till 8am as meticulous care was
taken to synchronize bus allotment with participating schools and
also ensure that Breakfast was made available to all the kids while
]on their way to Nicco Park.

Once we reached Nicco Park, the children started pouring in from
different parts of the city.The Rotarians ensured that everyone
was given T-shirts, Caps, etc. and offered warm health drinks
before they sat down to see their well-wishing Rotarians and
eminent guests taking stage to address them. Rotary Club of
Calcutta President Rtn. Dilip Kumar Sircar welcomed the children
to this event and promised them a day of joy and unadulterated
fun, a day they would remember. Hony. Secretary Dr. Ashoke Kumar
Basu greeted the members, their families, all the organizers and
most importantly the young kids who were the stars of this show.
District Governor Rtn. Utpal Majumdar re-emphasized Rotary Clubs'
commitment to the cause of sharing and bonding with all sections
of the society, especially the less privileged children.

Finally, the children's favourite Felu Da, noted actor Sabyasachi
Chakraborty shared his experiences of the forests and remote
mountains. He also talked about environment and climate change.
He urged the kids to live life in right earnest.

Rtn. Sonal Worah thanked all involved in making this day really special
for the kids.

Following this initial address, the children were taken around the Park
to enjoy Rides starting from their much-liked Toy Train to riding the
Carousel horses. The kids were ably guided by the Interacters, who
were driven by this spirit of sharing and caring.

Then, it was time for iunch and the children were overjoyed to
find the spread on offer ranging from Rice, Daal, Puri - Sabzi to
Chicken kebabs to tempting Gulab Jamuns.

But, the show did not stop there as a Magic by a dancing magician
lit up their afternoon and amused them no end. Then, it was time for
what they had been eagerly waiting for, some great Music.

The noted music band 'Dhwani' belted out popular Hindi songs and
pleasantly found the kids knew all the lyrics and belted out the
songs with them in equal measure.

Eventually, the curtains were drawn to the day-long celebrations and
the youngsters were escorted to their respective buses. They left
smiling not only because for the gifts and ice-creams given to them
before their departure, but knowing that the Rotary Club of Calcutta
had cared to bring this moment of joy to their lives.

Our profuse and sincere thanks to :
Rtn. Sajid Mowajee for the Non Veg Lunch, Rtn. LN. Bangur for
Veg Lunch, Rtn. Bhagirath Pasari for T-Shirts, Rtn. G.D. Bangur
for Bags, Rtn. S.R. Goenka and Rtn. M.K. Jalan for soft drinks,
Rtn. Kanak Dutt for Health Drinks and Ice Cream, Rtn.Vijay Bhandari
and Rtn. K.D.Paul for Biscuits, Rtn. K.K. Kothari for Dot Pens,
Rtn. Jyoti Bhatia for Chocolates, Rtn. Chitrak Mitra for organising
Police Permission, Rtn. Anil Jain for organizing Dhwani, Rtn. Amitava
Sinha for organizing the Media.

Our thanks also to Rtn. Rajeev Parekh, Rtn. Anand Agarwal,
Rtn.Rajesh Maheshwari and Rtn. Admiral K.C. Shekhar,
M.B. Birla School and South Point for arranging buses for
the children's transport. Rtn. Debasish Biswas for organizing books
from McMillan India as gifts for children. Rtn. Dibyendu Bose for
the delicious chips

Reported by Rtn. Sonal Worah
Chairperson, Youth & Children's Activities Committee



REPORTS
________________________________________________________

GOODWILL VISIT :
A Goodwill visit was made to Rotary Club of
Calcutta Mahanagar on 11th November, 2009 at Hotel Hindusthan
International. The following members participated:
Diptish Sen, O.P. Malhotra, Rajeev Paralikar and Haladhar Dey.


FREE EYE CHECK-UP CAMP :
Health Care Committee organized a free Eye Check-up Camp in
association with Ghalib Welfare Society at Kidderpore on Sunday,
the 15th November, 09.
Number of patients examined 300
Spectacles- 241
Cataract Patients-16



RI NEWS
________________________________________________________

VIEW FROM THE TOP

Dear Fellow Rotarians,
The playwright George Bernard Shaw once wrote, "Imagination is
the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire; you will
what you imagine; and at las! you create what you will."

There is no shortage in this world of people who are able to imagine
a better future. Bui in Rotary, we do not just imagine that
future — we will it, and we work to create it. This we do through
our two great strengths: our Rotary clubs and our Rotary Foundation.

Over the years, I have been privileged to witness first hand the fruits
of the outstanding work carried out by Rotarians all over the world,
supported by the programmes of our Foundation. One thing that
impresses me is how these programmes focus not on short-term
satisfaction or reward for the giver.

The best Rotary programme and projects focus on building for
the future — and making lives better for generations. Two decades
ago, we Rotarians made a promise: to make life better for the entire
world, forever, by eliminating polio. It has always been an ambitious
goal, but it has always been a realistic one. And now, thanks to our
Rotary Foundation, we are closer than ever to reaching it.

It is my hope that with the help of the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation and Rotary's US $200 Million Challenge, there will soon
come a time when we will be able to say that we have made polio
a thing of (he past. For if we fail now, we will fail all those who have
gone before us, and every child to whom we made a promise.
If we fail, we risk our own good name, and the good name of all
the Rotarians who came before us.

We will not fail. We can and we must succeed.
I know that each one of you recognises that The Future of Rotary
is in Your Hands — and that the future of our Foundation is as well.

John Kenny
President, Rotary International
November Message



MINUTES
________________________________________________________

OF THE 4276 REGULAR WEEKLY MEETING HELD AT ROTARY SADAN
ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2009 AT 7.00 P.M

Total Members: 283
Exempted Members: 83
Members Present: 74
Visiting Rotarians: 24

1. The President Rtn. Dilip Kumar Sircar called the 4276th regular
weekly meeting of the Club to order at 7.00 p.m. The National
Anthem was led by Rtn. Supryio Ghosh.

2. The Minutes of the 4274th meeting of the Club held on
10th November, 2009 at the Rotary Sadan were confirmed.
The President announced PDG. Rtn. Debasish Mitra was the speaker
on that day and would speak on "The Rotary Foundation".
The President welcomed visiting Rtn. Dr.Sukanti Tarafdar,
Rotary Club of Rochdale East, U K and Rtn. Sreebhusan Ghosh ,
Rotary Club of Epsom, U K.
The President announced the following :
i) The Rotary Awareness & District Affairs Committee organized
a Goodwill Visit to Rotary Club of Calcutta Mahanagar on
11th November'09 at Hotel Hindusthan International.
ii) Last Saturday, 14th November'09 - The Telemedicine
programme was once again organized by the Health Care
Committee.
iii) Also on14th November'09 - NCLCL Committee celebrated
Children's Day at Rotary Sadan at 6.00 p.m. A Magic Show
was organized on that day.
iv) On Sunday, 15th November'09-The Health Care Committee
organized a free Health and Eye Checkup Camp at Khidirpur in
association with Ghalib Welfare Society.
v) At the request of the President, Rtn. Sonal Worah, Chairperson,
Youth & Children's Activities Committee reported on the
Annual Children's Treat on 15th November, 2009 at Nicco Park.
On behalf of the club, President thanked all members and Rotary
staff for organizing the Annual Children's Treat successfully.
The President then requested Hony. Secretary to conduct
the club business.

3. Hony. Secretary Dr. Ashoke Kumar Basu announced:
i)He greeted the members, guests of members and visiting
Rotarians.
ii) He also greeted the members celebrating their birthdays and
wedding anniversaries during the week ending 23rd Nov 2009.
iii) He then announced that the next regular weekly meeting will be
held on Tuesday,the 24th November, 2009 at 1.00 p.m. at the
Rotary Sadan. A Matching Grant Team from Australia will visit our
club on that day.
iv) He also announced that the Nomination for the Vice-President
of the Rotary Year 2011-2012 and the Office Bearers for the year
2010-2011 will be invited on that day.
The proceedings were then handed over to the President

4. At the request of the President, PP. Rtn. Partha Sadhan Bose
introduced the speaker PDG. Rtn. Debasish Mitra, who then
addressed the audience. PP. Rtn. Sutanu Ghosh extended a
vote of thanks to the speaker. President then presented a
memento to PDG Mitra as a token of appreciation from the club.

5. The special Sunshine Box collection was Rs 700/- with
contribution from Rtns.Samiran Sen,Chandan Chakravarti, Khokan
Mookerji, Dileep Rohatgi and Samit Malhotra.

6. The Club remembered with good wishes Rotary Club of
Calcutta Mid East, R.I. Dist. 3291.

7. The President requested all members and guests to join the
fellowship and dinner.
The meeting was terminated at 8.05 p.m.

Dilip Kumar Sircar, President
Dr. Ashoke Kumar Basu, Hony. Secretary



CONTACT US
________________________________________________________

We meet every Tuesday
at 1:00 for 1:30 pm at Rotary Sadan,
94/2 Chowringhee Road, Kolkata 700 020
Tel: 2223-8686 / 8787
Fax: +91-33-2223 2573
Email: rccalcutta@...
Website: www.rotacal.org

Editor The Chaka
Rtn S B Bhattacharya, susanta_bhattacharya@...

Editor eChaka
Rtn Dr Dipak R. Sarbadhikari, drdipak@...  

Vol. 77 No. 14
Tuesday 20 October, 2009

TEXT EDITION
Subscribe Text Chaka

TODAY'S SPEAKER
________________________________________________________

MD. SALIM

Mr. Salim is an ex-Member of Parliament and has worked as
Chairman, Committee on Urban Development,
Member, Sub Committee on Official Language,
Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Finance,
Member, General Purposes Committee, Lok Sabha.

He is the son of late Shri Azizul Haque and Shrimati Ladly Haque and
was born in Calcutta on June 5, 1957. His education started from
St. Barnabas High School continued to Maulana Azad College,
Calcutta with further studies at Calcutta University and
Jadavpur University College of Law completing his bachelors and
master in Philosophy. He married Dr. Rosina Khatun in 1987.

As a Political and Social Worker, he engaged himself in organising
students and youth. He also founded educational institutions,
library, youth clubs, cultural and literary societies for the
promotion of communal harmony.

He visited, Mongolia to attend a Round Table Discussion on youth,
1988, USSR, Cuba and D.P.R. Korea to attend youth festivals,
Portugal to attend World Assembly of Youth and Pakistan to attend
SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians Conference, 1997.

He was the Chairman for West Bengal Minorities Development and
Finance Corporation and Committee for National Perspective Plan
for Youth, He held the position of director In West Bengal Tourism
Development Corporation H* was the General Secretary in Maulana
Azad College Students' Union, 1978, Democratic Youth Federation
of India (D.Y.F.I.). Calcutta District Committee, 1983-89 and
Democratic Youth Federation of India (D,Y,F,L) since 1991.
Ha gave his total time for Democratic Forum for National
Integration in 1988-89; He held the position of secretary there.
He was also Joint Secretary, D.Y.F.I. West Bengal State Committee,
1987-91 and was Member of Court of the Jawaharlal Nehru
University, Mohammedan Burial Board, Wait Bengal, 1982-91,
Committee on Subordinate Legislation, Rajya Sabha, 1991-93
and Committee on Human Resource Development, 1993-96.

He worked as a member for Governing Body, West Bengal
Urdu Academy since 1987, Press Council of India, Expert
Committee to Review Deep sea Fishing Policy, Central Committee,
C.P.I.(M), Committee to Review the Rate of Dividend Payable by
the Railway Undertaking to the General Revenue, Court of the
Aligarh Muslim University, Committee on Government
Assurances, Rajya Sabha, General Purposes Committee,
Rajya Sabha, Committee on Communications,1996-97,
Committee on Public Accounts, Committee on External Affairs,
Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Civil Aviation,
Consultative Committee for the Department of Tourism,1991-97 a
node Board of Tourism and Travel Industry; nominated to the Panel
of Vice-Chairmen, Rajya Sabha in 1992 and re-nominated in 1994
and 1996; elected to the Rajya Sabha in April, 1990 and
re-elected in April, 1996.

He is a Hony. Rotarian of Rotary Club of Central Calcutta.



ONE WORLD
________________________________________________________

Today we raise a toast to
ROTARY CLUB OF SOLIHALL
UK, R.I. Dist. 1060



NEXT WEEK
________________________________________________________

4273 RWM 27 October, 2009 at 1:00 pm
DR. PREMA PANDURANGA
to address. Rotary Sadan, 2nd Floor.

PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF TIMING
SPEECH STARTS AT 1 PM SHARP
KINDLY BE SEATED BY 12:50 PM

LEAD STORY
________________________________________________________

MESSAGE ON VOCATIONAL SERVICE
John Kenny President, Rotary International

There are many service organizations in the world today, but none
so old or so successful as Rotary. There are many reasons for that,
and Vocational Service is one of them. This year, I wish you to
place a special emphasis on Vocational Service, which is sometimes
the forgotten Avenue of Service in Rotary.

High ethical standards in business and personal life are still as
important today as they were in 1905. Indeed, many of the
problems our world is facing today have been caused by the
failure to observe such standards in business affairs.

Vocational Service, in Rotary, means that we are committed to
honest business and unassailable ethics, and that we are equally
committed to using our vocational skills and advantages to help
others. The idea is simple enough - but it is unique to Rotary
Many service organizations are open to anyone who wishes
to join. That has never been the case in Rotary. Rotarians only
seek out as members those who are qualified - those who have
the character, the ability, and the resolve to make a real
contribution to their club.

I have long believed that the bedrock of Rotary is our commitment
to ethical behavior. It has been putting what's right above what's
convenient - and Service Above Self - that has made Rotary
different from the rest. That is why we must always remember
that whatever we do, we are each the public face of Rotary.
We are each the standard-bearers of our organization.
What one member does, for good or for ill, reflects on all of us.

So much of what we've achieved as an organization has come
about because of the trust the world has in Rotary and in
Rotarians. That trust has been a major part of our success in
polio eradication - the fact that we are known in every
community, and known to be people of goodwill and good hearts.

If we wish to see our organization grow and prosper, we must
keep Vocational Service front and center in our minds and
actions. We must seek out skilled and determined men and
women of character. We must do what is right, even when
it is inconvenient. And we must always, always,
put Service Above Self.

John Kenny
President, Rotary International
1-Oct-2009



DECLARATION FOR ROTARIANS IN BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
________________________________________________________

AS A ROTARIAN ENGAGED IN A BUSINESS OR PROFESSION,
I AM EXPECTED TO:

• Consider my vocation to be another opportunity to serve;
• Be faithful to the letter and to the spirit of the ethical codes
  of my vocation, to the laws of my country, and to the moral
  standards of my community;
• Do ail in my power to dignify my vocation and to promote the
  highest ethical standards in my chosen vocation;
• Be fair to my employer, employees, associates, competitors,
  customers, the public and all those with whom I have a
  business or professional relationship;
• Recognize the honour and respect due to all occupations
  which are useful to society;
• Offer my vocational talents; to provide opportunities for
  young people, to work for the relief of the special needs of others,
  and to improve the quality of life in my community;
• Adhere to honesty in my advertising and in all representations
  to the public concerning my business or profession;
• Neither seek from nor grant to a fellow Rotarian a privilege or
  advantage not normally accorded others in a business or
  professional relationship.
   

REPORTS
________________________________________________________


ROTARY TALENT SEARCH CHESS TOURNAMENT
Sep 19-20, 2009 Lead Host Club: Rotary Club Of Calcutta

Youth Service and Rotary Publicity & Public Image Committee,
R.I. Dist. 3291 along with the Youth Service Committee of the
club has organized a Rotary Talent Search Chess Tournament
sponsored by our club at Rotary Sadan on 19th & 20th
September 2009


MOVIE SHOW
Sep 21, 2009
Youth & Children's Activities Committee organized a movie show
at the Dakshin Kalikata Sevasram on 21st September, 2009
for underprivilege children


INAUGURATION OF SEVIKA TRAINING
Sep 23, 2009
A programme to train Higher Secondary passed students in
auxilliary nursing care was started at the Rotary Sadan. This is
an ongoing project started by R-Ann Veena Rohatgi.
The trained boys and girls are gainfully employed in private
nursing homes of the city.

EYE CHECK-UP CAMP
Oct 11, 2009
Health Care Committee organized a free Eye Check-up Camp in
association with Tarakeswar Kalpataru Ramakrishna Ashram at
Tarakeswar on Sunday.the 11th October, 2009.

Total Number of patients examined 275
Needed spectacles 182
Cataract Patients 52
Medicines given 21



MINUTES
________________________________________________________

OF THE 4271 MEETING HELD AT ROTARY SADAN
ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2009 AT 1.00 PM

Total Members: 283
Exempted Members: 83
Members Present: 81
Visiting Rotarians: 3

1.1 The President Rtn. Dilip Kurnar Sircar called the 4271st regular
weekly meeting of the Club to order at 1.30 p.m. The President
further extended Bijoya greetings to the members and their
family.
1.2 The National Anthem was led by Rtn. Supryio Ghosh.
1.3 The Minutes of the 4270th meeting of the Club held on 6th
October, 2009 at the Rotary Sadan were confirmed.
The President announced that the days speaker was Ms. Indrani
Sen who would speak on "Ganesh".
1.4 The President welcomed visiting Rtn. Dr.Sukanti Tarafdar,
Rotary Club of Rochdale East, UK., Rtn Dr. Dibyendu Sengupta,
Rotary Club of Solihull, UK and Rtn. Indrani Sen, Rotary Club of
Calcutta Mid-town.

2 At the request of the President, Rtn. Sujata Pyne, Hony. Jt.
Secretary reported on the Eye Check-up Camp held on Sunday,
the 11th October'09 at Tarakeswar.

3.1 The President announced that the District 4-Way Test
Committee will organize "Four Way Test" Award presentation
function on Saturday, 31st October, 2009 at 6.00 p.m. at
G.D. Birla Sabhaghar, and requested members to attend.
He further mentioned that the awards will be given
by none other than Mr. Sashi Tharoor.
3.2 The President also announced Indian National Polio Plus
Committee of Rotary International her recently Produced Car
stickers and handbills. Interested members are requested to
collect the same from Club office.
3.3 The President informed that the Annual Children's Treat of
the Club will be held on Sunday, 15th November'09 at
Nicco Park and requested members to support the event
to make it a success .

4 The President then requested Hony. Jt. Secretary Rtn. Sujata
Pyne to conduct the club business who then announced the
following: -
4.1 She greeted the members celebrating their birthdays during
the week ending 19th October, 2009. She announced that the
next regular weekly meeting of the club will be held on Tuesday,
the 20th October, 2009 at 1.00 p.m. at the Rotary Sadan. Shri
Md. Salim, ex- M.P. will address the Club on that day. The
proceedings were then handed over to the President.

5.1 At the request of the President, Rtn. Amitava Sinha introduced
the speaker of the day Ms, Indrani Sen.
5.2 Ms. Sen then addressed the audience on many aspects of the
legend of 'Ganesha" and later answered questions raised by Rtns.
Hirak Ray, Dr. S.C. Nandy, Saumen Ray and Dr. Asha Padgaonkar.
5.3 Rtn. Hirak Ray extended a hearty vote of thanks to the
speaker.
5.4 The President presented her a memento as a token of
appreciation from the club.

6.1 The special contributions of the Sunshine Box collection was
Rs 750/- contributed by Rtns. Samir Ghosh, Raj Kumar Agarwal,
Anusua Das and K.K. Kothari.
6.2 The Club remembered with good wishes Rotary Club of
Winchester, UK, R.I. Dist. 1110.
6.3 The meeting was terminated at 2.40 p.m.

Rtn. Dilip Kumar Sircar
President

Rtn. Dr. Ashoke Kumar Basu
Hony. Secretary



CONTACT US
________________________________________________________

We meet every Tuesday
at 1:00 for 1:30 pm at
Rotary Sadan,
94/2 Chowringhee Road, Kolkata 700 020
Tel: 2223-8686 / 8787
Fax: +91-33-2223 2573
Email: rccalcutta@...
Website: www.rotacal.org

Editor The Chaka
Rtn S B Bhattacharya, susanta_bhattacharya@...

Editor eChaka
Rtn Dr Dipak R. Sarbadhikari, drdipak@...  

Vol. 77 No. 13
Tuesday 13 October, 2009

TEXT EDITION
Subscribe Text Chaka

TODAY'S SPEAKER
________________________________________________________

RTN INDRANI SEN
She is Past President (2007-08) of RC Calcutta Midtown.
She was the Chairman of District PR Committee in 2004-05 and in
2008-09. Currently she is the ZR of Zone XIV, Rl District 3291.

A marketing consultant and a visiting faculty for MBA courses,
Indrani has extensive experience of over three decades in
advertising and marketing in Mumbai and Kolkata. An Honours
graduate in Economics from Presidency College, Indrani did her
masters in Applied Economics and has been teaching in reputed
management institutes across the country since 1988.

Indrani has two daughters Ishani and Uditi and has been blessed
in 2008 with her first grandchild, Ishant. An amateur collage painter
with a few solo and group exhibitions to her credit, Indrani is also
an avid collector of Ganesha idols and paintings. Well read in Hindu
philosophy and religion, she has published articles on socio-religious
topics and has authored one book on Ganesha in Bengali.

Subject: "The Origin of Ganesha"


ONE WORLD
________________________________________________________

Today we raise a toast to
ROTARY CLUB OF WINCHESTER
UK, R.I. Dist. 1110



NEXT WEEK
________________________________________________________

20 Tue 1:30 pm
4272 RWM. Shri Md. Salim, Former Member of Parliament
to speak on 'Business Ethics'. Rotary Sadan.



RI PRESIDENT'S MONTHLY MESSAGE
________________________________________________________

OCTOBER IS VOCATIONAL SERVICE MONTH


My fellow Rotarians:

There are many service organizations in the world today, but none
so old or so successful as Rotary. There are many reasons for that,
and Vocational Service is one of them. This year, I wish you to
place a special emphasis on Vocational Service, which is sometimes
the forgotten Avenue of Service in Rotary.

High ethical standards in business and personal life are still as
important today as they were in 1905. Indeed, many of the
problems our world is facing today have been caused by the failure
to observe such standards in business affairs.

Vocational Service, in Rotary, means that we are committed to
honest business and unassailable ethics, and that we are equally
committed to using our vocational skills and advantages to help
others. The idea is simple enough – but it is unique to Rotary.

Many service organizations are open to anyone who wishes to join.
That has never been the case in Rotary. Rotarians only seek out
as members those who are qualified – those who have the
character, the ability, and the resolve to make a real contribution
to their club.

I have long believed that the bedrock of Rotary is our commitment
to ethical behavior. It has been putting what's right above what's
convenient – and Service Above Self – that has made Rotary
different from the rest. That is why we must always remember that
whatever we do, we are each the public face of Rotary. We are
each the standard-bearers of our organization. What one member
does, for good or for ill, reflects on all of us.

So much of what we've achieved as an organization has come
about because of the trust the world has in Rotary and in Rotarians.
That trust has been a major part of our success in polio
eradication – the fact that we are known in every community,
and known to be people of goodwill and good hearts.

If we wish to see our organization grow and prosper, we must
keep Vocational Service front and center in our minds and
actions. We must seek out skilled and determined men and
women of character. We must do what is right, even when it
is inconvenient. And we must always, always, put
Service Above Self.

John Kenny
President, Rotary International
1-Oct-2009



ANNOUNCEMENT
________________________________________________________

CONGRATULATION 100%ERS-2008-2009

1. * Sushil Kumar Bagla
2. Dr. Ashoke Kumar Basu
3. * Jayanta Kumar Basu
4. Jyoti Bhatia
5. Susanta Bhushan Bhattacharya
6. Dr. Amal Kumar Chakravarty
7. Pritap Singh Chauhan
8. Balakrishna Daimia
9. Alok Kumar Das
10. Subrata De
11. Haladhar Dey
12. Dr. Asok Kumar Ghoshal
13. Heena Gorsia
14. Zul Hirji
15. Niiima Joshi
16. Farkhondeh Khaleeli
17. * O.P. Malhotra
18. Shantanu Deb Mookerjea
19. * Arun Charan Mukherji
20. * Vinay Nevatia
21. Rear Adm. Rajeev Paralikar ( Retd. )
22. Sujata Pyne
23. Hirak Ray
24. Saumen Ray
25. * Dileep Rohatgi
26. * Prabhat Krishna Rohatgi
27. Purnendu Roychowdhury
28. * (Dr.) Dipak Ranjan Sarbadhikari
29. Shatorupa
30. * Diptish Sen
31. Nandita Sen
32. * Dilip Sircar
33. Ritu Singh
34. Lalit G Toolsidass

* Exempted from Attendance



TRF TRUSTEE CHAIR'S OCTOBER MESSAGE
________________________________________________________

WITH POLIO, OUR DETERMINATION MUST NOT WAVER


On 24 October, we mark World Polio Day. It is a time to reflect on
the progress we have made and to strengthen our resolve for the
work ahead. It is a time to raise awareness of our efforts to
eradicate polio, and to help meet Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge.

We have come a long way. We have reduced the number of polio
cases by over 99 percent, from more than 350,000 a year in the
1980s to about 1,650 in 2008. We have brought the number of
endemic countries from 125 to 4. And we have vaccinated over
two billion children.

We are proud of these accomplishments, and we are closer than
ever to achieving our goal of worldwide eradication. But we must
recognize that our greatest enemy is complacency. We cannot
slacken our efforts now, because as long as there is wild poliovirus
anywhere, the disease can easily spread again. The number of
cases in endemic countries is down this year, but the number of
cases in countries where polio has been reintroduced has
increased significantly – a reminder of how polio knows no
borders, and how vigilant we must remain.

Polio is still endemic in Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
Difficult terrain, civil unrest, remote settlements, poor sanitation,
and terrible poverty are just some of the obstacles to immunization.
But we, and our partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative,
are determined to continue our work with persistence and creativity.

I have been inspired by the incredible strides already made
this year: In one 10-day period, a total of 222,270,331 children
in 22 countries were immunized against polio. The effort and the
commitment are phenomenal. This is a testament to the resolve
that has brought us this far – and that will soon bring us to our
goal of complete eradication.

Glenn E. Estess Sr.
Foundation Trustee Chair
01-Oct-2009



SNAPSHOTS OF ROTARY HISTORY
________________________________________________________

THE GREAT FLOOD OF 1913
Rotary': first appeal for disaster relief came in 1913, when cubs
contributed more than $25,000 to aid victims of a devastating flood
in Indiana and Ohio, USA. On 23 March, after a tornado struck
Omaha, Nebraska killing 150 people and injuring 400. The
Great Flood of 1913, as it became known, swept across Indiana and
Ohio, destroying individual homes and entire neighborhoods. In Ohio
alone, the death toll reached almost 500. The Rotary Club of
Indianapolis had been chartered only weeks before, and the
Rotary Club of Dayton, Ohio, only six months earlier, but the clubs
were determined to provide relief to their communities.
Clubs from Cincinnati to as far away as Portland Ore. and
Winnipeg. Man., Canada, donated money, supplies, and medicines.


INSTITUTES OF INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING
In July 1934 distinguished speakers - prominent economists,
authors, educators, scientists, and government officials came
together to discuss problems of' international scope. The event
called the Institute of International Relations, was organized
by the Rotary Club of Nashville, Tenn., USA. The clubs invited
members of the public to the 11-day institute, which it hoped
would foster international goodwill and understanding.
Other clubs followed suit, and in 1936, US$ 5,000 from
The Rotary Foundation helped fund a new initiative: the
Rotary Institutes of International Understanding. The program
reached its apex in 1945-46, when 118 cubs organized institutes
in North and Central America.

RI Archives: history@...



MINUTES
________________________________________________________

OF THE 4270TH MEETING HELD AT ROTARY SADAN
ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2009 AT 1.00 PM

Total Members: 283
Exempted Members: 83
Members Present: 76
Visiting Rotarians: 2

1.1 In absence of President Rtn. Dilip Kumar Sircar, Vice-president
Rtn. O.P. Malhotra conducted today's meeting.
1.2 The Vice-President Rtn. O.P. Malhotra called the 4270th regular
weekly meeting of the club to order at 1.30 p.m.
1.3 Vice-President greeted Rotarians and there family members
on the occasion of Vijaya Dashami.
1.4 The National Anthem was led by Rtn. Sujata Pyne.
1.5 The Minutes of the 4269th meeting of the club held on 22nd
September, 2009 at the Rotary Sadan were confirmed.
1.6 The Vice-President announced that October being the
Vocational Service Month, PP. Rtn. Diptish Sen, Chairman,
Vocational Service Committee will be the speaker of the day.
1.7 The Vice-President welcomed visiting Rtn. Dr. Sukanti Tarafdar
of Rotary Club of Rochdale East, UK and Rtn. Arun Swarup, Rotary
Club of Winchester, UK. Rtn Swarup spoke a few wards.
1.8 The President then requested Hony. Secretary Rtn. Dr. Ashoke
Kumar Basu to conduct the club business.

2.1 Hony. Secretary Rtn. Dr. Ashoke Kumar Basu He greeted
members celebrating their birthdays during week ending 12th
October, 2009.
2.2 He then announced that the next regular weekly meeting of
the club will be held on Tuesday, the 13th October, 2009 at 1.00 p.m.
at the Rotary Sadan. Ms. Indrani Sen will speak on "Ganesha".
The proceedings were then handed over to the Vice-President.

3.1 At the request of the Vice-President, PP. Rtn. Dr. Dipak Ranjan
Sarbadhikari introduced the speaker of the day PP. Rtn. Diptish Sen.
3.2 Rtn, Sen then addressed the audience on "Vocational Service.".
3.3 Rtn. Rajeev Paralikar gave a hearty vote of thanks.
3.4 The Vice-President presented a memento to the speaker as a
token of appreciation from the club.

4.1 The Sunshine Box collection was Rs 100/- with a special
contribution from Rtn. Hirak Ray.
4.2 The Club remembered with good wishes Rotary Club of
Johannesburg, South Africa, R.I. Dist 9300,

The meeting was terminated at 2.20 p.m.

Rtn. O.P. Malhotra
Vice-President

Rtn. Dr. Ashoke Kumar Basu
Hony. Secretary



SEVEN SINS
________________________________________________________

MAHATMA GANDHI

1. Wealth without work.
2. Pleasure without conscience.
3. Knowledge without character.
4. Commerce without morality.
5. Science without humanity.
6. Religion without sacrifice.
7. Politics without principle.



CONTACT US
________________________________________________________

We meet every Tuesday
at 1:00 for 1:30 pm at
Rotary Sadan,
94/2 Chowringhee Road, Kolkata 700 020
Tel: 2223-8686 / 8787
Fax: +91-33-2223 2573
Email: rccalcutta@...
Website: www.rotacal.org

Editor The Chaka
Rtn S B Bhattacharya, susanta_bhattacharya@...

Editor eChaka
Rtn Dr Dipak R. Sarbadhikari, drdipak@...  

THE CHAKA
VOL. 77   NO. 12
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Editor :  S B Bhattacharya

Bulletin of Rotary Club of Calcutta (First Published in 1925


www.rotacal.org/chaka



TODAY
________________________________________________________

SPEAKER
PP DIPTISH SEN
On Vocational Service
Rtn. Diptish Sen
{18 Dec. 32}
Chairman Vocational Sen/see Committee
Classification:
Engineering-Power Plant Accessories Mfg.
6-Nov-97(Joined)
Managing Partner:
Calcutta Consulting Group
Served as President, Ho ny. Secretary,
Advisor, Committee Chairperson
& Co-Chairperson.


ONE WORLD
________________________________________________________

Today we raise a toast to
ROTARY CLUB OF JOHANNESBURG
South Africa, R.I. Dist. 9300


NEXT WEEK :
________________________________________________________

13 Tue 1:30 pm
4271 RWM. Indrani Sen to speak on 'Ganesh'. Rotary Sadan.

20 Tue 1:30 pm
4272 RWM. Md Selim to speak on 'Business Ethics'. Rotary Sadan.



LEAD STORY:
________________________________________________________

THE B K ROHATGI 'ROTARIAN  PAR EXCELLENCE' AWARD
HONOURING AN OUTSTANDING MEMBER ANNUALLY

By PDG Rtn Prabhat Krishna Rohatgi

At the outset, let me make a confession. I am a firm believer in
the merit and need for 'recognitions'. Whether it is an institution,
an organization, a group of people, or an individual, who has
achieved outstanding success, or an enviable accomplishment,
or has risen in his or her performance to a level over and beyond
the expected or has surpassed the previous record, such an
achievement or accomplishment deserves to be acknowledged,
preferably publicly-with awards, prizes, 'Manpatra' or even just
a public acclamation. It applies to all fields - arts, science,
literature, sports and politics; but it is all the more called for
in the social service sector.

Our Founder Paul P Harris observed: "Every now and then, there
have always been those individuals with a desire to improve the
human condition and a willingness to give of their time and
experience to help others. Perhaps, these are the men and women
who deserve to be called Rotarians". However, such a recognition
and honour can be real and worthy, only when it is validated by
popular acceptance, by acquiescence of the community or the
group from which the recipient is selected.

In my year as club president in 1990-91, I had initiated the
institution of awards to honour individuals and institutions, outside
our club, in and from the community. I am glad that the idea
caught on and today society appreciates and acknowledges these
Rotary awards.

So I thought what about honouring outstanding individual Rotarians
of our own club. Individuals who stand out as committed Rotarians,
those who have adopted the ethos of Rotary as the guiding star
in their private and public life, in their professional and personal
careers. A Rotarians of our club who believes in Truth and
The 4-Way Test and his or her personality and deportment projects
'Rotar'y Image' in its finest form, an individual who readily comes
forward whenever called uponto participate and support the club's
worthy service projects, and believes in 'Service Above Self, is
never hesitant to spare resources available with him - his time,
talent and wealth - for a deserving cause. In other words, he or
she would be a 'role model' worthy of emulation.

Nobel Laureate Mother Teresa had rightly admonished Rotarians
when she remarked, "No Rotarian whose motto is
'Service Above Self, I think, should call himself a Rotarian if he
does not make time to serve". If Rotary is to fulfill its pledge to
the world, the spirit of service needs to be developed among
each and every Rotarian.

Now the dictionary meaning of 'excellence' is superior, very good
of its kind, and of 'par' one that is equal to. In other words
'The Rotarian Par Excellence' would denote one equal to the very
good of its kind. At times, the best too available may not measure
up to the standards of 'par excellence'. But then how are we to
identify a good Rotarian.

PRIP Robert Barth once defined a good Rotarian as 'one who is
reliable, is available, listens to others, who gives more
than he takes, and who adds value'.

Would not such an individual, if identified within the Rotary
fraternity, be worthy of being recognized as
'The Rotarian Par Excellence'? My father the late Binay Krishna
Rohatgi joined Rotary in 1939 and was the president of this club
in 1952-53. Thus I grew up in a Rotary family. And after I joined
Rotary in 1958 as my father's additional active member, I came
to know more intimately about the life and principles of a
Rotarian as exemplified by him and his Rotary friends. Eminent
Rotarians like Khan Bahadur G. A. Dossani, John Bartos of Bata,
PDG G. Basu, Major S. C. Dutt, Bernard Mathews, Dr. A. C. Ukil.
They all appeared to have adopted the ethos of Rotary as a
way of life, I admired and respected my father for his kind and
generous heart, and for his commitment to righteousness and
integrity in his life and to service above self. And so I thought
what better way would there be to pay tribute to such a noble
soul than by endowing an award in his memory,

Fellow Rotarians, I have had the good fortune of enjoying my
association with Rotary - more so with R. C. Calcutta - for more
than 50 years. I have learnt precious values of life and living
through knowing and understanding Rotary and its ethos. I have
learnt to 'serve' and enjoy service in the company of fellow
Rotarians. I have had the opportunity to become acquainted to
people from all over the world, enjoy their company.

It was, therefore, so gratifying, as also a humbling experience,
when the members of this club gave me an overwhelming reception
in August last year on completion of 50 years of Rotary membership.
In response to the sentiments, I had requested the then president
Nandita Sen to set up an endowment in the name of my father,
the late Binay Krishna Rohatgi, who was also a president of this
club, to honour an outstanding Rotarian of this club each year.

I had assured necessary funds for such an endowment. I am glad
that Imm Past president Nandita and the club's Board of Directors
accepted my request and have instituted this annual recognition.
I am grateful to them, as also to the current year's President
Dilip Sircar and his Board.

I am glad that the awardee selected for the year 2008-2009 is
Rtn Zul Hirji, a member in good standing of our club since 1993.
A perfect gentleman endowed with humility and a kind nature,
he has always came forward to aid financially and with hands-on
service any worthy cause or project taken by our club. Truly,
he has all the attributes making him worthy of the
'The Rotarian Par Excellence' award.

My only request to the Board of Directors is to give this award
honour and prestige as the club's premier recognition of an
outstanding member. The award should be presented each year
at a major club function, such as the annual installation banquet
meeting and given away with due honour by an eminent
personality. The selection of the awardee should be made by
a panel largely of past presidents and from candidates proposed
by club members, the Board or the panel itself. The guidelines
could be drawn up by the Board as deemed proper.

I close with the words of PRIP Ernst G Breitholz (1971-72).
He said: "For the word Rotarian, I have great respect, especially
when used with initial in capital. In more than 43 years, and still
at the age of 75, I am trying to became a Rotarian.
Will I ever reach that goal ?"



ANNOUNCEMENT
________________________________________________________

ROSTER UPDATE
Members are requested to kindly note that residence address of
Rtn. Dr. llorasri Chakrabarti has changed as under
South City, Tower - 3, Flat - 17J
375, Prince Anwar Shah Road, Kolkata-700 068.
Tel: 4064-3138 (R)



REPORT
________________________________________________________

MOVIE SHOW
Youth & Children's Activities Committee organized a movie show at
Dakshin Kalikata Sevasram on 21st September, 2009 for
underprivilege children.


MINUTES
________________________________________________________

OF THE 4268TH MEETING HELD AT ROTARY SADAN
ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2009 AT 1.00 P.M

Total Members -283,
Exempted Members :83,
Members Present: 102,
Visiting Rotarians:49.

1.1 The President Rtn, Dilip Kumar Sircar called the 4269th regular
weekly meeting of the Club to order at 1:30 p.m. The National
Anthem was led by President Rtn. Dilip Kr. Sircar.
1.2 The Minutes of the 4268th meeting of the Club he!d on 15th
September, 2009 at the Rotary Sadan were confirmed.
1.3 The President announced that today the club will celebrate its
90th Birthday Anniversary and His Excellency Mr. Sanjay Mark
Wadvani would be the chief guest and Rtn, Utpal Majumdar,
Dist. Governor will grace the occasion.
1.4 The President welcomed visiting Rtn. Rtn. Anshuman
Bandhopadhya, Dist. Governor (2011-12), Rtn Uttam Ganguli,
all other Dist.Officials and all the Guests present.
1.5 At request of the President, Rtn. Dr, Dipawita Hazari presented
bouquets to the Chief Guest and Dist. Governor.

2.1 President then announced the following:-
Last Saturday & Sunday, the 19th & 20th September '09
Youth Service and Rotary Publicity & Public Image Committee,
R.I, Dist. 3291 along with the Youth Service Committee of the club
organized a Rotary Talent Search Chess Tournament sponsored
by our club at Rotary Sadan. It was a huge success.
2.2 Youth & Children's Activities Committee also organized a movie
show at Dakshin Kalikata Sevasram on 21st September, 2009
for underprivilege Children.
2.3 President informed that Rtn. Heena Gorsia, Imm, Past Hony.
Secretary has sponsored six Scholarships at Bhawanipur Education
Society College for a one year course in the disciplines of fashion
designing, textile designing and interior designing. Five students
have already been selected.
2.4 The President then requested Hony. Secretary Rtn. Dr. Ashoke
Kumar Basu to conduct the Club business.

3.Hony. Secretary Rtn. Dr. Ashoke Kumar Basu announced
the following: -
3.1 Hony. Secretary extended a warm welcome to the members
and the guest of members. He greeted members celebrating their
birthdays & anniversaries for weeks ending 5th October, 2009.
3.2 He mentioned that the Committee engagements have been
published in the "Chaka", and requested the members to make note
of the date & time of the same and attend the meetings.
3.3 Next regular weekly meeting of the club will be held on Tuesday,
the 6th October, 2009 at 1.0 p.m. at the Rotary Sadan.
3.4 There will be no regular weekly meeting on Tuesday, the 9th
September, 2009 on account of Puja Holidays.
The proceedings were then handed over to the President.

4.1 At the request of the President, Rtn. Utpal Majumder, District
Governor addressed the audience.

5.1 At the request of the President, Rtn. Sushil Kumar Bagla,
President Elect introduced the speaker of the day Mr. Sanjay Mark
Wadvani. Mr. Wadvani then addressed the audience.
5.2 Mr. Wadvani answered the questions raised by Rtns
O.P. Malhotra, M.L. Pachisia and Hirak Ray.
5.3 Rtn. Saumen Ray gave the vote of thanks.
5.4 The President presented a memento to the speaker and
Dist. Governor as a token of appreciation from the club.

6.1 The Club remembered with good wishes Rotary Club of
Manila, Philippines, R.I. Dist. 3810.
6.2 At the request of the President, senior most member PP.
Rtn. Prabhat K. Rohatgi and youngest member Rtn. Dilip Kumar
Saha cut the Birthday Cake.
6.3 The President requested everyone present to join the
Fellowship and Dinner hosted by Rtn. Joyanta Chatterjee.

The meeting was terminated at 8.10 p.m..

Rtn. Dilip Kumar Sircar
President

Rtn. Dr. Ashoke Kumar Basu
Hony. Secretary



THE OBJECT OF ROTARY
________________________________________________________

The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster
the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and,
in particular, to encourage and foster:
FIRST, The development of acquaintance as an opportunity
for service;
SECOND. High ethical standards in business and professions,
the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, and
the dignifying of each Rotarian's occupation
as an opportunity to serve society;
THIRD. The application of the ideal of service
in each Rotarian's personal, business, and community life;
FOURTH. The advancement of international understanding,
goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and
professional persons united in the ideal of service.



THE FOUR-WAY TEST
________________________________________________________

Of the things we think, say or do
1)  Is it the TRUTH?
2)  Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3)  Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4)  Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?



CONTACT US
________________________________________________________

We meet every Tuesday
at 1:00 for 1:30 pm at
Rotary Sadan,
94/2 Chowringhee Road, Kolkata 700 020
Tel: 2223-8686 / 8787
Fax: +91-33-2223 2573
Email: rccalcutta@...
Website: www.rotarycalcutta.org

Editor The Chaka
Rtn S B Bhattacharya, susanta_bhattacharya@...

Editor eChaka
Rtn Dr Dipak R. Sarbadhikari, drdipak@...

Vol. 77 No. 11
Tuesday Sep 22, 2009


TEXT EDITION
Subscribe Text Chaka



TODAY
________________________________________________________

90TH ANNIVERSARY of the club together with
REGULAR WEEKLY MEETING at 7.00 p.m. followed by
FELLOWSHIP AND DINNER Hosted by: Rtn Joyanta chatterjee

SPEAKER
H. E. SANJAY MARK WADHWANI, OBE
British Deputy High Commissioner
Eastern India

Sanjay Wadvani is a career diplomat who joined the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office (FCO) in July 1987. Sanjay arrived in Kolkata,
the city of his birth, to take over as British Deputy High Commissioner
for Eastern India on 17 July 2009.

He comes with broad experience from several overseas postings, in
China, the Middle East and South America, as well as a strong
background across the key services delivered by British diplomatic
posts overseas.

Sanjay's interests include travel, the theatre and cinema, and
reading. He is a keen sportsman, though more as a follower these
days than a participant, though he still likes to swim and play tennis,
and will make an attempt at most sporting disciplines. He was
awarded an QBE in the New Year Honours 2007.

Career:
2009 Deputy High Commissioner (Eastern India), Kolkata;
2006-2009 Head of China (External) policy team in the
FCO, London;
2002-2005 Deputy Consul General and Head of Trade and
Investment, British Consulate-General, Guangzhou;
1998-2002 British Embassy Santiago;
1995-1998 Africa & Commonwealth Command, FCO London;
1991-1994 British Embassy Damascus;
1989-1991 British Embassy Beijing;
1987-1988 Hong Kong Department, FCO London.



ONE WORLD
________________________________________________________

Today we raise a toast to
ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA
Philippines, R.I. Dist. 3810



NEXT WEEK :
________________________________________________________

NO MEETING ON TUE 29 SEP
On account of Durga Puja holidaya.

NEXT MEETING
06 Oct 2009



LEAD STORY
________________________________________________________

NINETY YEARS OF OLD NUMBER ONE
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
The Rotary Club of Calcutta, the oldest continuing club in the
mainland Asia, once claiming its territory from the English Channel
to the South China Seas first came to be organized on 26th
September 1919 with twenty members in a meeting held at
Peliti's Restaurant near Great Eastern Hotel. It was the first
Rotary Club in India and in the mainland of Asia. It has to be
noted that though the Manila Rotary Club in Philippines and the
Shanghai Rotary Club in China came marginally before the
Rotary Club of Calcutta, both of them downed their shutters
during the World War II. The Manila Club started functioning
after four years. The Shanghai club has been given a Provisional
status recently pending RI's policy on China.

The Rotary Club of Calcutta can therefore proudly claim that from
the day of its organization on 26th September 1919 till now, the
club held their weekly meetings "Come War, famine, pestilence
or flood" uninterruptedly for ninety years.

It is interesting to explore the background of establishment of our
Rotary Club. The First World War ended in 1918 belying the
expectations of Indians to be bestowed with" Self Government".
The then British Government instead promulgated the Rowlatt Act,
a highly repressive legislation and the massacre of Jalianwalabagh
followed. The European Merchant Community along with
professionals and no officials of the city separated themselves
from repressions of Government Administrators and got isolated
in the process.

The establishment of the Rotary Club of Calcutta gave them a
separate identity, a platform where they could interact with the
Indians without fear and pursue common social goals. The first
twenty members who sat at Peliti on the 26th September 1919
to form a Rotary club were a special group of people with a
commonality of interest and a vision to form a Rotary
organization. The seeds that were germinated fructified in getting
the Charter from Rotary International on 1st January 1920.

This is the story of the first step of a journey of thousand of miles.
On our 90th Anniversary let us wish our club many years of
existence and service to humanity.



ANNOUNCEMENT
________________________________________________________

SCHOLARSHIPS
Rtn. Heena Gorsia has sponsored six scholarships at Bhawanipur
Education Society College. The scholarships are for a one year
course in the disciplines of fashion design, textile design and
interior design.

Our club short listed nine indigent students for the admission test
out of whom five were selected. The students will study absolutely
free of cost. The total value of these scholarships is Rs.1.60 lakhs.

Heena we applaud your generosity and contribution in providing
these deserving candidates, who would not have been in a position
to pay for this training, an opportunity to equip themselves with
a degree for better job opportunities.
Thank you Heena!



TELEMEDICINE
________________________________________________________

REACHING OUT TO HELP THE NEEDY
Adding a new leaf to our ever expanding list of community services,
we announce yet another service for our needy rural patients -
Telemedicine.

Sri Sougata Roy, Hon'ble Minister of State in the Ministry of
Urban Development inaugurated the service from Rotary Sadan
on Saturday 13 September, our Badu Unnayani Kuberpur RCC over
high speed Internet lines. The Hon'ble Minister observed the patients
located at Badu RCC, being treated by our Doctors Rtn. Asok Ghosal,
Rtn. Ashok Basu, and Rtn. Dipak Sarbadhikari sitting next to the
Minister at Rotary Sadan. The Hon'ble minister also spoke to the
patients and the organizers at Badu through a TV monitor.
A suggestion for enhancing the medical facilities at Badu was also
discussed in the presence of Hon'ble Minister.

Shri Sougata Roy also added "It's a great gesture undertaken by
Rotary Club of Calcutta, and I am honored to be here at the
inaugural ceremony. Good health is a right that every individual is
entitled to and orgnisations like Rotary have to come forward and
work together with the government. I take this opportunity to thank
all the members of Rotary Club of Calcutta and wish them success
in this venture."

In India, we are grossly short of Doctors compared to the vast
number of patients needing urgent treatment. With the advent of
Telemedicine, patients located in remote areas can be treated via
cameras, computers and tele-ECG machines by a panel of specialist
Doctors without losing any time to move the patients or the doctors.
Even in the USA, President Obama has recently announced his plans
for wider implementation of Telemedicine from coast to coast.

The project was initially conceived by P.P. Rtn. Dr. Dipak Ranjan
Sarbadhikari and was started at the time of our I.P.P Rtn. Nandita
Sen. It took a long time to see the light of day mainly due to time
spent in selecting the right internet provider. However all the
hurdles were overcome by untiring efforts of our Rotarians mainly
Saumen Ray and the project has now been implemented.

"As part of its Community Service, Rotary Club of Calcutta is
perhaps the first organization to introduce Telemedicine Treatment
for the poor and needy people, totally free of charge. This
initiative is probably the first of its kind in the voluntary social
service sector, where Doctors go to Patients rather than Patients
coming to Doctors, saving travel time, money and effort. Early
identification of diseases will indeed save lives. This is the beginning
of the beginning. What seems impossible today could become a
norm tomorrow."
- Based on reports from Rtn. Saumen Ray and Rtn. Asok Ghosal.



REPORT
________________________________________________________

GOODWILL VISIT
Al visit to the Rotary Club of Calcutta, Jadavpur was organised
on Monday 14th September 2009 at their "Chakrabaithak" venue.
Members who participated were Rotarians Subhas Chand Aggarwal,
Sushil K. Bagla, Rajeev Paraliker, Diptish Sen, Samar Saha and
B.G. Roy.



MINUTES
________________________________________________________

OF THE MEETING HELD AT ROTARY SADAN
ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2009 AT 1.00 P.M

Total Members -283,
Exempted Members :83,
Members Present: 69,
Visiting Rotarians:1l.

1. The President Rtn. Dilip Kumar Sircar called the 4268 th regular
weekly meeting of the Club to order at 1.30 p.m. The National
Anthem was led by Rtn. Sujata Pyne.
1.1 The Minutes of the 4267th meeting of the Club held on 8th September,
2009 at the Rotary Sadan were confirmed.
1.2 The President announced that Dr. Ruchi Gupta,Paediatrician,
will be the speaker of the day. She will speak on "experiences
with the new generation of youth".

2.1 The President welcomed visiting Rtn. Dr. Sashi Pr. Rohatgi, of
Rotary Club of Calcutta Victoria. President then announced
the following:-
2.2 Last Saturday, 12th September, 2009 the Health Care
Committee started the Telemedicine Project. Shri Saugata Roy,
Hon'ble Minister of State, Ministry of Urban Development,
Govt. of India, inaugurated the project at Rotary Sadan.
The President requested Rtn. Dr. Ashoke Ghcshal, Chairman,
Health Care Committee, to report about the Telemedicine
Project. Dr. Ghosal presented his report.
2.3 The first Club Assembly of the Club was held on Sunday, the
13th September, 2009 at 10 a.m.at Rotary Sadan. President
informed that Chairpersons of all the committees presented their
reports and the meeting was well attended.
2.4 At the request of the President, Rtn. Sushil Kr. Bagla,
President Elect reported on Goodwill visit of the members Monday,
the 14th September, 2009 to Rotary Club of Calcutta Jadavpur
under the leadership of Rtn. B.G. Roy, Chairman, Rotary Awareness
and Dist. Affairs Committee.
2.5 At the request of the President, Rtn. Nandita Sen, Imm.
Past President awarded the B.K. Rohatgi Endowment Award to
outstanding Rtn. Zul Hirji after which PDG. Rtn. P.K. Rohatgi spoke
a few words.
2.6 President informed that the Club will observe its 90th birthday
along with regular weekly meeting on 22nd September, 2009 at 7 p.m.
at Rotary Sadan. The Guest Speaker will be the Hon'ble Deputy
High Commissioner of U K and requested members to block the date
and attend meeting in large numbers.
2.7 The President also informed that PDG. Rtn, Sekhar Mehta, has
been Elected as R.I. Director for the Rotary Year 2011-12 and
congratulated Rtn. Mehta on behalf of the club.
The President then requested Hony. Secretary Rtn. Dr. Ashoke
Kumar Basu to conduct the Club business.
3.1 Hony. Secretary Rtn. Dr. Ashoke Kumar Basu announced the
following: -
Hony. Secretary extended a warm welcome to the members and
the guest of members. He greeted members celebrating their
birthdays & anniversaries during week ending 21st September,
2009. He mentioned that the Committee engagements have been
published in the "Chaka", and requested members to attend
the meetings.
3.2 Next regular weekly meeting of the club will be held on Tuesday,
the 22nd September, 2009 at 7.00 p.m. at the Rotary Sadan. H.E.
Mr. Sanjay Mark Wadhwani, will be the guest speaker.This will be
followed by Fellowship and Dinner hosted by Rtn. Joyanta
Chatterjee. There will be no luncheon meeting on next Tuesday
i.e. 29th September, 2009.
3.3 The District Youth Service and Rotary Publicity & Public Image
Committee, R.I. Dist. 3291 along with the Youth Service Committee
of our club will organize a Rotary Talent Search Chess Tournament
sponsored by our club on 19th and 20th September 2009 at
Rotary Sadan and requested members to join with their family.
There will be no registration charges for attending this meet.
For further details please contact:
Rtn. Premendu B. Barua (R.C. of Cal. Kankurgachi)

3.4 He also informed members that the new Matching Grant Project
at St. Thomas Home, Howrah has been sanctioned by R.I. This is
a project sponsored by Rotary Club of Viersen-Schwalm-Nette,
Germany and Rotary Foundation.The total project cost will be
US $ 55,300 out of which our club's contribution is US $ 100 and
that of District 3291 is US $ 14,000. A supervising committee will
be formed in due course. The money will be used to
vaccinate 25,000 children against Measles.

3.5 There will be no regular weekly meeting on Tuesday, the 29th
September, 2009 on account of Puja Holiday.

4.1 The proceedings were then handed over to the President.
At the request of the President, Rtn. Dr. Ashoke Kr. Basu,
Hony. Secretary introduced the speaker of the day Dr. Ruchi Gupta.
Dr. Gupta then addressed the audience. She later answered
questions raised by Rtn. Dr. D. Hazari
4.2 Rtn. Dr. Asha Padgaonkar gave a hearty vote of thanks.
4.3 The President presented a memento to the speaker as a
token of appreciation from the club.

5. The Club remembered with good wishes Rotary Club of
Montevideo, Uruguay, R.I. Dist. 4980.
The meeting was terminated at 2.25 p.m.

Rtn. Dilip Kumar Sircar
President

Rtn. Dr. Ashoke Kumar Basu
Hony. Secretary



CONTACT US
________________________________________________________

We meet every Tuesday
at 1:00 for 1:30 pm at
Rotary Sadan,
94/2 Chowringhee Road, Kolkata 700 020
Tel: 2223-8686 / 8787
Fax: +91-33-2223 2573
Email: rccalcutta@...
Website: www.rotacal.org

Editor The Chaka
Rtn S B Bhattacharya, susanta_bhattacharya@...

Editor eChaka
Rtn Dr Dipak R. Sarbadhikari, drdipak@...  

The Chaka
Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Calcutta (D-3291)
First published in 1925
Incorporated with The Eastern Rotary Wheel 1933-51
Editor S. B. Bhattacharya
Vol. 77 No. 06
Tuesday Aug 18, 2009


TODAY'S SPEAKER
________________________________________________________


BISWAJIT MATILAL
An important name in the field of communication, is a
well-known media academic. Apart from his association with
Visva-Bharati's Department of Mass Communication & Journalism
since its inception, he is a Visiting Faculty Member with eminent
institutes of learning.

He served the Anandabazar Group and The Statesman for about
three decades as a Working Journalist in various categories which
offered him a grand exposure to all the facets of print journalism.

Now, as General Manager (PR & Advertising) of Birla Corporation
Limited, the flagship company of the M P Birla Group of Industries,
he has to look after the four divisions of the company as well as
the Communication activities of Group concerns.

He is the Immediate Past Secretary-General of the Public Relations
Society of India's National Council and was Chairman, Public
Relations Society of India, Kolkata Chapter. He is the former
President & General Secretary and senior Founder-Member of
Calcutta Journalists Club.



ONE WORLD
________________________________________________________

Today we raise a Toast to
ROTARY CLUB OF PANAJI
Goa, India, R.I. Dist. 3170



NEXT MEETING
________________________________________________________

August 25, 2009
Interesting Film Show
KOLKATA-THE CITY OF LITERATURE
Courtesy- The British Council.
Rotary Sadan 7:00 pm

This would be followed by:
FELLOWSHIP GET-TOGETHER :
to be hosted by PP. Rtn. Dau Dayal Kothari & R-Ann. Chandrakanta.
All members are requested to kindly make a note of it and attend.
NOTE ABOVE CHANGE OF TIMING OF NEXT WEEKLY MEETING :
7:00 pm instead of 1:00 pm. followed by Fellowship and
Dinner at 8:30 pm, the day Tuesday August 25
remaining unchanged,



FORTHCOMING EVENTS :
________________________________________________________

Aug 15 Sat 9 am
FREE HEALTH CAMP at our Begumpur RCC Dist. Hooghly.
Team from Health Care Committee leaves Rotary Sadan at 9 am
August 15 Sat 10 am
INDEPENDENCE DAY will be celebrated at Rotary Sadan
by the students of the Cultural Section. Flag hoisting by President
will be at 10 a.m. followed an Art Exhibition and
variety entertainment by children. Not to be missed.
You are requested to attend with your family



LEAD STORY
________________________________________________________

KALYAN BANERJEE - CHOICE FOR 2011-12, Rl PRESIDENT
A member of the Rotary Club of Vapi, Gujarat, India, since 1972,
is the selection of the Nominating Committee for President of
Rotary International in 2011-12. Banerjee will become the
president-nominee on 1 October if there are no
challenging candidates.

Banerjee said he would like to see Rotary "blossom from being the
world's most recognized service organization to being the most
important NGO [nongovernmental organization] in the world.
"Rotary, it is said, has the strength of a government and the
tenderness of a parent," he added.

Banerjee is a director of United Phosphorus Limited, the largest
agrochemical manufacturer in India, and the chair of United Phosphorus
(Bangladesh) Limited. He is a member of the Indian Institute of
Chemical Engineers and the American Chemical Society, a
past president of Vapi Industries Association, and former chair of the
Gujarat chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industry. He earned
a degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of
Technology, Kharagpur, in 1964.

Banerjee has served Rotary as a director, Rotary Foundation
Trustee, committee and task force chair, International Assembly
group discussion leader, president's representative, and
district governor.
The chair of the Southeast Asia Regional PolioPlus Committee,
Banerjee has served as a member of the International PolioPlus
Committee for many years and has attended international meetings
with the World Health Organization and UNICEF in that capacity.

Banerjee is a Major Donor, Benefactor, and Bequest Society
member, and has been awarded the Foundation's Citation for
Meritorious Service. Banerjee also serves as a trustee of Rotary
club-sponsored trusts that support many educational and
community development programs in India, including
a 250-bed hospital.

He noted that Rotary's strengths include its ability to attract
leaders from different vocations around the world, as well as its
role in promoting peace. "Rotary needs to become the preferred
organization for today's generation to join and participate in,
to make the world better and safer and happier," he said.

Banerjee's wife, Binota, is a social worker and Inner Wheel club
member. The couple have two children and four grandchildren.
Rotary International News - 11 August 2009



ANNOUNCEMENTS
________________________________________________________

INVITATION TO BECOME A PAUL HARRIS FELLOW

In the weekly meeting held on 4th August, 2009 - our President
had announced that in view of the ensuing visit of R.I. President
John Kenny to Kolkata on 12th September, 2009 it would be
befitting for our Club to induct and present a large number of new
Paul Harris Fellows. It has therefore been decided that the club
would subsidize and pay 50% of the total cost namely $ 500
of the cost with the rest $ 500 being borne by the member.
Offer open to first fifteen members by 31st  Aug 2009.

CLASSIFICATION SURVEY
Classification Survey is presently in progress. Members may
suggest changes in their own Classification or propose
New Classifications.
Rtn. Subimal Bose, Chairman Classification

ROSTER 2009-10
Members' Roster 2009-10 is now available. Members are
requested to collect them from the weekly meeting desk or
from our club office at Rotary Sadan.



SPEECH
________________________________________________________

ADDRESS BY SHRI NARAYAN PRASAD JAIN
Tax Consultant and Author
in the Weekly meeting on 21st July, 2009 on
BUDGET 2009-10

Shri Narayan Prasad Jain who was earlier member of Rotary Club of
Calcutta termed his visit to the Club as homecoming and added
"my heart is always with you". He invited attention to Joint
programmes he had carried out last two years on traffic management
for drivers in collaboration between his organization 'Concern for
Calcutta' and Rotary. He promised to take up more such programmes
in future. He also stressed the need for image building for Rotary
where he promised to help as and when Rotary wanted.

Coming to the question of Budget 2009-10 Mr. Jain divided his speech
to few finer points which are likely to help the citizens and few
provision which will affect everybody adversely. The income tax
exemption limit has increased to Rs.2,40,000 for senior citizens,
Rs.1,90,000 for ladies, Rs,1,60,000 for individual tax pairs. According
to him since tax rate has been rationalized and reduced for individual
and Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) and there is no surcharge for
individuals, by proper tax planning six member family with income
of Rs.25 lakhs need not pay much tax. It is also a welcome sign
that while in earlier years at least one tax used to be added each
year this year two types of taxes have been abolished namely
FBI (Fringe Benefit Tax) and CTC (Commodity Transaction Tax).
There will be however tax on perquisites for car, club expenses,
credit cards, personal tours or travel etc. Wealth Tax exemption
limit increased to Rs.30 lakhs and Advance Tax to be paid only
when it is Rs. 10,000 on more.

The limit for making payment to transporters only has been
increased to Rs.35000. The business as a partnership firm has
become more lucrative since higher remuneration has been allowed
for business partners. The distinction between business partners
and professional partners have been done away with and higher
remuneration admissible to professional partners is also applicable
to business partners. The tax on Retail Trade which was 5%
up to business of Rs.40 lakhs has been increased to 8% and
more items have been brought in the list of Retail Trade.
In case of Tax Deducted at source (TDS) for rent this has been
reduced to 10% both for individuals and others. In case of
machinery and other equipment taken on hire the present rate
of 10% has been reduced to 2%. Earlier for contractors it was
2% and subcontractors it was 1 %. Now this will be 1% for
individual & HUF and 2% for others. However PAN number is a
must for all these cases and in its absence deduction will be
as high as 20%. Even request for not deducting tax at source,
for individuals within tax exemption limit will not be considered
unless PAN number is mentioned.

Now onwards TDS statements will have to filed like
Income Tax Return. This will be assessed and scrutinized and if
less tax has been charged more tax will be demanded as arrear
including fine if any and in case excess payment extra amount
will be refunded. Earlier in case of gifts received in case or cheque
or draft received from a non-relation during a year if it exceeded
Rs.50,000 used to come under the purview of tax. The gift is
something which we receive without any consideration or
inadequate consideration. Mr. Jain mentions that in this
year's Budget the definition of gift has been expanded in such
a manner that includes not only cash but items such as
immovable property, shares certificates, archeological
items, art objects, paintings, jewellery etc. Moreover these
provisions not only cover gifts received without considerations
but purchases.

According to Mr. Jain these are dangerous provisions and likely
to affect citizens very adversely and very often lead to litigation.
A concept of fair market valuation is proposed to be introduced by
Government both for gift and purchases of items like share
certificates, jewellery etc. will be matter of interpretation and
often give scope for misuse.
In the case of immovable property your declaration about the
cost of property will not be accepted. But what is assessed by
the stamp duty authorities will be taken as the value of the
property and a citizen has to pay tax on that amount. Earlier
when property was not registered there was no question of
paying stamp duty or tax. Now property items are within tax
net irrespective of being registered or not. All transfer of
property is not taxable like transfer of car. Moreover this
provision is applicable only from October, 2009 and not before that.


ROTARY FOUNDATION NEWS
________________________________________________________

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

A mad map to our Foundation's future
As we begin our new Rotary year, we look out upon a landscape
of challenges and possibilities. We are at the beginning of a new
journey together-and, as with every journey, it is a good idea to
begin with a map. This is why. every year, we set goals for our
Rotary Foundation. They help us stay focused on where we're
going, and they keep us all traveling in the same direction,
on the same Rotary path.

It should be no surprise to any Rotarian that
our first goal in 2009-10 will be the eradication of polio. This is
Rotary's primary goal as an organization and will remain so until
it is achieved. The direct role of The Rotary Foundation in
supporting this goal is to help meet Rotary's US$ 200 Million
Challenge and to raise awareness that the fight against polio,
is not yet over.

Our second goal is to work through our Foundation to achieve
a better world through the six areas of focus of the
Future Vision Plan. They are:
Peace and conflict prevention/ resolution
Disease prevention and treatment
Water and sanitation
Maternal and child health
Basic education and literacy
Economic and community development
Our third goal is to implement the Future Vision Plan, which
will help revitalize and strengthen our Foundation so it can
adequately support another century of Rotary service.
And our fourth goal is to support the Every Rotarian,
Every Year initiative and the Permanent Fund so all of our
Foundation's good work may continue.
I am glad to be embarking on this new Rotary journey
with you. The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands -and the future
of our Foundation is as well.

Glenn E. Estess Sr.
Foundation trustee chair
- The Rotarian July 2009


MINUTES
________________________________________________________

MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2009 AT 1.30 PM
Total Members: 283
Exempted Members :83
Members Present: 72
Visiting Rotarians: 2

President, Rtn. Dilip Sircar informed that in absence of Hony.
Secretary Rtn. Dr .Ashoke Kumar Basu, Hony. Jt. Secretary
Rtn. Sujata Pyne will conduct today's meeting.

The President Rtn. Dilip Kumar Sircar called the 4263rd regular
weekly meeting of the club to order at 1.30 p.m. at Rotary Sadan.
The National Anthem was led by Rtn. Supryio Ghosh.
The Minutes of the 4262nd meeting of the Club held on
4th August, 2009 at the Rotary Sadan were confirmed.

The President announced that today we had an audio visual
presentation on jungles and wildlife represented by Mr. Raja
Chatterjee.

President then announced the following:-
He was sorry to inform that our ex-member Shri Tarun Kumar Basu,
maternal uncle of Rtn. Dr. Chandreyee Das passed away on
10th August,2009. He extended our condolence to his family and
prayers for peace of his departed soul.

Independence Day will be celebrated on 15th August, 2009 at
10 a.m. at Rotary Sadan followed by an Art Exhibition and
Cultural Programme by the Students of Cultural Section.
Members were requested to attend with their family.

President discussed about the visit of R.I. President to Kolkata on
12th September, 2009. In view of which it would be befitting of
our club to present large number of new Paul Harris Fellows.
As a special incentive President also announced that the club
would subsidize to the extent of 50% of the total cost of
becoming Paul Harris Fellows i.e. $ 500 per member. First
fifteen members can avail of this opportunity. The last date of
acceptance of the same will be on 31st August, 2009.

The meeting following the next Regular Weekly Meeting on the
25th of August, will be an evening meeting followed by
fellowship and dinner to be hosted by PP. Rtn. D.D. Kothari.

Hony. Joint Secretary Rtn. Sujata Pyne conducted the club
business. She greeted members celebrating their birthdays
and wedding anniversaries during week ending 17th August,
2009. She mentioned that Committee engagements were published
in the "Chaka", members were requested to make note of them.

Health Care Committee would organize a free Health Check-up
Camp at our RCC Begumpur, Dist. Hooghly on August 25.

Members Roster 2009-10 is available. Members were requested
to collect them from the club office.
Next regular weekly meeting of the club will be held on Tuesday,
the 18th August, 2009 at 1.00 p.m. at the Rotary Sadan.
Mr. Biswajit Matilal of Birla Corporation will speak on
"Corporate Communication".

At the request of the President, Rtn. Khokan Mookerji
introduced the speaker of the day Mr. Raja Chatterjee, who then
addressed the audience.
Rtn. Joyanta Chatterjee gave the vote of thanks.
The President presented a memento to the speaker as a token
of our appreciation.

The Sunshine Box collection had a special contribution of 100/-
from Rtn. Shankar Sehanobish.

The Club remembered with good wishes Rotary Club of
Bombay Hills South, India, R.I. Dist. 3140.

The meeting was terminated at 2.40 p.m.

Rtn. Dilip Kumar Sircar President
Rtn. Sujata Pyne Hony. Jt. Secretary



CONTACT
________________________________________________________

We meet every Tuesday
at 1:00 for 1:30 pm at
Rotary Sadan,
94/2 Chowringhee Road, Kolkata 700 020
Tel: 2223-8686 / 8787
Fax: +91-33-2223 2573
Email: rccalcutta@...
Website: www.rotacal.org

Editor The Chaka
Rtn S B Bhattacharya, susanta_bhattacharya@...

Editor eChaka
Rtn Dr Dipak R. Sarbadhikari, deares@...

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FAREWELL FROM THE 89TH PRESIDENT
________________________________________________________

RTN NANDITA SEN

As I lay down my office as the 89th President of this premier club -I feel humble. Humble because you have given me this once in a lifetime opportunity of serving this great club. I had little time for preparation that is needed to take over and bear the responsibility of the President of such an institution that has an astounding past and expectation of continuity in that rich tradition.

The selected incumbent of this office had to unfortunately step aside at the last moment and I was chosen to take the call at short notice. I feel humble because you showed so much confidence in me. Each one of you has lent your strength to me so that your strength becomes mine for a year and so that I can succeed.

If I have failed many a time in providing leadership that would come with planning, preparation and experience - you have made it up for me. With me you have put your shoulders together behind the Rotary Wheel and given it a push so that it retains its
momentum. My Board of Directors, Hony. Secretary Chairmen of Committees, the
Co Chairmen have all been solid strength and power behind me.

We began the year with new responsibilities, new challenges and new opportunities. We realized that while the mission of Rotary is constant we have always to be open to needs for change. The world is in a flux and we have to stay aware of the changing needs of the community we serve. In our projects for the year we built in technological advancements that the world has on offer today and that can change the lives of the community in a significant way.

We brought in solar energy to a village deprived of power; we brought in telemedicine to reach modern health care in an instant to remote villagers. To address the global anxiety for conservation of natural resources, our project for rainwater harvesting and purification was taken up for supply of pure drinking water to a thousand school children in rural Bengal.

While our projects integrated technology with service to humanity, the traditional areas of service where the humane touch is more important did not lag behind. Credit goes to the Committees that bent over to stretch their hands and touch the lives of the communities that need us most - be it for integrated Health care, vocational service, community service or service to the youth & children. Our project for immunizing slum children against ten life threatening diseases for reducing child mortality and setting up of shelter

home for fifty destitute street children showed our club's concern for the children at risk had a strong team to support me with their skills and with their commitment in realizing the dreams that we had dreamt together.

We in the club have reason to be proud of the very significant work that the Committees have done. At the same time we do realize that so much more needs to be done and are conscious of some unfinished agenda.

With improvement of our in-house infrastructural facilities, our services can now have a deeper and wider reach. Gift of the precious second floor hall to us, the new abode for our meetings, was a feather added to the cap of Rotary Sadan. It stands out as a landmark event of the year. Our very generous givers and donors have seen to it that no project gets stalled for want of funds. Above all the support of each and every member of the club was a new revelation to me - it made me realize how much goodwill I was carrying with all my fellow members. I humbly take my hats off to all of them.

I am sure as I recede in the background and a new year dawns, they will look ahead with new responsibilities & challenges and Rotary will continue to flourish. I will lay down my office to usher in the 90th President of this club. May he and his team build the new powerhouse of
service to the community. May they become the strong hands of Rotary to realize their future dreams.



SAYONARA FROM HONY. SECRETARY
________________________________________________________

RTN HEENA GORSIA

Farewells are always difficult, but at the end of this Rotary year, it is imperative that I bid goodbye as Secretary of Rotary Club of Calcutta. With a lump in throat I look back at the year gone by and an overwhelming realization grips my heart. I have been a Rotarian for a long time before I became Secretary and even after I cease to Secretary I shall continue being a Rotarian. The love and warmth I have received as a Rotarian seemed to have simply become reinforced in my year as Secretary. I wish to thank each and every member of Rotary Club of Calcutta but I cannot but mention specially the President, Board of Directors, all the Chairpersons, the Editor and the staff of Rotary Sadan who have helped me and been by me every moment in this year. I wish the incoming Committee all the very best in their endeavours. It's now time to do the inevitable. Sayonara.



AU REVOIR FROM EDITOR
________________________________________________________

RTN SHATORUPA

Another Rotary year has finally come full circle. It is time for farewells. It is time for one end and yet another beginning. As Editor, this year has not been among the best for me, but I have learnt a lot. I have learnt an overwhelming amount about Rotary, gathered even more intrinsic knowledge of a lot that is beyond the written word. I have tried to give Rotary my best, but it has been very difficult to satisfy everyone. But all said and done I cannot but thank few people who made my tumultuous year slightly more bearable. The first name which comes to my mind is that of the Chairman, Bulletin, Shantanu Deb Mookerjea. Despite our several fights and severe differences of opinion from time to time, he has constantly and vociferously supported me in almost all my endeavours to publish The Chaka to the best of my ability. I have no words to express my gratitude to Rtn Dipak Sarbadhikari who donned the role of my mentor all the year and gently guided me with tips, advice and criticism. More often than not, I turned to him with requests for special articles for special issues which he inevitably churned out well within the deadline I dared to give him.

I profusely thank the Proprietor and the entire unit of Sundry Magazine Publications who patiently bore out all my whims and fancies in each and every one of the layouts of all 48 issues of The Chaka. Never once have they refused to comply with my often weird requests. I will be failing in my duty if I do not mention the Secretary who gave me a complete freehand with The Chaka, and the President who appointed me as Editor. I have gained invaluable experience as a Rotarian even before the greenness of my green badge turned a shade bleak.

I wish my successor, Rtn S. B. Bhattacharya all the very best in this rather difficult journey.



NEXT MEETING
________________________________________________________

90TH INSTALLATION
will be held on Saturday, July 11, 2009 at Hotel Hindustan International,
The Chief Guest for the Evening will be Swami Jitatmananda Maharaj, Secretary of Swami Vivekananda Ancestral Home and Cultural Centre of the Ramakrishna Order.



MINUTES
________________________________________________________

MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2009

Total members 290
Exempted members 84
Members present 77
Visiting Rtns Nil

1) The President Rtn. Nandita Sen called the 4257th regular weekly meeting of the club to order at 1.00 p.m. at Rotary Sadan. The National Anthem was led by Rtn. Dilip Kumar Sircar.
2) The Minutes of the 4256th meeting of the Club held on 19th June, 2009 at the Rotary Sadan were confirmed.
3) The President informed that today's meeting followed by a "JOKES SESSION".
4) The President greeted members celebrating their birthdays and wedding anniversaries during weekending 29th June.2009.

5) President then announced the following:-
a) Last Friday, the 19th June, 2009 Annual Endowment Awards Nite organized by the club. Justice Shyamal Sen was the Chief Guest followed by fellowship & dinner hosted by PDG, Rtn. V.S. Bhandari & R-Ann. Neeiam Bhandari at Rotary Sadan.
b) The Fourth & Joint Club Assembly (2008-09 and
2009-10) was held on Sunday, 21st June, 2009 at Rotary Sadan.
c) Cyclone AILA - The first lot of relief material of cooking utensils, sarees, lungis and gamchhas as well as medicines to prevent and handle water borne diseases and tarpaulins have already been sent to Ramakrishna Mission Nimpith and Bharat Sevashram Sangha and also distributed at two of our RCCs at Krishnanagar and Dara. These have benefited 500 cyclone victims - each set of items having been given to 100 members each. Affected villagers were housed at our RCCs and provided food & meals by our club for about ten-twelve days. Overwhelming response & generous contribution for relief to the victims of AILA Cyclone allowed us to extend the helping hand to the affected victims. This is gratefully acknowledged. The second lot of Relief material will be sent shortly.
d) R.I. Dist. 3291 Award ceremony will be held next Saturday, 27th June, 2009 at G.D. Birla Sabhagar at 3.30 p.m. onward and requested members to attend.
e) 90th Installation Meeting of the Club will be held on Saturday, 11th July, 2009 at the Hotel Hindustan International at 7 p.m. Swami Jitatmanda, Secretary, Swami Vivekananda's Ancestral House will be the Chief Guest and Dist. Governor
(2009-10) Rtn. Utpal Majumdar will grace the occasion.
Members are requested to book seats as early as possible. For further details please contact Club Office.

6) Hony. Secretary Rtn. Heena Gorsia's announced the following:-
(a) Next regular weekly meeting of the club will be held on 30th June, 2009. It will be a closed meeting to consider the Annual Accounts of the year ended 31st March 2009 followed by President's recognition and Club Awards. The meeting will be at 6.30 p.m. instead of a Luncheon meeting at 1.00 p.m. Meeting will end with fellowship and dinner to be hosted by the President Rtn. Nandita Sen & Spouse Biswajit Sen. Members are requested to kindly note this change and attend.
(b) Committee engagements are in the Chaka. Members are requested to make note of these and attend the meetings.
(c) The Twelfth (Joint) Meeting of the Board of Directors for the Rotary year 2008-2009 &
2009-2010 will be held on Friday, the 26th June, 2009 at 6:30p.m. at the Rotary Sadan.
All the members of the Board of Directors (2008-2009) &
(2009-2010) are requested to make a note of it and attend.
(d) There will be no regular weekly meeting on Tuesday, 7th June, 2009 as the 90th Installation meeting of the club will be held on Saturday, 11th July, 2009 at the Hotel Hindustan International at 7 p.m. You are requested to kindly make a note of it.

7) At the request of the President, Rtn. S.D. Mookerjea conducted the "Jokes Session". Rtn. S.D. Mookerjea, Rtn. Diptish Sen, Rtn. Sutanu Ghosh, Rtn. Dilip Sircar, Rtn. Dr. Dipak Sarbadhikari, Rtn. Dileep Rohatgi, Rtn. OP. Malhotra, Rtn. Kamal Nandy, Rtn. Dr. Indrajit Roy, Rtn. Dr. Bani Kr. Sarangi, Rtn. Saumen Ray & Rtn. P.K. Rohatgi participated in the Session. The President presented all of them with a gift each, The gifts were sponsored by Rtn. S.D. Mookerjea.

8} The Sunshine Box collection had a special contribution of Rs 400/- from Rtns Vinay Nevatia, Nilima Joshi and Dilip Sircar.
9) The Club remembered with good wishes Rotary Club of Patna, India, R.I. Dist. 3250.
The meeting was terminated at 2.40 p.m.

Rtn Nandita Sen, President
Rtn Heena Gorsia, Hony. Secretary



WISPS OF WISDOM
________________________________________________________

You can make more friends in months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.


JUST JOKING
________________________________________________________

Honest Confessions of a....:
Once I had multiple personalities but now we are feeling well. I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure. The best thing about being schizophrenic is that I am never alone.


JOIN US
________________________________________________________

We meet every Tuesday at 1:00 for 1:30 pm at Rotary Sadan. Tel: 2223-8686 / 8787
Contact us at: rccalcutta@...

THE CHAKA
Bulletin of Rotary Club of Calcutta (RID 3291)
First published in 1925

Vol.76 No. 41
Tuesday, May 12, 2009

www.rotacal.org/chaka.htm


TODAY
________________________________________________________

MR. PRABIR DASGUPTA
A senior Information Technology and Management Professional with over 35 years
experience in Business and Industry in India and abroad with multinationals,
leading Indian houses and start-up ventures. He has worked with GEC (UK), INDAL
{Mean}, Shaw Wallace. IOL (The BOC Group) and Tata Steel holding senior IT and
Management positions.
Mr. Dasgupta was the President of Globsyn Technology during its initial start-up
phase in Kolkata. For the past 10 years he has focused on the SME IT Sector,
mainly in West Bengal, as an entrepreneur and manager, promoting IT start-up
ventures. He was also the founder CEO and Executive Director of Vision Comptech
(renamed Axsys Technology), a leading Kolkata based IT and Marine Engineering
sercies company. Currently he is the Managing Director of Nevaeh Technology, a
business consulting, technology and services company. He is also an author of a
book on Career Guidance and a former Rotarian. An avid reader who enjoys
travelling, he is also keenly interested in History and Indology.
Subject: India as a Nation - The Mystery of its Survival



NEXT MEETING
________________________________________________________

Tuesday, 16 June 2009
CLOSED MEETING
President Nandita Sen will speak.



ONE WORLD
________________________________________________________

Today we raise a toast to
ROTARY CLUB OF SANTINIKETAN
RID 3240



FORTCOMING EVENTS
________________________________________________________

ENDOWMENT AWARDS PROGRAM: Jun 16 Tue
Endowment Awards program will be held on 16th June, 2009.
Retd. Justice Shymal Sen will be the Chief Guest.



ANNOUNCEMENT
________________________________________________________

DONATION OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENTS
Courtesy Rtn. Arun Jalan
In the month of March 2009 our Club arranged for donation of
medical equipments to various organisations courtesy Rtn. Arun Jalan who
organised Rs.3,60,000 from Shree Hanuman Seva Trust and Rs.1,20,00 from
Ratangarh Charity Trust. The contribution of medical equipments included
• A semiauto analyser for Ramakrishna Math Yogodyan, Kankurg; the value of
Rs.1.30 lacs.
• An Insuflator for laproscope for Institute of Child Health, Park C
thevalueof2.10lacs,
• A laptop forthe Cancer Institute of India of the value of Rs.30,000
• Contributions of Rs, 50,000 were also made to our RCC at 'Pragati Sangha Dara'
and our RCC at 'Refuge' both NGOs carrying on socially relevant developmental
work for the needy indigent.



COMMITTEES 2009-2010
________________________________________________________

COMMITTEE 			 CHAIR

01 Attendance, Classification,
Rotary Information &
Membership Retention       		 Rtn. Subimal Bose

02 Membership,
Membership Development & Motivation Rtn. Chitrak Mitra

03 Programme & Bulletin               	 Rln. Am!t Basu

04 Fellowship & Family of Rotary  Rtn. Dr. Sudipto Roy

05 Rotary Awareness / District Affairs Rtn. B.G. Roy

06 NCLCL Committee 		 Rtn. Shantanu Deb Mookerjea

07 Health Care                 		 Rtn. Dr. Ashok Ghoshal

08 Community Service /RCC/
Major Community Project    		 Rtn. Soumen Ray

09 Youth & Children's Activity   	 Rtn. Sonai Worah

10 Vocational Service                   	 Rtn. DiptIsh Sen

11 International Service                    Rtn. Debashis Mitra

12 Environmental impact Assessment         Rtn. Dr. Indira Chakraborty

13 Club Finance                          	 Rtn. Bablu Koiay






REPORT
________________________________________________________

REPORT OF MEMBERS' NITE
On May Day, evergreen families of Rotary Club of Calcutta turned up in full
throttle to make the evening memorable. The theme was exploration of unity in
diversity in terms of Indian cultural tradition. The curtain raiser was a
classical rendition of "Raga Kinkini" by Mrs. Bhattacharya .which set the tone
of the evening aptly. The song "This land is your,,.." by Rtns Hirak Ray,Supriyo
Ghosh, Nilima Joshi, Sonal Wohrah and Sanjana Wakharia mesmerized the audience.

It was followed by a retrospective drama by Rotary Kids which exhibited strings
of events related to Indian freedom movements and freedom fighters who glorified
India with their patriotism the same drama which was staged in Rotary Club of
Calcutta almost a decade ago by the present renowned Rotarians and now with the
help of R-Ann Anuradha Gupta the kids could recreate the magic again on the
stage. Special appreciation to R-Ann Roshni Ganguly for preserving the
invaluable script. Some of the performers are Aritra Das, Prithveer and Preeti
Roychowdhury. Yash Agrawal, Anuj Wakharia, Anish and Sonakshi Mitra, Pooja
Kapoor, Rudradeb Banerjee, Romit Deb Mookherjea and others.

The dance sequences from different quarter of India enthralled the audience to
the hilt! There were Bhangra team which was having most lovable evergreen couple
Mr. and Mrs.O.P Mathotra along with R-Ann Monica Jain and Mr. Jawahar Joshi. The
Goanese number was presented by Debashis and Sambi Mitra and Jawahar Joshi with
Ruchira Aggarwal.

From the South Indian Corner we had undiscovered talent of Rtn. Dr. Ilorashri
Chakraborty, Chandalika by Shinjini Bose and team (Romit and Rohit Deb
Mookherjea and daughter-in law of Rtn. Dr Samir Banerjee )was a real
show-stealer which was choreographed by Ann. Ranjana Roy.

And truly the best was reserved for the last - the parting shot of the evening
was a nicely choreographed "Jai Ho".

The musical evening concluded with the distribution of tokens of appreciation to
the participants.

Kudos to Ann.Ranjana Roy and Ann. Anuradha Gupta for conceptualizing and
presenting such a lovely evening with ceaseless effort & enthusiasm. Special
Ann. Rini Deb Mookherjea, Ann. Ivy De, Ann, Indrani Sinha, Hirak and others.

- Rtn Anusua Das

Sumptious food was served on Members Nite. The Fellowship Committee extends its
warm gratitude to Rtn Kirit M Patet for the Gujarati Chat, Rtn Amttabh Rai for
the Chinese Cuisine, Rtn Nitin S. Kothari for the Indian Cuisine, Rtn Sujata
Pyne for special delicacies, Rtn Dilip Jaiswal for desserts, and Rtn Dilip Kr.
Bose for the beverages. The Fellowship Committee wishes to specially acknowledge
Rtn Amitava Sinha for the backdrop of the stage for the entire programme.

- Rtn Hirak Ray, Chairman




MINUTES
________________________________________________________

OF THE 4249 RWM ON TUE 21 APR 2009 AT ROTARY SADAN 1:00 PM

Total Members 290
Exempted Members 83
Members Present 91
Visiting Rotarians & Guests : 2


1. The President Rtn Nartdita Sen called the 4250th regular weekly meeting of
the club to order at 1.30 p.m. at Rotary Sadan. The National Anthem was led by
Rtn. Dilip Kumar Sircar.

2)   The Minutes of the 4249th meeting of the Club held on 28th April, 2009 at
the Rotary Sadan were confirmed.

3)   Trie  President announced that today's speaker was Dr. Subrata Maitra. He
would speak on "Medical Care for the Elderly".

4) The President greeted members celebrating their birthdays and wedding
anniversaries during week ending 11th May,2009.

5) President welcomed visiting Rotarians Rtn, S K. Datta and Rtn. Gopal Banerjee
from Rotary Club of Rablndra Sarobar and PP. Rtn. Tamal Mukherjee from Rotary
Club of South Calcutta.

6) President, Rtn. Nandlta Sen reported the following:—
a) The most enjoyable event of the year the "Members' Nile" was held on Friday,
the 1st May, 2009 at 6.30 p.m. at Rotary Sadan and thanked to Rtn. Hlrak Ray,
Chairman, Family of Rotary Committee for organizing a very enjoyable evening.
Thanks were also due to the R-Anns who worked tirelessly to make a success of
the program.
b) The Third Club Assembly of the year was held on Sunday. 3rd May, 2009 at
10.00 p.m. at Rotary Sadan. It was a very Informative session. She thanked the
Chairmen of different committees for presenting a SWOT analysis of their
respective committees along with the achievements for the year. The AG Rtn,
Ratan Lai Arora was present and appreciated the amount of work done during the
year and their wonderful presentations made and the obvious commitment of the
chairpersons.
c) Some extremely pertinent issues relating to members' participation in
meetings, members attention to the deliberations of the meeting and the speakers
speech, whether the speaker was having a congenial atmosphere to speak in or
were our actions in any way distracting the speaker and did not conform to the
dignity of the meeting, whether these issues have any relation to the new venue
of the meeting etc were raised at the Assembly. As attendance was in small
numbers at the Assembly, the President felt it would be in the fitness of things
to take up these and related issues to the general body of members on 19th May,
2009 for discussion. We would be having a closed door meeting on that day and
there will be no speaker. The President also said that she believed that a
change of venue was conceived much earlier perhaps in the Centenary year itself
when the building of another floor was visualized and planned. We are now trying
to implement that. Since we have used the 2nd floor for some months now, she
thought we have some learning from our collective experience after having
attended meetings on the second floor and we may try to remove the bottlenecks /
have solutions.

7) President then announced the following;—
a) District Assembly-2009 will be held on Sunday, 17th May, 2009 at Hyatt
Regency. We must send a large team from our club. Visiting Rotarians from Rotary
Club of Rabindra Sarobar, who are hosting the District Conference and our
President Elect Rtn, Dilip Sircar also made announcementson the District
Assembly -2009.
b) President Elect, Rtn. Dilip Sircar then announced the Club Officers Training
Seminar (COTS) to be held on Friday, 22nd May, 2009 at 6.00 p.m. at the Rotary
Sadan. All Directors (2009-10), Committee Chairpersons (2009-10) and
Co-Chairpersons (2009-10) were requested to block the above date in their diary
and attend.

8) Hony,  Secretary Rtn.  Heena Gorsia announced the following;—
a) Next regular weekly meeting of the club wili be held on Tuesday, the 12th
May, 2009 at 1 p.m. at the Rotary Sadan. The guest speaker will be Mr, Prabir
Dasgupta,
b) Rabindra Jayanti & Nazrul Sandhya will be observed on Saturday, 9th May, 2009
at the Rotary Sadan at 6 p.m. onwards with programme to be staged by the stude
Cultural Section. You are cordially invi attend with yourfamily.
c) The inauguration of the dub project of a destitute home at "Refuge" will be
held in the last week of May, 2009. The exact date will be announced later.
Please attend the inauguration in large numbers.
d) Committee meetings are in theChaka.

9)   At the request of the President, Rtn Suchitra Sen, a new member of our
club, gave an interesting two minute talk on "Rotary & Women."

10) At the request of the President, PP Diptish  Sen  introduced the day's
speaker Dr.Subrata Maitra.
11)  Dr. Maitra then addressed the gathering on "Medical Care for the Elderly".
The address generated wide interest as the subject was of immense interest to
our large group of senior citizen members. Questions raised by Rtns, Hirak Ray,
Saumen Ray & Dr. Dipanwita Hazari were suitably answered by the speakwer.
12) Rtn. Debasish Biswas gave a hearty vote of thanks. The President presented a
memento to the speaker as a token of appreciation from the club.

13) The Sunshine Box collection had a special contribution of Rs.200/-from Rtn.
Kakoli Mitra.

14) The Club remembered with good Rotary Club of Guwahati, Assam, R.I. Dist.
3240.

The meeting was terminated at 2.30 p.m.

Rtn. Nandita Sen
President

Rtn. Heena Gorsia
Hony. Secretary



WISPS OF WISDOM
________________________________________________________

The universe is change;
our life is what our thoughts make it.



JUST JOKING
________________________________________________________

What do you get when you cross poison ivy with a 4 leaf clover?
A rash of good luck.



WE MEET EVERY TUESDAY 1:00 FOR 1:30 PM PM AT ROTARY SADAN
Read: www rotacal.com/chaka.htm  Contact us at : rccalcutta@...

REPORTS ^
________________________________________________________

VISIT OF PDG RTN K. R. RAVINDRAN, DIRECTOR ELECT OF RI
VISIT TO ROTARY SADAN

PDG Rtn K. R. Ravindran, Director Elect of RI and Trustee of the
Rotary Foundation was welcomed by our President on his visit to
our club on Saturday, February 21,2009. Rtn. Ravindran spoke for
20 minutes on TRF and also about some of his experiences. He recognised
Major Donors in our club Rtn V. S. Bhandari, Rtn Arun Jalan,
Rtn Sudarshan Jalan and Rtn Dr. S. K. Sharma by giving each of them
a flower bouquet. Rtn. Ravindran also recognised the PHFs of the
current year and our member present was Rtn. Kakoli Mitra.
Later Rtn. Ravindran recognised our Major donor for the current year
Rtn. G. D. Bangur. The Chairman of the International Committee also
pointed out that other than being a Major Donor Rtn. Bangur has
picked up one of our major projects for full sponsorship-a home for
52 destitute children. The foundation stone has been laid on
January 01, 2009, construction has started and we hope to complete
the project by end April.

Rtn. Ravindran also recognised the Major Donors from the district
and only one was present - Rtn Sunita Agarwal from RC
Calcutta Victoria. A Power Point Presentation on select projects
of our current year was displayed in the background.

Chairman, International Committee Purnendu Roychoudhury urged
that giving has to come from within each of us and for that we
need not curb our current luxuries or expenses but simultaneously
donate for a cause that works for the betterment of our society.

The President gave a small gift to Rtn. K. R. Ravindran and also
to Rtn. Nayantara Palchoudhuri our District Governor. The vote
of thanks was given by President Elect, Rtn. Dilip Sircar.

 

SPEECH ^
________________________________________________________


ROTARY ORATION BY KRISHNAN SRINIVASAN
This year's Rotary Oration on February 23, 2009 witnessed a warm
and candid speech by Mr. Krishnan Srinivisan, a Career Diplomat.
The United Nations is the most sophisticated, and despite its
limitations, the most successful attempt at multilateralism. But two
principles continue to be in contention; the need for a mechanism
to limit the powers of sovereign states, and the need for an
organization to which they would actually wish to belong. In the
United Nations, this balance was sought to be replaced by collective
security a matter in which its predecessor, the League of Nations,
had conspicuously fallen short. Basically, big powers make poor
multilateralists because they are unwilling to concede power and
national capabilities to principles determined by broad consensus.
If the major powers cannot be restrained by norms and institutions,
why should lesser states be thus constrained? What could be the
alternative to the unsatisfactory multilateral arrangements in world
affairs? Can multilateralism provide the basis of international
cooperation in the 21st century?

While such questions are being posed, the primacy of the United
States is slipping. From being the leading lending country, it has
become the biggest debtor, dependent on foreign support not only
to finance expenditures abroad but also in part those at home. By
2050, 87% of the nine billion people on this planet will be
non-Western. With the rise of countries like Russia, China and
India, the global balance is shifting towards Asia. A new multi-polar
world is taking shape. It is not possible for peace, justice or
co-operation to exist for long in a uni-polar world. The presence
of several powerful states brings order, and parity between them
will produce a mutually acceptable detente.



MR. RAJIV SONI
Head, Corporate Communications, Tata Steel addressed us at our
RWM of February 17, 2009. He spoke on Communications &
Communication Styles in his inimitable style, illustrated his speech
with interesting visuals and even conducted a communication
quiz on all of us.

In his opinion humans always crave for two things food and
information. The need to communicate is as basic as any human
natural want. Its an experience when humans share — either by
words or by action- to accept or refuse. From written scripts
to the wireless Communications has spanned several ages,
changed vistas and emerged as a science.

Communications can be either Intra internal (home, office, society)
or Inter external (to the world), Intra communications deals with
relationships between people, usually in face-to face private
setting. Intra communications is the primary way relationships
are created, maintained, and changed.

But sometimes communications lead to wrong messages.
Different words can mean different things to different people.
The initiation of a message provides no assurance it has been
received. Communications often become distorted as they are
transmitted. This happens because of physical barriers, semantic
barriers, and personal barriers. There are also gender, cultural and
regional differences in communication.



MINUTES ^
________________________________________________________

THE 4242ND WEEKLY MEETING HELD ON TUE, MARCH 03, 2009 ^
ROTARY SADAN, 2ND FLOOR HALL

1. In absence of the President Rtn Nandita Sen, the Vice-President
   Rtn. Sushi! Bagla called the 4242nd Regular Weekly Meeting of the
   Club to order at 1.30 p.m. at Rotary Sadan.
   Rtn. Dilip Sircar led the National Anthem.
2. The Minutes of the 4241st meeting of the club held on February
   23,2009 at Rotary Sadan were confirmed.
3. The Vice-President informed that our own member PDG. Rtn.
   Vijay S. Bhandari, will be today's speaker.
4. The Vice-President welcomed the visiting Rotarian S Tarafdar of
   R.C. Rochdale, UK.
5. The Vice-President greeted members celebrating their
   birthdays and wedding anniversaries during week ending 16th March 2009.
    
6. 6) Vice-President reported the following:
   i) Last Saturday, the 28th February 2009 Hony. Secretary Rtn.
   Heena Gorsia along with Fellowship & Family of Rotary Committee
   organized an "Antakshari" programme between 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at
   Bhawanipur Gujarati Education Society followed by High Tea.
   The Vice-President thanked Mrs Heena Gorsia for organizing the
   wonderful event.
    
7. Vice-President then announced the following:-
   i) To observe Literacy Month, District Literacy Committee will
   organize an Inter Dist. Literacy Seminar jointly with R.C. of Salt
   Lake Central and R.C. of Santiniketan, Bolpur, R.I. Dist. 3291 & 3240
   on Sunday, 8th March, 2009 at Santiniketan, Bolpur. This will be in
   the Basanta Utsav ambience of Santiniketan.
   Registration charges for Rotarians / Spouses and Guests are
   Rs. 200/- per person and for RCC Members Rs. 100/- per person.
   For further details please contact Rtn. Swapan Basu, Chairman,
   Dist. Literacy Committee or Rtn. Tapan Majumder, Co-Chairman,
   Dist. Literacy.
   ii) Fellowship & Family of Rotary Committee will organize a Holi Milan
   on Saturday, the 14th March, 2009 will be followed by Cocktails &
   Chaats at the residence of Rtn. Raj Kumar Agrawal to be hosted by
   him. You are requested to attend with you r spouse.
   iii) The Vice-President congratulated Rtn B. G. Roy on his receiving
   "The Cross of the Order of Merit" award from the President of Federal
   Republic of Germany. The award was handed over to him by the
   Consul General of Germany in Kolkata on 27th February 2009. This is
   in recognition of his contribution for developing Indo-German
   relations over the last four decades.
   iv) The Vice-President also congratulated Rtn Dipanita Hazari on her
   becoming a grandmother.
    
8. Hony. Secretary Rtn Heena Gorsia announced the following: -
   a) There will be no Regular Weekly Meeting on Tuesday, 10th March
   2009 due to Public Holiday (Fateha Doaz Dahum)
   b) Next regular weekly meeting of the Club will be held on Tuesday,
   the 17th March 2009 at 1.30 p.m. at the Rotary Sadan.
   c) Committee engagements are in the Chaka. Members are
   requested to make a note of these and attend the meetings.
    
9. At the request of the Vice-President, Rtn Diptish Sen
   introduced the day's speaker PDG Rtn Vijay S Bhandari. PDG Rtn
   Bhandari spoke on "Rotary's Role on Global Eradication of Polio".
10. Questions raised by the audience were suitably answered by
    the speaker.
11. Dr Ashok Ghoshal gave a hearty vote of thanks. The President
    presented a memento to the speaker as a token of appreciation
    from our dub.
     
12. The Sunshine Box collection was Rs.1300/-with special
    contributions from Rtn S N Jhunjhunwala, Rtn Kamal Toolsidass,
    Rtn Sushil Bagla, Rtn 0 P Malhotra and Rtn Ashok Maheswary.
    13) The Club remembered with good wishes Rotary Club of Krasnodar,
    Russia, R.I. Dist. 2220.

The meeting was terminated at 2.30 p.m.

Rtn Sushil Bagla Vice-President
Rtn Heena Gorsia Hony Secretary

 

ROTARY FOUNDATION NEWS ^
________________________________________________________

TRUSTEE'S MARCH MESSAGE -LITERACY IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS

Dear family of Rotary,

Knowing how to read and write can transform a person's life. These
basic skills, which so many of us take for granted, can mean a job,
an income, and hope for a better future for those who are struggling
to break the cycle of poverty. That's why Rotary has focused on
promoting literacy for more than two decades, and why The Rotary
Foundation has provided millions of dollars to support literacy projects.

March is Literacy Month on the Rotary calendar, a time to consider
what your club could be doing to boost literacy rates in your
community and in communities around the globe. In parts of our world,
less than 30 percent of the population can read and write. Many of
those people are women and girls who have few opportunities for
education and who then cannot teach their own children to read.
Even in wealthy countries, you'll find substandard schools that are
failing to adequately teach basic skills and far too many adults who
cannot read or write well enough to function effectively in society.

Our Foundation's Humanitarian Grants Program is at work throughout
the world helping many disparate groups gain life-changing literacy
skills. Foundation grants are providing books, school supplies,
computers, and other educational equipment. With Foundation support,
clubs are adopting failing schools and helping them to thrive and
developing programs using the concentrated language encounter
method that has proven so effective in Thailand and many other
countries. Literacy opens doors to employment and economic security.
Let's use our Foundation resources to provide that essential key.

Jonathan Majiyagbe,
Foundation Trustee Chair

AND FINALLY ^
________________________________________________________

WISPS OF WISDOM
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through
experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened,
ambition inspired and success achieved.

JUST JOKING
Teacher —Why are you late?
Little Johnny — The sign said, 'School ahead. Go slow.
 

CONTACT US ^
________________________________________________________

The Old Number One
ROTARY CLUB OF CALCUTTA District 3290, Calcutta, WB, India Club No. 16153 Charter No. 587
The first Rotary club in India And the longest serving in Asia

WE MEET
Tuesdays at 1 for 1:30 pm
Rotary Sadan 94/2 Chowringhee Road, Kolkata 700 020 Tel (91-33) 2223-8787 / 2223-8686 Fax (91-33) 2223-2573
Email: rotarycalcutta@...  Web: www.rotarycalcutta.org 

CONTACT US
Rtn Satarupa, Editor The Chaka  Email
Rtn Dr. Dipak Sarbadhikari Editor The e-Chaka Email Cell: 98301-48886
Read the latest edition online at www.rotacal.org/chaka 

THE CHAKA
Bulletin of Rotary Club of Calcutta (RID 3291)
First published in 1925

Vol.76 No. 29
Tuesday, February 03, 2009

www.rotacal.org/chaka


TODAY'S SPEAKER
________________________________________________________

PRODIPTO BANERJEA
is the Executive Vice President of ITC Ltd., handling Risk
Management and Strategic Initiatives. He studied in StXavier's
School, Calcutta, graduated from Bombay University and completed
his M.Sc in Chemistry from I.IT. Kanpur. Subsequently he took up
Chartered Accountancy, qualifying in 1980. He is also a member of
the Institute of Cost & Works Accountants. Having started his career
with Shaw Wallace & Co. Ltd. he moved to ITC Ltd in 1982. Since
then he has handled a wide range of responsibilities in the
Company's
Finance Function including being the Head of Finance and MIS of the
cigarette business, as well as being the Head of Corporate Planning
and Treasury. He has also participated in the incubation and
development of the Company's initiatives in the consumer and FMCG
sectors. He has co-authored a book on Financial Management and
has often participated in seminars and conferences.


NEXT MEETING
February 17, 2009 at 1.00 pm
MR. RAJIV SONI
of Tata Steel will be the Guest Speaker
Rotary Sadan, 2nd Floor


NO MEETING
There will be no luncheon Regular Weekly Meeting of the club on
Tuesday, February 24 2009 at 1 p.m. Instead it will be held on
23rd February, 2009 at 6.30 p.m. at Rotary Sadan followed by
fellowship and dinner hosted by Rtn. Chandra Nath Mukherjee.


ONE WORLD
________________________________________________________

Today we raise a toast to
ROTARY CLUB OF SAN CATALDO
Italy, RID 2110


EVENTS
________________________________________________________

ROTARY ORATION and Weekly Meeting
February 23 Monday. Rotary Sadan 7:00 pm
Speaker
KRISHNAN SRINIVASAN
Former Foreign Secretary & Head of Indian Foreign Service
was Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs.
Held high diplomatic assignments as High Commissioner to
Bangladesh, Zambia & Botswana, Ambassador to the
Netherlands, Consul General in New York.
He will speak on "The History of Diplomacy"


MEMBERS' NITE
May 01 Friday
The most enjoyable event of Rotary Calendar "Members' Nile"
will be held on Friday, 1st May, 2009 this year. Members, their
spouses, children and grand children interested in participating
for the same may please contact Rtn Hirak Ray, Rtn Anusua Das
or R-Ann Anuradha Gupta (M: 98310-17941, Res: 2466-7332)
as early as possible so that their participation may be placed
into the format already conceived.



LEAD STORY
________________________________________________________

DISTRICT GOVERNOR'S OFFICIAL VISIT Feb 03 Tue, 2009 RWM

Beginning with her traditional address of Nomoshkar, District
Governor,
Nayantara Palchoudhuri, spoke to us with quotations and messages
from great people. Her address was filled with emotion and as usual
from the bottom of her heart.

She said that as she stood here as the District Governor she was
flooded with warm childhood memories and her heart went out to
all those members of our club who have walked with her in her
journey and tryst with Rotary. She has been an integral part of the
family of this club and Rotary principles have been ingrained in her
since her childhood.

As the District Governor, she represented Rl President Rtn Dong
Kurn Lee and she reiterated the theme of the year-
Make Dreams Real. She repeatedly harped on the focus of the year -
children who were the most precious resource.

She was very impressed with the functioning of our club this year
and she specially mentioned the President, Secretary, and the
Directors of the Board for ably guiding the club as per its legacy.
She announced that if this example is emulated by the Rotary world
at large then the Rotary Movement will be able to achieve a
world stage which is free of evils of terrorism, ignorance, illness
etc.

She pointed out that we are a candle from which is
emitted innumerable sparks of light. With numerous anecdotes
she impressed upon us the need to make a mark in life and be true
to ourselves from within. She reminded us of the Rotary Foundation
and urged us to treat it not like a responsibility but as a mode
of generosity.

She concluded in her inimitable manner by comparing Rotary to a
river, which over a century has flourished, become wide and deep.
She wished us Bon Voyage.




ANNOUNCEMENTS
________________________________________________________

CONGRATULATIONS
to Rtn Dr. Dipanwita and Dr. Partha Hazari for becoming
grand parents last month.

TIME SCHEDULE FOR LUNCH SERVICE & RWM
Members are requested to note that Lunch service during
fellowship will remain open between 12.30 and 1.30 PM and will
resume again from 2.15 PM. There will be no lunch service whilst
the RWM is in progress between 1.30 and 2.15 PM. Members are
requested to note these timings and kindly extend necessary
cooperation

OBITUARY
Our Ex - senior Member Rtn. Tarit Sur passed away on Thursday,
January 22, 2009. He was member of the club more than 30 years.
On behalf of the club we express deep sorrow at the loss and
extend sympathy to the bereaved family.



SPEECH
________________________________________________________

GLOBAL EFFECT OF RECESSION
Dr. Wilfried Prewo, CEO of the Hanover Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, addressed us at the RWM of January 27, 2009. He spoke
on the Effect of Global Recession in Germany.
Everyone has been affected by the global economy. In Germany,
there has been a crash of incoming orders, industrial production
and registration of new cars. There has been an investment
paralysis.
Within one month (September to October 2008 alone) 35 % of
investment plans have been reduced and over 80% have been
shelved but only 20% cancelled. There is extreme uncertainty
resulting in restricted lending practices by banks.

In his opinion the oscillation is from exaggerated risk appetite
("Irrational Exuberance") to Risk Aversion Hysteria. Government
responses have varied country wise. The government in the U.K.
have come up with tax decrease (VAT) to support consumption.
In France the government has activated sectoral measures, such
as subsidies for scrapping old cars, infrastructure investment and
investment subsidies for business.

In Germany the government has come up with a mixed bag -
infrastructure investment, subsidies for cars and R&D, minor tax
decreases, total about €80 bn. The requirements are investment
incentives to counteract paralysis (fast depreciation, business tax
cuts). What has to be avoided is raising national debt and
protectionist tendencies. The advantages of fast depreciation are
targeted to investment and that national debt will not increase.

The German economy is well positioned for a recovery due to
"bottom-up" reforms which include flexible work weeks and annual
hours, wage concessions in return for employment or investment
guarantees, lower wages for new hires, opt-out clauses in union
contracts, outsourcing/offshoring (market expansion and cost),
use of temps and R&D.



REPORTS
________________________________________________________

FELLOWSHIP AT THE HHI Jan 25, 2009 Sun
A wonderful fellowship and brunch was hosted by Rtn Dilip K Jaiswal
at the swimming poo! lawns of Hotel Hindustan International.
The ambience, food, light music, and the hospitality of the host
proved to be the perfect potpourri for a wonderful Sunday
for all Rotarians present.


NITISH LAHARRY CHILDREN'S LIBRARY Jan 26, 2009 Mon
Republic   Day   was celebrated at Rotary Sadan with the President
hoisting  the National Tricolour. The following were also present -
PDGs Rtn Prabhat  Krishna   Rohatgi and Vijay Bhandari,
Hony Secretary Heena Gorsia, the Sgt at Arms Rajeev Paralikar,
the Editor with her son,  Rtn Kirit  Patei  and R-Ann Kusum.
The Chairman of NCLCL Sujata Pyne joined later at the
Art exhibition. This was followed   by  a  cultural programme by the
children of the Cultural Section.
Rtn Oindrila Sen conceptualized  the theme and wrote the original
script. Subsequently, Ms. Asru Dutta suitably rearranged the
content in order to accommodate maximum number of children with
a view to making it a grand performance.


FAREWELL TO GSE TEAM Jan 30, 2009 Fri
A farewell dinner was hosted by Immediate Past President
Rtn Partha  Sadhan  Bose  & Ann Chandra at their residence
Bose Niloy on January 30, 2009.
Group Study Exchange Team members from District 6800.
Carl David Awsumb, Laura R Hanton, Fernando M Branc and
Carolyn C Bomar attended.
It was a wonderful evening   in   a   resplendent
ambience,  delightful food  and warm hospitality.
There was good participation from the district led byDG
Nayantara Pa|choudhuri and GSE Chair Rtn. Aruna Tantia.
Somehow our President Nandita Sen came to know that it was
the birthday of GSE team member Laura on that day and surprised
us all with a birthday cake. Our members had a wonderful
evening thanks to IPP Partha and his family.
- Purnendu Roychowdhury


CLUB ASSEMBLY Feb 01, 2009 Sun
Our Second Club Assembly was held on Sunday, February 01,2009.
It was attended by the District Governor, Rtn Nayantara
Palchoudhuri.
Also present were Rtn G.M. Kapoor, Special Aide to DG and
Rtn Ratan Arora, Assistant Governor.


DG OFFICIAL VISIT Feb 23, 2009 Tue
The District Governor Rtn. Nayantara Palchoudhuri came for her
official visit to our club on Tuesday, February 3, 2009. Also
present
were Rtn. Meeta Lakhotia, Dist. Secretary, Rtn. Ratan Lal Arora,
Asst. Governor, Rtn. Noshir N. Framjee, and Zonal Representative
Rtn. Lila Bhoopal, Zonal Coordinator, R.L Dist. 3291




DISTRICT NEWS
________________________________________________________

THE INTERNATIONAL EVENING to celebrate the Birthday of Rotary
and World Peace & Understanding will be held on Saturday, 21st
February at RCGC. RI Director Elect PDG K. R. Ravindran from
Sri Lanka will be the keynote speaker followed by a musical evening
with Ms. Usha Uthup.



RI PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE FEBRUARY MESSAGE
________________________________________________________

FEBRUARY IS WORLD UNDERSTANDING MONTH

Dear fellow Rotarians,

I grew up in a small village, the same village where my family had
lived for many generations. I lived close to many members of my
extended family, and our family traditions were very strong. In
those days, few Koreans ever traveled abroad, and there was
very little Western influence. My home, my language, and my
culture were all I knew.

When I was in my 20s, I made a decision that would shape the
rest of my life. With my father's encouragement, I traveled to
the United States to work and to study. I chose San Francisco
as my destination and spent nearly two years there, taking
classes and learning English. I made my way working at several
entry-level jobs.

It is difficult even today to describe what an impact that
experience had on me. Everything, and everyone, was different.
I was used to seeing only Korean faces; in San Francisco, I saw
people from all over the world. I worked hard on my English and
in my job. I learned what it was like to be the person who did
not understand, who cleaned up after others, who took orders
but never gave them. I learned how large the world outside my
village really was. And those experiences sent me back to Korea
changed.

When I returned to join my father's business in Seoul, I knew
what it was like to be a worker at the bottom of an
organizational hierarchy – and that affected how I treated
my employees.

I knew what it was like to do physical labor all day – and that
gave me increased respect for those who worked in every kind
of job. Perhaps most important, I knew how much of the world
lay beyond my own experience. I knew that there were so
many different countries and cultures, so many different people
in the world.

I knew that as much as we are all different, we are all essentially
the same. And I knew that everyone, everywhere, sometimes
needs help from others.

In Rotary, February is World Understanding Month – a time to
focus on the importance of goodwill and understanding for peace.
It is a time for all of us to pause and consider how we are
pursuing Rotary's fourth Avenue of Service – International
Service – because it is our international service, and our
international fellowship, that will do the most to help us all
build a more peaceful tomorrow.

Dong Kurn (D.K.) Lee
President, Rotary International
February 2009



MINUTES
________________________________________________________

OF THE MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 03,2009

Total Members: 288
Exempted Members: 83
Members Present: 76
Visiting Rotarians & Guests: 7

1. The President Rtn Nandita Sen called the 4238th Regular Weekly
Meeting of the club to order at Rotary Sadan. The National Anthem
was led by Rtn Dilip Sircar.
2. The Minutes of the 4237th  meeting of the Club held on January
27,
2009 at the Rotary Sadan were confirmed.
3.  The President announced the sad demise of a very senior
ex-member of our club, Rtn.TaritSur, on Thursday, 22nd January,
2009.
He was a member of the club for more than 30 years and resigned
only last December on the ground of ill health. On behalf the dub we
express deep sorrow at the loss and extend our sympathy to the
bereaved family. A condolence letter will be sent.

4.  The President announced that today was the official visit of the
District Governor Rtn. Nayantara Palchoudhuri to our club.
5. The President greeted visiting Rotarians Rtn. Dr. Sukanti
Taraphdar
from Rotary Club of Rochdale East, U.K., Rtn. Ratan Lai Arora,
Assistant Governor Zone XXIII,  Rtn. Noshir N. Framjee,   Zonal
Representative Zone XXIII, Rtn. Meeta Lakhotia, District Secretary
(Administration ),  Rtn. G.M. Kapur, Special Aide to Governor, and
Rtn. Asish Basu, Rotary Club of Fostoria.USA.
6.   The President proceeded to greet members celebrating their
birthdays and anniversaries during the week ending on
February 09,2009.

7. The President reported the following:
i) On Friday 30th January the Club organised a farewell dinner, to
meet the GSE Team members from RI Dist. 6800, USA. Immediate
Past President Rtn. Partha Sadhan Base hosted the fellowship and
dinner at his residence. Bose Niloy at 26, Ballygunge Park. It was
an
extremely enjoyable evening attended by the DG, District officials,
Past Presidents of various Rotary clubs and members who extended
home hospitality to the visiting GSE team and others. A large
number of our members attended. IPP Rtn Partha and R. Ann
Chandra were excellent hosts and organized the evening in their
inimitable manner.
ii) Health Care Committee organized a Free Health and Eye Camp at
Nalikul, Dist. of Hooghly on last Sunday, the 1st February, 2009.
ill) Last Sunday, 1st February, 2009 Health Care Committee also
organized Pulse Polio Immunization programme in Ward Nos.
87, 89, 133 & ourRCCs.
iv) The Second Club Assembly was held on Sunday, the 1st
February, 2009 at 10 a.m. at the Rotary Sadan. District Governor
Rtn. Nayantara Palchoudhri, Asst. Governor Rtn. Ratan Lai Arora
and Special Aide to the DG Rtn. G.M. Kapur were present at the
Assembly. There was rich interaction between the Chairmen of
Committees with the DG and the District team which will show some
new directions for the coming half of the year, as well will help
realizing our planned projects with more confidence.

8. The President announced the following:
i) February is World Understanding Month. To observe the month
club will organize Rotary Oration on Monday, the 23rd February,
2009 at 6.30 p.m at Rotary Sadan along with Regular Weekly
Meeting. Shri Knshnan Srinivasan, a career diplomat, Ambassodor
to various countries and Dy. Secretary General in the Commonwealth
Secretariat in London will be the speaker and deliver the
"Rotary Oration". This will be followed by fellowship & dinner. Rtn.
Chandranatn Mukherjee & R-Ann. Subhra Mukherjee will host the
evening's fellowship &dinner.
ii. Regular weekly meeting scheduled for Tuesday 24th Febrary'09
will
be held on Monday 23rd Feb.'09 to combine it with the Rotary Oration.

9.  Hony. Secretary Rtn Heena Gorsia made the following
announcements:
(a)  Next regular weekly meeting of the Club will be held on
Tuesday,
the 10th February, 2009 at 1 p.m. at the Rotary Sadan.  Mr.
Prodipto  Banerjea  will  be  the  guest speaker.
(b)  The regular weekly meeting of the club scheduled to be held
on Tuesday, the 24th February, 2009 at 1 p.m. will be held on 23rd
February, 2009 at 6.30 p.m. at Rotary Sadan followed by fellowship
and dinner instead of lunch meeting on Tuesday, the 24th February,
2009 to be hosted by Rtn. Chandra  Nath  Mukherjee.
You  are requested to kindly note this change & attend. So,
there will be no regular weekly meeting on Tuesday, the 24m
February, 2009.
(c)   COMMITTEE   ENGAGEMENT/S:   have been published in
today's  'Chaka'. Members of the respective Committee/s may kindly
make a note of the date/s time/s and attend the meeting/s.

10.  At the President's reguest Rtn. Zul Hirjee introduced his
candidate Mr. Samit Malhotra and Dist. Governor  Rtn.
Nayantara Palchoudhuri inducted Mr. Malhotra as a member
of the Rotary Club of Calcutta.
11.   The President declared that the District Governor,  our
very dear Nayantara  Pal Choudhury needs no introduction not
at least to this audience. DG Nayantara we never tire of saying
that you are the daughter of the club and that too a precious
daughter. You made us proud by being the first Lady Governor of
the new Rotary District 3291 when the erstwhile District 3290 had
no lady Governor in their long 88 years of existence. You make
us proud every time that we hear you address any of the club
meetings or district events, by your wealth of ideas, your clarity
of thoughts and lucidity of expression. One thing that comes out
very clear is your commitment to Rotary and its ethos.

12. The DG then addressed the gathering.
13.  The President thanked the District Governor Nayantara for the
power packed speech, it was just superb. She said "It gives a
complete overview of what is happening in our entire District 3291.
Thank you for reminding us that we are the Number One. Hearing that
makes our adrenalin flow through our veins. Every time we hear this
it perks us up to justify being the number one and makes us strive
to
remain in that position. AND you know the theory of relativity
demands
that there is no stopping - you have to keep running even to
maintain
your position. If you look through our plans and programs of the
year-which we shared with you day before yesterday at our club
Assembly. Our plans are moderate -but our plans and programs are
rooted to the ground - something that is very sound , very basic,
that is very solid ,that which brings long term benefit to a wider
section of the community. And this is in keeping with the tradition
of our Club. We are not trying to do any thing spectacular like a
magician drawing a rabit out of his hat.

At the beginning of the year I and my entire team - the chairmen,
co-chairmen, members of committees sat together to put our
collective dreams together It was almost an exercise of building
castles in the air. We zeroed in on our plans for trie year, we
thought it through, we planned it through so that we could give
our dream castles a solid foundation, a foundation of reality.
The team is progressing with dedication, with electrifying energy
and shared commitment towards its goal of making its dreams reaL.
With blessings from the District and good wishes from the Governor,
I am sure our team will be able to reach its destination."

14.  Hony Secretary, Rtn Heena Gorsia gave a hearty vote of
thanks.
The President then presented the District Governor, and the other
District dignitaries tokens of our appreciation.
15. The Sunshine Box received Rs 700/- with special contributions
from Rtns  O.P.Malhotra,   Dr.Dilip  Saha, B.K.Dalmia and
Souryabrata Mondal.
16.  The Club remembered Rotary Club of Calcutta Inner City,
R.I. Dist. 3291 with good wishes.
17. The meeting was terminated at 2.45pm.

Rtn Nandita Sen President
Rtn Heena Gorsia Hony Secretary



AND FINALLY
________________________________________________________

WISPS OF WISDOM
Be sure that it is not you that is mortal, but only your body. For
that person whom you outward form reveals is not yourself, the
spirit is the true self, not that physical figure and pointed out by
your finger

JUST JOKING
The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive.


FEBRUARY IS WORLD UNDERSTANDING MONTH

ROTARY ORATION and Weekly Meeting
February 23 Monday. Rotary Sadan 7:00 pm
Speaker
KRISHNAN SRINIVASAN
Former Foreign Secretary & Head of Indian Foreign Service
was Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs.
Held high diplomatic assignments as High Commissioner to
Bangladesh, Zambia & Botswana, Ambassador to the
Netherlands, Consul General in New York.
He will speak on "The History of Diplomacy"

THANK YOU
The President conveys her heartfelt thanks to the
Rotarians who have contributed towards Intra Ocular Lens
operations in response to her appeal for 'Eyesight'.

LEAD STORY ^
________________________________________________________

NAYANTARA - THE LIGHT OF MY EYES"

THE DG THROUGH THE EYES OF PDG PRABHAT ROHATGI

A planter, a businesswoman, a corporate leader, a Rotarian, an
accomplished pianist, an erudite scholar, an elegant a charming
hostess and a blue eyed daughter. I don't know which of the
attributes I should present before you in lighting the versatile all
rounded persona of Nayantara Palchoudhuri, your District Governor,
the younger daughter of my good friend the late Past President
Amitava (Toby) and his charming spouse Chitra.

My association with Amitava goes back to our student days in Zurich.
On our return home our friendship thrived more so after we both
joined the Rotary Club of Calcutta in 1958. With time, the common
feature in our family life was that we both had marvelous wives
and two lovely daughters.

Naturally, our daughters grew up spending time together over week
ends and holidays. Toby's younger daughter, Nayantara proved
to be more independent, assertive, ambitious and enterprising.
Possibly, she wanted her loving parents to appreciate that this
daughter of theirs would fulfill all that they would fulfill what they
would have expected from a son.

Rotary was in her blood and I was happy to have had the privilege
of inducting her into Rotary as a Charter Member of Rotary Club of
Calcutta Inner City way back in 1991. Characteristically, here too
she was unstoppable, for she believed in putting her best in
whatever she took up in life. Her 18 years in Rotary brought out her
organizing abilities and acclaimed achievements in whatever office
or project she was entrusted with. She received several accolades.
Rotarians of our district and even outside acknowledged her
capabilities and encouraged her to undertake onerous Rotary
responsibilities beyond the club level. Thus it was not unexpected
when they started mentioning her name for district leadership.

Although her late father kept constantly dissuading her from taking
any such gubernatorial responsibility, especially in view of the
increasing business commitments, many including myself thought
that her inspirations were well deserved and this Rotary district
should not be denied its rightful leader.

I was delighted when she was elected the first governor-and
a lady governor at that-of the newly christened RI District 3291
for 2008-09. To our deep regret, her father and my dear friend
Toby was no more amidst us to share our joy, although I am
sure he must have watched over her, pouring blessings on the
many accomplishments of his younger daughter.

While preparing this article I have relived many nostalgic memories
of seeing the young bubbling girl blossoming into a beautiful young
lady- like a colourful butterfly metamorphosing out of a chrysalis.
I am sure Nayantara has fulfilled the dreams of her parents.

Prabhat Rohatgi

NOTES ^
________________________________________________________

PP S S KANORIA-CORRIGENDUM

While reporting the event of inauguration of the Radha Kissen
Kanoria Hall on the second floor of Rotary Sadan, in the Chaka of
the following week we gave a brief description. In order to put it
in the right perspective we give below the relevant excerpt of PP
Rtn. S S Kanoria's talk on 1st January 2009, while inaugurating
the Radha Kissen Kanoria Hall.

Sometime ago Rotarian Vinay and Chitrakda requested me for a
donation of Rs.40 lacs and expressed a desire that they would like
to construct a hall cum conference on the second floor of
Rotary Sadan and name it 'Radha Kissen Kanoria Hall'. I wanted to
use my donation for children and youth activities and they explained
to me that by construction of the hall cum conference room on the
second floor, they will be able to use the 1st floor exclusively for
children and youth activities. They promised that they will take care
that good work is done for children and youth thereafter as enough
space would be available.

When Prabir was the President of the club, he requested me to
approach the then Home Secretary of West Bengal to consider
a request from the club. Prabir informed that our lease had expired
and the rent payable was in arrears and it had been agreed, after
our efforts had failed, that the premises will be vacated by a
certain date. Three months extra period to be granted for vacating
the premises. I told him to request a few senior Rotarians to stay
on after the meeting when we could discuss the matterr. After the
lunch, with Subimal Da's support we decided that we will take a
delegation to the Home Secretary. To our pleasant surprise we
were successful in retaining the property. Prabir if asked, should
bear testimony to the veracity of my statement."
 

FROM THE EDITOR
I get a bit emotional whenever a daughter gets celebrated. I get
carried away whenever that daughter talks lovingly about her father
at a celebration. That is what happened on our Installation Night
this year. District Governor, Nayantara Palchoudhuri, instead of
giving a cut dry speech on the virtues of Rotary and such other
matter of fact wisdom, spent much of her rendition talking about
her father and reminiscing her father's memory. Emotionally she
told the gathering that she had been an integral part of the family
of our club and had spent many of her growing years with her
parents and sister here in Old Number One. With a hidden lump in
her throat she had announced she was missing the one person
who would have been proud of that moment when she was
standing as the District Governor at the installation of our club's
89th President. Today we welcome her on her official visit to the
club, the same little girl who many of our members have seen
growing up in front of their eyes. Today we celebrate her at the
helm of the District as its first lady governor.



MINUTES ^
________________________________________________________

THE 4236 WEEKLY MEETING HELD ON TUE, JANUARY 20, 2009 ^
JOINT MEETING WITH RC BEHALA, ROTARY SADAN, 2ND FLOOR HALL
 

1. President Rtn Nandita Sen called the 4237th Weekly Meeting of the club to order at
   Rotary Sadan. The National Anthem was led by Rtn Dilip Sircar.
2. The Minutes of the 4236th meeting of the Club lheld on January 20,2009 at the Rotary Sadan were confirmed.
3. President announced that today's speaker was Dr. Prewo of Hanover Chamber of Industry & Commerce.
4. President greeted visiting Rotarian Dr. Prewo of Rotary Club of Hanover, Kropcke and exchanged club banners. The President also welcomed Mrs. Prewo who is an active Inner Wheel member and a past President of the Inner Wheel  Club of Hanover, Kropcke.
5. President proceeded to greet members celebrating their birthdays and anniversaries during the week ending on February 02,2009.
6. President reported the following:
   i) Health Care Committee organized a Free Health and Eye Camp at Radhanagar, District Howrah on Sunday,the25th January,2009.
   ii) Sunday, 25th January, 2009, Fellowship and Family of Rotary Committee organized a Fellowship Brunch at Hotel Hindusthan International, Kolkata, hosted by Rtn. Dilip Kumar Jaiswal and R-Ann. Padrnini Jaiswal. There was a very large turnout. Rtn. Dilip Kumar  Jaiswal was all attention to the members. On behalf of our club, the President thanked Rtn. Jaiswal for hosting the Brunch.
   iii) Republic Day was celebrated at Rotary Sadan on on Monday 26th January, 2009. The National Flag was hoisted at 10 a.m. followed by an Art Exhibition mounted by the children of the cultural section A wonderful programme by the students of the Section, followed there after.
7. President announced the following:
   i) The Second Club Assembly of the Club will be Id on Sunday, 1st February, 2009 at 10a.m. at the Rotary Sadan. District Governor, Rtn. Nayantara Palchoudhuri will be present. All members especially PDGs, Past Presidents, Board Members, Committee
   Chairpersons, Co-Chairpersons were requested to attend this important meeting. All new members of the club were requested specially to attend the Club Assembly.
   ii) District Governor's official visit is scheduled on 3rd February,2009 during the regular weekly meeting at 1 p.m. at Rotary Sadan. All members are requested to please attend this very special meeting.
   iii). The Club will organise a farewell dinner for the GSE Team from RI Dist. 6800, U S A  on Friday,30th January,2009 at 7p.rn. to be hosted by IPP Rtn. Partha Sadhan Bose at his  residence, "Bose Niloy", 26, Ballygunge Park, Kolkata -700 019. Members were requested to please attend.
   iv) A two day work shop on Entrepreneurship development will be held on 29th and 30th of January at Rotary Sadan organized by Vocational Service Committee in association with IPSO Indian Professional service organization where very senior retired professionals with loads of experience will give training in entrepreneurship. An organization where our own Rotarians are Trustees. Rtn. Mahesh Varma is the managing Trustee of IPSO and INSPIRATION, another institution run by our Rtn Dr.Chandrayee Das which works with the underprivileged and the information challenged section of the society aiming at empowerment for socio economic development. The program will be inaugurated by the District Governor Nayantara Pal Choudhury at 10AM on Thursday 29th of February, 2009
8. Hony. Secretary Rtn Heena Gorsia made the following announcements:
   (a) Next regular weekly meeting of the Club will be held on Tuesday, the 3rd February, 2009 at 1 p.m. at the Rotary Sadan. It will be District Governor's official visit.
   (b) Committee engagement/s have been published in today's 'Chaka', members of the respective Committee/s may kindly make a note of the date/s time/s and attend the meeting/s.
   (c) Seventh meeting of the Board of Directors (2008-09) of the Club will be held today, the 27th January, 2009 at 6.30 p.m. at Rotary Sadan. All members of the Board are requested to attend.
9. At the President's request Rtn Partha Ranjan Das gave a two minute talk on Group Study Exchange program of the Rl.
10. At the President's request Rtn B. G. Roy introduced the day's Speaker, Dr. Prewo. who spoke about the recent global recession, its effect on Germany and the Governments response to handle the situation.
11. Rtn Shantanu Deb Mookerjea gave a hearty vote of thanks. The President presented the speaker with a memento as a token of our appreciation.
12. The Sunshine Box received Rs 500 as special contribution from PP Rtn. Shyam Sundar Kanoria.
13. The Club remembered Rotary Club of Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, R.I. Dist. 3250 with good wishes,
14. The meeting was terminated at 2.45pm,

Rtn Nandita Sen President
Rtn Heena Gorsia Hony Secretary

 

RI NEWS ^
________________________________________________________

KENNY SAYS 'FUTURE OF ROTARY IS IN YOUR HANDS'
By Arnold R.Grahl
Rotary International News — 19 January 2009

The 2009-10 Rl theme acknowledges the important role individual
Rotary clubs will play in shaping the future of Rotary.
Rl President-elect John Kenny unveiled the theme, The Future of
Rotary Is in Your Hands, on Monday during the opening plenary
session of the International Assembly, an annual training event in
San Diego, California, USA, for incoming district governors.

"The future of Rotary will not be shaped at Rl headquarters —it will
be shaped in each and every Rotary club," Kenny said, "because it
is for each of us—as Rotarians—to do what is necessary to keep
Rotary strong."

Kenny acknowledged the foundation established by past Rotary
leaders and laid the responsibility for building upon that success
on every Rotarian.

"Each one of us is standing on the shoulders of generations of
Rotarians past, and it is our responsibility to determine Rotary's
future," Kenny said.

Kenny emphasized that every Rotary club is and must be autonomous.
"Everything begins and ends with our clubs," he said. "Our clubs can
and do work together; they work through their own districts, in
cooperation with other clubs and districts, and with the support
of our Foundation. "But at the end of the day, everything that we
accomplish is done through the strength of our clubs.
And so each club must have autonomy to serve where and
how it can serve best."

At the same time, Kenny highlighted the importance of the Rl
Strategic Plan , adopted by the RI Board of Directors, as an
essential tool in providing continuity.

"The plan is designed to strengthen and proclaim the core values
of Rotary: service, fellowship, diversity, integrity, and leadership,"
Kenny said. He concluded his remarks by sharing a favorite
saying from his homeland, Scotland:
"We must look beyond our own parish pump."

"It means that we must look beyond our own home and our own
community," Kenny said. "We must look beyond our own needs,
and we must be aware that ours is only one community, of
one country, of the many communities and countries in this world."

AND FINALLY ^
________________________________________________________

Wisps of Wisdom
If there is one thing worse than being an ugly duckling in a house
of swans, its having the swans pretend there's no difference.

Just Joking
A young mother skeptically examined a new education toy. Isn't it
rather complicated for a small boy?" She asked the sales clerk,
"Its designed to teach the child how to live in today's world, Madam,"
the shop clerk replied. "Any way he tries to put it together is wrong."

CONTACT US ^
________________________________________________________

The Old Number One
ROTARY CLUB OF CALCUTTA District 3290, Calcutta, WB, India Club No. 16153 Charter No. 587
The first Rotary club in India And the longest serving in Asia

WE MEET
Tuesdays at 1 for 1:30 pm
Rotary Sadan 94/2 Chowringhee Road, Kolkata 700 020 Tel (91-33) 2223-8787 / 2223-8686 Fax (91-33) 2223-2573
Email: rotarycalcutta@...  Web: www.rotarycalcutta.org 

CONTACT US
Rtn Satarupa, Editor The Chaka  Email
Rtn Dr. Dipak Sarbadhikari Editor The e-Chaka Email Cell: 98301-48886
Read the latest edition online at www.rotacal.org/chaka