End drug abuse like you ended Polio! – Dr.Tamilisai Soundararajan, Governor of Telangana
India is a young country, and it is sad to note that 10 crore Indians have been addicted to drugs. Just like how Rotary has ended Polio, I wish it to think about eradicating drug abuse in India.
The above suggestion was made by Dr.Tamilisai Soundararajan, Governor of Telangana and Puducherry at Rotary Utsav 2022, on Saturday.
Rotary Utsav is the District Conference of RI District 3201 that aims to Celebrate Rotary and its Activities for three consecutive days, and it features special talks from leaders of Industry, NGOs and also by rising celebrities.
A Great Team Work – Rtn. R.S.Maruti
Rtn.R.S.Maruti, the Conference Chairman shared about the enormous efforts that has been undertaken by Team Utsav to make this occasion a memorable one.
He said 170+ Rotarians came voluntarily to support him in organising this District Conference in a grand fashion. He said everything that is beautiful in this conference is because of Team Utsav and the vendors; “everything is from the family of Rotary”, he said and added that it has been done elegantly so that the participants can “enjoy the most and
take home good memories”.
I take part in Rotary events with interest – Dr.Tamilisai
Dr.Tamilisai in her address shared that a Research Committee found that several girl students in various parts
of India give up their school education at the time of puberty, and this is partly due to lack of proper washrooms in
schools.
She appreciated Rotary particularly RI Dist 3201 for constructing hundreds of toilets in schools that lacked the
facility. She expressed that she takes part in Rotary’s events with interest as she knows the kind of humanitarian
work that the organisation does.
She commended Rotary for its effective contributions in vaccine distribution particularly in Puducherry, rebuilding the houses in Kerala post the wreck made by floods, establishment of dialysis center, distribution of PPEs & Ventilators and other efforts put in to manage the pandemic, distribution of Artificial Limbs and Prosthetics to
Differently-abled, etc. Speaking generally, she encouraged the people to be prolific with their mother tongue and acquire knowledge of other languages. She also wished public especially the youth to involve in one social activity, be it tree planting, Swachh Bharat or educating others.
Purpose First, Profit Next – Jairam Varadaraj
‘Purpose First, Profit Next’ was the mantra Jairam Varadaraj, MD. ELGi Equipments Ltd. left for the audience to ponder about, in his Guest of Honor Address.
He said ‘Giving’ in life is as important as ‘Living’ the life. He briefed the size of difference in salary between the grass root level employees and the apex level employees in the US and in India, and said the sheer size of inequity
that is prevailing today.
He said that aspiring to be a 5 trillion USD Economy for a country is good but if only being a country with great
economy can make it a developed nation, then Saudi Arabia could be considered a developed country. But it is not. Jairam opined that true development is not the size of wealth or economy but how rich every citizen is, and how elevated their lives have become.
Towards that goal, every institution should aspire. He asked a very deep question: while the present generation feels proud of its past generation’s accomplishments, will the posterity feel proud of us when we become the past?
He urged all to put their purpose ahead of profits so that we can inject equity in this society and make it truly developed.
A Memorable Experience – Rtn.Rajashekhar Srinivasan
Rtn.Rajashekhar Srinivasan, District Governor, RI Dist. 3201, shared about the various ongoing projects,
projects supported by Global Grants and the goals set by RI Dist. 3201 since he took over as the Governor, including
new Rotary Clubs, Rotaract Clubs, Rotary Community Corps, increasing District membership, youth support,
farmers support and TRF contributions.
He said some goals are just inches away from completing, and despite the pandemic the clubs of RI Dist.3201
have lived upto the expectations and beyond. He appreciated RS Maruti & Team for sparing no efforts to make this
conference a memorable one.
Fulfilling President’s Dream – Rtn.Lalit Mohan Gupta
Rtn.Lalit Mohan Gupta, RI President Rtn.Shekhar Mehta’s Representative said the President asks
Rotarians to serve big. By big, he said providing tools that can change lives, for instance like giving computer labs, additional knowledge and literacy through well-stocked library etc. Rtn. Lalit said Rotary 3201 is already fulfilling RI President’s dreams by their activities.
He added that this conference is one of the best conferences he has attended ever, and he appreciated the District Governor, The Chairperson of the Conference and the whole team.
Penned by David Karunakaran.S
Captured by Sathis Babu.P