prof. spenta wadia, the ‚higgs™ man, requests the private ...€¦ · mr. adi godrej, an...

Vol. 54 Issue No. 39 Mumbai March 26 to April 1, 2013 Pages 8 Price Rs. 3/-

ForthcomingmeetingsMarch 26, 2013

Mr. Mahender Vasandani, Presi-dent of M. Square, to speak on “Im-proving Mumbai Through UrbanDesign”.

April 2, 2013A talk on innovation by Dr. Swati

Piramal.

Dr. Spenta Wadia, Professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research,Bombay, and Director of the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences,Bangalore, receives the Sohrab Godrej Award for Science and Technology.From left are Public Awards Committee Chairman Ram Gandhi, Mr. NadirGodrej, Mr. Adi Godrej, Honorary member of the Club (he and Nadir are

nephews of the late Sohrab Godrej), and President Nowroze Vazifdar

Prof. Spenta Wadia, the ‘Higgs’ man, requests the privatesector to support research in basic science

The soft-spoken Prof. SpentaWadia, the “Higgs” man who ad-

dressed the Club on the subject inAugust last year, was conferred theSohrab Godrej Award for Science andTechnology at the last meeting.

Mr. Adi Godrej, an Honorary mem-ber of the Club, and Mr. Nadir Godrej(they are nephews of the late SohrabGodrej), President Nowroze Vazifdarand Rotary and Public Awards Com-mittee Chairman Ram Gandhi pre-sented a silver salver and the citationto Dr. Spenta Wadia amidst prolongedapplause.

Prof. Spenta Rustom Wadia (to givehis full name) is Professor at the TataInstitute of Fundamental Research,Bombay, and Director of the Interna-tional Centre for Theoretical Sciences,Bangalore.

Invited to introduce the award-win-ner, Mr. Nadir Godrej surprised mem-bers by doing it in a poetic manner. Hethen read out the citation (Please seePage 2).

In a brief acceptance speech, Prof.Wadia appealed to the private sectorto take a cue from the West where sci-ence was supported both by govern-ment and private enterprise.

“The participation of private enter-prise in the basic sciences is very im-portant. (But) it’s almost non-existentin India. I take this opportunity to sayto them, come, and participate withus in the incredible journey of the ba-sic sciences which is the core knowl-edge on which almost everything thatwe know and do rests.”

Prof. Wadia started his talk by de-scribing the work that he had been in-volved with over the years. His work

was primarily in the general area ofhigh-energy physics, looking at basicquestions about the fundamentaltheory of matter and the forces (act-ing) between them including the forceof gravity.

Another area of work was the unifi-cation of all these forces, especiallythe inclusion of the force of gravitywhich had shaped the early universeand all the structures that followed.

Einstein’s theory of relativity was atheory of gravity, explaining the forceof gravity in terms of geometry. It ad-equately explained the large-scale uni-verse, or the large structures of theuniverse. On the other hand was thequantum theory which described allthe electronics currently in use,whether in cell phones, laptops orcomputers. This was a “good, correcttheory of the microscopic world”,valid till extremely short distances suchas 10-18 centimetres.

These two theories (Einstein’s andquantum) were the two pillars of mod-ern physics. However, it was also ac-cepted that these two theories did notcombine well and could lead to incon-sistencies when any such attempt wasmade, Prof. Wadia said.

“For many decades now, scientists(including many of us) have been look-ing for a framework, not a theory but aframework, in which to address allquestions of particle physics and cos-mology.

“That framework is the stringtheory. In string theory you pose fun-damental questions of the type I havealluded to. A lot of work is going on inthis and we in India have also madesome fundamental contributions to thesubject.

“It’s perhaps one of the most im-portant small theoretical physicsgroups that the country has seen inmany decades. And I’m very proud ofit because we started working in thisdirection as early as in 1984, a coupleof years after I came back from theUniversity of Chicago.”

Some of those working on the stringtheory at the TIFR had gone on toother parts of India and set up researchcentres. They had also gone beyond,to developing countries such as Iran,Pakistan and Korea.

Prof. Wadia said he was also inter-ested in understanding the manifesta-tion of the laws of physics in the realworld. The laws of physics had actu-

ally manifested in a special way, viz.,the Large Hadron Collider or LHD,but that was focused on the basic laws.The larger question was how had theselaws given rise to the type of emer-gent phenomena that one saw allaround (such as human beings)?

“What is this pathway from funda-mental laws to the beauty of the worldand the paragon of animals that we seeall around us? This is a very impor-tant area of research called complexsystems... an area that stood at theconfluence of many areas such as phys-ics, chemistry, computer science andengineering.

“We are seeing the possibility to-day of a profound synthesis of knowl-edge and perhaps, in the not so distantfuture, we would have uncovered thelaws of large systems. We have suc-cessfully uncovered the laws of small,microscopic systems, but what are thelaws of large systems – weather, biol-ogy, brain functions, economics, soci-ology? These are all large complex sys-tems with complicated agents inter-acting with themselves.”

To address these questions, theTIFR had incubated a new centre inBangalore (for lack of space inBombay) called the International Cen-tre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS)which would play a very importantrole in taking forward inter-disciplin-ary research.

The ICTS was about five years oldand was temporarily located in thecampus of the Indian Institute of Sci-ence till it had its own space. It wasbringing together researchers in vari-ous areas over various periods of timeto foster interactions or intellectualimmersions within and between dif-ferent areas.

Science would have no boundariesat the ICTS. However, the centrewould basically act as a catalyst withinthe general endeavour of science andengineering in India. At present it wassupported in large measure by the gov-ernment of India. But Prof. Wadia in-vited greater involvement and partici-pation by the private sector in thestudy of the basic sciences.

March 26 to April 1, 2013 THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay

Now science has come of ageYou could say it’s all the rageBut most of the exciting buzzIs due to all the things it does.Technology is ubiquitousSome think it is iniquitousFollowing us everywhereWith no time to stand and stareBut many still think it a treasureFor all it does for work and pleasureAnd medical science is a hitBecause we all benefit.The aged now are very strongAnd most of us live very longNow clearly science does a lotWe like the benefits we’ve got.But science does much more than thatThe method is where it’s atThe method is a simple lensWhich helps us all to make some senseOf the mystery in the universeThe first step is to just observeThe next is to hypothesiseThe scientist then always triesAn experiment to verifyWhich can confirm or falsify.If false the cycle starts once moreSo knowledge is at the foreOf why we need to emphasiseThat pursuit of science is very wise.“What have you learnt?” we should

askNot, “Can you help me with this task?”In time the benefits will comeBut treat that as a mere crumbThe knowledge is a wholesome breadWe should feed on that instead.

The crumbs of course will be thereThe benefits that we all shareIt’s obvious without being said

There’ll be no crumbs without thebread.

If usefulness were the basisWe’d have no clue what the case isFor all the fuss about the “Higgs”We wouldn’t give any figs!And yet we see each articleDeclaring it “God Particle”I always thought it rather oddScientists invoking God!Many years ago, it should be statedThe “Higgs” was first postulatedBut the hypothesis was hard to testAs a hypothesis it would rest.And in my considered estimationThis wait had caused much frustrationAnd Leon Lederman wrote a bookAs working title the name he tookWas Goddam particle but hey!The publisher said “No way!”God particle it then wasAnd this worked quite well becauseBy theory the Higgs gave massTo particles of every classThanks to the LHC at CERNIn the last few days we could learnThe Higgs exists but with some doubtThough small enough to loudly shout!Now we will be in a bindIf the properties we findDo not fit the theoriesBut on the bright side one then seesWe’ll sorely need new theoriesAnd that is why we celebrateTheoreticians that are greatOne row of men cannot stand tallBut if they form a solid wallOn their shoulders we can mountIf on their knowledge we can countA pyramid can be built

An edifice that will not tiltAnd for ever it will growEach generation will then knowMore than all who’ve gone beforeAnd this is something known for sureBut sometimes what we learn is strangeWell beyond our normal range.And quantum science keeps us fooledWe wish to be firmly ruled.We can’t accept a random danceDetermined by the rules of chance.An Einstein thought this wasn’t nice“I can’t believe that God plays dice.”It’s true our minds were not designedFor physics and yet we can findSome minds that thrive on speculationAnd after years of educationDevote their lives to divineWhat is perhaps the true DivineThe rules of law from which all flowsBut every physicist still knowsWhat Einstein felt in the gutWhat we now need is a GUTOne theory that unifiesFour forces, that’s indeed the prize.If gravity can fall in placeThen Einstein will have made his casePerhaps the answer lies in stringsWhich sometimes curl up into ringsVibrating in many dimensionsExhibiting severe tensionsThey also form sheets named branesTo understand you need tamed brains.We could buy books at a heavy costAnd read for years and still be lost

If that’s the case then just how d’yaExplain these things? Call Mr. Wadia.St. Mary’s School and Xavier’s CollegeAnd IIT were founts of knowledge

But then for his Ph.D.He went to New York’s City Univer-

sityIn the windy city by the lakeHis thirst for knowledge he would slake

Now fellowships and awardsOur Spenta has by the hordes.The Raman lecture, the Weinberg prizeAnd if the Nobel Committee’s wise

The Nobel someday will be his tooFor India hasn’t had her due.And Spenta’s built many alliancesThrough International Centre of Theo-

retical SciencesAnd much knowledge is bound to flowAs he goes on with the show.And I’d like to add my felicitationOn the occasion of this celebration.

Some words I’d now like to sayOn Uncle Sohrab on this day.He had a penchant for foreign relationsAnd always built strong ties between

all nations

But France’s culture and her gloriousart

Held a truly special place in his heart.

The poetic introduction read out by Nadir Godrej

The Rotary Club of Bombayis pleased to present the

Sohrab Godrej Award for Science & Technologyto

Spenta Rustom WadiaFor his important contributions to several areas of theoretical

physicsFor his landmark work in gauge theories of elementary particle

physicsFor proposing a new phenomenological model incorporating

several important features of Quantum ChromodynamicsFor contributing to resolve the conflict between General Relativityand Quantum Mechanics caused by the existence of black holes,

that added credence to String Theory as a correct theory ofQuantum Gravity

For establishing a world class String Theory group at TIFR thatalso incubated research in this basic subject in India and other

countries in the developing worldFor envisaging the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences of

TIFR that engages in “Science sans boundaries”.Nowroze Vazifdar

President19th March 2013

Throughout his life he was always onthe go

And his frenetic pace would hardly everslow

Sometimes within the span of just aday

He’d see Madras, Calcutta andBombay.

The day for him was rather short ofhours

But since he had some superhumanpowers

He’d often work quite late into the nightOr rush somewhere on a red-eye flight.This kind of schedule would cause me

to weepWhen did he ever find the time to sleep?His friends all knew that when he sinksHis head, he’s taking his usual forty

winks.But still when asked to answer he could

riseAnd to the audience’s sheer surpriseHe would come up with something ap-

roposBut how he did it I will never know.It’s hard to find a place he hasn’t beenAll of the seven continents he’s seenAnd if you talk of the remotest isleYou find he’d been there for at least a

while.No matter how far away he wentHis Rotary attendance was duly sent.With your permission I will now saluteHis love of nature which was absolute.And whether he’s saving the wilder-

nessOr planting trees in our urban messSohrabji was prepared to work and fightSo children get to see that wondrous

sightA tiger prowling in his habitatA zoo’s no place for this majestic catOne day I urge you all to enterThe Sohrabji Godrej Green CentreYou’ll appreciate his life was not in vainFor there’s still hope our planet will

sustain.Mr. Godrej then proceeded to read

the Citation presented to Prof. Wadia.

Mr. Nadir Godrej goes poetic


District plans low-costhousing in 2013-14

A District Trainers’ Training Semi-nar was organised at Mystic Val-

ley in Igatpuri recently for the Chair-persons of District Avenues and ThrustAreas and Assistant Governors.

Eminent faculty members from theDistrict enlightened the incoming Of-ficers on various subjects.

While PP Pradeep Saxena will serveas Assistant Governor in 2013-14, PPKalpana Munshi has been namedChairperson for the special DistrictThrust Area of Low-Cost Housingwhich will be executed in collabora-tion with Habitat for Humanity India.

This special District Committee islikely to offer low-cost housing at aminimal cost of Rs. 1,00,000 each. Apresentation on the subject was madeby Habitat for Humanity India.

Welcome to the Club. President Nowroze Vazifdarwelcomes Prof. Spenta and Mrs. Leena Wadia to the lastmeeting. Prof. Wadia was presented the Sohrab Godrej

Award for Science and Technology

At the Igatpuri Seminar. Incoming GovernorLata Subraidu (centre) with PPs Kalpana Munshi and

Pradeep Saxena who will serve as members of theDistrict team for the Rotary year 2013-14

Wear your Rotary pin every day. And wear it with pride. President NowrozeVazifdar presents Rotary literature to new member Peter Born. He has been

loaned the Classification ‘Finance: International Banking’

Rajas Doshi givesRs. 2 lakhs for

‘Bhavishya-Yaan’President Nowroze Vazifdar an-

nounced at the last meeting thatRajas Doshi has made a generous do-nation of Rs. 2 lakhs towards theBhavishya-Yaan project.

He conveyed his sincere gratitudeto Rajas, who has always stepped for-ward to support every good cause.

More funds for thecancer endowment

A sum of Rs. 44,500 has been re-ceived from the Ernst & Young

Foundation – through the good officesof Farokh Balsara – to boost the AlooDalal Cancer Aid Foundation.

President Nowroze Vazifdar an-nounced the receipt of the donation atthe last meeting and thanked Farokhfor the same.

Birthday donations

Pradeep Mafatlal has made a birth-day donation of Rs. 10,001 and

Dolly Thakore of Rs. 3,000.President Nowroze Vazifdar

thanked the members for their gener-osity.

Holi at Naresh Jain’s

Hon. Secretary Sitaram Shah has re-minded members of their Holi date

with Naresh Kumar Jain who has in-vited Rotarians along with their fami-lies and friends to celebrate the festi-val of colours on Wednesday, March27.

He said at the last meeting that theHoli celebrations – without the use ofchemical colours and coloured water –would be held at his bungalow, 44Ashok Bhavan, 14 th Road, Khar,from 10 am onwards on the given date.

There would be a lot of song, musicand dance, as also the ever-popular“Delhi chaat” on offer all through theday.

(See Page 8 for further details)

NEW MEMBER PETER BORNIS FORMALLY INDUCTED

President Nowroze Vazifdar for-mally inducted Peter Born as a

member of the Rotary Club ofBombay at the last meeting. He hasbeen loaned the Classification “Finance:International Banking”.

Introducing him to members, IPPPaul George said that Peter’s engage-ment with Rotary began in 1984 whenhe became a Rotaractor in Bavariawhere he was studying.

“Coincidentally, that was the place(Bavaria) where he met his future wifeErica... Today, they have a little childMarie Terese who is attending theAmerican School in Bombay.”

Referring to his professional career,Paul said that Peter was based in Delhiin 1986 when he headed the Indo-Ger-man Chamber of Commerce.

In 1992, he joined the Commerz-bank, the second-largest bank in Ger-many with headquarters in Frankfurt.Since then he had had various postings,including in Seoul where he was incharge of business in Vietnam, Laosand Cambodia.

Peter was admitted to the RotaryClub of Delhi in 1988. On returninghome a few years later, he was instru-mental in establishing the Rotary Clubof Frankfurt-Staedel as one of its Char-ter members.

At present he was living in Bombayalong with his family.

Following the introduction by Paul,President Nowroze conducted the for-mal induction ceremony. He affixed aRotary pin on Peter’s lapel and pre-sented him with a copy each of theClub Roster, Four-Way Test placardsand other Rotary literature.

He announced that for the rest ofthe year Peter had agreed to serve onThe Rotary Foundation and RotaryScholarships Committees.

Members will recall reading in lastweek’s Gateway (dated March 19,)that Peter, along with Dr. VandanaBulchandani, Ashok Gokal and ManojMurarka, has become a Paul HarrisFellow.

Welcome to the Rotary Club ofBombay, Peter.

An urban designerwith three degreesMr. Mahender Vasandani, the

President of M. Square UrbanDesign, who will speak on “Improv-ing Mumbai through urban design” atthe meeting of March 26, is passionateabout designing and creating exceptionaltowns and places.

An alumnus of the prestigious In-dian Institute of Technology, Kharag-pur, where he earned his Bachelor’sdegree in Architecture, he has dualMasters’ degrees in Architecture andCity Planning from the University ofPennsylvania. He also has certificatesin executive business management fromthe Kellogg School of Business and inreal estate development from MIT.

With over 30 years’ experience inarchitecture, regional planning and ur-ban design in the US, he has designedcorporate and office buildings, retailcommercial centres and residential com-munities. As chief of planning at Du-Page County, Illinois, he has led thepreparation of regional and transpor-tation planning studies.

Mr. Vasandani’s expertise in urbandesign is in part based on his study ofbest practices in place-making in worldcities such as Chicago, New York, Phil-adelphia, Vancouver, London, Paris,Milan, Munich and Manchester. Hetravels widely to study cities for hisdesigns and sharing insights with cli-ents and co-professionals.

At present Mr. Vasandani is spend-ing some time in India and is focusedon addressing urban growth issues inthe country. Collaborating with Mich-ael Graves & Associates, Architects,he is promoting the creation of newtowns in India using sustainable urbandesign principles. He is also workingto develop innovative urban designmechanisms to achieve systematictransformation of Bombay. He has beenan adviser to the Re-making of MumbaiFederation and the Council of TallBuildings and Urban Habitats, India.


EVENING MEETING HOSTED BY THE MAFATLALS

Hosts past and present. Pradeep and Divya Mafatlal hosted an outstanding Fellowship at their home as part of the evening meeting of March 5.With them are Devina Shah, Ravi and Amita Sheth, who hosted the first evening meeting, and President-Elect Nirav Shah. At right, Pradeep welcomes

Mudit Shah, Madhusudan Daga, Hiren and Bijal Kara and Malti Jain

They’re all in the party mood. From left in the first picture are S.K. Mitra, Hon. Secretary Sitaram Shah, Vice-President Shailesh Haribhakti andPrafulla Mogre. And in the second photograph is PP Nandan Damani (at right), who hosted the second evening meeting of the year. With him are

(from right) Ram Gandhi, Rajas Doshi and Jimmy Pochkhanawalla

In contrasting colours. Hostess Divya Mafatlal with Devina Shah and (second from right) Radhika Daiya, the sister of the hostess. The picture at right ismore like a family photograph. From left are Vikram Daiya and Divya Mafatlal, who are brother and sister, and at right are their parents, Kishan and

Rukmani Daiya. In the centre is Divya’s son Rajanya

A galaxy of stalwarts. From left in this picture are PP Dr. Kekoo Kavarana, S.K Mitra, President Nowroze Vazifdar, Mr. Rajesh Shah, Manojj Patodia,Subhash Sagar and Jimmy Pochkhanawalla. Finally, a group of six. From right, new member Peter Born, Abhinav Aggarwal, Malti Jain,

PP Harry Singh Arora, a guest and Mr. Mahesh Khubchandani


EVENING MEETING HOSTED BY THE MAFATLALS

Women of substance. Among those who can be identified in this photograph are Nandita Patodia, Devina Shah, Vandana Daga, Malti Jain, Shailaja Moguland Preeti Mehta. At right, the host and hostess, Pradeep and Divya, with their guests (from left) Dr. Feroze and Roshni Soonawalla (standing

next to Pradeep) and Pheroze and Anahita Havaldar (seated, centre)

Old friends and new. Enjoying the company are, from left, Manojj Patodia, Manjula and Pritam Sanghai, Nandita Patodia and Preeti and Gautam Mehta.The second photograph captures the scene moments before the music blasts out and the dance floor is thrown open. Divya, Pradeep, Binaifer and Hoshang

Nazir, and Jagdish Malkani are all ears as President Nowroze Vazifdar (not seen) begins and ends the meeting in the blink of an eye

Thar she blows! Roda Billimoria surprised everyone with her swift moves and deft footwork. Dr. Rohini Chowgule, at right, prepares to keep pacewith her, while Dolly Thakore, in the centre, gets into the mood of things. The second photograph has the host and the hostess admiring the synchronised

dancing of Malti Jain and PP Harry Singh Arora

And then it was time for dinner. The Mafatlals served such excellent fare that most of their guests didn’t know what to choose. But Shernaz Vakil, Zinia Lawyerand Ritu Desai (in the first picture) appear to have made up their minds. The dinner table at right is occupied by Parvesh Mehra, Dr. Suhas Shah and

the Palekars, PP Vithal and Lata


‘GROUP OF 1929 CLUBS’MEETS IN MADRAS

The stage is set for the ‘Group of 1929 Clubs’ meeting hosted by the Rotary Club of Madras. At right,Office-Bearers of the Host Club snapped with the contingent from Bombay. From left to right in the centre are

Hon. Secretary Sitaram Shah, Nayna and Ashok Chinai, Dr. Rohini Chowgule and Vinod Juneja

Outside the H.R.H. Prince of Wales’ Hospital for Children. The delegates to the first-ever seminar of the‘Group of 1929 Clubs’ visited the hospital where they interacted with some of the children admitted there.

Later, they found the time to administer polio drops to children in the appropriate age group

Partaking of the pure vegetarian fare. Most of the Rotarians from abroad, especially those from the RotaryClub of Canon City, USA, had their taste buds tickled by the South Indian delicacies. While meal times were

common to all, the women did find the time to mingle with one another. And so did the men

Everyone knows that Rotary is 108 yearsold and that the Rotary Club of

Bombay, Chartered in 1929, is 84 years old.But few know that there are more than 180Clubs that were Chartered in the same year,1929! All those Clubs are now 84 years oldand spread all over the world.

One of them is the Rotary Club of Ma-dras, a second is the Rotary Club of CanonCity, USA; then there is the Rotary Club ofSeremban in Malaysia and the Rotary Clubof Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The Rotary Club of Madras has takenthe lead to organise a unique Fellowship ofRotary Clubs Chartered in 1929 styled“Group of 1929 Clubs”. It has suggestedthat this group should meet annually, withone Club taking the responsibility of host-ing the event every year.

A week-long celebration was held in Ma-dras towards the end of February, 2013,and attracted participation by the RotaryClubs named above.

Host Club President Rajendra Sabanaya-gam and his team, including Hon. SecretarySathiaram Ram, left no stone unturned tomake the programme memorable and to en-sure that everything went without a hitch.PP S. Guna Shekhar was the Project Coor-dinator for the entire event and the HostClub took care of home hospitality, localtransport, meals, programme managementand so on.

Hon. Secretary Sitaram Shah, Dr. RohiniChowgule, Vinod Juneja and Ashok Chinai,accompanied by his spouse Nayna, repre-sented the Rotary Club of Bombay.

There were no heavy-duty speeches; theitinerary was filled with Fellowship events,visits to a few project sites, the famedbeaches of Madras and a lot of banquets,breakfasts and dinners. Here are brief high-lights of the activities organised over theweek:

Day one featured a “Heritage walk andtour” after lunch and a dinner at SaravanaBhavan in Mylapore.

The second day (February 22) saw a visitto Selaiyur, the boys’ town, and Sembak-kam. The evening featured a banquet for the“Group of 1929 Clubs”. Among the speak-ers were District 3230 Governor V. RajaSeenivasan, Tan Ban Yeow of the RotaryClub of Seremban and Sitaram Shah.

The meeting of February 22 was a post-poned regular evening meeting and was cel-ebrated as an “International Evening”, withthe District Governor present. (The regularweekly meeting of February 26 was alsocelebrated as an “International Welcome”meeting, with several Rotarians from Bra-zil, Turkey, Germany, China and other coun-tries attending it.)

On day three, a visit to Dakshini Chitraand the Croc Bank was followed by lunch,a scholarship distribution programme anddinner at the Azuri Bay. A Kathakli perfor-mance was the highlight of the evening.

Breakfast was taken early on day four sothat the guests could enjoy the scenic beauty


‘GROUP OF 1929 CLUBS’MEETS IN MADRAS

Heading out to the pristine beaches. Sitaram Shah and Ashok Chinai were not the only Rotarians to take adip in the sea. Many others did, too. They also enjoyed a catamaran ride in the choppy seas. But the hosts

insisted that all of them wore protective gear in the form of lifebelts

Leaving the beach and heading to the enchanting and charming ancient city of Mahabalipuram.An adept guide took the group all around the place, pointing out various historic facts about the town and the

surrounding area. The evening banquet was arranged at a beachside resort

Dinner before departure. Nayna Chinai bonded well with women Rotarians and Rotaryanns from differentClubs. But the most fun was had by Sitaram Shah. As the last picture shows, he had no compunctions about

taking the floor (the lawn in this case) to do the shake. Or was it the salsa?

of Mahabalipuram. After lunch at theRadisson Temple Bay, those interested weretreated to a catamaran ride in the sea. Asdusk fell, Rotarian E.M.C. Palaniappan andhis spouse Parvathi hosted a dinner by theseaside.

The fifth day featured a visit to the leg-endary A.V.M. Studios, the government-managed Poompuhar handicraft emporium,lunch at the Taj Connemara and dinner pre-ceded by a showing of the Kamal Hassanfilm, Viswaroopam.

The dawn of the sixth day, February 26,saw the Rotarians and their guests perform-ing Yogic postures to keep fit. The RotaryClub of Madras hosted their guests for lunchin the afternoon and served dinner at theMadras Club as part of the “InternationalWelcome” meeting.

Finally, on day seven, they bid a fondfarewell to their guests, hoping that theywould meet again, a year later, at anotherplace, at another time, but with the samepurpose – of bonding with other membersof the “Group of 1929 Clubs”.

One of the highlights of the program-me was a visit to a fishermen’s villagewhere residences were built after thedevastating Tsunami as a joint projectbetween the Rotary Clubs of Bombayand Madras.

Rotarians from Malaysia and USAwere surprised to note that the namesof two Clubs are still displayed on the146 houses that were built. Besides,there were plaques at the entry to thevillage with the names of the Presidentsof the two Clubs.

Making a brief presentation at the ban-quet of February 22, Sitaram Shah first readout a message from President NowrozeVazifdar (which was published in The Gate-way dated February 19).

He then pointed out that while the firstRotary Club in India was Chartered in Cal-cutta, the second one was the Rotary Clubof Bombay; then came the third, the Ro-tary Club of Madras – thus completing thetriad of East, West and South, “or, to put itanother way, to complete the cycle ofBrahma, Vishnu and Mahesh”.

Sitaram said in the course of his talk thatone of the unfortunate features of thepresent times was the sense of void thatpeople felt in their lives. Many felt thattheir existence had no deep meaning or aimand so sought happiness through sensualenjoyment.

“Modern science is basically unwillingto limit itself by ethical considerations.Therefore, people face two challenges, viz.,a question of responsibility and lack ofknowledge about the cause of human suf-fering.

“Exact experimental science has nothingto do with morality, virtue, philanthropy,therefore it can make no claim on us unlessit blends itself with the metaphysics. I leaveyou with this thought to ponder over,”Sitaram added.


Printed, Published by Rtn. PP Arjun Bulchandani on behalf of Rotary Club of Bombay and printed at Nikeda Art Printers Pvt. Ltd., Unit No.H & I,Kanjur Industrial Estate,Quarry Road, Off L.B.S. Marg, Bhandup (West), Mumbai 400 078 and Published at 97/B, Mittal Tower, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021. Editor Arjun Bulchandani

Regd. No. MH/MR/South-109/2012-14, R.N.I. No. 14015/60Posted on Monday, Mar. 25, 2013

Regd. No. MH/MR/South-109/2012-14; R.N.I. No. 14015/60Posted at Mumbai Patrika Channel Sorting Office, Mumbai 400 001, on Monday, March 25, 2013

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OFFICE-BEARERS 2012/13

PRESIDENT NOWROZE VAZIFDARImmediate Past President Paul GeorgePresident-Elect Nirav ShahVice-President Shailesh HaribhaktiHonorary Secretary Sitaram ShahJoint Hon. Secretary Hiren KaraHon. Treasurer Ishraq ContractorCLUB SERVICE: New MembersDirector in charge Nirav ShahMembership PP Sandip AgarwallaClassifications PP Dr. Adi DasturInformation PP Dr. Kekoo KavaranaMembership Development & District Conference Ramesh NarayanCLUB SERVICE: Programmes/MeetingsDirector in charge Framroze MehtaAttendance Arvind AgarwalProgramme PP Haresh JagtianiFellowship PP Ashish VaidBulletin, Website & Public Relations PP Arun SanghiSergeant-at-Arms Roda BillimoriaCOMMUNITY SERVICE: Medical – IDirector in charge Dr. Percy ChibberChairman Emeritus, Talwada PP Dr. Rahim MuljianiHTEC, Talwada PP Dr. Rumi JehangirADMC, Talwada Dr. Sorab JaveriOral Health Dr. Rajeev NarvekarCOMMUNITY SERVICE: Medical – IIDirector in charge Dr. Vandana BulchandaniControl of TB Dr. Rohini ChowguleCancer Aid Zinia LawyerHeart Care and Health Dr. Aashish ContractorPolioPlus & Differently Abled Shyyamniwas SomaniCOMMUNITY SERVICE: Non-MedicalDirector in charge Sunny PariyaramRCC and Child Care Joseph KoshyOld Age Homes/ Senior Citizens Naresh Kumar JainRural Development Dilnavaz VariavaEnvironment Jagdish MalkaniVOCATIONAL SERVICEDirector in charge Shernaz VakilRotary & Public Awards Ram GandhiVocational Training & Night Study Centres Bimal MehtaINTERNATIONAL SERVICEDirector in charge Ashok MinawalaRotary Foundation & Matching Grants PP Arvind JollyR.I. Programmes & Slumber Kit PP Rajnikant ReshamwalaNEW GENERATIONS: EducationDirector in charge Madhusudan DagaBhavishya Yaan Manish ReshamwalaScholarships & Loans Manojj Kumar PatodiaManagement Studies Poonam KumarNEW GENERATIONS: YouthDirector in charge Arjun JollyInteract Meera AlrejaRotaract Ravindra FotedarRoad Safety Deepak Kapadia

Shariq ContractorMarch 28

Leela DeshpandeMarch 28

Devendra KothariMarch 30

Nandan MalusteMarch 30

Subash GogiaMarch 31

SpousesBerryl Hirani

March 26Mr. Manjit Singh Nanda

March 27Dr. Swati Piramal

March 28Meena Somani

March 28Gauri Daiya

March 29Radhika Kaji

March 31Amita Malkani

April 1

ServiceAbove

Self

REMEMBER YOUR HOLIDATE WITH NARESH JAIN

Holi ke shubh avsar parullas or umang se hoaapka din rangeen...

Dear Rotarians,

We look forward toyour presence at

THE ANNUAL JAINHOLI KI MASTI...

A day full of live music...the flavours of Dilli ki chaat...

and a shower of rangeen flowerskesar and gulab!

Join us with your family onWednesday 27 March 2013

10.00 am to 1.00 pm at44 Ashok Bhavan, 14th Road Khar

Mumbai – 400052

Rtn. Naresh Jain

R.S.V.P.Ulka – 22840473 / 22826356

At the lastmeeting

(Held on March 19, 2013)ATTENDANCEMembers 123Visiting Rotarians 2Rotaryanns 5Guests 1Total 131Svc. box collection Rs. 3,450

Sangita Kapoor, a Visiting Rotarian from the Rotary Club of Thane Skyline,exchanges banners with President Nowroze Vazifdar at the last meeting

More for the projectto empower women

M/s PBM Polytex, through thegood offices of Priyasri Patodia,

has donated a sum of Rs. 51,000 to-wards empowerment of womenproject propagated by PresidentNowroze Vazifdar.

He acknowledged the contributionat the last meeting and expressed hissincere thanks to Priyasri.

prof. spenta wadia, the ‚higgs™ man, requests the private ...€¦ · mr. adi godrej, an...

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