BULLETIN OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF BOMBAY
for private circulation only | www.rotaryclubofbombay.org
Vol. 55
Issue No. 15
Mumbai
October 8 to October 14, 2013
Pages 8
Price R3/-
It is India's golden age, and we are
wasting the opportunity – Meera Sanyal
I
ntroducing Meera is a
difficult task, and so I am
not going to tell you about
her qualifications, or her banking
career, or that she is Chairperson,
India Services and Foundation,
Royal Bank of Scotland, or
the many awards that she has
received… I am just going to ask
the person who has the grit and the
gumption to take on the big and
mighty to share her thoughts….” –
Rotarian Pranay Vakil
"Mr. Nirav Shah, Mr. Deepak
Kapadia, Ms. Anar Shah, Mr.
Manoj Patodia, Mr. Mudit Jain,
and my dear friend Pranay...
this feels a bit like homecoming
because I recall having received a
very warm welcome here from the
Rotary Club in 2009. That memory
has stayed with me. So, I would
like to start by saying thank you
very much.
What I would like to share
today is what I stand for. It is for
the first time that I am actually
talking about it.
There is a story that sparked
my conviction of what we need to
do at this point in time. Recently, I
was talking to a young, confident
18-year-old girl. She belongs to the
Millennial Generation: termed so
because they were born at the turn
of the millennium. This lady of a
very confident generation, asked
me, “Tell me, in one word, why
you are standing for the elections.”
Since we are not a generation used
to expressing anything in one
word, I had to think awhile before
I told her, “I am standing for the
future.”
She smiled and said, “Whose
future?” I said, “Your future...
the future of our children... so
that every Indian child can have
the opportunity to fulfil her or his
dream.”
Her reaction surprised me.
She looked at me with eyes filled
with tears and said, “We have no
future.” What we see around us
creates that sense of despair. We
read about terrible violence against
women and also violence against
men who are trying to protect
them. In Mumbai, we saw what
happened to Keenan and Reuben.
The state of the economy gives
us reasons to doubt whether it is
high inflation, low growth, falling
rupee, or all of that. There is a sense
of loss of faith in the institutions
of the country, and corruption,
scams, and criminalisation of
politics makes you feel powerless.
This is particularly acute among
young people, which is really a
pity since this should have ideally
been the Golden Age of India.
In our country we have this
magnificent demographic dividend
which the whole world envies, and
which is the “consumption”. We
have talented young people who
can be the work force to provide
the “supply”. We have a falling
dependency ratio, which means
there are more hands and fewer
dependent mouths. It is a phase
which comes rarely in the history
of a nation – Japan saw it after the
war, the United States after the
Depression.
India is seeing it now, and we
are wasting this opportunity. This
is a tragedy because we will not
get that chance again. Therefore,
when I say I stand for the future,
what is it really that I stand for?
What are my objectives?
I believe that our foremost
objectives should be to secure our
children’s future, restore faith in
good governance and get India
back on track. I also think time has
come to revive Bombay. The city
that leads the country should be a
city which leads the world.
And within these four
objectives, I have constructed a
10-point agenda. As leaders of
industry and leaders of Bombay,
please share your thoughts so that
I can refine my ideas as I move
forward.
When I talk of securing our
children’s future, I have three
Today’s Speaker (October 8, 2013): Manohar Parrikar, Hon. Chief Minister of Goa on
‘Good Governance’
October 8 to October 14, 2013
THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay
1
things in mind. First, we need
more jobs and more opportunities.
Second, we need to provide our
children with skills and knowledge
to deal with India in the 21st
century. Third, I believe we are the
custodians of the future and have
to leave behind an earth where
our children will have clean air
to breathe, clean water to drink,
forests and open spaces.
Restoring faith in governance
has two aspects. One, we need
to have faith in the institutions
that were set up to protect our
democracy. Today, we do not
believe in our police force, the
CBI, the IB, the Comptroller and
Auditor General, the judiciary,
and now, even the armed forces. If
we do not protect these pillars of
democracy, we will have nothing
left to stand between us and
chaos. We, thus, need to remove
corruption and weed out criminals
from politics.
The other aspect of good
governance is safety. Every single
person in this country should be
safe at any time of the day or night,
anywhere, no matter what they are
wearing or what religion, gender,
caste or community they belong to.
Can these be done? I believe
they can; solutions exist. We have
to implement police reforms,
judicial reforms and administrative
reforms. For instance, if we
empower the police force, which
is supposed to protect us, I believe
it will.
Let us also get India working.
We have to empower enterprise.
Unless business succeeds, we
will not have prosperity and we
will not have a future for our
children. It should be easy to set
up a business, run it or shut it – all
of which are currently impossible.
We have to get the economy back
on track. We need to have a new
wave of de-regulation and focus
on energy security, food security,
water security, and, finally,
infrastructure. There is no reason
why 20 years after liberalisation,
infrastructure should be in such a
shambles.
In the city of Mumbai, we
need to do two things. The first is
to make it a more liveable city and
the second is to get business back
on track. Business in Mumbai is
dying and people simply cannot
live here anymore. We need more
affordable housing, more open
spaces, a real focus on mobility. It
is not just about public transport,
but the way we manage traffic,
pedestrians and create access for
people who are challenged and
elderly. We need to look at a city
as a living organism and how it
can thrive and grow. Mumbai was
the hub of Indian industry. Now, if
you look around the country, cities
like Bangalore and Hyderabad are
fast overtaking it as commercial
centres.
What I stand for, thus, is a
goal with four objectives and ten
agenda items.
Excerpts from a Q&A session:
Q: In every other country you
have
infrastructure
before
facilities. In our country it is
the reverse. For instance, the
Jawaharlal Nehru Port came up
in 1989, and 25 years later, the
infrastructure is still poor.
Meera Sanyal: It is shocking to
talk about ports. While we have
JNPT just across the harbour,
we also have the plan of the
government of India to build
a container port terminal in
Mumbai. So, an entire swathe
of land, which should have been
converted into sports facilities
or open spaces, is now going to
become a container port terminal,
adding to the already burdened
infrastructure of Bombay. The
port at Bombay is not doing well
and the new port will also not
do well. Hence, we would have
simply wasted all that space and
created problems and pollution.
Q: India has many selfless
people like Arvind Kejriwal and
you in public service. How do
you explain a situation where
you have venal politicians on
the one hand and such gems on
the other? At a personal level,
I feel we should outsource the
government of India to Singapore
or some other country.
Meera Sanyal: One of the reasons
I have stayed with my organisation
is that it has a very good heart
and an extensive micro-finance
programme, through which we
have financed over 65,000 women
across India. When we found that
there were women who were so
poor that they could not benefit
from micro-finance, we set up a
foundation to give outright grants.
I discovered soon that 70 per
cent of these women had become
successful entrepreneurs. In the
last few years, I have spent a day
and a night with these women
in their homes across 15 states
in the country. After doing this,
I have found that India is in very
good shape. India has a big heart
and broad shoulders. It deserves
better. Indians are the most
entrepreneurial,
hardworking,
decent and generous people in the
world; only our leadership does
not reflect these qualities.
Q: How do we remove
impediments? For example, has
anybody thought of rationalising
the taxation system so that we
have time to implement what you
have suggested?
Meera Sanyal: I agree that a lot
of our laws and policies are like a
chakravyuh. Once you are inside,
there is no way of getting out.
Therefore, we first need to know
what outcome we want. We want
our people to succeed, to have
time, to work hard and prosper. We
have lost track of that in the last 60
years.
Q: There are enough people in
the community who are corrupt.
How are we going to solve that
problem? I think society itself
has to improve before politicians
take action.
Meera Sanyal: I remember a
World Wildlife Fund campaign
– “When buying stops, killing
will stop.” It is the same with
corruption – when giving stops,
taking will stop. I am all for the
Lokpal Bill. We also need a good
ombudsman. The United Kingdom
has a simple, two-three page Antibribery and Corruption Act. The
giver of a bribe goes to jail and
pays an unlimited fine. The taker
of a bribe also goes to jail with
prison terms between 10-15 years.
He also pays an unlimited fine.
Moreover, anyone who facilitates
the giving or taking of a bribe goes
to jail and pays an unlimited fine.
We need simple jurisdictions like
this.
Q: Would it be easier to get
elected as an MLA first? Why
MP and not MLA?
Dhananjaya Mehta being felicitated for 100 per cent
attendance for the month of August 2013 under “excused
from attendance” category.
2
Meera Alreja being felicitated for 100 per cent attendance
for the month of August 2013 under “attendance” category.
THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay
Meera Sanyal: The job of an MP is
primarily to make simple laws that
can be implemented. Mohandas
Pai insists for instance that I
become a corporator. A municipal
corporator’s job, however, is to
spend an amount of budget, not
to help make legislations. So it
is not that one rises in rank when
one becomes an MP. People like us
would be able to take knowledge
and experience of some aspect of
life to Parliament. Today, 30 per
October 8 to October 14, 2013
cent of our parliamentarians have
criminal records. Most of the others
are either career politicians, or sons
and daughters of politicians. So,
we need people with experience
in some aspect of life to go and
make better and simple laws in
Parliament.
Q: Will you share your views with
us on transparency?
Meera Sanyal: I absolutely
believe in transparency. It is
completely shocking that political
parties should be excluded from
the RTI. The public want to know
who has made contributions to
a political party and whether the
party thereafter goes and allocates
a mine or a spectrum or an aircraft
license to those individuals or
industry. Also, the amendment
to the Representation of People
Act is completely shameless and
shocking. We have to stand against
that, because if we do not, there will
be no future.
Q: Not many people know that
you go and spend lots of time
with villagers in their villages. It
would be nice if you could share
some of your stories...
Meera Sanyal: These stories are
almost like a string of pearls that
helps lift my spirit on a bad day.
But, I will share the story of a
group I like to call the Sisters of
Sampurna.
Self-help
groups
working
together and creating alternative
livelihoods
are
really
transforming India. These groups
are aggregated at the village level
and, finally, as a federation at the
district level. The federation in
Orissa’s Karanjia district is called
Sampurna.
On the day I landed in Karanjia
in April last year, to get a sense of
what was happening in the area, it
was pouring. I rushed into a little,
dark room and sat down, soaking
wet. There were 14 or 15 women
and I could hardly see their faces.
But as I ran through my standard
set of questions with them, I
found that in every village where
the sarpanch or gram pradhan was
a woman, the metrics was always
better. There were teachers in
schools, the midday meal was
better, the hand pump was better
placed, the village cleaner.
One of my questions was,
“Have any of you ever stood
for elections?” Surprisingly,
everyone in the room said yes.
This was very unusual. I then
discovered the catalyst – a girl
called Sulakshana, who works
with an NGO called Pradhan.
When Sulakshana realised that
she would have to move out
of her village in five years’
time, she decided to focus on
political instead of economic
empowerment. For six months
thereafter, she trained women in
the federation on panchayati raj,
government schemes and so on.
In the 2012 panchayat
elections in the state, 187 women
from the federation stood for 125
seats in the district. The results
were staggering. Of the 125 seats,
these women won 87! Out of 13
gram pradhans, seven were girls
from Sampurna. They are now
changing that district. They have a
full agenda.
I was curious and asked them
as to what had motivated them to
stand for elections. The answer was
simple: “There are 6000 members
in the federation. This means 6000
husbands, 6000 mothers-in-law,
6000 fathers-in-law, 6000 sets
of parents. This means a lakh.”
I then asked those who had lost,
“Are you disappointed?” They
told me, “Didi, what is there to be
disappointed about? We will make
them work.”
Block your date
DIWALI NITE
Reunite with old friends
Rejoice with new ones
Relax and enjoy the performances
Relish the sumptuous feast
Rejuvenate yourselves for another eventful year....
Join us to celebrate the Festival of Lights, filled with lots of fun and dance
by some of our own Rotarians and Rotaryannes to foot-tapping numbers.
For the very first time they will be accompanied by our very
own Inner Wheel members.
Date and Venue: Saturday, October 26, 2013 at 7:30 pm
at The Emperor Hall, NSCI, Worli.
CONTACT ROTARY OFFICE: PASSES AVAILABLE AT
Rs 1500 PER PERSON  Rs 2500 PER COUPLE  Rs 2500 PER GUEST
(Plenty of parking space available)
October 8 to October 14, 2013
THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay
3
The golden era of music
F
ilm songs from the golden
era of Hindi music have
such magical powers that,
even today, they are appreciated,
hummed and sung. They hold sway
over the hearts of those who grew
up listening to these melodies, and
even the generations thereafter.
Such is the love and affection for
these enthralling numbers that
only by paying a tribute could
we, in a very small way, show our
appreciation for the maestros.
Rotary’s
Fellowship
Committee, thus, organised an
evening of unforgettable melodies
on September 28. It was a trip
down memory lane at Thackers.
All Rotaryannes had gajras on
their wrists and the mood was
perfect for an evening filled with
nostalgia.
Pankaj Kakkad and his troupe
rendered timeless songs in their
melodic voices, enlivening the
atmosphere. The medley of songs
ranged from Shamshad Begum’s
mesmerising melodies to Kishore
Kumar’s immortal chartbusters.
4
THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay
October 8 to October 14, 2013
Several qawwalis got our
Rotarians and Rotaryannes on the
floor. For instance, Malti Jain,
Sweta Vakil, Pranay Vakil, Deepak
Kapadia, and Suresh and Indira
Kotak immersed themselves in
the music and the mood. They
wore qawwali topis and swayed
and danced to the peppy tunes. A
special mention needs to be made
of Ashok and Sudha Gokal who
inspired all to get up and dance.
For the 125 Rotarians,
Rotaryannes and guests, age did
not appear to get in the way of
total enjoyment of the event.
Rotarians and Rotaryannes across
October 8 to October 14, 2013
THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay
5
age groups – from those in their
Thirties to 99-year-old Haso
Thadani – took delight in the
music and the splendid ambience.
Rotarian C K Srinivasan spoke
about how some of his favourite
songs had transported him back to
yesteryears.
The spread for dinner was a
gastronome’s delight. Delicious
pani puri, ginger mutter wrap,
undhiya, surti dal, panki aloo
tikki, ragda, Hyderabadi biryani,
pizzas and more rubbed shoulders
with mouth-watering desserts like
pista chikki icecream and sitafal
rasmalai.
President
Nirav
Shah
thanked Ashok Minawala and the
Fellowship team for organising a
brilliant event. He was also full of
6
praise for the dedicated efforts of
Manoj Murarka and Ashok Gokal.
A vote of thanks was also expressed
for Pankaj Kakkad and his troupe
for the enjoyable music and the
Thackers for the delicious spread.
Rotarian Burjor Poonawala
lauded Nirav Shah by saying, “You
have a golden heart and today’s
evening was really enjoyable.” His
sentiment was echoed by many
other Rotarians who felt that the
evening was “very relaxing and
enjoyable”.
As the evening came to an
end, many melodies resonated in
everyone’s heart.
But the one song that rang on
in everyone’s mind was the soulful
Abhi na jao chod kar, ke dil abhi
bhara nahi.
THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay
October 8 to October 14, 2013
New social media initiative
T
he Rotary Club of Bombay has moved further
into the Digital Age with a social media
initiative.
The Club will soon introduce an official
Facebook Group, which will provide Club members
and spouses, an excellent platform for social
networking. Initially, the group will be used for two
main purposes – posting photographs and using it as
a discussion board to post comments.
So, finally we will be able to view all those
photographs that are clicked but not printed in the
bulletin! Members and spouses will also be able to
post comments on the group’s Timeline to discuss any
and all topics of the Club.
This group has been created as a “secret group” with
the highest security and privacy settings that Facebook
offers. The group will not be search-able on Facebook.
The membership to the group is by invitation only, and
everything posted will be visible only to its members.
Facebook is available on many platforms. Besides the
website which is can be viewed on a regular PC, Facebook
is available as a free mobile application (or app) on iPhones,
android phones such as Samsung phones, Microsoft mobile
phones such as Nokia Lumia, Blackberry, and also on older
Nokia phones.
So do look out for an e-invite in your email inbox soon,
and become part of this new revolution.
Rotary Club of Bombay
PLATINUM DONOR
Homi Bhabha
donated Rs. 5 lakhs
towards Bhavishya Yaan
through Rtn. Ramesh
Narayan
Rtn. Suresh Kotak
Donated Rs. 8 lakhs
towards Bhavishya Yaan
BRONZE DONOR
Rtn. Preeti Mehta
Donated Rs.51,000
towards Bhavishya Yaan
Generous Donors
S. No
Name
Area of Focus
Cause
Amount
1
Rtn. Rajesh Shah
Rotary’s Six Areas of Focus
Bhavishya Yaan
Rs. 11,000
2
Rtn. Ramesh Mehta
Rotary’s Six Areas of Focus
Bhavishya Yaan
Rs. 10,000
3
Rtn. Ardeshir B.K. Dubash
Rotary’s Six Areas of Focus
Birthday Donation
Rs. 10,001
4
Rtn. Dilip Dalal
Rotary’s Six Areas of Focus
Birthday Donation
Rs.
5,001
5
Rtn. Jamshyd Vazifdar
Rotary’s Six Areas of Focus
Birthday Donation
Rs.
3000
October 8 to October 14, 2013
THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay
7
Published on Tuesday, October 8, 2013. Regd. No. MH/MR/South-109/2012-14; R.N.I. No. 14015/60
Posted at Mumbai Patrika Channel Sorting Office, Mumbai 400 001, on Wednesday, October 9, 2013
rotary club of bombay
Happy Birthday
Founded 19 march, 1929
Charter No. 3128, Dated 08 May, 1929
97-B Mittal Tower, Nariman Point
Mumbai 400 021, India
Tel.: 91 22 22024089
Fax.: 91 22 22024509
[email protected]
Ritu P. Desai
October 8
Sorabh Jain
October 8
Vijay Jatia
October 8
Poonam Lalvani
October 8
P. K. Mohankumar
October 9
Keshub Mahindra
October 9
Sohel Shikari
October 10
Homi Katgara
October 11
Dr. M. Asad Khan
October 12
Farokh Guzder
October 13
Rotary’s six areas of focus
Peace and conflict prevention/resolution
Disease prevention and treatment
Water and sanitation
Maternal and child health
Basic education and literacy
Economic and community development
Doing good in the world
Alyque Padamsee
will be felicitated
with the Rotary
Award for
Contribution to
the Arts 2013-14,
and will talk on —
My Life in Theatre
and Theatre in
My Life
October 15, 2013
Alyque Padamsee is a multi-faceted
genius who wears three significant
hats. The first hat is that of “brand
guru” of modern Indian advertising.
The second one is of the “guru”
of English theatre in India, while
the third is that of a man totally
committed to public service.
In fact, Alyque is currently
guiding the Mumbai police force in
its campaign against eve-teasing and
sexual molestation.
Alyque, who is credited with
having built over a 100 brands,
has had a long and successful
innings in the advertising industry.
The Advertising Club of India has
named him the Advertising Man
of the Century. His bestselling
book on advertising, A Double
Life, is syllabus content in several
business schools. He is also the only
Indian to have been voted into the
International Clio Hall of Fame, the
Oscars of world advertising. He is at
present the CEO of AP Advertising
Private Limited.
Internationally,
Alyque
is famous for his portrayal of
Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Sir
Richard Attenborough’s film
Gandhi. He has been associated
with theatre since decades and
has over 70 productions to
his credit. He has also been a
communications guru for over
five decades, and a consultant to
several prominent personalities
and companies.
He is the Chairman of The
London Institute of Corporate
Training, and a renowned speaker
at national and international
forums.
Besides numerous prestigious
awards for his contribution to
both theatre and advertising,
Alyque was also conferred the
Padmashri, the fourth highest
civilian award, by the President
of India in the year 2000.
Spouses
Kusum Patel
October 8
Meher Poonawala October 9
Faryal Katgara
October 10
Priti Premnath
October 10
Mayuri Sekhsaria
October 10
Forthcoming Meetings
October 15
Alyque Padamsee
(Winner of Rotary Award for
Contribution to Arts) on
My Life in Theatre and
Theatre in my Life
October 22
(To be announced)
The statistics for the meeting
held on Tuesday, October 1,
2013 are as under:
Members present
Visiting Rotarians
Rotaryannes
Guests
Total attendance
128
08
02
02
140
October 29
Rubi Arya
(Topic to be announced)
Editorial Consultant: Monideepa Choudhury,
Spenta Multimedia, Peninsula Spenta, Mathuradas
Mill Compound, N.M. Joshi Marg, Lower Parel,
Mumbai 400 013. Landline: 022-24811010
E-Mail: [email protected]
Regd. No. MH/MR/South-109/2012-14,
R.N.I. No. 14015/60
Posted on Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Printed, Published by Rtn. Arjun Bulchandani on behalf of Rotary Club of Bombay and printed at Spenta Multimedia, Peninsula Spenta, Mathuradas Mill Compound, N.M. Joshi Marg,
Lower Parel (West), Mumbai 400 013 and Published at 97/B, Mittal Tower, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021. Editor: Arjun Bulchandani
8
THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay
October 8 to October 14, 2013