Issue : 32Vol. : 33 12-02-2014Date : Pages : 04

Joint meeting with Rotary Club of KaraikudiLast time that Midtowners had a chance to visit Karaikudi was during December 2012. The

nd rdboard members alongwith few members had visiting Karaikudi on 22 & 23 December 2012. Apart from having the regular board meeting the trip agenda included a joint meeting with Rotary Club of Karaikudi. Midtowners stayed at the palatial building of Rtn.Alagappan and enjoyed the incomparable hospitality. The finger licking chettinad cuisine mixed with Rtn.Alagappan's warm hospitality made the stay a memorable one.

Rotary Club of Karaikudi, which meets in its own building, had made elaborate arrangements to welcome Midtowners. The dinner meeting was well planned and all Midtowners were felicitated with a memento.

Midtown is revisiting Rotary Club of Karaikudi for a joint meeting to extend its ties with the club.

Rare pic of Rtn.Alagappan

Lion in its den!!!

(Picture courtesy: Rtn.Umesh)

February is World Understanding

month - emphasising Rotary's goal of world understanding

and peace

Rtn.P.S.Balakrishnan appeared in local dailies for publishing his books on “Ragi”. Rtn.Bhanu reading out the press release and congratulating the “young at heart” Rotarian for his achievements.

Rtn.R.Nagaraj won the Tennis singles trophy at Chennai recently. Rtn.Bhanu sharing the news with Midtown handed over the trophy. One more lovely addition to the colossal collection.

Defining Global Peace

Congratulations!!!

Annette.Gaurav Yadav broke 2 records in South Zone Aquatic

Championship. He won 3 gold, 1 silver & 2 bronze medals. He was

even aired on DD Sports. Congratulations Gaurav!! And of course to

the proud parents Rtn.Ashok Yadav and Ann.Roopa Ashok.

ROTARY GLOBAL PEACE FORUM

Aung San Suu Kyi is a Member of Parliament of the Union of Burma and is a founding member of the National League for Democracy. Early in her career, she worked in the office of the United Nations Secretariat in New York and was a Visiting Scholar at the Centre for South East Asian Studies at Kyoto University and the Indian Institute for Advanced Studies in Simla. Following her return to Burma in 1988 and winning an election by popular vote, she was placed under house arrest until 1995, and again during 2000 to 2002 and 2003 to 2010. Aung San Suu Kyi has received more than 120 awards and honors internationally, including: Nobel Peace Prize (Oslo, Norway, 1991); Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding (India, 1995); Congressional Gold Medal (USA, 2008); Honorary Canadian Citizenship Parliament Hill (Ottawa, Canada, 2008); and Legion of Honor [Ordre national de la Legion d'honneur] (France, 2012).

In Aung San Suu Kyi's Own Words:

· “The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear."

· “You should never let your fears prevent you from doing what you know is right.”

· “If you're feeling helpless, help someone.”

· “If you do nothing you get nothing.”

· “Freedom and democracy are dreams you never give up.”

· “More people, especially young people, are realizing that if they want change, they've got to go

about it themselves.”Aung San Suu Kyi's visit gave the people of Hawaii an opportunity to learn from and engage with the

well-known global peace leader through her tour of the Bishop Museum, roundtable discussion with local leaders, keynote speech to the Rotary Global Peace Forum, and talk with local high school and college students.

Pillars of Peace Hawaii hosted Aung San Suu Kyi's student talk entitled “Peace Takes Courage and Compassion,”. In it, she tells Hawaii students that peace takes courage--and not just the kind you display on the battlefield, but also the courage to compromise. With honesty, humor and humility, the Nobel Peace Laureate shared her experience of living under house arrest in Myanmar for 15 years and answered a range of questions posed by young people hoping to learn from her inspirational example.

Aung San Suu Kyi received the Hawaii Peace Award from Rotary International President Sakuji Tanaka of Japan at the recent Rotary Global Peace Forum in Hawaii. (26th Jan 2014).David Livingston Photo.

SMSs floated before the meeting informed midtowners that the evening is dedicated to new members, we would hear new members talk about themselves and then have a chance to “rag” (supposedly) them. The teaser message worked and attendance was reasonably good. Rtn.Bhanu & Rtn.Dr.Prahlad seemingly looked relaxed after the hectic activities during Governor's visit. President Rtn.Bhanu welcomed the new members Rtn.Pramod Gubbi, Rtn.Apoorva & Rtn.Gopal Krishna onstage and went on to make his regular announcements.

First up was the chance of the jovial ENT specialist Rtn.Dr.Pramod Gubbi. Rtn.Gubbi began his introduction confidently and went onto explain his background, he shared his experiences and elaborated on his association with Midtown. Rtn.Pramod was seemingly happy to be a part of the club, he mentioned his 'frank' thoughts and expressed concerns as well. “Donor fatigue” was one of the issues that he gently put up before the audience and he also mentioned that his perception of Rotary changed a tad after witnessing the events at TRF seminar. Upon asking what motivated him to donate to PHF contribution just after a few months of joining Rotaray, he shared that it was his tenth wedding anniversary and he thought that this was the best way of celebrating such a milestone event in his life. The smiling Doctor then went on to answer the tough questions thrown by the waiting Rotarians. Rtn.Gubbi prompted other speakers to use the answer “in the interest of women empowerment….” for any tricky questions that the audience would pose them.

It was then the turn of another cheerful doctor, Rtn.Dr.Apoorva. The latest bridegroom of the club who would enter into wedlock during last week of February looked at ease. He began his talk by requesting the president not to address them as newcomers, he said that the bonding is so strong that he does not feel like a new comer. Rtn.Apoorva went to explain about himself, his background, his education and about his fiancé. He admired Rtn.Dr.Ravindranath and Rtn.Dr.Prahlad and thanked them for supporting his professional life. He shared instances from his college days and narrated how he got his PG. One of the Rotarians asked about his fiancé and his eyes visibly lit up when he explained how he met his soulmate. He invited all Rotarians and family members to attend his wedding. Being a cricketer he promised to play better in coming days. Rtn.Apoorva looked relaxed and walked around the floor holding the mike and dodged intelligently at the 'bouncers' posed by Midtowners.

Rtn.Gopal Krishna came up with a powerpoint presentation to explain his profession and thoughts. He dedicated all his achievements and activities to his parents. He looked calm and composed while running thru his professional powerpoint which explained his family, vocation and personal interests. The tech geek was clear about his association with Rotary, he showed serious commitment with the club and assured to make sincere efforts in projects of the club. He divulged details about his ambitious project on “E-waste”. Rtn.Gopal handled the Q&A efficiently and smiled all along. The audience unanimously decided that he could be president material.

Rtn.Dr.Prahlad proposed vote of thanks in his inimitable style and Midtowners returned with a smile on their faces.

Candid talk by new members

Rare Bird visiting club

1. Is it the TRUTH ?

2. Is it FAIR to all concerned ?

3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER

FRIENDSHIPS?

Rotary Quiz

Answer : Option D

Q: First Innerwheel club in India was formed at Ahmedabad in the year -

a)1952b)1953c)1954d)1955

Date : 19-02-2014 Wednesday Time : 6:30pm

Please Attend

Sports award presentation

Venue : RCL Hall , JLB Road Mysore

RotaryInformation

The Lawrence Ellison Foundation, created

by Oracle Corp. (ORCL)'s chief executive,

pledged $100 million toward the effort to

eliminate polio, the Global Polio Eradication

Initiative said in a statement.The donation, $20 million of which was

given last year, will help fund the initiative's

$5.5 billion, six-year plan to eradicate the

disease, the group said in the statement. Nine

other philanthropic groups have made pledges

totaling $535 million, in addition to a $1.8

billion commitment made by the Bill &

Melinda Gates Foundation for efforts between

2013 and 2018, the GPEI said.The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is a

partnership between the World Health

Organization, Rotary International, U.S.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

and the United Nations Children's Fund. The

initiative said more than 35 government and

private donors pledged $4 billion to help

eradicate polio at a summit last April in Abu

Dhabi.Source:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-

08/ellison-foundation-pledges-100-million-

donation-to-end-polio.html

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Next Week Happy Valentine’s Day