OARSPEAK - Madras Boat...

OARSPEAKIn House Magazine | July 2016

BOAT CLUB NEWS

77th Madras -Colombo Regatta

MBC MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

& PORTFOLIOS (2015-16)

MADRAS BOAT CLUB 2. 3rd Avenue , R.A.Puram,Chennai-28

website : www.madrasboatclub.com

Contact Nos: 2435 3190 / 24354751/ 24339289

General Email : [email protected]

Chambers : [email protected]

Party Booking: [email protected]

General Manager: Mr G.N.Anban Ph:9840175947

Managing Editor : Sanjeev Kesu

Editorial Team : R. Krishnamohan,Sumana Narayanan

Content coordinator : Vandhana Madhok

Publisher : Rays Publications Pvt Ltd

4 | Club ElitE | July 2016

From the committee 5

From the Captain’s Desk 7

Breezing through Passport Office! 8

Fly away 10

77th Madras -Colombo Regatta 18

Inter-Club Water polo event @ MBC 20

Family Quiz at MBC 22

(Club Elite News)

PRESIDENTMR.M.R.RAVINDRA

CAPTAIN OF BOATSMR ABRAHAM KANDATHIL

HONORARY SECRETARYMR.SANJEEV KESU

HONORARY TREASURER MR.ASHISH GUPTA

MIC - HOUSEMR. VIKRAM MURTHY

MIC - GYM, SwIMMING POOlMR.G.V.SUBBA RAO

MIC - ENTERTAINMENT, ITMR.J.CHANDRAMOULI

MIC - CORPORATE AFFAIRS MR.CA THEAGARAJAN

COMMITEE MEMBERMR.S.SHANKAR

MIC - BAR MR.J.H.KUMAR

MIC - CATERINGMR.MURALI NATARAJAN

VICE CAPTAINMR. James Joseph

CONTENTS

From the committee

Dear Member,

One of the oldest rowing traditions still actively practiced, is the Madras - Colombo Regatta,that takes place every year with MBC and CRC taking turns to host the event. It was the Colombo Rowing Club’s turn to host this year’s Regatta and our team led by the Captain and Vice Captain of Boats travelled to Sri Lanka to settle some scores with the old foe on June 23rd 2016.

The rivalry on the water between MBC and CRC has always been intense and it was no different this time. The only difference was that the MBC challenge was spearheaded by the super man of Rowing , Rahul Baliga, who once again flew down from Canada, two weeks before the event and got himself battle ready in no time. He came mentally and physically prepared to row all four events against the host on their waters this time, which is a humungous ask .The warrior that he is, who seems to be rowing better with age, came through with flying colors , winning all four in style , thereby ensuring MBC won the Deepam Trophy. Siddharth Sunil ably supported Rahul in three of the four events and in the main event of the Regatta viz, “the Boat Race” the two veterans Rohit Ravindra and Tushar Bansal , coxed by Anirudh combined to leave the Colombo crew gasping all the way! It was a welcome result for MBC as we hadn’t managed to register an overall win on Colombo waters in the men’s events since 1998, which was the centennial year of the Regatta, when we won both the men’s and women’s overall trophies. A more detailed report on the 77th Madras – Colombo Regatta has been provided by the Captain on page 7

It has been a good year for MBC so far as we now hold the Hoogly Cup as well as the Deepam Trophy at the same time. However this would have been hard to achieve without the services of overseas based Rahul around whom our victories have primarily revolved, along with Siddharth. We need to build on our talent pool if we are to continue to be the force we are, in the future. Young Philip could be the man to watch out for in terms of leadership, going by his performance in Colombo . The club is today short of quality STROKES and we believe Philip can fill this gap, with Ram out of action due to injury. Saketh Reddy is also one of the rare talents around who can serve the club well for many more years to come and we need to build a squad around them.

Off the water front, the KING FISHER – EASY OARS bar is taking shape and we are all eagerly looking forward to the launch next month. Much to our relief, our insurance claim for flood damages has been approved and the final payment is expected any time. We

July 2016 | Club ElitE | 5

20TH July 2016

are quite satisfied with the approval that we have received, which would cover most o f the flood related damages. The major casualty of the flooding was the Easy Oars bar which is in the process of being restored and the insurance settlement could not have come at a better time. Our entire focus now is on completion of the bar and we are confident that the facility will be ready for use not later than 31 st August 2016. We are almost there!

For the committee, the restoration of the club to its pristine glory after being battered by the flood, has been the priority all through our term so far and we are happy that things are now falling into place on all fronts. We have had to face some challenges along the way but have overcome the hurdles as a committee and moved ahead. We can now start to plan our 150th year activity and prepare ourselves for all the festivities and celebrations ahead. Let us leave no stone unturned in making our sequsecentennial a memorable one.

Our hearty congratulations to our, member Arun Krishnan, who was recently crowned “Iron Man at Cairns , Australia. What he has achieved is truly remarkable and inspirational and we salute him for being the great sportsman that he is and a wonderful human being as well.

Best wishes,

Sanjeev Kesu

Honorary Secretary


MBC MEMBERS WHO WISH TO ADVERTISE IN OARSPEAK MAY CONTACT CLUB ELITERAYS PUBLICATIONS PVT.LTD

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Dear Member,

In my last mail, Team MBC was on its way for the 77th Madras Colombo meet. The Men’s Crews were expected to do well with Rahul Baliga knocking on the doors of history. He was attempting to become the 1st Rower, in the 118 year-old event, from either club, to win in all four boat classes for the second time. This time it was in Colombo waters. Rahul had previously achieved this feat six years ago in Chennai in 2010.

Well, those of you who read my mail on the Madras-Colombo meet will know that the attempt went well and Rahul did pull off an unprecedented “all four” again. His effort was basically the axis around which MBC won back the overall trophy, the Deepam Trophy in Colombo waters after a gap of 18 years. Siddharth Sunil, who is the first Rower from Tamil Nadu to win a Silver medal in Indian Rowing over 2000m, was an able partner to Rahul and he logged in three impressive wins with Rahul. These two went on to combine with Rohit Ravindra and Tushar Bansal (who have pulled off many wins in the coxless pairs and fours event in the past) in the fours to bring the tally of Points above that of Colombo Rowing Club. Anirudh Sanjeev did a great job as Coxswain of the A crew and in herding and maintaining the crews and team together.

So my applause and appreciation to all of Team MBC, including the men’s B team, the girls, the masters crew, and Coach James Joseph. But most of all to those who helped win the Trophies back – Rahul, Siddharth, Rohit, Tushar and Anirudh, and even more particularly to Siddharth Sunil for featuring in 3 of the 4 wins and Rahul Baliga for featuring in all of the 4 wins and becoming the only Rower to do so twice in the 118 year old event.

For those of you who may think that I am being repetitive, let me say again I do so because it is no small feat. Rahul’s Rowing capabilities, his quiet determination, discipline, clear thinking, total dedication, commitment, hard training, and leadership qualities make him stand a cut above the rest as a Rower.

Of the girls, Sumana Narayanan, a senior Club color, did well to keep pace with girls half her age. Fourteen year old Anushka Dhanda rowed as replacement for Roshini Mahadevan who suddenly took ill.

Dhitika Kota was the only girl rower from the senior girls squad to come in and try to do her best, along with Ranjana K, which was unfortunately not good enough against the tougher Colombo girls squad. Kavya Joseph bravely rowed her first race in Colombo waters in very unstable wind and water.The masters crew of Vinod Kumar, Karthik Venkatesan, Satish Kumar, and Sridhar Kumar Raja fought hard against a stronger Colombo Masters Crew. Sanjay Gandhi did a good job as Cox of the B fours. Abhishek Narayan and Sidesh Nair had good exposure in the event.

The mens B fours and Pairs did very well, but were unfortunate to lose by a literal whisker in the end. Siddharth Yadav, who stroked the B fours, fought a great fight but lost in the end. He has always been a never say die Rower for MBC. Pradhyumna Thangavel, whose father is a former Decathlete and a personal trainer even today, rowed the 2 position. He was brought back into rowing after unfairly being discarded last year for the Junior Double Sculls. Pradhyumna is now off to Australia for a career in Physical training. The boys who Rowed the B Pair, and the Bow pair in the B fours are going great guns. Philip James and Saketh Reddy have been selected to represent MBC for the Asia Cup in Singapore at the end of this month. Philip, the son of James Joseph, our Club’s top coach today, and Saketh, son of Sunil and Divya Reddy, are the next hot Rowing talent of MBC. Both have showed marked improvement in strength and endurance levels in the last couple of months.

SIddharth Sunil will Row for MBC in the Asia Cup open event in the single Sculls 2000m event in Singapore, while Philip and Saketh will do the double sculls under 19 event over 1000m. Among the girls, Priyanka Venkatesh will do the single scull and Anushka Dhanda and Ananya Thomas combine to do the double sculls in the under 19 category.

As I write this, Alex Mann, the Coach from Washington University USA, and Tteja Senthilnathan, the Junior High Coxswain from Boston USA, are packing their bags to arrive shortly in Chennai to run the 3-week Rowing camp that has generated some serious interest.

I would like to add, kudos and congratulations to:

- KK Arunkrishnan, Club Color of our Club (RA 10), who became the oldest Ironman in the state of Tamil Nadu, carving a niche in history for himself.

- Neville Billimoria another Club color and past Captain, who completed 1200 + km cycling in 94 hours, I’m told!! We certainly need to felicitate Neville who has become a brand name in the fitness, endurance event industry today.

I end with my thanks to the Rowing Council and Rowing enthusiasts who continue to do a great job in keeping the sport moving at MBC.

Best Regards

Abraham Kandathil

Captain of Boats

Madras Boat Club

From the Captain’s Desk


8 | Club ElitE | July 2016 Club Pages Continues on Page no -17

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BREEzING THROUGH PASSPORT OFFICE!

By R.V.Rajan ( LR-33)

Remember the time you went to the Regional Passport office to renew an old Passport or to get a new one? You had to stand in a long queue for hours, often jostling and fighting your way to the counter, only to be told that you had not filled up your application form correctly or you had forgotten to bring some document or the other.

Inside the hall where counters were located there used to be total confusion with no place for anyone to sit. Add to this, inadequate number of fans and visitors had to sweat it out for a couple of hours. It used to be especially tough on old and infirm people and a nightmare for everyone. Invariably you had to visit the passport office a couple of times before you managed to get your passport.

I am happy to tell you that all that seems to have changed. At least in Chennai! Today the whole procedure has been streamlined so well that you can apply for renewal of your Passport or a new one; online. You not only get instant acknowledgement, but also have a choice of three Centres where you can get an interview appointment. Senior citizens don`t even need an appointment. They can visit one of the three Centres in Chennai between 9 and 10 am on any working day. I did not believe the travel agent who helped me with the application formalities (since I am computer semi-literate!) that for senior citizens like me, the procedure would take less than 30 minutes. I had still gone prepared to wait for a couple of hours armed with a bottle of water, biscuits and some reading material. I was surprised to find a stall selling snacks and drinks inside the hall

(However, there was no opportunity for me to even open the magazine I was carrying!).

When I reached Saligramam, the location I had chosen, I was impressed with the new double-storied building with a professional security service manning the flow of people. I was directed to an enquiry counter for senior citizens. After checking my documents, the assistant gave me a token and asked me to go to the first floor and wait in the assigned hall for my name to be called. The fully air-conditioned hall with false ceiling and sleek looking stainless steel chairs with provision for seating more than 100 people at a time looked as impressive as the exterior of the building. Though there were more than 100 people already seated in the hall, I was surprised that my name was called even before I could take my seat in the hall. I was directed to a particular counter in another air-conditioned hall with more than 50 counters, fully equipped with a camera and a finger print machine-all manned by trained assistants.

The whole process of checking my application, clicking my photo, finger printing and collecting the fees took five minutes and the efficient assistant at the counter told me to wait in the adjacent hall for a final interview with an executive of the Regional Passport Office. Even here, as a senior citizen, I was given preference and called immediately to a counter. The executive concerned asked me some routine questions and told me that my passport would reach my house by courier within two weeks. I was out of the passport office within 20 minutes of entering it. I could not

believe it!

Throughout my brief stay I was made to feel like a VIP. And that too without the help of any middlemen, who have been completely eliminated thanks to the new system. It was a great feeling!

I was told that even for the general public which comes in larger numbers every day the time taken is less than 2 hours, but the important thing is that the waiting is made pleasant and comfortable, unlike the earlier days!

Later, I found out that the whole new system has been designed by TCS, the number one software giant of the country who have not only created the complete software for the project but are also providing trained man power to handle all the technical formalities. The government agents only have to satisfy themselves that the candidate is a genuine applicant. An excellent example of Public/Private sector partnership!

With the use of technology the government has already made life easier for tech savvy people who can now book tickets for rail and many other services online, eliminating the need for middlemen.

Technology, while making life easy for the general public should also help the government to get rid of the rampant corruption, if only it has the political will. I think our new tech savvy PM has that Will. Let us hope we will really see “Achhe Din” under the “Modi Sarkar”!

Feedback welcome on [email protected] or 9840392082


77Th MAdRAS -COLOMBO REGATTA

MBC @ THE OPENING CEREMONY

OVERALL CHAMPIONS - MBC

THE BOAT RACE wINNERS

THE TITANS OF THE TEAM!


77Th MAdRAS -COLOMBO REGATTA

PHILIP & SAKETH - B PAIR

KAVYA - MBC LADIES SINGLE SCULL

ANUSHKA & SUMANA @ THE FINISH

THE MBC A CREw ON THE BIERA LAKE

THE MBC B FOUR

SIDESH NAIR - B SCULLS


Inter-Club Water polo event @ MBC

On July 3, 2016, the swimming pool at the club was once again the scene of much activity. Six teams from four clubs in the city had got together for the annual water polo tournament. The clubs were the Royal Madras Yacht Club (RMYC), Gymkhana, MCC, and of course MBC. Gymkhana and MBC fielded two teams each.After some interesting matches, one semi-final saw MCC face off against Gymkhana A. Gymkhana looked to be comfortable with a 3-1 lead. Then in the last 2 minutes, MCC scored 3 goals to pip Gymkhana to the final against MBC A. The final too was a nail biter with the scores level at 1-1 at the final whistle. The match went into extra time. In the resulting penalty shootout, MCC got the better of MBC A with a score of 2-1.Asif of RMYC was adjudged the Best Player of the Tournament, with the maximum number of goals scored.

Asif of RMYC is adjudged Best Player


Inter-Club Water polo event @ MBC


Family Quiz at MBC

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