2017-2018 • Edition no.14oCtoBER 3, 2017

4 PagEs

The Lighthouse Bulletin ofThe Rotary Club of Madras

PREsidEnt Rtn. P. n. Mohan

HonoRaRy sECREtaRy Rtn. nikhil Raj

iMMEdiatE Past PREsidEnt Rtn. dr. n.V. arulmozhi Varman

PREsidEnt ELECt Rtn. Ranjit Pratap

PREsidEnt noMinEE Rtn. dr. Vjaya Bharathi Rangarajan

asst. sECREtaRy / BULLEtin EditoR Rtn. sandhya sridhar

diRECtoR CLUB adMinistRation Rtn. R. Rajenderan

diRECtoR yoUtH sERViCE Rtn. M sesha sai

diRECtoR PUBLiC iMagE and FUnd Raising Rtn. Vikram Chesetty

diRECtoR RotaRy FoUndation & intERnationaL sERViCEs Rtn. M. Balasubramaniam

diRECtoR sERViCE PRoJECt 1 Rtn. Balaji Chinni

diRECtoR sERViCE PRoJECt 2 Rtn. Usha Umapathi

diRECtoR VoCationaL sERViCE Rtn. s. Ravi

tREasURER (CLUB FUnds) Rtn. Hemant P. Chordia

tREasURER (CHaRitaBLE tRUst) Rtn. nimish C. tolia

tREasURER (sPECiaL PRoJECts) Rtn. Prabha srinivasan

Control of Breath

Mr. Shantanu Dasharath opened his talk by saying

that Pranayama is about the breath which continues uninterrupted

in all of us. But we never observe it. We realize its presence only when there is a crisis situation in our body/life and breathe a sigh of relief.

The ideal breath rate per minute according to the Master, is around 15 to 10 per minutes for an individual. The fundamental fact is that one has to watch the breath and be introduced to learning Pranayama. He ascertains that if one practices it for two months, he can surely see a great change in his system.

Dasharath demonstrated the basic breathing exercise by requesting the gathering to watch the rhythm of their own breathing, when taking a deep breathing and releasing it. One can observe the great sense of relaxation that is taken into the system. So one has to understand that the breathing process involves inhaling and exhaling.

According to the Master, the diaphragm is the very, very important part of breathing. The diaphragm serves as the main muscle of respiration and plays a vital role in the breathing process. The lungs have the capacity to breathe five litres, but human being breathes only 500 ml; the rest of the lungs are not used. Actually, the best deep breathing

is that the abdomen has to inflate more so that the lungs enlarge.

If we breathe at the best, we hardly will have any disease barring a few genetic ones. The small day-to-day diseases like headaches, body pain, stress, etc. can be very well-managed by practicing pranayama.

Since breathing is a voluntary activity, one can control it over a period of time by having training in breathing exercises and that’s all about the science of pranayama, was his take. In the earlier days, yogis who were proficient in yoga lived for more than 100 years as they did not measured the span of life by the number of years, but measured it by their breath; and they had the ability to control it.

Then the Master demonstrated the alternate nostril breathing method, which all present participated. One can control the rhythms of pranic energy with pranayama and achieve a healthy body and mind, was his statement.

Pranayama practice benefits the body and mind, increases and enhances the quantity and quality of breath, soothes, cleanses, calms, heightens the spirit, makes one energetic, enthusiastic and positive, gives clarity of thought.

The Master offers yoga expertise at 136.1 Yoga Studio.

Mr Shantanu Dasharath, Master in Yogic Science, spoke of the benefits of pranayama at last week’s RCM meeting

“While remembering the gala RCM Dandiya Nite celebrations on September 20th, the happy thought that every child – not merely a few – were able to take home a gift that evening (a Starmark voucher) made me break out in a big smile!”

- Rtn. Shakthi Girish

Happiness is people and the simplest of moments gives us joy.

Rtn. Archana Shri Sanjay, shares her smiley moment of this week with us:

Wherein our fellow Rotarians and Spouses share their happy moments of this week.

the Reason for their smile

The Lighthouse

MINUTESOctober 3, 2017

oCtoBER 3, 2017 2page

Sgt-at-arms Rtn. Jayant Hemdev collared President Rtn. P.N. Mohan, who called

the 14th meeting of RCM to order.The Rotary Invocation song was played.The minutes of the 26th Sept’17 meeting

was duly confirmed.The President communicated the sad

news that a close friend of RCM, Mr. M. Ramaswamy, Chairman, Loyal Textile Group had passed away. One minute silence was observed by all present.

President welcomed visiting Rtn. D. S. Reddy, guests introduced by members and Probus Club members, Namasivayam and Chari and spouses attending the meeting.

Birthday and wedding anniversary wishes were extended by President to the respective Rotarians/spouses who celebrate that week.

President RT Namasivayam, Probus Club informed members that it was RCM that had sponsored them in 1992 and their silver jubilee had been celebrated last year in June 2016.He thanked RCM for the financial support of Rs 50,000.He invited members for the elders day celebrations on Oct 4 at Russian Centre at 3 pm, where President P.N. Mohan will present mementos to the elderly who have completed 75, 80, 90 years & golden wedding anniversary. President requested members to attend the same.

Rtn. PS Jagdish, Chair, Golf Committee said that Mr. Vardhman Jain, son of Rtn. Mahinder Jain, has supported the Golf tournament regularly. A memento was presented to Rtn. Mahinder Jain in recognition of their support amidst applause. He said that the collection drive for Golf was in full swing and so far committed upto 1 crore. He humbly requested members to approach their contacts and corporates for sponsorship, donations, prizes & giveaways. He requested members to extend support by sponsoring banners, tee-boxes etc. He said that a

detailed mail will be circulated in the near future.

Rtn. R. Rajendran, Director, Club Service reminded members about the Full Club Fellowship ‘Oktoberfest’ scheduled on the 8th Oct’17. He requested members to warn in. The President added that Rtn. Madhav had planned this fun-filled evening on a grand scale and requested members to come in large numbers with spouses.

President said that the previous week he had mentioned the 125th High Court celebrations. He acknowledged Rtn. Shaan for collaborating with Madras Players and enacting the yesteryears of the HC, which was well received. The play had Rotarians participating along with others. President applauded the great work of Rtn. Shaan in organising the play.

President informed members that on the Vijayadasami day, the Perambakkam Bhoomi puja was performed, where senior officials of TCS had attended.TCS has funded Rs 4 crores for the construction of the school. Rtn. Verghese Chummar had made a survey of the soil and Rtn. PP Paul Jacob will be taking it forward and the building will be started in due course.

President requested members to block the tickets in advance for the Sivaji 90 which is on the 21st Oct’17. Around 250 tickets have already been sold and sponsorship of Rs 10 lacs collected. Rtn. Anil Srinivasan is organising the event along with Rtn. Shakthi Girish, Rtn. M. Balasubramaniam, Rtn. TG Thyagarajan and Rtn. Ramkumar. Many film stars and play back singers will be on the stage. Since there is a huge demand, he requested members to inform Rtn. Nalini and Rtn. Vikram Chesetty so that the tickets could be reserved. This is

due to the bulk booking of tickets by the Sivaji fan clubs. Denominations : Rs. 5000, Rs. 3000, Rs. 2000, Rs. 1000, Rs. 750, Rs. 500, Rs. 300.

President said that PRIP Rtn. KR Ravindran will be with us for a special meeting on 28th Oct’17,where he will be taking questions regarding his Rotary journey. RCM and other clubs from the District will be present for this evening meeting at Crowne Plaza. This exclusive Q & A session will be conducted by Rtn. PP Shivkumar. Requested members to attend.

Secretary Rtn Nikhil Raj announced that the next regular weekly meeting will be on the 17th Oct and Dr. Uma will be the speaker.

There will be no meeting on the 10th Oct’17, which is substituted on the 28thOct’17 evening.

Rtn. Dr. Venkatesh Munikrishnan introduced the guest speaker Mr. Shantanu Dasharath, a Yoga Consultant and teacher at 136.1 Yoga Studio. Inspired by the ancient science of Yoga & Philosophy, Shantanu teaches the science of yoga to help people grow internally as well as externally.

Mr. Shantanu spoke on the Science of Pranayama and how to control breath, with useful tips, followed by an interesting Q&A session.

President presented a memento and RCM's 80 year history book 'A Timeless Legacy' to the speaker.

Rtn. Anand Vurgese thanked speaker Shantanu for his absorbing talk and detailing on the breathing techniques to be practised and the benefits of the same.

The meeting was then adjourned.

Editing courtesy: Rtn. Sunita Suresh

11th Oct – Rtn Aditya Agarwal11th Oct – Rtn Sandhya Sridhar14th Oct – Rtn Vijayshankar Balaji

15th Oct Rtn PDG Benjamin Cherian R15th Oct – Rtn PP V Ganesan10th Oct – Ann. Deepam R (Rtn G Ravindran)12th Oct – Ann. Rashmi (Rtn Bharat B Mohindra)13th Oct – Ann. Umagowri (Rtn N Subramanian)16th Oct – Ann. Meenakshi (Rtn K Krishnan)

10th Oct – Rtn PDG Benjamin Cherian R Ann. Valsa14th Oct – Rtn Vipin Sachdev-Ann. Somna16th Oct – Rtn Archana Shri Sanjay Spouse: Sanjay Balram

Birthday WEddiNG16th Oct – Ann. Janak (Rtn PDG S Krishnaswami)16th Oct – Ann. Uma (Rtn Ranjit Pratap)16th Oct – Ann. Susan (Rtn Sapru Mathew)16th Oct – Ann. Bhagyalakshmi (Rtn PP MC Shanker)

The LighthouseoCtoBER 3, 2017 3page

On Behalf of President, Board and members of the Rotary Club of Madras, the Dandiya

Committee would like to thank all the following Rotarians who have helped making this event a Grand Success both in terms of Funds collected and the participation of all our members and their familes and friends.

Thank you all once again. Rotarians who helped get Donors in alphabetical order:

Rotarians & Spouses who helped obtain gifts and giveaways:Ashok Doshi ......................................... 25,000Ashok Thakkar ..................................... 25,000Indira ................................................... 10,000Krishnamurthy Vijayan ........................18,000Mahita Suresh ........................................ 5,000Mahmud Jamal ...................................... 5,000Nalini ...................................................20,000PP.Srikanth ...........................................12,500Prasad PB ............................................. 10,000Prospective Rotarian ............................. 3,000Raghunath ............................................. 5,000Ranjith Pratap ........................................7,500Roopa Shetty ........................................ 28,000Shakthi ..................................................18,000Sharon .................................................... 3,000Sonika Jain ............................................ 5,000Suresh Kumar ...................................... 10,000Usha Umapathy ....................................15,000Vijay Kadel ........................................... 25,000Vivek Pai ................................................ 3,000

Thank you!

Abhay MehtaAditya AggarwalAnand RengaswamyArjun AnanthBalakrishna RaoBharat PujaraDr Vijaya BharatiHari KrishnanHiren ShahJagdish P S Krishnamurthi VijayanM C ShankarMahendra ParmarMohan Kumar Subramanyam

Natraj RamiahNimish ToliaP B PrasadP SureshP. N. MohanRajendra SbanayagamRamakant AkulaRanjith RathodRtn Harby RatthaRtn V. RajaSri GarapatiSumit KarlaSunita SureshSuresh KumarVikram Chesetty

BANNER DONORS

The LighthouseoCtoBER 3, 2017 4page

Take happy, yet meaningful selfies at lunch, send them on to the Editor of the Lighthouse on +91 98400 82347

and see them published here!

MOMENTS AT MEETINGThis week, we present to you two selifes.

Two for one!

EditEd aNd PUBLiShEd By: Rtn. asst. secretary, Rotary Club of Madras, ‘Rayala towers’, 2nd Mezzanine Floor, 158, anna salai, Chennai - 2, Ph: 28591020.

Contact the editor at: sandhyasridhar@gmail.com.design: www.studiodescience.com

Visit: www.rotarymadras.in Contact club secretariat at: office@rotarymadras.in

Editor: Rtn. Sandhya Sridhar; Advisor: PP Rtn. Ravi KatariEDITORIAL COMMITTEE: Rtn. Mohan Raman, Rtn. Sunita Suresh,

Rtn. Shaan Katari Libby, Rtn. Biswajit Babu, Rtn. Shakthi Girish, P S Sridharan

Send in your articles, news, write-ups to be considered for publication here on rcmlighthouse@gmail.com. Be in touch with the Lighthouse,

your very own RCM magazine!

Rtn. YESWANTH SRINATH

Best compliments from:

iNNEr WhEEL

diStriCt 3232 – ryLa Sri LaNKa

One of the ongoing projects of the Inner Wheel Club of Madras

for the past 20 plus years is the Barbara Kelly Home for girls from the economically weaker sections of society. We reopened after the summer break with 28 girls, in June 2017.

In August we had the Independence Day celebrations as well as the Club General Body Meeting at the home. Dr. Vasudha was the Chief Guest and she interacted with the girls and had a group games session with them. The children were provided with special snacks and they enjoyed themselves immensely.

At the school sports meet conducted at the Ellen Sharma School, one of our girls Lekhasri, made us proud by winning the all-round championship.

Our members have been visiting the home on weekends to spend time with the children and to help them with their studies.

With the help of one of our members, the children are preparing for the invocation dance that will be performed by them at the District Diwali celebrations, Malalai Oli, at the Nehru Stadium on October 7th 2017.

We make sure the children are given the best so that they have a good future like so many who have passed out from here over the years.

The Barbara Kelly Home is a Project of the Inner Wheel Club of

Madras.Mrs. Mala Rajender,

Chairman, Barbara Kelly Home

An International RYLA meet was held from 29th September to 1st October in Sri Lanka for the Annettes of the Rotary Clubs of Chennai, District

3232. This was organised by Dr. Dakshayani, District Chairperson, Annettes. In this trip, we recognised the work done by the NGO, Foundation of

Goodness. Foundation of Goodness is a not-for-profit NGO run by Mr. Kushil Gunasekara located in the Seenigama village. It is an organisation that works towards the development of the people of Seenigama, a village near Hikkaduwa.

Here, at the Foundation of Goodness they provide people with sports education and training for various sports such as cricket, swimming and netball in the MCC Centre of Exellence. They have trained known entities such as Tharindu Kaushal.

The NGO also provides courses like cooking, sewing, etc. as part of their women-empowerment programme. We were taught to play cricket, make craft and even cooked a few Sri Lankan dishes.

We visited a Turtle Hatchery that is run to protect endangered and handicapped turtles. The Hikkaduwa Beach was a very scenic place and we enjoyed a glass-boat ride.

The trip was fun-filled and we Annettes got to bond and had lots of fun. It was also an eye-opener to us, where we got to visit such a renowned organisation and appreciate the selfless service of Mr. Kushil.

The trip was full of memories that we will cherish for a lifetime. Many thanks to Dr. Dakshayani for organising such a wonderful trip and for having taken care of all of us extremely well.

Annette Shruthi Chinni is the daughter of our own Rtn. Balaji Chinni.

Okay, now this is strictly not a selfie, but well ... can we say no to this lively Spouse group that attended last week’s meeting? Here

they are, all ready for a round of Pranayama!

Just before the meeting begins – this group has been ‘selfied’ before the Rotarians took their seats in time for the meeting to begin.

Celebrations at BK Home

Memories for a lifetime- Annette Shruthi Chinni