JOIN USThe installation of the office-bearers of the Rotary Club of Bangalore, 2014-15, was held on Sunday at RV Teachers College.
This programme marked the 80 years of this club in the City. Rotarian Ram Kumarr Seshu and Rotarian Vivek Prabhu were elected as president and secretary respectively. The chief guest for the event was the Rotary International President Elect, KR Ravindran and the guest of honour was the District Governor, Manjunath Shetty.
The event kickstarted with a graceful odissi ensemble by eight dancers followed by a melodious invocation. After the lighting of the lamp, the immediate outgoing president, Rotarian Purnimaa Ranganath, mentioned the various projects that the club has committed themselves to such as the blood bank project and the rural schools in various areas that they helped build. This was followed by the formal installation where Ravindran tied the president collar to Ram Kumarr, who has been a member of the club since 2003.
In his address, he said that he has been able to “witness the evolution of the civic society and the individual Rotarians who have shaped the history of the City.” “This only humbles me and it is going to be a fantastic learning experience. I would like to acknowledge the past 80 presidents as their direction and effort have got us where we are. One of the primary areas of focus is going to be the education of the girlchild and under-privileged children.”
Following the address was the installation of the office bearers —÷ the President Elect, Vice-President, Joint Secretary, Treasurer and Sergeant at Arms and the board of directors. Rotarian Manjunath Shetty in his address thanked the outgoing president for leading the way and taking the Club forward and described Ram Kumarr as a ‘star president’.
He also mentioned that the club is planning to organise a three-day festival called ‘Rotary Festival of Skills’ in September. KR Ravindran also gave his address where he described the Rotary Club of Bangalore as ‘an illustrious club’ with about 2.6 crore worth of community projects and lauded the e-learning programme as a wonderful initiative.
“The core fundamentals with which the organisation was built are service, strong bonds of friendship and attendance. The Club will be measured by the quality of projects that are given back to the community. Rotary Club always looks for professional and potential workers who deliver back to the community.”
He added that charity was more than just an act of giving money and described one of Gandhi’s act of charity as “charity in its purest and highest form”.
“Charity is to give the heart, mind, talent and energy. The individual’s effort holds the fulcrum of the Club and at the core of the projects are one or two committed Rotarians. The difficult task is not money but manpower and resources.”
The new members to the club were also installed and the inaugural issue of ‘Rotator’ and a book which had certain nuggets of Rotary Bangalore, culled from the club’s archives, were released. The Paul Harris fellow members were announced and the programme commenced with Ram Kumarr announcing a green bond in the name of Ravindran and other senior members of the club.