Movies are cultural markers and good ones make us better people

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Movies are cultural markers and good ones make us better people
BULLETIN OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF BOMBAY
                                    for private circulation only | www.rotaryclubofbombay.org
Vol. 55             Issue No. 14                   Mumbai                October 1 to October 7, 2013                 Pages 8                Price R3/-

        Movies are cultural markers and
        good ones make us better people
                                   – Anupama Chopra

B      eing a film critic sounded
       so much fun when I heard
       Vita Jalaj Dani introduce
me. Wow! I have never heard my
                                                                                                                     there are opinions expressed
                                                                                                                     every minute. So what makes my
                                                                                                                     opinion more valid than yours?
                                                                                                                          It does not really. I think of
life described so glamorously. But                                                                                   myself more as a tastemaker, a sort
then, it is not half as glamorous. I                                                                                 of consumer guide because I see a
want to give you some idea of what                                                                                   lot of films. There is no school one
film critics do and what our lives                                                                                   goes to to learn how to be a film
are like as far our interlink with                                                                                   critic. I have done a Masters in
movies is concerned.                                                                                                 Journalism and a film appreciation
   Everybody is engaged with                                                                                         course. But you become a film
cinema in some way and it has a                                                                                      critic only by watching movies. I
profound impact on us. We have                                                                                       see about four-five movies every
all grown up aping fashions and                                                                                      week and perhaps experience
behaviour that we saw in films; for                                                                                  more movies than most people.
Indians, Bollywood movies more                                                                                            Thus, I am not necessarily
than Western cinema. Bollywood                                                                                       more informed, but perhaps have
is a sort of cultural marker that tells                                                                              a more informed opinion. I am
us what’s in and what’s out. So I         time watching them. But I think       unruly-looking African-Americans     just your first line of defence, like
think it is important that we look        when you see a really powerful        walking toward me, I would be a      the front row of soldiers. I will
at movies with a new perspective.         film, it gives you an insight into    bit nervous. The film, which is      experience a film before you and
     Late Roger Ebert, one of the         life that you did not have before.    based on a true incident, made       feel I can tell you about whether
greatest American film critics,                Recently I saw Fruitvale         me look at the other side and gave   I had a good time or a bad time.
once said that of all the arts,           Station, which released last week     me a different perspective of what   I need to give you reasons, to tell
movies are the most powerfully-           in India and which is about the       life is. Again, take for example     you why I was bored or why I was
aped and that good ones make              last day in the life of a 22-year-    The Lunchbox, which gave me          engaged, and then maybe you can
us better people. When you see a          old African-American man who is       an insight into the harrowing        decide whether you want to spend
film there is great pleasure and so       shot down in Fruitvale station in     loneliness of people in this city!   three hours and many thousands of
people always think film critics          the Bay Area of San Francisco. I          The question, though, is:        rupees that it costs in watching the
are snobs who just want to watch          consider myself to be evolved and     why is a movie critic important.     film. I think of myself as testing
boring arty movies. I love big loud       not racist, but if I was in America   Today, in a world of social media,   the waters before you.
entertaining films and have a great       and there was a group of young        everybody has a platform and              Sometimes I have what I

     Today’s Speaker (October 1): Ms Meera Sanyal on ‘India at a Tipping Point – Let’s Take a Stand’

October 1 to October 7, 2013                       THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay                                            1
Movies are cultural markers and good ones make us better people
call my existential crisis. Who          we also do star interviews. We also
cares about what I say? I thought        do talent interviews, which means
Grand Masti was an appalling and         that I am interviewing Shahrukh
aggressively offensive movie; but        Khan on one Friday and the next
now it is the fifth biggest hit of the   Friday I am ripping his film apart
year! It is clear then that I do not     and the Friday after that I will
agree with most movie-goers in           probably see him at school because
this case. What I just want to be is     his kids are at the same school
your movie companion, the friend         as mine, and then it is just very
that you might want to talk to about     awkward. I honestly wish there
movies. I also believe that my           was some way to not have that
tastes are fairly populist. I also had   engagement.
an existential crisis with Chennai            In the US, critics for The New
Express, which I did not enjoy at        York Times or The New Yorker do
all and which is now officially the      not interact with the film industry. I
biggest hit ever.                        do not know if it is necessarily more
     What I look for in a movie          objective but you are completely
is engagement. Entertainment is          removed from the workings of
engagement by evoking emotion.           the film industry. We do not have
The worst movies are the ones            that and I am in a state of double
that are middle-of-the-road, where       compromise because I am also
sitting through is a torture. I have,    married to Vidhu Vinod Chopra,
however, never walked out of a           a film director. I am in a sense the
film, because it would be unethical.     original Trishanku because I have
I have a list of movies that are so      one foot in and one foot out. I know
bad that they are good, so awful         what it is like when Vinod’s films
that they start to be fun. So there      get bad reviews. He does not care
are those and there are the really       because he thinks he is a genius no
good ones.                               matter what. But it is tough.
     Like I said, I watch about               The thing that many people do
four-five films a week, both             not remember is that it is finally
English and Hindi. The English           professional. It is a judgement on
are usually shown on a Monday            the film that you have created. The
or Tuesday, the Hindi ones usually       funniest reaction I have ever had        said this wrong.                       review anything my sister makes.
on a Thursday. If it is a Yash Raj       is from Ram Gopal Verma after                The other thing that is            These are the ethics I try to follow.
film then it is shown on Friday          I called his horror film Agyat an        important is ethical standards.        There are always rumours about
morning. All of us run to whatever       “awful movie”. We met during             Film criticism is finally a point of   reviews being bought, but in 20
studio we record in. I record at         the premiere of an English movie,        view: there is no right and wrong.     years no one has tried to offer me
Mehboob and have a standing set          and I remember he simply looked              Ethical standards for critics      any money. Finally, as a film critic
there. I write the review in the car,    at me, screamed loudly and ran in        in the West are extremely high.        all you have is your credibility.
which is an awful way to gauge           the other direction. Akshay Kumar        The New York Times, for instance,      We all have inbuilt biases but we
somebody’s work but that is how          also does not talk to me because I       did not allow Rachel Salts, who        should put them on the table and be
it is. In America a film is shown        hated Rowdy Rathore. Sometimes           reviews Hindi movies for the           as honest as we can.
two weeks in advance for critics to      it feels bad that what you do            newspaper, to review 3 Idiots              I am often asked if film critics
mull and write a review and give         evokes such response; but what do        because I do freelance work for        affect the box office. I say clearly
the film the respect it deserves.        you do?                                  the newspaper and had once had         not. I do not have such arrogance as
Most filmmakers here do not want              Social networking has made          coffee with Salts.                     to say that I am making a difference
to do that. I have argued, begged,       fans very vocal and sometimes                We, on the other hand, live        to box office collections. Probably
but it does not work. So we end          it gets really nasty on Twitter.         in an environment where news           what I can do is point you in the
up writing reviews late Thursday         Salman’s fans, for example, really       is bought. News content can be         direction of a small movie that you
night or Friday morning. It is, thus,    went after me because I did not          bought and everybody knows it.         normally would not go to — to a
the gut-level response to a movie        like Bodyguard. For about two            You can buy and it is all official.    Lunchbox, to a Ship of Theseus,
which for me is usually right. It has    weeks after Bodyguard, I had to          It is, thus, very important that       to the next smaller film that is
not happened too often that I have       have a bodyguard.                        we hold ourselves to the highest       valuable, worthy and deserves
gone back and looked at a film and            Film criticism has to be a two-     standards. I especially have to        your time.
said that I feel differently about it    way street. I am not some great          be Caesar’s wife, to be above              Here, I want to share with you
now.                                     pundit on the movies but nobody          suspicion. I do not review anything    five films that I think you should
     The tricky thing is and this is     can tell me that I am talking            that Vinod makes or produces --        see. The first is Aguirre: The Wrath
the big problem for all critics, at      rubbish. I really value people who       not even the movies produced by        of God, a film about a group who go
least for those in television, is that   say you are doing this right, you        his production house. I also do not    into Peru looking for the fatal city

  2                                             THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay                        October 1 to October 7, 2013
Movies are cultural markers and good ones make us better people
of El Dorado and slowly descend
into madness. It is a story about
the hubris of man. The second is
Amelie, a sweet French film about
a waitress who grows up in a very
eccentric sort of way to take it upon
herself to fix everyone’s life. The
third is Cinema Paradiso, an Italian
film about the relationship between
a little boy and a projectionist in
the theatre and how actual physical
cinema impacts their lives. The
other film is Pan’s Labyrinth, a
Mexican movie, which is half
fantastical, half realistic. The last
film is Raise the Red Lantern, a
film by a Chinese director about
a woman who becomes the fourth
concubine of a rich man and then
realises that the only escape is        has to be waged and requires a          Hollywood or Bollywood movies           Times of India dictated by the
death.                                  lot of money. I do not know who         because on the one hand you             revenue they can get from
                                        the backers of The Good Road            have entertainment and on the           advertisements? And secondly,
Excerpts from a Q&A session:            are, but do they have the ability       other there is art which has            do you think this policy of not
                                        to campaign? They need to do so         nothing to do with facts. To my         showing films to critics more
Q: How important is an Oscar            because they will be up against 70      mind there is no such thing as          than a day in advance has
nomination to the Indian movie          movies. In order to get into the        good or bad art. Your comment...        something to do with grabbing
industry and your take on               final five one needs to have about                                              as many screens as you can in
the latest movie that has been          6,000 Academy members watch             Anupama Chopra: I agree, but            the first week?
nominated for the Oscars.               the film. I do not think people on      to completely box Bollywood as
                                        the ground really know this. An         only entertainment and nothing to       Anupama Chopra: It would not
Anupama Chopra: I have not              advantage The Lunchbox had is           do with grey cells is too simplistic.   be right to comment on reviews
watched The Good Road and               that it has already been picked up      I love Bollywood and am a big           appearing in The Times of India
it would be unfair to comment           for distribution by Sony Picture        champion of it; when I criticise        since I do not know whether they
on which is a better film – The         Classics, gone to the Telluride and     Bollywood films, I do it with           sell review space. As for why films
Lunchbox or The Good Road.              Toronto film festivals and won an       utmost affection. In terms of art,      are not shown in advance it could
Oscars are extremely important, not     award at Cannes. It is on the radar     definitely there are some things        be because filmmakers might feel
because we need approval from the       of every critic in the West. The        you will connect with and some          critics will watch a film and tweet
West, but because it is the biggest     Lunchbox may perhaps have been          things you will not and that works      immediately. Sometimes, if it is
movie platform in the world and if      a smarter strategic move.               at every level. And then there are      bad buzz, it could affect the box
we get a nomination we get noticed                                              always good films and bad films.        office. In the West, critics sign a
and it benefits the entire industry.    Q: I feel that one has to be slightly                                           non-disclosure agreement and do
It is like a political campaign that    schizophrenic while watching            Q: Are reviews such as in The           not talk before the movie releases.

                                        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 1 to October 7, 2013                     THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay                                                3
Movies are cultural markers and good ones make us better people
September at a glance
                           Sangita Jindal on her deep love for art
R
      eminiscing about her continuing love
      affair with art, Sangita Jindal said
       that her interest in art was sparked
by her mother who told her that it was
more important to develop an appreciation
for artwork than shop for jewellery. While
sharing her personal journey of learning
about life through art and heritage, Sangita
said that her youth was spent hobnobbing
with artists and other creative individuals at
a time when art was neither fashionable nor
viewed as an asset. She fondly recalled how
her mother, whose vision was unbounded,
had bought an M F Hussain painting for Rs
200 only and how she had later established
the Kanoria Centre for Arts in Ahmedabad.
    Sangita's real engagement with art and
culture happened when she met Dr Jamshed
Bhabha who asked her to start a centre at the
NCPA. The Jindal Arts Creative Interactive
Centre (JACIC) was started in 1994 and,
through it, she met theatre persons, artists
and musicians from whom she learnt a lot.
She also began acquiring art with a view to
build a corporate collection and today, the
Jindal Corporate Collection of Art consists
of approximately 500 paintings by leading
contemporary Indian artists.
    Sangita, who now hopes to build a
contemporary art museum in Mumbai, also
expressed happiness that she was able to start
the Art India magazine, an important forum
for discussing and appreciating art practices;     2004; restore four heritage temples in Hampi, from Museum Victoria in Melbourne and having
be associated with the Kala Ghoda Arts             Karnataka, and also be awarded by UNESCO it installed in Kaladham, a new art complex in
Festival as chairperson in the period 2000-        for the effort; besides bringing the Hampi exhibit Karnataka.

       Venky Mysore on why ignorance is sometimes bliss
S
     o m e t i m e s ,
      ignorance is bliss
      and the lack of
knowing what the truth
is helps one achieve
greater milestones.
    Venky Mysore is a
firm believer that when
one has more questions
than answers, one gets
interesting     answers
that help acquire a
fresh       perspective.
He feels that this is
the advantage that
he brings to both the
business of cricket
and Bollywood. For
someone who aspired
to make it to the top
in cricket when he was
young, Venky, as CEO
and MD of IPL team
Kolkata Knight Riders
(KKR), has come full
circle.
    In his talk Venky
opined that although
IPL of late is not
being viewed very

  4                                              THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay            October 1 to October 7, 2013
Movies are cultural markers and good ones make us better people
favourably, it is a transformation       make tickets electronic,
that has taken place in a sport that     enable order and delivery
was already extremely popular.           of food and beverage
According to him, IPL has been a         products to the fan’s seat
huge change because from always          at the press of a button
supporting the national team             and, finally, give the fan
people are now supporting city-          an experience that stays
based teams.                             with him forever.
    Narrating the many aspects of            His            finance
managing a cricket team, building        background          makes
its brand through innovations and        Venky a stickler for
also bringing about a turnaround         structures and processes,
in the KKR’s fortunes, Venky             and he stated that the
said that making a connect with          BCCI has to put better
cricket-lovers and ensuring their        structures     in    place
support for the team is the biggest      and involve owners
challenge for every franchise.           in decision-making in
    His plans for the future are to      order to engage the
wi-fi enable the Eden Gardens,           franchise holders.

           Values need to be inculcated when one is young, feel
                 Ambarsingh Magar and Vishnu Zende

A
       mbarsingh               Magar,    and students, and believes that it           Resolute about the value of     age of learning. Children are
       principal       of      Colaba    is the ability to motivate children      ethical and humane conduct, both    like wet clay and hence need to
       Municipal          Secondary      that distinguishes a “teacher”           Ambarsingh and Vishnu feel that     be moulded with the right values
School, and Vishnu Zende, who            from a “good teacher”. He feels          Kasab, albeit young, was past the   before they harden.
singlehandedly saved many lives          that counselling, motivation and
during the 26/11 terror attacks          getting parents to understand the
in Mumbai, captivated Rotarians          process is what a teacher should
with their inspiring stories of          always be able to do.
accomplishment.                              Winner of the Rotary Award
    Ambarsingh's undying love for        for Bravery 2013, Vishnu Zende
the profession and endless support       is an employee of the Railways
towards his students was manifest        and a karma yogi. He is regarded
in his statement that there is           as a saviour by thousands of
something very satisfying about a        commuters who were travelling on
smile on a child’s face and it is this   Mumbai’s trains on the fateful day
smile that motivates him to work         of 26/11. Vishnu himself escaped
harder and look ahead.                   a stray bullet by a whisker, but
    Recalling his first job at a BMC     his continuous announcements
school in Mulund, Ambarsingh             over the railways’ public address
expressed gratitude that the Club        system, guiding people to safe
often helped him support a few           exits, helped many from being
students who did not have the            mowed down by the terrorists’
means to pay fees through school.        bullets.
Winner of the Rotary Award                   He believes that it is crises that
for Teaching 2013, Ambarsingh            test the character of a person and
believes that people always              lives his life by the adage that all
support good causes and that with        relationships are symbiotic. As
the support of the Rotary Club of        an announcer in the Railways for
Bombay and the Salaam Bombay             17 years, he has developed bonds
Foundation he will be able to do         with many people who commute
more.                                    regularly and so when the 26/11
    Ambarsingh, a gyan yogi, is          incident happened, he “could think
an inspiration for both teachers         only of moving people to safety”.

October 1 to October 7, 2013                       THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay                                         5
Movies are cultural markers and good ones make us better people
A recap of activities in September
A
       s the Club gears up for the     contents whenever they feel like.      were present in large numbers              As part of the Bhavishya
       coming festive season, it           Membership:                        and helped in forming the longest      Yaan project, the Club, Vidya
       looks back on some high             Bandhan, the fourth ACE            human chain to campaign on the         and The Museum Society of
points of September.                   Inter City Forum on Membership         issue.                                 India conducted a Ganesha idol-
    Bulletin and Website:              for the South Zone clubs, held on          Helpers Day was celebrated         making workshop for students of
The Rotary Club of Bombay now          September 1, 2013, and co-hosted       by members of Rotaract Interact        the Colaba Municipal Secondary
has a revamped website. Not only       by the Rotary Club of Bombay, at       Club and students of Class 10 of       School. The workshop began with
does www.rotaryclubofbombay.           the Indian Merchants Chamber,          St. Anne’s Girls High School on        power-point presentations on idol-
org have a new look, a few             Churchgate, was a huge success.        August 14. The celebrations began      making, after which clay, water
useful features have also been         The highlights of the event were       by welcoming all helpers who           and flowers were distributed.The
incorporated      for    the   easy    the excellent presentations by         keep the school clean. A prayer        students also engaged in aarti and
engagement and benefit of              DS Preeti Shah, AGs Anita,             service was also held for them. It     visarjan ceremonies.
members. Attendance Module             Pradeep Saxena, Padmakar and           was the first time that the school’s       A three-day Science Camp on
is one such feature which              PPs Ravindra Shetty, Hemant            helpers were formally felicitated.     ‘Renewable and Non Renewable
members can use to view their          Koradia, Quresh Karachiwala,           Principal Sr. Romana also              Energy Resources’ was conducted
updated attendance details month       Sohini Patel and Nitin Doshi.          announced that the school would        by Vidya for 130 Bhavishya Yaan
on month. Two videos — on              The Rotary Club of Bombay was          henceforth celebrate August 14         children of standards 6-9 at the
Community Service projects of the      represented by President Nirav         every year as Helpers Day.             Colaba School during the Ganpati
Club and on "Making the World a        Shah, IPP Nowroze Vazifdar, PP             A three-day science camp           holidays.
Better Place" theme — has been         Pradeep Saxena and Rtn. Jamshyd        on ‘Our Universe and the Solar             A special Bhavishya Yaan
uploaded which members can             Vazifdar.                              System’ was conducted at G. K.         brochure was launched on
share with friends, colleagues and         Basic       Education       and    Marg, a Bhavishya Yaan school.         September 24 with the objective
even prospective donors.               Literacy:                              Interactive sessions, power-point      of encapsulating the extensive
    Accolades:                             The Interact Club of Gopi          presentations and videos aided         work being carried out by the team.
    Hans Khimji is all praise for      Birla Memorial School took part in     explanations for 27 students on        Preeti Mehta, the Chair of the
the e-bulletin. In an email he said    the hepatitis rally organised by the   various topics. A quiz, crossword      Bhavishya Yaan Committee, said
that the e-bulletin is a very smart    National Liver Foundation (NLF)        puzzle, games and an activity          that this will help draw more funds
idea since members can read its        on World Hepatitis Day. Students       session were also held.                for the project.

                     Summarised attendance for September 2013
 Summarised Attendance of Rotarians for September 2013                              Summarised Attendance of R/Anns for September 2013
                                                                                         Meeting                           R/Anns present
                                                                                    September 3, 2013                           06
                                                                                    September 10, 2013                          06
                                                                                    September 17, 2013                          03
                   144           125
                                                    September 03, 2013              September 24, 2013                          07
                   44%           38%
                                                    September 10, 2013
                                                    September 17, 2013
                                                    September 24, 2013
                                103                                               The meeting held on September 3, 2013 saw 125 members and six
                      91
                      28%       32%                                           R/Anns in attendance. This was followed by the meeting on September 10,
                                                                              2013, where 103 members and six R/Anns were present. Subsequently,
                                                                              the meeting held on September 17, 2013 was attended by 91 members and
                                                                              three R/Anns. The last meeting of the month, held on September 24, 2013,
                                                                              saw a turnout of 144 members and seven R/Anns.

     Bhoomi Poojan of Rotary Kutirs on October 6 at Naroli Pada, Dahanu

B
       hoomi Poojan for Rotary District                                                                    help of Habitat volunteers.
       3140’s low-cost houses in Naroli Pada,                                                                  Breakfast has been organised at Hotel
       Dahanu Village, will be held on Sunday,                                                             Atithi at Charoti at 9 am, and Rotarians need
October 6, 2013 between 9 am and 1:.30 pm at                                                               to pay Rs 400 as registration charges at the
the project site.                                                                                          desk organised for the purpose.
    The project, christened Rotary Kutirs,                                                                     One can reach Hotel Atithi by continuing
is a joint venture with Habitat for Humanity                                                               on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National
India and is being guided by District Avenue                                                               Highway No. 8 from the Dahisar check naka.
Chairperson PP Kalpana Munshi. Rotary is                                                                   (Map on left.)
sponsoring 20 Rotary Kutirs and a community                                                                    It is advised that one carries hats and
hall at a cost of Rs 1,00,000.                                                                             water bottles since the weather is expected to
    The ceremony has been organized in the                                                                 be hot and humid.
presence of DG Lata, District dignitaries, Club                                                                The departure of the entire group for
Presidents, Club Chairman and Rotarians and        will welcome all Rotarians and one can also             Naroli village for the actual ceremony has
Rotaryannes. Habitat officers and villagers        participate in shramdaan by laying a brick with the     been scheduled for 9.45 am.

 6                                            THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay                      October 1 to October 7, 2013
Movies are cultural markers and good ones make us better people
Inner Wheel Club ladies rejoice in giving
S
      mall acts of kindness can        put a young girl, who is an
      reap rich rewards.               amputee, in touch with someone
          At the third general body    who helped her to be fitted with
meeting, ladies of the Inner Wheel     an artificial leg. The girl who hails
Club of Bombay discussed various       from a remote village in Uttar
projects and the joy that these        Pradesh and belongs to a seven-
give them. It was felt that it is      member family that can barely
not always about money, but also       afford more than two square meals
how a right word in the right ear      a day, let alone an artificial leg,
and a little bit of effort to pursue   is now back in her village and
the matter that can offer a bright     continuing her studies.
young girl a hope for the future.          Also, if you now drive past a
    The ladies’ network recently       cleaner Chowpatty Beach, it will be
                                                        in no small measure
                                                        due to the efforts
                                                        of the Inner Wheel
                                                        Club,      including
                                                        the ladies, who
                                                        participated hands-        Senior Citizens’ Day at the Parakh      donations from generous Inner
                                                        on in September’s          Dharamshala when students of            Wheel Club ladies, will be used
                                                        clean-up drive.            the Society for the Education of        to provide a much-needed ECG
                                                            The          dual      the Crippled (SEC) perform for          machine to the fledgling cardiac
                                                        objectives         of      the residents of the Dharamshala.       unit of a well-established eye
                                                        encouraging       the      Both the Dharamshala and the SEC        hospital in Gondal, to support
                                                        disabled and adding        are supported through different         Pragati Kendra and also the
                                                        cheer to the lives of      activities by the Inner Wheel Club.     Battery Bank Project for Hearing
                                                        senior citizens will           Funds raised through the            Aids of the Central Society for the
                                                        be achieved this           Rotary Club of Bombay, as also          Education of the Deaf.

                                Rotary Club of Bombay
                                                                   Gold Donor

                                                                                Anonymous Donor
                                                                                donated Rs 3,00,000
                                                                                under Rotary’s Six Areas
                                                                                of Focus for Interact and
                                                                                RYLA

                                                                 Generous Donors
   S. No                Name                                Area of Focus                                          Cause                         Amount
     1       Rtn. Ram Murti Mehra                    Rotary’s Six Areas of Focus                             Birthday Donation                  Rs.   30,000
     2       Rtn. Ashok Jatia                        Rotary’s Six Areas of Focus                             Birthday Donation                  Rs.   10,000
     3       Rtn. Khurshed Poonawala                 Rotary’s Six Areas of Focus                             Birthday Donation                  Rs.    5,000
     4       Mr. Ratnakar Desai                      Rotary’s Six Areas of Focus                             Birthday Donation                  Rs.    5,000
     5       Rtn. Devinder Thukral                   Rotary’s Six Areas of Focus                             Birthday Donation                  Rs.    2,001
     6       Rtn. Shyamniwas Somani                  Rotary’s Six Areas of Focus                             Birthday Donation                  Rs.    2,000

           Science Camp held at Colaba School                                                                                Polio Corrective
                                                                                                                                 Surgery

A
       three-day Science Camp          renewable energy resources such             divided into groups of seven each        On October 2, 2013, polio
       on     ‘Renewable       and     as coal, oil and natural gas was            and asked to make 3D models on           corrective surgery will be
       Non Renewable Energy            also discussed.                             renewable and non-renewable              conducted on 20 patients at the
Resources’ was conducted by                On the second day, the film Be          resources as also the working of         St. Elizabeth Hospital. Free
Vidya for 130 Bhavishya Yaan           the Change was screened on behalf           dams, windmills and solar panels.        calipers will also be given to
children of standards 6-9 at the       of the Rotary Club of Bombay.                   R/Anne Bijal Kara was                needy patients. The partners in
Colaba School during the Ganpati       Thereafter there was a question-            invited for the puzzle session,          service for this project are the
holidays.                              and-answer session and prize                prize distribution and to assess         Polio Committee of the Club,
    On the first day of the Camp,      distribution.                               the models presented as well as          whose objective is to make
the children were taught about             On the last day of the Camp,            the students’ understanding of the       polio patients independent,
water cycle, solar energy and wind     the children were given paper,              topic. All the children were asked       and St Elizabeth Hospital. The
power as the foremost renewable        scissors and other aids for making          questions in English, which they         Polio Committee will also
energy resources. The need to          their own windmills. Students               could answer with impressive             donate an amount of Rs 25,000.
conserve and effectively use non-      of standards 8 and 9 were also              ease.

October 1 to October 7, 2013                     THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay                                                   7
Movies are cultural markers and good ones make us better people
Published on Tuesday, October 1, 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 2, 2013

rotary club of bombay
   Founded 19 march, 1929
Charter No. 3128, Dated 08 May, 1929
  97-B Mittal Tower, Nariman Point
                                                                                  Happy Birthday
        Mumbai 400 021, India
         Tel.: 91 22 22024089
        Fax.: 91 22 22024509
   rotaryclubbombay1@gmail.com

                                                        Preeti                   Suresh                   Ramesh                    Purnima                           Alok
                                                        Mehta                    Kotak                     Mehta                     Sheth                           Saxena
                                                       October 1                October 2                 October 2                 October 2                       October 3

Rotary’s six areas of focus

                                                      P P Arvind                 Cavas                     Meera                    Dr Hemraj                        Vikram
                                                         Jolly                   Majai                     Alreja                   Chandalia                         Daiya
                                                       October 5                October 5                 October 6                 October 7                       October 7

Peace and conflict prevention/resolution
                                                      Manohar                               India) to Goa and creating state-
                                                 Parrikar, Hon
                                                 Chief Minister
                                                    of Goa, will
                                                                                            of-the-art infrastructure for it.
                                                                                                Known to be a man of ethics
                                                                                            and values, he has a vision to
                                                                                                                                                 Spouses
                                                 talk on “Good                              take Goa beyond its susegaad
                                                  Governance”                               image. He has addressed various              Vijaya Venkatram           October 2
     Disease prevention and treatment                                                       important issues that plague
                                                October 8, 2013                             Goa, such as illegal mining and              Arnavaz Poonawala October 3
                                                                                            construction, corruption and law
                                                                                            and order.                                   Rekha Ruia                 October 3
                                               Manohar Parrikar, Hon. Chief                     In     recognition     of     his
                                                                                            pioneering      work,      Manohar           Divya Mafatlal             October 5
                                               Minister of Goa, is known to be
                                               a man of principles and action.              Parrikar was conferred the “Best
                                               Popularly referred to as “Mr. Clean”         Chief Minister” title in 2004 by
           Water and sanitation                in Goa, he is currently serving his          India Today, and Goa has been
                                               second term as Chief Minister and is         adjudged the “Best Governed                         Forthcoming Meetings
                                               widely respected by even his rivals.         State in India” for three years in
                                                   Born in Mapusa, Goa, Manohar             a row in independent surveys by
                                               Parrikar graduated from IIT-                 the Planning Commission of India                          October 8
                                                                                                                                                 Manohar Parrikar,
                                               Bombay in 1978 and is the first IIT          and India Today.
                                                                                                                                             Hon Chief Minister of Goa, on
                                               graduate to become Chief Minister                From growing up in Goa
                                                                                                                                                 Good Governance
        Maternal and child health              of any Indian state. After graduation        during its turbulent post-liberation
                                               he returned to Goa and entered the           period to successfully steering                             October 15
                                               manufacturing business. It was only          the state into a new millennium,                        Alyque Padamsee
                                               a decade later that he took the plunge       Parrikar has lived his roles with                   (Winner of Rotary Award for
                                               into politics, and joined the Bhartiya       effortless ease. He is a respected                    Contribution to Arts) on
                                               Janata Party (BJP). He became the            and goal-oriented leader who can                      My Life in Theatre and
                                               Chief Minister of Goa for the first          relate to the past, articulate the                      Theatre in my Life
       Basic education and literacy            time in 2000.                                present and envision the vision.                           October 22
                                                   Parrikar       brings     to     his                                                             (To be announced)
                                               governing       style     the    unique                                                                  October 29
                                               perspective of a technologist-                                                                           Rubi Arya
                                               turned-politician. During his first            The statistics for the meeting                      (Topic to be announced)
                                               tenure as Chief Minister of Goa,               held on Tuesday, September 24,
                                               his vision went beyond tackling                2013 are as under:
 Economic and community development            routine     matters. Among           his                                                Editorial Consultant: Monideepa Choudhury,
                                               numerous accomplishments, he is                                                         Spenta Multimedia, Peninsula Spenta, Mathuradas
                                               credited with undertaking major                Members present           144            Mill Compound, N.M. Joshi Marg, Lower Parel,

 Doing good in the world                                                                      Visiting Rotarians         02            Mumbai 400 013. Landline: 022-24811010
                                               infrastructural         developmental                                                   E-Mail: monideepa.spenta@gmail.com
                                               work, introducing innovative social            Rotaryannes                07
                                               uplift schemes, ushering in new                Guests                     00          Regd. No. MH/MR/South-109/2012-14,
                                               technologies, as well as bringing the          Total attendance          153          R.N.I. No. 14015/60
                                               IFFI (International Film Festival of                                                  Posted on Wednesday, October 2, 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 1 to October 7, 2013
Movies are cultural markers and good ones make us better people
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