At the meeting of July 13, the Principal of the College, (Dr.) Indu Shahani, presented a silver salver as a memento to President Pradeep Saxena to thank the Rotary Club of Bombay for its help, support and guidance over nearly a quarter of a century.
A few days before that, on July 9, the Rotaractors organised a grand event which featured dances, short plays, skits, videos, awards and other entertaining items before an audience of over 400 people.
The programme was called “Achieving Milestones” – the theme for the Club’s 24th year – and was held in the
K.C. College Auditorium next door. (Dr.) Indu was the guest of honour and gave an inspiring talk to the young, enthusiastic gathering.
Suveer Bajaj, a former student, acted as the master of ceremonies and took the audience on a walk down memory lane, recalling several significant happenings and milestones from the rich
history of the Rotaract Club of H.R. College.
One interesting video presentation was followed by another. The inspirational “Milestones Achieved” video came before the one that looked back at the first few years of the Club, from 1986 to 1995.
And, wonder of wonders, Charter President Ritu Chaudhri turned up to attend the programme. She talked about her experiences and the difficulties of the first few formative years. She recalled receiving a great deal of help from the then President, Arjun Bulchandani, and from Deepak Kapadia who had helped establish the Club.
Videos depicting the next two stages of the Club, from 1996 to 2005 and then from 2006 to 2010, were also played. While PP Navin Chawla talked about the activities of the first of these two stages, PPYashraj Jain spoke about the activities between 2006 and 2010.
To break the monotony, there were dances, plays, skits and other performances by present and former members of the Club, as also from non-members and outsiders, which had the audience cheering and applauding lustily.
Six former alumni, who had contributed to the Club’s activities even after they had ceased to be members, were presented with mementoes. And every Past President who had served the Club and was present at the programme also received a memento.
Special citations were presented to representatives of District 3140, the Rotary Club of Bombay and H.R. College for their ceaseless nurturing and support of the Rotaract Club of H.R. College.
Interestingly, citations were presented to the teaching and the nonteaching staff – including the peons – of H.R. College.
The Principal, (Dr.) Indu Shahani, made a brief speech on the occasion when she lauded the successive Office-Bearers for taking the Club to unprecedented heights and making it the best Rotaract Club in the city of Bombay.
A cheque for Rs. 2.50 lakhs – representing the collections from the Pankaj Udhas Nite held on May 28 – was given to the Parents’ Association Thalassaemic Unit Trust (PATUT) as a donation. With this, the H.R. Rotaractors had donated a total of Rs.
20.5 lakhs to this trust over the last seven years.
Another memento was presented to Mr. Sajjanraj Mehta who had been supporting the Club’s Inter-School Athletics Meet for intellectually-impaired children for the last 15 years.
Then it was time to receive the blessings of President Pradeep Saxena of the Rotary Club of Bombay. He made an inspiring speech that was not devoid of warmth and affection.
Also present on the occasion were PP Gul Kripalani and Mehul Sampat, the Rotary Club Chairman for Rotaract.
A sumptuous spread helped douse the pangs of hunger as the celebrations to mark the entry of the Club into its 25th silver jubilee year came to an end.
The Rotaractors of H.R. College are poised on the cusp of a historic date with destiny. But they have many more miles to go...