RCB lights up the night at Race for Humanity

November 25, 2018 was a milestone day for Rotary Districts 3141 Mumbai and 3142 with our own Rotary Club of Bombay in partnership with Rotary Club of Mumbai Nariman Point hosting the Race for Humanity (RFH) 2018.

RFH was positioned in RCB President Vijay Jatia’s calendar as a fun-filled fellowship day of the Mumbai horseracing
season at the Royal Western India Turf Club with seven races sponsored by seven Rotary Clubs followed by RFH’s
evening of entertainment.

The venue was abuzz with food stalls of cuisines ranging from Chinese to Bengali Sweets to Gola & Chocolate Candy Counters with traditional and international fare, with a full complement of beer, wine, cocktails and spirits for sale and a marquee with a stage alive with all day acts, sponsor tables and product displays.

The day’s proceedings began with the arrival of the RIPE Mark Maloney and his spouse PP Rtn. Gay Maloney, both, of Decatur, Alabama, USA hosted by our Club for a three-day visit to Mumbai. They were welcomed by TRF Trustee Gulam Vahanvaty and a host of Rotary VVIPs and VIPs including DG Shashi Sharma and DG Ashes Ganguly of Districts 3141 and 3142, RIPN Sushil Gupta, RIDN Kamal Sanghvi and RIDN (Dr.) Bharat Pandya, DGE Harjit Singh Talwar and DGN Sunil Mehra, Members of the College of Governors and Past RI Presidents, Directors and District dignitaries. All these guests were hosted by TRF Trustee Gulam Vahanvaty in the Miracle Lounge on the second level, which offers a balcony view of the race in a cool, plush ambience.

All present then assembled at the Front Lawns for a ceremonial flag hoisting with the USA, India and Rotary flags being unfurled with national anthems and short speeches to mark the occasion.

The races then began with seven trophies being given out by seven Clubs – The Rotary Club of Bombay Pier Trophy, The Rotary Club of Bombay North Trophy, The Rotary Club of Mumbai Queens Necklace Trophy, The Rotary Club of Bombay Cup, The Rotary Club of Hiranandani Estate Trophy, The Rotary Club of Bombay Seacoast Trophy and The Rotary Club of Thane
Lake city Trophy. All Club Presidents and District Reps were invited to the paddock following the races to give the trophies to the winning horse, jockeys and trainers, as is customary.

The races were interspersed with fun events – English and Bollywood songs performed by Ensemble X, street plays on
the Lawns, a Taekwondo demonstration, a fashion show by Rotaract District 3141, a musical performance by Raj, a flash
mob at the Lawns, a dance act By RID 3141 Dance Crew, a lucky draw and the Best Dressed Rotarian award which was won by our Club’s style icon Rtn. Ptn. Malti Jain.

International jazz artist John Di Martino filled the venue with the mellifluous tunes of his jazz piano. This was followed by a performance by one of India’s top-ranked comedians, Atul Khatri, who had a packed house roaring with
laughter. Illusionist Mangesh Desai then captivated the audience with his deft and mysterious acts. Late evening
revellers let it all loose by shaking a leg to the catchy tracks of DJ Shiva.

There were over 6,000 attendees with Rotarians, family members, friends, regular and avid race-goers and punters who regaled in both racing and entertainment. The event was a grand success and a feather in the cap for Rotaries of both Districts, Host and Sponsor Clubs.

Accolades to: President Vijay Jatia, TRF Trustee Gulam Vahanvaty and especially PP Rtn. Sandip Agarwalla who was the
inspiration and grandmaster of the whole effort, creating and co-ordinating every aspect of this event, Satyan Israni, RCB’s man-in-charge of the whole-time execution, fund-raising through sponsors and real-time ground management. They were whole-heartedly supported by Rotarians and Rotarian Partners Zinia Master, Rhea Bhumgara and her merry band of Rotaractors, Moy Biswas, Anand Dalal, Rtn. (Dr.) Mehernosh Dotivala, Avaan Vakharia, Rtn. Ptn. Malti Jain, Rtn. Mahesh Khubchandani, Rtn. ZiniaLawyer, Sunita Mandelia, Rtn. Manish Sampat, Mehul Sampat, Akhil Sanghi, Jamshyd Vazifdar, Vrinda Rajgarhia, Jaya Prasad, Khurshed Poonawalla, Rtn. Mudit Jatia, Mohit Jain and Jaimin
Jhaveri and last, but importantly, our office staff Eruch, Rashmi, Karuna, Vrushali, Vishnu, Chandrakant& Datta.
and our office staff Eruch, Rashmi, Karuna, Vrushali, Vishnu, Chandrakant and Datta.

All, please take a bow for having made our Club proud and hosting an event that will go down as a Gold Standard in Rotary as witnessed first-hand by the RIPE Mark Maloney and the top leadership of Rotary in India.