The Mover And Shekhar Of Rotary!
PP Rtn. SANDIP AGARWALLA speaks with RIPN SHEKHAR MEHTA about his Rotary and personal journey from the Calcutta Mahanagar Club to the 18th Floor of the Rotary World office in Evanston, USA and even dares to ask, which of the two he finds more exhilarating!
Sandip Agarwalla: Thank you for doing the interview with me Shekhar, I really appreciate it. When did you join Rotary?
Shekhar Mehta: I joined Rotary in 1985, when I was just 25 years old. I joined the Rotary Club of Central Calcutta but for the last 23 years I have been a member of the Rotary Club of Calcutta Mahanagar.
Sandip Agarwalla: What did you expect from Rotary when you joined?
Shekhar Mehta: I just joined Rotary to make friends! At 25, service was the last thing on my mind. I just wanted to make friends. Friendship then led me to service activities and today both give me equal joy. Today, the friendships remain as strong as ever and service has become an integral part of me.
Sandip Agarwalla: What about Rotary inspires you the most?
Shekhar Mehta: The networking ability and that leads to everything! If you have a network you can move mountains. Individually, I can go and give two drops of polio to some children but look at what the network has done! Rotary is an outstanding network group.
Sandip Agarwalla: At what stage did you think that you may be asked to lead Rotary International one day?
Shekhar Mehta: Well, I have always believed that in voluntary organisations, one should move to a leadership position when others perceive that you are ready for the role.
A few years after my directorship, colleagues and seniors started suggesting that I put in my name and that is what led me to so do.
Sandip Agarwalla: How do you see Rotary remaining relevant to the community in the next 10 years?
Shekhar Mehta: I feel Rotary will remain relevant not just for 10 years but for the next hundred years. I hope and wish that we see the end of the problems of water, sanitation, health, hygiene. Till the day all these problems are solved, Rotary will remain relevant. Even then, after the service activities are completed, Rotary will still be relevant for fostering friendship.
Sandip Agarwalla:Membership in western countries is a huge challenge – how does Rotary plan to overcome this?
Shekhar Mehta: So, there is no easy answer to this. If there were, then this problem would not persist for so long. At the same time, I think it is important that we get out of this jinx around us of 1.2 million… we need to break that jinx. It will have to be with countries where the membership is growing like Korea, India, Bangladesh, South Asia. We have to grow but at the same time western countries will also have to increase heir membership. So, different things will have to be tried at different places. One size will not fit all. I think regional plans, if not country plans, are important. What is good for Germany may not be good for Switzerland which is just next door! I think brain-storming needs to be done and we need to put far more effort towards membership drives than we have.
FOR ME, THIS IS NOT A PROJECT OR A PROGRAMME, IT IS A MISSION FOR EVERY ROTARIAN, EVERY INDIAN. WE CANNOT HAVE THE SCOURGE OF BEING AN ILLITERATE COUNTRY. OUR COUNTRY IS PROGRESSING SO WELL, BUT WE ARE STILL MAJORLY ILLITERATE? WE CAN TURN THIS AROUND, IT IS POSSIBLE.
– RIPN SHEKHAR MEHTA
Sandip Agarwalla: What is your Rotary dream?
Shekhar Mehta: I have Rotary dreams not a Rotary dream. The first dream I have now, and it’s becoming more and more crystallised to me, is that Rotary should get nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. We deserve it for the work we are doing in eradicating Polio. We may not have totally eradicated Polio yet but look at the work that has gone into what we have achieved so far! Add to that, our achievements in the peace centres, the 1100 people army of conflict resolution experts we have produced. I mean, what better way to have directly and actively worked for peace?
If the Nobel Prize happens, many other dreams will follow. Our membership will get a spike! I can assure you our public image will be at its highest ever!
This single dream will result in more work in the six areas of focus, more contribution to the Foundation.
Sandip Agarwalla: Any other dream?
Shekhar Mehta: Definitely! I dream of a totally literate India. Absolutely a possibility! The way we are going at it, if the effort continues unhindered and resolutely, with everybody having faith in making this possible, we can achieve it. I have drawn up a plan for how we can catapult India into the countries considered ‘literate’ by 2025. Our literacy rate would be above 95 per cent. It is possible, it is doable!
Sandip Agarwalla: What have you gained from Rotary?
Shekhar Mehta: A lot! I have given 35 years to Rotary but I have gained a lifetime of learning from it! The friendships gained are for a lifetime. In my times of joy or sorrow, if there are 10 people standing next to me, nine of them are definitely Rotarians.
Becoming a better human being: the idea of thinking about other people before I think about myself has become an integral part of my life. All of this is absolutely because of Rotary.
Sandip Agarwalla: Walk us through your family and how they have assisted you in achieving your goals, especially in Rotary.
Shekhar Mehta: My father told me to go ahead and join Rotary. He was a Lions Club member. I immediately became very active.
When I was taking on the mantle of governorship, my entire family said go ahead! My mother absolutely loved the fact that I was helping other people, so I got her total support.
Rashi, my wife, my partner, has been rock solid with her support. Over the years as I took up bigger and bigger programmes there would be lots of planning that went into days and nights. Rashi has stood by my side through all that, never complained but became a part of it. She has accompanied me as I have gone on disaster management programmes, when I went to Kashmir, Bihar, Bhubaneshwar, Karnataka etc. She does major fund-raising for our club. My children Chiraag (34) and Chandini (32) have silently admired the work of Rotary, never grudging that it took away some of their time because now I realise they too strongly believe in helping other people before they want to help themselves.
The other family I have is Rotary Club of Calcutta Mahanagar – my club. Oh! What an outstanding club! If, at all, I have achieved anything in the arena of service, my test ground has been my club. Neither in failure nor in success have they questioned me. They have helped me through everything.
Of course, I am blessed to have the rest of my Rotary family around India. In the literacy programme itself, I have seen more than a hundred past Governors working and thousands of Rotarians working together on a single project. Where else but in Rotary will you get this kind of family!
Sandip Agarwalla: Your name is synonymous with RILM? Will it have even more emphasis in the future and what are your goals and plans for it?
Shekhar Mehta: For me, this is not a project or a programme, it is a mission for every Rotarian, every Indian. We cannot have the scourge of being an illiterate country. Our country is progressing so well, but we are still majorly illiterate? We can turn this around, it is possible. With the Rotary India Literacy Mission, we have hit bull’s eye.
The hard work we have put in, research that we have done, the think tank meetings that we have had, have led us to the situation where the government is seeking our partnership, corporates are inviting us in. Every fortnight we get a call from one government organisation or state government to work with us. This means we are on the right programme! If we put in all our energy and our focus in the next six years, we can turn things around and make India a totally literate country.
Part II of this interview to be continued in the next edition of The Gateway.