Rtn. Shailesh Haribhakti installed as the 85th President of the Rotary Club of Bombay
Rtn. Shailesh Haribhakti
Rotarians and Rotaryannes turned out in full strength to witness the installation ceremony of Rtn. Shailesh Haribhakti and his team on July 1
Rtn. Shailesh Haribhakti was installed as the 85th President of the Rotary Club of Bombay last Tuesday, following the successful term of outgoing President Rtn. Nirav Shah. Also installed were Rtn. Dr. Sonya Mehta as President-Elect, Rtn. Dr. Mukesh Batra as President-Nominee, Rtn. Nandan Maluste as Honorary Secretary, Rtn. Ritu Prakash Desai as Joint Honorary Secretary and Rtn. Manish Reshamwala as Treasurer. The President’s family comprising his father Mr. Vishnu Haribhakti, wife R/Anne Amita Haribhakti, brother Mr. Vijay Haribhakti, sister-in-law Radhika, son Tarun, daughter-in-law Shivani, daughter Sejal and son-in-law Kunal were present at the ceremony.The meeting saw a large turnout, with members eager to hear President Shailesh’s plans and vision for the new Rotary year. And he surely didn’t disappoint, his brief yet captivating speech being a fine example of how a speaker becomes one with his audience. Keeping the Club’s objectives in mind, he ensured that his words motivated members beyond the walls of Taj Mahal Palace’s Crystal Room.
He began his speech by thanking Rtn. Nirav “for being an inspiration to the Club as its President” and spoke about how “Rotarians are connected by their great respect for the ideals of Rotary”. He called the Rotary Club of Bombay “one large family” which places service above self to create a positive impact on the community.
Rtn. Shailesh’s vision for his presidential year is to carry forward the Club’s legacy in Mumbai and in the country, and bring in more members and technology. He spoke about the Bhavishya Yaan project, where the Club is all set “to tap the power of information technology by introducing the use of tablets and widen its reach to more schools” and the Club’s partnership with YMCA, which is on the brink of being synergised and scaled to establish more vocational training and night study centres. He fondly recalled his recent visit to the Parel centre, where a past beneficiary handed over a cheque of `1,500, and said, “A waterfall of reflows can be released if we can extend our imagination to partnering with our beneficiaries.” And he proposed to do the same at Talwada and urged members to garner resources from families and contacts to revamp the hamlet and bring in a diversified set of services.
In the course of his speech, he added that the Club is working on an IT project which will be used to support member induction, track and partner with speakers, beneficiaries and NGOs, and implement Corporate Social Responsibility programmes for Indian corporates, among other functions. Social media, interactive websites and e-involvement strategies will all be a part of this process. He concluded by saying, “Let’s come together to serve and give voluntarily.”
Other happenings
The meeting saw the felicitation of Paul Harris Fellows and an introductory session (conducted by Rtn. Sabira Merchant and PP Rtn. Pradeep Saxena) of the Committee Chairs and Co-Chairs. PP Rtn. Haresh Jagtiani and PP Rtn. Pradeep Saxena wished Rtn. Shailesh all the best and encouraged members to use the reservoir of knowledge possessed by past presidents. They pointed out that some members attend meetings only to sign the register and leave. They said this violated the spirit of Rotary and appealed to avoid such a practice.
District Governor Ajay Gupta then briefed the Club on the Annapoorna project, an initiative conceived by Rtn. Sunil Mehra. The project, whose aim is to bring world hunger into focus and eliminate malnutrition, fed 120,000 people on July 1. He also informed the Club that D. Y. Patil Medical College has committed to perform 10,000 cataract operations, free of cost, this year. The announcement got a big round of applause from the audience.