AboutUs Issue 12, Rotary Mysore Midtown

1. Issue : 12 Volume : 32 22-09-2012 Pages -4
AMARAVANI AWARD TO A GENTLEMAN EDUCATIONIST
Prof. C. N. Manjappa the recipient of Amaravani The chief guest of the day Prof. C. K. N.
award instituted by Rtn. Dr. M. N. Bheemesh's Raja honoured Sri. Manjappa with traditional
family, in memory of his father Asthanavidhwan splendor witnessed by an audience who were
Prof. M.G. Nanjudaradhya truly deserves it as he unanimous in their opinion that Sri. Manjappa
belongs to the diminishing tribe of honest and deserves many more such awards and recognitions
selfless people in this world. not only for his contribution to law education as a
Prof. C. K. N. Raja, the chief guest of the teacher and writer but also for his unstinted struggle
day enjoyed every bit of the programme right from to get grants from the government which the law
savoring tasty dosas to honoring his
own student and delivering a
thought provoking address to the
audience. The evening, as it is every
year belonged to Rtn. Dr. M. N.
Bheemesh and his family, as they
were present along with a large
number of well-wishers of the
recipient Sri. Manjappa and his
family members to witness this
unique recognition instituted by
them and given away to deserving
educationists by Rotary Mysore
Midtown.
President began with
faculty deserved. All of this with no
personal benefits for his own self.
Prof Raja in his address
recognized the simplicity of this man
and in his comparison to the
mythological character of King
Balichakravarthy and Lord Vishnu
a s Va m a n a r e i t e r a t e d t h e
significance of reincarnation and the
power of the Lord. He said he was
indeed delighted to honor his own
CARDIAC CAMP student with the prestigious Rotary
Mysore Mid town Amaravani Award.
Sri. Manajappa in his acceptance
customary ease as he attended to the protocols and speech felt that the objectives in his
after a pleasant welcome address handed over the life took priority to his personal needs. He
proceedings to Rtn. Dr. M. N. Bheemesh. mentioned about him becoming a writer
accidentally and remembered all those responsible
Bheemanna began with a brief introduction for him to reach such heights and dedicated his
of the award instituted by his family. He was able to achievements to them. His modesty was
control his emotions better this year when he appreciated by the august audience as the program
remembered his father and his contribution to ended with thanks giving by Rotary Midtown to all
education. He then introduced the recipient and his those responsible for making the event a success.
good friend Sri. Manjappa to the audience. With
such deceptive looks and simplicity Sri. Manjappa
seemed awed with the occasion. ...Bhanu

2. president’s
MESSAGE
Dear Friends
Thank you team leaders Rtn.
Thank you Thank you Thank you for making the Mohan, Rtn. Bhanu, Rtn.
Midtown Cooking League a grand event which was Kumaranna, Rtn. Srinivas, Rtn.
held for the first time in Midtown. It was a total family Harish, Rtn. Sait, Rtn. Umesh, Rtn. Venky and
entertainer with lots of fun. I would like to thank Rtn. Rtn. Prahlad and also all the Rotarians and their
Balaji for sposoring the soft drinks, Rtn. Alagappan families, but for your enthusiasm, planning andp a r t i
for giving us the venue, Rtn. Aiyanna for making cipation the programme would not have been such a
elobarate arrangements, Club secretary Rtn. Manoj super hit. Thank you all once again.
and Club service director Rtn. Umesh for the
meticulous planning and my special thanks to Rtn. Today let's welcome the participants for the debate
Mahesh and Vyjayanthi, Inner wheel sisters made competition hosted by Rtn. Raghu's family and get
the event very colourful and thank you for the lip engrossed in the relevant subject
smacking chats and tea and the entertainment Vishu
programme.
Ladies’ Eye View on Men’s Cooking ...Lavanya
It was surprising to see our men folk discussing food and recipes instead of sports, politics and
business for the past one month. All thanks to “Men's Cooking Day” and the amount of preparation that has
gone into it – burnt hands and cut fingers of the amateurs trying to master the skill which we ladies are
always proud of, and not to forget the messed up kitchens used to perfect their dish.
Finally the D-Day arrived on 16th Sep with the rain Gods trying to play a little hide and seek on the
previous day, bringing a small doubt on everybody's mind about the success of the programme.
Fortunately the day began with a bright sunshine and the venue looked beautiful with the colourful team
banners adorning the stalls. Vehicles jam packed with gas cylinders, stove, utensils, groceries and
vegetables arrived and the stalls were organized to start the competition which began at 10:30 a.m as
soon as the president Rtn. Vishwanath gave the count down.
The “Mysore Maharajas”, led by Mohan, started their cooking traditionally after a small pooja and
began by peeling peas and corn, boiling potatoes for chats and arranging to grind dhal for their vadas.
Team leader Mohan's leadership skills came to the fore in this exercise making him the crown prince for
president-ship in the near future. The second counter belonged to the “Nal-Packs”, of the management
Guru Bhanu who proved his management skills with meticulous planning and organization of his team
mates and delegation of work. Each member of the team knew what was expected of him and got onto
their job immediately. Kumaranna's stall “Chat Express” smelt of burnt peas and Sanjay needed a band aid
for his cut finger while trying hard to chop the vegetables. But their spirits never came down and they redid
everything quickly and brought out good stuff. “Kafe Krooks” was more of a one man show with the whole
team relying on Seenu to churn out his delicious Veg-Biriyani which was literally given to him by Vishwa so
that there is some guaranteed edible food at the venue. The jail uniform was a novel idea. The team mates
were dutifully helping the master chef by taking instructions and Rtn. Narasimha brought out his tried and
trusted “Gasagase payasa” to satisfy the sweet tooth after eating the Biriyani. The ladies did not miss the
opportunity to take tips for making the perfect Biriyani. Harish led the “Loot & Scoot” and the members
justified their team logo and name by playing a small prank of stealing a few things from other stalls. Their
curd rice and desert looked more like art pieces than food stuffs with all the decoration. The “Hyderabady
Nawabs”, led by Sulaiman Sait, came a little too early for the next competition with the stall lying empty
even after the competition began. However they did manage to bring out their dishes before judgment and
win the 'Clumsiest Team' award. Umesh managed to bring the glow on his stall “Thonda's Thadka” with
bright aprons, and lively Sundar helped to bag the 'Lively Team” award. For once Motte Venky brought out
100% veg meals from his “Chettinadu Mess” and all members were aptly dressed in Chettinad style. After
having created all the 'rukus' on facebook, Prahlad's “Prestige Cookers” brought out their really soft
Chappatis and Korma (which really was Palya) and managed to bag the 'Booker Prize' as well.
While a lot of hard work was going on at the stalls by our men, we ladies and children had a field
day, cycling around, playing games and with a little concern prepared chats and refreshments for the
participants and viewers. The Inner Wheel ladies composed an apt invocation song with the names of all
the dishes on the menu and also presented a musical orchestra out of kitchen equipment to entertain the
tired cooks and the audience, followed by sumptuous lunch prepared by amateurs which was unbelievably
delicious.
All the dishes were beautifully displayed for judgement. The three judges Mrs. Geethashree, Mrs
Shaila Amarnath and Mr. Srinivasan (chef of Olive Garden) were overwhelmed and had a tough time in
finalizing the prizes for various categories. The team members did try to woo the judges through their
vocabulary skills by making a lovely description of the dishes.
The day came to an end with the prize distribution ceremony which had to be rushed through
because the dark clouds started gathering around us. Conclusion – Point to be noted: 'Our men can cook',
so how about they cook for us at least once a week!

3. Feast Pictures Speak
Plays
Sings Works
Sees Eats
Tastes Cuts
Cooks
Rests
Tips
Results
Hats off to photographer Venkatesh for capturing the beautiful moments
of ‘MEN’S COOKING DAY’ helping us to relive the fun and excitement.

4. NEWS IN BRIEF Rotary Information
ROCK TALK In 1962, Australia was a country grappling
with change. Many older Australians were
Rtn. Rakesh spoke on "Entrepreneurship in still emotionally rebuilding after World War
Modern era" to engineering trainees in a II, and the nation was beginning to dismantle
finishing school in Mysore. The programme its anti-Asian “White Australia” immigration
included a Q&A session. Mr.Sudhanva, CEO of policy.
ExcelSoft and Mr.Venkatesh, CEO of RIIIT can When Yoko Sekimoto arrived in Melbourne
be seen in the pic.. that year as Japan’s first Rotary Youth
Exchange student, she didn’t realize that many
people were wary of her visit. Fifty years later,
she continues to marvel at the graciousness of
her hosts.
“Everyone treated me like a daughter or
sister. It was only 17 years after the war, but I
felt a warm welcome and great hospitality,”
says Sekimoto (her married name – at the
time, she was Yoko Miyazaki).
Japan’s Youth Exchange program began with
help from an Australian Rotarian. Don
Farquhar addressed the 1961 RI Convention
ANU SPEAKS in Tokyo about the need to build friendships
and cultural understanding throughout the
Ann Anuradha spoke on world – particularly with Japan. He
main streaming for considered student exchange to be the best
supported decision way to do that.
making at SPANDANA “Don was a person of both immense courage
National Trust for the and foresight,” says Stuart McDonald,
welfare of persons with program development officer for Youth
Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Exchange in Australia. “In 1942, during
Mental Retardation and World War II, Don was blinded in action
Multiple Disabilities at Ministry of Social Justice against the Japanese. However, he
and Empowerment, Govt. of India, New Delhi on maintained a desire and a mission in life to
5th September 2012. promote peace and goodwill.”
After Farquhar delivered his speech, he was
SPONSOR approached by a Japanese district governor,
On 14th Sep, Mrs. Vijaya Srinath sponsored a who asked him to help arrange the first Youth
cataract surgery for a deaf and dumb gentleman. Exchange involving a student from Japan. The
Rtn. Sulaiman helped in identifying this person Rotary clubs of Rosebud and Kurume
and Dr. Prabhu also reduced his charges by half. coordinated Sekimoto’s year abroad. A few
weeks after her arrival, another group of
Japanese students came to Sydney, and the
next year Japan welcomed several Australian
students. The country’s exchange program
had officially begun.
Debate Competetion Finals Sekimoto’s visit to Australia, along with the
beginning of Youth Exchange in Japan, was
Venue: RCL Hall considered so historically significant that
Date: 26.09.2012, Time: 6.30 pm photographs from her exchange are now
housed in the National Archives of Australia,
McDonald says.
“It was a hard time for Japan when I was 16,”
1. Is it the TRUTH ? Sekimoto says. “When I came to Australia, it
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned ? was just like heaven. It was such a different
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS ? style of living. That became a big turning point
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned ? for me – it completely changed my life.”
Her experience as an exchange student
Q uiz Q.: In which year were women officially
awakened a curiosity to explore the rest of the
world. After returning home to finish high
allowed to become members of Rotary? school and college, Sekimoto worked as a
flight attendant, married, and lived in Egypt
a) 1993 b) 1991 c) 1989 d) 1987 before going back to Japan.
(Last week’s answer : North Carolina)