Rota Utsav

 

On 27th November, 2011, Rotaract Club of Behala organised and hosted their annual Bijoy-Diwali get together - Rota-Utsav along with Rotaract clubs of Cossipore, Joka, Lansdowne and North East, with Special Guest RC TagoreLand and Interact Club of DAV Public School. The event was a grand success and was attended by Rotarians, Rotaractors and Interactors. The stage was set with graceful posters done by our talented Rotaracter Ananya of Rotaract Club of Behala. The proceedings began with a couple of delightful anecdotes from Rtn. (Dr) Siddharth Chakraborty, President, Rotary Club of Behala, followed by a few words from DRR Aloke Agarwal and Rtn. Debasish Sarkar.

Then began the performances -Rotaractor Mousumi of Rotaract Club of Behala recited poetry flawlessly, after which Driftwood took the stage. They belted out some memorable numbers and the crowd thoroughly enjoyed every minute of their act.Special Guest Rtr. Tathagata from RC TagoreLand then recited Tagore's Work and Interactor Rishabh sang some traditional songs. Rotaractors from RC North East arranged for a beautiful dance performance after this. The event ended with two hilarious plays.

The first play was a joint effort by Rotaract Clubs of Joka and Landsdowne about a wanna be actress Antorina Jolie who would go to any lengths to achieve stardom. The histrionics of the lead pair, and Rotaracter Souravs effortless portrayal of a selfish Christian ghost had the audience in splits. This was followed by more laughter as Rotaract Clubs of Behala and Cossipore presented a spoof on a certain portion of the Ramayan wherein Surpanakha was abducted by Ravan by mistake. A seductive Surpanakha, a masculine and hirsute Sita, a timid Ravan with his intimidating and rap-music-loving bodyguards and a modern-day Lakshman who prefers to go by "Lucky" made sure the play was a super hit and had the audience rolling in the aisles. So much so that they have been asked for an encore performance at a Rotary Behala meeting very soon! This was followed by a graceful dance recital by Rotaracter Mousumi, and the day ended on a harmonious and melodious note.

Hoopla! Rota Carnival for Kids!

 

Sunday, 20th November, 2011. Sarada Mandir Ground in Parnashree was decorated with balloons and streamers, there were two bouncy castles, games, a tattoo artist, a tiny ferris wheel and a toy train track. One of the stars of the show was a young pony, which tirelessly walked around the ground with tiny little kids on his back.

The event - Rotary, Rotaract and Inner Wheel club of Behala organised a children's day celebration "Hoopla!" for underpriviledged kids and needless to say, it was a huge hit. Large, beautiful, colourful banners - made by our very creative Rtr Ananya proclaimed the event all around the locality. Rotaractors Shuvranshu, Shuvratav, Arijit, and Rituparna arrived on the scene early in the morning and dressed up the field with colourful streamers and balloons, joined a little later by Rotaractors Samina, Ananya and Shireen. After a truly sumptuous breakfast of luchi, cholar dal and mishti, provided by our awesome Siddharth Uncle, President of Rotary Club of Behala, and his wife (PP, Inner Wheel Club of Behala)Sudipta Aunty, we set out to make the day bright and colourful.

A mile long line was to be seen at the tattoo artist's stall and little boys and little girls proudly showed off their body art. The kids bounced like there was no tomorrow on the Crazy Castles, and the Pony Ride was "houseful". Colourful erasers, sweets, whistles and tops were handed out to the children who participated in "Shooting" and "Car Racing". The kids screamed in joy as they went round and round in the Ferris-Wheel. The smallest kids made a bee-line for the Ball Pool. Everyone took turns saying hello to our own resident Mickey Mouse who patiently spent time with every kid.

The event started at 9 am and carried on till 1 pm and the kids enjoyed themselves thoroughly. It was a grand success for RC Behala and we hope to have this event on a grander scale next year! Three Cheers each for Rotaract Behala, Rotary Behala and Inner Wheel Behala!

Fellowship with RC TagoreLand

 

After a fun-filled meeting at Shanti Niwash, Members of RC Behala and RC TagoreLand headed to Shona-Mati Restaurant in Behala for a fellowship dinner. They were joined there by PP Paromita Chatterjee and they let the good times roll. Ideas and thoughts were exchanged over dinner. RC Behala played able hosts for their Multi District Twin Club and the members of RC TagoreLand thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

They made us promise that we absolutely must visit Shantiniketan soon and work on more joint projects and continue our goodwill and relationship for years to come. We at RC Behala sincerely hope for the same!

Visit to Shanti Niwas with RC TagoreLand

 

 

On 13th November 2011, Project "Illuminate" continues full steam ahead with another visit from RC Behala along with their Multi-District Twin Club RC TagoreLand. The inmates were thrilled to see us and the members of RC TagoreLand. Rtrs Shuvratav, Shuvranshu, Soummojeet, Ananya, Samina, Shireen, Arijit and Rituparna greeted Rtrs. Debmalya, Rishabh and Tathagata of RC TagoreLand and showed them why this Old Age Home is so close to our heart.

After a long and fun "adda" session, we moved to the dining area where we enjoyed Tea and Snacks. We aired "Antaheen" on the brand new DVD Player that we had gifted a month back. Our guests from Shantiniketan had a great time, as evidenced by the smiles on their faces and the promise to come back soon to visit Shanti Niwash again.

We donated our Sunshine collection for the day to the Childrens Day Fund of Shanti Niwash and also bought some 2012 Calendars from them as part of their noble cause to raise money. All in all, it was another memorable evening with the most wonderful people we know!

Exchange of Official Stationery

 

Members of RC Behala met Rtr. Rishikesh of RC Aurangabad Airport (RID 3132) on Monday November 7th 2011. Rtrs. George, Lord, Shireen and Arijit went to meet him. It was an enlightening meeting and we discussed about each others clubs. He briefed us on the kind of projects his club is involved in, as did we. We exchanged some thoughts and ideas and promised to host his club members when they come down to the city next.

We handed him our Bulletin "Santoor" and he was nice enough to hand us a token of friendship in the form of their Theme Badge (Take the lead).

It is always an enriching experience to meet young, driven Rotaractors from other districts to get a first hand feel of the how fast the Rotaract Movement is ascending. We parted ways with a promise to visit their district in the near future, and possibility of a Joint Project."

RCB Club Assembly

 

Rotaract Club of Behala had their Club Assembly at East India Pharmaceutical Hall on 5th November 2011 at 5:30pm. The Assembly was attended by our beloved Rotarians,( Rotary President Rtn (Dr) Sidhartha Uncle with his wife, Sudipta Aunty, Rtn. Anjan Uncle and Rtn. Debabrata Uncle) and District Council Members( DRR Rtr. Aloke, DS Rtr. Mainak, Rtr. Arinjoy and Rtr. Pankaj). Our club was represented by Rtrs.Shuvranshu, Mousumi, Punit and Rituparna.

President Rtr. Shuvratav and Secretary Rtr. Arijit conducted the meeting as per norms and then proceeded to ask the guests to speak about various issues that are prevalent in Rotaract along with tips and ways of enhancing the movement. We got valuable inputs from everyone in the room and decided to implement these points in future projects. Some of the topics of discussion were Funds, Member Retention etc.

The session proved to be vastly educational for the new members who wanted a feel of the Rotaract Movement and we hope that the Assembly provided an able platform for all Rotaractors to come together and share views, ideas and opinions to facilitate growth and success.

NXT 2011

 

 

"NXT 2011. The eagerly anticipated Inter School Event to commemorate World Interact Week took place at The Heritage School on Friday 4th November 2011. It was an acid test for Team Behala as they had dedicated close to a month approaching schools, Rotarians and supporters to ensure the event is a success. On the day, all the pieces fell together and we had a fun-filled and enjoyable Event. NXT 2011 was a huge success and Team Behala takes pride in being the first Club in the history of RID 3291 to organize an Interact Event.

NXT began at 10am with the welcome speeches. Rtr. Shuvranshu welcomed the students and guests to the event. NXT Chairman and Club Secretary Rtr. Arijit gave his welcome speech first, followed by Rtn. Prasunjit Mukherjee and DICC Rtn. Indrani Gupta. This was followed by an informative session on Interact and Rotaract from DG(N) Rtn. Rajani Mukherji.

The Debate began at 10:30. Club President Rtr. Shuvratav was the moderator. The topic was “Do Indian films promote escapism”. The debate was heated and a lot of interesting points were raised. St James bagged the top two spots followed by Calcutta Boys School.

The Quiz was to be hosted by our friend and perpetual support system Rtn. Barun Das, but he could not make it due to an emergency meeting. Rtr. Arijit stepped in and conducted a fun quiz covering all topics from Sports to General Knowledge and Entertainment. St Thomas Boys bagged top honours.

After a short break for refreshments, the Poster Making competition began. The topic was “The Steve Jobs in you”. Calcutta Boys were declared winners for their innovative entry. Simultaneously, Rtr. Arijit conducted the star attraction of the event:The Medley. The Medley consisted of 3 fun rounds. A round of traditional Dumb Charades, followed by a round of Double Dumb Charades. The audience was in splits when the third round “Situations” began. The situations were outrageous. Mamata Banerjee explaining life in Kolkata to the Queen and Obama, Manmohan Singh on a date with Paris Hilton, Baba Ramdev proposing marriage to Rakhi Sawant etc! The hosts Heritage School bagged the first prize in Medley.

The event ended with the Prize Distribution and everyone dispersed with a smile on their face. Next year, we look forward to expanding NXT and inviting more schools to join and make it our Flagship Event! What's NXT?"