The document provides details about various club activities and events from the past week: 1) The club meeting last week featured a talk by Prof. Belliappa on the role of media today. The talk was well received. 2) This will be President Raaghu's last meeting before handing over duties. He has invited members and families to a President's Dinner on June 30th to celebrate the year. 3) Next week will be a club assembly meeting on June 20th at 6:30pm at the RCL Hall on JLB Road.

1. ISSUE : 46 VOLUME : 31 13-06-2012 PAGES - 4
MEDIA-TODAY - A FRANK TALK BY PROF BELLIAPPA
Prof Belliappa the evening delicacy and his association with
is not new to Midtown. He quickly moved to the subject of
Midtown and the evening and narrated his own experience
there are sweet in learning and mastering English Language.
memories to He being generalist relishes knowledge from
savor every any source and in his years of teaching and
time he has administrative experience has gained
participated in authority on several subjects. Media seems to
M i d t o w n be a subject he wanted to tear apart to some
events. His audience disgusted with the present
seamless flow developments and Midtown was lucky to be
of English Language spell binds audience and that audience. He related primarily between
6th June was no different. print media and audiovisual media and took
The fellowship had mouthwatering several instances to justify print media is better
chanabathura, crisp and sumptuous in terms of journalistic ethics compared to the
deliciously served on behalf of Toofan Chandu other media. He did not spare the modern day
as part of his B-Day celebrations, spiraled the netas and babus who are the toast of today’s
moods. Our President looking more confident media and dwelt in length on issue of
than ever before, now master of the corruption. Midtowners instantly liked his
occasions, called the meeting to order and as openness and during interaction had barrage
part of protocol recognized the achievers Rtn of questions which resulted in interesting
Rock and Rtn Gopal who were not present last conversations. Master Blaster Harish was
week apart from customary Birthday and aptly chosen to propose vote of thanks and he
Anniversary celebration calls. Rtn Dr Prahlad not only lived up but was the icing on the cake
introduced Prof Belliappa highlighting his for the evening. A nice take away in one of the
personal achievements. last meets of Raaghu’s year blessed with
Prof Belliappa began with Reminiscences of sweet memories. - SBC
Mr. Karthik
Chidambaram, Vice
President AITA, S/o
Union Home Minister
Mr. P. Chidambaram
was in Mysore
recently. He was
invited to our club
during 2012-13 by
President elect Rtn.
Vishwanath and PP
Rtn. Alagappan

2. 13-06-2012
President's Message
Last week we had Prof. Dr.K.C.Belliappa, Retired Vice Chancellor of Central University of
Arunachala Pradesh as the speaker. He spoke about Role of Media Today. Being a English
teacher himself, his speech was excellent. I hope you all enjoyed it. I thank Rtn. Ravindra Babu
for bringing him to the Club.
Friends we have almost come to the end of the Rotary Year 2011-12. On this occasion
I would like to invite you all along with your family for a get together of President’s Dinner on
30th Saturday, June at Hotel Grand Maurya. Please treat this as my personal invitation & grace
the occasion. Looking forward to meet you all with family on the last day of my Presidentship.
Today let us lend our hand to Chayadevi Anaathashrama. Let us reach within to
Embrace Humanity.
Bye till next week….
Rtn. Raghavendra
Thank You
Lisbon RI Convention Logo
Two simple lines define the boat
Dear friends, hull and sail. The leaning of the sail
lends a sense of movement and
President Raaghu is all set to serenity to the logo. The sail being
wind up ‘Embrace within to reach the propelling force of the silent
vessel, its presence signifies
humanity’ year, whereas President
serenity and peace. The Rotary
Elect Rtn. Vishwa is all set to cruise the ‘Peace symbol on the left is reminiscent of a
through fellowship’ year. Raaghu’s was a glorious helm, the device that controls the direction of the vessel, and
integrates seamlessly the concept as a whole.
year and Vishwa plans to break the records and The blue, yellow and white colors were chosen as they the
take club to newer heights. All I can say is that Rotary colors and favor a harmonious chromatic combination.
- Rtn. Rakesh Babu
Midtown is now going through its enticing period
–hope it will be back to back mega hits.
Raaghu perhaps finished most of the
Nostalgic Combodia Through Wajid’s Lens
formalities of thanks giving during one of the
previous meetings when we had celebration of the
accomplishment of Awards. He has made it clear
that during the official president’s dinner which is
scheduled on June 30th there will be no speeches
and formalities. So friends, those of you who want
to express your appreciation to the magnificent
year, here is a platform in About Us. Pen down your
feelings, appreciations, criticisms if any, and mail it
to prahlad_ka@yahoo.com. It will be my proud
privilege to bring it in my last issue on June 30th
where I sign off and pass on the pen to the next
editor Seenannna. So friends, take the pen or boot
your computer, this is the last opportunity. Hope to
see lots and lots of mails.

3. 3 13-06-2012
JUST LISTEN
JUST LISTEN India’s oldest granny
Sowmi Akka
I suspect that the most basic and powerful way to
connect to another person is to listen. Just listen.
Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each
other is our attention. And especially if it’s given from the
heart. When people are talking, there’s no need to do
anything but receive them. Just take them in. Listen to
what they’re saying. Care about it. Most times caring
about it is even more important than understanding it.
Most of us don’t value ourselves or our love enough to
know this. It has taken me along time to believe in the
power of simple saying, "I’m so sorry," when someone is
in pain. And meaning it.
One of my patients told me that when she tried to tell
While women in India normally have a lifespan of
her story people often interrupted to tell her that they 60–65 years, Sowmi Akka, the oldest grandmother
once had something just like that happen to them. in the country is 120 years old, hails from
Subtly her pain became a story about themselves. Coimbatore city and still seems in pink of health.
Sowmi Akka said that eating healthy diet helped her
Eventually she stopped talking to most people. It was to live longer and a problem free life. She also
just too lonely. We connect through listening. When we mentioned that she is self–reliant to perform all kind
of domestic work such as cooking, cleaning the
interrupt what someone is saying to let them know that house and buying vegetables from the market.
we understand, we move the focus of attention to Meanwhile, her granddaughter, Amarawathy said
ourselves. When we listen, they know we care. Many that Sowmi Akka’s eldest daughter is 95 and the
entire family participated in the family reunion.
people with cancer can talk about the relief of having (Source: The Indian Express, June 12, 2012)
someone just listen.
I have even learned to respond to someone crying
by just listening. In the old days I used to reach for the
tissues, until I realized that passing a person a tissue
may be just another way to shut them down, to take
them out of their experience of sadness and grief. Now I
just listen. When they have cried all they need to cry,
they find me there with them.
This simple thing has not been that easy to learn. It
certainly went against everything I had been taught
since I was very young. I thought people listened only
Fourth Place in Rotary Photo contest : Shot in Gitagum,
because they were too timid to speak or did not know Philippines. Says Benson, “I usually am not partial to sunset
the answer. A loving silence often has far more power to photography, but this photograph, with the silhouette of the two boys
with their poles reflected in the water, offers a modern, graphic twist
heal and to connect than the most well intentioned while the sunset looms magnificently in the background.”. Carlo
words. Antonio Romero, Rotary Club of Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines

4. Happy
Birthday New Rotarian Action Group helps
countries grow food that suits
their nutritional needs
When Australian Bruce French went to Papua New
Guinea as an agriculture instructor 40 years ago, his
students asked him to teach them about native edible
plants.
Rtn. Pradeep Kumar Rtn. PHF. Narasimha R “I knew nothing about Papua New Guinea food plants,”
14-06-2012 16-06-2012 he recalls. “So I had to start learning.”
Mobile: 9742122507 Mobile: 9845540472 The result was a series of books on indigenous food
plants, and the not-for-profit Food Plants International,
which maintains a database of 25,000 edible plants that
includes descriptions, lists of countries and climates where
they grow, photos and drawings, and cooking methods.
“There are thousands of nutritious plants, but people
don’t have any information about them,” says Buz Green,
an agriculturalist and member of the Rotary Club of
Rtn. Balaji K J Rtn. PP. PHF. Sundara Raja Rao Devonport North, Australia. “We’re trying to bridge some of
18-06-2012 20-06-2012 the gaps.
Mobile: 9900509018 Mobile: 9343830682 “Rotarian teams in developing countries inevitably
identify hunger, malnutrition, and food security as critical
Wedding Anniversary issues,” Green explains. “They tend to look to Western
solutions to address food production issues.”
Nutritional profile
The problem, he says, is that Western crops don’t have
the right nutritional profile for people in the developing
world, whose diets often have little variety. Indigenous
crops can allow them to eat more nutritiously and are
already adapted to local pests, diseases, and climatic
conditions.
The “green revolution” of the 1950s and ’60s, for
Rtn. A. N. Aiyanna & Shalini example, led to increased agricultural productivity in Asian
09-06-2012 ; Cell : 9844009049 countries, but also to unforeseen effects. The weeds that
grew in rice paddies had served as the primary source of
ORGANIC VEGETABLES vitamin A for villagers in India, and when those weeds were
FOR THE WIFE eradicated, the people became deficient.
My wife asked me to buy ORGANIC “Virtually every woman in the tropical world is anemic,”
French adds. “We go there with cabbages and make the
vegetables from the market. I went and
situation 10 times worse.”
looked around and couldn't find any.
Learn Grow
So I grabbed an old, tired looking French and Green launched the Learn Grow project in
employee and said, "These vegetables are June 2007 to help people in developing countries grow local
for my wife. Have they been sprayed with any food that suits their nutritional needs. Early last year, the RI
poisonous chemicals?" Board recognized the Food Plant Solutions Rotarian Action
"The produce guy looked at me and said: Group, whose 195 members will help Rotarians implement
- Learn Grow efforts, according to its chair, Past RI Director
- John Thorne, of the Rotary Club of North Hobart, Australia.
- In August 2010, Learn Grow launched a pilot project in
“No. You'll have to do that yourself." the Solomon Islands, producing a compendium of local
edible plants, field guides for growers, and a book on crops
for schools and community groups. Local organizations
Next Week in Midtown provide support and distribute information. The project
team has received inquiries from 20 developing countries;
another effort is underway in the Democratic Republic of
Club Assembly Timor-Leste.
The principles of eating locally are gaining momentum
in the Western world, French says. “My children and lots of
Date: 20-06-2012 at 6.30pm other people thought I was eccentric for 35 years. Now I’ve
Venue : RCL Hall, JLB Road become fairly trendy in my old age.”