Midtown Rotary Club of Mysore, India celebrated the Hindu festival of Janmashtami, which commemorates the birth of Krishna. Members gathered for fellowship and enjoyed cultural performances and the exchange of gifts at midnight, which is believed to be the time of Krishna's birth. The club also visited a home for boys called Ajitha Nele to donate supplies and spend time with the residents. Several anniversaries and upcoming events were also announced.

1. Issue : 08Vol. : 33 28-08-2013Date : Pages : 04
Krishna Janmashtami, also known as Krishnashtami, Saatam Aatham, Gokulashtami, Ashtami Rohini, Srikrishna
Jayanti, Sree Jayanti or sometimes merely as Janmashtami, is an annual commemoration of the birth of the
Hindu deity Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu.
The festival is celebrated on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight) of the month of
Bhadrapada (August–September; However, in both traditions it is the same day. So, we have works like
Vishnudharmottara Purana saying Krishna Ashtami is in the Bhadrapada month and Skanda Purana stating that it
falls in the month of Shravana) in the Hindu calendar. Rasa lila, dramatic enactments of the life of Krishna, are a
special feature in regions of Mathura and Vrindavan, and regions following Vaishnavism in Manipur. The Dahi Handi
celebrate God's playful and mischievous side, where teams of young men form human towers to reach a high-
hanging pot of butterand breakit.This tradition,also knownas uriadi,is
a major event in Tamil Nadu on Gokulashtami. Hindu celebrate
Janmashtami by fasting and staying up until midnight, the time when
Krishna is believed to have been born. Images of Krishna's infancy are
placed in swings and cradles in temples and homes. At midnight
devotees gather around for devotional songs, dance and exchange gifts.
Some temples also conduct reading of the Hindu religious scripture
BhagavadGita.(Source:Wikipedia.org)
Today Midtown is celebrating 'Gokalashtami' in a distinctive way.
Come,letusenjoythecelebrations.
Congratulations!! to all Rotarians completing 10
years of meaningful association with Rotary.
Thanks to the 'Navarathnas' for hosting today's
dinner. BTW due congratulations to Rtn.Nandoo
too, as all these members were inducted to the
club during his presidentship!!!
Midtown Celebrates Janmashtami

2. DearRotarians
Time flies ! July and August has just sped past us. A great experience of team work in
executing interesting service projects balanced with fellowship. You must be enjoying
readingalltheactionneatlypresentedbyoureditor.
This last day of the month we get together for fellowship meet with Krishna Theme.
Preparations are underway to give you the best of times, memorable and enjoyable.
RtnMohanalongwithDr.Prahladhassomethingspecialuptheirsleeves.
September is hectic too. The Youth Services Month is packed with interesting projects for the youth.
Amaravani Award instituted by our Bheemanna's family is on 4th Sept. This is followed by Inauguration of
new Interact and Rotaract Clubsof Saradavilas High School and Degree College on 7th Sept.Induction of new
membersisplannedon11thSept.Diksoochi2013ison14thSept.RtnRajuBaligaasChairmanofDiksoochiis
in full swing preparing and Rotaract Mahajanas are participating in a noticeable way. Rtn Sanjay our Director
YouthServicesishandlingprojectsascalmlyashealwaysdoes.
Our Partners in Service IW Sisters, RCC Vinyas, Interact RMA & Depaul and Rotaract Mahajanas are
marching ahead with impact creating projects to benefit the community at large. You have been supporting
all through and our sincere thanks to you. The Dream of Each Rotarian a Project is coming true as Midtown
Rotarians are volunteering to participate in large numbers to do such wonderful projects. It is indeed great
timesatMidtown.
Warm Regards
Rtn. Bhanu
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Innerwheel News
Innerwheel club of Mysore Midtown has won 5 awards at the District Assembly. The official
information was shared by IPP Ann. Anupama Ravindranath. The club has bagged following
awards-
Personalised Service – I, Disabled/Spastic – I, Old Age – II, Continuous Project – II &
Fellowship–II
CongratulationstoallInnerwheelmembersfortherecognition.
Awarded
The recipient of the "Service above self" award from Dist.3180 this year is PDG.Rtn.Jnana
VasanthShetty.
Mr. Subba Rao C. R.
Past member of Rotary Mysore Midtown passed away on 26th
August 2013
He joined Midtown in the year 1991. An avid cricketer and an
humble person he was in Midtown for more than 12 years
May his soul rest in peace
20.04.1938 - 26.08.2013

3. Midtown visits ‘Ajitha Nele’
Ajitha Nele brain child of Late. Sri. Ajith Kumar- a
gold medallist engineer- houses 20boys. To quote one
of the caretakers these boys are not orphans as long as
theyhaveAjitthKumarsandsimilarthinkingindividuals
intheworld.Theyareboyswithoutshelterandthelove
andcareofbiologicalparents.
Evening started as usual with Narayana Bhatru's
Poori,chole,chutneyandachampakali.Whenthefood
was ready, golden brown pooris yummy looking, Rtn.
Narendra asked the children to start having their
evening meal. To my utter surprise children replied
"You are our guest along with all your Rotarian friends.
We will after all of you eat", a value which is rarely
instilled in most of our middle class, educated families.
It nearly brought tears to Rtn.Narendra's eyes. After
much persuasion and us joining them with dinner
plates in our hands children sang prayer songs and
started their meal. President Rtn.Bhanu Chandran and
Secretary Rtn.Dr.Prahalad conducted a brief meeting
after singing the National Anthem in chorus.
Mrs.Leelavathi spoke about the humble beginnings of
Ajitha Nele and the noble gesture of many individuals.
She specially mentioned the involvement of Midtown
Rotarians. All the Birthday and Anniversary greetings
announced by Dr. Prahalad was greeted with 'Jai
SreeRam' by the children which added a special touch
to the wishes. Rotarians generously contributed Rs.
10,000 that was the sunshine box collection along with
a R.O water purifier as part of the community project.
Rtn Balaji brought all the children cups of delicious Ice
cream as a pleasant surprise. As this community
project was a joint project with IWC Mysore Midtown
Ann.Sudha and Ann.Anupama represented IWC and
from the club donated a Kailash wet grinder which was
the requirement of Ajitha Nele. Rtn. Venkatesh
proposed Vote of Thanks and the meeting was
adjourned. I cant think of a better way to spend a
pleasantWednesdayevening.
-Ann. Anupama
Rotary Hoarding with 4-way test
The redesigned hoarding can be now
seen on top of Murugan Medicals
building in Saraswathipuram. The busy
road offers tremendous 'Eye' traffic for
the banner and is a great way of
spreading the spirit of “Rotary”. Thanks
to Rtn.Narendra Babu for the vantage
space and to Rtn.D.Srinivasan for the
awesomedesign.

4. Rotary Quiz
Answer:b.1985
Rotary membership
reached one million
in which year?
a. 1979
b. 1985
c. 1992
d. 2001
1. Is it the TRUTH ?
2. Is it FAIR to all
concerned ?
3. Will it build GOODWILL
and BETTER
FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to
all concerned ?
Rotary Information
Anniversary Wishes
Rtn. A.R.Alagappan
2nd September
‘Amaravani Award'
Date : 04-09-2013 Time: 6.30 pm
Venue: Rotary Hall, J.L.B. Road
Please Attend
Next Week
Rotary has approved a US$500,000 Rapid
Response grant to address a recent polio
outbreak in Somalia. As of 14 August 2013,
there have been 110 cases of wild poliovirus
reported in the Horn of Africa- 100 cases in
Somalia, and 10 cases in Kenya. The outbreak
in Somalia occurred in the Banadir Region of
thecountry,wherealargenumberofchildren
had not been vaccinated against polio due to
inaccessibility. This is the first outbreak in
Somaliasince2007andinKenyasince2011.
The Rotary grant to the World Health
Organization will cover operational costs,
including human resources, training, and
transportation of health workers during
August immunization activities aimed at
reaching children under 10 in all accessible
areasofSomalia.
Practical Innovation
Traffic apps and email clients are all well and
good, but there are few things that really highlight
the world-changing potential of the smartphone as
well as medical applications. People delivering access
to affordable care in developing nations always serve
as friendly reminder that our devices can be so much
more than distracting casual gaming platforms. Eye
examinations are one of the clearest applications on
that front -- around three years ago, MIT's Media Lab
introduced us to a $2 box that could transform
handsetsintoamobileeyeclinic.
Peek offers much of the same, albeit without the
need for a (relatively) bulky add-on. Developed by
members of the International Center for Eye Health,
the app can conduct visual acuity, color vision tests,
among several others. It also keeps a record of
patientsexaminedalongwithgeotaggedinfo.
Moredetailsat:http://www.engadget.com/2013/08/15/peek/
Courtesy:Internet
More details at:
http://www.endpolio.org/news/2013/08/08/rotary-
approves-$500-000-emergency-grant-for-somalia