Felicitation to Bharat Pandya and Kamal Sanghvi in Kolkata
It’s a society where teamwork, loyalty, and communication are the norm rather than the exception. Everyone contributes and everyone thrives. This is the fundamental principle of Rotary.
Some say leaders are born. We say they’re made. In Rotary, we make leaders over the years by giving them opportunities at every level to lead their clubs, the districts, their zones and the Rotary World. We help them to develop the qualities of leadership that is clubbed with ethical behaviour.
Rtn. Bharat Pandya and Rtn. Kamal Sanghvi are such leaders who have worked their way up the pyramid with sheer dedication and hard work to develop Rotary in their region.
The human brain has 100 million neurons, each neuron connected to 10,000 other neurons. Bharat and Kamal, sitting on your shoulders is the most complicated object in the known universe. Don’t let your past define you when you represent the Rotary world and through aim to serve millions of people who look up to us for some hope everyday.
Mold yourself into the compassionate person you must be when you lead a distinguished team of volunteers. Every Rotarian has strengths, but not everyone sees it. As leaders you will have to build on strengths and that means dropping prejudices which are mostly as a result of unfounded jealousy and fed by those who think that the way to go up is to trample on someone. Such persons forgot that on their way down they will meet those coming up and at that time they can be pushed down faster.
Both of you have distinctive professional background. What is common in your profession is that you can see what is hidden inside. You, Bharat, as a doctor and you, Kamal, as a financial wizard, can see through the thick outer layers of anything that is presented to you and diagnose what is inside. This will help you to separate the chaff from the grain and take the correct remedial steps without bias.
Both of you can catch the attention of the audience when you go to the stage with wit and humour and this is what is truly needed from a leader. Doing the right things is important for both of you rather than getting stuck with the nitty-gritty’s of some senseless disputes that can erupt here or there.
Make no mistake – leading with passion inspires world change and so also in Rotary. It is possible to accomplish something good on your own. But to accomplish something great you need a team. I am sure that this will not be driven by age-old formulas but by bold thinking on how to assign the correct job to the correct person.
Many Rotarians just lose steam half-way when they see that this was not the organisation they were shown when they joined. In the words of one of them, “Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill-will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.” Both of you have the capacity to identify and reach out to such talented members and use their knowledge and skills for the benefit of Rotary.
I have seen both of you as District Governors and how you attended to the affairs of the district, especially when your correct sense of judgment was needed. I know that you both believe that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” This is very true when the members in over 3,000 clubs are closely watching your every move and grading you in their own scale. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. This is the universal law.
Your job is like publishing a book. It’s not a one person job. It takes multiple departments from editing to writing and marketing and customer care. We have shown earlier how to reach the top in this. We have shown that we can grow in membership and achieve great targets in TRF contributions.
All these were possible with people who worked with dedication to the cause of Rotary. Both of you should lead with passion, exemplify qualities like integrity, discipline and generosity. Build team loyalty and generate excitement about the work you will be doing together. Every step forward must be towards a brighter future and enlightened Rotary.
Rotary is not and cannot be a long story about some privileged individuals who seldom gave up their privileges voluntarily. We have always been led by stalwarts who see the moral light and give up their unjust posture when they realise that they have been misled.
I know I have been sermonizing a lot, but when I was told to felicitate both of you, I had only one message to convey through this sermon – We are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business and we are each other’s bond.
Pour tremendous thought, time and love in guiding the affairs of Rotary when you assume office. I wish you both a good life, one that is inspired by love and guided by knowledge.