Dear Rotarians
ONE HUNDRED AND COUNTING
The figure 100 has always been a challenging figure to us from childhood. Starting from school, the maximum marks in the examination was 100 and we were ranked how well or badly we fared on how far we were near that figure of 100. Cricketers who scored 100 runs in a match were considered heroes those days. Even now players who score a century flourish their bat from the ground and the crowd goes ecstatic.
As a young adult, having a 100 rupee currency note was an excitement those days and for some strange reason the 100 rupee note has never been demonetized. People who live up to 100 years of age automatically earn our respect irrespective of how they lived. It is matter of debate if they could have lived up to 100 years if they had not followed certain stringent regimen.
Art which has been in existence for over 100 years are of great value and building which cross the 100 years mark become heritage structures and gain popularity if they are maintained well. Even history is ranked as 10th century,15th century or 20thcentury and so on..
Similarly, organisations which have been in existence for 100 years and more have been rated very high and for good reasons. When I participated in the centenary celebrations of Rotary International in 2005, it was great excitement for me for having been a part of this great movement.
Today when I am here to participate in the centenary celebration of the Rotary in India, it is yet another joyful moment for me to see how we have nurtured the growth of the movement in India. Rotary’s century in India has never been dull or prosaic. It was always filled with challenges and changes in its organizational structure. Yet it has survived to become more dynamic. As Paul Harris said, “Rotary has to be evolutionary at all times and revolutionary sometimes.”
Rotary has done great work in many fields in these 100 years. The greatest achievement is the eradication of polio. The work started in 1988 and gathered momentum in 1995 when the NIDs were announced. In 2014 India was declared a Polio Free Country by WHO. This achievement was possible by the support of donors to the cause such as Shrimathi Rajshree Birla. Rotarians in India worked patiently and diligently with the Government agencies to finish the work.
We have come to 100 years of existence with patience. We could not have hurried about by pushing the years faster, but we have accelerated our achievements rapidly over these years. It is not that we have to do lots and lots of things just to set some record. Direction is more important than speed. We should not be looking at the speedometer and forget the milestone.
Times, days, tomorrow, yesterday don’t exist as long as you do what you love. For yet another historic century of service, you have to be passionate about service and focus that one desire on what you seek to accomplish through Rotary.
Shrimathi Rajshree Birlaji, we are honoured you are with us today to share our joy of service to mankind. You have played an important part in helping Rotary do many projects at the national and regional level and there is no better time to for us to make a commitment to carry on with the work than today. The legacy we will leave behind will make Rotary stronger and bigger.