The LighthouseMoulding a child's mind
His own life's experience, and the stratification of parental expectations, led him to experiment with starting a
coaching special school in Ladakh, just before college. The success of this coaching classes run by him and a few close associates, led him to understand that all children require different methodologies for learning; and that the best learning is in one's mother tongue. Languages and information are ongoing learning and can always be acquired.
School, in the local Ladakhi environment, in a language that was either Hindi or Urdu was the next step. He adapted however and did fairly well, until he was sent to Srinagar to study. There, he found the system and the language alien, and thus, fared poorly. He was considered not
very bright, he remembers, and says that being an 'outstanding student' meant standing outside class as punishment for not being able to integrate.
Sonam Wangchuk began his talk by relating his own
experiences in learning as a child. He described how, school was not an option in his Ladakhi village, and that learning was from the real world and nature
around him for the first eight years of his life. This, he remembers as being happy and truly educative.
Thus, one day, he 'ran away'. His destination was Delhi, to a
school for tribal children and others and he recalled how he met the headmaster and requested for admission, difficult though it was. In this school, being 'ahead' of others thanks to his head start in the Srinagar school thanks to the
earlier academic sessions, he was considered a 'bright' student. Enthused by the encouragement from the teachers, Sonam says he prepared for his classes by reading up the lessons before, and therefore, fared well, becoming one of the top in the class.
This led to the start of the Himalayan Institute, for children who do not fare well in school. This school, he said, allows children to learn from their environment, and there have been many success stories, with students faring well in their adult lives.
The talk was well-received by the audience of Rotarians, Anns and Anettes, with some of his observations hitting home. Moderators Rtn. Sharon Krishna Rau and Rtn. Bhashwar Mukherjee facilitated questions from the floor, even as they ably got the conversation going.
It was indeed an enlightening evening.
BULLETIN OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF MADRAS | 2018-19
Edition 13 | October 5, 2018 | Pages 4
Sonam Wangchuk, innovator and education reformist was the speaker at the Lecture Series—3 evening meeting…
min
utes
2
Mr Sonam gave his speech covering his early life, career and his innovative education models with impressive visuals.
The President thanked PP AS Venkhat Ramani for bringing in Mr Sonam Wangchuk, an eminent speaker, philosopher and internationally well-known educationist. The President praised Mr Sonam for his logical thinking with innovative ideas, and for being an great inspiration to the youngsters and a catalyst between students and the future.
Rtn PP SN Srikanth reported on his visit to our sister club RC Colombo and participating in their 90th year celebrations. It was an amazing occasion to be a part of it he said, and presented a plaque on behalf of RCM and handed over a flag received from RC Colombo (separate report from PP SN Srikanth).
Rtn PP AS Venkhat Ramani introduced the chief guest Mr Sonam Wangchuk, Ladakhi engineer, innovator and education reformist. He is the founding-director of the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh which was founded in 1988.His interesting journey was shown as short video and the topic dwelt with is 'Learnings from my childhood'.
The President informed members that the second phase of the water and sanitation project inauguration at the Kannankottai village has been shifted to 9th Oct, Tuesday morning, where 300 toilets are planned to be built.
The Secy thanked the Lecture Series committee, Hyatt, Rtn Vikram Chesetty and Rtn PP Paul K Jacob and Ann Tanu for the wonderful arrangements for the evening.
Rtn Hemant Chordia introduced the young sailors Varun Thakkar and Ganapathy and a video on sailing was played in conjunction with his intro. Both were felicitated by the State and Central governments for their accomplishments.
The President acknowledged Rtn PP Shivkumar, Rtn AVM Balu and Rtn PP AS Venkhat Ramani for making this evening possible.
The Secy welcomed the visiting Rotarians and thanked the board and RCMCT for contributing to the Himalayan Institute of the speaker.
A cartoon sketched by Rtn Biswajit Babu was given to Mr Sonam in memory of the evening.
Secretary Rtn Prabha Srinivasan ably orchestrated the sequence of the
meeting and also played the role of the MC.
Secretary Rtn Prabha Srinivasan kicked off the meeting by playing video from the movie '3 Idiots', depicting the pressure that the students face in the education system.
Rtn Archana Sanjay reminded members about the Dandiya Fund Raiser and requested members to buy tickets and support the fund raiser. She narrated how the Gujarat Tourism Corporation was got on board and appreciated the efforts of Mr Srinivas and Rtn Krishnamurthy Vijayan. She added that a bat signed by cricketer M. S. Dhoni will be put to auction at the dandiya function. She requested members to attend with family and friends and support the event
The President wished that both reach greater heights and wished that they would continue their hard work and practice. Mr Sonam encouraged them to win more laurels and pointed out that they have used their energy very constructively and have made India proud.
The First Lady, Ann Uma, presented a bouquet to the Chief Guest Mr Sonam.
The meeting was then adjourned.
The President thanked Mr Sonam for his motivating speech and the very noteworthy conversation with our moderators. The President's concern was that why the Indian Government has not recognized Mr Sonam's concept of the education system, which in turn, will benefit India. The President also opined that creativity in children is definitely from the outside and thanked Sonam for his enlightening talk.
Sgt-at-arms Rtn Jayant Hemdev collared President Rtn Ranjit Pratap, who called the meeting to order.
Moderators Rtn Dr Sharon Krishna Rau and Rtn Bhaswar Mukherjee posed very interesting questions, some from the floor to Mr Sonam, who answered
them from his heart.
The President presented a specially-made memento to Mr Sonam, on behalf of the RCM, amidst applause.
Secy Rtn Prabha thanked Mr Sonam for his inspiring talk, saying that he demonstrated the love and empathy and the positive reinforcement in children. He emphazised the fact that children should be given the opportunity to pursue their dreams. Speaker: Gitanjali Babbar; Topic:
Rehabilitating sex workers
The President honoured both with floral bouquets for their achievements in the Asiad and the Asian Champions tournaments, for winning medals. Varun thanked the RCM for recognizing them and paid a tribute to the coaches/parents for their success.
The Secy said that the dandiya fund raiser is on the 9th Oct'18 and on the 11th Oct'18 Thursday at 6.30 pm, is the Combined Community Service meeting at the Gymkhanna, for which RSVP is needed.
The Secy announced that the next regular weekly meeting is on the 16th Oct at Hyatt, in the afternoon.
BIRTHDAYS
22nd Oct – Rtn Dr Sharon Krishna Rau
16th Oct – Ann.Janak (Rtn PDG S Krishnaswami)
16th Oct – Ann.Susan (Rtn Sapru Mathew)
18th Oct – Ann.Krishnakumari (Rtn TK Raman)
20th Oct – Ann. Mamta (Rtn Ranjeeth Rathod)
21st Oct – Rtn Nataraj Ramaiah
18th Oct – Rtn Abdul Azeez
22nd Oct – Rtn Ravee Malhotra
17th Oct – Rtn Shaan Katari Libby
18th Oct – Rtn N Mahmud Jamal
16th Oct – Ann.Meenakshi (Rtn K Krishnan)
16th Oct – Ann.Uma (President Ranjit Pratap)
16th Oct – Ann.Bhagyalaksmi (Rtn PP MC Shanker)
18th Oct – Ann. S Prabhavathi (Rtn S Srinivasan)
22nd Oct – Ann. Suseela (Rtn VM Sivasubramaniam)
OCTOBER 5, 2018
WEDDING
22nd Oct –R tn Vishal Mehra
16th Oct – Rtn Archana Shri Sanjay
21st Oct – Rtn R Kadiresan Adityan
Spouse:Sanjay Balram17th Oct – Rtn Jacob Kurian Ann.Achu
Ann.Vasughi22nd Oct – Rtn Ramjei Narasimhan Ann.Sharada22nd Oct – Rtn Shanno Ravi Spouse:Dr Ravi Ramalingam
Ann.Anjani Gandhi Mehra
Ann.Pratyusha Ramanathan
22nd Oct – Rtn Lakshmanan
IN MEMORIUM
The Rotary Club of Madras deeply condoles his passing, and our thoughts are with his family at this time of loss. May his soul rest in peace.
Our Rotarian, Thomas Mathew E. passed away on October 7 2018. He is survived by his wife Zareena who lives in Rosemere, Harrington Road.
3OCTOBER 5, 2018
his year's edition of the TOktoberfest saw a record head count of 185 Rotarian families, which has never happened in the earlier editions. Hosted at the Park Hyatt, the luncheon fellowship boasted of an ambience of festivity, Live Music, Bavarian food, as well as our own Indian cuisine for veggies, fun games, photo op, et al…
Some glimpses of the happy afternoon of RCM bonding.
A zestyOktoberfest!
FULL CLUB FELLOWSHIP
RCM's Oktoberfest saw a record fellowship by 185 Rotarian families making for a zesty and enjoyable Sunday…
DIRECTOR SERVICE PROJECT 2Rtn. R. Ravishankar
Asst. SECRETARY/BULLETIN EDITORRtn. Sandhya Sridhar
DIRECTOR CLUB ADMINISTRATIONRtn. Vikram Chesetty
PRESIDENTRtn. Ranjit Pratap
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENTRtn. P.N. Mohan
PRESIDENT NOMINEERtn. Kapil Chitale
DIRECTOR YOUTH SERVICERtn. M Sesha Sai
DIRECTOR SERVICE PROJECT 1Rtn. S. Ravi
PRESIDENT ELECTRtn. Dr. Vijaya Bharathi Rangarajan
DIRECTOR VOCATIONAL SERVICERtn. Vinod Kumar
DIRECTOR ROTARY FOUNDATION &INTERNATIONAL SERVICESRtn. M. Balasubramaniam
DIRECTOR PUBLIC IMAGEAND FUND RAISINGRtn. Nikhil Raj
HONORARY SECRETARYRtn. Prabha Srinivasan
TREASURER (CLUB FUNDS)Rtn. Mohan Raman
TREASURER(CHARITABLE TRUST)Rtn. Rajasekar Gorantla
TREASURER(SPECIAL PROJECTS)Rtn. Gooch Kumar A
LIGHTHOUSE COMMITTEE:Editor: Rtn. Sandhya SridharIncoming editor:Rtn. Biswajit BalasubramaniamRtn. Mohan RamanRtn. Siddharth GaneriwalaRtn. Dr. Sharon Krishna RauAnn Padmavati GunashekarAnn Sowmya ArjunAnn Kamala Ramakrishnan
Send in your articles, news, write-ups to be considered for publication here on [email protected] in touch with the Lighthouse, your very own RCM magazine!
EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY:Rtn. Asst. Secretary, Rotary Club of Madras, 'Rayala Towers',2nd Mezzanine Floor, 158, Anna Salai, Chennai - 2, Ph: 28591020.Contact the editor at: [email protected]
Visit: www.rotarymadras.inDesign: www.studiodescience.com
Contact club secretariat at: [email protected]
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Good work, by senior citizens
The present strength of Probus Club of Chennai is 356 numbers of age group 50+. At present, a few members are of age 90+.
6. Awarding best student and teacher on the Children's day celebrations.
11. Fellowship among members by monthly breakfast meetings (Held on the fourth Saturdays of every month at Russian Centre for Science and Culture), tours (domestic, international, pilgrimage, picnics). Staging skits and plays, etc.
Every year, the Probus Club will bring out our annual book and release it on the “International Day of The Elderly”. Our 27th annual book will be released on 1/10/2018. Every year we print 2,000 books. Many senior citizens wait for this book every year as it contains articles of importance and information on old age homes (Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Keralal, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana,
Maharashtra), blood banks, Hospitals, Pharmacy, etc.
The Russian Centre of Science and Culture, Kasturi Rangan, Road, Alwarpet, Chennai support us in providing hall/auditorium to have club's monthly breakfast meetings and joint celebrations of “International day of the Elderly”,” International Women's day” and “Children's day”.
Individuals can also donate for the Probus Club Scholarship Scheme and the Probus Club Silver Jubilee Medical Benefit Fund. They can contact President S.Gopalakrishnan (Email ID: [email protected]; Phone:+919382166062) or Secretary B.Ranganathan (Email ID:[email protected]; Phone:+919962644468) or the convener PP R.T.Namasivayam (Email:[email protected]; Phone: +9197899 74100).
5. Honouring senior citizens who have done contributions to the society during the celebrations of “The International day of the Elderly” on 1st October every year.
10. Awarding outstanding women who contributed to the society during the celebrations of “international Women's day”
in March every year.
4. The donations for the above two schemes are eligible for 80 G concessions as per IT act. Donations are welcome from public from their Resident Bank Account in India or Non Resident Bank (NRO) Account in India. They can contact President S.Gopalakrishnan (Email ID: [email protected]; Phone:+919382166062) or Secretary B.Ranganathan (Email ID:[email protected]; Phone:+919962644468)
9. Motivating senior from public to show their talents in various fields and honour them on the “International Day of The Elderly”.
The club is an autonomous body, registered under Tami Nadu Societies Act. The club operates within the provisions of the Bye-Laws of the club, approved by the General Body and Registrar, Government of Tamil Nadu Registration Department. (Registration No. 148/2004)
The main activities of the club are as follows:
For admission process for new members, the important members to be contacted initially – K.Venkatachari (98410 22270); R.T.Namasivayam (97899 74100); V.Balachander (99629 01964); K.Gopal (94441 74479); N.Rammohan (98401 77555); S.Ranganatha Rao (2499 5290). B.Ranganathan (99626 44468).
1. Visiting old age homes/orphanages and help them financially and morally.
13. Probus Cultural and sports wing is a new activity and successfully staged two Tamil plays and one English skit.
3. Medical aid for the needy senior citizens such
as medicines, medical tests, equipment, etc.
2. Giving scholarships to deserving poor students of Corporation/Government/Govt. aided schools from the donation from members and public.
7. Awarding persons who had helped to propagate Thirukkural during Pongal day celebrations.
8. Awarding students who have excelled in Thirukkural against competition organised by the club.
12. In our monthly meetings, we invite a speaker from outside to address us on various subjects relevant to senior citizens. The club members are also invited to speak.
The Probus Club of Chennai is a senior citizens association of retired professionals,
businessmen, government officials and others. This was initiated by the Rotary Club of Madras as one of the activities as per Rotary International. This club was formed in 1992. The Probus Club of Chennai has celebrated Silver Jubilee in June 2017.
The RCM is closely connected to the Probus Club and its activities. What is the Probus Club? Who are its members? On frequent enquiries from RCM members on the above, the Lighthouse concludes this two-part series about this club in this issue…
PROBUS CLUB
6 OCTOBER 5, 2018
