CPLC#46 has been instumental in organizing a grand carnival for special children for the past 3 years.This year too it was organized on 6th Feb at Nivedita,Institution of Child Health from 11:30AM to 1:30 P.M.Around 150 mentally challenged children attended the grand event along with their parents.These children came from various schools in Kolkata.The carnival was inaugrated by the reknowned actress Locket Chatterjee and was extensively covered by the media.The children were too delighted by her presence and also at being clicked with their favourite star.There were 4 joy rides-Bouncing Castle, Ball Pool, Merry-go-round and Twirl Whirl, all sponsored by Party Fun.The rides were free and could be enjoyed number of times. There were 4 games stall which was handled by our very own Circlers. The children were given colorful stationery as prizes even if they did not complete the challenge. When the games and rides were done, they were also given a refreshing drink and food packets sponsored by Sahyog, which they relished extremely. Cr. Mridula Agarwal Project convenor CPLC#46




On 28th April 2009 , Cr Archana Jain, Cr Anu Pachisia & I went to Kolkata Swasthya Sankalp (KSS) situated at 12 Kyd Street . It was a first experience for me to visit a project after joining LC India. And it was worth an experience for me. KSS is an initiative to work for the cause of the poor and marginalized in the field of blood donation, dialysis and avoidable blindness which are Areas of major concern in our country. We met Dr. Ali there who showed us the facilities offered over there to the poor people. They have 9 beds for conducting dialysis but only 2 machines to do so. Their 1st phase (November 2009) aim is to carry on 20 sessions of dialysis per day with 5 dialysis machines. Their target for the 2nd phase (mid 2010) is 80 sessions of dialysis with 15 machines & their 3rd phase target is to replicate similar model across the state of West Bengal . Each dialysis machine costs around Rupees five lacs and cost to maintain the same is also steep. In preventive blindness they do door to door screening for eye related diseases catering to urban poor. They provide a complete eye care treatment cycle from diagnosis to post operative care. They have treated around 10,000 patients in the last 3 years by organising over 20 camps. They now have a fully equipped eye screening center at Kyd Street . Their third initiative is called Channel Life Force. It is an innovative two way SMS based service which works 24/7 all year round. It is a user friendly, immediate and effective linkup between voluntary blood donor and the patient. We also met two poor patients there, who were undergoing the dialysis process and it was quite disheartening to learn that they have to skip their scheduled dialysis process due to paucity of funds. We also learnt that if required a person has to undergo dialysis twice a week and it is very expensive for them to afford it.Minimum cost of a dialysis is around Rs 2000/ but this organisation does it for Rs 500/.The picture below is of a beggar’s daughter who is also paralysed.Funds donated by us will help her in going through 20 dialysis at least. I feel so proud of my circle to have helped this girl though a very small amount of Rs 10,000/ but as Dr.Ali says “EVERY DROP IN THE OCEAN COUNTS”. All in all it was a learning experience for a new comer like me and I look forward to many more project visits in times to come. Cr. Priyanka Jain LC46
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LC46 Charter Day celebrations An air-conditioner for our hearts It was our birthday and we had the privilege of celebrating it with children who dont get a chance to celebrate their own. And to top it we were doing a joint project with our mother(sponsor ) circle LC 3:). As part of our charter week project we jointly with LC 3 had built a playground for the children of Ek Prayas , an institute where 150 children are taken care of by two very dedicated ladies, intent on making a difference in some lives. We also sponsored the day's mid day meal. Seeing the joy and the smiles of the children made it worth our while to brave the afternoon sun in the sweltering Kolkata heat. An Air Conditioner was fitted in our hearts! Cr. Alka Tibarewalla Fund – raising convenor CPLC 46.
A roof to study under, a mat to sit on On the occasion of Charter Day we celebrated the Bengali New year with the Children of Joydeep Das Memorial School on Prince Anwar Shah Road . The project was jointly done with LC65 . The school is being run in a temporary structure built on the extended footpath by a very enthusiastic group of school workers. It was started & is being managed by Mrs. Shrimanti Das in memory of her son Joydeep . Presently the school has 112 students. We celebrated the Bengali new year with the children by cutting a cake & distributing food packets . We have also sponsored 4 durries for the children to sit on . It was really great to see the children smiling & eagerly waiting for their share of cake inspite of it being one of the hottest days. We had Nat. Secretary Cr. Manisha , Nat. Fellowship Con Cr. Kajal & Nat. Sponsorship Convenor Cr . Vishu gracing the occasion and enlightening the parents and children about the activities of ladies Circle. Cr. Priyanka Kedia Shagun convenor Extension convenor CPLC46


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Dining with the Monk Robin Sharma Calcutta Park Street Round Table No. 34 along with Rotary Club of Chowringhee invited Author Robin Sharma to Calcutta for a presentation on February 2009 at Hotel ITC Sonar Bangla. As a curtain raiser for the event a Dinner and a interactive session was hoisted in his honour at Conclave on Feb 2009. Members of Round Table 34 and Ladies Circle 46 along with Members of Rotary Club participated in the event. It was an amazing experience for me as I could not believe that I was in august company of a world renowned author who has floored readers worldwide by his book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari.The ambience of conclave and the private gathering was an ideal setting for Robin Sharma to share his thoughts with us and I was ready to pen down his views and was eagerly waiting for him to come and talk to us. As the moment arrived I was floored by the simplicity of the Author and his clear and crisp reading of life's challenging journey. He encouraged us to ask him any questions that may have come in our mind and soon the environment changed to a fully blown interactive session with audience freely asking questions from their respective lives and the answers from the master were as straight as sachin's straight drive .. A great and memorable evening which culminated over dinner and one to one interaction with the author and a photo shoot to take back happy memories of the evening. Cr. Amishi Mehta Treasurer CPLC 46

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TAARE ZAMEEN PAR We hold these truths to be self evident that all children are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But then in due course we realize that all children are not equal. Some are able bodied while others live with physical and mental handicaps. Some are better endowed than others. But they all have one common thread binding them – they all desire to be happy. Even a brain pronounced by doctors as “damaged” gunfires images. Transcending all deformities children have the ability to think with their hearts. Their minds irrespective of the bodies they inhabit are just like spin dryers at full speed. Their thoughts fly around within and millions of them cascade down into their conciousness. And these are then expressed in the universal language of colours. I had the privilege of being a part of this soulful bounty when we organized “Taare Zameen Par”. This was a Sit-n-Draw contest for over 450 mentally and physically impaired children in 4 special schools on Children’s Day. The outcome left me astounded. The sheer power of their mind’s expanse hit me like an avalanche. The drawings were nothing short of masterpieces vibrant in colour and minute in detail. Judging the winners was an uphill task for everyone had emerged a winner. Suddenly the prizes felt inadequate and the return gifts insignificant. I had come to give. Instead I went back loaded with the gifts of joy and satisfaction, cleansing and compassion. I realized that the social stigma, the prejudice, the exclusion that we have been practicing are so baseless. If we do not integrate these brilliant children into our lives we will have incurred a big loss. Their happiness is infectious and the World is badly in need of it. I watched their eyes sparkle as they lovingly opened the new paint sets. I watched them smile from the recesses of their soul as they dabbled in colours. I watched in awe as they painted the World as it ought to be. “Taare Zameen Par” is one experience as Chairperson that I will cherish forever…… Cr. Vishu Kothari Chairperson LC46




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TAARE ZAMEEN PAR We hold these truths to be self evident that all children are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But then in due course we realize that all children are not equal. Some are able bodied while others live with physical and mental handicaps. Some are better endowed than others. But they all have one common thread binding them – they all desire to be happy. Even a brain pronounced by doctors as “damaged” gunfires images. Transcending all deformities children have the ability to think with their hearts. Their minds irrespective of the bodies they inhabit are just like spin dryers at full speed. Their thoughts fly around within and millions of them cascade down into their conciousness. And these are then expressed in the universal language of colours. I had the privilege of being a part of this soulful bounty when we organized “Taare Zameen Par”. This was a Sit-n-Draw contest for over 450 mentally and physically impaired children in 4 special schools on Children’s Day. The outcome left me astounded. The sheer power of their mind’s expanse hit me like an avalanche. The drawings were nothing short of masterpieces vibrant in colour and minute in detail. Judging the winners was an uphill task for everyone had emerged a winner. Suddenly the prizes felt inadequate and the return gifts insignificant. I had come to give. Instead I went back loaded with the gifts of joy and satisfaction, cleansing and compassion. I realized that the social stigma, the prejudice, the exclusion that we have been practicing are so baseless. If we do not integrate these brilliant children into our lives we will have incurred a big loss. Their happiness is infectious and the World is badly in need of it. I watched their eyes sparkle as they lovingly opened the new paint sets. I watched them smile from the recesses of their soul as they dabbled in colours. I watched in awe as they painted the World as it ought to be. “Taare Zameen Par” is one experience as Chairperson that I will cherish forever…… Cr. Vishu Kothari Chairperson LC46




Special mothers raise special children Like a piece of ice on a hot stove the mother of a mentally retarded child must ride on her melting. We cannot even begin to fathom the frustration of fighting a losing battle day after day clinging to a thin thread of hope alone. Just try and imagine the avalanche of effort required off them with no promise of any fruits in return. And yet they toil on. Their dedication is unnerved and they readily give one encouraging nod after another no matter how small their child’s achievement. And they smile…smile from deep within and take great pride at every small step their child takes. LC46 celebrated Women’s Day by organizing a very beautiful project for the mothers of special children at Care-n-Counseling, a school for physically and mentally challenged children. Of course we felicitated the meritorious students with APS sponsorships but we were there primarily to meet the thrust behind these “Rising Stars”. We handed over the money to the respective proud parents and congratulated them for grooming their children so well. In lieu of Women’s Day helped by all other Circlers we organized many exciting games for these 50 plus mothers. They were grouped and made to play simple one minute games like lighting candles, untying knots on ropes, drinking colas and balancing the lemon on the spoon. The winners were given a sari and ½ kg tea each. Then Cr. Suman conducted a musical round of Antakshiri for them with theme words. At first the mothers were inhibited but Cr. Suman encouraged them to let go and just have fun. Soon enough they began to dance and belt our popular songs. The mothers who sang were also given prizes. All the mothers were not only delighted at having received the sponsorship which would ease their financial burden manifold but also very overwhelmed for no one had ever conducted any games for them before. Crs. Mridula Agarwal and Shraddha Singhania Project conveners LC46