Thursday, 25 February 2010
Koramangala Club 25.02.10
Follow the link below for pictures at Koramangala Club on our last evening all together before our de-brief tomorrow.
http://picasaweb.google.com/GSETeam1080/OurLastTeamEvening250210#
http://picasaweb.google.com/GSETeam1080/OurLastTeamEvening250210#
Narayana Hrudayalaya Heart Hospital 23rd Feb 2010
The name of this hospital literally translates to "Temple of the Heart" and it was founded on 8th May 2001 by Dr Devi Prasad Shetty. Since opening, over 11,228 open-heart surgeries have been performed of which half were paediatric. We visited the paeds wards and witnessed close hand the results of Dr Shetty's philosophy in action - 'treat all, no matter how poor or how remote'. It was an experience I will never forget. The tele medicine faciltiles were impressive with 323 centres currently in operation. What also stuck us about Narayana was the comittment to equality in terms of employment of women as drivers and security guards around the complex (pictured). We learned that over 300 babies are born each day with heart defects and not even 10% have access to adequate facilities. The work of the Health City led by Dr Shetty in Bangalore is unique and inspiring beyond words. This is truly an example of how one individual can make a real difference in this world.
Host Family Photos
http://picasaweb.google.com/GSETeam1080/HostFamilies#
During my time in Bangalore I was hosted by five different couples. They all had children but two of the couples lived on their own as their children had grown up and flown the nest.
1. My first host Mr P.N.S (it is a sign of respect to call elders by their initials in India) had built up a property empire and his youngest son manages this. His elder son is a wizard on computers and worked for a multinational in the C.B.D (Central Business District for the non-Geographers amongst us).
2. My second host, Mr Reddy (he didn’t give me his initials which I think meant he didn’t want my respect?) was a millionaire on account of Real Estate deals which was a leisurely pursuit as he informed me. His trade was the Sugar Industry where he had worked hard to ‘earn his position in society’ as he put it. His son was an Orthopaedic Surgeon who had trained and qualified in Manchester and lived with his family in a house the floor above.
3. Mr B.N.K and his wife are a lovely couple in their 60’s and their two children are successful doctors who live in the States. Every morning I met my third host at 05.30 for a quick coffee and then we went to the local outdoor pool to join the 06.00 batch for an hour’s dook (swim for the non-Scottish amongst us). His children are successful Doctors in the States.
4. Kapil Cupta is an International Manager for IBM and turned into a good friend after four days staying with him. His wife is a Power Suit and manages her own Tutoring Consultancy which requires her to work seven days a week. They are a successful and affluent couple with a young daughter who lives at home in Palm Meadows, a gated community. In fact, they don’t actually live there but in the fenced housing estate next door (the name of which escapes me). They bought a house in Palm Meadows so that they can use the superior club there; the building is rented out to someone else.
5. My last host Noah is a Christian which was a change after living with devout Hindus previously. His house was aptly named ‘Noah’s Arc’ and all three of his children lived in it. His eldest son (27) was a Psychiatric Doctor who practised locally and the younger two children (a boy and a girl of unknown ages) were both involved in computing: he was a Software Engineer and she was a lecturer at a local College.
I really enjoyed staying with Rotarians in another culture and feel it is possibly the best way to experience a new country. The hospitality I was shown was immense and my life has been changed dramatically by this experience in two ways:
· Firstly, I’ve become a committed Vegetarian after Mr Reddy explained the supposed mind-set change that happens once you stop eating meat. The thinking is that there is a lot of bad karma involved in eating slaughtered animals which gets passed on to the consumer. ‘I can do without anger and aggression in my wee life’ I thought and am having a go at living on the green stuff.
· Secondly, on a more personal level, I’m getting a tattoo of Hanuman the flying monkey God on PNS’s recommendation but I’ll bore you with the details face to face when I see you.
All the best for now, Magnus
During my time in Bangalore I was hosted by five different couples. They all had children but two of the couples lived on their own as their children had grown up and flown the nest.
1. My first host Mr P.N.S (it is a sign of respect to call elders by their initials in India) had built up a property empire and his youngest son manages this. His elder son is a wizard on computers and worked for a multinational in the C.B.D (Central Business District for the non-Geographers amongst us).
2. My second host, Mr Reddy (he didn’t give me his initials which I think meant he didn’t want my respect?) was a millionaire on account of Real Estate deals which was a leisurely pursuit as he informed me. His trade was the Sugar Industry where he had worked hard to ‘earn his position in society’ as he put it. His son was an Orthopaedic Surgeon who had trained and qualified in Manchester and lived with his family in a house the floor above.
3. Mr B.N.K and his wife are a lovely couple in their 60’s and their two children are successful doctors who live in the States. Every morning I met my third host at 05.30 for a quick coffee and then we went to the local outdoor pool to join the 06.00 batch for an hour’s dook (swim for the non-Scottish amongst us). His children are successful Doctors in the States.
4. Kapil Cupta is an International Manager for IBM and turned into a good friend after four days staying with him. His wife is a Power Suit and manages her own Tutoring Consultancy which requires her to work seven days a week. They are a successful and affluent couple with a young daughter who lives at home in Palm Meadows, a gated community. In fact, they don’t actually live there but in the fenced housing estate next door (the name of which escapes me). They bought a house in Palm Meadows so that they can use the superior club there; the building is rented out to someone else.
5. My last host Noah is a Christian which was a change after living with devout Hindus previously. His house was aptly named ‘Noah’s Arc’ and all three of his children lived in it. His eldest son (27) was a Psychiatric Doctor who practised locally and the younger two children (a boy and a girl of unknown ages) were both involved in computing: he was a Software Engineer and she was a lecturer at a local College.
I really enjoyed staying with Rotarians in another culture and feel it is possibly the best way to experience a new country. The hospitality I was shown was immense and my life has been changed dramatically by this experience in two ways:
· Firstly, I’ve become a committed Vegetarian after Mr Reddy explained the supposed mind-set change that happens once you stop eating meat. The thinking is that there is a lot of bad karma involved in eating slaughtered animals which gets passed on to the consumer. ‘I can do without anger and aggression in my wee life’ I thought and am having a go at living on the green stuff.
· Secondly, on a more personal level, I’m getting a tattoo of Hanuman the flying monkey God on PNS’s recommendation but I’ll bore you with the details face to face when I see you.
All the best for now, Magnus
IT Corridor Meeting and Cultural Entertainment Show
On the 18th Feb, Rotary IT Corridor hosted a joint meeting with Whitefield Central and Lakeside clubs and treated us to a cultural entertainment show, X-factor style with the four of us judging best costume and act. The club members represented 16 different states between them and we enjoyed some excellent dancing - Punjab even got us up on our feet - the singing and acting were worthy of Bollywood Oscars. The whole evening was a great occasion, we must thank Sumil, the man from Himachal, for attempting to swing the judges vote with gifts of traditional hats (as modelled by Gasper above), but Orissa stole the show with Freya's tradiational dancing which was both moving and graceful.
Toilet Inauguration IT Corridor
Following our Mid Tour Rest at Horsley Hills we set off back via Kolar where we met up with our host from Horsley Hills who wanted us to have a look at his School. when we eventually arrived back In Bangalore, we met up with our fourth host IT Corridor, whose President 
advised us that we had half an hour to get to a school where the DG was going to be opening a Toilet block. This did not seem at first to be a major project until you realise that these Government schools were built with only one toilet if they were lucky, which meant that Girls would refrain from going to school when they got to a certain age. This new toilet block would enable girls to continue with their education which is so important. The toilet projects at these Government sc
hools has meant that 50% more girls are now finishing their education, for a cost of £4000. The Rotary club had also given the children two pairs of socks and a pair of shoes each at Christmas. Two of the children then told us how much the Toilets would mean to them and the Girls did some dancing which was very colourful. Just as we were leaving the DG and Myself were asked to plant a tree each which was a real honour, i only hope it survives!!.
advised us that we had half an hour to get to a school where the DG was going to be opening a Toilet block. This did not seem at first to be a major project until you realise that these Government schools were built with only one toilet if they were lucky, which meant that Girls would refrain from going to school when they got to a certain age. This new toilet block would enable girls to continue with their education which is so important. The toilet projects at these Government sc
hools has meant that 50% more girls are now finishing their education, for a cost of £4000. The Rotary club had also given the children two pairs of socks and a pair of shoes each at Christmas. Two of the children then told us how much the Toilets would mean to them and the Girls did some dancing which was very colourful. Just as we were leaving the DG and Myself were asked to plant a tree each which was a real honour, i only hope it survives!!.NC
Rotary South West 10.02.10 - 14.02.10
Thank you Rotary South West - we have wonderful memories of our time with you at Bannerghatta National Park, Vellore Temple, visiting local markets and most importantly getting to spend time with you, our hosts.
http://picasaweb.google.com/GSETeam1080/BannerghattaNationalParkAndRotarySouthWest#
http://picasaweb.google.com/GSETeam1080/BannerghattaNationalParkAndRotarySouthWest#
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
International Fellowship of Motorcycling Rotarians by Amy
During our visit it so happened that 19 IFMR members set out on a 10-day state tour of Karnataka, returning to Bangalore on 18th Feb. Of course, had I known this were happening, I would have loved to have joined in, but instead I have enjoyed meeting some of the team at District Conference and thank Rtn Ramdas Pai for sharing his photos of the experience.
Visit to Biocon Ltd biotechnology 18.02.10 by Amy
Biocon was established in 1978 and now employs over 4000 people, led by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. The company manufacture many products including human insulin and statins and one of the most exciting innovations is an oral insulin tablet to replace injections which is currently at phase 3 clinical trial stage. The UK and US teams were taken on a tour of the plant and shared lunch together before we said our farewells as this was the last time we would all met together. I returned to Biocon the following day for my vocational visit. Dr Sharmitha and Dr Sarika had prepared an excellent presentation covering everything I had asked for and more, from the food and dietary patterns in India to the mechanism of action of Biocon's products. I really was impressed by how much work had gone into researching the information for me. Thanks also to Rtn Ravichandran for assisting me on the day. I also met Sam, who works for the Winning with Diabetes scheme which is a helpline and promotion for active screening of diabetes with the community to help raise awareness of the condition. Since January 2010, 2500 people have enrolled and I wish her continued success with this venture.
Silk worm rearing and silk cacoon market
Follow the link below to see pictures of the silk worm rearing which we visited on 20.02.10 http://picasaweb.google.com/GSETeam1080/SilkWormRearingAndSilkCacoonMarket200210#
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Sharada Dialysis Unit, Rotary Bangalore West
On 10th February we visited kidney dialysis units at Sharada and Rangadore memorial hospital where 190 patients can receive dialysis daily thanks to rotary international. In additional laser eye surgery and dental care are provided for the needy.
Kolar Rotary Club Meeting 14.02.10
We were greeted with an opening Puja (prayer) sung in local language to welcome us to Kolar Rotary Club. After lunch we set off for the mid tour break to Horsley Hills.
Monday, 22 February 2010
Friday, 19 February 2010
Amy's trip to Chennai
I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to travel by overnight train to Chennai. I was met by Rtn Raj Devarajan who is GSE chair for district 3230. I met the UK team leader from district 1260 (Northampton) who are currently visiting Chennai and randomly discovered that one of the GSE members could be a distant relative as we share the same surname! We subsequently talked on the phone and plan to stay in touch. See what Rotary can do...
The purpose of this special journey was to meet Dr Ramachandran and Dr Snehalatha (pictured) who are authors of the Indian Diabetes Prevention Study. I had a fascinating tour of the India Diabetes Research Foundation with Mary Simon and listened to a presentation by a diabetes educator. I was also given a whistle stop tour by Rtn Paras Sethi of the sights of Chennai, including the beach which is the second longest in the world apparently. It was a glimpse of the diabetes prevention work which is prominent in Tamil Nadu and I look forward the reading the results of the I-DPP 3 and 4 when they are published. A big thanks to all the Rotarians who made this trip possible.
TTK Blood Bank and Karunashraya
We visited TTK Blood donation bank whilst being hosted by Rotary club Indiranagar. We had a fascinating tour of the facility and met Rotarian Latha Amashi who is leading the blood donation campaign with great passion and success. Karunashraya literally means 'House of Compassion' and provides palliative care services to 50 residents. There is no finer example of what can be achieved with a 3H (Heath, Hunger, Humanity) Grant. Rtn. Dr Simha took great care showing us around and we shared a lovely lunch together. This is a tranquil place of rest where dignity and humility are in abundance. It truly is a house of compassion and a very humbling experience for the team.
Slum Clearance and Development Projects
Pandu arranged for me to look at two Slum projects both of which had one type of house and one that had what was referred to as phase one housing and they have 1000 of those on the site, which will eventually consist of 2500 units. From the pictures you can see the Phase one housing and the slums next door. A unit in phase one is 270 sq ft with a central communal passage way running from one end of the building to the other. I have to say i was appalled and even the construction manager and the Architect i was with fully understood the problems. We were then quickly shown phase two which were slightly better, but i have a real fear that these units could easily turn into the ghastly high rise flats that were built in the sixties in England!!.
To qualify for one of these units you have to be classified as a Scheduled Cast or Scheduled Tribe, and you have to have lived in a slum for 15yrs. You then qualify to purchase one of these units for around £400 (10% of the construction price). Once you have purchased your unit you can not sell it for 15 yrs. I left feeling somewhat concerned, but the main engineer was reassuring me that they hopped to clear the slums in the next couple of years. I look forward to revisiting the site in years to come!!!
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