DRR Visit

                On the 3^rd of March 2011, the Rotaract Club of Loyola College had its official DRR Visit Ceremony at the Lawrence Sundaram Auditorium, Loyola College. This was the first DRR Visit for the year 2010 – 2011 in the R. I. Dist. 3230. The Guest of Honour for the day was our beloved principal, Rev. Dr. B. Jeyaraj S.J, who felicitated the club on its achievements. A short 20 minute video was also screened to the audience as a quick recap of all our projects over the past 9 months.

                Also present on this joyous occasion were our parent club president, Rtn. Gunasekhar S., our New Generations Chairman, Rtn. Prasanna Shenoy and other members from our parent club like Rtn. Christopher and Rtn. IPP. George B. Cherian. Rotaractors from the various other clubs in the district were also present. The DRR, Rtr. PP. Suresh Manoharan stressed on the need for other clubs to take the cue from us and organise more projects aimed at a wider audience base. The rotaractors from Loyola College, who had been vital in the club’s success over the past 9 months, were honoured at the event. The event ended with the rendering of the National Anthem.

Lustre '11

The Rotaract Club of Loyola College organised a professional service project christened “LUSTRE” replicating the District Award Winning project ‘MELIORA’ on 24 January 2011 at Sri Sankara Vidyashram School in Thiruvanmyur. It was attended by more than 100 Interactors from different schools. The function started at 10 am and the chief guest our DRR Rtr. Suresh Manoharan who gave his views on why one should be a part of a voluntary movement like Rotaract. The orientation session was then handled by two students from Loyola College, Rtr. Samuel Augustine and Rtr. Abdul Ahad.

After the presentation, Rtr. Tarun Murugesh came and demonstrated some simple life saving techniques. A sudden blossom to the event was the presence of Rtr. Britto Manohar, immediate past Secretary, Rotaract Club of Loyola College, who came and shared his experience in Rotaract. Then Rtn.  Mohsin Bijapuri came and added a great flavour to the event. He had a good interaction with the Interactors and they had questionnaire section with him.

In the valedictory, the chief guest DRR Rtr. Suresh and Rtn. Mohsin Bijapuri and the school management were honoured. And with spirits sky high, the event got over at about 1.15pm.

Lustre Photo Gallery

A talk show with Kings & Queens of their fields

Rtr. M.A.M.Yasin Bijapuri, Rtr. V.Vivek Kumar Dadhich and Rtr.Sachin Bardia represented the Rotaract Club of Loyola College for a talk show organized by NDTV 24x7.  Chess Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand, Karthik Chidambaram(member of AICC and son of Union Home Minister P.Chidambaram ), Khusboo Sundar(Actress and  member of DMK ) were the panelists for the show which was aimed to discuss on the “Indian of the Year” in the field of sports and politics.

The venue of the talk show was in M.C.C.Hr.Sec.School. Students from Loyola College, M.C.C. , Stella Maris College, IIPM and a decent number of others formed the elite audience. Being true loyolites, we reached the venue by 7:10 pm only to find that the show will start in a ‘while’. After passing a considerable amount of time chatting, we were invited for refreshments. While nibbling my sandwich, I noticed a fair man who looked strikingly familiar. Then did I realize that the man was Vishy Anand himself ! Sitting beside him was actress Khusboo. I tried to be placid but couldn’t. I told Rtr. Sachin and some of my friends about this.

By 8:30 pm we sat over the benches. The show co-coordinator was quite adroit in making the audience look like a mixed ratio and he did the same with us. The show started by 8:45 pm and we were already in rapt attention.

Sensible questions were thrown open to the panel. There was one question on who should get an award of “Politician of the Year” and the expected happened. Karthik Chidambaram named Rahul Gandhi whereas Khusboo named . The best part was that they both validated their nominations too! In his talk, both Vishwanathan Anand and Karthik Chidambaram emphasized on the obsession of Cricket. Karthik even commented, “There is a lot more to sports beyond Cricket.”

A few questions on politics and corruption were asked by the viewers. One question was targeted to Vishy Anand’s plans to enter politics! He said, ‘Well.. um.. I’m focusing more on my game right now.. As for now.. There are no such plans.”

The show ended on a happy note immediately after which the viewers thronged for autographs and Kodak moments with the panelists. Karthik Chidambaram left soon while Vishy and Khusboo stayed for a while. We tried getting snaps with them. I managed to get an autograph from Vishy and Khusboo.

Overall, the show was quite enthralling and I can’t wait to see myself on T.V.!

-Rtr. Vivek Kumar Dadhich

Visit - Rtr. Jeremy Charles

Rtr. Jeremy at the Rotaract Club of Loyola College's office during his recent Chennai trip.

Friends from Sri Lanka =)

                A team of 13 members comprising a Rotarian and 12 Interactors came to Chennai from Kandy, Sri Lanka. Rtrs. Sachin and Abhishek spent a full day ( 18^th Dec ) with them showing them around parts of Chennai and also shopped at Express Avenue – the new buzzplace of youth in Chennai. On Monday the 20^th, Rtrs. Fortunatus and Prasad accompanied them on a tour of the preferred locations in Chennai like the beach, fort and Semmozhi Poonga.

They also went shopping at Saravana Stores in T.Nagar and described it as an extremely interesting experience. Their stay concluded with a grand farewell lunch at the Taj Connemara, Mount Road on the 21^st December. Rtrs. Sachin, Deepak, Fortunatus and Prasad attended the event which was part of the Rotary Club of Madras ( our parent club’s ) weekly meet. We also exchanged Flags and LRC Books with them and presented each Interactor with a souvenir and an Indian Flag miniature.

Dept. Festivals

                On the 10^th and 11^th of December 2010, the annual Inter – Collegiate Departmental Festivals were held at Loyola College. The Rotaract Club of Loyola College set up a full time help desk with volunteers to guide the visitors to the various departments. This was the first time in the history of the college that such a help desk was set up. The move was greatly commended by one and all. The club also helped in effectively maintaining the overall discipline inside the campus on that busy day. 

Industrial Visit - Chennai Port

We see the Sea

Rtr. Vivek, Rtr. Lokesh and Rtr. Mervyn (Club’s P.R.O.) represented the Rotaract Club of Loyola College for a field visit organized by its parent club, Rotary Club of Madras. The visit was to the 129 yr. old Chennai Port Trust Headquarters, as part of the project headed by Rtn. Vivek Harinarayanan, Director - Vocational Services, Rotary Club of Madras.

We assembled the Taj Connemara Hotel from where we ventured out for a visit to Chennai Port Trust. We reached the destination at 1:00pm wherein we were guided to the conference hall. Everybody sat and whence we introduced ourselves to the rest.

After the introductions were done, 2 officials from Chennai Port Trust guided us through a presentation which highlighted the history of Chennai Port Trust. The presentation also spoke about Chennai as the Hub-port and about the economics of Chennai Port Trust.

Chennai Port Trust handles import, export and other sea-oriented affairs for states like Karnaka, Kerala, A.P. and parts of Maharashtra. Chennai is also called a hub-port because many imports-exports are done by various ports via Chennai Port Trust. In 2009-2010, Chennai Port Trust handled 61.6million tones of cargo. Chennai Port Trust deals with export of iron-ore, coal, etc. and is focused on cargo and containers handling too.

At present, Chennai Port Trust handles 28% of import and 36% export of the country. Of the 13 major ports scattered throughout India, Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Chennai Port Trust hold prominence. In the last 5 years, US invested $100mn on Chennai Port Trust. There are 4 C’s in Chennai Port Trust namely Car, Cargo, Container and Cruise. One of the appraising facts is that the Jawahar Dock is the deepest Dock in India.

After the presentation met its end, we were flabbergasted when Rtn. Vivek informed us quite enthusiastically that we will be literally venturing in the sea. He said, “The weather is rough, but not rough enough for the sea-venture to be cancelled”. So, in about 10 minutes in car, we reached the terminus of Dr. Ambedkar Dock where a ship was waiting for us. We all walked in and the ship left the terminus. When I saw a container ship, I realized what “I am speechless” means..! I could do nothing but watch the cargo fleets and cranes of behemoth sizes. We were served refreshments. We went up to the Jawahar Dock and came back to the point where we started. The weather was too rough for a sojourn in the open ocean. From Jawahar Dock, The Chief Secretariat was lucidly seen. I saw the horizon and I felt as if the ocean had her hands wide-spread, ready to embrace me..!

We came back and we had some more refreshments. From there we recalled our path to the Chennai Port Trust H.Q. and whence the fleet of Rotarians and Rotaractors left to the vantage point, Taj Connemara Hotel.

The visit was enthralling..! And there are no words to describe the size of the ships..!

-Rtr. Vivek Kumar Dadhich