My Rotary Journey (1981 till date) PDG Dr Deepak Shikarpur
I joined Walchand College of Engineering Sangli in July 1981 and was staying in College Hostel for subsequent 4 years. After I settled down, one day I was invited to meet the Principal of the college. I was a bit worried. When I went into his cabin, I saw some senior students seated already. Principal Sir said he wanted to form a Rotaract Club in the college. Since I am a second generation Rotarian , I had some idea of Rotary, but Rotaract was new for me. Since Principal Sir was suggesting, I said yes and I became a member of the Rotaract Club of Sangli. The biggest motivation for joining was that twice a month we were invited to attend a weekly meeting of the parent club which was followed by a sumptuous dinner. I was getting bored with Hostel Mess and this was a welcome relief. Soon I was given some responsibilities and I remember I was Director (International) for one year. I attended the District Assembly at Hubali with a group of Rotaract and Rotarians. In general it was a pleasant experience.
Come December 1984 and placement momentum started. I had a reasonably good academic track record and appeared for companies having locations in pune (parental home). The highlight of the Corporates was Telco (Now called Tata Motors). It was a Dream Job for Engineers in those days. Final shortlisting was undertaken for 30 engineers from Karad Engineering College and ours. Around 20% were to be finally selected and it was a highly competitive process. We went through a written test and Group Discussion stage. 50% were eliminated and only 15 of us went for Personal Interviews. In my Bio data I had written hobbies as “Bridge(Card game) and Rotaract”. In my interview the entire discussion was on these hobbies. I answered questions to the best of my abilities. I came out and discussed with my friends about their interviews. All said they had to answer complex engineering problems. I was disappointed and concluded that I was eliminated and the interview panel was taking me casually as they had not shortlisted me. I started working on other options and appeared for interviews for Kirloskar Cummins and Thermax. I got an offer letter from Kirloskar Cummins in March and had to visit them in person in April with all original documents and accept the Job. I was mentally in Frame of Mind to accept this opportunity. Telco Results were to be announced in March last week and I was not much interested as I was under the impression I will never make it.
I was in my hostel room relaxing and suddenly I heard a commotion. Loud noises and banging on my room door. I was not realising what was happening?. I opened the door and my friends lifted me and congratulated me. “You are the only candidate from our hostel building selected for Telco Pune”. Initially I thought they were pulling a fast one. Then I saw my name on the notice board and realised it was indeed true. I had to give a party to my hostel friends that day.
Eventually I joined Telco Pune. After a few months I came across the same gentleman who interviewed me in the college for the final interview. I requested him for a chat and he agreed. I reminded him about my interview and my curiosity about why I was asked questions about Rotaract /Bridge and not on engineering related issues. His answer stunned me. He said “We were checking your honesty. You really meant what you had written in the Bio data. In Tata group we need Honest Engineers. You will learn technologies and Engineering on the job. But Honesty is an Attribute which I value most”. This gentleman eventually became Managing Director of Telco. He was Late Prakash Telang (very upright, honest and smart leader) . He was a member of Rotary Club of Poona and was President of the club in 2017-18. I met him on several occasions in Bridge sessions as well as Rotary events.
My Telco Job was going on well, I got promoted and got transferred to a new department of Software Sales and also got married. One day my father said my friend Dr Karmarkar wants to meet you. He came to meet me at home and requested me to join Rotary. I was greatly reluctant as Career was my priority and Rotary was highly attendance intensive those days. Finally we agreed that I will try it for some time and will leave if it doesn’t work out. I was really struggling to remain a Rotarian. One day I was to travel to Mumbai to attend a conference at the Hotel Taj Colaba . The previous day I got a reminder letter from the Club Attendance Committee chair. I wrote a Rotary Club Resignation Letter in disgust during the train journey to Mumbai and kept it in my travel bag. I had decided to hand it over once I reached Pune. I reached the Taj Hotel and saw the Board of “Rotary Club of Bombay’s weekly meeting”. Luckily it was a Lunch meeting and I could squeeze time from my conference to attend it. I took this last chance and entered the meeting hall. I was amused to see Mr Ratan Tata, Nani Palkhiwala, Darbari Seth, Ajit Kerkar (all Top Leaders of the Tata Group) standing and chatting. I went up to Mr Ratan Tataji and introduced myself. He knew about my Function as it was his Brainchild of starting a Software Sales function in Telco. He asked me what are you doing here?. I said I am a Rotarian in Pune and have come to attend a weekly meeting. He was appreciative and said Good that you are a Rotarian. This statement changed my outlook. The same day I tore my resignation letter and decided to remain a Rotarian till my last breath.
After a few months, I went to Hannover Germany to participate in an Exhibition and showcase our capabilities. The year was 1992 and the world was unaware of Indian Software Capabilities. We had an India Pavilion of a select few companies. The first session was a washout as we had hardly any visitors. I went out for lunch and to my amusement I saw a Rotary BillBoard of Rotary. Apparently a Rotary club in Hannover was conducting its weekly meeting over there. I decided to attend. Around 60 visiting Rotarians were there in the meeting. The host club president appealed if some of the visiting Rotarians would like to speak. I grabbed that opportunity. I spoke about my background , Rotary in India and our capabilities. I appealed to all to visit India Pavilion and in fact requested them to accompany me after the meeting. Most of them agreed to join. Suddenly India Pavilion saw Foreign Delegates attending and that broke the ice. I realised the power of the International Network of Rotary. Later on I made it a point to attend Meetings/events of Rotarians outside of our District for business benefits.
Eventually I followed Leadership ladders and got elected as Rotary District Governor in 2010 for the year 2013-14. In April 2014 I was attending some meeting and during lunch I saw missed calls from an unknown number from New Delhi. I replied and realised it was a UK Consulate Official. . "Prince Charles is coming to Pune, and he would like to meet you.". For a long time, I thought it was an April Fool's joke. Fortunately, it was true. Next week he was scheduled to visit Serum Institute in Pune. He wanted to learn more about the Polio program of Rotary and wanted to meet the Head of Rotary In Pune. It was my fortune, I was at the Right Place at the Right time.
Interest in the British Royal Family and their traditions is a global phenomenon. My first visit to London, where I saw Buckingham Palace and its museum, only deepened this fascination. At Madame Tussauds wax museum, I saw many statues, including those of the British Royal Family. Many people, including myself, eagerly took pictures with them. A thought crossed my mind then: "Will I ever be able to meet a member of the British Royal Family in person? " I dismissed it as an impossible dream and instead settled for meeting some members of Indian royal families.
Thanks to Rotary, my dream is now becoming a Reality. I went two hours early to go through the security checks and identification process at the Serum Institute Hadapsar. A UK Consulate official gave me a quick training session on how to speak to members of the Royal Family.
Finally, the moment arrived. His Royal Highness Charles (the current King, then a Prince) appeared right on time. We discussed polio eradication in India and Rotary's contribution to it. He was not at all pretentious or arrogant. At the end, with his permission, I took a photo with him. He happily wore the "Polio Scarf" that I had brought for him. For a long time after, I kept pinching myself, wondering if it had all been a dream. Clearly it was my Rotary Moment.
Thanks to Rotary , I was fortunate to meet many VIPs/Celebrities e.g. Bharatratna APJ Abdul Kalam, M S Dhoni, Sunil Gavaskar, Ajit Wadekar, P V Sindhu, Raveena Tandon, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Juhi Chawla , Tanuja,Jagjit Singh, Shivaji Satam, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Ujwal Nikam, Baba Ramdev, Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev, Sri Sri Ravishankarji, A R Rehman, Leander Peas, Vijay Amritraj, Shashi Tharoor, Shiva Khera, Rajshri Birla etc.
Going around places and meeting Rotarians is a highly rewarding experience. This year also, I recently attended the Rotary Friendship Exchange meet at Mauritius. I appeal to Rotarians reading this column to experience Internationality of Rotary and not to get confined at club level. Don’t lose the opportunity to meet Rotarians. Whenever you are travelling for Business, Leisure or Events, make a point to connect with Rotarians locally. With AI and modern tech options it is very easy to locate Rotarians anywhere.
Another advice I can strongly offer is to visit our Rotary HQ at Evanston Chicago USA .You can visit there without appointment and once you land at the Reception, you will get assistance to visit all departments and see some monumental pieces of History. RI has Recreated the office of Paul Harris where the first Rotary meeting was held. You can shake hands with Statue of Paul Harris.
My Rotary Voyage is continuing. It’s not all that serious. I have experienced many hilarious moments as well in the course of time and would be happy to share them in your club weekly meeting.
PDG Deepak Shikarpur
RC Poona
