This is what makes us happy .. Nothing Else !

Please note: I made a conscious effort not to sound like Rudyard Kipling in his poem 'IF'. These are just a couple of random thoughts that cross my mind every now and then.

If saying quarrelsome is easier, then why say belligerent?

If love is all about giving and sharing then why talk about " I cant take it anymore" ?

If they say " this is not the way to live. Live your life this way" , who are the 'they' that we are talking about? Aren't you are the same 'they' for them? Most importantly, who's written a book on ' how to live your life' ? Isn't it your life and not them being the chauffeur?

If sitting by the window, watching the raindrops meticulously and rhythmically hit the window pane , sipping from a mug of hot 'masala' tea is what means bliss to us then why do we run behind ersatz cappuccino?

If I earn and I succumb to 'the fake brand of me ' and I re-earn and I succumb yet again, when can I say that I ever earned for 'the real me' ?

Who creates a success benchmark for you ?

If 'life is a race', where are we heading?

Does any of this matter at the end of the day ?

Let's think ...

Do we have a solution ?

yes..

no..

You might say 'what solution are you talking about.. ? You are insane'

yes I am ...

So are you ...

So is everyone ..

Because for each one of us , what matters is the eternal bonding we have with our beloved people, the first time we earn, the first time we buy gifts and the first time we feel that we are independent.

What matters is to schedule a re-union in school, talk about memories of your best friend acting nutty as a fruitcake and not why India is progressing at a GDP rate of 'x' and china at '2x' .

What matters is to pull over and have 'pani puri' at 'once upon a time' appallingly unhygienic place (which surprisingly doesn't seem to matter ) instead of a 275Rs only /- 'scrumptious puris with mineral water used as 'pani' at a flamboyant restaurant.

What matters is the first mistake you make because every mistake is a new one :)

Every learning experience is also new !

Ultimately what matters is ' what matters to you in your life ! ' , 'what keeps you happy' !

HAPPY is the mantra :)

That is what does wonders.. Definitely not Bill Gates, not a 25Lakh pair of slippers , not a business deal lost by a narrow margin ..

Happiness is what matters ...

Nothing else..

Absolutely nothing else..

Everything else is alien !

Just felt like Rotaract ..

SInce its inception its been more than just HISTORY ..

Varenya calls me up and says, " Krutika, you know what we all can start a club and have fun ". I had absolutely no clue whatsoever - what we'll do as a part of Rotaract;, how many Rotaract clubs existed , NOTHING , zilch - absolutely nothing.. We were all charged by the idea of starting something new all by ourselves. ' FUN' and something 'NEW '- those were the magic words and that was all that mattered to us. Fifteen of us met at Varenya's house and her father, our mentor, Past Rotary Governor, Jawahar Uncle started off by saying " Please ask yourselves what is in it for me? " Back then, it was a million dollar question. ( I said back then because each and everyone who has been a part of Rotaract can tell you what the club has in store for you NOW confidently ).None of us had an answer to it except for our " two magic words".

We began officially on 29th September 2007 ( but i must mention that we had already finished our first fund raiser by then) .

Here the list of the founder board members:

President : Varenya Vadlamani

Vice-President: Ravi Chandra

Secretary: Poojita Tulasi (unfortunately served only for three months ) following which it was me.

Joint- Secretary : Dheeraj Reddy

Treasurer : Isha Kajrewal

Director of finance: Amrita Kanjani

Director for community service: Me for a while after which all of us handled it :)

Director for club service: Amrutha Ganapa

Fifteen of us had no set road laid for us and it was a complete inchoate beginning. There were times we pulled 7 extra chairs and sat around one table in eat street; There were times we met every sunday at Barista shamelessly without ordering a single drink and sat for hours together until that guy almost kicked us out ! There were times when we shifted the meetings from Barista to vengalarao park and from there to Mc Donalds.But what mattered the most to us was ' Hey we've got to meet and we don't care where'. The general trend was: a lot of frantic calls made in the last moment; confusion at its PEAK :D, but definitely a lesson learnt at the end of the day. There were a lot more pressing situations, shipwreck of our efforts. But, we've learnt to deal with each of them collectively, struggled and succeeded. That was the bonding we shared .. Errr.. OOPs we STILL share and continue to do so. Rotaract club of Hyderabad East in 2007-08 was what fifteen friends strongly supported and believed in; They believed that they can make it big though they didn't know how. Now, they believe that helping others doesn't mean sacrificing their precious 2 hours time of a blockbuster movie or a saturday night party at a happening place or for that matter a couple of heavenly hours of sleep. The "bhaari" term social service to the 15 of us meant something different and now each of us has a refined interpretation for it. That was what the club did to us. I can vouch for every founder member that each one of us has changed and, our club since its inception has been more than history to us. It's a nostalgic moment :)

I take immense pride ( I have goosebumps on my hands now) in saying that all of us, each and every rotarator has MADE Rotaract club of Hyderabad East BIG ! Rotaract is a part of our lives and its responsibility is never a burden for us. I can promise on behalf of all the rotaractors that some years down the line when we reminisce about the days we've spent together, we'll certainly say " DAMn ! i miss those days". I know for a fact that when I call any rotaractor in the future and say " hey, could you please help me " , I can be rest assured that help will come my way.

To all the new and old members of our "family" , on behalf of all the founder members , I acknowledge your commitment and welcome you to get your share of our "Rotaract" experience. Rotaract has been more than history to us and I promise that so will it be for each one of you. ALL the best and welcome aboard

" to make a difference differently "