what women want
ever since i remember, my parents have been associated with the rotary club (thane north).
however, such ‘adult’ social gatherings almost always made me feel claustrophobic (which is why i’m still uneasy at press conferences) thanks to the absence of anyone i could relate to even remotely. while i was more often a ‘forced’ spectator at a rotary event or family night hosted by the club, the rotarians’ energy for more enthused activities has never ceased to amaze me.
most typical rotarian families comprise the husband-wife couple and their two kids, maybe three — all of who are inducted in front of the entire club. soon the couple (the husband mainly), plunges into a project, leading it sometimes, if not volunteering help. as for the kids, sooner or later they learn to make up excuses for not attending a rotary meeting with their papas. some of them however, stay on to join the rotaract club for youngsters.
the wives on the other hand, or the ‘better-halves’ in rotary-lingo (aka the rotariannes), continue to attend dinners and happy-hour-rotary parties; the more sincere and social-service-minded wives though, form the rotary’s very own innerwheel club.
perhaps i can label us as one such typical rotary family — as a kid, i have been through the ordeal of sitting through club dinners, slapping my calves and ankles to shoo away the mosquitoes. when i ran out of excuses for not attending such functions with my parents, i was made the editor (my first solo break) at the rotaract club where i stayed on for six months. of course, one is not paid for volunteering for a good cause, but the experience is invaluable. it was here i learnt one of the essential skills for an editor…when i had to be absolutely untouched by emotion and dedicate an entire bulletin to a fellow-rotractor-cum-friend who died an untimely death. i observed that the initial shock of sudden death is soon taken over by a sense of responsibility — to do justice to the life lived. i was told i did a good job.
a few months later, i landed myself a job at express computer and life moved on for everyone.