SEVEN DECADES

It’s cricket fever all over the cricketing world. Here is a captain, raising his bat to accept thundering cheers from the crowd as his Club completes its 70 years of existence, a very rare achievement in the annals of any service organization. Here the captain can never be bowled out; instead they only retire every year and a new captain takes the reins to steer the destinies of the Club for another year. These captains with his lieutenants march to the infinitive of tomorrows, adding runs after runs, year after year.

Today Rotary Club of Alleppey reaches a milestone as it completes seven decades of fruitful existence in this ancient town. It still shines like a polestar, never ever loosing her resplendence. It knits a web of its own with like mindeed people who join together in the ideals of service. Today the seventy year old R.C.of Alleppey has become an integral part of the fabric of this ancient town which has a glorious past. The proud members salute Rotary and the members over the years whose time, energy, money and might witnessed the growth of this movement.

It’s simply encouraging to try to pierce through the darkness of time, in search of a glorious past. Seventy years of long and cherishing history is the cardinal stone on which this great edifice is slowly being built up. A peep to the past is only a humble attempt.

It was in 1989, I first traced the history of RC of Alleppey as answering a call from RI to write the history of every Club in commemoration with the 75 th anniversary of Rotary. My book was titled ‘Four Decades of Service’. My earnest effort and difficulties I faced while tracing the history from some sporadic documents and more from the Club Bulletins kept judiciously by a Past President Rtn. Kassim Sulaiman Sait at the upper berth of his kitchen, where I climbed through a bamboo ladder and found it in bundles. Kudos to dear Kassimjee ! There I found the prolific history of Rotary Club of Alleppey, sleeping in the pages of a bulletin…!

Great to mention that the Club has a Bulletin published every week since the very next week of its Charter presentation on 25 th July 1949. The following historical notes are from my previous book from its page 3 to 18.

THE CHARTER

Way back in 1949, some Rotarians from Cochin under the leadership of PDG. S.Koder and PDG. Sunderesan came to Alleppey with the idea of spreading the ideals of Rotary to this ancient Town. They met some of the leaders of different professions like late A.R.Sulaiman Sait, the then Municipal Chairman of Alleppey, late Mohammed Jaffer Sait, Dr. M.S.Ramachandran, late Dr. T.P.V.Rao, late C.N.Narialwala, late V. Kesavan, late K.C.Karunakaran and others. They deeply explored the possibilities of starting a Rotary Club in Alleppey.

With their untiring efforts, the dream came true and the seed of Rotary was sworn in this soil on 25 th July 1949. At a colourful function held in the Geography Hall of Leo XIII High School, this was chartered as the 7339 th Club. The Charter was presented by the then ruling Governor of Rotary District 56, Rtn. Wignaraja of Colombo to Rtn. A. R. Sulaiman Sait, the Charter President. Rtn. V. Kesavan was sworn in as the Charter Secretary. There were 21 Charter Members.

The Charter banquet was held at Way Side Inn, the only posh Hotel of those days, managed by Parcy merchants and its owner was a Charter Member, Rtn. C.N.Narialwala. This was the venue of the Club Meetings for 25 years, until the Club owned its own building in 1976.

The Club Bulletin in one-sheet typed form was started on 8 th August 1947 in the wake of the first weekly meeting and has become a continuous affai of the Club since then. So far the Club has issued ……Bulletins. All bulletins are kept in bounds year wise and gifted to the Club by this author.