BULLETIN 12th FEBRUARY (Feb 7, 2019) (Feb 5, 2019) (Feb 07, 2019)

Neville presenting a gift to District Governor Mukul Sinha	Frank presenting a gift to RC Rabindra Sarobar Pres Ritwik Ganguly	Taj Mahal
Handing out blankets to the destitute woman	Neville exchanging flags with RC Calcutta Victoria Pres Sarah Macwan	Mr Pawan, our driver and the crew

Thirteen members, partners and friends have just returned from a hectic, colorful, stimulating, noisy, informative, educational and sometimes confronting trip to India.

We started in Kolkata where we attended the District Conference of our sister club, RC Rabindra Sarobar. About 800 Rotarians heard from a variety of speakers and our own PDG Neville John had the opportunity to address the conference and present a gift to the District Governor Mukul Sinha. The conference agenda was timed to the minute and ran for a full two days. Immediately prior to the conference we had the opportunity to socialise over dinner with a group of Rotarians and friends from NSW who were also on a tour of India under the guidance of DG Sue Hayward. After the conference we attended a dinner hosted by our sister club and the RC Calcutta Victoria with whom we have entered into a global grant project. The project will provide vocational training to disadvantaged men and women from the poorer castes of Kolkata. We also had the opportunity to visit some Rotary projects including a visit to a village where we handed out blankets to “destitute old women”, a phrase some of our number were very unhappy with!

After all the Rotary activity, we commenced our sightseeing tour of Northern India. We visited the Hindu sacred town of Varanasi where we saw Hindu cremations on the steps of the Ganges. The highlight of Varanasi was the cyclo-rickshaw ride through the hectic streets shared with motorbikes, tuk-tuks and cows. Then we flew to Agra to see the beautiful and majestic Taj Mahal and other temples and holy sites. From Agra we drove to Jaipur, where we rode elephants up to Amber Fort, followed by a visit to see (and buy!) handmade carpets. We then had an all-day bus ride to Udaipur, stopping on route to see the old fort at Chittorgarh.

At Udaipur we visited the City Palace, then took a boat ride on Lake Pichola before catching a flight to Delhi where we arrived on Republic day, which was also Australia day. Unfortunately for many Republic day is designated a “dry day” and so we weren’t able to celebrate Australia day in the traditional manner! Delhi is a city of contrasts. In the wide avenues of Central Delhi you could be in London or Paris but the slums of the old town were crowded, smelly and confronting. Throughout the trip we had the most competent and informative guides. We all agreed, Mr Pawan, our bus driver for several days from Agra to Udaipur provided the highlight. He bought us lunch on one day and took us to a terrific restaurant with a view over the lake in Udaipur on another. The Hindus believe in reincarnation and depending on your Karma from this life you will be reincarnated at a higher level in the next. On this basis Mr Pawan will return as a Maharajah!

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