India Society News
Lent 2001 Issue 3
Dear Members,
Hope everyone's settled into this
term and that things are going well.
This year’s Annual Ball was, as
usual, a huge success and a complete sell-out! I hope you all thoroughly
enjoyed yourselves! I know the committee did…! I’ve been asked to let you know
that reprints of photos (to be found on the website http://nitin.xinf.org) are 
available at 20p each – e-mail Nisha
(njl29) with requests.
Next week, this India Soc Committee
will be handing over to a new one. Elections for all the various
positions will be taking place on Friday, 8th March at 8.00pm in the Bowett
Room, Queens' – details to follow.
Being part of the India Soc Committee is fun, a chance to meet and work with new people and allows you to implement ideas to improve the society and keep it active. It's as much time and effort as you make it and I'm sure you'll agree that there's plenty of scope for better and different social and cultural events. Hope to see all of you at the AGM.
As you know, the most powerful
earthquake to strike India for more than half a century hit the subcontinent on
26th January. The earthquake measured 7.9 on the Richter scale and shook
buildings in Gujarat for more than 2 minutes. The Gujarat government
estimates that the final death toll will rise to 50,000. Hundreds of
thousands have been left homeless, hungry and injured.
The charity SEWA International's
chairman has stated that, for this particular appeal, 100% of the donations
will be utilised for the victims of the disaster.
Sewa Intenational have 15,000
volunteers in the affected area and are providing much-needed medical help,
shelter and food. A number of children who have lost their parents need
to be rehabilitated and many old men and women have been rendered
destitute. Sewa International are therefore setting up orphanages and
homes for the elderly.
In order to help contribute to Sewa
International's Indian Earthquake Appeal, we organised a fundraising
evening. This took place on Thursday, 15th February in Old Hall,
Queens'. The speakers were:-
Ø Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri, the Deputy
High Commissioner of India
Ø Dr. James Jackson, Earth Scientist
& Earthquake Specialist
Ø Mr. Shantibhai Mistry, Chairman of
Sewa International
The talks were followed by a large
and delicious Indian dinner.
We raised over £1000.00 for the Appeal
and I'd like to thank all those who supported this worthwhile cause.
Please don't hesitate to get in
touch with me, or any of the Committee if you have any suggestions or
feedback for us...
Take care,
Priya
Page
1
You
Can Still Help
More than
a month has passed since the devastating earthquake of 26th January
hit India, a few miles west of Ahmedabad. News of the injury and suffering of
the people of Gujarat, that once stole the front page of every newspaper, has
slowly been moved to the inner pages and will soon disappear. This does not
mean the suffering has ended.
This
tragic natural disaster left thousands without homes, without food and
clothing. The photo below shows a 60-year old woman with her grandchild in the shadow
of a tree in front of her destroyed house whilst the second shows survivors amidst the ruins of Zikdi, one of the closest
communities to the epicentre of the Gujarat earthquake. Every home was
destroyed and 16 people were killed, eight of them schoolchildren crushed in a
small alleyway outside their classroom.
These people, and thousands like them are in dire need
of help. Charities such as Oxfam and World Vision have been providing reliefs
in the form of things like food rations, shelter materials, blankets and
cooking utensils, but now the focus is shifting to rebuilding of the hamlets,
villages and towns of Gujarat.
If you want to do
your part, you can 
donate money to these and other charities, which
will then be used to fund projects in Gujarat, and other places affected by the
quake. World
Vision and Oxfam are
two large charity organisations accepting donations for their respective
earthquake appeals, but if you’d like to donate to a smaller charity, GrowthCircle is one whose purpose is
not just to provide short-term relief, but partner other Non-Governmental
Organisations in the long-term, sustainable rebuilding effort.
SEWA International, the
charity supported by India Society’s dinner last month is also undertaking
important rehabilitation and reconstruction projects in and around Gujarat.
SEWA guarantee that 100% of all donations to their appeal will go to the cause.
All of the above
charities accept online donations so please, if you can, try and do your bit to
help.
Page 2
India Society AGM 2001
The India
Society Committee Y2K has had an excellent year of with the Easter Term Garden
Party and last term’s Annual Ball causing a storm and cementing
IndiaSoc’s reputation as a society capable of throwing killer parties (!!), as
have the termly Formal Hall and Fez nights! On a more serious note, many
of you came to see our screening of Deepa Mehta’s 1947- Earth,
and attended our dinner in aid of SEWA - International’s Indian Earthquake
Appeal where we raised over £1000.
However,
the time has come to hand over our seats on the Committee to the next
generation of India Soc-ites. The new kids in town who want to show that they
can do it bigger and better than ever. And to this we say: Bring It On. It’s
your chance to have your say in how YOUR committee is run, and plan the events
that YOU want at the India Society AGM 2001.
If YOU
want to be part of the new India Soc. Committee, pigeon-hole or CMS Rohit
Verma, Catz College by Thursday 8th March with the following
details:
Ø Your name
Ø The position you wish to apply for
(see below)
Ø Signed confirmation from the person
nominating you
Ø Signed confirmation from the person
seconding you
(both
signatories must be members of the society)
Applicants
will be required to make a 3-minute speech outlining why they wish to be part
of the committee, why they think they are suitable for the position they are
applying for and their plans/ideas should they be elected.
The following positions are available- please feel free to e-mail the current members of the committee with any queries/questions:
Current Committee Members:
President: Priya
Bhandari (pb262)
Vice
President: Riyaz Daya (rad32)
Treasurer: Gurbir
Singh Anand (gsa22)
Publicity: Nisha
Lakhani (njl29)
Secretary: Rohit
Verma (ruv20)
Committee
Members: Akansha Arya (aa298)
Arijit
Ghosh (akg30)
Ajay
Gudka (ag283)
Nilesh
Pareek (np237)
Nishant
Lalwani (nl220)
Even if you’re not standing for the committee, please come along to the AGM and have your say – all society members are eligible to vote!
Page 3
The
Committee Positions
Just so you know
exactly what it is you’re running for, here’s a little bit about each of the
positions on the committee and what the various roles entail (submitted by
respective committee members).
President
Being President of CU India Society is,
like most things, as much work and effort as you want it to be. I found that
these were my main roles:-
Ø Working with the rest of the committee to organise social and cultural events (main social ones are Squash, Garden Party, Annual Ball, cultural ones can include talks, showings of films, music evenings, etc)
Ø Delegating tasks and responsibility
Ø With the committee, thinking of ways to improve the running and activities of the society
Ø Trying to ensure that members felt that part of India Society and passed feedback and suggestions to the committee.
Ø A great deal of liaising with non-students when organising events such as the Ball (e.g. Guildhall, sponsors, caterers, waiters, DJs....)
As President, you can have an
impact on the way the society is run and you learn a lot about motivating
and negotiating with a variety of people. I would encourage you to
stand for election if you're interested in taking up a rewarding role which has
a lot of scope for implementing new ideas.
Vice
President
The main duty of the Vice President is to supplement the
leadership of the President. The President will, more often than not, face a
greater workload than a single person can handle so it would be your duty to
lighten the burden. Leadership and communication skills are vital- it is also
important for one to be able to take the initiative, since unlike treasurer or
secretary, there is no strictly specified role- you make of it what you want.
Treasurer
Carrying full responsibility of the accounts, outstanding organisational ability is essential for any Treasurer. The India Society is a large society, and so the Treasurer will be responsible for a large number of transactions- all of which need to be recorded with receipts. The other main duty is to keep an eye on the financial situation, which often involves restricting the ambitious spending plans of the rest of the committee.
Publicity
The key roles involved in handling publicity for IndiaSoc are the editing and publishing of the termly newsletter, sending out e-mails to the society publicising events, organising posters and ticketing, and generally acting as a representative of the society’s members to the public, for example to speakers at our events. The position requires an individual who is able to multi-task, as often there are quite a few things going on at the same time, and also possesses strong PR skills.
Secretary
It is the role of the secretary to handle a lot of the administrational side of the society, for example taking minutes at meetings, and ensuring they be distributed to committee members. The role also involves acting as a supporting member to the treasurer and publicity officer, as the vice president would the president.
Committee Member
Taking
on the position of Committee Member requires more work than one could
anticipate. The reason for this is that the position is one where flexibility
is a key. At one event, it may be necessary to organise all of the decorations,
while at another, simply ensure that the event is running smoothly. However,
you should always be ready to carry out the work delegated by the President or
the Vice-President, which is usually decided at committee meetings. This is not
to say that the committee member is of less importance in the society
hierarchy, since ultimate responsibility will never fall upon you; but rather
that without your input or output, the Society will find it very difficult to
achieve its aims successfully. This position is recommended particularly for
those who would like to help out the society but have commitments elsewhere. It
will prove to be a very worthwhile position for those who are willing to put
the time in.
If you have any questions or queries regarding any of the information above,
please do not hesitate to contact the respective committee members, who will be
more than willing to help.
Page 4
Mastana
Mastana - tantalising
music, breathtaking performances and spectacular dances
Annually held
by Cambridge University Hindu Cultural Society.
SEWA - the
charitable organisation for which the show raises money.
The chance for
you to have fun
And help a
good cause.
Nothing can
beat this magical night
An evening of
cultural entertainment from across the Indian Sub- continent.
This
cultural explosion will be held on Sunday 11th March 2001 in West
Road Concert Hall at 6pm. Tickets are on sale NOW.
End
