The Seven Dimensions of Club Culture
| Meeting Date | 09 Sep 2023 |
| Meeting Time | 18:30:00 |
| Location | Poona Club |
| Meeting Type | Regular |
| Meeting Topic | The Seven Dimensions of Club Culture |
| Meeting Agenda | Guest Lecture by Rtn Aseem Srivastava |
| Chief Guest | Rtn Aseem Srivastava |
| Club Members Present | 42 |
| Minutes of Meeting | The Multiple Dimensions of Culture When conversing with an Indian, if he shakes his head from side to side, is he agreeing or disagreeing with you? Or, when a visitor from Switzerland or Germany arranges to meet you at 11 a.m., can you assume that he will he arrive a few minutes ahead of schedule or several minutes late? These questions about people’s mannerisms, habits and customs were among the many attributes covered by last week’s speaker, RCPC member Rtn. Aseem Srivastav, in an engaging interactive talk on “The Seven Dimensions of Global Culture”. Given its multi-dimensional nature, culture can be defined in a variety of ways, but in brief it encapsulates the way of life for an entire society, including its customs, attitudes and beliefs, codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals and art. Aseem gave some thought-provoking instances of how behaviour patterns differ in various societies, for example, if a friend had done something wrong or made a mistake, in some cultures, people might cover up for their friend, placing more value on the relationship than in telling the truth. In other cultures, being truthful would outweigh protecting a friend for the sake of the relationship. Above all, Aseem emphasized that there is no right or wrong in cultural attitudes, there are only differences in ways of thinking. Earlier in the evening, President Ajay Chitnis gave a brief update on an eye check-up camp held at the Sant Tukaram VIdyalay in Chandan Nagar conducted by RCPC and the Community Eye Care Foundation. A total of 371 students had their eyes examined. President Ajay also gave details of Rtn. Balasaheb Bande’s visit to Rotary Clubs in Singapore and Indonesia. Continuing the series of reminiscences by Past Presidents, last week we looked back on late Rtn. PP Nani Desai’s year in office from 1997–98, during which the Rotary theme was “Show Rotary Cares”. R’Ann Dolly Desai provided information on the many projects undertaken during Nani’s tenure, including setting up of a Senior Citizens Club, a literacy programme for slum dwellers, and donation of a Maruti van to the Cancer Patients Aid Foundation, among several others. It was a fruitful year during which RCPC received the Rotary International Presidential citation for 1997–98 for Outstanding Club participation in all four avenues of service, with Nani receiving a certificate of appreciation for outstanding work done during his presidential term. We offered birthday greetings to Rtn. Vimal Saboo, Rtn. Pravin Nadkarni, Rtn. Rakesh Kalra and Rtn. Rajeev Sharma. The evening ended on with the Happy Hours Fellowship graciously hosted by Rtn. PP Ramesh Dumbre. |