You were really great, Papa! Happy Father's Day!

My father would have been one hundred and three years old today. He would have taught my children, all that he taught me. The values, the generosity, the leadership skills, and intrinsic appreciation of the goodness of humanity.

I remember him for his laughter, his sense of humor that caught you off-guard. I remember the rides to school in the morning when he had stories to tell me. I remember when he helped me with my school projects, the large cardboard charts that were decorated with serrated colored paper stripes on the edges. His calligraphy was perfect. I learned from him that Mahatma Gandhi, respectfully hailed by Indians as the Father of the Nation, was ambidextrous: in prison, when his right hand was fatigued with continuous writing, he trained his left hand to write and takeover the letter writing and books that perforce were written by hand.

So now, all I can say is, “You were really great, Papa, Rotarian Past District Governor D. m. Desai! You gave your life to Rotary International … and taught me the Four-Way Test.”

Happy Pride Month 2021

As the world, as though from a long snooze, awakens post-pandemic, we find that there are occasions to celebrate. We join others in celebration of Pride month.

Wo(Humanity) ~ Happy Mother's Day 2021

Women who wear multiple hats learn to prioritize and manage their daily routines with astuteness. A woman with a child knows always to use the back-burners. A married woman knows when there is conflict on the horizon before an argument erupts. A woman employee learns to give way to her boss’ commands and perform her responsibilities with care. I do not mean that only women care and have excellent time management skills. The point is, these become innate to their performance as they are habituated to them.

Perhaps we can look back at our mothers who were family caregivers and were never employed. Was a meal missed? Was a breakfast late? Were collars frayed? Were buttons broken? Perhaps we can look to those mothers who were family caregivers and were employed. Did they not do what their home-bound sisters did? We can look at single women, divorcees, widows who continue to charge on with any resources available to them. For that is wo(humanity). We seem to have missed out on the “wo” in human. For it seems to be all (hu)man. Or so (his)tory the chronicler of wars will tell you.

And on this Mother’s Day midst a raging pandemic, I remember my mother, Past Inner Wheel District Chairman Madhuben Desai, who was a family caregiver par excellence and, in my opinion, a philanthropist second only to my father, Past Rotary District Governor, D. m. Desai.