I would like you to read the vision of Somaiya Vidyavihar.  

https://www.somaiya.edu.in/en/our-vision/

This is what I articulated many years ago, based on what I learned from growing up in my home, under the loving eyes of my parents and grandparents. Along with our founder (my दादा), K J Somaiya, my दादी‌‌ (Sakarben Somaiya) and my father (Dr. Shantilal K. Somaiya) were the founding trustees of Somaiya Vidyavihar.

A good education must cultivate a good knowledge of the profession or field the student wishes to pursue. The पेशा‌‌ or व्यवसाय। It should also give a wide perspective. Expand one’s mind - सोच। And finally it must build character - चरित्र। Build great citizens of India and the world.

Growing up, I was given access to a very good membership of a sports club - The Willingdon Club in Mahalakshmi, Mumbai, to learn a sport. For health, for recreation and for competition. My mother wished that I learn sports and music. My father wanted me to have an appreciation of fine art (I had no artistic abilities, but he thought we should at least be able to appreciate - so if not an artist - at least the audience for an artist). Both my sets of grandparents (दादा‌ दादी‌ & नाना नानी)took me to Mahabaleshwar and Matheran respectively. On those trips, on numerous walks and trails, we were exposed to nature and a love of the environment. My father encouraged the love of reading. Not simply fiction, but also non-fiction. Both genres to better understand the world. My grandfather also believed that our languages must be known, preserved and grown. That English was necessary to know, but that our own languages were equally if not even more important. As I write this in English, I am deeply aware that he would have been happier if I wrote this in our Indian languages as well. And finally, a knowledge of the spiritual traditions. A tradition not of dogma, but one that once again developed an understanding of the wider world.

The Government of India announced the New Education policy. To create well rounded students. They have also articulated that a degree should include a series of courses for students to pursue as part of their degree. At Somaiya Vidyavihar, we are unique in that we have a variety of courses that exist in our own system to make available to our students. When we counted just the courses on the Vidyavihar campus in the undergraduate programmes), we saw that the course catalogue had over 2000 courses!!

When I was a student at Harvard University and earlier at Cornell University, we had similar degree requirements. They provided an amazing empowerment to the student. One in which we as students participated in our own education. Only yesterday, I reached out to my professor in a course I took - Ethics and Public Life. This was a course I had chosen to take among the ‘baskets’ Cornell had required us to choose from. I had chosen courses such as the one above, and many others such as Indian Meditation Texts, Macro Economics, Karate, and others.

Putting these together (family, the Government's new education policy and exposure to Cornell and Harvard), this semester we are introducing a set of subject/foundation areas, or baskets that are in harmony with this policy. We will provide students, beginning with the undergraduate programme (and in this coming semester) with students of Somaiya Vidyavihar University with degree requirements that will allow students to choose at least one course in each of the baskets of:

1. Sport
2. Nature
3. Languages
4. Literature 
5. Spiritual traditions
6. Aesthetic Arts

Each basket area will have a wide selection of courses to choose from. An undergraduate degree requires many courses to be taken in the pursuit of one’s chosen major. In addition, as you go through your three or four years on campus, you will have to choose at least one course from each basket. You can choose to take more, if that interests you, provided that you meet the minimum eligibility requirement of the course and there is space in the classroom. You may also find that you like to course material to pursue more subjects in that field - to get a ‘Minor’.

Many years later, my daughter Gayatri also went to study at Cornell. I saw the computer systems that were available to students to enable them to make course selection. I took screenshots and emailed them to our IT department. Over the past couple of years, our IT department has worked with the Dean of Academics, Dean of Student life and respective Institution heads to create a computer system that will enable students to make such choices. Amongst baskets.

We are starting this semester with the incoming undergraduate students of Somaiya Vidyavihar University. In the coming semesters, we will also open this to our students of autonomous colleges under Somaiya Vidyavihar. Under Somaiya Vidyavihar University and under the autonomous colleges (K J Somaiya College of Arts and Commerce, K J Somaiya College of Science and Commerce and K J Somaiya Institute of Technology - we will be able to make this as part of the degree. We will also, of course, enable the option of enrolling in these courses to existing students of Somaiya Vidyavihar University to take these courses. As mentioned earlier, for students in other programmes, we will enable it in due course. We will also examine ways of providing this flexibility and optionality to students in the Polytechnic and the VTI.

We will see how to enable Students of the S K Somaiya College of Arts, Science and Commerce and the students of the Somaiya Ayurvihar (Medical. Nursing and Physiotherapy colleges) to be able to take these courses if they wish - but these will have to be in addition to their degree requirements.

As we are rolling this out, there will be teething issues. The curriculum will also keep evolving over time. The Dean Academics and Dean Student Welfare and their offices will be there to answer your queries. The IT department will also share the login processes for your myaccount portal and enrol in the courses.

It is my hope that you enjoy the process of choosing, of learning, and of developing yourself into well rounded graduates. That as you learn your own chosen vocation, you also learn from these baskets. That you will be:

Be Proficient in your Profession
Wide in your Thinking
Develop great strength of Character

Happy learning
Samir Somaiya

Dear Friends

Last week we celebrated the renovation of the library of the K J Somaiya Institute of Management.  We called the library 'साहिर' - 'Sahir'.

It coincided with the orientation of the new MBA batch where Shri Ravi Kant gave the students a wonderful start to the programme.

The library is a beautiful space, as good as a library can be, with spaces to read, to collaborate, to discuss, to browse, and to record and broadcast online classes.  The library has been designed by architects Shantanu and Manisha of MOOF.  Our Dean of the Faculty of Management Studies - Raman Ramachandran - led this transformation along with the entire team of the K J Somaiya Institute of Management and the Project Office of Somaiya Vidyavihar.  My compliments to him and the entire team.  

Many years ago, I decided to name our buildings - to give them an identity, distinct from the institute that lives inside them.  And so we have Chanakya, Aurobindo, Aryabhatta,  Bhaskaracharya, Ekalavya, Sandipani, Ashtavakra, Maitreyi and others.

Why not name libraries?  The thought was to name libraries after poets.  The pen is said to be mightier than the sword, so why not celebrate the written word and the writer.  Universities are meant to open minds, to expand horizons, to dream big, to find oneself, to make a difference in the world.  Universities are made up of spaces.  In the classroom, outside the classroom, with friends, inside libraries, and of course within books, within literature. 

 

Sahir Ludhianvi was a poet who wrote lyrics for many Hindi movies and was a member of the progressive Writer's Association.  These writers argued for a more equal world and wrote for more equity and against social injustice.  Somaiya Vidyavihar was founded by my grandfather, because he came from humble roots, and saw the difficulties in accessing healthcare, education and opportunity.  It was also meant to provide opportunity and work towards a more just and equitable world.

We have put some of Sahir's quotes in the library.  His lyrics inspire and move you.  I have tried to choose his writings that cover areas of being proud of our country, making the world a beautiful place and also taking life as it comes.  It is my hope and dream that all of us live life to the full, be happy, and make the country and the world happier and prettier by the work we do and lives we lead.

To be proud of our country and work to make it better, for all.

जिन्हें नाज़ है हिन्द पर वो कहाँ हैं। (from the movie प्यासा)

https://youtu.be/7R7Jon3tAxc?si=UHvO61LScRwBnMwX

अल्लाह तेरो नाम ईश्वर तेरो नाम, सबको सन्मति दे भगवान (from the movie हम दोनों)

https://youtu.be/CXuWxfmtmN4?si=FHBMJ1MR4R0qv7K3

ख़ुदा - ए- बरतर तेरी ज़मीं पर ज़मीं के खातिर ये जंग क्यों है (from the movie ताज महल)

https://youtu.be/_RNkVAFNCCk?si=zr_NSMpKWS6_RqCj

To take life as it comes. and to cultivate stillness of mind.  

जो मिल गया उसी को मुकद्दर समझ लिया, जो खो गया उसी को भुलाता चला गया (from the movie हम दोनों)

https://youtu.be/_l7UvpgK-Xc?si=LofRYABdqBUD4Pjt&utm_source=ZTQxO

मन रे तू काहे न धीर धरे (from the movie चित्रलेखा)

https://youtu.be/N5UipW8J0js?si=0kwCwIoMJv6HCwFZ

In the time scale of the planet and the universe, we are on this planet for a short time.  To make the world nicer by the work we do.

मैं पल दो पल का शायर हूँ. (From the movie कभी कभी)

https://youtu.be/QkGqpVYjLUw?si=Yfsplm5Woec83OoP

माना कि इस ज़मीं को न गुलज़ार कर सके, कुछ ख़ार तो कम कर गये गुज़रे थे जिधर से  हम ।

So do come to the library.  Find some quiet time.  Widen your horizons and expand your learning and help the world be a little better in ways small and large.

Dear Friends

16 May is the day we celebrate as the birthday of our Founder - Padmabhushan K. J. Somaiya. 

There is a memory that I would like to share.  I returned to India from my studies in mid 1992, and joined our family business on 1 January 1993.   My grandfather, our Founder, was 91 years old and still actively working.  He led me to my desk and said to me that I would like to tell you 4 things to keep in mind and you start this new chapter in your life.

These were:
1. Always speak the truth.  (सच बोलना)
2. Keep your word. (ज़बानी)
3. Never lose your 'mind' or temper. (क्रोध नहीं करना)
4. Never do anything that if your mother would find out, she would not be able to hold her head high.  (ऐसा काम न करना जिससे आप की माँ सर उठा न सके, या शर्मिन्दा हो)

These are simple 'instructions' to live life by.  Not only at work, but everywhere.  SImple and powerful words of advice by a man who started from scratch, dreamt big, worked hard, achieved much, gave back, and who always said 'भगवान की मर्ज़ी ' when things went his way, and even when they did not.

Happy Birthday to him

Dear Friends,

Our country has an incredible living tradition of craft.  Our master craftsmen and women are amazing artisans.  The art forms come to us down the ages.  The artisans preserve our heritage and are a bridge to the future.  They carry a legacy and create works of beauty.  
These are traditions that we should be proud of and must encourage to preserve and grow.  

This विरासत is part of our memory.  How do we link this memory to dreams - to fantasy?

In the current 'economy' the artisans do not get pride of place.  They are labelled as craftsmen and women, who often work with others and get a 'wage' for their work.  We all get paid a 'wage' for what we do, but different people get compensated differently.

Our family is from Kutch.  But for a long time, our work in education, healthcare and rural development has been in Maharashtra and Karnataka.  Our primary business - Godavari Biorefineries Limited - is located in these states - and they represent our कर्मभूमी - My father was born in Kutch - and he used to say that he wanted to do a social intervention in his place of birth - his मातृभूमी, his वतन.  He purchased land for this purpose, but passed away before he could either implement or even articulate his dream.

I have often wondered how we could bring our Artisans into the mainstream.  My wife, my mother. mother-in-law and sister have often worn beautiful sarees and textiles.  My father-in-law was a woodworker and also an architect.  Both he and my father were collectors and patrons of Art.  

So if we are to provide opportunity to our artisans, we have to expose them to the world.  Where memory can evolve.  Evolve to make dreams come true, where memory merges with fantasy.

And so we decided to create a school for educating these artisans to become artisan designers.  We founded Somaiya Kala Vidya in Kutch (https://www.somaiya-kalavidya.org/en), Somaiya kalavidya is a school to teach design and business to traditional artisans. Every year we graduate 10-20 women and also men artisans. Recently we have opened a branch in Bagalkot (in Karnataka).  We will expand our outreach to different crafts and different parts of IIndia.  

In the last ten years, we have built a beautiful institution housed in a beautiful building (designed by Hemen Sanghvi of Morbi) that also uses traditional techniques of construction.  We hired Judy Frater who has done much to promote design education of Artisans in Kutch to be our Founder (First) Director.  She led the institution for the first few years until she left in 2019.  In constructing the building, we used traditional designs and traditional material of construction.

Today Nishith Sangomla is our Director of Somaiya Kala Vidya and Somaiya Kala Vidya is fully supported under the umbrella of Somaiya Vidyavihar.  

The Diploma awarding ceremony is a sight to see.  This happens in Kutch - with a few thousand villagers supporting their young diploma awardees on the site of our campus.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HcwN5achHqHNA4vwdEQ0QFlfuE2HL025/view?usp=sharing

The Diploma ceremony is a place where we give the artisan designers, their families and their communities a greater sense of pride for the work they do.  

My wife, Amrita Somaiya, is passionate about textiles and is doing much with the team to revive and grow the textile traditions of India (beginning in Kutch).  Traditions and Artisans of Ajrakh, Bandhini, Souf, Mashru, Batik are all finding a place here.  Young members of the families of these artisans are returning to their विरासत

Last week, five of our artisan designer students (Shakeel bhai - Batik, Amruta - Mashru, Muskan - Bandhni, Mubassirah - Ajrakh and Zaid Khatri - Ajrakh) were invited to the Lakme Fashion Week (https://lakmefashionweek.co.in/home/schedule). 

In Amrita Somaiya's words:  
'Seeing our artisan designers take the stage at Lakme Fashion Week was nothing short of magical.  A dream, nurtured, finally came to life and I could feel the emotion in every stitch, every weave that graced the runway.  This was not just a show; it was a celebration of tradition, of design education, craftsmanship, and the artisan designers who pour their soul into their work.  Watching them receive the recognition they richly deserve was overwhelming.....'

Here is the recording of the show - This happened at the Jio World Convention Centre at BKC in Mumbai.  Do take a look:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11VgG2fjpADmmg8UUhOs-Dt1CHO1OodBi/view?usp=drivesdk

The Lakme Fashion week is a platform that gives the artisans designers wings to fly, and gives all of us a sense of pride about our heritage and culture.    

As we go forward, we need to appreciate our art, architecture, music, literature and everything that has been handed down to us.  Only when we are exposed to this, in our time and in our world, will we appreciate and find ways to make these traditions and arts come alive in our daily life. 

A very happy new year to all of you.

I started by reading a beautiful poem quoted in a Book by Osho (सबद भया उजियाला - गोरख-वाणी):

ज्योति के पायल बजे, जागो प्रभात

फूल की मुस्कान पर संगीत सा जुटने लगा

सब कहीं कुमकुम पवन की सांस पर लुटने लगा।

आ रही है भैरवी की ध्वनि गगन के छोर से,

आज धरती से तिमिर का राज लो उठने लगा ।

तुम अभी सोये, उषा आई लिये सौगात,

ज्योति के पायल बजे, जागो प्रभात

How beautiful.  What a way to start the new year!  

Last year started with a wonderful piece of news.  The students of the K J Somaiya Institute of Technology had succeeded in putting a satellite in space.  What a beginning to the year!!  My compliments to the faculty and students who imagined, dreamt and made it happen.  Here's to more such initiatives and successes.

At our Foundation Day that we celebrated in December 2024, I mentioned that earlier in November, I had met an architect in London - Carlos DuBlanc, who mentioned that education institutions should be places where Memory meets Fantasy.  A place where students can dream, and their possibilities be enabled.  The video is below

Possibilities also have their roots in memory.  Since we have to know our past, be alive in our present, and dream of our future.

And that got me thinking about how I have always remembered my grandfather permitting me to go study in the USA at Cornell, only because I told him it was one of the world's best.  And he simply said, go study, and when you return, make our institution like the one you so want to attend.  

I returned after my education, and always dreamt that I have to make his dream my dream, and make that come true.  But then also the fantasy - can we make it better?  Once again history  (memory) and the future (fantasy).

My father had been a member of the Willingdon Club in Mumbai.  Membership is almost impossible to get.  I 'inherited' it.  I dreamt of a sports facility that is better than the best in Mumbai.  And that our students have access to.  And so we have the Somaiya Sports Academy at the Vidyavihar Campus - at Ekalavya now.  With a name like Ekalavya - to make it available to all our students.  And our students have been representing us all over the State, the country and the world.  Four (out of six) of our Squash playing students represented India at the FISU championship in South Africa and India won the Bronze medal!!

In the next few emails, I will write about this theme - on where Memory meets Fantasy.  And work we did in the past one year.  In all these cases, the dream is to put my grandfather's ideal of

न मानुषात् परो धर्म (There is no religion greater than service to humanity)

in front. That we must strive to create a better world.  For all of us. Again it is a memory of a saying he liked and then to imagine how to put it into practice. 

As an example:

K J Somaiya's first initiative in education was the establishment of a school in 1942 at Sakarwadi followed by a school at Lakshmiwadi.  These were created to provide education to the area surrounding the area where he had set up his company The Godavari Sugar Mills in 1939.

Lakshmiwadi closed in the 1980s due to the co-operatization movement.  So did the sugar mill at Sakarwadi.  My father had always told me that although we may not be producing sugar in Maharashtra anymore, our presence in the area where his father (our Founder and my grandfather) started his journey should remain.  And so, at Sakarwadi our sugar mill has been transformed into a Bio-refinery - making chemicals from renewable feedstocks and our products are sold all over the world.  

At Lakshmiwadi - inspired by the success of our students at Sakarwadi and at the Somaiya Sports Academy in Mumbai, I imagined converting the closed Sugar mill into a branch of the Somaiya Sports Academy.  The picture below shows the dilapidated factory building. 

In May 2024, we converted one of those warehouses into 4 Badminton courts.  

And now, we are working to convert another of the warehouses into a Squash facility.  We will do this in phases.  Maybe a little bit every year.  Much like the way the Somaiya Vidyavihar campus was built.  A way to expand opportunity to our students for the area with access to world class facilities.

Our Badminton Coach - Rupali (who incidentally is an ex-student of our Sakarwadi school) told me that many of the students from our Lakshmiwadi school who are coming for training had until then never even held a Badminton racquet.  And now a whole new world had opened up for them.  

Memory (an old warehouse that used to once store sugar) and Fantasy (where students will dream of becoming champions).

To all our dreams and to make them happen.  For a better world.

Once again - A happy new year.

Dear Friends,

Earlier this month, we opened the Centre for Advanced NeuroSciences at the K J Somaiya Hospital and Research Centre.

My father had gone to Melbourne, Australia to speak at the Parliament of World Religions in December 2009. He had a fall there and hurt his head. He got up and went to his hotel room. A few hours later, he did feel the pain to be unbearable and was taken to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, who promptly admitted him and seeing the head injury performed a brain surgery.

My sister, brother in law and I went there to be with him. The operation was over and my father was in recovery. We were there for a few weeks. He did not make it. He passed away on the 1 of January 2010.

We got to see what a ‘Neuro’ ward is like. Each condition manifested itself very differently in each patient. Based on what part of the brain had been affected - patients behaved differently. Unlike a heart condition, a kidney condition, or a liver condition - where one can guess the effect of a malfunction - here we saw each affected person behaving very differently. Often - unrecognisable from what they may have been like before their condition.

My father was recovering before he passed away. At that time he was shifted to a Centre for rehabilitation. We did think that we should prepare for his return to India and find a place that could provide such a service. And I did return to India to look for such a place. To my disappointment, I was told that Mumbai did not have such places.

And then my father died. So that was it.

Or was it?

I thought that some day, I would build a top class hospital, a place where those who could and also those who could not afford should be able to go. When my father was taken to the Alfred Hospital, he was already fading - they did not know who he was or whether he had health insurance. They took him in and operated.

I always thought that teaching hospitals should be the first place people should want to go to when they need treatment. In the USA, in Boston where I also studied, there are so many teaching hospitals affiliated to Harvard University. Everyone would like to go there for treatment. In India, people do not prefer to go to these hospitals.

I wanted to change that. And so we worked on adding a Superspecialty wing to our hospital. last year, when my aunt and Trustee Leelaben Kotak had an onco-condition that needed an urgent surgery of the intestine, our own Doctors performed the very difficult surgery successfully.

In fact, Dr. Manisha Bobade (our CEO) and her team who are doing an amazing job of leading the hospital, have recently got the entire hospital NABH accredited (Few teaching hospitals opt to get themselves accredited).

About two years ago, Chaitanya - the owner of the contracting company that built the Ashtavakra hostel mentioned that his father and cousin would like to see me, because his cousin was a Neurosurgeon and wanted to help build a world class department of neuro-surgery.

His in-laws (Nimishbhai and Jalpaben) visited me with their cousins Dr. Abhida Shah and we spoke about this. An old dream that I had in Melbourne when I had left was rekindled and a commitment renewed. A commitment to having a superb Department of Neurosciences and also Rehabilitation. Dr. Abhida brought in Dr. Atul Goyal, and we spoke about trading dreams.

With our own commitment and with the generous and continuing assistance of The Inner Wheel of Mumbai Queen’s Necklace this dream started becoming a reality. The team of Doctors at our hospital around Neurosciences started growing and last year we did about 300 surgeries. So we dreamt of a larger centre, with dedicated operating theatres, a dedicated Intensive Care Unit and whatever is needed to deliver world class care. And so we inaugurated the Centre for Advanced Neurosciences. I am hoping that in time, this will be the best centre for Neurosciences and rehabilitation in India and beyond.

My mother always wanted me to play a sport.  She never did, but her brother, my मामा, played Badminton.  And so my mother would make me go to our club - The Willingdon Sports Club and enroll me for coaching.  I liked Badminton, but not so much.  And then one day when I was 14,  I started playing Squash and I continue to do so today - 42 years after I played it the first time.

My grandfather Padmabhushan Shri K. J. Somaiya was 90 years old when he visited Cornell University for attending my graduation when I completed my Masters degree in Chemical Engineering.  The ceremony was held in the Athletic field.  My grandfather was shown the place sitting on a wheelchair.  At that age - he would not have been able to walk so much.

When he returned home, he sent me a letter with a drawing of an athletic track and a small indoor sports facility on the side.  He called me and said that he thought about this after seeing the facilities at Cornell.

The image of a 90 year old man on a wheelchair, dreaming of creating a 400 m running track with an indoor facility has stayed with me till today.  Much like the image of an old gardener planting a tree that he will never live to see mature and give fruit.

At Cornell, knowledge of swimming was necessary to get the Undergraduate degree.  After the receipt of an ID card, the first thing a student was supposed to do was to undergo a swim test.  Cornell believed that swimming was a life skill all graduates should have.

We were supposed to do two semesters of any sport.  And we could do more.  I learned many sports this way and represented Cornell for Squash.

I dreamt of building a world class sports facility.  Better than that I experienced as a young boy at the Willingdon Club in Mumbai.  Why should access to world class facilities and coaching be restricted to a few clubs where membership could only be inherited or otherwise be too expensive.

And could we provide our students with the sports experience that I had at Cornell.

So we refused to make this a 'club'' even though many asked whether they could become members.  The idea is for this to be an athletic facility.  Sports for health, sports for teamwork, sports for competition, sports to understand what sportsman spirit is.  To play to win, and to also take defeat gracefully.  To become champions.

I started managing the Somaiya institutions in 2010 when my father passed away.  I planned to build the track as envisaged by my grandfather.  People told me not to build a running track.  'Who runs in Mumbai?' They asked.  'Build a Cricket ground' - they said.

I stood my ground.  For two reasons.  One was the image of my grandfather (sitting on a wheelchair) at my graduation imagining a running track was too strong, and secondly, I thought that if we built a track, we would somehow cater to more sports and so much was being done for Cricket anyway (I have to confess - i like Cricket much more than running and football).

Looking back, the sports facility has evolved into a Somaiya Sports Academy.  There is running, athletics, football, basketball, squash, badminton, yoga, climbing, taekwondo, judo, cricket nets and so much more.  Seeing the short movie made on our sports facility made me reflect on the past.  My mother wanting her child to learn sports, my grandfather dreaming of a world class facility and my own thoughts of making those two dreams a lived reality.

I have named the facility Eklavya.  Much imagery behind the choice of that name.  

We will continue to build super sports facilities. On the Ayurvihar campus, at our rural school.campuses and one large rural sports facility near Shirdi - in a place called Lakshmiwadi.

Here is the video:

Do watch it.  Become a part of it.

Samir

Dear Friends,

In the Mahabharata, the Yaksha had asked Yudhisthtir,

लाभानामुत्तमं किंस्यात्  सुखानां स्यात्किमुत्तमम्  ।।५४।।
 
What was the best of all gains.  What is the greatest among all kinds of happiness?

Yudhisthtir answered 

लाभानां श्रेय आरोग्यं सुखानां तुष्टिरुत्तमा ।।५५।।

Health is the greatest of all gains.  And Contentment is the greatest among all kinds of happiness.

Being free of disease is a blessing that many of us take for granted.  

Somaiya Ayurvihar was formed with the dream of providing healthcare.  The name Vidyavihar was coined as 'A refuge for Education'.  Ayurvihar.  'A refuge for health'.  

In the past few months, we have embarked on a few initiatives to take this forward.  But before getting there, I would like to put this effort in context.

In the 1970s, our Founder. Shri K. J. Somaiya had created the Girivanvasi Pragati Mandal.  His dream was that all communities 'left out' should be brought to the mainstream of society.  To do this, he would take Doctors and Nurses from Mumbai and with them, staff and students from the Somaiya Colleges to various tribal parts of India such as Bagidora in Rajasthan, Shamraji also in Rajasthan, Surgana in Maharashtra, Kukma in Kutch to name a few.  Reputed Doctors like Dr. B. N. Purandare, Dr. S. M. Merchant and many others.from Mumbai and other parts of India would join him in providing this service to society.  

The picture below is from 1976, in Bagidora which I attended as an 11 year old, where my task was to take medicines from the stores to the wards as needed.  

While he took camps to different parts of the country, he also decided to create a permanent 'boots on the ground at Nareshwadi', near Dahanu in Maharashtra where the Varli community resides.  He believed that a place where livelihoods (through farming and animal husbandry), education (through a school), and healthcare (through a hospital) would be needed to help holistically develop the area.

The picture from the 1970s below shows K J Somaiya and Sakarbai Somaiya at the Foundation laying ceremony of the hospital in Nareshwadi

With the passage of time, the school grew, but the inpatient hospital, wound down but continued as an outpatient Ayurvedic clinic.  Dr. Telange has given great service to the community by keeping this facility alive and useful as an Ayurvedic OPD.

A few months ago, Dr. Rahul Shinde from the Department of Dentistry from K J Somaiya Hospital and Research Centre (Mumbai) approached me and asked whether he could start a Dental Outpatient Service there.  We would start this once a week, but that would provide much relief to the community there, who had very little access to good quality dental treatment.  Encouraged by his enthusiasm, we created the facility.

And so the dental treatment has started every Wednesday.
Encouraged by this, Dr.Mamta Dhayal from Dermatology asked me whether we could start a skin OPD,   And now that has started, also on Wednesdays.

Over 450 patients have now been treated at this hospital in the last few months.

Once again, encouraged by this, the Departments of Paediatrics, Ophthalmology and Gynaecology have shown interest and these departments will also spring to life at this hospital.

A beautiful शेर - 

मैं अकेला ही चला था जानिब-ए-मंज़िल मगर 

लोग साथ आते गए और कारवाँ बनता गया 

मजरूह सुल्तानपुरी 

This is to all of you, the staff, the nurses and of course the Doctors who are breathing new life at the hospital at the Girivanvasi Pragati Mandal at Nareshwadi.  

Our founder, Shri K. J. Somaiya and Smt. Sakarbai Somaiya would be very happy wherever they are.  

Dear Friends

I would like to speak to you about what difference a 'chance' can make.

Last week I was walking around the construction site of the new building 'Sanskriti' which is being built across 'The Somaiya School.'  I came across the brick-layer and was asking him about the bricklaying that he was doing.  His wife was there as well with their 2 children.  I did ask her whether their children went to school.  She said that they were from Gujarat and they were in school there, but they had to come to Mumbai for work, and so the kids had been taken out of school for now.

I did ask her whether the children would like to attend school.  She looked at me quizzically, wondering about the question and what I really meant.  I mentioned to her that there was a Gujarati medium school on our campus, and her children could easily get admitted and their education would not suffer.  MInaxi madam from the Somaiya Vinay Mandir (primary) came over and convinced the mother that this 'offer' was for real and the children started attending school the next day.

The idea here is not to speak about a chance meeting, but about opportunity.  Many times we see - but in reality do not see.  And even if we do observe, and if we can act, we may be blind to our own ability to make a difference.

Dr. Sendurai Mani was on campus delivering the Somaiya Public Lecture earlier this month. 
also he gave a TedX talk

His work on cancer metastasis is known worldwide and his paper was cited about 10,000 times.  How does Dr. Mani fit into this story?

Dr. Mani was a young student in rural Tamil Nadu and studying in the village school there.  On finishing the 6th standard - he needed Rs. 200 to be able to study further in the 7th standard (he had to go to another village).  His parents did not have the Rs. 200 to enable him to study further.  His grandmother owned 4 or 5 goats.  So she gave him one goat and asked him to sell it and use the money for his studies.  He sold the goat, got Rs. 200 Rs and that opportunity enabled him to study further and he is today at Brown University in the USA and he is doing seminal work in the study of Cancer metastasis and his research is making major strides in the treatment of cancer worldwide.

What a big difference his grandmother made.  So little for many, but so much for her, and still greater impact for him.

Similarly, my grandfather Shri K. J. Somaiya was given an opportunity to trade sugar when he was really struggling trying to make ends meet.  And when he was given an opportunity to partner with these Marwadi brothers, he made a great success of the same, built his company and then built Somaiya Vidyavihar.

Opportunity and Chance.  Amazing.  I am still thinking about Mani's Grandmother the opportunity she provided him.

Dear Friends,

Last week, I was invited to Astana, Kazakhstan to speak at the 20th Anniversary of the Congress of World and Traditional Religions. Somaiya Vidyavihar (under the leadership of my late father Dr. S. K. Somaiya) has been working in the field of inter-faith dialogue since the 1980s and we have been working with Kazakhstan all these past 20 years of their Congress. I was invited to speak on behalf of Hinduism.

Palace of Peace and Reconciliation - shaped like a Pyramid where the conference was held.  Picture of me with our faculty Dr. Rudraksha Sakrikar and our Liason - Aisana Kakharman

It was an honour to meet the Chairman of the Senate, His Excellency Maulen Ashimbayev, and His Excellency Bulat Sarsenbayev - Chairman of the N. Nazarbayev Board for Development of Interfaith and Inter-Civilization Dialogue. I thank The Republic of Kazakhstan and President of Kazakhstan, His Excellency Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for their continuing commitment to interfaith dialogue.

Picture of all of us who participated in the dialogue

The topic was building a 'Building a Fair and Peaceful World'. This theme was also reflected in 'वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्- 'One Family, One Earth, One Future' which was chosen as the theme of the G20 under the Presidency of India and led by our Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The topic of 'Building a Fair and Peaceful World' has been relevant at all times and also very much in the times we live in. Praying for Peace in the World.

Picture of me with His Excellency Bulat Sarsenbayev - with the Ganesh that we gifted them a few years ago - and which stands in the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation.

Somaiya Vidyavihar has been undertaking interfaith dialogues since the 1980s.  My father, Dr. Shantilal K Somaiya was an active believer that to work towards a better world it is important to engage in dialogue (संवाद) with people from different walks of life, different beliefs, and different faiths.  He also believed that religions have survived millennia, and that there is much to learn from their teachings.

I was amazed at the hospitality that they showed me.  I was received at the Astana Airport by Zhanna Assanova - Member of Parliament, and also seen off by her when I left, even though my flight left in the middle of the night at 3:15 am.  When I mentioned to her that she need not have taken the trouble, she said that when I had taken the trouble to come all the way, how could I say that it was trouble for her to come and say good bye.

Azat Serikbossyn (Deputy Head of Mission of Kazakhstan in New Delhi - who accompanied us on the trip), myself, Senator Zhanna Assanova (Member of Parliament) who came to see us off, and Rudrakhs Sakrikar

The link to my talk is at

 

I give the text of my talk below:

Kazakhstan has for centuries been an example of tolerance and spiritual diversity.  Positioned on the silk road, Kazakhstan has been at the crossroads of diverse traditions.  Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and other spiritual traditions have coexisted.

We meet today to reaffirm our shared commitment to work towards building a fair and peaceful world.  In the Rig Veda, there is a beautiful verse:

संगच्छध्वं संवदध्वं 

सं वो मनांसि जानताम्

समानि व आकूति: समाना हृदयानि व: |

समानमस्तु वो मनो यथा व: सुसहासति ||   ऋग्वेद

“Go together; speak with one another; 

Let your minds be of one accord... 

May your aim be common, 

your assembly common; common the mind, and the 

thoughts united... Common be your aim, and your 

hearts integrated; your mind be one so that all may happily live together.” 

We are here, assembled together, we are in dialogue with one another.  We are of one mind.  Our aims are common.  We are here to speak with each other on how to build a Fair and Peaceful world.  

The dialogue that we have is one based on mutual respect and understanding.  This dialogue must be meaningful and purposeful.  Today, the world is grappling with multiple challenges.  The list below is an illustrative (and certainly not an exhaustive list) of these challenges:   

1. Inequalities in access to Health, Nutrition, Housing, Education, Finance and Opportunity.
2. Inequalities within communities (Gender for example)
3. Climate Change, Sustainability and loss of Nature and Biodiversity
4. Poverty
5. Terrorism & Conflict
6. Individual vs the Community (at an individual or at a national level)

The Honourable Prime Minister of India - Shri Narendra Modi gave voice to addressing these issues in India’s leadership of the G20.  The Delhi Declaration articulated the vision of One Planet, One future, One family.  The Declaration laid out goals of financial inclusion, gender equity, digital public infrastructure and more.  All working towards a more Just and peaceful world.

The motto of One Planet, One future, One family also finds its roots in Hindu scripture - 

अयं निजः परो वेति गणना लघुचेतसाम्!! उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् !!

‘This is mine and that is not’ is the thinking of narrow minded people.  For the large hearted - the world is a family.’  And so One Planet, One future, One Family

The choice of this motto showed that faith is important.  Our beliefs, our traditions, and our spiritual inspirations are important.  Timeless sayings have continuing relevance.  And that service to humanity is the greatest religion.

Our value systems must remain firm in a turbulent world.  In a changing world.  Compassion, Truth, Forgiveness, Respect, Honesty and Contentment and Love must underpin our lives and relationships.  The world around will change us, but it must not take us away from the fundamental values that make us human. 

We meet periodically in Kazakhstan to find strength in our shared experiences, solutions in our shared response to challenges, and to chart out a path forward to address the challenges facing the world today.  

The challenges facing us are great, the urgency even greater.  

I would like to thank the Republic of Kazakhstan and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for their continued commitment to humanity, to articulate a path forward for the Congress as we continue to meet to build peace and harmony in the world.