CHENNAI: From the experienced who have created a great legacy to the young minds who have just started creating a change, the Vocational Service Awards event was organised to celebrate and honour the inspirational and exceptional work in almost every aspect of human life. The awards were presented on Saturday by the Rotary Club of Chennai Towers (RCCT) at Hyatt Regency.
The recipients of this year’s awards included SP Muthuraman for Lifetime Achievement Award, Akhil Nichani for Young Achiever, Sangeeta Isvaran for Skilling & Women Empowerment, Supriya Nair for Inclusive Educator (special needs), Khaalid Ahmed for Service Above Self and Alisha Abdulla for her achievements in the field of motorsports racing.
The awardees took to the stage and educated the audience on their work and the inspiration found from their daily life. “Can we expect to do things without expecting anything, not even gratitude?,” asked Sangeeta, a recipient. She developed the ‘Katradimethod’, a technique of empathy-based social transformation through Bharatanatyam and other traditional performing arts. “Very often, we don’t respond to the calls of distress because the people don’t belong to our community or are dissimilar. Katradi’s main aim is to make everyone understand that all of us are connected. Our first pillar is love and empathy. We make sure that no one feels unwanted in the space,” she added.
Khalid Ahmed, founder of the ‘Uravugal’ trust, which performs the final rituals of the homeless and abandoned people, said, “ I began my trust after seeing an elderly man dying, begging for water. There is nothing more valuable than having a few people to perform your last rites.” Khalid with the help of his team buried the abandoned bodies during the pandemic insurge and became an inspiration to all.
RCCT, a part of Rotary International District 3232, a 24-year-old non-profit service organisation, conducts the Vocational Services Awards every year to find inspiration and help the underprivileged improve their quality of life. “This honour that we provide as Rotarians is the finest kind of community service. The selection process of the awardees was democratic and transparent. We are delighted to have discovered these exceptional individuals. What they all have in common is their commitment to serve others, ” said Ramakrishnan Mani, president of RCCT.