Getting into the Rio mood and WFUNA elections
 |
| A view from the balcony of Hotel Royal Tulip |
November
7,
Rio:
The
weather
got
a
little
better
today.
From
the
balcony
of
my
studio
suite
on
the
17th
floor
of
Royal
Tulip
Hotel
I
can
see
the
golf
course
extending
till
the
mountain
takes
over,
rising
majestically.
On
the
other
side
there's
the
beach
and
the
blue
expanse
beyond.
In
all,
it
is
one
of
the
many
incredible
breath-taking
views
on
Rio's
portfolio.
Today
evening
I
went
to
an
eating
joint
named
Quiosque
Arab
located
on
the
Avenida
Borges
de
Mederos
near
the
famous
jockey
club.
Ten
years
back
when
I
was
in
Brazil
at
Sao
Paulo
I
had
met
Lakhi
Daswani
-
a
prominent
Indian
settled
there
– who,
among
many
businesses,
owned
the
Tandoor
restaurant
said
to
be
the
best
Indian
restaurant
in
Brazil
and
perhaps
the
whole
of
Latin
America.
While
planning
my
Rio
visit,
I
contacted
Lakhi
and
he
introduced
me
to
Vimarshan
Ankola
via
e-mail.
Vimarshan
works
for
a
French
oil
company
in
India
and
has
been
operating
out
of
Rio
for
a
couple
of
years
now
on
company
assignment.
Vimarshan
was
kind
enough
to
invite
me
and
many
other
Indians
to his favourite Arab
restaurant
or
Quiosque
which
is
a
local
name
for
restaurants
on
lake
or
by
the
seaside
with
tent-like
non-permanent
structure.
There is provision and permission to heat food but cooking is
prohibited.
Knowing
that
I
am
a
vegetarian,
a
word
which
not
many
in
Rio
would
be
interested
in,
Vimarshan
and
his
wife
Ujjwala,
who
is
from
Hyderabad,
decided on this restaurant.
I
am
in
Rio
to
attend
the
40th
plenary
of
the
World
Federation
of
United
Nations
Associations
(WFUNA).
There
are
91
countries
eligible
for
voting in new officials.
Many
countries
like
China,
Russia,
UK,
Canada,
Cyprus,
Armenia,
Republic
of
Congo,
South
Africa,
Hungary,
Finland
and
Venezuela
etc.,
and
others
have
already
pledged
their
support
for
me
in
writing.
Last
time,
in
South
Korea,
when
I
decided
to
contest
the
elections
for
the first
time for the post of Treasurer,
I
was
nominated
by
Canada
and
seconded
by
Armenia.
It
was
the
first
time
in
the
history
of
WFUNA
that
a
person
was
nominated
by
another
country
for
elections.
Oddly,
the
Indian
delegation,
for
reasons
best
known
to
them,
hadn't
nominated
me.
I
was
told
that
the
prevailing
opinion
was
that
I
was
too
young
and
there
were
many
senior
members
in
the
Indian
Federation.
I
won
that
election
uncontested.
This
time,
before
leaving
for
Rio,
I
got
a
call
from
the
IFUNA
office
saying
India
was
nominating
me
for
the
post
of
the
Treasurer
which
was
a
whiff
of
good
news
for
me.
But
again
the
call
of
support
came
after
30
countries
had
already
confirmed
their
support
to
me
and
many
of
them
had
conveyed
it
to
the
election
committee
in
writing
and
even
marking
a
copy
to
the
Indian
Federation.
Good,
it
saved
us
both
– myself
and
the
Indian
Federation
– from
what
could
have
once
again
a
very
embarrassing
situation.
ess
bee
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