Rasheeda Bhagat

Editor, Rotary News, former Senior Associate Editor, Business Line. Write on gender, social sector, people, politics, travel, and life!

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

Seriously??? Bareilly education officers ordered to collect cattle fodder https://t.co/U7uLoiD0mq

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

@OfficialJoel4_ 67

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

@narendramodi Haha! I love that show!

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

@RCB1929 @Rotary

[Rotary News @NewsRotary]

23 February 2026 – Rotary Anniversary
121 years of connection. 121 years of service. Here’s to the generations of leaders who carry this legacy — and the impact ahead 💛

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

@_zabiiii 116

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

@Subtle_Eutonies @AhmadRaza_1982 True!

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

One of my favourite books. An honest portrait of a man most historians have portrayed as a buffoon, joker! Your book motivated me to visit his resting place in Burma/Myanmar when I was there!

[William Dalrymple @DalrympleWill]

It is based on my Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty, Delhi 1857

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

@Alexa_vibe1 Trout, tent, taunt, truant,taught, taut, tout, tint,

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

@Arden_2210 Trout

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

@ElinaMia34 Happy Birthday Sir 🍻

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

@Hazelkeech0918 Congratulations! God bless all four of you. ❤️

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

@SarahXArt 10. Excellent❤️

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

It was a well organised event with interesting sessions!

[Rotary Club Of Thane Hills @RCThaneHills]

So good to see our literary initiative @thanelitfest organized in collaboration with @NCPAMumbai is covered in the latest Dec. 2025 issue of @Rotary News India, an official Regional Magazine of @Rotary Thank you Publisher P T Prabhakar, editor @rushbl
@JohnHewko @bachikarkaria

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

True. A great actor, a greater human being. He imbibed and retained all the goodness that permeates rural Punjab! May he rest in peace.

[Amitabh Bachchan @SrBachchan]

T 5575 -
... another valiant Giant has left us .. left the arena .. leaving behind a silence with an unbearable sound ..

Dharam ji .. 🙏 🙏🙏

.. the epitome of greatness, ever linked not only for his renowned physical presence, but for the largeness of his heart , and its most endearing simplicity ..

.. he brought with him the earthiness of the village in Punjab he came from , and remained true to its temperament .. un soiled throughout his glorious career , in a fraternity that witnessed changes every decade ..

... the fraternity underwent changes .. not him ..

his smile, his charm and his warmth , extending to all that came in his vicinity .. a rarity in the profession ..

.. the air about us swings vacant ..

.. a vacuum that shall ever remain vacuus ..

.. prayers 🛕 🙏

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

… and some fun moments too ⁦@TejasRZI2025⁩ , when ⁦@Rotary⁩ Prez Arezzo’s seat was taken temporarily!

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

Some nice and warm moments at ⁦@TejasRZI2025⁩ ⁦our zone institute in Delhi. @KRRavindran105⁩ ⁦@Rotary⁩

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

At the @TejasRZI2025 , the Zones 4,5,6 &7 Institute shortly to be inaugurated at the #Yashobhoomiconventioncentre in Delhi! Such an impressive venue! Really world class. @Rotary

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

Great! Hope it now learns to handle passengers, give clean toilets & other services. Chennai airport pips Bengaluru to take 3rd spot in international cargo handling in H1’26 - https://t.co/mr70QVhkhC, For the best experience read this on BusinessLine App. https://t.co/Qlu9u9vslG

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

Such people give hope in a broken world…❤️

[Mr PitBull Stories @MrPitbull07]

"I’m 79. My name’s Agnes. I walk to Oakwood Elementary every Tuesday and Thursday at 2:45 p.m. Not for my grandkids, I don’t have any. I go for them. The kids waiting for parents who are late. Again.

It started three years ago. I saw Miguel sitting alone on the school’s concrete steps, tracing math problems in the dirt with a stick. His mom worked double shifts at the canning factory. His homework was smudged with tears.

I didn’t say much. Just pulled a folding chair from my tote bag (I carry it everywhere, bad knees) and sat beside him. "Show me where you’re stuck, mijo," I said. He flinched like I’d startled a bird. But he showed me.

I was a teacher for 42 years. Fractions, state capitals, how to hold a pencil, I know them like my own heartbeat. That day, we solved 3 problems in the dirt. When his mom finally rushed up, breathless and apologizing, I just nodded. "He’s got a good mind," I told her. Her eyes got wet. Not from sadness. From being seen.

Next week, I brought my old teacher’s stool and a clipboard. Set up under the oak tree across from the school gates. No sign. No fanfare. Just me, my red pen, and a jar of butterscotch candies.

Kids started coming. Not all at once. First Miguel. Then Aisha, whose dad’s truck broke down again. Jamal, who whispered, "My grandma’s sick." I never asked why parents were late. I just opened my clipboard.

Some days, I only helped one child. Other days, five crowded around my stool. I taught multiplication tables while braiding Maya’s hair. Showed Leo how to write his name in cursive on a foggy window. Never took money. Never called the school. This wasn’t their job. It was ours.

Then came Mrs. Chen. She stood at the edge of the sidewalk for weeks, watching her daughter Linh hover near my bench but never approach. One rainy Thursday, Mrs. Chen finally walked over. Her hands shook. "I failed school," she admitted in broken English. "I can’t help her." I slid my stool aside. "Sit," I said. "Today, you do the math. I’ll hold the umbrella."

Last month, the principal found me packing up in the rain. "We’ve had complaints," he said gently. "About ‘unauthorized tutoring.’" I braced for the end. But then Linh ran over, dragging her mother. Aisha brought her little brother. Miguel stood tall beside his mom, the one who once cried on the steps. Twelve parents and kids formed a circle around my soggy stool. "This bench stays," Miguel told the principal. "Or we all leave."

Today, the PTA provides the folding chairs. Retired nurses check kids’ ears for infections. A barber gives free trims. But the homework bench? That’s still mine.

Last Tuesday, Linh placed a college acceptance letter on my clipboard. "You taught me numbers," she said. "But you taught Mama something bigger." She pointed to Mrs. Chen, now helping a boy sound out words. "You taught us we’re not broken."

I packed up my red pen that night, my hands steady for the first time in years. Here’s what nobody tells you about growing old, The world doesn’t need your savings or your spare room. It needs your stubborn, ordinary love. Show up. Sit down. Make space. The rest will grow around you like wildflowers through concrete.”

Let this story reach more hearts....

By Mary Nelson

[Rasheeda Bhagat @rushbl]

@MrPitbull07 Wishing your brave baby a long and healthy life!😘