UTTAM1/4 Simple Joys
Channel: 50FACES
Date: 2015-04-01

Despite not starting out as a Singaporean, Mr Uttam Kripalani has definitely integrated well into Singapore and has become such a valuable contributor here. 50Faces met up with him recently to find out more about his life and various achievements. Ever the philanthropist, Mr Uttam got an early start in life mostly due to his parents who were also heavily involved in community service and would bring him along on various activities, especially those involving children.

Since those early days, Mr Uttam has come a long way and with a lifetime of volunteering to look back on, he reflects that perhaps his most fondly recalled moment would be the instance when he organised a flight for handicapped children around Singapore as part of a Rotary Club initiative. While such an initiative would not be tenable in today's aviation industry, it was certainly no easy feat to accomplish even back then. Detailing the various tasks and hoops they had to jump through to accomplish this, it is clear that this is a moment he is proud of and that the joy brought to those children definitely made it worthwhile. Despite the highs, there are also the lows and Mr Uttam mentions that one of the saddest experiences would be visiting and playing with a child one week at the Assisi Hospice, only to return the next week to find out they had succumbed to their illness. Despite this, Mr Uttam continues to organise activities such as visits to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Haw Par Villa and the Christmas decorations light up on Orchard Road. Simply spending time with these children and interacting with them seems to be a key message, something which can also be seen in the formation of Interact groups in many schools, a youth offshoot of the Rotary club, who are mainly community service driven and advised by senior Rotarians, one of whom is Mr Uttam.