Rotarians command a certain respect in India, says Pavithra Venkatagopalan, who runs a medical diagnostics company and is part of a club in Chennai that strives for diversity in its members’ vocations. Many of them run small to medium enterprises, offering them more flexibility to engage in Rotary ­activities. Sanghvi’s club is similar. “If I miss out on office for two hours, hell doesn’t break loose,” says Sanghvi, the managing director of a family-­owned banking, finance and construction conglomerate.