OLD BOYS` NEWS pg 06 - The Doon School Old Boys Society

Transcription

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL
JULY 2015
NEWSLETTER OF THE DOON SCHOOL OLD BOYS’ SOCIETY
OLD BOYS’ NEWS pg 06 | GONE IN A FLASH pg 10 | LONDON GET TOGETHER pg 16 |
CALCUTTA DAYS pg 30 | THERE COMES A TIME pg 32 | DANGEROUS BEAUTY pg 36 |
THAT CLUELESS CLOT pg 42 | FITNESS OVER 40 pg 48 | GARAGE START-UP GURU pg
1 50
THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE ROSE BOWL: SINCE 1985
‘Whirling Dervishes’ by Sahil Vohra
REGULARS
THE HAND GRASP OF A FRIEND
THE GOODLY SMELL OF RAIN
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
03
LONDON REUNION
16
LITTLE STEPS TO A CLEANER
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
04
NEW YORK REUNION
18
INDIA
OLD BOYS’ NEWS
06
KOLKATA REUNION
20
HOT SHOTS: ARJUN MALHOTRA
MARRIAGES07
INTER HOUSE HOCKEY
22
BIRTHS07
INTER HOUSE FOOTBALL
24
QUADRANGULAR CRICKET
26
THAT CLUELESS CLOT
42
LEST WE FORGET
FOR HARD WORK TO DO
REMEMBERING KESHAV GOKHALE 09
NEPAL UPDATE
07
GONE IN A FLASH - NADIR CHHOTA INTERVIEW
14
10
BABAYCON
30
DANGEROUS BEAUTY:
THERE COMES A TIME
32
ANNAPURNA
MASTER BLASTERS
41
FITNESS OVER 40
36
Founder’s Day
Schedule
12
48
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EDITORIAL BOARD
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: GOVIND DHAR (192 T, 1997)
EDITORIAL BOARD: DONNY SINGH (878 T, 1982)
DESIGN: RITWIK KAR (689 K, 2015) EDITOR EMERITUS: VALENTINA TRIVEDI (708 K, 1981)
PUBLISHER: THE DOON SCHOOL OLD BOYS’ SOCIETY, NEW DELHI
CONTACT: THEROSEBOWLEDITOR@GMAIL.COM
COVER PHOTO: Wildlife by Ashok Mirza
2
50
READ ALL ABOUT IT!
TRAVEL28
CALCUTTA DAYS
46
LETTER FROM
THE EDITOR
Dear Dosco
As the heat drives us away from our cities to cooler
climes and their restaurants, parks and hotels, spare
a thought for those in Nepal who are still trying to
rebuild their lives after the onslaught that was the recent
earthquake. Our boys seem to have done a stellar job in
raising funds and getting people to pitch in with not just
food, shelter and medical supplies, but one Dosco even
sent a doctor from his practice to get on the ground and
see 125 patients a day! Huge salutes to all those who did
something for those less fortunate in Nepal.
In this issue we see some masters return to the fray for
one more round of brickbats and back-patting. I tracked
down Mr UC Pande, famous English teacher who in that
classic Doon story, taught more than one generation
of Doscos (my dad and I both received tutelage from
him, me doubly so as I got extra-Hindi classes from
Mrs Pande!) and still managed to keep his sanity. There’s
also a new column called ‘Master Blasters’ with the
famous one-liners of teachers that are resurrected at all
Dosco meets. And yes, Mr Vohra makes an appearance.
Send me more of these, as they’re priceless.
For the archives, we have a wonderful story from Aamir
Ali, a rare breed of gentleman who remembers his
time as boy and master at Doon, when AE Foot still
reigned and frisson between Indians and the British still
pervaded hearts and minds. We also have some
wistful reveries from Baljit Malik who remembers gin
and tonics in the days of yore in Calcutta and a story
from Indi Singh, a Dosco wife who took flying lessons
behind hubby’s back. Don’t miss them.
We have reunions from London, New York and Kolkata in
this issue, as well as superb sports coverage of the
inter-house hockey which saw Jaipur take the trophy for
a staggering sixth time in a row! Well done guys!
There are stalwarts and there are Doscos and we have
the privilege of counting several of them amongst us in
social work and industry. Harpal Singh is the first Asian
to be appointed vice chairman of the Save the Children
foundation; Analjit Singh made the cover of Forbes
Africa; Vinayak Bahuguna has become CEO of ARCIL;
Tikka Shatrujit Singh got awarded the Knight of Legion
of Honour of France award and co-founder of HCL, Arjun
Malhotra shares some of his memories on how he got
started in the IT business. Feel proud guys and gals!
You also have the Founder’s schedule in this issue so
no excuses for not turning up and singing Lab Pe Aati
Hai badly. Please also go to dsobs.net and register for
visits to School.
If you’re reading this online and know Doscos on
holiday who simply cannot live without khabar from the
Chandbagh brigade, do shoot them the link from the
dsobs.net site. If you register on the site, you can go
through a trove of archival material, upload your own
photographs and videos and even find a long lost
Dosco in the country you’re in. In any case, what’s a
holiday worth without a few yaars?
Get in touch with me at therosebowleditor@gmail.com
Enjoy the issue!
Sahil Vohra has sent us some beautiful photos for our
regular photospread and it’s a wonder he doesn’t do it
professionally. If you’re handy with a lens, send me some
photos. It makes all the text worth ploughing through.
Govind Dhar
192 T, 1997
3
Letters to the Editor
Dear Govind,
Sorry for the delay in acknowledging your letter. It
feels so good to reminisce about the days spent
at Doon, probably because it was a great learning
experience for all of us - boys as well as teachers.
Doon is all about the excellent learning environment and ethos that pervades the Chandbagh, with
its rich traditions and time-tested systems. As a
teacher I only remember what the school gave me.
It helped shape my personality and discover my
potential. We don’t know how this learning
happened - so imperceptibly - between the ringing of bells, from chhota hazri to lights out.
But it did happen.
Doon gives the child the confidence of having the
essential prerequisites for a meaningful life. It gives
him abundant opportunities to exploit his hidden
potential. In the process, we experience the rough
and tumble of a roller-coaster life which has its ups
and downs. But what comes out of all this at the
end of six years is a polished young man, full of zest
and supremely fit for the battle of life!
One has numerous bitter-sweet memories which
form the warp and woof of our experience at School.
There are hilarious anecdotes (not always so,
when being experienced) when being recalled and
related! Probably I will find an opportunity
sometime later to share some of these moments
with you. Since you cajoled my memory I very
distinctly remember Raja Vikram Dhar (59 T,
1969) as the secretary of JEDS. He was always so
energetic and bubbling with ideas! Well, it is a
distinction of sorts to have my first and the last
secretary from the same family (UCP appointed
yours truly Secretary before leaving Doon)! Raja
4
and Anil (359 T, 1969) made a great pair, especially when I remember them as Bobchinsky and
Dobchinsky in The Government Inspector produced
by Mr Sahi! Raja was probably in my SC class. They
also played the sitar with great flair!
I left Doon in 1993 to head a residential-cum-day
school in Dehradun, whereafter I joined Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan Public School in Baroda. I left Baroda
in 2002 and did several stints in various capacities
in schools at Dehradun. I have retired completely
now and am residing at Dalanwala in Dehradun.
I hope The Rose Bowl continues to prosper and
thrive under your loving care as it did under the
excellent editorship of Valentina!
My best wishes!
UC Pande
Dear Govind,
It is good to read that Doon carries on relief work
and gives succour to those unfortunate fellow
beings devastated by natural calamities like the
Bengal cyclone in the 1940s and the Uttarakhand
and Nepal disasters of recent times.
Congratulations on your successfully catering to
both dinosaurs and Gen X in the April 2015 issue.
Very readable. Your grandfather, my contemporary,
Bansi Lal Dhar (231 T, 1943) would have been proud
of you.
Best wishes,
Saroj Kumar Mehera
(122K, 1944)
Hey Govind,
categorized into several groups in which those of
pre-1958 batches were invited for free! Other batch-
Just saw the new issue of the Rose Bowl. Dude
es of later years were to pay only a percentage of
I am so impressed with the design, layout and
the total cost, while the latest old boys would pay
production values. Great job. I have always
in full.
marvelled at all of you who have kept the Rose Bowl
going all these years. It’s a thankless job and so
I thought this was a very considered step, not only
hard with so many angry Doscos to deal with often.
because I was in the ‘free zone’, but really since it
I wanted to salute all who have been part of this.
aimed at understanding ground realities that affect
The new look is simply outstanding - at par with any
all of us. In the same way I would urge the editorial
professionally published news magazine.
team to pay heed to the earlier old boys for whom
Arthur Foot, John Martyn, Holdy, Jack Gibson,
I am so inspired by the good work that I will try
Moinuddin, Vyas et al, meant the world.
and send a piece for your consideration for the
next issue.
This vintage of Old Boys should be encouraged,
indeed sought out, to write for the Rose Bowl,
All the best for the future.
just as Colonel Nandi Khanna, Saroj Mehera and
Narendra Bedi have done here. I am not sure if anyone
Abhinandan Sekhri
has read the pieces by Mr Aminuddin, Saroj Mehera,
(362 O, 1992)
Priya Vishwanathan and so many other luminaries of
yesteryear at Chandbagh. We will never forget them.
Sir,
Now, a word about your predecessors who
contributed so much in making Rose bowl what it
May I join those who have lauded the efforts of
is today. Both Kishore Lahiri and Valentina Trivedi
the new editorial team in bringing out a new look
deserve more than a rousing round of applause for
newsletter for the Old Boys. Change is the only
their magnificent roles.
certainty of life and I’m glad we’re keeping pace with
the world. Will you please allow me a little space for
Well, you have begun so well that I am sure this
some random thoughts. I would like to reference
will be a winner. As Holdy would say you’ve hit the
the recent Old Boys meet at Kolkata, to bring home
first ball through the covers for a four and therefore
a point.
seem set for a “big score”!
Both Saurabh Dudhoria (458 J, 2000) and Sudhir
God bless and good luck.
Prakash (283 K, 1965) did a great job in not only
organizing the Kolkata get together but added a
Ashim Kumar Mukherjee
new and very thoughtful dimension to it. We were
(44 T, 1958)
5
DSOBS NEWS
AK Mahindra (287 K,
Vinayak Bahuguna (722 K, 1980) has been appoint-
1958) will publish a photo
ed managing director and chief executive officer of
Asset Reconstruction Company of India, the country’s largest in the field. Smashing stuff Vinayak!
book of 120 photographs
from 30 locations on
Indian wildlife published
by BNHS and Oxford
University Press entitled
Capturing Wildlife Moments in India. The book will
delight conservationists, wildlife photographers
and naturalists all. Find more details on the book
on oup.co.in.
Harpal Singh (322 H, 1965)
has been named Vice Chair
of Save the Children International. Mr Singh’s contribution to Save the Children
on the global board has
in no small way contributed to this. This is the
first appointment of an Asian in almost 100 years
of the organisation’s existence. Congratulations
Harpal!
Tikka Shatrujit Singh (564 T, 1980) has been be-
stowed the Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur
(Knight in the national order of the Legion of
Honour) by the president of France. Established
by Napoleon in 1804, this is the highest civilian
honour in France. The award has come for Tikka’s
promotion of French culture in India, not least with
luxury brand Louis Vuitton. Shabaash mon ami
Tikka!
Vivek Vikram Singh (166 O, 1997) has joined Sona
Group as the group head for strategy, M&A and
corporate planning, in their corporate headquarters at Gurgaon where he will work closely with
Vice Chairman, Sunjay Kapur (147 H, 1990). Wah
wah Vivek!
Kabir Suri’s (327 J, 1998) Azure Hospitality venture
Analjit Singh (132 J, 1971) was in
the news and was featured on the
cover of Forbes Africa for his latest
venture in wine in the picturesque
wine growing regions of South
Africa. Salut!
Amitav Ghosh (246 H, 1972) enjoys the release of
the final book in his celebrated Ibis trilogy entitled
Flood of Fire. Go out and buy a copy and give us a
review! Congrats Amitav!
Ramachandra Guha (7 H, 1973) has been select-
ed for Japan’s prestigious Fukuoka Prize in the
academic category. The award will be presented to
him on September 17, 2015. Congrats old bean!
6
just managed to raise USD 10 million from Goldman Sachs for their expansion plans of pan-Asian
food across Asia and the Middle East. If you don’t
know them, check out Mamagoto and Rollmaal
and get out from under that rock pronto!
The DSOBS President RPN Singh (871 K, 1982) and
Vice President, Jaswinder Singh (344 J, 1986), along
with the Secretary, Sheel Sharma (345 K, 1964) and
some Old Boys went to School on March 14th, 2015
to conduct the induction ceremony of the Class
of 2015 and welcome a new set of Doon School
graduates into the Old Boys’ Society. As part of the
ceremony the president presented each Old Boy with
some mementos followed by a presentation on the
activities of the DSOBS.
NEPAL RELIEF EFFORT
The DSOBS took the initiative in organising help to
Nepal in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. Along with Varun Chaudhary (319 J, 2004)
and Nauhar Rana (375 J, 1986) a lot of relief
material was collected and sent to Nepal. What was
encouraging to see was that our good offices were
used by non-Doscos to send relief material across
too. Including huge efforts by the DSOBS and the
Chaudhary Foundation to get supplies, tents, and
medical aid and more to the disaster victims in
Nepal, other old boys and their concerns have
been involved in raising funds to help with the dire
situation in the neighbouring country. An example
from Jamshed Masani (7 J, 1964) is here.
In response to Vijay Thapar’s help to Nepal disaster
victims the Class of 1964 is collecting donations.
As a gesture of good will we at Mayfair Practice
contacted charities involved and they suggested to
us that rather than money, clothes and other items,
could we send a doctor to help? I took an executive
decision within hours and the day after the disaster
I sent Dr Hasham Ahmad who works at my practice to
help with the medical relief. He was on a flight to Delhi
the next day and onwards to Nepal where he is treating
between 125 to 150 patients a day and still smiling!
Well done Jamshed and Hasham!
MARRIAGES
Anraj Singh (307 T, 1974) and Dimple saw their son
Adiraj Singh marry Harneet in February, 2015. The
wedding reception was held in Kolkata on February
18th, 2015. Congrats!
Rahul Chaudhary (577 J, 2001) and Surabhi were
married in a tour de force wedding at City Palace
in Jaipur earlier this year. From all accounts it was
colourfully festive and went off with a bang! Congrats old chap!
BIRTHS
Sheel Sharma (345 K, 1964) and Pramila have become grandparents! Their daughter Vrinda and
Salil Pawah were blessed with a beautiful daughter,
Veda, on April 11th, 2015. Congrats!
Siddharth Lal (501 H, 1994) and Swantika welcomed baby Meera into the world on May 1st, 2015
in Delhi. Shabaaash guys!
Congratulations to Jai Bhatia (348 H, 1999)
and Shivali on the arrival of their son Karam Vir
Bhatia on May 24th, 2015. Proud granddad Lt Col
Yeshwant Desai (61 T, 1941) also joins them in the
celebrations. Super stuff Jai!
Late Arjun Raha’s (180 T, 1968) son, Adrit (590 T,
2001) and Anandita ushered a daughter, Ayra into
the world on April 28th, 2015 in Muscat, Oman and
into a family of Doscos. Lt Gen Bhupinder Singh
(117 H, 1944), Ranjit Singh (115 J, 1968) and Karan
Singh (449 H, 1993) all join in the celebrations.
Well done!
7
OBITUARIES
P Srinivasan (256 T, 1944) passed away on April
20th, 2015. He was born on January 6th, 1929.
He was from a distinguished family in Madras
(Chennai). Ramu as he was known, was the grandson of Srinivasa Iyenger, who was a renowned
lawyer and the president of the National Congress in Madras. Srinivasan was called ‘Panchu’
after the Doon School gardener! And that became
his permanent pet name later. The family built
a temple in the suburb of Chennai called Avadi
and had a big farm there. His brothers Gopal and
Bhayasham also studied in Dehradun in Col
Brownes and RIMC. Our condolences to the family.
Dr Asoka Ratnam (327 T, 1961) passed away in
Washington DC at his home on the morning of May
5th, 2015. He succumbed to a debilitating affliction
that he faced with fortitude and cheerfulness. He
leaves behind two daughters. We are sorry to bear
this news.
Samir Lanba (220 T, 1961) passed away on March
9th, 2015. Our wholehearted condolences go to
his wife Urmila, sons Asheet (528 T, 1987) and Jai
(128 T) and all family members.
We are sad to report the loss of J K Sethi, father
of Sanjiv Sethi (205 H, 1976) and grandfather to
twins Sidharth (8 T, 2015) and Kabir (5 H, 2015), in
February this year. Our condolences go out to the
grief-stricken family.
We are sorry to report the passing away of the
mother of Sanjeev “Bittu” Kassal (295 T, 1974) on
April 16th, 2015. Our heartfelt condolences go out
to him and his family.
Nadir Rohinton Babaycon (103 K, 2002) passed
away in the early hours of April 16th, 2015 in a motorcycle accident in Kolkata. He leaves a huge void
behind him. Our prayers go out to all who knew him.
Update from Tihar Jail
An excerpt from a letter to Gautam Vohra (154 H, 1963) from Kobad Ghandy (359 H, 1963):
After all appeals have failed to DG, High Court, CM Delhi, superintendents and no response from any of these, I have as a last recourse
been forced to go on this indefinite hunger strike. Because of this they
will stop my phone calls, visitors and all access to the outside world. So
there will be lack of contact. They will probably forcefully transfer me to
a new jail, whichever it is, so you will have to find out.
But I will continue the hunger strike there
Regards,
Kobad
8
Remembering
Keshav Gokhale
Ashok B Gokhale
216 K, 1945
My older brother, Keshav
(223 K, 1942) passed away
in Pune on November 1st,
2014. He would have been
88 on November 29th.
Diagnosed with cancer a few
years ago, he treated the
dreaded scourge with cheerful disdain and continued
living in his characteristic carefree manner; always
in good humour, never uttering a word of complaint
despite being in and out of hospital several times
since 2009.
Keshav had a distinguished record at the Doon
School and Science College, Patna. Apart from an
outstanding academic sheet, he played cricket and
tennis for his university. Later he received a first
class B-Tech degree from the Bombay University’s
prestigious department of chemical technology.
After a couple of years with the Indian Aluminium
Company at Calcutta, he joined Burmah Shell in
the early 1950s. By the 1970s, he had become the
company’s chief representative in Delhi before it
was taken over by the Government of India. He then
worked with the TVS Group and as a director with
Thermax till the 1990s, when he finally retired and
moved with his spouse Jaya (Jaikuwar) to Pune.
Thanks to his sunny nature and his love of golf,
Keshav had a large circle of friends and wellwishers. His cheerful disposition was infectious.
I doubt anyone witnessed him losing his temper,
uttering abuse or, most importantly, displaying
even a trace of malice through word or action. He
kept himself abreast of current affairs and had a
keenly analytical appreciation of global political developments. His mind remained as sharp as ever,
even till the end.
The death of Jaya at the end of 2011 (they would
have celebrated 60 years together in January 2013)
affected him deeply, but he rarely showed it. Keshav
is survived by two sons and a daughter. Vijay is
currently India’s ambassador to Germany, Madhav
is a chartered accountant in Dubai and Uma works
with the Indian Railways accounts service.
9
Nadir Babaycon
Avinash K Mahapatra
32 T, 2002
If nature could stand up and say something about
Nadir it would say “This is a man and gentleman
who departed for my lap early.” As a salutation to
a friend of almost 25 years I pen these lines as a
tribute to the friendship we shared from innocence
to adulthood, in the evergreen lanes of lasting
memory and everlasting brotherhood.
Nadir, a great friend and a true soul, sadly met with
a bike mishap while returning home after a weekend bike ride. Unfortunately, he succumbed to his
injuries at the hospital. He was 31. The Impact he
left on our lives will always make him stay in our
hearts.
Nadir outside the CDH, first from right.
The first time I met him was on a typical Chandbagh
afternoon. The sun gleamed over the main field
and Dehradun was coming to life after a brutal hill
winter. Above the CDH, we were on the verge of
making it into one of the most the hallowed of
educational institutions in India. The final rounds of
interviews for admission were being conducted and
we three boys from Calcutta gravitated towards
each other. Little did we know that this was the
start of a friendship to last 25 years. Amongst us
(Jay, myself and Nadir), Nadir was the initiated one.
He’d already been a boarder at Hill Grange school
in Dehradun. Ronny Uncle (Nadir’s father) was a
thoroughbred tea man based out of Assam and was
a true believer in the institution of boarding school.
Standing on the MDR, Nadir came across as young
confident boy who knew what he was doing.
tournaments. Nadir possessed the lethal combination of skill and aggression. Football was also
a passion and his skill led to many memorable
goals and victories for his house. On the athletics
track Nadir used to take part in the 400m hurdles
which is one of the most physically demanding
races at School. Nadir’s on-field talent and firebrand
skill made him an effective captain. He never took
advantage of this authority. Integrity was as
important to him as winning. When we were
juniors, during a hockey match, a particular goal
was awarded from just outside the permissible
area. Nadir as captain, overturned it because he
knew where to draw the line. This was a tough
thing to do as a junior, but Nadir did not hesitate
for a second. As with all gifted sportsmen Nadir
wore his games blazer with pride while being house
captain of Kashmir house. Nadir was also part of
the School Mountaineering Team and was part of
many successful expeditions.
Nadir was an above average student but his real
calling was the sports field. In hockey he was
striker for his house and the School XI team. He
regularly became the highest goal scorer in school
One of the fondest memories with Nadir is holiday
time in Calcutta which lasted for 2 months in the
winter and summer. We would get 50 rupees from
our parents and we would instantly head to our
10
favourite cinema halls, rolls joints and coffee-cakes
cornershops in New Market and Park Street. In
the evenings we sometimes went all dressed up,
to Tollygunge or Saturday club with our parents.
When we visit now there will be a vacuum. The food
will not taste the same.
After School, Nadir enrolled himself in St Xavier’s
Calcutta. Nadir then met Megha and they were
married in a beautiful ceremony in Calcutta. Nadir
moved to London to establish a business venture.
In no time he was able to establish business across
three continents. Megha and Nadir were then
blessed with two delightful angels. He loved spending time with Veer and Mehr and always celebrated
every birthday and holiday in a great family way.
We have lost a great brother and the loss will always
be felt when we congregate and celebrate our time in
Doon. Nadir you will always be remembered. May God
bless your soul and give strength to your family.
Till we meet again.
Gone in a Flash
Abhimanyu Chandra
130 J, 2002
Almost every time I saw Nadir I remember him
beaming, smiling from ear to ear. He was always
in the midst of telling a joke, or had just finished
cracking one.
Even on the sports field when the team was down
a goal or two Nadir never seemed deflated. Always
able to see the lighter side of every situation, he
pushed himself to play harder, faster, and to go
further. That was our Nadir. Truly the zenith; truly
the best of us.
Never one to brag he always let his soccer boots do
the talking, or his hockey stick or his spikes on the
athletics track. I distinctly remember being dazed
by his blistering speed, his ability to bounce out of
nowhere and convert a half chance into a sublime
goal. He’d always flash in an out of the attacking
half, creating chances, here one moment and gone
the next. And now I can’t believe he’s gone again, in
a flash.
I miss you. If I’d known that that was the last time
I’d see you, I wouldn’t have let you leave. Until we
meet on that eternal pitch where I can watch you
shine again.
Nadir at Socials, first from right
11
PROGRAMME FOR FOUNDERS DAY - OCTOBER 2015
DAY/DATE
EVENT
TIME/VENUE
Monday,
12 October
First show of Founder’s English Play-‘Dead Poet’s Society’ –
Invited schools and Guests
6.30 pm - 8.15 pm Rose Bowl
Tuesday,
13 October
Second show of Founder’s English Play-‘Dead Poet’s Society’ –
D to Sc Form
6.30 pm - 8:15 pm Rose Bowl
Final Dress Rehearsal for Hindi Play ‘Ek Ruka Hua Faisla’ –
invited schools and guests
6.30 pm - 7.30 pm MPH
Dinner for boys
8.30 pm
Music concert rehearsals
Music Concert - Invited Schools and guests, D to Sc Form
Dinner for boys
7.30 pm
English play practice
8.00 pm - 10.10 pm, Rose Bowl
Wednesday,
14 October
Thursday,
15 October
Friday,
16 October
Saturday,
17 October
FOUNDER’S DAY PROGRAMME begins
Entry for parents to the school
4.00 pm Main Gate
Tea & Snacks for parents
5.00 pm - 6.00 pm CDH
Hindi Play - D to Sc Form and parents
6.30 pm - 7.30 pm MPH
Parents departure
7.45 pm
Dinner for boys
7.45 pm
O-House Silver Jubilee dinner for O-House boys, parents,
O House Old boys and staff members
8.00 pm Lower Skinners
Music practice
FOUNDER’S DAY PROGRAMME
Entry for parents
10.00 am Main Gate
Exhibition-Make in India/India by 2050, Street Play (Main Building),
Art & Photography, D & T Centre, Library, Archives
10.00 am - 11.45 am Main Bulding,
Art School, Library
R.L.Holdsworth Cricket Match
10.00 am - 2.00 pm Main Field
Food Stalls
11.00 am - 3.00 pm CDH/Tata House
Fields
Silver Jubilee batch - lunch
1.00 pm HM’s Residence
Exhibition continues
3.00 pm - 4.00 pm
Chandbagh Debates
4.00 pm - 5.30 pm MPH
4.30 pm - 5.30 pm CDH
Founder’s Play (English) - ‘Dead Poet’s Society’ - parents & guests
Parents departure
8.15 pm
Jubilee dinner (batch of 55 & 65)
Dinner for boys
8.30 pm - CDH
Music Production practice
FOUNDER’S DAY PROGRAMME
Entry for parents
10.00 am Main Gate
Oberoi House - PAGAL GYMKHANA
10.30 am - 2.30 pm Lower Skinners
Lunch for IPSS members
IPSS meeting
2.30 pm Library
4.00 pm - 5.00 pm CDH
Tea & Snacks for IPSS members
5.15 pm - 5.45 pm Library
Boys & Parents to be seated in the Rose Bowl
5.45 pm
Founder’s Speeches and programmes
Founder’s Day Music programme
Dinner for whole school
8.15 pm Main Field
Night out
After dinner
Old Boys’ Gala Dinner
Off campus (TBC)
Sunday,
18 October
Annual General Meeting of DSOBS
10.30 am - 12.30 pm MPH
Old Boys’ Lunch
12.30 pm - 2.30 pm Triangular Garden
Monday,
19 October
Boys return from night out
6.30 pm
12
Dosco Lunch at
Dum Pukht
The DSOBS in association with Porsche Centre,
Gurgaon, organized a
grand lunch at Dum
Phukt, ITC Maurya on
Sunday April 5th, 2015.
Champagne flowed and
the delicious food served
left everyone wanting
more. The seating arrangements were excellent
and the small space was well-organized. Some
distinguished members of the DSOBS representing Board of Governors, past Presidents, Executive
Committee members and senior old boys attended
the lunch. We even had some Doscos over, who are
otherwise rarely seen at Dosco get-togethers. All of
them together truly made this an august gathering.
Our sincere thanks to Rashy Todd, Managing
Director and Mikey Todd, director of sales and
marketing, Porsche Centre, Gurgaon for helpingus
make this a grand success. Full credit to Jaswinder
Singh Bull and RPN Singh for organising this event.
Front Row: Jaswinder Bull, Kishore Lahiri, Sonia Singh,
Haripal Singh, RPN Singh. Rear: Ashutosh Goyal, Donny
Singh, Gaurav Sondhi, Sameer Dhingra, Rishabh Sharma
Ratan Kapoor giving his friend
a heady time
Radhika, Varun and Vivek Sehgal,
Mrs Nalni Narain and Indresh Narain,
Indrave Singh Mann
The Royal Group: Sushma Singh,
Upendra Singh, Chandravijay Singh,
Raninder Singh
Jyotiraditya Scindia, RPN Singh
Amit Sawhney, Rajesh Wadhwa,
Surinder Singh, Narinder Vasisht
The boys get down to lunch
13
CHHOTA INTERVIEW
NAME: Mani Shanker Singh | NUMBER: 452 | HOUSE: Tata | BATCH: 2000
What is your official title and
where or with whom do you work?
Name three key responsibility
areas.
time. I joined Myntra almost two
years ago and scaling it up has been
a hard fought bout. Today I lead one
of the largest creative teams in the
country and my role comes with
I am the creative director at www.
a lot of responsibility. Also it felt
myntra.com. I look after strategies
great to be a creative director at
to enhance the online shopping
31 and I hope to continue stronger
experience. I’m building fashion
than ever before. It has been fun
imagery and content for the website
MANI SHANKER SINGH
to work with over 60 creative folk
across verticals. I look after team
and drive them towards one single goal: to make
building and enhancing active participation of staff.
Myntra the top fashion destination in India.
How would you describe your day job?
The nature of an online fashion business is very
dynamic and demanding. I have to lead multiple
projects at the same time and it requires tremendous focus to be flexible between assignments.
Since the lead times are very short, it’s not only
important how well you think, but also how fast
you think. Lots of action all the time keeps me on
my toes.
What’s fun about your job?
Everything on a website requires visibility and so I
get to work with teams across functions which is
a huge learning experience for me. I have always
been a great enthusiast for storytelling and I get to
do it on a large scale here. Directing shoots with
some of the top photographers and stylists is
always a great kick.
What’s it like working for one of the biggest dot
coms in India at the moment?
I feel lucky that I was at the right place, at the right
14
How did Flipkart’s purchase of Myntra
affect things?
The Flipkart-Myntra merger has been a huge boost.
While Flipkart has been addressing things horizontally, Myntra will focus to build the fashion vertical.
The collaboration brings a lot of skill sets which has
made both Flipkart and Myntra stronger in many
aspects. We are now financially stronger and that
makes it easier to scale up, and face competition.
What’s your view on the dot com scene in India?
Online is already the present, and the future for
Indian retail. Online business is getting consolidated
and the market is huge, so there is a lot of space for
several players. Alibaba in China has shown what
a home grown dot come can do. Amazon is cash
rich and comes with huge experience worldwide.
The winner is going to be the one who understands
the pulse of the Indian market better and makes the
right choices. I believe the real winner is going to be
the consumer.
Name one or two highlights in your career.
Prior to Myntra, I headed design for Van Heusen
clothing and I launched Van Heusen Sport, the
causal arm for Van Heusen. A lot of inspiration for
this came from Doon. I was inspired by our traditional colour-blocked games shirt. The Scholar’s
blazer and the Games blazer helped me define
two very sharp looks. The sweatshirts with the
full-colour badge; the all white look for cricket; the
wool blazer, and even the concept of the change-inbreak inspired me. I also launched the footwear
line for Van Heusen. I also established Scullers,
Indigo Nation and Daniel Hechter, Paris, in India. My
expertise was in conceptualising, designing and
visual merchandising.
What did you do before you got to this position?
After I finished Doon, I decided to pursue a creative
field. At Doon I was into art and I decided to make
my hobby into my profession. I wanted to get into
something I would enjoy and my parents played a
huge role in supporting me. I joined NIFT, Bangalore
where I specialised in fashion design and applied
art. I was about to take my first job in advertising
when I was awarded ‘the most creative fashion
designer’ NIFT Bangalore 2003, for my graduation
fashion show. This put me in a bit of a dilemma and
made me reconsider my options.
What advice would you give Doscos wanting to
get into the same field of work?
My first question to all the Doscos would be ‘Are
you right-brained or left-brained?’ In India NIFT and
NID are two great institutes to pursue design. Internationally, FIT, Parsons, FIDM, Central Saint Martin,
Florence Design Academy and Domus Academy
are some of the best design institutes in the world.
I studied fashion design but today I am directing
shoots, driving the core web-site aesthetics, videos
and fashion content. The future of design is digital
and interactive. So it might be a great idea to study
engineering and then do a postgrad in design.
What are you planning to do next career wise?
I would like to start my own design agency. I may
also launch my menswear label. I would like to
scale wide instead of scaling up.
The career column for Doscos wanting to hear from Doscos in the field.
Contacts: manishanker_singh@yahoo.co.in, +919845213183
15
DSOBS London
Get-Together
A rather large and well-dressed get-together of Old Boys got underway in London on
Sunday,
June 28th 2015 at auctioneer’s Christies, on 8, King Street. The event offered cocktails and lunch and
was organised by Vivek Thadani (532 O, 1995) and Nimai Swaroop (11 H, 1996).
Priceless exhibits on display at Christie’s
Dr Amin Jaffer, International Director Asian Art
Christie’s addresses the gathering
Bull, Shashank Vira, RPN, Ravi Bullchandani, HM and
Ravi Katari
Old Doscos making their presence felt
Young Doscos came out for the
event too
16
Vivek Thadhani, Malvinder Singh and
Sharad Rathke
Mr RP Devgan and friend
HM, Dhruv Sawhney, Harpal Singh, Malvinder Singh,
RPN Singh, Jaswinder Singh Bull
Ramesh Arora MD Montcalm Luxury Hotels picks a winning
no. at the draw
Ramesh Arora, Rahul Arora, Bull,
Malvinder, Shashank Vira
HM’s Speech
Art appreciative Dosco wives
In vino veritas! etc.
A bronze exhibit
17
Ashok Malik enjoying the company of Dosco wives
Lets raise a toast
A point well made
Young Doscos with their wives and girlfriends
Nassir Kasuri, Amina Kasuri,
Jaswinder Singh Bull
DSOBS New York
Get-Together
Shubho Ghosh
472 O, 1993
Amit Sawhney
252 T, 1973
On July 1st, 2015, DSOBS USA Chapter (New
York) had the pleasure of hosting a group from
School, including Headmaster Peter McLaughlin,
DSOBS Vice President Jaswinder ‘Bull’, Director of
Development and Alumni Relations, Rishabh
Sharma and over 70 Doscos and their friends in the
New York area, ranging from the batch of 1960s
to the batch of 2014. A special thanks to Amit
Sawhney and his wife Abha ‘Bunty’ Sawhney for
hosting this wonderful event of dinner and drinks
at his townhouse in New York city. We were joined
18
by wives, girlfriends and some friends of Doon
from the area. Following drinks, and an update
from the HM on the latest developments in school,
the group broke out into an impromptu rendition
of Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua... which was icing on the
nostalgia cake. This was followed by a golden
night style dinner of naan, butter chicken and
kebabs from Bukhara Grill. Overall, this turned
out to be a fun evening of drinks, dinner, laughter
a great reunion for Doscos of all ages and a good
opportunity to catch up on all things Doon.
No papparazzi please!
Colgate smiles all round!
“Lab Pe Aati Hai is...”
Rishabh, Amit Sawhney, HM, Abha Sawhney, a reveller, Jaswinder Bull
HM and company
Gunday!
Boys will be boys
No crowding boys!
19
DSOBS Reunion Kolkata
Saurabh Dudhoria
458 J, 2000
Rishabh Sharma, Abhenav Khettry, Keya, Saurabh Dudhoria, Vibhas Kichlu, Gautam Bose, Arvind Nigam, Soumitra Sen,
Alok Bhargava, Arjun Sengupta
When you get an email telling you of the visit of the
president, vice President and EC of the DSOBS; the
chairman and members of the Board of Governors;
members of the IPSS, Headmaster and representatives of School to sleepy ol’ Calcutta, you tend to
get moving pretty quickly. Double mark-time, the
Doscos of Calcutta organised a reunion planned for the
evening of April 20th, 2015. The natural choice of
venue was the ITC Sonar Hotel.
It was encouraging to see Doscos young and old
attend, with their better halves, in greater numbers
than seen previously in Calcutta. It was also great
to see many from New Delhi, Mumbai, Ludhiana,
England and Bangladesh, who had come down
specifically for the reunion.
The evening, however, started off on a solemn note.
Having lost a dear friend and an integral member of the
Jaswinder Bull, Rahul Kohli, Saroj Mehera, Dr. Peter McLaughlin,
Gautam Thapar, RPN Singh, Soumitra Sen
20
Saurabh Dudhoria, Siddharth Kothari,
Aditya Kumar, Uday Jhala
Dosco community, a few words were said about Nadir
Rohinton Babaycon, who tragically passed away a few
days prior to the reunion. The community pledged their
support to Nadir’s family.
The reunion was greatly appreciated, especially by the
better halves and the latest additions to the ex-Dosco
fraternity. The company of Chandbagh fans ensured
that music and wine flowed well into the night.
Dictated by tradition, the usual school songs were
sung boisterously to cap things off. We hope that the
momentum of such a reunion will be maintained with
more events in the future.
A special thanks goes out to those who attended
including Soumitra Sen (313 T, 1974) and Soumendra
Nath Mookherjee (52 J, 1979), Sudhir Prakash (283 K,
1965), Aditya Bajoria (108 H, 1973), Anshuman Prakash
(239 K, 1991), Umesh Chablani (45 J, 1973), Anil Garg
(269 J, 1976), Siddharth Kothari (371 O, 1999), Dr Anraj
Singh (307 T, 1974), Abhenav Khettry (159 J, 2003) and
Rishabh Sharma (553 J, 1994).
Ravi Singhee, Gopal Jaidka, Ravi Lochan Singh, Pradipta Bhattacharyya
Sumanjit Chaudhury, Saroj Mehera,
Gautam Thapar
Nikhil Agarwal, Aditya Bajoria, Jaswinder
Bull, Ranjit Chaudhri
Soumitra Sen, Anil Garg, Alok Bhargava, Arvind Nigam, Arvind Mehrotra
The Headmaster holds court with the younger Doscos
Sanjeev Advani, Pradipta Bhattacharyya,
Dr. Soumitra Banerjee, Rahul Kohli
21
Inter House
Hockey 2015
Kunal Sharma
473 J, 1993
The Kashmir House brain trust met over beers
to work out team strategy for this year’s DSOBS
inter-house hockey tournament. Jaipur had to be
stopped, having won the cup five years running.
The chat on WhatsApp was rife with trash talk. The
stage was set for the seventh edition of DSOBS
inter house hockey. The tournament was held on
Sunday, April 12, 2015 at the Dhyan Chand National
Stadium in New Delhi. The format included five pool
games with each house playing two matches and
the top two teams going to a final.
Jaipur and Tata kicked off the first game. The
two teams had met in the final from 2011-13 so
this was expected to be a good contest. The game
was scrappy to begin with. In the first quarter, a
defensive lapse saw Tata concede a goal. Jaipur’s
Dhruv carried the ball in to Tata’s D, and sent a
relatively tame push towards goal. Presuming the
ball had been pushed from outside the D, the goalie let the ball through! Jaipur soon scored a second. A penalty was converted by Gopal of Jaipur
Hanumant attempts to get past Adhiraj
22
with good composure. Tata pulled one back just
before the half time whistle with Aryaman making
no mistake for Tata. The second half saw both
sides create some good chances but no further
goals were scored. Jaipur beat Tata 2-1.
Hyderabad and Oberoi took the field next. Arshad
had flown in from Mumbai after playing for the old
boys in a cricket match that very morning. Hyderabad,
had won the inaugural tournament but failed to make
a final in the last four years. The first goal was a beautifully worked effort by Oberoi. They moved the ball
down the left side of the field and a reverse flick to the
far post found Adhiraj waiting to turn the ball into the
Hyderabad goal. The second came soon after, scored
by Kshitij. The score line was complete when Arshad
successfully converted a stroke in the second half.
Oberoi bt. Hyderabad 3-0
Kashmir then took on Jaipur. Kashmir featured Sandeep Vij, the ‘Sunday morning regulars’ of Pragyat, Atwal, Bery, Sanjeev, Bajaj, Rahul,
Atwal gets the better of Anant
Dushyant Singh in goal, and a bunch of youngsters.
Jaipur featured Deepak Kaul, the bulwark of Jaipur’s
defence, and Vimalendu Verma. It was Jaipur that
finally opened the scoring with a very well worked
goal down the right side. Awarded a free-hit just
inside the Kashmir half, a series of quick passes
beat the Kashmir defence and Shrivats tapped in
a goal. The second was scored by Gopal, a virtual
repeat of Jaipur’s first goal against Tata. The
second half witnessed no goals. Jaipur was through
to the final. Jaipur: 2, Kashmir: 0.
Hyderabad took on Tata next. A win was essential
for either team to qualify. Hyderabad opened the
scoring, somewhat against the flow of play. Tata’s
Prithvi struck from the top of the D and scored! Both
sides created chances, but despite good play by
the likes of Gautam and Palta for Tata, and Johnny,
Hanumant and Bhatal for Hyderabad, goals remained
elusive for both sides. A draw knocked both teams
out of the competition. Hyderabad: 1 - Tata: 1.
Finals Stage 1: Kashmir v. Oberoi. A win over
Oberoi could see Kashmir through to the final.
Captain Dhiren, along with the fearless and oftentimes prostrate Rajesh, did a terrific job of smothering all the Kashmir attacks. The young Oberoi
midfield and forwards combined well to keep the
Kashmir defence on its toes and Arshad’s wizardry with the stick was on full display. The deadlock
was broken by a super goal by Nikhil for Oberoi.
Shrivats gets the pass away with Gautam bearing down
Down, but not out, Kashmir poured on the pressure
and Vij and Bery earned Kashmir a penalty stroke.
Unfortunately, Vij went down on the play,
dislocating his shoulder and had to make a trip to
the hospital. Sanjeev stepped up to take the push.
The Oberoi keeper dismissed it easily. That was to
be the best chance for Kashmir in the game. Oberoi:
1 – Kashmir: 0.
The final – Jaipur v Oberoi. Jaipur had won the
2014 final 5-0 so temperatures were high. Several
old boys turned up to watch the game and created
a festive atmosphere. Jaipur dictated much of
the play with Oberoi adopting a counter-attacking
approach. In the second half Jaipur dominated.
Oberoi barely carried the ball into Jaipur’s half
with their backs forming an impenetrable line.
Would Jaipur score or would Oberoi take it to
penalty strokes? A sharp hit from the half line was
received by Kunal around the Oberoi D and beating
defenders, a well-placed push got Jaipur a goal five
minutes from the end! Jaipur: 1 – Oberoi: 0.
The win is Jaipur’s sixth on the trot! Oberoi
finished runners-up followed by Tata, Hyderabad
and Kashmir in that order. The trophies were
handed out by DSOBS President RPN ‘Richie’
Singh and Vice President Jaswinder ‘Bull’ Singh.
Kudos to Fortis Healthcare for the medical
cover and Jatin Bobb and SABMiller for keeping
everyone hydrated and in good spirits!
Archit, Shrivats and Kunal receive the winners trophy
for Jaipur House from Richie
23
Inter-House Football
Karam Mehra
184 J, 2003
The weather was kind, the turnout was great,
and the games were hard fought and competitive - played in the true Dosco spirit of aggression
and camaraderie. The annual DSOBS inter-house
football tournament was played at Plaza farms
over two days – July 25-26th, 2015 – a weekend
well spent.
The ceremony was kicked off by the chairman of the
board of governors Gautam Thapar (200 H, 1979).
Also in attendance to spur the teams on, were
Jaswinder Singh ‘Bull’, Vice Presidence DSOBS and
Rahul Kohli (81 J, 1975), EC Member.
The first games kicked off under a crisp sun with
just the right amount of humidity to make the
teams break into a sweat before kick off.
Jaipur House reclaimed the trophy after a gap of
two years to make it a fifth win.
The final was a hotly contested affair between
Oberoi House and Jaipur House, with Jaipur
emerging triumphant with a 4-2 victory after
initially trailing 2-1 in the first half. The second half
was a different ball game with a hard fought fight
back where Jaipur House scored 3 goals without
reply. I must take this opportunity to thank the
entire team for not giving up and being resilient
right till the final whistle.
A special mention must go out to Oberoi House.
Abhinandan ‘Niku’ Sekhri and his young chargers
went unbeaten till the final. Stand out performers
were Yuv Vir Khosla and Vahin Khosla who spearheaded their attack.
Stand out performers for Jaipur House were Anant
Singh Mann , Aditya Vir Roy attacking combination
led Jaipur House to victory. In defence Waseefullah
Khan Sherwani and Raghav Puri were rock solid.
The Jaipur House goal was fiercely protected by
Khalid Amin Alawneh. I would like to thank the rest
of the team for putting in spirited performances
- Aman Nath, Anandbir Brar, Gopal Singh Mann,
Shrivats Chandra and Shubhendu Kumar
The runners-up trophy was handed to Oberoi house
The 5 teams line-up for a group shot prior to the start of the tournament
24
by VP of the DSOBS Jaswinder Singh Bull and the
winners were awarded the trophy by the chief guest
of the evening Mr AN Dar. Mr Dar graciously made it
to the DSOBS event and attended the entire second
day session, sitting through all the matches with
great patience. Aside from teaching English and
being Hyderabad housemaster, Mr Dar was also
master-in-charge of football while at school.
A special thanks to all the teams for taking part
this year and to all team captains for getting
their squads together. That includes Mohinder
Jaswinder Bull, Gautam Thapar,
Rahul Kohli
Pratap Singh Atwal, Varun Rai, Prithvi Singh Gill,
Abhinandan Niku Sekhri and myself.
Roy and Seth were outstanding with Seth being
awarded ‘most valuable player’ title. Vahin Khosla
was the top scorer with 18 goals to his credit!
Prithvi Gill and Karam Mehra ensured everything
went off smoothly and this event was a huge
success. The turnout of such an audience was very
encouraging with family members of the players
showing up to support the teams.
Oberoi House mounts an attack on the Jaipur
House Goal, in the final
Jaswinder Bull, Karam Mehra Jaipur House Captain, Mr. AN Dar
The scores for each match leading upto the final were:
WIN - 3 POINTS, DRAW - 1 POINT, LOSS - 0 POINTS
HYDERABADJAIPUR
(4 POINTS)
(7 POINTS)
KASHMIR
(0 POINTS)
OBEROI
(12 POINTS)
TATA
(5 POINTS)
Round 1:
H vs J - 1 : 4
H vs T - 2 : 2
Round 1
J vs K - 8 : 1
J vs H - 5 : 1
Round 1
K vs J - 1 : 8
K vs O - 0 : 8
Round 1
O vs T - 5 : 2
O vs K - 8 : 0
Round 1
T vs O - 2 : 5
T vs H - 2 - 2
Round 2
H vs O - 2 : 3
H vs K - 4 : 0
Round 2
J vs O - 3 : 6
J vs T - 0 : 0
Round 2
K vs T - 0 : 2
K vs H - 0 : 4
Round 2
O vs J - 6 : 3
O vs H - 3 : 2
Round 2
T vs K - 2 : 0
T vs J - 0 : 0
FINAL - J vs O - 4 - 2
Goal Scorers: JAIPUR HOUSE - Shivaan seth 2 / Aditya Vir Roy 2.
OBEROI HOUSE - Vahin Khosla 1 / Yuv Vir Khosla 1 Old Boys’ and wives supported
their respective teams
25
CRICKET
QUADRANGULAR
Donny Singh
878 T, 1982
After the great success of the OBs Triangular
Cricket Tournament, hosted by the DSOBS at The
Doon School in December 2014, Dr. Sumer Singh
(299 J, 1968) the principal of Daly College was very
keen for Daly alumni to host the first Quadrangular
Cricket Tournament at Indore in February this
year. This tournament provided a platform for the
alumni of all four premier institutions, namely Mayo,
Daly, Sanawar and Doon to get together in one
place. This would create a sense of camaraderie
and bonhomie amongst them, which I must admit
has been achieved, as the old hatchets have been
buried, making way for mutual respect and
friendship.
The Dalian hospitality was par excellence, with
them pulling out all the stops. Apart from competing on the field, these get-togethers have given us an
opportunity to play an ambassadorial role for Doon
by us meeting the boards of governors and other
members of Daly, Mayo and Sanawar over cricket.
The teams line-up for the official photograph
Even though this tournament was held quite close
to the Triangular one, the DSOBS think tank of
Sandeep Vij, Raghav Mallik and myself, made sure
that we fielded a reasonably strong team, in spite of
players unable to travel to Indore over that weekend.
The Dosco team featured seniors from 1982 right
down to youngsters from 2008. The team was a
good blend of youth and experience.
Standing L to R: Vivan Rai (2008), Shrivats Chandra (2008),
Hemant Bishnoi (2006), Uday Bawa (1994), Simar Barnala
(2006), Arshad Khan (1996) and Rituraj Raizada (2008)
Dr Sumer Singh, Donny Singh, Raghav Mallik and Sandeep Vij
26
Sitting L to R: Abhishek Misra (1991), Raghav Mallik (1984),
Donny Singh (1982), Dr. Sumer Singh (1968), Sandeep Vij
(1982) and Manas (1994)
27
T R AV E L S
SAHIL VOHRA
56 J, 2002
A mosque in Istanbul
Bosphorus Cruise
Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia viewed
from Asia
The Basilica Cistern
Pigeons at Galata bridge
28
Chess
Tulip glass tea
Sea Gulls
Whirling Dervishes
Okratoy Mosque
Bosphorus Bridge
Sultahamet tourist area
Sahil incubates start-ups for a living and travels extensively.
He feels photography is the closest we can come to permanence.
29
Father, Phelps, Firpos,
Refugees, Fairlawn
Baljit Malik
73 K, 1955
Everything in the title is what Calcutta is for me ever since 1948.
I am writing this cameo in my room at the Fairlawn
hotel, this being my 35th year of coming and going
from this charming Calcutta institution.
The first time I came here was in the summer of
1980 with friend and fellow travel writer Anna Lloyd
- an attractively witty and British as a woman can
be. We were in this north eastern metropolis to
work on our book An Indian View of the British –
The Raj Remembered from India. What better place
to have been encamped at, than the Fairlawn. With
gin and tonic (elevenses) to keep malaria away, we
set-off into British Calcutta to discover the rights
and wrongs, the good and bad of the old days.
As we looked at the past through the prism of the
present, we experienced the warts of freedom
in Calcutta: malaria, cholera, violence, electoral
din, the arrival of Coke and Pepsi in step with the
abomination of modern slab-block, glass-fronted
buildings. Also the slow demise of Indian Tonic
Water, a beverage as typically Indo-Brit as could be.
We also witnessed the rebirth of social snobbery
with fair-to-brownish upper-caste tones: a reincarnated colour-bar directed at lesser native mortals.
A ‘free and independent’ snobbery grossly visible
in tea, and in companies such as Imperial that
was renamed India Tobacco. There was snobbery
at work and play in clubs like Tollygunge and the
Royal. It was more than a lark and laugh to see
30
Fairlawn, Room No. 8
brown sahibs and their desi mems imitate their
erstwhile white masters.
Most of all, Anna and I enjoyed taking in the
remnants of Anglo-Indian culture still alive in the
dance bands and legendry crooners of the Jewel in the Crown that Calcutta used to be. Legends
like Pam Crain crooning the best of pop and jazz at
Princes in the Oberoi Grand, and at the Blue Fox on
Park Street. Like Dick Morrissey blowing his tea-time
tenor-saxophone at Trinca’s. Like the classicist
John Mayer and his violin before he moved to
London in the 1960s to team up with the likes of
the West Indian Joe Harriott Quintet to produce the
pioneering series of Indo-Jazz fusion.
The early 1960s were also my London years at
the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).
More than an academic institution of excellence,
SOAS was a melting pot of races, religions and
languages: its own crop of eccentrics. It also
housed many a unique doyen of Indianism such as
Allen Llewellyn Basham, Ralph Russel, Peter Hardie,
Kenneth Ballhatchet and others. Doyens of ancient
Indian wonders, Ghalib, Arab-Mughal medievalism,
colonialism and its hangover.
These past six years my friend, companion and
partner at the Fairlawn has been my very own ‘my
fair lady’ Ningamla Lungleng. A beauteous Tangkul
Naga that she is, Ningmala’s roots straddle across
Manipur, Nagaland, Burma, Tibet and Mongolia!
The late Violet Smith (who owned and ran the
Fairlawn) - may peace reign upon her soul – never
failed to remind me that I did not deserve such a
splendid specimen of humanity as Ningamla to be
a star in my life!
My Calcutta years stretch back to 1946 when my
father ‘KS’ acquired Phelps on old Court House
Street opposite the Great Eastern Hotel. Civil and
military tailors of class and finesse, Phelps
was also a renowned business in New Delhi’s
Connaught Place, and on the Mall in Simla. Later,
dad went on to establish branches at the Indian
Military Academy in Dehradun, and at the
National Defence Academy in Khadakvasla near
Poona. In his younger days, my father made a
name for himself manufacuring silk parachutes
for the Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF).
In the 1950s, I was introduced to the stylish bar
that was Sherry’s at the Great Eastern Hotel by
dad, to the ever lively Italian restaurant, Firpos on
Chowringee, to cabarets at the Golden Slipper. And
off-the-beaten track haunts – without dad – to the
less sedate joints on Free School Street.
Those were the days of friendly, efficient informality. I can picture father clearly as he dashed
with his attaché-case one day from his office in
Connaught Place to catch the afternoon Dakota
from Willingdon–Safdarjung to Calcutta Dumdum.
A trifle late, he saw the plane taxi to its take-off
point. Dad waved desperately to his pilot-friend
Captain Patwardan, who slowed the engines,
returned to the terminal and ordered the ground
staff to enable dad to board the plane!
Years later in 1971 it was a very different Calcutta
for me. Oceans of refugees arrived uprooted, sick
and in rags – caught as they were in the crossfire of
the liberation and creation of Bangladesh and the
desperate violence of a defeated Pakistani army.
I arrived in Calcutta with a motley group of boys,
girls and teachers from the school of which I was
Head in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Those in the group had
hardly ever ventured beyond the world of Udaipur
District. We were on our way to volunteer at the
smallest refugee camp – Digberia, only 35,000
inmates – on the Jessore Road to 24 Parganas. Oh
what a sight and what emotions we felt. We were
stunned into silence as our volunteers stood on
Howrah Bridge! The cacophony, the crowds, the
traffic, the giant girders of steel! Then, onto help
dress the wounds of the 1971 war.
Our team did a splendid job. Calcutta and the camps
in turn injected us with strong doses of stark reality
to bring us down to earth from the relatively idyllic
world of lakes, palaces and hills that was Udaipur.
Now, back to the present at Fairlawn. This time
round, my room-mate being Sorei Keishing,
Tangkul-Naga artist, painter, sculptor, comic-book
maker and much more. I have brought him to
Calcutta to meet my friend of 50 years, artist
extraordinaire, the redoubtable Rathin Mitra. And
as Soreh sketches Fairlawn, I write this cameo. I
cannot help it, but my eyes moisten at not being
able to meet the grand old lady of Fairlawn, Lady
Violet Smith - resplendent in her immaculate
coiffure, evergreen with her titillating tales and
anecdotes of the passing show and the panorama
of Calcutta life; Calcutta then, Calcutta now.
31
There Comes A Time – I
Aamir Ali
214 K, 1939
I owe thanks to Kyril Tidmarsh for having bullied me
into launching this series of articles; and even more for
nagging me into going on with them.
I owe thanks to Nalni Jayal, Gurdial Singh and Indira
Ramesh, for the time and trouble they have taken to
correct, revise, and edit them.
In and Out of Doon School
I am 91 years old. In a few months I will be 92. And
then 93: or perhaps I will never reach 93.
I want to tell you about my life when I was in my
early twenties, around 1946. Not because there was
anything remarkable about it - in fact, just because
there wasn’t. So let’s begin with a practice hockey
game, a game like any other, though it seemed a life
and death struggle to the players.
I was an assistant master in the Doon School at
the foot of the Himalayas, and I was as eager a
player as any. The score was 4-3 (scoring was
pretty prolific in those days) and there were about
15 minutes to go.
We saw one of the school messengers weaving
his way dangerously across the field, carrying a
missive from the Headmaster, Mr Arthur Foot.
Missive duly delivered to me, and signed for, the
messenger was sent back on his dangerous way.
I noted with some disgust that the missive was
a nasty scrap of paper with a nasty, hand-written
scrawl to adorn it. I stuffed it in my pocket and
continued with the game. We won; the score
remained 4-3. It was only when I got back to my
chambers, a very comfortable two rooms adjoining
the boys’ dormitories that I read the HM’s message.
32
I should tell you something about the HM’s
relationship with me: it was close - very close, I
should say - but not very warm. He had recently
spent a day with us in Japan, where we were
living at the time. Mrs Salim Ali, my aunt, was
staying with us for a few weeks while her husband
was on a birding expedition in Afghanistan. The
Salim Alis were very close to the ‘Feet’. We were
thinking of returning to India soon as war clouds
had begun to loom. Mr Foot was very tall, which
should have been an advantage, and was. The
Salim Alis were keen advocates of the newly set
up Doon School and its Headmaster. Ergo, I found
myself there a few months later as a student.
I landed straight from Japan, at the Doon School,
in the middle of term. The boys all looked alike.
Two years to Indianise me, four to rub out the
Japanese part of me, and back at the Doon again
as an assistant master. I already had had two years
as a student there. Two days after I had finished
my graduation exam I received a cable from Foot
asking whether I would step into the place of a
master who had left suddenly.
Am I writing about how I came to the Doon or how
I left it?
The Charges
So, back to Doon. By this time, I had read the HM’s
message, the one that had crossed the hockey field
to get to me. It said that he did not intend to renew my contract beyond the current term. What
was that? They did not intend to renew my contract
beyond the current term? This came as a bombshell
to me; a real pukka bombshell. I couldn’t believe it.
I didn’t even know that I had a contract (or if I did,
that it could be in such a scruffy form).
I hurried to the swimming pool - where we usually
took a dip before dinner - and I held a council of
war with my friends Bidhu Jayal and Gurdial Singh.
I guess the pool helped keep the general temperature down. In an unbelievably short time, the school
was buzzing with this news. Boys asked me if it
was true; how could it be.
Two days later, I asked to see the HM. I had little
hope of any change of mind but the scrappy paper
and general sloppiness of the manner in which the
whole matter was conducted, did raise some questions.
Foot was extremely cordial. “I am very glad to have
a talk with you,” he said. “Let’s have some tea.” He
saw the scrap of paper in my hand and let out a
hearty laugh. “A pure mistake,” he said. “The messenger was supposed to hand it in for typing; he’s
a real uloo. Here, give it to me.” He snatched it from
my hand, crumpled it a bit more, and threw it away
in the nearest waste paper basket.
He talked for a long time. His main point was that
he didn’t believe one could double school mastering with any other job. One or the other, he said, and
I had chosen the other - writing. (Had I?)
I should describe the atmosphere in which Mr Foot
and I met. It was spring 1946. There could not have
been a more tense or sensitive time than this. The
whole country was in a state of convulsion. Here
are some of the points that galled Foot, rightly or
wrongly:
The Doon School Weekly, of which I was the Manager, was published every Saturday morning: news,
reports, gossip, what have you. Once it conducted
a Gallup Poll; it was an experiment to find out who
the greatest man in the world was. Mahatma Gandhi was unbeatable. Winston Churchill came below
several others, but also below Hitler. Foot was most
displeased.
There was an earlier episode which I had forgotten
about which I came across in a bundle of old letters
very recently. I had written them to my mother
when I was 21. Here is an extract from one of 4
November 1944 when Sardar Khan, Bidhu Jayal
and I, amongst others, were invited to a dinner party
by John Martyn, House Master and Deputy Head
Master. After dinner, Bidhu made some excuse and
left. I wrote that Sardar and I “had a terrific argument
with the Englishmen... I have now reached the stage
of the other Indian masters here...that it is just a
waste of time and breath to argue with Englishmen
and the best thing is never to discuss anything with
them except... football....” I would certainly not have
written anything like that now!
An Old Boy wrote saying funds should be collected
for the Indian National Army to fight the charge
against them as mutineers. The HM vetoed this;
the boy deputed to remove this from the proofs
goofed and after a muddle the letter was published
after all. I was under the belief that it had been
junked. I explained what had happened to Mr Foot,
who was justifiably furious. He hauled the boy in
and threatened immediate dismissal. The boy in
question, Narinder Dass, who was the editor and
a prefect, came to me in tears. I was on my high
horse and wrote a strong protest to Foot saying any
sanction should go against me and not against the
editor. I argued that I was in charge of The Weekly,
so I should be held responsible for anything that
went wrong. There was no reply.
I had ordered a couple of books, one on journalism
and one on writing in general. (They were pretty
poor). As bad luck would have it, they were delivered
by mistake to Foot. As I said, he had made a lot of
fuss on previous occasions about how impossible
33
it was to do two jobs at once, and that obviously I
might prefer journalism.
The previous winter, I was on a relief expedition
to a flooded area with Foot and three other boys.
Two or three local youngsters approached me to
find out who we were, and why we were there; they
were of the Communist persuasion. We got into a
heated discussion. At one point, I said that all
Britishers should be kicked out of the country. Alas,
I learned that I had been heard by Foot.
Jack Gibson, Housemaster, and by far my
favourite English master, put on the play Strife, by
Galsworthy. It was a huge success. I was given
the part of Roberts, the Trade Union leader. Jack
Gibson told me later that it was my part in Strife that
had led Foot to take the steps he did. “Aamir is just
the man for Roberts,” Foot had said. “They are both
uncompromising and hard-headed.”
The dismissal note was delivered to me the day
after the play.
The Aftermath
There were repercussions. Four masters wrote to
the HM asking him to reconsider his decision; quite
a dangerous thing for them to do. None of them
could have had any illusion of achieving a result.
Gibson was absolutely certain that it was my role
as Roberts that did the trick. Nearly every class of
mine came to commune with me; this meant boys
from 11 to 18 years of age. They wanted to go on
strike! It really wasn’t difficult to persuade them
that that wasn’t on.
Foot left the school in about 1948 to take care of
his children in England. The school celebrated its
silver anniversary in 1960. Mr Foot was rightly at
the forefront of the festivities and had been invited
especially from England. However, as a friend of
34
the family, he stayed with us for a couple of days
before going on to Dehradun. It was nearly 15 years
since we had last met, and our meeting was cordial.
I was in India on holiday, also hoping to attend the
festivities.
One evening I was asked to speak in honour of
Nandu Jayal who had died on Cho Oyu, one of the
14, eight thousand-metre peaks. Next morning,
a rather flustered Mr Foot came looking for me.
“I’m terribly sorry,” he said. “I had no idea that there
was going to be anything in the press about this. I
assure you I had nothing to do with it.” I didn’t
know what he was talking about. We got it cleared
up finally. The newspaper had carried a rather full
report on the speech. It was attributed to Mr Foot by
mistake. I assured him that it was of no importance
whatsoever and we had a good laugh over it. Foot
and I seemed always to be having a good laugh over
something or the other. Somehow, our relationship
was more relaxed after this. I couldn’t help feeling a
little cock-a-doodle-doo about it.
I have remained in close touch - and I mean close
- with the School, with the masters, the boys, the
gatherings, the Old Boys’ Society and its magazine
the Rose Bowl. There were two occasions when
I was tempted to go back. In the first instance,
in the mid-1960s, I was asked whether I would
agree to take the place of the retiring Headmaster,
John Martyn. The second was in the mid-1970s,
with Mayo College. Mayo had been set up mainly to
cater to the sons of maharajahs and the like. It was
now becoming democratic under the Headmastership of Jack Gibson, who had moved there from
Doon. He revolutionised the school. When he was
due to retire, he too asked if I would replace him.
Hindu-Muslim: Bhai-Bhai!
Mr Foot did a tremendous job of setting up the School
in 1935. I learned of one incident about him which
makes me forgive any fault he might have had. The
Board of Governors was meeting to consider the
arrangements for eating and drinking at the School.
Should there be separate dining rooms for Hindus
and Muslims? For vegetarians and non-vegetarians?
Should there be separate places for Hindus and
Muslims? And any number of other permutations and
combinations around this question.
arrangements for Hindus and Muslims, he would
take the next ship back for England. Boys would sit
in the order indicated by their age and so on, not
by religion. Boys could choose vegetarian or nonvegetarian food, but seating would have no bearing
on the food. No pork or beef would be served. And
so it was. And there was never any difficulty about
seating hence.
The Board consisted of Hindus and Muslims. Some
members favoured one solution; some another.
Mr Foot stated that if there were to be separate
It was remarkable that an Englishman, who had
never been to India before, could take such a strong
stand. And win.
Planning a visit to Chandbagh?
Read this first!
We’ve all been there: you turn up to School wanting to walk around memory lane and
you require all sorts of school chits and permissions. Now, the DSOBS and School’s
Development and Alumni Relations office have digitized this process on dsobs.net so the
process is smooth and hassle-free. Click the ‘Plan your visit to the Chandbagh’ button and fill out
the online form, after logging into
the site. Aside from options to use
a golf cart at school for disabled or
senior citizens, you can also select
visiting the archives so you can see
your school records too.
There is also a new lounge for Old
Boys to rest their weary feet and
have a coffee with Rishabh Sharma
(553 J, 1994) our friendly director of
development and alumni relations
(or ‘our man in Havana’). You’ll
find a bunch of treasures in there
including Bond’s signature pale
green-coloured scooter. Check the
dsobs.net site for visiting hours.
35
DANGEROUS BEAUTY
A Hike To Annapurna Base Camp
ASHOK CHAKRAVARTI
163 T, 1963
Ashok, daughter Anika, and sunrise on Annapurna
It was October 2013 and I was
back at School attending the
golden jubilee (50 years) of
the Class of 1963. Being with
Gautam, Alok, Ajay and so many
others with whom I had shared
the joys of trekking and climbing
in the mountains, and meeting
36
Gurdial ‘Guru’ Singh, the venerable old man of the mountains
himself, inspired me to think of
organizing a trip into the high
mountains once again. I was
going to be 67 next year, and
so I decided that this trip would
be my 67th birthday present to
myself! I discussed the matter
with my daughter Anika, who
had just climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro (19,331 ft.) in Tanzania. She
expressed excitement at the
idea and said, “Rather than going
over one of the beaten tracks in
the Indian mountains, why don’t
Camp (ABC). Annapurna Circuit
sounded the most exciting,
with much trekking in high
valleys and a traverse across
the highest pass in the world
- Thorung La at 17,769 ft.
However, the whole trip would
have taken almost 25 days
and unfortunately that was
beyond the time we had at
hand. We therefore chose the
shorter Annapurna Base Camp
(13,545 ft.) trek which would be
about a 10-day round trip from
Kathmandu, Nepal. So a group
assembled in Pokhara in early
April 2014 including my wife
Shobna, my daughter Anika,
two of Shobna’s nephews and
a friend; two Nepali guides and
three porters, and myself, the
team leader. Nobody listened to
me of course, particularly the
youngsters, but maybe that’s
just how I saw things!
we do something in the Nepal
Himalayas?”
In the Nepali Himalayas, the
three best options in terms of
high altitude treks were Everest
Base Camp (EBC), Annapurna
Circuit and Annapurna Base
Day one started with a threehour drive to the road-head past
Nayapul; a one-road town lined
with shops selling equipment
for treks up to ABC and beyond.
From there we shouldered our
rucksacks and started the steep
climb to the village of Ghandruk,
15 km away. After an interminable uphill climb in the hot sun
consisting of several thousand
stone steps, we arrived at our
destination. Along the way we
stopped in at a fair number of
tea houses: think one to zero
star hotels, but with amazing
menus.
We were offered a grand choice
of Nepali, Indian, Italian, Chinese
and Mexican cuisine, which in
my opinion could give some
five-star hotels, a run for their
money. After settling in, we
sat on the terrace, which
gave us a magnificent view
of Machhapuchare (fish tail)
which is associated with Lord
Shiva and therefore closed
off to climbers. Unfortunately
clouds covered the Annapurna
massif, but for me it was
exhilarating just to be out in the
mountains again!
Next morning we started out late
– a big mistake we discovered
later. The track wound up and
down, and finally we descended
to one of the streams that
joined the Modi Khola river in
the main valley. After a quick
lunch we started the ascent to
the highest settlement in this
valley, the village of Chhomrung,
high above us. At about 2pm it
started raining heavily. We all got
soaked to the skin and decided
from the following day we would
start at the first light of dawn so
that we missed these afternoon
torrential showers. With the
mist and rain, this had been a
miserable day.
The only excitement had been
the discovery by the youngsters
of a field of marijuana plants.
Of course, I didn’t allow them to
spend too much time there!
37
CHHOTA HAZRI WITH
FISH TAILS
Chhomrung is a Gurung village.
The Gurungs are an ethnic group
of Nepalis like Sherpas and are
Hindus with a distinct Tibetan
flavour. As we sipped our
morning tea with Gurung bread,
a deep-fried naan essentially,
we were treated to an incredible
view of the sunrise on Machhapuchare, now looming closer.
The day’s trek continued on the
right bank of the Modi Khola,
crossing high suspension
bridges built over side streams,
and then into a thick rhododendron forest. The beautiful pink
and reddish blooms were everywhere and reminded me of the
many mid-term treks that we did
while at School.
After several hours, the track
descended into bamboo forests
and soon we were almost by the
main river. We spent that night
at a stop appropriately called
Bamboo. The Modi Khola valley
had now begun to narrow into
something of a gorge, and the
next day the narrow track rose
and fell sharply as we had to
traverse across several cliffs. We
could see the clear blue stream
several hundred feet below us.
Above us the rock faces rose
high into the Annapurna range
with Machhapuchare on the
other side. Deurali village was
our last stop before entering the
upper valley.
38
Proudly wearing the Class of ‘63 shirt
AVALANCHES AND
ADVENTURE
The vegetation now grew sparse
and the scenery more full of
rocks and snow. On both sides
of the valley, high cliffs rose
towards the peaks above. After
a few hours of trekking we
came to a point where a huge
avalanche had come down
from Hunchuli peak (21,300 ft.),
on the southern edge of the
Annapurna massif. The
pulverized ice had completely
blocked the track for 500 or 600
metres. We were told that the
avalanche had occurred a week
earlier. Luckily nobody had been
trekking there at that time and
to think we were just strolling
up the mountains! The guides
indicated that we had no choice
but to cross over the Modi Khola
river to the other side.
A temporary log bridge had been
put in place, but it was a precarious crossing over boulders and
a raging stream below. Further
up there was the danger again
of avalanches from the cliffs of
Machhapuchare above us, and
so we crossed back to the right
bank. After crossing several
snow bridges across small
streams, the valley began to
open out again. We were now in
its upper reaches, and the vista
reminded me of something out
of Tolkien novel.
After a short climb over rocks
and snow we arrived at a sign
saying “Machhapuchare Base
Camp”. A small tea shop
welcomed us. The clouds were
closing in, but it was still early
and so we decided to press
on to Annapurna Base Camp,
supposedly just an hour away.
The track had been obscured by
heavy snowfall in the area. So
we followed a route just below
the ridge of a lateral moraine.
The four youngsters decided
I was too slow for them and
rushed off ahead with one of
the guides. After an hour or so
up the snow slopes, my wife
began to lag behind. I left her
with one of the guides, and
the porters, and carried on at
my own pace. All of a sudden,
clouds descended on me and I
was engulfed in heavy snow fall
and piercing winds. The blizzard
caused painful stinging across
my face. Soon, my visibility
was reduced to a couple of
feet. I could not believe that the
weather had changed so rapidly
and that I was in conditions
which could be called a ‘whiteout’. I was alone and not quite
sure of what to do. I could
of course wait for those still
coming up, but there was no
shelter where I was and it was
now freezing cold. I figured that
the ridge of the moraine was
quite safe and that ABC should
not be too far away.
I had experienced similar
conditions once before, in 1967,
when I was trekking with a group
of friends from St. Stephen’s
College in the upper reaches
of the Kalabaland glacier in the
Milam region of Kumaon in what
was then still Uttar Pradesh.
We had earlier climbed a peak
around 20,500 ft. at the top of
the glacier, and then since the
weather was good, we decided
to look for the Ralam Dhura, a
famous pass around 16,000 ft.
in the area. We did eventually
get to the pass but were then
subjected to similar conditions
I faced in Annapurna, that is, a
total ‘white out’; no visibility, and
a raging blizzard. The danger in
such conditions is that one gets
lost and then freezes to death
in the open as happened to the
40 trekkers on the Annapurna
Circuit last year. Anyhow, the
main thing was not to panic, but
to find our way back slowly and
carefully, avoid the crevasses,
and try as best as possible to
follow the landmarks that we
had noticed on the way up. It
took us six hours of slow trudging in the new and deep snow,
but we eventually made it back.
Based on this past experience
I maintained a similar mindset,
no panic, no doubtful thoughts.
I just followed the crest of the
moraine in a very slow but determined manner hoping that it
would eventually get me to ABC.
I was not worried about the kids
because they were far ahead of
me and I presumed that they
must have reached before the
storm. I was very worried about
my wife, but she was with a
guide and the porters who had
done this route scores of time
before. So I felt she must be in
extreme discomfort but at least
she was with experienced peo-
I trudged slowly through the
snow storm, my feet getting
buried with every step into the
newly fallen snow. I went on for
close to two hours until to my
great relief, I came upon a sign
indicating that I had reached
ABC. It took me another half
hour to reach one of the nearest
tea houses and get out of the
raging blizzard.
The Team at Annapurna Base Camp
39
ple who knew the route and so
could come through this safely.
I then found the four youngsters
of our group. Being much faster
and with a guide, they had only
experienced the initial part of
the storm and wondered why
I made such a big fuss about
my walk through the storm! We
were quite worried about my
wife and the porters, who were
much farther behind. They eventually showed up another hour
later, having walked in the snow
storm for almost four hours – all
completely frozen to the bone,
but with no real harm suffered.
With the bad weather, we had
given up hope of being rewarded with the spectacular view
of the whole Annapurna range
from ABC, something which
was supposed to cap off our
trip. We climbed into our sleeping bags feeling disconsolate.
Around 2am however, nature
called and so I put on my boots
and stepped out. Astonishingly,
the storm had lifted completely.
The sky was clear with a myriad
stars and most awesome of
all was the spectacular view of
Annapurna I and II, now bathed
in the bright moonlight. I quickly
woke up the others for this un-
Sunrise on Machhapuchare
As I write this, I am reminded of
the tragic incident which occurred in October 2014, when
sudden snow storms caused the
deaths of over 40 people on the
Annapurna Circuit. In our case it
seemed, the goddess Annapurna
had been kind.
40
forgettable view. We all stood in
awe of the great mountain and
felt blessed that we indeed had
the privilege of seeing something so heavenly and beautiful.
The next morning we all got up
early to see sunrise on Annapurna. As the sun rose in the east,
the summit and south face of
Annapurna emerged out of the
morning darkness, now bathed
in a majestic golden glow. Everyone’s cameras were out now,
recording this wondrous sight
so that it would remain etched in
our memories. The goddess had
bestowed all her favours on us!
The way down was relatively uneventful. I say relatively, because
the blizzard had caused all the
boulders and rocks to become
icy. Near Machhapuchare Base
Camp, I slipped and went flying
off one of these boulders and
damaged my left shoulder. The
sprain still bothers me even
today, particularly when I play
golf, but there is a fond memory associated with the fleeting
pain. A few days march, a steep
climb consisting of almost 3,000
stone steps all the way up to
the village of Chhomrung, and
we were back at the road head.
Then on to Kathmandu, a shave,
a wonderful hot shower, and
our flight back to Zimbabwe. I
thought this was going to be my
last trek. But now I am under
pressure from my daughter and
her friends to go out again next
year. Maybe I will spend my 68th
birthday on the Annapurna Circuit, or Tilicho Lake and Pass, or
perhaps Everest Base Camp. It
would seem that the mountains
will never stop beckoning me.
Ashok Chakravarti can be contacted
at ashok.chakravarti@yoafrica.com
Master Blasters
The one-liners of teachers at Doon are as old as the ivy on the main building. But they will forever echo in the
minds of those of us who walked briskly through its halls, often in the opposite direction of whence those one-liners emanated. In a collection of some of the greatest hits of masterly wit from The Doon School, this is five of
the best! “Mr. Kisslay...smoke less. You will automatically get up for PT!” – Mr SK Vohra to Pragye Kisslay (87 K,
1995) who maintains to this day that he didn’t smoke at school.
Eashan Mukherjee (160 O, 1997).
Having gotten away with it, or
so he thought, Eashan broke
into a victory jig whilst NKB was
not looking. Mr Bedhotiya however caught this dance in the
reflection of a window to ask,
“Why you isssscrew me from
back side?”
“You have no sense! You are nonsense!” Music teacher Mr Chattopadhyay remarking on a student
having no physical reaction on
being smacked on his knuckles!
Guru had a habit of bringing his
newspaper to class (in my A-form)
and discussing articles that had
caught his attention.
As this proceeded through the
term, it became clear that we
weren’t going to learn much geography, and some of us became a
little perturbed about flunking Trials, and eventually our finals.
One day, Guru came in and started
reading out loud an article about
inflation which he thought would
interest us. I had never heard of inflation before, and didn’t care for it,
so I interrupted him and reminded
him that we were supposed to be
learning geography.
(Kartik Bajoriya 311 O, 1998)
He put down his newspaper,
peered over his classes at me,
and very solemnly intoned: “Mr
Kumar, there is nothing that I can
teach you about geography that
is as important as you learning
about inflation.”
“Mein duster phekoonga, and
then I don’t care if it breaks your
eye or head!” Sukhdev Bhatia
warning his students about getting upto mischief in his classroom circa 1996.
(Govind Dhar 192 T, 1997)
He was right, of course.
(Arun Kumar 99 K, 1976)
If you have any Master Blasters
On an inspection through the
rooms in Oberoi house, Neeraj
Bedhotiya,
housemaster
failed to spot a contraband Sony
Discman
being
concealed
to share, send them to us at
therosebowleditor@gmail.com
or on Facebook by finding us
with ‘thedoonrosebowl’.
by
41
That Clueless Clot
Indi Singh
wife of late Rajkumar Jayvant Singh
180 H, 1945
When I was young, I bore a burning ambition to be
an Air Force pilot, flying dangerous missions for my
country. But that was not to be. More than 50 years
ago, women pilots were a rarity in India and in the
Indian Air Force – practically a non-existent entity.
My brother Hari Bhagat joined the IAF and became
a dashing fighter pilot, much admired and envied
by his kid sister. In time, I met and married his good
friend, Jayvant Singh who was also a fighter pilot
in the IAF.
An opportunity to partially fulfill my dreams arose
when my husband was attached to the IAF as
Instructor. Being well under 25 years of age (in that
an instructor to the Bombay Squadron. This had
pre-historic time) I was entitled to a government
been raised at Juhu Airport by the Government, to
subsidy which enabled me to fly at the incredible
encourage civilian youngsters (only gents mind
rate of ten rupees an hour, for powered flying.
you) to learn how to fly.
One day, just before my lessons started, we
were driving past Juhu beach, a quiet spot in
those far off days, when we witnessed a terrible
flying accident between a light aircraft and a PIA
(Pakistan International Airways) aircraft which was
coming in to land at the then International Airport of
Santa Cruz. The PIA aircraft landed safely but with
difficulty. The wing of the light aircraft was sheared
clean off and the craft spun into the sea, killing both
its pilot and joyrider.
Juhu Flying Club was right across the airfield
As far as Jayvant was concerned, my flying career
from Jayvant’s squadron, and I persuaded him
was over even before it had taken off. “With our
to let me learn to fly there. As he knew all the
young son, Vijit, we can’t have two members of the
instructors at the Flying Club, I was duly introduced
family flying,” he stated firmly. He received the full
to them, among them Mr Lall, the CFI or Chief Flying
backing of family members from both sides.
42
I offered no opposition. Jayvant should have known
better and suspected that all was not kosher! The
next day he went off to work in the car. Soon after, I
hopped on to our motorcycle and zoomed off to the
Flying Club, an eager beaver if ever there was one.
Mr Lall was my flying instructor, and so the days
sped by, my cup of happiness overflowing, as I
learnt to fly a Piper Supercub. I would later return
home and demurely await Jayvant’s return.
One day Mr Lall was about to give my weekly
booking slots for flying to my husband. Agitatedly
I told him that Jayvant had no clue about my
clandestine flying activities. So from that day all
the instructors and members of Juhu Flying Club,
including members of the Bombay Squadron, were
sworn to secrecy! The only person on that airfield
unaware of my “daily high” was Jayvant!
Though I did my solo in just under 8 hours, I dared
not share my triumph and excitement with anyone,
aggravated the instructor, but before he could
neither friends nor relatives. I passed the written
explode, the pupil said “Excuse me sir, but that
exams and flying tests and then awaited my PPL or
is not some crazy flying club type, but your wife
Private Pilot’s Licence.
who is flying!” This pupil took great pleasure from
repeating this episode to all and sundry later.
One day I was practising ‘circuits and bumps’ or
takeoffs and landings, when a Tiger joined my
Meanwhile, unaware of any high drama, I happily
circuit. As it was a faster aircraft than mine, I should
continued practicing my landings, until I noticed
have, as per air regulations, given way to him,
a Tiger Moth observing my manoeuvres. Aware
gone round again and then landed my plane. But I
that the cat was out of the bag, I hurriedly taxied
side-slipped the Tiger and landed ahead of him so
back and went home awaiting a well deserved
that he had to go around one more time.
reprimand. Instead I got a reprieve, as my husband
good-naturedly said that as I was already flying
Meanwhile, in the Tiger Moth, an irate instructor
solo, he had better check on my flying to prevent
yelled at his pupil “Who is that clueless clot flying?
me being a flying hazard!!
Must be one of these crazy flying club types. Take
his number down. I am going to report him and get
Of course, when I got my PPL, friends, family and
him grounded!”
instructors threw a great celebration for me.
Jayvant participated in it with as much zest as
The pupil grinned from ear-to-ear, which further
any of us.
43
44
45
Little Steps
to a Cleaner India
Aviral Garg
191 K, 2016
I have designed a foldable bin that can be placed
on the back of a car seat. The main objective of
coming out with such a product was to make it more
convenient for people to dispose of the garbage in
their cars which would prevent them from littering
on the streets.
I started working on this project because honestly,
I want to live in a clean India. I feel that without the
support of the nation, the government is powerless.
Though the current government has tried to clean
the streets through the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’,
it has failed to achieve its real target of a cleaner
India because of the lack of our support. While we
continue littering on the streets, even cleaning
them up daily won’t solve the problem. I realized
that many a times it can be an inconvenient task
to hold on to empty wrappers or other such forms
of garbage in the car till you reach your destination
and find a bin. This made me come up with the idea
of having a bin inside our cars. This would not only
make it easier for people in cars to dispose of waste
but also prevent them from littering on the streets
which would only help keep our country cleaner.
It took me a little over two weeks to come up
with the final design. I started by researching ‘car
bins’ on the internet. Though I came across a few
products, they were mostly overpriced and the
others would keep on toppling, as they were not
particularly designed for cars. Despite an extensive
search through the local market I was surprised to find
nothing that resembled a car bin. So I drew a rough
sketch of the design on a paper and approached a
46
local vendor who makes bags and asked him if it
was possible to manufacture my design. He pointed
out a few flaws in my design so I kept on reworking
it. I looked at the design of similar products such
as pouches and small bags carefully, and tried to
incorporate the ideas that could suit my bin.
Once the design was finalized, I started looking
at the materials which would make the bin cheap
without compromising on its uality. Canvas and
matte fulfilled these criteria, but ultimately I chose
matte as it was lighter, stronger and cheaper. The
first samples that I made had a spring to make it a
foldable bin, but since the spring would get spoiled
too quickly and would often pierce the cloth, I replaced
it with a zip. So after making many improvements to
the initial design I finally came up with the bin which
I thought was good enough for mass production.
Before placing the order I made a few samples and
gave them to a few friends and asked them to let me
know if they had any problems in using the bin. After
my product sample had been approved by all, I sent it
for mass production.
keeping the costs minimal without compromising on ease-of-use or quality. Also my lack of
experience in such a task was quite an obstacle.
Since I wanted to make this bin for the masses,
it had to be affordable. The major challenge was
I see a huge growth potential in this product so
I plan to make it a more commercial entity by
branding it. I am still in the process of working on its
brand name and logo. After I have finalized these, I
will target a wider audience through e-commerce
websites such as ‘Flipkart’ and ‘Snapdeal’.
Though the product was priced in such a manner
that it wasn’t earning me a phenomenal profit, I was
extremely happy as I was able to fulfil my primary
objective which was to raise awareness and sell a
great number of bins for a cleaner India.
If you’d like to assist Aviral with his innovation
or get more information, please do so at
191@doonschool.com.
The fully expanded bin
The compressed zipped easy-to-carry bin
A filled bin
47
Staying Fit over 40
Siddharth Chowdhury
91 K, 1991
If you live in the city, being a
member of a gym is more of a
necessity, than a luxury. As we
get older and past the age of 35
our bodies start to lose muscle
mass, and bone density. Our
metabolism starts to slow down
and there’s a decline in testosterone levels but don’t worry - it’s
natural. With the help of training
or physical activity two or three
times a week for a period of
just 45 minutes, you can slow
down this process dramatically.
There are a many things one
can do or deem as physical,
but I would recommend a bit of
weight training. The simple reason is that it boosts the immune
system, regenerates muscle tissue, strengthens ligaments and
helps increase bone density.
Start with your diet. It is a major
part of being healthy and staying
in good shape so some health
tips from me would be:
zz A squeeze of lime juice in a
glass of water: Make it the
first drink of the day when
you wake up. Lime is alkaline to the body and it helps
speed up metabolism and is
a great detoxifier for the liver.
zz Having a high-protein diet is
48
the optimum way towards
fat loss. As your body will
need more energy to incorporate each amino acid from
protein into lean muscle tissue, you reduce fat because
your body burns significantly
more calories in this process than if you had eaten
the same amount of fat or
carbohydrates.
zz Stay away from processed
foods as they contain high
amounts of sugar and flavouring agents. Beware of
packaging that says ‘Natural’
or ‘Organic’ too. Read the
labels for E-numbered ingredients and preservatives.
zz There is evidence that
certain foods like carbohydrates, sugars and salty
foods result in chemical
messages to the brain that
causes us to eat more. Practice restraint!
zz Olive oil is good eaten on its
own, coconut oil is good and
healthy for cooking purposes.
zz Drink green tea to lose fat.
Recommended Exercise
The six exercises I would recommend are all multi-jointed
movements or compound movements. This means they require
the use of more than one part of
the body to be performed, hence
the body works in conjunction
as a unit. They are great for
building muscle, help you lose
weight and make you stronger.
Always take the advice of a
trainer before any weight training or cardio exercise so you
know how to exercise your body
without risk of harm or injury.
The key is to start slow and build
from there with a programme
suited to your body and health.
1 Deadlifts are great because it
4 The bent over row is where
works the glutes, hamstrings,
abdominals and lower back
muscles. The amount of sets
should be around 4-5 but the
repetition range should vary between 5-8. Go higher for strength
training purposes. Check with
a trainer for what weight you
should start with.
you lean over a support and lift
weights toward your chest.
Muscles worked: lowerback, lats,
biceps, deltoids and abs. Sets: 5.
Rep range: 8-10.
5 Pull-ups work the whole back.
2 Squats help work the quadri-
ceps, glutes, adductors, lowerback, abdominal muscles. The
sets should be around 4 with the
repetition range between 10-12.
3 Bench presses help work the
pectoralis major and minor,
and deltoid anterior. There is a
variation of the press such as
the incline press or the flat press
too. Sets: 4. Rep range: 10-12.
Sets: 5. Reps: 6. I recommend
one does 5-6 pull ups at a time
but maintain good form as
opposed to banging out a lot of
reps without good form.
6 Overhead presses are where
you stand straight and push
barbells upward and over your
head. Muscles worked: front
deltoid, upper pecs and triceps.
Sets: 4. Rep range: 8-10.
Rest between sets for between
60-90 seconds. Stretch before
and after workouts.
Mix your workouts in a week
with some cardio exercise. I
recommend not more that 30
minutes of steady pace cardio at
a time. Mix in some high intensity interval training (HIIT) which
means going at 80 percent of
your full capacity for 20 seconds
before resting and recovering for
10 seconds. You could use any
cardio equipment from a treadmill, rowing machine or bike.
This kind of cardio exercise
is beneficial for fat loss and
speeding up the metabolism
for maintaining lean muscle.
The heart rate is kept high and
then forced to recover at short
durations. There is a something
called EPOC which stands for
excess post exercise oxygen
consumption. This is where
there is a huge deficit of oxygen in the body from intensive
training. It might take the body
16-24 hours to replenish those
oxygen reserves, hence the body
continues to burn calories even
post-exercise.
If you’re in London this summer
and want to meet Siddharth for
fitness advice or a preferential
work out rate at his gym,
contact him on:
mustulboy@hotmail.com.
49
HOT SHOTS
GARAGE
START-UP GURU
The co-founder of HCL and proud Dosco,
Arjun Malhotra (325 K, 1964) is an icon in
India’s IT history. We talk to him about his
journey to one of the original garage start ups,
Hindustan Computers Limited, his work with
Goldman Sachs, how Doon shaped him and the
apps he’s creating for health in rural India today.
Vidit Paliwal
161 O, 2003
convinced and passionate about the fact that
micro-processors would change the world. So, that’s
the start of what you know as Hindustan Computers
Limited. Initially we did trading in calculators to make
some money. Then we invested that money in the
develop-ment of computers. We signed a joint
venture with UP Electronics Corporation. And the rest
is history. It’s now a 100,000+ people company.
The Journey
In college I was pretty clear on what I wanted to do. I
wanted a PhD and to work for NASA. I got a job as a
senior management trainee at Delhi Cloth Mills (DCM).
They paid a lot of money Rs. 950 rupees a month. Coffee
in the Oberoi was five rupees and petrol was 63 paise a
litre. So you can imagine, that was a lot of money.
DCM decided to get into electronics and they
didn’t have too many electronics engineers in the
company. They were in textiles, fertilizers, food and
rayon, but not electronics. I was called up by the
boss-man and was told: hey, we’re getting into this
new area; we want people who are technical, and
you are one of the few technical people we have.
We set up a big R&D team, microprocessors came
out and we used them to assemble computers. And
that’s when DCM ran into a problem. In those days,
India was a socialist state and with computers
DCM felt they might go against the Monopolies and
Restrictive Trade Practices Act. DCM was a 250 crore
company, and the electronics division was around
1.7 crore. So obviously, they weren’t going to risk
themselves for that. So, they told us that they’re not
going to get into computers, and a number of us
decided to leave and do it ourselves.
HCL Afoot
There was lots of bravado, no business plan and
no money. But we thought we knew the market,
we understood the technology, and we were fairly
50
Retirement Plans
When I started HCL, I was 25 or 26 and with work, I
was hardly ever at home, planning to retire by 50. So,
around that age, I exited HCL and got a consulting
assignment with Goldman Sachs. They wanted to invest in the IT services business in India. There were
some old HCL folks I knew who had started their own
company. They gave Goldman a proposal and needed someone to run it. So, I got involved. It was called
Techspan and we started in 1999. The company did
very well. During the bubble, in our second year, we
grew to 60-plus billing clients and were profitable.
Then the bubble burst, things cooled down but we
stayed cash flow neutral.
What next?
We decided to focus next on one segment, and become
experts in it. So, we decided to focus on the capital markets and investment banks. That worked very well for us.
We got into that business, became specialists, and then
we merged with Headstrong that was an old James Martin company. They were looking at setting up something
in India. HCL had a joint venture with James Martin and
I was the chairperson of that. So, we started discussing
it and ultimately, it ended up being a complete merger of
the two companies.
Techspan was into e-commerce. Headstrong
focused on capital markets. That’s how we became
the big player out of India because we had domain
expertise. We had bought the back-end of some
investment banks here, which no one else had.
Accenture may have had domain expertise outside
India, but they did not have it back in India. We were
very unique in that kind of position. We went out
looking for funds and what ended up happening is we
got an offer we couldn’t refuse. So, in May 2011 we
sold to Genpact.
Then I basically thought: Hey, now is my real time
to retire!
Now I’m working with Evolko – a company that
looks at putting health resource data at the
doctor’s fingertips or as we call it, a clinic in the cloud.
I used to advise them in the beginning. They were a
start-up by some HCL and IIT Kharagpur guys way
back in 2007. We’re starting in five hospitals right
now - three in Bangalore and two in Delhi. By June,
we would have covered all the 40 plus hospitals that
we have planned and we’ll be in 26 cities. Our plan
is to be in 200 Indian cities by December. So it’s
fairly ambitious plan.
balance sports and academics. I think that worked
for me because finally when I graduated from
Kharagpur, I got what is called the BC Roy gold
medal, which is given to the best all-rounder:
the top 10% of the graduating class, and good
extra-curriculars.
School was great. Mid-terms were great. One of the
things I wanted to do, if I didn’t become an engineer
was to become a professional mountaineer. I’d done a
lot of that when I was in school, but just didn’t follow
it up. In those days, you couldn’t follow your dreams.
You had to get a job - security was important. And by
the time you’re ready to follow your dreams, you’re too
old, or you’ve put on weight, or you’re not fit enough.
My son is 37, but he hikes, and does it regularly. I see
my passion in him.
Doon Influence
Ultimately Doon set up a value system in me,
that was really important. We used to have work
quotas, both physical and manual. Physical work
was cleaning moss from the walls for 45 minutes.
That used to be one quota. You could cut grass, and
it gave you a physical quota. You had to get four in
a month or a week. And writing 100 addresses for
The Doon School Weekly on the envelopes was one
quota: that kind of thing.
Today I do my own photocopies. Secretaries and
admins, get a little upset. But that’s the way I’ve
been. I think that’s what I’ve learned at Doon.
Because when you do your physical work yourself,
you don’t have to wait for other people to do it. These
are small things, but when you add them up, they
make you the person you are.
Years at Doon
I had a lot of fun. I was there for four years and
actually got into Doon by accident.
One of the things about Doon is that you make great
friends. I don’t have the time to make friends outside
my work environment so they’re friends for life. I think
that’s the important thing.
The second thing I learned at Doon was how to
51
The Rose Bowl 2015 | July Edition | VOL . XLVIII No. 3
If undelivered please return to
The Doon School Old Boys’ Society
C-574 Lower Ground Floor, Defence Colony, New Delhi 110024
www.dsobs.net | office@dsobs.net | +911 24334808 | +911 41509019
@rosebowleditor |
facebook.com/thedoonrosebowl
52

OLD BOYS` NEWS pg 06 - The Doon School Old Boys Society

Transcription

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