Category Archives: Spot Light

Mr Sasim DasGupta / BCS Memorabilia – Centenary Dinner Menu Card 1959

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Mr. Sasim DasGupta was the Art Teacher at BCS. Here is an email from him which should bring back many fond memories for many OCs and BCS Teachers; and hopefully will be of interest to those who were at BCS in the later years as well!

Here is a copy of the menu card of the Centenary dinner which took place at BCS on June 7th, 1959.

I was delighted to design the card but I was terribly disappointed when I saw the printed result.

Neither the colour nor the resolution was anything like the original.  What added more to my annoyance was when I found out that the original design was also lost, either in transit or in the printing press.   However,  it was too late for any action….by then, the dinner was almost on the table and so was the menu card.

[click the image for a full view of the card and signatures]

Fond memories,

Sasim DasGupta

My pet rabbit and Mr. Goss

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(Editor’s note: The exchange with Mr Goss is, as expected, lively. Here is an amusing yet poignant incident which seems to have ended happily after 50 years!! Little boys do carry grudges, real or imagined. !!

A background introduction is given to lend the correspondence a perspective

The intervening mail from Badal inducts a spot of fun in this exchange.
Badal is a gentleman-at-large and a mining baron in a day and age where this breed is currently under siege. He has a puckish and provocative sense of humour which is well meaning and really innocuous.

Joe  Joshi is the elder brother of Dr. Jai Hind Joshi. Joe is a News Editor with Al Jazeera in Doha, Qatar. He was in Vietnam during the years of turmoil in that country.

Jai Joshi is an eminent doctor and lives in Houston. Both these brothers, originally from Burma, did well and made their mark in society)

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Goss,

Rishi Rana may be the only other person who recalls this.

Do you recall a young boy who found a little white rabbit in the hills near school, brought it with him and then asked you to look after his little pet. He was not expecting you to agree but was thrilled when you did. For weeks the little boy dreamt about his rabbit, wrote home to his parents, and planed on how he would try and take his rabbit back home to Burma, a thousand miles away, at the end of the school year

And do you recall that a few weeks later when that boy came to visit and asked if he could see and play with his rabbit, the both of you laughed and said that you had enjoyed that rabbit for dinner weeks before.

I wonder whether you recall, also, that many years later, when that boy graduated, and would come visit school with his brother; you said something about how a bad penny was sure to always come back.

That was more than fifty years ago.

I was happy to hear that you have done well as I was to hear about Mr. and Mrs. Williams. I remember Ms Gardner (who later became Mrs. Williams) with the fondest of affection as our KG home room teacher and Mr. Williams was my house master. I have always held them in very high esteem, and hope Mrs. Williams is part of this mailing list

Regards to you both
Jai Joshi, MD

Sent: Sat, Mar 31, 2012 9:02 pm
Subject: RE: Memories from a long time ago

Hey Mr Goss…… you can Run But you can’t Hide…… This lil burmese boy is hot on yr tail…. and like the elephants in burma he dosnt forget anything……suggest you go to australia next… hear theres lots rabbits there . maybe you can send him one..or like the proverbial bad penny he might show up at yr door one day…. last i heard … his bro Joe was joining  him in the hunt …. whoa.. he has had some really wild experiences as a gunfighter in vietnam…. near death stuff… he’s a real bounty hunter… i was you id be scared …..REAL scared….your sins are catching up on you mr goss…….LOW MARKS…. RABBIT KILLING…. JUGGED HARES…. We don’t even know whether you preferred sherwood to BCS …….. so tomorrow by Sundown you better be outta town boy….. (as we say in the deep south uf the United States)…. ADIOS AMIGO.

Inderjit Singh Badal

Date: Sun, 1 Apr 2012 17:32:39 -0400

Badal – you are just too nicely funny. Am sure Mr. Goss will take it all in good sport. He did reply to my story, by the way – and very pleasantly, too. As for crossing the river, again: the situation now is a lot different, with texicans not gringos as border patrol men, the coyotes are now gringos and the river at El Passo is all dried up, so your swimming prowess will not help- you will have to walk
Joshi 2

Jai Joshi, MD 

Dear Jai
Thank you for your letter.  You will forgive me if after all these years I cannot recall looking after your pet, but I can assure you we did not have him for dinner as neither my wife nor I have ever acquired a taste for rabbit stew.   Telling you that we had feasted on your pet was probably our way of letting you know that the rabbit had escsaped to be reunited with his family in ithe hills despite our vigilance.

Surely I didn’t refer to you as a ”bad penny”!  My sincere apologies, although 50 years too late.

Tell me more about yourself.

With kind regards,
Ronald Goss

Correspondence with Mr. Ronald Goss :

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Correspondence between OC Vijay Khurana and Mr. Ronald Goss for your reading pleasure:

From: vk@devats.com
To: rygoss@hotmail.com;
Subject: I am a Cottonian – class of 1963
Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:36:43 +0530

Dear Mr Goss, 

I am taking the liberty of introducing myself as former student of yours from BCS. I was a boarder and finished with the class of  1963. I owe your e-mail address to Mr Sasim Das Gupta, who has my profuse thanks.

You taught us English in Shell and then educated us in the less complicated Mathematics for those that opted for the Arts or the humanity subjects.  Your readings during class periods of Sherlock Holmes is an event I recall because it eventually encouraged me to buy the entire volumes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books. The Sherlock series was offered in two volumes by an Indian publisher.

What I also recall is the devastatingly frugal marks that you dished out for our English tests. Govinder, who was a good student of the subject, on that occasion obtained for the form order a decent 46 when most of us barely hovered just above the pass mark of 40 and more particularly in the region of 41-43. I was awarded a low 38, the only time I ever failed in the language. It caused me much anguish and I thankfully obtained a 43 at the end of year final examination, sufficient enough to proceed to the next class!!  I recall collecting that detail before heading to the railway station. I then knew that the impending holidays would be more cheerful!

I also recall your disarming honesty. While preparing for our final board examinations we tested ourselves against the previous years exam papers. One winter evening you were passing by when you popped in to where Rishi and I were attempting to solve an old paper. Rishi asked you the meaning of the word “bottleneck” and while you answered all the others you were candid to say, “I do not know the meaning of that one!!”  That word has stuck with me and I made it a point to discover its meaning even though it was a long while before I eventually made the discovery !! Traffic bottlenecks is now a feature we live with !!

I am sending, as an attachment to this mail, a few photographs to refresh your memory. I do hope you will enjoy seeing them since they will inevitably revive a host of memories.

My kind regards to your family and you.

Sincerely
V K Khurana
(Vijay Khurana, Lefroy 1954-63)  

P.S. I am taking the liberty of sending this mail to members of my class and those for the preceding years of 1961, and 1962. With the aid of modern technology, it has been convenient to remain in touch and we exchange notes fairly often. We also meet as often as is possible but that becomes distinctly difficult for a bunch of 60 year olds who still seem rather busy !!

Warmly
Vijay  

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Partap Sharma – Biography

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Partap Sharma [Curzon 1950-54] passed away on 30th November 2011. Known as the Golden Voice of India, Partap was always warm, encouraging and inspirational. The world will be sadder without him but greater for his contributions.

A Touch of Brightness: Biography of Partap Sharma

Partap Sharma: playwright, author, actor, director and commentator.

Partap Sharma born December 12, 1939 is an Indian playwright, novelist, author of books for children, commentator, actor and documentary film-maker. A gifted writer, Sharma covers a wide range of subjects and perspectives, and as a master craftsman delivers intricate ideas simply. Like Mahatma Gandhi, the subject of one of Sharma’s most applauded plays “Sammy!” Sharma found that uncovering the truth was not always popular. In Contemporary Authors Sharma explains: “Stories are perhaps a way of making more coherent and comprehensible the bewildering complexity of the world. I learn and discover as I write and I try to share what I have understood. This began with me when I was a child, before I could read, and when I needed to deduce a story to explain the pictures in a book. But that is just the technique; the aim is to uncover an aspect of the truth. The truth isn’t always palatable. Two of my documentaries and a play were, at various times, banned. The High Court reversed the ban on the play; it is now a text in three Indian universities and has been the subject of a doctoral thesis in drama at Utah University.”

Background

Sharma was born in Lahore which was then part of India and is the oldest son of Dr. Baij Nath Sharma and Dayawati (Pandit) Sharma. Sharma’s father was a civil engineer who served as Technical Advisor to governments in Ceylon, Tanganyika and Libya and later retired to their ancestral property in Punjab as a gentleman farmer. This colourful Punjabi village forms much of the backdrop of Sharma’s novel, Days of the Turban. Sharma’s early education was in Trinity College, Kandy, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and then at Bishop Cotton School, Shimla. Sharma received a triple promotion and completed school at 14 before going to study at St. Xavier’s College, Bombay mainly because all other universities in India required a minimum age of 16. He is married to Susan Amanda Pick, they have two daughters: Namrita and Tara. Tara is, of course, known to many as the beautiful Bollywood actress, Tara Sharma. Sharma’s association with the Indian National Theatre, Mumbai, began in 1961 with the production by it of his first full-length play “Bars Invisible” and continued till the eventual production of the banned “A Touch of Brightness.” While working at his writing, Sharma freelanced as a narrator for short films and newsreels. In due course, he also directed a few documentaries for the Government of India. He was TV host of the popular programme “What’s the Good Word?” produced by Television Centre, Mumbai. One of India’s leading voices heard in narrations and commentaries on film, radio and TV, he has voiced many national and international award-winning documentaries and short films. He is known as the golden voice of India, and has often been referred to in the Press as simply ‘The Voice’. He is the voice on most of the Son et lumière shows produced in India, including the one still running forty years later, at the Delhi Fort, in Delhi.

Writings

Books

  • The Surangini Tales
  • Dog Detective Ranjha
  • The Little Master of the Elephant
  • Top Dog
  • Days of the Turban
  • A Touch of Brightness
  • Zen Katha
  • Sammy!
  • Begum Sumroo

Staged Plays

  • Brothers Under The Skin (1956)
  • Bars Invisible (1961)
  • A Touch Of Brightness (1965)
  • The Word (1966)
  • The Professor Has A Warcry (1970)
  • Queen Bee (1976)
  • Power Play (1991)
  • Begum Sumroo (1997)
  • Zen Katha (2004)
  • SAMMY! (2005)

Documentaries and Films

Partap Sharma has directed some outstanding documentaries, as independent producer and for the Government of India’s Films Division, and Channel Four Television, U.K. His film credits include:

Documentaries

  • The Framework Of Famine, 1967, an investigation of how nature’s devastation is compounded by human corruption and inefficiency; banned for it’s “ruthless candour” then released after other documentary-makers protested.
  • The Flickering Flame, 1974, a study of the mismanagement of the energy crisis and its effect on the suburban housewife; banned and never released.
  • Kamli, 1976, a short film depicting the status of women in rural Indian society.
  • The Empty Hand, 1982, (co-directed) a prize-winning audiovisual about the art of karate.
  • Viewpoint Amritsar, 1984, co-directed a film about the Golden Temple and environs in the aftermath of Operation Bluestar.
  • The British Raj Through Indian Eyes, 1992, a documentary series telecast in 1992 by Channel Four Television UK.
    Part I: The Uprising of 1857.
    Part II: The Massacre at Jallianwallah Bagh 1919.
    The museum of the British Empire and Commonwealth, in Bristol, now has a permanent section entitled The Sharma Archive consisting of 30 video and 67 audio tapes made by Partap Sharma. Interviews and footage of Indian nationalists, freedom fighters and writers. Indian perspectives on the Raj. Some transcripts available (CDs, Videos and Cassettes).
  • Sailing Around The World And Discover America Yachting Rally, two video programmes directed by Sandhya Divecha and produced by Sharma’s Indofocus Films Pvt. Ltd. British Raj Hindustani Nazron Se, 1995-98, A Hindi TV Serial.

Children’s Film

  • The Case Of The Hidden Ear-Ring, 1983

Feature Films

As an actor Sharma played a role in the Merchant-Ivory film “Shakespearewallah”. Other films include the lead role in the following Hindi films:

  • Phir Bhi (1971)
  • Andolan (1975)
  • Tyaag Patra (1980)
  • Pehla Kadam (1980)
  • Nehru – The Jewel of India (1989)
  • The Bandung Sonata (2002) Filmed in China, Sharma played Nehru in this international film which was subsequently re-titled for release in China as Chou-en-Lai in Bandung.

Awards and Honours

  • Sharma’s literary genius was recognized at an early age, and he won numerous first prizes in school and university in debating, elocution and acting including first prize at the All India Inter-University Youth Festival, Delhi, in 1958.
  • 1971 National Award for the lead role in the feature film “Phir Bhi” which also won the National Award for the best Hindi film of the year.
  • Cleo Award U.S.A for best voice.
  • 1976 RAPA First Prize for best voice in radio spots.
  • 1992 the “Hamid Sayani” Trophy for a lifetime of all-round excellence in radio and television.
  • 2000 Ad Club of Mumbai Award for Lifetime Contribution to Advertising.
  • 2004 the “Dadasaheb Phalke Award” with the citation ‘the voice of India’ on behalf of 35 associations of professional cine workers representing all branches of the Indian film industry.

Biographical References

  • India Who’s Who, Infa publications, India.
  • Contemporary Authors, Gale Research Company, Detroit, U.S.A.
  • Asia’s Who’s Who, Asian Publishing House, India.
  • Dictionary Of International Biography, International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England.

The real complete  man.
Malavika Sangghvi /   Mumbai December 03, 2011, 0:42 IST

Partap Sharma, who died this week, was a polymath: author, playwright, documentary filmmaker, anchor, actor, voice-over artist and more. His titles were many, but it is for other qualities that I would like to remember him today.
The first is courage. When his award winning play, A Touch of Brightness, was prevented by a regressive state from leaving India to perform abroad, Partap, refusing to be cowed down, engaged Soli Sorabjee to argue his case. They won the case — seven years later — and the play about a woman in Mumbai’s red light area went on to get international success and recognition.
That should have been ample evidence of Partap’s grit: nine years ago, after he was struck down by a debilitating attack of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema which left him wheel-chair bound and in need of a constant supply of oxygen, Partap once again refused to allow circumstances to dictate his story. He went on to record Macbeth, Julius Caesar and The Merchant of Venice in his famous voice, enacting all the parts — even the female ones!
More inspiring was the fact that this man, struggling to breathe, began to sing! “I always had an ear for music, but when I was told that it would be therapeutic for my lungs I started learning it seriously and the result was a series of songs for my family which have been collected as ‘Home Songs’.”
If courage was his anthem, humility was his calling card. Partap wore his achievements and accolades (a Dada Saheb Phalke, a National Film award, a Thespo lifetime achievement award) lightly. Struggling to speak from his hospital bed while receiving yet another award (this time from Dr Vijaya Mehta) it was edifying to hear him say, “People should look for the affirmative in every creative work that they critique, so that the creator gets encouraged.”
Partap himself was nothing if not encouraging, his lovely home by the sea was open to all: celebrated litterateurs along with struggling poets, confused writers, footloose students and hungry neighbours.
If these qualities were enough to make him larger than life, it was his swashbuckling sense of self-actualisation and adventure that made him a hero to many. He was a black-belt Karate expert, a rider of bare back horses, a solver of neighbourhood crimes with his famous Alsatian Ranjha of the “Dog Detective series”, the owner of a magnificently restored shiny black Mercedes-Benz, an above-average chess player, an aficionado of books and ideas, and a lover of Mahabaleshwar where he would disappear for long writing spells. I could go on. But suffice to say that the copywriter who came up with the “Complete Man” sign off, could well have had Partap in mind. But that is not all. Above all, it was for Partap’s qualities of decency and grace that he will be cherished, His human qualities outstripped his considerable material and creative success. It is fitting that he died surrounded by his daughters, the lovely Namrita and Tara, and their families, his many friends and in the arms of his devoted wife-comrade-companion and champion Sue. Two days before he died, I met her at his bedside in the ICU. I remember thinking that she had gazed at him and stroked his face with the tenderness and love of a young bride.
Every man should aspire to live and die like that.

[Vijay Khurana adds: For those of you have lived or know Bombay, Malavika Sangghvi is the daughter of Mrs Khanna who ran Samovar at the Jehangir Art Gallery at Kala Ghoda. Partap's daughter Tara Sharma is the well known actress.]

The Biography is an extract from http://www.partapsharma.com/, where you can read more about this great man.

Karen Ann Monsy interviews Ruskin Bond

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Karen Ann Monsy interviews Ruskin Bond [Bishop Cotton School 1943-1950 Ibbetson House]. As published in the Khaleej Times WKND Magazine of 9th December 2011 reproduced below. The original article photos and can be read here.

From Ruskin with love
By Karen Ann Monsy

Sixty years on and with pen firmly in hand, Ruskin Bond proves he’s still as capable of enchanting readers as he was when he first began.

Hundreds 
of screaming fans in a tent packed beyond seating capacity. That an audience could 
be just as captivated today by the man whose storytelling first fired up their imaginations as little children decades ago was a testament to just how popular an Indian author by the name of Bond — Ruskin Bond — could be.

With over 300 short stories, essays and novels to his name, it has been his irresistible signature of unassuming wit and simplicity more than anything else that has forged much of the bond between the Mussoorie-based novelist and his readers. Considered an icon in literary circles, the 77-year-old of British descent was recently declared due to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Delhi Government. To his cheering fans at the Sharjah International Book Fair last month, he stated simply: “Without readers, there cannot be writers. If I’m famous, it’s because of you.”

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BEST YEARS OF MY LIFE [at Bishop Cotton School]

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The Best Years Of My Life:

My parents settled in Lahore decided to try for my admission at B.C.S where a nephew of my Late Father, Rustom Boga studied in the late 20′s. I was admitted to the Preparatory School situated at Chota Simla in March 1945 and recall Boarding a train at Lahore on around the 10th March,1945 and it was part of the Frontier Mail carrying fellow school mates who were travelling from Peshawar to Kalka via Lahore, Amritsar, Jullundar and Ludhiana to Kalka. We had a short stop at Kalka before Boarding the train around 6 AM to Simla which was about a 6 hour journey with numerous stops. It was an experience travelling on a mountain train which passed through about 100 tunnels. The main attraction was Jetoog/Behrogh where we had a short stop to fill the belly and thereafter I recall the stop at Tara Devi where Kevinter had their farm. We were escorted to the school around 2PM and after a tiring journey were moved to our Dormitory. I was admitted to Cotton House and my house Master was Mr. Shalom and later Mr.Murray. The Headmaster was Mr. Priestly with his wife in attendance to look after us. This was the first time I had left home and the first week was tough for most of the new faces. However, we were very comfortably looked after and fed and soon settled down to a very well organized and settled life. My first friend was Ramesh Bhasin who assisted me in settling down and finding my feet and as time went on the group of mates increased with Derek Crowl, Durrani, Ali Afridi, Niaz-ul-Haq, Persis, Ifti Malik, Mcdowell, Edrich etc.

Among the staff the name of a Mr.Shalom and Jones comes to mind who assisted us in our development and Dunda Hawkes-the Physical Training Instructor who had retired from the Army and was a boxing Champion in his day. I was at the Prep School for 2 years-1945 and 1946. In early 1946 Mr. Priestly left and an Old Cottonian Col. A.E.R Bruce took over as the Head Master. These 2 years at the School played a significant part in my development as the Staff were committed in assisting the country in producing men of character who would take the country and World forward. Apart from taking us for outings regularly to Chota Simla they also took us to some beautiful spots and the one I still recall is Brockhurst. We also visited the Main School on various occasions and they were mainly to view the Inter School fixtures between B.C.S. and Sanawar and we followed the path through the woods to the main school and entered where there was a Birds House in which a variety of birds were held. We watched the School’s matches against Sanawar from the 1st Flat which was covered and was the entrance to the Swimming Pool and the Gymnasium.

I moved to the Main School in 1947 and the year brought new challenges which added to my vision of the outside World as I witnessed the School go through a very traumatic and upsetting period. The School went through a very trying and difficult year in August 1947 at the time of Partition of India when a very large segment of our mates departed for their homes in Pakistan. The Head Master Mr. Drake and Staff at the time Mr. & Mrs. Fisher, Mr. & Mrs. Brown, Mr. Papworth, Mr. & Mrs. Murrey assisted us greatly in settling down. Continue reading →

BCS in WW2 – by David M. Wood-Robinson

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I and my two brothers, Mark & Colin, were some of the large number of boys who came out in 1940 to spend the war in India with our parents; while Europe was in turmoil and even the defeat of Britain seemed a possibility.

Mark & I came out with about 600 other children on a passenger ship with Thomas Cook staff looking after us and arrived in Bombay(!) in September. We started at BCS later that month but due to the large number of ‘new boys’ the Headmaster, George Sinker, took about 20 of us into his house while another similar number of older boys went to a house near the school gate with a matron in charge. These arrangements were only for sleeping and we each belonged to one of the four houses for everything else including inter-house games.

Some of my memories include stealing chemistry lab equipment to make hookahs in which we smoked all sorts of strange things, climbing over the barbed-wire school fence to ‘scrump’ bhuttas which we roasted in the school boilers and fighting with kites with ground-up glass glued onto their strings. Also that some of the older boys had their eye on Joy Sinker, the Head’s pretty daughter! And at the end of term in December, the school train spread a trail of destruction along the various lines to where the boys’ homes were all over India. Why do we always remember the naughty things?

At prize-giving every year the current Viceroy came to preside and I was lucky enough to shake hands with Lord Linlithgow, Lord Wavell and one other whose name I forget. And of course we made many wonderful friendships which I’m glad to say joining OCA has opened the possibility of renewing.

David M. Wood-Robinson
[1940-44 Ibbetson].

[EDITOR
Here is a listing of the boys who joined BCS in 1940/41/42/43/44 -  general information for those who might be interested : BCS List - 1940 to 1944 ]