Robin Gupta I.A.S (Retd.)
CURZON 1965
Formerly Financial Commissioner – In the rank of Chief Secretary
Govt. of PUNJAB.
Honorary Adviser Development
Arpana Group of Trusts
Tag Archives: Articles by OCs
BEST YEARS OF MY LIFE [at Bishop Cotton School]
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
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 ]
Bon appétit – from Al [Ashok] K. Stokes
Bon appétit – OCA Dinner.
September 18, 2011
Five months ago, I was surprised to receive an email from Sukhinder Singh and Vijay Khurana to attend the 50th class reunion. I apologize for taking so long to reply. Firstly, I was in the process of moving. Secondly, since I could not attend, I did not feel I could contribute anything.
Upper II Class Photograph:
I have included the 1956 Upper II photograph originally sent by Brandy Gill. If my memory is correct, the person in the second row behind the 7th person from the left in the front row (the person with eye glasses) is Bentick ( I don’t know if I am spelling the name correctly; I don’t know if that is his first or last name). Minor correction to Sukhinder Singh’s message “we were together in the III form” It should read Upper II and not III Form. I left after completing Upper II, the year this photograph was taken. I joined BCS in 1952 when I was 8 years old and I was expelled from BCS in 1956 when I was 12 years old.
[Click this picture for a full size view, or right-click to save it]
[EDITOR: This is the listing we had earlier from Vijay Khurana when this picture was circulated in April 2011] -
Vijay said: “I can recognise the following :
Sitting first row: (left to right) Gurdial Singh, Brandy Gill, KS Dugal, Sabharwal (Rivaz, left to join Doon), RLV Nath (second from right same row). . . but none of the others .
Standing second row( left to right) Rupinder Singh, Rakesh Sawhney, unknown and Ramesh Suthoo.
Standing third row (left to right) unknown, unknown, Ashok Anand, Ashok Mulchandani, unknown, SM Nanda, Himmat Singh, AK Stokes, unknown, Inderjit Singh (Badal).
Standing last row(left to right): Preharan Singh, JS Rarewala, Hundal, GS Anand, unknown, unknown, A Motwane].”
Graduated Senior Cambridge in 1960:
I considered Upper II as the 7th grade and VI Form as the 12th grade. After leaving BCS, I joined Modern School, New Delhi, in the 7th grade. This did not work out and I did not cooperate. I was in the boarding school. My parents then put me in day school. I was staying with my father’s friend. They thought that perhaps I was afraid of girls as Modern School is coeducational or perhaps I did not like the Hindi medium of instruction. Little did anyone know what upset me. I was only 12 years old and kept everything to myself. What bothered me was why they put me in the 7th grade when I had already completed the 7th grade in BCS. If you remember, I use to be on the top or near the top of my class. To make a long story short, I lost one year doing nothing. In 1958, my father put me in Hyderabad Public School. I insisted that I join the 7th grade which the school accepted. Luck would have it, their grading system was different. Their highest grade was not 12th grade but 10th grade. (On the first day of my class I had my Geometry class. I started with the 49th theorem. Within a few days I started to learn Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus!) So I gained two years and lost one year. That is why I graduated one year before my classmates in BCS. This is not the end of the story. My father and my elder brother both graduated in Engineering from Benares Hindu University. The only college that I applied to was Benares Hindu University. The university was prejudiced against Senior Cambridge students as it was a foreign examination. I was told I did not qualify for admission. My elder brother told me that I was foolish in applying to one college only. Once again, luck was on my side. The son of the Vice Chancellor of Benares Hindu University was in the same predicament that I was. Finally, the university admitted Senior Cambridge students. In the first year of college I stood first in my class. From then on my mother had complete faith in me. This experience had a profound effect on me. We are taught to think within a box. This taught me to think outside the box.
Uranium Enrichment by Gaseous Centrifugation 1970-1985:
I had proposed to the Government of India for providing nuclear fuel two times in 1970 and 1985. Enclosed is a 1984 article from The Tribune, Chandigarh. Both my attempts were unsuccessful and I gave up on this good idea.
[Click this picture for a full size view, or right-click to save it]
Toastmasters International 1994-Present:
Toastmasters International is a nonprofit organization that teaches public speaking, communication and leadership skills. It has 270,000 members; 13,000 clubs in 116 countries. I have been a member for 17 years. We practice original speeches that last between 5 to 7 minutes.From time to time, I have given speeches on energy in general and nuclear energy in particular. The purpose is to explain in a non-technical the various facets and aspects of energy. I had stated earlier that I felt I could not contribute anything. Then, it occurred to me that this information would be educational to the students at Bishop Cotton School. I have introduced several new terms such as Nugami (portmanteau of Nu for new or Nu from Nuclear and gami from origami) and Hatt (portmanteau of H from Heat and att from Watt). My proposal was based on providing 100% Nuclear Energy. This included both generating electricity and providing hydrogen fuel for automobiles by the electrolysis of water. France has come close to providing 100% electrical energy though they have not gone as far as using hydrogen fuel. They closed the last coal mine a few years ago. So far only Iceland and a few other countries have experimented with hydrogen as a fuel. I had proposed one 1 Gigawatt Electrical / 3 Gigawatt Thermal (in my terminology 1 Gigawatt / 3 Gigahatt) Nuclear reactor for every 100,000 (one lakh) population. The title of my paper is: Energy is almost God… and God said “Numbers do not lie”. I had hoped to complete this paper by now but it has taken longer than I had estimated. Firstly, I had changed from a Microsoft PC to an Apple Mac and had minor software issues in producing the documents. Secondly, some of the documents were done on a phototypeset over 40 years ago. I want to convert these documents into digital format instead of just scanning the documents. As a sneak preview I have included a document “Nugami.pdf“. When you print this, make sure the “Page Scaling” is set to “None” so that you get a full size of the drawing. If printed correctly, the 32 x 32 grid should measure 6.375 inches by 8.25 inches (75% of 8.5 inches x 11.0 inches sheet of paper).
Hope to send the complete article as soon possible. Maybe the students at BCS will find it useful educationally.
Regards,
Al (Ashok) K. Stokes
EDITOR: Here is an email from Vijay Khurana to Ashok [published online with permission from all concerned!]
The Collins English Gem (Pocket) Dictionary . . . .
. . . . (Latest Print 1967)* and ‘The People who reside within it’ *
- By Vivek Bhasin
On Page 209 ( Fray through fret) lives one Cuneyt Erturhan: year 1995
This Johnny was a sprightly young Turk who made sure that whenever my ship sailed into the port of Gemlik, Turkey he was there to process all documents and clear us inwards. He was a genuine piece and very sincere. Gemlik is situated south of Istanbul and many long evenings into early mornings were spent in the city of Bursa, enjoying Kebabs , Raka and those wispy belly dancers swaying to infectious sounds. Coming back on board in those early hours I would smell strong coal fires; this was the winter of 1995 and the range of mountains in the distant were covered with snow. Cuneyt lives on and works his pretty ass off, a good human being; sadly he never came back on to my ship as when we sailed we never returned.
On Page 243 (heaven through heliostat) lives one Mohammed A.S. Jubair: Year 1994
Mohammed Jubair was Vice-President of Jubair Trading Company that was established in 1923. The company owned Pomegranate Soft Drink, Zingy Soft Drink, Great Whale Transport and purchased 100 forty foot containers of Bananas every week; Bananas that my ship bought in to the Port of Lattakia, Syria. The Bananas were further transported by land to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and even more far off places deep into the Middle East. If ever there was a kind hearted soul it was Mr. Mohammed Jubair. Every two weeks when we arrived he sent his Mercedes ( Stretched ) to pick me up and take me out to Dinner. Fresh Red Snapper was my favourite and we enjoyed many evenings looking over the sandy beach into the stillness of the Mediterranean. And though that was not enough Mohammad always invited me home to meet the family and his beautiful wife. Opulence is a tame word if one has to describe the Jubair Mansion. Arabian Nights and much more. With Chandeliers specially manufactured by Swarovski, the softest of carpets made from Pashmina, the beautiful oil paintings that he had won at auctions from Sotheby’s London and this exquisite life size painting of his wife. Gold plated faucets, mineral water from Hawaii and Coffee, pure Jamaican Blue Mountain. To further rock my senses he proudly showed me his own private Zoo. Gorillas from Africa, Pythons, Lions, Pandas, Macaws, Peacocks and Pumas and yes two crocodiles from India… .’ I love them all very much, Captain Vivek’. I bet he did as I always jumped up from bed when the sea was rough and remembered those ‘snappers’!!
On page 275 ( inveigle through iridium) lives Manvendra Singh : Year on Year on Year
True Cottonian. Now based in Mumbai, he works for Air France. In fact I spoke to him yesterday; he was in Delhi. The last two times we met were when he accompanied my brother and me to Hardwar in May 2008 with my Father’s ashes, and when my daughter got married on April 04th 2010. But regardless the connection is instant, never loss of recognition but a joy to hear each other again.
On Page 307 ( lorgnette through low) lives Carlos H.Ochoa: Year 1990-1995
A man of leisure. Loads of Moola, Doe, Cash. Monte Cristo Cigars, Courvoisier Brandy, Gucci shoes, Creed Cologne and a beautiful wife by his side who flies to Paris to get her hair in coiffure every fourteen days. She has an hour glass figure just as Don Carlos is rotund and lumpy but the way they glide and slide on the dance floor, be it the salsa or meringue, they sure do turn each other on and me!. Carlos owned the biggest boat docked at the Cartagena Marina and invited all his other (Rich) friends for a spin of Blue Marlin Fishing. A true Colombian he has invited me a zillion times to travel through that amazing country and see the sights of so many beautiful widows; their ferocious husbands all wasted by the drug cartels of Medellin, Cali and Bucaramanga. Boy do I love Colombia!! He promised I would be safe in his armour plated Hummer. Carlos I am told, now shuttles between Key Largo, Coral Gables and his beloved Cartagena.
On page 411 ( proportion through protect) lives Capitan Odd Viste (Year 1990-2003)
Odd still lives in the Collins Gem, although he is no more. A Dane by birth he navigated the oceans; married, had children, sent them back to Copenhagen to study and get a better life ( his wife died before him); so just as they all do, he married a slender smashing Air Hostess twenty five years his junior. She is Ecuatoriana so what option does a man have when tropical lush Ecuador beckons. He built a house in Guayaquil and became of a collector of Guns. From Uzi to AK 47 he collected them all, from Lugers to Smith & Wesson’s were his wife’s passion; she really was a pistol packin’ senorita. They always took me to El Caracole Azul (The Blue Shell) restaurant famous for its Fish, more so for its famous Chilena owner. I never got into his hobby of becoming a Gun Collector ( though the thought of becoming a Bounty Hunter did excite me when I saw ‘Last Train to Yuma’) I remained content with my possessions of Ecuadorian Panama Hats and a beautiful Oil Painting that hangs on the wall in Mashobra. God Bless Odd Viste’s soul.
On Page 503 ( stalking-horse through star) resides Capt. Ronald Dull: Year 1990-1994
A pilot on the St. John’s River leading up to the Port of Jacksonville, Florida where my ship docked every two weeks. Jacksonville, largest city in the United States and I visited that port 85 times during the years from 1990 to 1994. Ron-Dull always looked forward to taking my ship in; he was as young as me and kept me updated on the events at the weekend. My emphasis was on Hard Rock Concerts and many I have witnessed in the flesh out there. David Bowie, Blue Oyster Cult, Steppenwolf, Deep Purple and Peter Frampton. Well if Ron Dull is my age, he is still there. Clambering aboard those giant ships approaching the eastern seaboard of the US, safely guiding them in. Though I am not sure if the Captains on board ask him the latest Rock News .
On Page 549 ( tricolor through tritium) lives Gulay Gonen: Year 1995
Her card states CEO of a company called ECG Bilgi Islem, based in Bursa Turkey. She was an IT expert and worked and updated our ship’s computers. I could always get a whiff of her presence even before she arrived on the Bridge; she smoked the strongest Turkish Cigarettes and those days smoking was not an offence ( just as it is today off New Delhi railway station). She was a wonderful and kind hearted lady and revealed a secret that must stand between her, me and us Cottonians. She was a member of the Masonic Lodge……. Nothing more can be revealed.
*Business Cards discovered in Vivek Bhasin’s Collins English Gem Pocket Dictionary that was given to him by his Mother in February 1968 when he entered Class SHELL. She wrote Vivek C. Bhasin, Bishop Cotton School, Simla-2 on the first page. The dictionary that has travelled with him since then and now lives at his bedside in Weybridge, England. ( 9th September 2011)
A School Boy’s Story
I was a young school boy studying at Bishop Cotton School, Simla when partition took place. After 60 years I was invited to the School for its 150th Anniversary and I then decided to write about myself and the journey from Simla to Lahore made possible by the kindness of many from both sides but mainly from the Indian side. The story is
factual. I shall be too glad to answer any queries.
Sincerely,
Iftikhar Malik
Lahore
A Schoolboys story – 1946/1947:
The winter of 1946 was spent with my grandmother and parents, brothers and sister in the village on the banks of the river Chenab on the GT Road in District Gujrat. It was cold and frost covered the land in the mornings. The sun came up shortly before noon for a few hours before people retired and smoke from their homes wound up and settled at a height.
I was a boarder at BCS in Simla and as I had learnt the best way of spending holidays was to walk around the house, fag for my elder cousins Nasim and Akhtar, play football with the local schoolboys and read stories. The elders in the family excelled in medicine, civil service, engineering and were a source of inspiration for me and books around the house on the subjects were of some interest. Grandfather’s desire was that all his children excel in studies and they did not let him down. Visits to the fields were interesting especially where jaggery was prepared.
Off and on news from the city about a rebellion, civil disobedience, public meetings, hartals, tear gas and those who were arrested in the city defying the authorities filtered down to the village. Some of the village folk who used to go to the city would return and tell us what happened. The word ‘Pakistan’ featured prominently and the village bard hoped to be sitting in the ‘Coamatee’ Hall ! Continue reading
“Ingredients for a Real Close Shave” – writing by Vivek Bhasin
Another good piece of writing by Vivek Bhasin:
Ingredients for A Real close shave……
..yes the Moon that evening was at its brightest; its closest in nineteen years so they say to Madre Tierra. Saturday 19th March 2011/1920 hrs. We sea dogs would called it perigee…..What a sight as I shot up the stairs off Embankment and took the Millenium Bridge and then walking at my own pace towards South Bank, simply stunned by the magnamity yet peacefulness of the Bright Satellite. I was coerced into buying a ticket for a Piano concert by Lola Perrin at the Purcell Hall…..and though her genre was classical and mine Pure Rock like Rata Blanca*, nonetheless I wanted to give her a chance to take a bit-o-cheese of my flesh….
HOW DO YOU BECOME A WORLD BRAND?
For me at least, my start and my present journey through my life, my family, my career and friends always and invariably has the umbilical cord connected to the heart beat of Bishop Cotton School. I sometimes reflect on my present juncture and try to tick of in my mental check list if what I am today, what I have done in the past and what sort of a person I have become has the grains of BCS imbibed in me. Possibly yes in many ways.
The English alphabet and children’s nursery rhymes I was taught by my Mother in such a clever way that at the age of Five when I entered School I was supercharged with intelligence that I was given a double promotion to ‘Transition’….I had to work doubly as hard to ensure that when I finished Sixth Form I was barely 15 years old.
The love for American Wrigley’s and Rowntree Fruit Gum , Toblerone and Black Magic chocolates I got from my Father who always returned home after piloting the grand old cargo ships up the Hoogly River with these goodies for my Brother and I.
Nature Study I learnt from Mrs Advani; the ferns, the sweet peas, the dandelions and the rare four leafed clover.
The Beatles Abbey Road and the Red Coloured LP I first saw with Pawan ‘Aku’ Pawa.
English cut suits and patent leather shoes from Homer Gill.
The Love of Hot Bread with Sugar and boiled potatoes from the School Bakery and the Kitchen.
Commerce from Mr Malvea (and the Poetasters of Isphan; the Lefroy House play)
The map of India from Mr Mull who could draw it so beautifully on the black board, blind folded.
The art of beautiful writing from Mr Paul.
The art of crawling from Mr Bharpur Singh
..and the art of never getting caught, sliding down the Anderson Staircase or placing one foot in side the fountain by the Sly Gang: Father Bhasin-Anil Chopra and Prabuddha Singh…
The art of making traps: Michael Banon and Rajiv Pandit
The art of staying young: Krit Tippakorn
To read Shakepeare’s Macbeth by heart ..by Anil Mediratta and Karan Singh who used to rant it talking in their sleep.
..and profound apologies to Mr Bhasin ( and Raja Bhasin); his scooter ventured away from the straight and narrow, losing control finding its way to the Khuds…and we having to lift it on our backs and bring it back; feigning innocence.
The second lady I ever kissed at the age of Five, was Mrs Goss our Linlithgow matron ( before going to bed) who insisted we do so after kneeling down, saying our prayers, our faces plastered with BCS vaseline
…But today with all those memories, tuition and wisdom intact..having visited 85 countries…and speaking 5 languages…feeling at home in Himachal, Rajasthan..England, Sweden, Costa Rica, Chile, Belgium and Italy to name a few, I feel the time has come to give back to my School. To go and show the young men what the world is all about and what they can do about it…. As Cottonians we are part of that exclusive Club….we need to form a Network Club…to pool our resources and help each other FIRST…. The Old Boys Club is an established fact. Our own careers, our own businesses….within the pool we should first seek out another Cottonian and try to help, advise, assist in any way possible. This needs to be done.
…at least for me. When I walk up the gangway on to one of our super container ships, or enter the Board Room of my Company, or shrug down my bespoke suit and Tommy Hilfiger Ties with the green silk patch in my jacket; wash away the suave smell of Tuscany ( that I pinched from my brother)..and take on my Levis 517, a pink double cuff shirt, a paisley bandana, a borsolino hat, Grenson boots, a bespoke white leather belt from DaMilano, gel my hair..sitting behind the mixer console at the ‘Sound of Your Life’ taking the role of a Radio Presenter, playing a heavy track from Rata Blanca ( a hard rock act from Argentina)….changing my voice from the Queens English to A New York twang and then say Buenos Dias y Vaya con Dios* and later Hej sa lange*…or being the MC at the Salaam Balak Trust’s ‘Salaam Rocks’……I AM NOT BLOWING MY TRUMPET.
I AM TELLING THE WORLD WHAT ALL I HAVE DONE AND WHAT ALL I STILL DO…AND WHAT ALL STILL NEEDS TO BE DONE. I MAY BE INDIAN, NATIONAL, INTERNATIONAL AND PROJECT MANY FACADES. HOWEVER I DO HAVE ONE PERMANENT DEPARTURE POINT; ONE PERMANENT BRAND.
…THE BRAND OF BISHOP COTTON SCHOOL….
(Some one needs to play the Chapel Piped Organ SO LOUD that the world gasps in admiration… All Good things should and must emanate from BCS)
Vivek Bhasin
Lefroy 1961-1970
* Buenos Dias y Vaya con Dios: Good Morning and Go with God.(Espanol)
* Hej sa lange: See you soon again (Swedish)