Monthly Archives: April 2011

OCs Week Celebrations 2011 / BCS

THE OLD COTTONIAN’S WEEK CELEBRATIONS ~ BCS 2011

Programme
Monday, 30th May   :
09:00 a.m.  : Special Chapel Service in the Holy Trinity Chapel   
6:00 p.m.  : Junior School Variety Entertainment

Tuesday, 31st May  :
09:00 a.m.  : Annual Past vs. Present games fixtures
07:30 p.m.  : Dinner in the Headmaster’s Lodge

Wednesday, 1st June  :
09:00 a.m.  : Annual Speech Day
11:00 a.m.  : Annual Cricket Match against Old Cottonians
02:00 p.m.  : Lunch in the Main School dining hall      
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Dress Code: – Blazer/suit and tie for the Speech Day Function, Chapel Service and Dinner in the Headmaster’s Lodge.

Blazer and white flannels for those involved in the cricket match and track suits for other games.

Col. R. Dewan
Secretary OCA (India)

What does the Royal Wedding have to do with BCS?

Friday 29th April 2011-1153 hrs:
Prince William married the love of his life Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey, London.
They are now The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
And what a beautiful and spectacular ceremony it was.
As always the British fine tuned the entire affair down to the last silk thread of Catherine’s stunning wedding dress designed by British Fashion House Alexander McQueen.
When it comes to precision engineering of Global Events, we Indians need to grasp and learn organisational skills from the Brits.
Though, the cherry on the wedding cake is something we Cottonians should be proud of! Our connection with the Young Royal Couple is linked to Catherine; her Alma Mater is Marlborough College, where OUR founder Bishop COTTON was Headmaster……..now which other School on Indian soil can beat that?!!”

Capt. Vivek Bhasin
Lefroy 1961-1970
Chairman OCA (United Kingdom)

Delhi / NCR Chapter

Dear OCs,
In my previous letter there was mention of the various Chapters of OCA (India) and the need to structure them within certain geographic limits. I have not had any feed back as yet from any of the members on this subject.

Even the Delhi or NCR Chapter, as it should be called, has not really been constituted and has not been functioning as a distinct body. The members from this region should take steps to do so. For this purpose, I have requested Neel Kamal Mehra  to convene a meeting of active OCs of this region so that they can choose their representatives. While he has the e-mail addresses of many and so does Jaspal Sawhney, it would make matters simpler if the members from NCR should contact him at nkmehra@gmail.com and give their contact details to facilitate this.
With best regards,
B.M.Singh

Minutes of the Meeting [India AGM 2011]

AGM – 7th April 2011

1.         The AGM was held at 1 Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi on 7th April 2011.

2.         52 members attended the AGM this year. *

3.         The President, Mr. DC Anand briefed the House and thanked his committee for the good work put in by all. He also apprised the House that the school is going to start a staff exchange program with the famed Marlborough College in UK which will run concurrently with the current student exchange program.

4.         Two minutes of silence was observed for the members and others close to the OCA who passed away in the recent past.

1. Roshan Lal Vashisht, Staff                         Nov 28, 2010
2. KN Shakabpa (1954 batch)                         Sept 16, 2010
3. Meera Batra w/o late Vice Admiral RN Batra (C, 1920-37)
4. Adarsh Talwar                                            Dec 2, 2010
5. Maj Gen. Keshav Chander Khanna (R, 1924-33) Dec 18, 2010
6. HS Sidhu (L 1947-49)
7. Hasan Agha (Last Indian captain of undivided India) Nov 16, 2010
8. Chand Prakash Akers (L, 1949)                 Feb 25, 2011
9. Mukesh K Sethi (I, 1960-68)                      March 27, 2011

5.         He also informed that Rs. One crore, that was contributed by the OCA to the school for infrastructure expansion, has tripled  to Rs three crore on account of the contribution of 2 crore by the School. The President further stated that the corpus will be used for building state-of-the-art accommodation for the staff. Separate accommodation for Class IV employees of the school will be built below the bye-pass road. The House appreciated the fund-raising efforts as well as the expansion plans. Mr. KC Anand’s efforts of raising funds was appreciated.

6.          The House was informed that an infrastructure committee of the OCA will be constituted to get regular updates relating to the utilization of the infrastructure corpus by the school. Mr. Tejinder Singh had already drawn up a road map for the planned expansion and up gradation of the school’s infrastructure. Members also agreed that there should be fund raising efforts from OCA (India) to further increase the Infrastructure corpus so as to bring the road map to fruition.

7.       The School had repaid the  entire  loan and  was  debt free. It had also been able to  fund the entire  arrears of  Gratuity that was outstanding  during the  previous period.  The members of the House appreciated the healthy financial status of the School.

8.         After serving the OCA (India) as its President since 1987 Mr. Deep C Anand announced that he is stepping down as President of the OCA (India) and felt that there’s a need for younger lot to lead the organization. He was steadfast in his resolve to exit from the post of President even though many requested him to continue.

Secretary’s Report
9              The  Secretary briefed the house about the accounts of the OCA (India). Mr. A.K. Mehra, member stated that there were no   adverse remarks by the Auditors. He then read the Auditor’s report for the financial year ending 31 March 2010. Balance sheet is attached. The accounts were scrutinized by the members. The statement of Accounts for the year 2009-2010 was unanimously passed and adopted.

10.       The House approved retention of Davinder S Jaaj & Co. having its office at SCO 18, II Floor, Sector 17 E, Chandigarh as the auditors for the next financial year.

11.          Mr. A K Mehra clarified that since Tax Exemption for the OCA had been obtained till 31 March 2011, there was a need to hold the AGM latest by April 2011. However, the next AGM should be held before September 30, so as to file various returns in time. The Secretary has been advised to file the application for the renewal of statutory exemptions based on Audited Account as on 31st  March, 2010 along with other information required to be filed.

12.       The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved unanimously. The list of those who attended the AGM is attached *

13.       The Centenary celebrations of the Old Cottonian’s Association organized in 2010 went without a glitch. The efforts of OCA Chandigarh Chapter were lauded by the members. Mr. Sukhinder Singh elaborated about the successful celebrations in the run-up to the OC Week organized by his chapter which included a Golf match between OC and old Boy’s of Lawrence School, Sanawar. OC’s, of course, were victorious. Mr. Sukhinder Singh also informed about the dinner hosted at the Taj, Chandigarh and the Centennial drive to the school with an overnight halt at Barog where a campfire and barbeque was organized. The members appreciated the efforts of the Chandigarh and North India chapter in organizing the event.

14.       The Secretary Col. R Dewan read out a letter in front of the House sent by OC Rajinder S. Thakur. Thakur, in his letter addressed to Secretary,  said “I urge you to postpone the  AGM and elections till such a time that the constitution is amended.” To this Mr. Anil K Mehra replied to the House that it cannot be done as not holding the AGM within 15 months of the last AGM would be against the constitution of the OCA (INDIA).

Thakur objected to the point that an OC residing outside Delhi could not contest the OCA (India) elections. His letter further reads “I urge you to postpone the elections of the OCA and prevent them from being held under a clause that is appalling to say the least. If this is not done, then I’m sure I speak for a majority when I say that you can have your 15 people having lunch every year, but please excuse us if we refuse to consider it as the association representing ALL Old Cottonians.”

The Secretary informed the House that a committee formed to amend the present Memorandum of Association (MOA) has already uploaded the proposed MOA in the OCA website for scrutiny of the members. The OCA members can give suggestions to their respective chapters by May 15, 2011. Thereafter the chapters will nominate two members each who will then deliberate over the pertinent suggestions forwarded by the OCA members across the country within a given time fame. Thereafter the matter will be put up before an EGM for approval of the amended MOA.

Elections
Mr. Inni Bawa (Rivaz 1954 – 59) stated that without outgoing President Mr. DC Anand’s support, the OCA (India) will just whither away as it has happened in the past. He therefore categorically proposed that Mr. DC Anand continue as the President Emeritus of the OCA (India). The resolution was unanimously passed by the House. After being the torchbearer of the organisation for 24 years, the outgoing President Mr. DC Anand graciously accepted the honour bestowed on him by the members of the House.

At the close of the AGM, a suggestion was received from members of the House that there shouldn’t be a complete break from the past in running the OCA (India). Col (Retd) R. Dewan was unanimously asked to continue and he graciously agreed to do so. PRESIDENT, Emeritus, Mr. DC Anand proposed the name of Mr. BM Singh (C, 57-63) as the new President of the OCA (India) and this was accepted by the House. Mr. Harpreet Singh Khatkar (R, 80-90) and Mr. Anupam Thapa (C, 83-95) were co-opted to the Executive Committee of OCA (India).

Col. R. Dewan
Secretary OCA (India)

* The list shows names of 43 OCs who registered. The other OCs failed to register.

Letter to all OCs – from BM Singh

Dear OCs,
I feel privileged in addressing this letter to all fellow OCs after my election as President of OCA (India). I accept this responsibility with all humility and with some apprehension too. There are some OCs who feel that the organization is not inclusive but too Delhi centric and want a greater say in its management. That our MOA needs to be amended is accepted by all and, to this effect, a draft has been prepared by the constituted committee and hosted on our website. It is open for members to offer their suggestions, which will be further screened by representatives of all chapters and put to vote at an EGM. By this open democratic process we hope to eliminate most, if not all grievances, of members.

At this juncture I would like to put across to you what the OCA means to me. It has a dual function. While being an organization, which is a platform for all old students of BCS to meet, socialize and bond, preferably across all ages; we have to also, in an altruistic manner, provide support, financial and moral, to B.C.S. without interference with the actual running of the school. We do have representation on the Board of Governors and, to that extent, help in the framing of policies of the management.

In every group or association there would be diverse views on all subjects. It would be our endeavor to listen and take into consideration all the varied suggestions before proceeding further. In furtherance of this objective I would like to take this opportunity to request each of the Chapters to suggest the names of two members who could participate as members of the Committee.

While on the subject of Chapters of OCA (India), we should further fine-tune their geographic limits taking into account the number of OCs residing there in. Delhi or NCR, Northern (comprising of Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana and J&K) and Himachal Pradesh are generally accepted but what about the rest of India? The Bombay or Mumbai chapter has many members but does it only comprise of Maharashtra or also the other adjoining states? Moreover, how many OCs reside in the southern and eastern states? Are there enough to constitute separate chapters or should they be part of say a ‘Rest of India’ chapter. These are all matters, which require urgent resolution and I request all active members to write in with their views. We at the office of OCA (India) will also be perusing the list of members to arrive at some understanding of this issue and if there are OCs who are willing to lend a helping hand, they are most welcome.

B.M.Singh

BCS Boys create sea-diving history

Pranav Sardana, 10 and his brother Ayush, 8, both students of Bishop Cotton School, Shimla, [their mother is a Sky Diver and jumped for BCS for the 150th] have created history by qualifying for the junior open water diver course and bubblemaker course respectively. Pranav is the youngest boy from Himachal to obtain the license from Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), USA, a premier diver training organization. He has the license to perform diving in sea anywhere in the world, whereas Ayush has learnt the art of bubblemaker in diving.

The brothers said they have undergone rigorous theory and practical training sessions since past three months to learn sea diving […… read more here]

Rajiv Sharma – BCS 1951-59 Curzon – obituary

Dear relatives and friends,

My beloved younger brother Sonny (Rajiv Sharma) died of C.O.P.D. Emphysema on the 2nd of April, 2011, in Germany where he worked, most eminently and successfully, as a broadcaster and programmes executive for Radio Deutschewelle. I shall miss him deeply. For details regarding Rajiv, please see the attached three items.

Partap [Sharma]

Attachments:
1 of 3 attachments
2 of 3 attachments
3 of 3 attachments

“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….

Read / download the full document here