Mr G. Niblett
Hon. Life President
OCA (UK)
Respected Sir,

Thank you very much for the e-mail. Sir I am deeply touched and honoured to receive such kind words from an elderly and respected gentleman. It was extremely great fortune of mine to attend the wonderful flavour of a fine get together of young and senior O.C.s at the Bombay Brasserie, London. Specially the presence of senior ladies and senior O.C.s was like the jewels in the crown. Please allow me to place on record my emotional experience with some of the elderly people. I could not resist my tears while interacting with a senior lady for whom this occasion is a platform where she revives the fond memories of  her long time lost husband every year. Frankly speaking, being a Hindi teacher, I was very nervous to make a speech because of my apprehension about my accent and communication in English. However I gathered courage, convincing myself that it is going to be my interaction with the B.C.S. family which resides overseas here in U.K. After reading out the Headmaster’s message and expressing my feelings not only the young O.C.s but even the senior ladies and O.C.s (apologies … don’t know the names) were very kind to congratulate me for my honest views. Sir your hand on my shoulders, Mr Peter Stringer’s hug and (SHABASHI…. well done) and Mr A. Bapty’s and Mr G. Sahi’s warm handshake made me feel that my parents have congratulated me who are no more in the world. This was the moment when I closed my eyes to offer my prayers to “The Holy Trinity Chapel” of B.C.S. with whose blessings I was perhaps able to pay homage to so many elderly people. This kind of generosity was not only very encouraging but will remain very precious for me. Thank you so much to each and every one of you.

While replying to your e-mail, Sir I take this opportunity to formally thank Kuljinder Bahia for honouring his promise which he innocently made while he was young boy of class 8 at his Alma mater in Shimla. After two and half decades he made me fly in the aeroplane (premium class) to his home at London. I’m extremely grateful to Kuljinder and Mrs Bahia for not only making my stay very comfortable at their house but for the kind generosity of taking care of my every expense at London. The students in the school are very often asking me about my visit to London? Beside apprising them about the entire trip I’m taking liberty of mentioning the achievements of old boys and in particular of Kuljinder for which we all are very proud of. This information I’m sure may be a great source of inspiration to the young Cottonians. I also wish to thank Kuljinder for his big heart and allowing me to bring back a fascinating framed photograph of him with Prince Charles from his Drawing room.

The another biggest support to make this visit possible was Gursant Sandhu, whose letter of invitation was a surprise which I could never dream of. He was very kind to send all the required documents for the VISA and his position as a Notary was itself enough sufficient support to do the needful. His frequent guidance cleared everything smoothly. His presence along with Simarjeet Sandhu, Young Guntaz and Surinder Chugh at the Heathrow airport to receive me speaks a volume about the kind courtesy. My stay for two days at Gursant’s house was also very comfortable. I’m grateful to Gursant and Mrs Sandhu for taking a day off from their busy schedule to show me around in the Malls at London. I want to thank Simarjeet Sandhu also for taking me out for evening walks.

I wish to express my sincere thanks to S.S. Chugh with whom I stayed for two days. I’m grateful to Surinder Mrs Chugh for their great hospitality. Surinder I will always cherish the tour of London city with you in beautiful buses (red line and blue line), in underground trains and in cruise in the Thames river. The evening walks at the Big Ben and Westminster were unforgettable. Thank you so much for showing me the entire city.

I wish to pay my gratitude to Dr. Vijay Bhaliak for coming all the way from Liverpool, spending the evening with me and hosting a delicious dinner at a very fine Indian restaurant. I remember Vijay was a very mature and responsible school captain during a crucial era in 1986.

I want to pay my thanks to Vikram Chopra for a very nice card and looking after me, Nitin Arora who flew all the way from America and invited us for a great lunch, Puneet Singh for making me speak to Mr John Whitmarsh Knight, Senior Sehmbey, Mohit Chaudhary, and many young O.C.s (please accept apologies for not remembering the names… getting old) for their encouragement and support.

I also want to thank Mrinal Vijay for showing me the Tower of London and making me walk through the famous London bridge.

I wish to express lots of thanks to Sam Grewal for showing me around in London and clicking my beautiful photographs in Kuljinder’s beautiful Ferrari and Rolls Royce. I will never forget the ride with Kuljinder in his Ferrari. A wonderful and beautiful machine and…. What a speed…!!

My humble and sincere gratitude to my Headmaster Mr R.C. Robinson who not only encouraged me to go to London but also was very kind to grant me leave during the session. Thank you so much Sir, your kind permission has made me grow further as a Public School master.

In the end once again I want to express my thanks to the O.C.A. (U.K.) Chairman Mr K.S. Bahia and Secretary Mr G.S. Sandhu for their kind gesture of showing me the world. May God Bless each one of you.

With warm regards and best wishes,
Your Sincerely,
V.S. Bhardwaj