Monthly Archives: January 2016

Lopa & Greesh Ghai

From Vijay Khurana :

Dear All,

About two weeks ago, while on a visit to Bombay, I chanced to meet Lopa Ghai at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club.

Lopa Ghai is the wife of our dear friend Greesh Ghai who passed away in August 1988 of a heart attack. He was 42.  He was, perhaps, the first one to go from our class of 1963.

Greesh and his younger brother, Rajiv, were pulled out of BCS at the end of 1962 because their parents were not enthused by the grades that these boys obtained in school. They moved to Cathedral in Bombay and eventually finished their schooling from that institution.

Rakesh Chopra and I saw a lot of Greesh during our winter breaks between 1958 and until I left Bombay in 1985.

Greesh’s father was in the timber business and they had saw mills in Yamuna Nagar and in Darukhana near the docks in Mumbai. Changing business patterns saw them see the timber business dwindle and then fade away. They then moved to a rental income stream by leasing out the large property that they owned near the docks where demand was constant with attractive rates still being available. It was no where near the margins that the timber business gave them but they were content with this alternative where the risks were lower and business enterprise was not at a premium.

Greesh was a generous and warm hearted person. He was a good friend. It is a testimony to his sterling qualities that all his close friends stood by and helped Lopa after his passing away. He had earned their loyalty. Greesh was easy going but committed to any effort when he put is mind to something. While at BCS he excelled at painting and on the games field he was a good short distant runner but his best events were the shot put and the discuss throw. He showed aptitude as a soccer defender and a decent cricket player. Sports was an activity he loved most to the detriment of his studies though he was no laggard. His marks were decent but the parents expected a scholar and that he was not !!

After Greesh’s departure, Lopa brought up their boys, Monty (named after Monty of Rivaz house and whom Greesh greatly admired) and Sanjay. Both boys went to Cathedral and then to the US for their college education. They bear a striking resemblance to Greesh. Monty is currently with BBC Worldwide based in Singapore. He is married to the niece of former film star, Vinod Khanna. Sanjay the younger boy stays with Lopa and is an importer of food products. His wife is well known in the dog grooming business.

Rajiv, the younger brother of Greesh became the victim of drug and alcohol abuse fairly early in life. It took a toll on his personality and his health. He lives in a rented apartment not far from Anand Vihar, Warden Road, the family home. He sustained an injury that has impaired his ability to walk. Lopa has provided him with full time servant help and she supervises his care on a daily basis.

Lopa looks almost exactly when I first met her in 1969. She has not changed much since the time of their marriage in 1970. Life just moved on but she brought stability to the lives of her sons. She is justifiably proud of them.

For some of you to be able to recall Greesh Ghai, I send as attachments to this mail, Rivaz house photographs for the years 1961 & 1962. In the picture for 1961, Greesh is standing in the third row, 5th from the left. He is in between Jimmy Gideon and J L Joshi. In the Rivaz House 1962 photograph he is seated 4th from the right in between Harpreet Grewal and CM Kohli, his dear friend and smoking buddy. RLV Nath was the other smoking companion and therefore a good friend.

I recall some lovely and memorable outings with Greesh during our winter holidays in Bombay. The meals at his home were always superb and his mother (she fell to cancer) made so much of an effort to make sure we were fed well. Her cooking was outstanding. (I loved the raita and the gobi she made!!) His father was a mild manner man and short of stature. He often gave in to the demands these boys made of him all the time. He loved them dearly and his was never the firm hand.

Greesh was an emotional man. He was a warm and caring friend. Despite his size and considerable physical strength he was incapable of hurting anyone. He was averse to a physical fight and therefore served as an excellent prop when you wanted to threaten anyone on the road!! One of those guys who knew he had strength but was always wary to even measure its force, let alone employ it!! A timid giant ? Not really but just a pacifist who was afraid to hurt anyone because at the back of his mind he probably knew that the damage he could inflict would be considerable if not severe!! He was just not the street fighter and that he could never be given his character and gentle temperament.

I miss him.

My kind regards and good wishes, again, for the Coming Year

Sincerely,

Vijay

OCA INDIA Annual Lunch 2016

OCA (INDIA)
1, Sri Aurobindo Marg,
New Delhi – 110 016.
Tel: 011 – 4209 2302
Web site: www.oldcottonians.org
E mail: oldcottoniansassociation@yahoo.com

LUNCH – OCA (INDIA) NEW DELHI on Sunday, 14th  February  2016 at 12.00 noon

The OCA Annual Lunch will be held at 1, Sri Aurobindo Marg, Hauz Khas, New Delhi -110 016 on Sunday, 14th   February 2016 at 12.00 noon.

i) Donation for Lunch:

(a) OCs Rs.1800/-
(b) College going OC’s Rs. 900/-
(c ) OC s’ wives and girl friends are guests No charges
Donations are sought from OCs above 70 years.
All OCs are requested to donate liberally over and above the lunch charges.

ii) Dress: Blazer with Tie/ Lounge Suit/ Combination Suit

Happy Days are here again!

Sd/-

Ajay Thiara

Secretary

OCA (India)

Note: As all OCs are not habitually accessing the Net, it is requested that, those who do, should give it wide publicity.

—————————————————————————————————————-

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FOR ATTENDING  OCA ANNUAL REUNION LUNCH

 

I, (Name) …………….…………………………………….House I/C/R/L (Please tick)

Years in School from ………..…….to……………Batch year …………………….……. Address……………………..……………………………………………………………..

E-mail ID……………………………..……………………..…………………………….

Tel: (Off)……………………………………….(Res)……………..……………………..

Mob: ………..………………………….

 

Will be attending the OCA, Lunch on 14th Feb 2016 Yes / No ………….

 

RSVP: Gopa Seal

Tel: 4209 2302      Mobile: 9899546669

OCA Reunion (batch of 1989) : update

OCA Reunion (batch of 1989)

By Gursant Sandhu – Ibbetson House

I am so glad that I could make it for the Old Cottonian’s 1989 batch Silver Jubilee celebrations in Shimla, 18th – 20thSeptember 2015. I would like to share my experience with you so I have written this short article.

Firstly, I along with my batch mates are ever so grateful and indebted to our respected Headmaster, Mr Robinson who opened the School gates and hosted us for three days. We very much appreciate that our reunion was during a busy period in the School Calendar. My batch mates and I would also like to thank Mr & Mrs Robinson for all their hospitality. A very special thank you to all the Teachers, Administrative Staff, non-teaching Staff and also to all the young Cottonians who made our experience such a memorable one.

As soon as Kuljinder Bahia and I landed at Chandigarh airport on 16th September, we were greeted at the airport exit by Kamal Kishore. Although this greeting was meant to be a brief one, we had Kamal Kishore travelling with us to Shimla and his boxing skills from our School days could not defend or match Kuljinder’s persuasive skills.  In the next 24 hours, there were lots of phone calls finding out where our batch mates were, who is travelling with whom, have they left Chandigarh, what time will everyone be in Shimla etc. – the excitement was building up as some of us, for one reason or another, had not met since passing out of School. On the 17th September, Sam Grewal was speeding up to Shimla with Amit Bakshi, Sukhtep Arora and Ankur Rohtagi in one car followed by many others. By about 8 pm on the 17th, we were under one roof – at The Marina Hotel.

The first day (18th September) of our visit to School kick started with a very touching and a heart-warming chapel service.  The Headmaster in his speech confirmed that Kuljinder Bahia has donated 50 lakh rupees to the School and that these funds are held in the School’s Bank Account. From the Chapel we headed to the main Dining Hall for tea and a game of football which was of course won by the young Cottonians.  Although we were beaten, some of us bruised by falls, and admittedly followed by days of muscle and joint aches and pains, it was nonetheless the spirit of the game and the participation which we enjoyed. Seeing some familiar faces on the first flat after the game, namely Mr Robin Sinha and Mrs Kaul bought back some lovely memories.

I hope that the interaction session between the 1989 batch and the Upper Sixth Form was productive for the budding Cottonians who will very shortly leap into a very competitive world. Ideas about business, professions, academic routes, self-development etc. were raised. General aspects of life in School, the Cottonian brotherhood, inculcating discipline and English speaking within the campus were also touched upon. Visits to Chelsea, St Bede’s College, Auckland House, town leave etc. did not go amiss. Mr and Mrs Robinson opened the doors of the Headmaster’s Lodge for us for some enjoyable drinks (as a student, a visit to the Headmaster’s Officer or Lodge meant some serious and deep trouble!) followed by Headmaster’s Dinner in the Irwin Hall.  The whole day was full of activities, interaction and was thoroughly exciting.

Although we had a very long and tiring first day, we kept to our punctual timing and were on the first floor flat at 10am on the 18th September. Our match with the School XI cricket team started at 10.30, winning the toss we elected to bat first. The game which was witnessed by the whole School, Teaching and Administrative Staff did go in favour of the School team. Nitin Arora bowled very well and I could hear the cheering from the Cottonians, which included the shouts of “c’mon He-Man” (being Nitin’s school name). These cheers were probably instigated by the bubbly and jovial Abhinav Sikka (a keen tennis player from Kullu) and Inderpal Singh Dhillon Rakesh Thakur badly injured his finger. Many catches were dropped by us, including one by yours truly. All the action was caught by Amit Bakshi on his camera.

Lunch on the second day was also in the main Dining Hall. It was delicious! There was then a brief stopover at Mr Bhardwaj’s office where we verified our ICSE marks as there was some banter about some students claiming more marks than what they had achieved, flicked through The Cottonian, general gup-shup. We had a few hours to kill post lunch, so most of us headed back to our nests. The masseur at Hotel Marina had a rather profitable day, given that by this time everyone was queuing for his service. Late afternoon, we witnessed a very competitive and enjoyable Inter-House Hindi Play Competition – a great job by all the students who participated, the organisers and the House Masters. At the request of the Upper Sixth Form boys, Kuljinder Bahia approached the Headmaster for town leave. This was immediately granted, so a good result for the boys. Another sumptuous dinner was laid for us in the main Dining Hall.

Day three (20th September) began with a Campus Tour. The Junior School has since 1989 been completely transformed. It was so nice to see Mrs Modi still active in her duties. Immediately after the Campus Tour, Kuljinder very generously donated an additional 10 lakh rupees for the development of Lefroy House cubicles! We enjoyed another lunch in School, this time with all the main school boys.

We hosted a dinner at Hotel Marina for the Headmaster, Head of Junior School, Senior Master, Second Master, Bursar, Administrative Officer, House Masters and all the teaching staff. By the time we started, the Shimla weather turned for good from a light drizzle to a dry one (although slightly cold). It was an honour for us that the such a large number of invitees attended. The Headmaster distributed souvenir plates, which had been sent all the way from Delhi by the OCA Delhi Chapter.

Kuljinder Bahia’s action of gifting 60 lakh rupees to the School is praise worthy.  It takes a huge heart to make such a generous gift, irrespective of how successful one is in his business or stable in his financial affairs. I hope that Kuljinder Bahia continues to contribute to his Alma Mater not only financially but also with his experience as successful entrepreneur. He is also liaising with the Marlborough College regarding an exchange programme for students and teachers, and we all hope that it materialises.

I take this opportunity to thank Mr Vijay Bhardwaj for many things, which include his dedication to the School and its past and present student’s, for always motivating and showing his students the correct and righteous path and for his politeness and humbleness. I have liaised with Mr Bhardwaj over the last 12 months or so trying to organise dates etc. for the reunion and as always I am grateful for the time he has given me, his guidance and support.

Thank you to Mr Dhaliwal, Mr Dinesh Thakur, Mr Danny Singh and Mr Gurprit Singh for their unbiased umpiring!

A big cheer and thank you to Mr Praveen Dharma for his time and effort in co-ordinating and supervising all the activities.

Kuljinder, Dhiraj Sardana and I left Shimla early morning on the 21st. Never shall I forget the memories attached to my batch reunion. Still kindled and strong are those friendships and bonds – which will never die.  I carried along the School Service book which I read regularly.

Please forgive me if I have missed anyone or any important aspects in this article, given that I have compiled this within a short time frame.

Before I conclude, I must thank those batch mates who made it to the reunion, including the day scholars and for all those OC’s who contributed towards the dinner hosted at the Marina Hotel. Sukhtep Singh, Pronthep (Pawanjeet) Singh and Umesh Pandey came all the way from Thailand, so the OCA Thailand Chapter survives!  I look forward to meeting all of you again, hopefully for the OCA (UK) reunion on 25 June 2016 in London.

Gursant Sandhu 
London