Dear Anna,
Thank you for your message which has come as a shock and a surprise.
Emotions overwhelm you on such occasions.My earliest memories of Ramani, which is the name we knew her by until she
changed to Mary, is of a little girl immaculately turned out playing in the
garden just above the basketball court which is where your parents first
resided when they moved to Simla. Your parents did not hesitate to display
their affection for this little girl who always seemed shy. She found it
easy to constantly attach herself to her mother and then peer at you from
behind her mother’s sari. She would then smile with hesitation. Small and
casual images but they remain such clear memories etched in my mind. Trivial
and insignificant as these are, they take you back to the happy days of
places, people and events that happened so long ago.There is now a graphic contrast from that little happy girl to a grown woman
who just past on in life. Two starkly different events more than 50 years
apart strike you as collective memory and you say to yourself, “What
happened ? Did this passage of time move so quickly ?” Disbelief.I just called and spoke with Sara a few minutes ago. This is another hard
blow after the passing away of your mother in June this year. Ramani’s
photograph bears such a close resemblance of your father, Mr P M Varughese.
Suddenly this family comes back and we can only think of them with affection
and gratitude for the fact that they touched our lives.On behalf of all those who remember and knew her, The Old Cottonian
Association, we offer our deepest condolences to your families and you. May
her soul rest in peace.With kind regards
Sincerely,
Vijay
—–Original Message—–
From: A. Siromoney
Sent: 28 December 2017 12:07
To: Vijay Khurana
Subject: Death of Mary d/o PM VarugheseDear Mr Khurana
I know that my older sister Mary (Ramani) Varughese kept in touch with the
old Cottonians. She was suffering from terminal lung cancer diagnosed in
July 2016. Thanks to the efforts of the doctors at CMC Vellore she enjoyed
fairly good health for nearly 16 months; but the cancer eventually overtook
the available therapies by September. I regret to inform you that she passed
away on 20th November in Delhi at my other sister Sara’s home.The funeral and burial was conducted in at her church in Coonoor, Nilgris
Dist, Tamil Nadu on 24 Nov.She studied up till Std VI in BCS, VII -IX at Convent of Jesus and Mary,
before my father moved to the Nilgris where she completed her schooling in
1969.I am attaching the PDF of the obituary in the Hindu (all editions).
Yours sincerely
Anna Siromoney(nee Varughese)
Monthly Archives: December 2017
2017 Christmas letter
A 2017 Christmas Letter..
Confession :I took away some grapes from a vineyard in Chile…
“School’s out for the Summer .. “
pelted Rock Legend Alice Cooper with a Boa Constrictor around his neck. The dude was the son of a clergy man and his real name was a something- something Furnier; the band in which he kicked ass as vocalist was called A-C.Cooper progressed from Badass Shock-Rock God to the quieter side of life where he excelled and improved his handicap at Golf..( he hit that ball straight as a flaming arrow renaming himself “Golf Monster”).
When I was a young lad at Bishop Cotton School, the seniors had formed a pop band called “The Cat” and played some really cool numbers with James Gideon, Benjamin Gilani and a few other cool cats ! I remember how James used to twist across the stage in Irwin Hall wearing skin tight trousers ( today called slim and tight fit ) and real sharp pointy shoes …
as juniors I remember the song ..
“If you missed the train I’m on
You will know that I am gone
You can hear the whistle blow
.. a hundred miles….”I went to School in the 1960’s, at that time English Pop and American Rock were slowly entering our musical blood streams. Aku Pawa had a Red Vinyl of The Beatles Abbey Road..and we all used to crowd around the music system in the Common Room dreaming of growing our locks like John, Paul,George and Ringo..yes only dreaming.
2017 ends it’s last days here in Sweden with snow, blue skies and sharp sunshine for those brief minutes of the day.. barely four hours of daylight. Tropical tourists head further north to a place call Jukkasjärvi; book in at the Ice Hotel ( yes the creation melts away in the summer) they look up at the glorious heavens to see the Northern Lights.. a sweep of bright lights in orange reds pinks blue and greens..
Well from the first flat in School you may not see those northern lights but you do see the Belt of Orion, The Great Bear and the Pole star. Simla is crisp at this time of the year.. if you do venture in through the gates, the emptiness of School with its silence is pure deafening.
As they’ve all gone home..
Back here in Sweden it’s “Julafton”, Christmas Eve that is celebrated. This year the grandchildren will clasp my hand and we shall all dance around the Christmas Tree…
The fare…Christmas Ham, Pickled Herring, Jonsson’s Temptation, Smoked Salmon, Saffron buns with RAISINS..Ris-a-la-malta and Marabou chocolates…then a toast for peace in the world..
for peace in our lives..
for peace in our Beautiful School. ..
For peace to all Cottonians !At a wine tasting on a vineyard in Chile two years ago , very nonchalantly I stuffed a few dark red and purple grapes in my Levi’s; then in the evening discarded the pair in a corner of my closet. For some strange reason the other day I had the urge to don that pair again… two years later. I slipped my hand inside the pocket and felt something soft like rubber .. I pulled out six little pieces of …..Grapes from Los Andes Chile; dried and “raisined”!! Tasting sweet with the right twang of alcohol, I knew I had some winners here… placing them on the saffron buns as pure beautiful raisins; part of the Christmas fare…
For Alice Cooper “ School’s Out for the Summer”..
For us Cottonians “ School’s Out
for the winter “A Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year Ladies and Gentlemen.
Amen.
Vivek Bhasin
Lefroy 1961-1970
A day before Julafton-Christmas Eve at
Karlstad, Sweden
Today is Billy Gill’s first death anniversary
Dear All,
Today is Billy Gill’s first death anniversary.
I have been hunting for information about the gentleman and what I have obtained is grossly inadequate but entirely complimentary. To anyone I turn, all that I am able to glean about this life is his abiding interest in cars and the single malt whiskey club. It would have been sufficient material for PG Wodehouse to write a seriously witty piece. I possess no such talent. Surely there was more to the man than his frequent run-ins with Badal on these mails. Badal could not resist twisting his tail and Billy never failed to honour the bait. Those exchanges were hilarious and I had to often urge Badal to tone it down a bit lest it got out of hand. Badal was always in control and he knew exactly where to poke or provoke.
Billy, the son of an army officer, possessed all the bearings of a person from the services. It was the way he tied his turban, neat, clean and with accentuated folds that resulted in a pointed sharp turban unlike the sloppy placement that resembled a hot water bottle on the skull. His Sunday suit was always well ironed and his double-breast blazer made him always look impeccable. He was always well turned out. He learnt that possibly from his father. Billy was always in the lead when it came to issues, never the one to be left behind and Sukhinder will remember those encounters only too well. I witnessed one such meeting but I am told that these were a regular between the two them. Often the result was a stand off and no one the decided winner but within minutes they would be discussing the next drinking session and the previous exchange had been set aside as idle banter, which it often was!
My little impressions are vague and very generalised but the Billy I recall was feisty, a good friend and most of all generous. Is there more than any one can add on this day in memory of a good man. I will be grateful for any input.
May Billy rest in peace.
Warmly,
Vijay
[Vijay Khurana]