Sent in by Vijay (Kuttu) Singh :
I came to New York to represent OCA India, being Secretary of the Association.So let me give you a complete low down of this trip. This journey was indeed memorable. It started in Delhi with a concept of Jaspal Sawhney,which was followed and brought to reality by Ajay Sawhney & Ajay(Maxy) Bhumitra with the hardwork of the young OC Ashish Katyayan. I landed at JFK in the middle of the night,since the Virgin Atlantic flight was a few hours late. At the airport was Laxman,Ajay Bhumitra’s driver to pick me up and take me to his flat in Manhattan. All were asleep since it was 1.30 am ,but Laxman gave me a full bowl of chocolate icecream to eat. As day breaks Maxy takes me for a walking tour of Manhattan all the way to Central Park. By the afternoon Shelly Bhumitra is there from Princeton,to drive us around in his new Volvo. Next day,Maxy checks me into Lexington,a few blocks away from his flat,an iconic Hotel,where Marilyn Monroe had stayed. D day comes with the OCA- NA lunch at Kimberly Hotel,a 5 minute walk from my hotel. Here I met old friends like DK Stokes, Pompeii,Arun Bhumitra,Vivek Srivastava, Skinny Dewan&Ajay Sawhney.The best part was meeting new friends like Guram,Tony Rana,Monish Kapoor,Arun Bhalaik , Shubam Anand , Nishant Parsad , a finance wisard was keen to know about the scholarship scheme which OCA India is working on. The youngest OC was Akashdeep Verma,who came all the way from Toronto and we had Ramandeep Singh who was the most friendly and helpful to all the ladies around. Ashish Katyayan the young tech savy livewire came in late arriving at Maxy’s home where the party shifted after 4pm. Next day, Shelly Bhumitra drove Arun & me to the iconic Princeton University .It was an eye opener to see this historic University. This get together of Old Cottonians in New York was indeed an experience of a life time,seeing so much enthusiasm and love for our Alma Mater.Do hope this is carried forward for years to come. Moved on to Los Angeles ,where another OC get together was hosted by Arun Bhumitra,about which I have already posted. Cheers…it’s great to be a COTTONIAN.
…..
ATTENDEES AT OCA NA LUNCH Name of OC
1 Ajay Bhumitra
2 Smarth Galhotra
3 Arun Bhumitra
4 Hanit
5 K Vijay Singh
6 Ajay Sawhney
7 Vivek Srivastava
8 Rouble Kaul
9 Shelly Bhumitra
10 Arun Bhalaik
11 Kunal Kamra
12 Ramandeep Anand
13 Amrinder S Cheema
14 Akashdeep Verma
15 Manav Soin
16 Nishant Prasad
17 Aman khanna
19 Shailja Chopra (Bhasin)
20 Ashok Stokes
21 Prithvi Legha
22 Siddharth Mehra
23 deepak stokes
24 Mohnish Kapur
25 Maninder Guram
26 Anupam Sachdev
27 Vijay Dewan
28 Shubham Anand
29 Ashish Katyayan
30 Pradeep Yash Rana
31 D.K. Stokes
32 Inderbir Gill
33 Ayesha Karki
34 Jai Dipikar
35 Avarail Rai
……
The OCs in LA who missed the New York bash..were hosted by Arun Bhumitra ,Class of ’66 at his colossal office in Torrance.We had Paraminder(Pari)1975,Anil Sud,1969, senior most was JS Brara,1965, Mokshinder 1968 and the junior most was Jazzy Sihota 1980.Suprisingly most were meeting for the first time, but with in minutes we were bonding as true Cottonians over bottles of beer.Than we moved to El Torito,a Mexican restaurant next door, where the end was the best ,with bread pudding.After over 3 hrs of fun & gossipI handed them over the Mugs & Coasters,courtesy OCA India.They have now formed a whtsapp group for South California ,hoping to be touch more frequently.
The OCA- NA lunch at Kimberly Hotel, New York was a grand success with 46 attendees. OCs DK Stokes from Eureka, Pompeii from Boston, Guram from Houston, Arun Bhumitra from LA, youngsters from Toronto and many others came from all over.
That looks like a great time. I am based in Chicago (batch of 2012) and would love to be involved in the US chapter. Is there anyone I can reach out to?
Kuttu Singh should be able to get you in touch with the right people. Do write to kvijaysingh@hotmail.com
Or contact Arun Bhalaik at arunbhalaik@gmail.com
Posted on behalf of Johnny McLaughlin :
“Dear Editor,
Thank you for the message above from Vijay Singh, Secretary OCA India.
A Big Thank You to Jaspal Sawhney and those that helped make the trip happen.
In 2006 I Hosted Peter Stringer, Secretary of OCA UK and his wife Maggie on such a tour
and i am now verry heart warmed to hear of the enthusiasm and increase in numbers
of OC’s coming together in NA east and west and Canada.
It is amazing and wonderful to see how the common experiences of BCS in Simla
over the many years have created this close-knit family of OC’s around the world.
Hopefully it will lead to peace through cooperation in the near future.
I would have liked to have been on that trip but my age, 93 this year, would not allow it.
Helen, my wife of 70 years, and i moved to a retirement village in June of 2023,
they take good care of us here. Her health was failing and she passed on 12 30, 2023
If any would like to drop a line, my address here is;
16260 Park Lake Road, East Lansing, Michigan, USA. 48823
All the best,
Johnny McLaughlin. Ibbetson 41 – 48
jmmcl@att.net“
The Anil Sud, ’69 batch, who was lunch?
Awkward question, but who??
Anil (Donkey) Sud.Rivaz House.1969.
That was Tinku Sud Class of 1970!