Dr Ravi Thomas – passed on

We are saddened to announce the sudden and untimely demise of Dr Ravi Thomas BCS Batch 1969.

Condolences to Ravi’s family and friends.

[following received from Indi khanna, as received by him from Ravi’s daughter who has also requested that the two images be put side by side];

Prof. Ravi Thomas

Following his graduation from Bishop Cotton School, Ravi studied medicine at the Christian Medical College and specialised in ophthalmology at the All India Institute of Medicine. He soon became an internationally respected teacher, academic and mentor to many.

He is someone who pushed the boundaries for his patients, his students, and his clinical research. He took delight in challenging more conventional mindsets.

With his wife’s support, he was as brilliant as he was kind in everything he did. Not only in caring for his patients, but also his respect for all support staff.

He has left a legacy of colleagues and students who channel his work, his research, his ethics and most importantly, his empathy.

All he ever wanted was to help those who needed it the most.

He will be deeply missed around the world.

He is survived by his loving wife Promilla, his son Ariez, and his daughter Aleysha.

Ajay Sawhney
– on behalf of  Batch of 1969 :

I am sorry to report the sad and untimely demise of Dr. Ravi Thomas. Ravi was a dear friend from our early school days atBishop Cotton School, Shimla. He passed away unexpectedly in Brisbane, Australia on November 12 , 2023.

I will always remember Ravi fondly for his jovial nature and his willingness to try anything. In school, Ravi excelled in academics and gymnastics. He was also quite an accomplished violinist. Ravi was always a happy-go-lucky type of character. It was hard to offend him. After school, we lost touch for a couple of years. However, we were fortunate that Ravi was able to join us for the 48th and the 50th anniversary of our graduation from high school. It was amazing how the gap of a few years of not seeing each other melted in five minutes when we got together. It was as though we were back in school. He was still the fun-loving Ravi that we remembered . When we said goodbye,Ravi was optimistic that we would get together again soon. However, sadly, it was not to be.

Ravi was an accomplished ophthalmologist who had earned a well-deserved reputation both for his clinical and research skills. After completing his MD from Delhi, where he specialized in glaucoma and paediatric ophthalmology, Ravi chose to return to his hometown in Vellore, Tamil Nadu. There, like his father, Ravi rose to become the Head of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Christian Medical School in Vellore.Ravi subsequently worked as the Director of the LV Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad and was invited to deliver the Gillies lecture at the World Glaucoma Congress in Melbourne, Australia in 2019. Ravi was also the author of several papers on primary angle closure disease and was a visiting professor in China.

In addition to his interest in Ophthalmology,Ravi took up martial arts and earned a Black Belt. At the reunion, Ravi was always willing to show you how he could personally send you to your maker with his bare hands!

Ravi is survived by his wife, Promilla, a daughter and one son. Ravi will be sorely missed by all his friend sand family. May the Almighty grant his soul eternal peace.

OCA Website : archived

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This OCA Website now stands static and all posts and articles have been archived.
These will continue remain accessible though no new content will be added.

The archives are listed starting September 2008 ending June 2023 [in reverse chronological order].

This website was started in May 2002 though the older posts and articles from 2002 to 2008 were unfortunately lost due to a software crash in 2008.

Do continue to enjoy the archived articles though.

OCA UK luncheon reminder

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Dear OCs,
We hope this message finds you in good health and high spirits.

As the date approaches, we would like to remind you of the upcoming OCA UK reunion lunch that is taking place on June 24th. At the last head count we have almost 40 OC, confirmed . Thank you for the ones confirmed, I would encourage others to confirm asap asap. We are hoping the director Simon Weale and his wife to be there.
The reunion lunch is always a delightful affair as we get a chance to catch up with old friends, share stories, and create new memories together but this reunion promises to be even more special as we catch up after a 4 year break. So with much anticipation we are looking forward to reconnecting and reminiscing about our cherished school days with our fraternity.

The details for the event are as follows:

Date: June 24th, 2023

Time: 12 noon – 4pm

Venue: Bombay Palace, 50 Connaught Street, London, W2 2AA

Dress Code: Formal suit

We have planned an enjoyable afternoon with a scrumptious buffet featuring an array of dishes and look forward to welcoming you along with your partners.
To ensure a smooth and successful event, we kindly request you to RSVP as soon as possible. This will help us finalize the arrangements, including catering.

The cost per guest is GBP50 and you can transfer the funds directly to the OCA UK account

Name: Old Cottonian Association UK
Account number: 00126972
Sort Code: 309384
Reference: Name plus number of guests;
Or send a cheque (with your name and number of guests on the back of it) to our Treasurer, Puneet Singh (OC – 1999 (C)) to the following address:
Puneet Singh
1 Frognal
London
NW3 6AL

If you have any dietary restrictions or special requirements, please let us know in advance so that we can accommodate them accordingly.

Lastly, we encourage you to spread the word among our OC fraternity. It would be wonderful to see as many familiar and new faces as possible, and make this reunion truly memorable.
Looking forward to seeing you on June 24th and reliving the camaraderie of our school days.

Warm regards,
OCA UK Committee
Vijay Bhalaik – President
T: 07985 060 156
E: vijaybhalaik@nhs.net

Gursant Sandhu – Secretary
T: 07788 716 525
E: gursant@yahoo.com

Puneet Singh – Treasurer
T: 07841 590 990
E: puneetsingh932@hotmail.com

Rajat Mukarji [Ibbetson 1969 batch] passed on

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We sadly announce the sudden passing-away of Old Cottonian Rajat Mukarji [Ibbetson 1969 batch], today who suffered a  massive cardiac attack.

An alumni of Bishop Cotton School (1967-69) and St. Stephen’s College, Rajat worked as a general manager at Birla AT&T from 1996 to 2002. He joined UK-based Vodafone (now Vodafone Idea) in 2002.
During his nearly 17-year stint at Vodafone Idea, Mukarji represented the telecom company at many national and international forums, and helped in several strategic initiatives.
Later, he also briefly served Chinese telecom gear maker ZTE as a corporate affairs officer from July 2019 to February 2020.
In 2020, he joined Broadband India Forum (BIF) as a director general at Gurgaon till date.

Rest in Peace dear OC.Our Deepest condolences to the bereaved family.

Happy birthday, Mr Goss – 94th 

May 3rd 2023

My dear Mr Goss,

Warm and sincere wishes on this your 94th (Ninety Fourth) birthday. My friends, I and our respective families wish you a wonderful day. May the years ahead, and may there be many, many more, continue to bring you good health, great happiness and tons of laughter.

Looking back and from my collection, I am sending as attachments to this mail a few photographs of the way we still remember you. The change, which has surely occurred over these long years, does not register in our mind’s eye. You are still the spritely young man we knew who walked in briskly into the class and went about the assignment without much ado. What was enormously enjoyable was your introducing us to Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes. Those class sessions were inevitably the most enjoyable and certainly the most remembered. It certainly did inculcate the reading habit in so many of us. Sometimes I wish we had started with P G Wodehouse though Conan Doyle is a class apart in an entirely different genre. In those mostly quiet corridors, peals of laughter generated by a Jeeves incident may have had other consequences, I suspect !!

I will not recount your fearful and stern marking record but I think it was all well-meant. No blemishes ever attached to us but it was a good inkling, a warning lesson, perhaps, of how tough life can be. It all began with red ink in the classroom !!

Thank you, Mr Goss.

With great warmth and affectionate wishes from us all, once again

Vijay

Vijay Khurana

My dear Mr Goss,

A very Happy Birthday to you.
I recall our Geography lessons, 39 Steps,  and your being our Housemaster !
Many Happy Returns !
Our best regards to your family.

Govinder Singh
Ibbetson 1952-1963

Hi Mr Goss: I wish you a very happy birthday. May all your wishes come true. Best regards also to your charming wife.
Joe Joshi 1
Rivaz 1954 – 1963
Commercial airline / combat pilot and war correspondent in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
Senior editor of print and broadcast news with worldwide experience.

Joe Joshi

Dear Mr. Goss,
Wishing you a most wonderful and a very happy birthday with all my heart.
Respectfully yours,
NP Pawa

Dear Mr.Goss
Wishing you a very Happy Birthday.
May God give you good health and happiness.Warm regards to Mrs Goss.
With lots of love.
K.Vijay Singh
Lefroy.1958-’66.