Continued from this post….
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![Vivek Bhasin [MC] rocking to "Groove Adda" at BCS](http://oldcottonians.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/vivek-bhasin-bcs.jpg "Vivek Bhasin [MC] rocking to \"Groove Adda\" at BCS")
Tag Archives: Sesquicentennial
BCS Sesquicentennial – celebrating Friendship and History
BCS Sesquicentennial celebrations – ID tags
Dear OC’s
We hope that all participants for the sesquicentennial celebrations have registered with either Shimla chapter, Chandigarh Chapter,or Delhi Chapter. All registrants will be issued ID tags. We have made arrangements with caterers on basis of ID tags issued.
Entry to dinning areas will be restricted to those people who show ID tags only. Children of OC’s will not be allowed entry into the dining area.
All OC’s are kindly requested to note the above and to cooperate with us in the above matter.
Best Rgds,
Jaspal Sawhney
SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS – Revised programme
The SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS programme has been revised.
Click here for the latest.
OCA [India] North – Sesquicentennial Celebrations info
Sesquicentennial Celebrations
Dear OCs:
This is to inform you that the Sesquicentennial Celebrations of BCS are taking place from 1st, October till 6th October 2009 both days inclusive as per the programme enclosed. Please feel free to contact us at the OCA ( India) Northern Chapter for any assistance you may require towards making the Sesquicentennial Celebrations a most enjoyable and memorable experience.
Thursday 1st October 2009 – 7:30 PM:
OC Dinner at Chandigarh, at The Lake Club (Pool Side)
Courtesy of OCA (India) Northern Chapter
Accommodation and Local Transportation at Chandigarh
Adequate arrangements have been made for accommodation at Chandigarh for the night of 1st October, 2009. Some OC’s have very graciously agreed to host visiting OC’s. Tie ups have also been made with some leading hotels in various categories who would provide rooms and facilities at a special tariff ranging from Rs. 2000/- till Rs. 6000/- . To meet your accommodation and local transportation requirements at Chandigarh you are requested to kindly contact OC Kanwaljeet Singh, member OCA (India), Northern Chapter Celebration Committee on mobile no. 9988090007/ 9814073289 or at email address neetuonly@yahoo.co.uk
Accommodation at Shimla
Adequate arrangements have been made for accommodation at Shimla from 2nd till 6th October, 2009. Some OC’s have very graciously agreed to host visiting OC’s. Tie ups have also been made with some leading hotels in various categories who would provide rooms and facilities at the following special tariffs.
a) Hotel Combermere @Rs. 4500/- for double occupancy incl of b’fast / taxes per night
b) Hotel Eastbourne @Rs. 4400/- for double occupancy incl of b’fast / taxes per night
c) Hotel Holiday Home @Rs. 2900/- for double occupancy incl of b’fast / taxes per night
To meet your accommodation requirements at Shimla you are requested to kindly contact latest by 29th August 2009. OC Jaspal Sawhney, member OCA ( India), Delhi on mobile no. 98110-40347 or at email address jaspal@eagle-grp.com
Kalka Shimla Train
The OCA (India) Northern Chapter is sponsoring a train from Kalka to Shimla on the 2nd of October 2009. The train would depart from Kalka at approx. 12:00 noon. Food and beverages (non-alcoholic) would be served. The seats would be allotted on a first come, first serve basis according to the following order of priority:
a) Overseas OC’s
b) OC’s who had been a part of the school party during their school days
c) Others
Should you be desirous of undertaking this journey, then you are requested to kindly contact OC Manvir Guron , member OCA ( India), Northern Chapter Celebration Committee on 09876219900 or at email address manvirguron@yahoo.co.in to check on the availability of seats.
Contribution for attending the Sesquicentennial Celebrations:
An amount of Rs. 2000/- is being charged towards attending the Sesquicentennial Celebrations. Spouses would be considered guests and would not be charged separately. The last date for confirming your participation would be 5th of September, 2009. The contribution of Rs. 2000/- if through cheque should be made in favour of OCA India, if through DD, in favour of OCA ( India), payable at New Delhi, payment in cash would also be accepted. All payments would be receipted. You are also requested to fill and submit the enclosed registration form along with your payment to complete the registration process. Kindly contact OC Devinder Singh Jaaj , member OCA ( India), Northern Chapter Celebration Committee on mobile 9316534604 or at email address: dsinghjaaj@gmail.com.
Souvenir
On the occasion of the Sesquicentennial Celebrations of Bishop Cotton School, the OCA ( India) Northern Chapter is printing a souvenir. The rates for advertising in the Souvenir are as follows:
1. Title Page – Rs. 25,000/-
2. Back Page – Rs. 20,000/-
3. Front Page inside – Rs. 15,000/-
4. Back page inside – Rs. 15,000/-
5. Full page inside – Rs. 10,000/-
6. Half page inside – Rs. 5000/-
The last date for confirming your advertisement would be 5th of September, 2009. The contribution towards meeting the cost of the advertisement through cheque should be made in favour of OCA( India), Northern Chapter, if through DD, in favour of OCA ( India) Northern Chapter, payable at Chandigarh, payment in cash would also be accepted. All payments would be receipted. Kindly contact OC Devinder Singh Jaaj , member OCA ( India), Northern Chapter Celebration Committee on mobile 9316534604 or at email address: dsinghjaaj@gmail.com.
Note: Keeping in view the enormous expense which would be incurred by the OCA (India) Northern Chapter towards hosting a dinner at Chandigarh, a lunch at Shimla and the Kalka-Shimla train, all OC’s are requested to generously contribute any amount they are comfortable with over and above the Rs. 2000/- participation fee in order to help meet the expenses. The additional contribution may be made in favour of OCA (India) Northern Chapter.
I would also like to take this opportunity to request you to put us in touch with all those OC’s whose contact details have changed, or are not on our records. Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Looking forward to meeting you in Chandigarh & Shimla.
Warm regards,
Ajay Thiara
Member Executive & Celebration Committee
OCA ( India) Northern Chapter
BCS sesquicentennial celebrations – HP Chapter registration
This is for the attention of all OCs belonging to the Himachal Pradesh OCA Chapter that they must immediately, if not already, register themselves for the BCS Sesquicentennial Celebrations. The registration form is available with HP Coordinator:
Dinesh M. Sud
c/o Dewan Chand Atmaram
47 The Mall
Shimla 171001
Phone 9805057500
LAST DATE FOR REGISTRATION IS – 28th AUGUST 2009.
Please take note that last-minute registrations will not be accepted.
A payment of Rs. 2000 as registration fee of OCA India, plus Rs. 5000 contribution towards the OCA HP Dinner to be held on 3rd October total Rs. 7,000. Any additional contribution towards the OCA Fund is welcomed.
Details of the programme can be read here.
All cheques/drafts for the OCA HP Chapter to be made payable to:
“OCA-Himachal”
AXIS BANK
Account # 050010100080130
Sincerely
OCA Web Admin
Live-feed during BCS sesquicentennial celebrations
Here is a message from Vivek Bhasin
I am trying to coordinate a live feed through a famous news network during our sesquicentennial celebrations in Simla.
What I would need is max: 2 to 3 lines of good wishes/memories etc from OCs world wide that I would transmit over the airwaves….please respond by posting your messages here so I can pick these up and prepare them for the transmission.
Time is running…so the emergency request!!
Kindest Regards – Vivek Bhasin
Final programme of Sesquicentennial Celebrations October 2nd to 6th 2009
9/September/09:The programme has been revised.
BISHOP COTTON SCHOOL
SHIMLA
SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS
1859 – 2009
Finale
2009 FRIDAY OCTOBER 2nd – MONDAY OCTOBER 6th inclusive
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Day 1 |
Friday 2nd October 2009 |
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Special OCs train Kalka – Kathlee Ghat |
Depart Kalka 12:)) noon |
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Courtesy of OCA (Punjab/Chandigarh Chapter) |
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Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat School – 2nd Flat – Dress rehearsal |
6.30 pm – 8.00 pm |
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Arrival Chief Guest to open celebrations |
8.00 pm |
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HM’s Buffet Dinner (OCs & visitors) School – 1st Flat |
8.30 pm – 10.30 pm |
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Day 2 |
Saturday 3rd October 2009 |
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Reception & Registration 1st Flat (War Memorial) |
From 9.00 am |
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Official Opening Ceremonies 1st Flat |
9.30 am – 10.00 am |
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School Cricket Match T20 vs. Sanawar (2nd Flat) 1st XI |
10.00 am – 1.30 pm |
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Chapel Service (OCs) |
10.15 am – 10.45 am |
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Tea in Dining Hall OCs & Guests |
11.00 am – 11.45 am |
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Campus Tour / Art Exhibitions |
11.30 am – 1.00 pm |
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Renaming of Remove Dormitories |
Noon – 12.30 pm |
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OC LUNCH (School premises) Courtesy of OCA (Punjab/Chandigarh Chapter) |
1.30 pm – 2.30 pm |
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School Sporting activities |
3.00 pm – 5.30 pm |
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Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat School – 2nd Flat |
6.00 pm – 7.30 pm |
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OC Reunion Dinner : Peterhof Hotel |
8.00 pm onwards |
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Courtesy of OCA (Himachal Pradesh Chapter) |
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Day 3 |
Sunday 4th October 2009 |
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Registration 1st Flat |
From 8.00 am |
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Special OC Breakfast in Dining Hall |
8.30 am – 9.30 am |
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School Cricket Match T20 vs. Aitchison College, Lahore 1st XI |
9.30 am – 1.00 pm |
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Fête |
1.00 pm – 5.00 pm |
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School Sporting activities |
2.30 pm – 5.30 pm |
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OCA Audio Visual Show (Sam Mathews) |
6.00 pm – 6.30 pm |
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Musical Show by OCA (Band and vocals) – 2nd Flat |
6.30 pm – 8.30 pm |
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OC Reunion Dinner : Eastbourne Hotel |
9.00 pm onwards |
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Courtesy of OCA (Delhi Chapter) |
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Day 4 |
Monday 5th October 2009 |
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OC Golf & Lunch at Naldera |
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Free day for non-golfing OCs who are, however, ore than welcome to enjoy and participate in the activities on the BCS campus |
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Parents’ Day |
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Reception & Registration 1st Flat Parents and OCs |
From 9.00 am |
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Campus Tour / Art Exhibitions |
9.30 am – Noon |
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School Soccer Match vs. Aitchison College, Lahore 1st XI |
9.30 am – 1.00 pm |
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Lunch Dining Hall Parents & Students |
1.00 pm – 2.00 pm |
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Reading Prizes etc : Irwin Hall |
2.30 pm – 6.30 pm |
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School Sporting activities |
2.30 pm – 5.00 pm |
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Curzon House Centenary Show 2nd Flat |
5.30 pm – 7.30 pm |
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Curzon House Dinner (Invitees) |
8.00 pm – 9.00 pm |
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Dinner in Dining Hall Non-Curzonian Parents and Students |
8.00 pm – 9.00 pm |
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Curzon House ‘Jam’ Session |
9.00 pm – 10.00 pm |
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Day 5 |
Tuesday 6th October 2009 |
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Death of Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton in 1863 |
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Registration 1st Flat |
From 8.00 am |
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Commemorative Chapel Service – School |
8.00 am – 8.45am |
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Commemorative Chapel Service – OCs |
9.00 am – 9.45 am |
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BCS India Stamp : Official Launch 1st Flat |
10.00 am – 10.15 am |
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Tea in Dining Hall for OCs and visitors |
10.15 am – 10.45 am |
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NCC Parade : Unveiling War Memorial plaques Re-dedication War Memorial : Last Post |
11.00 am – 11.30 am |
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School Sporting activities |
Noon – 1.00 pm |
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Lunch Dining Hall – School, OCs & Visitors |
1.30 pm – 2.30 pm |
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School Sporting activities : Athletics 2nd Flat |
3.00 pm – 5.30 pm |
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History of BCS : Son et Lumière LASER SHOW 2nd Flat |
6.00 pm – 7.00 pm |
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GymnasticsTorchlight Massed PT Display (360 students) 2nd Flat Closing Ceremonies School Song National Anthem |
7.15 pm – 8.30 pm |
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Would all visitors to the school please note and strictly adhere to the following Alcohol : ALL school premises are at all times strict no-alcohol zones. The school reserves the right to immediately eject from the school premises Misdemeanor by any OC will automatically mean suspension from the OCA |
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Please intimate your attendence or otherwise to the OCA chapter you belong to by 31st of August without fail.
DOWNLOAD THE REGISTRATION FORM HERE.
From –
OCA India / Col. Wendy Dewan
Sesquicentennial writings (Vivek Bhasin)
Sesquicentennial…( 28th July 2009)
It took a while for me to grasp the word…prior to that all I was blabbering was 150th…you know 150th..you know..and stuff. I had just been bumped off, actually refused boarding on the late flight from Guayaquil Ecuador to San Jose Costa Rica all because of a lack of a Yellow fever Certificate. Is that if a monkey gets frisky and bites you…(did anyone of us Cottonians experience that in Simla?) So first I was seething…and then after cooling my white cells I decided it would be best if I hitched on a jaunty jalopy and worked my way to La Paz in Bolivia and eventually move further South to Santiago de Santa Fe, Chile where Senor Carvacho resides. When I first met Juan Carvacho he really was a man of leisure (as most of us Cottonians are; having achieved nirvana by the tender age of 19 and spending time in bed, chilling, golfing and then opening the single malt just as the sun set, all shimmering over Chandigarh’s lake); later he was growing marijuana ‘for medical purposes’ on his finca* in Los Andes…then uvas* for export to Estados Unidos* and now a much respected Abogado*. The guy was suave, sophisticated, cool and rich. In the finest eating establishments in Vina del Mar, he always paid by cheque; his signature was flamboyant as he flayed his hands resembling the second maestro of the Valparaiso Philharmonic; his OnotoPen more magical than the baton or the wand of the witches in Macbeth. I always stayed on the edge and preached St. Paul’s to him until he realised I was the only Cottonian south of Volcan Aconcagua* Juan always nursed a barker* in his leather satchel for people who dared to cast an eye on Ximena* or Adriana* or Lilliana* or las otras* and now Pia* He was magnetic but the least! What a start to this one no? Hej Gov’ner. Instead I went back to the Hotel Oro Verde* in Guayaquil and met Senora Graciela who runs this amazing seafood restaurant south of Quito, El caracole de azul* She had spoilt me rotten two decades ago as she fed me congrio en salsa decognac* and later took me to the dance floor and showed me how to meringue. She still looked radiant as I compared her beautiful face (and body) to her first assignment withVogue. She was raven haired and as Thai International says..’smooth as silk’ . So as the night wore on and a million stars twinkled over oceano pacifico* I knew how truly Blessed I was.
I remembered my years in School.
My walk towards St.Xaviers..
My buddies…
Bunty Bhullar, Manvendra Singh, Anil Chopra (Heavy Cottonians) through the mists of time..in Port Sudan, Bombay, Jakarta.
Mi hermano Krit Tippakorn (Heavy Cottonian).
My younger Brother-Heavy Cottonian.
My wading through heavy floods in Chalna.
Me avoiding the muggers in Brooklyn (and the generosity of a Vietnam veteran).
Ann-Sofie from New Orleans to New York to London to Kathmandu to Paris to Stockholm till now….
And again and again my time in School.
The 150th Chapel Service at Founders day: 28th July 2009.
Vivek Bhasin addressed the congregation:
‘ It takes Geet PreetSingh’ School Captain, a Sikh to read his heart out ‘ Do not overcome of evil but overcome evil with Good’
‘Roy Christopher Robinson feels Blessed that he is Headmaster at this historical juncture’
‘It takes me to reiterate, that it is not your birthright to be in Bishop Cotton School; Thank your parents, the staff and all who are here to guide you. Thank John WhitmarshKnight. May you go from strengthto strength, gain great knowledge of the world, be benevolent and give back. As you debate and act on the stage of the Irwin Hall; as you walk though those magnificent doors remember to help each other. And as you act on the stage of Life. always stand four square throughout your lives to every wind that blows’
29th July 2009: A day later…at Naldhera Golf Course:
Deep C.Annd Esq., – Col. Wendy Dewan – K.C.Anand Esq-yours truly. The clouds drifted low into the valley….el sol atardacer*…a fog in the back ground…..a chill in the air….Peaceful…calm….quiet. Then the sweet strains of flute drifted through and the velvet voice of a nomad enveloped us…..We never saw him…..but he was there. A shiver ran through my spine. We all stopped and listened, attentively. They said he was a wanderer….all I could absorb was this surreal feeling….an experience to be there…in the Abode of the Gods. Sesquicentennial. Only once in my lifetime.
Vivek Bhasin (Lefroy 1961-1970)
*Finca = Farm
*Uvas = Grapes
*Estados Unidos=The United States of America
*Abogado= Lawyer
*VolcanAconcagua= Volcano Aconcagua on the Argentine/Chilean border
*Barker: A Smith & Wesson
*Ximena= Juan’s first squeeze
*Adriana= Juan’s second squeeze
*Lilliana= Juan’s third squeeze
*Las Otras= Juan’s many more….names have faded over time.
*Pia= His wife
*Oro Verde= Green Gold
*Caracole de Azul: The Blue Shell
*Congria en salsa de cognac: Crabs in Cognac sauce
*Oceano Pacifico= The Pacific Ocean.
*el sol atardecer= Sunset at Naldhera.
BCS Sesquicentennial Celebrations – participation fee revised
Dear OC’s ,
OCA (India) had finalized the participation fee to attend the sesquicentennial celebrations at Shimla from 2nd October to 6th October 2009 at Rs. 10,000/-per OC ( per couple) . This amount would be used to provide for 3 dinners and 2 lunches during the celebrations and the entertainment programmes in relation to the same.
Recently, at a meeting held in Shimla, members of the committee put forward that this method of collection of funds needs to be flexible so as to ensure greater participation. Further, they put forward that some of the members, resident in Shimla may not find it convenient to attend 5 meals during the celebrations, and the amount of Rs. 10,000/- would be a limiting factor if the OC wished to attend just one meal. In deference to the wishes of the members, it was decided that an amount of Rs. 2000/- should be kept as registration fee and this shall be used towards funding the entertainment programme / s. In addition, OC’s should be requested to contribute funds as per their desire to meet the meal expenses.
DOWNLOAD THE REGISTRATION FORM HERE.
Further, the registration amounts / contributions for meals will be routed through either Himachal chapter ( Mr. Pritinder Singh email shimlapublic@hotmail.com, phono no. 9816013000), Chandigarh Chapter (Mr.Ajay Thiara- Email ajaythiara@yahoo.com, phone no. 9316131741)or Delhi chapter (Mr. Jaspal Sawhney email plaza_eagletheatres@yahoo.com, phone No. 98110-40347).
Last date for receipt of applications to the various chapters is set as 27th August 2009 so that arrangements for the meals can be finalised. All OC’s desiring to participate are required to contact their various chapter at the earliest and oblige.
Best Rgds,
Jaspal Sawhney
