The Rose Bowl | July 2015 by Ritvik Kar

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL

JULY 2015

NEWSLETTER OF THE DOON SCHOOL OLD BOYS’ SOCIETY

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE ROSE BOWL: SINCE 1985

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Dear Dosco

‘Whirling Dervishes’ by Sahil Vohra

REGULARS

THE HAND GRASP OF A FRIEND

THE GOODLY SMELL OF RAIN

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

LONDON REUNION

LITTLE STEPS TO A CLEANER

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

NEW YORK REUNION

INDIA

OLD BOYS’ NEWS

KOLKATA REUNION

HOT SHOTS: ARJUN MALHOTRA

MARRIAGES 07

INTER HOUSE HOCKEY

BIRTHS 07

INTER HOUSE FOOTBALL

QUADRANGULAR CRICKET

THAT CLUELESS CLOT

LEST WE FORGET

FOR HARD WORK TO DO

REMEMBERING KESHAV GOKHALE 09

NEPAL UPDATE

GONE IN A FLASH - NADIR

CHHOTA INTERVIEW

BABAYCON 30

DANGEROUS BEAUTY:

THERE COMES A TIME

ANNAPURNA

MASTER BLASTERS

FITNESS OVER 40

Founder’s Day Schedule 12

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EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: GOVIND DHAR (192 T, 1997) EDITORIAL BOARD: DONNY SINGH (878 T, 1982) DESIGN: RITWIK KAR (689 K, 2015) EDITOR EMERITUS: VALENTINA TRIVEDI (708 K, 1981) PUBLISHER: THE DOON SCHOOL OLD BOYS’ SOCIETY, NEW DELHI CONTACT: THEROSEBOWLEDITOR@GMAIL.COM COVER PHOTO: Wildlife by Ashok Mirza

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

TRAVEL 28

CALCUTTA DAYS

As the heat drives us away from our cities to cooler climes and their restaurants, parks and hotels, spare a thought for those in Nepal who are still trying to rebuild their lives after the onslaught that was the recent earthquake. Our boys seem to have done a stellar job in raising funds and getting people to pitch in with not just food, shelter and medical supplies, but one Dosco even sent a doctor from his practice to get on the ground and see 125 patients a day! Huge salutes to all those who did something for those less fortunate in Nepal. In this issue we see some masters return to the fray for one more round of brickbats and back-patting. I tracked down Mr UC Pande, famous English teacher who in that classic Doon story, taught more than one generation of Doscos (my dad and I both received tutelage from him, me doubly so as I got extra-Hindi classes from Mrs Pande!) and still managed to keep his sanity. There’s also a new column called ‘Master Blasters’ with the famous one-liners of teachers that are resurrected at all Dosco meets. And yes, Mr Vohra makes an appearance. Send me more of these, as they’re priceless. For the archives, we have a wonderful story from Aamir Ali, a rare breed of gentleman who remembers his time as boy and master at Doon, when AE Foot still reigned and frisson between Indians and the British still pervaded hearts and minds. We also have some wistful reveries from Baljit Malik who remembers gin and tonics in the days of yore in Calcutta and a story from Indi Singh, a Dosco wife who took flying lessons behind hubby’s back. Don’t miss them.

We have reunions from London, New York and Kolkata in this issue, as well as superb sports coverage of the inter-house hockey which saw Jaipur take the trophy for a staggering sixth time in a row! Well done guys! There are stalwarts and there are Doscos and we have the privilege of counting several of them amongst us in social work and industry. Harpal Singh is the first Asian to be appointed vice chairman of the Save the Children foundation; Analjit Singh made the cover of Forbes Africa; Vinayak Bahuguna has become CEO of ARCIL; Tikka Shatrujit Singh got awarded the Knight of Legion of Honour of France award and co-founder of HCL, Arjun Malhotra shares some of his memories on how he got started in the IT business. Feel proud guys and gals! You also have the Founder’s schedule in this issue so no excuses for not turning up and singing Lab Pe Aati Hai badly. Please also go to dsobs.net and register for visits to School. If you’re reading this online and know Doscos on holiday who simply cannot live without khabar from the Chandbagh brigade, do shoot them the link from the dsobs.net site. If you register on the site, you can go through a trove of archival material, upload your own photographs and videos and even find a long lost Dosco in the country you’re in. In any case, what’s a holiday worth without a few yaars? Get in touch with me at therosebowleditor@gmail.com Enjoy the issue!

Sahil Vohra has sent us some beautiful photos for our regular photospread and it’s a wonder he doesn’t do it professionally. If you’re handy with a lens, send me some photos. It makes all the text worth ploughing through.

Govind Dhar 192 T, 1997

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

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Letters to the Editor Dear Govind, Sorry for the delay in acknowledging your letter. It feels so good to reminisce about the days spent at Doon, probably because it was a great learning experience for all of us - boys as well as teachers. Doon is all about the excellent learning environment and ethos that pervades the Chandbagh, with its rich traditions and time-tested systems. As a teacher I only remember what the school gave me. It helped shape my personality and discover my potential. We don’t know how this learning happened - so imperceptibly - between the ringing of bells, from chhota hazri to lights out. But it did happen. Doon gives the child the confidence of having the essential prerequisites for a meaningful life. It gives him abundant opportunities to exploit his hidden potential. In the process, we experience the rough and tumble of a roller-coaster life which has its ups and downs. But what comes out of all this at the end of six years is a polished young man, full of zest and supremely fit for the battle of life! One has numerous bitter-sweet memories which form the warp and woof of our experience at School. There are hilarious anecdotes (not always so, when being experienced) when being recalled and related! Probably I will find an opportunity sometime later to share some of these moments with you. Since you cajoled my memory I very distinctly remember Raja Vikram Dhar (59 T, 1969) as the secretary of JEDS. He was always so energetic and bubbling with ideas! Well, it is a distinction of sorts to have my first and the last secretary from the same family (UCP appointed yours truly Secretary before leaving Doon)! Raja 4

and Anil (359 T, 1969) made a great pair, especially when I remember them as Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky in The Government Inspector produced by Mr Sahi! Raja was probably in my SC class. They also played the sitar with great flair! I left Doon in 1993 to head a residential-cum-day school in Dehradun, whereafter I joined Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Public School in Baroda. I left Baroda in 2002 and did several stints in various capacities in schools at Dehradun. I have retired completely now and am residing at Dalanwala in Dehradun. I hope The Rose Bowl continues to prosper and thrive under your loving care as it did under the excellent editorship of Valentina! My best wishes! UC Pande

Hey Govind,

pre-1958 batches were invited for free! Other batchJust saw the new issue of the Rose Bowl. Dude

es of later years were to pay only a percentage of

I am so impressed with the design, layout and

the total cost, while the latest old boys would pay

production values. Great job. I have always

in full.

marvelled at all of you who have kept the Rose Bowl going all these years. It’s a thankless job and so

I thought this was a very considered step, not only

hard with so many angry Doscos to deal with often.

because I was in the ‘free zone’, but really since it

I wanted to salute all who have been part of this.

aimed at understanding ground realities that affect

The new look is simply outstanding - at par with any

all of us. In the same way I would urge the editorial

professionally published news magazine.

team to pay heed to the earlier old boys for whom Arthur Foot, John Martyn, Holdy, Jack Gibson,

I am so inspired by the good work that I will try

Congratulations on your successfully catering to both dinosaurs and Gen X in the April 2015 issue. Very readable. Your grandfather, my contemporary, Bansi Lal Dhar (231 T, 1943) would have been proud of you. Best wishes, Saroj Kumar Mehera (122K, 1944)

Moinuddin, Vyas et al, meant the world.

and send a piece for your consideration for the next issue.

This vintage of Old Boys should be encouraged, indeed sought out, to write for the Rose Bowl,

All the best for the future.

just as Colonel Nandi Khanna, Saroj Mehera and Narendra Bedi have done here. I am not sure if anyone

Abhinandan Sekhri

has read the pieces by Mr Aminuddin, Saroj Mehera,

(362 O, 1992)

Priya Vishwanathan and so many other luminaries of yesteryear at Chandbagh. We will never forget them.

Dear Govind, It is good to read that Doon carries on relief work and gives succour to those unfortunate fellow beings devastated by natural calamities like the Bengal cyclone in the 1940s and the Uttarakhand and Nepal disasters of recent times.

categorized into several groups in which those of

Sir,

Now, a word about your predecessors who contributed so much in making Rose bowl what it

May I join those who have lauded the efforts of

is today. Both Kishore Lahiri and Valentina Trivedi

the new editorial team in bringing out a new look

deserve more than a rousing round of applause for

newsletter for the Old Boys. Change is the only

their magnificent roles.

certainty of life and I’m glad we’re keeping pace with the world. Will you please allow me a little space for

Well, you have begun so well that I am sure this

some random thoughts. I would like to reference

will be a winner. As Holdy would say you’ve hit the

the recent Old Boys meet at Kolkata, to bring home

first ball through the covers for a four and therefore

a point.

seem set for a “big score”!

Both Saurabh Dudhoria (458 J, 2000) and Sudhir

God bless and good luck.

Prakash (283 K, 1965) did a great job in not only organizing the Kolkata get together but added a

Ashim Kumar Mukherjee

new and very thoughtful dimension to it. We were

(44 T, 1958) 5

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

NEPAL RELIEF EFFORT

DSOBS NEWS AK Mahindra (287 K,

Vinayak Bahuguna (722 K, 1980) has been appoint-

1958) will publish a photo

ed managing director and chief executive officer of Asset Reconstruction Company of India, the country’s largest in the field. Smashing stuff Vinayak!

book of 120 photographs from 30 locations on Indian wildlife published by BNHS and Oxford University Press entitled Capturing Wildlife Moments in India. The book will delight conservationists, wildlife photographers and naturalists all. Find more details on the book on oup.co.in. Harpal Singh (322 H, 1965)

has been named Vice Chair of Save the Children International. Mr Singh’s contribution to Save the Children on the global board has in no small way contributed to this. This is the first appointment of an Asian in almost 100 years of the organisation’s existence. Congratulations Harpal!

Tikka Shatrujit Singh (564 T, 1980) has been be-

stowed the Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur (Knight in the national order of the Legion of Honour) by the president of France. Established by Napoleon in 1804, this is the highest civilian honour in France. The award has come for Tikka’s promotion of French culture in India, not least with luxury brand Louis Vuitton. Shabaash mon ami Tikka! Vivek Vikram Singh (166 O, 1997) has joined Sona

Group as the group head for strategy, M&A and corporate planning, in their corporate headquarters at Gurgaon where he will work closely with Vice Chairman, Sunjay Kapur (147 H, 1990). Wah wah Vivek! Kabir Suri’s (327 J, 1998) Azure Hospitality venture

Analjit Singh (132 J, 1971) was in

the news and was featured on the cover of Forbes Africa for his latest venture in wine in the picturesque wine growing regions of South Africa. Salut! Amitav Ghosh (246 H, 1972) enjoys the release of

the final book in his celebrated Ibis trilogy entitled Flood of Fire. Go out and buy a copy and give us a review! Congrats Amitav! Ramachandra Guha (7 H, 1973) has been select-

ed for Japan’s prestigious Fukuoka Prize in the academic category. The award will be presented to him on September 17, 2015. Congrats old bean! 6

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL

just managed to raise USD 10 million from Goldman Sachs for their expansion plans of pan-Asian food across Asia and the Middle East. If you don’t know them, check out Mamagoto and Rollmaal and get out from under that rock pronto!

The DSOBS President RPN Singh (871 K, 1982) and Vice President, Jaswinder Singh (344 J, 1986), along with the Secretary, Sheel Sharma (345 K, 1964) and some Old Boys went to School on March 14th, 2015 to conduct the induction ceremony of the Class of 2015 and welcome a new set of Doon School graduates into the Old Boys’ Society. As part of the ceremony the president presented each Old Boy with some mementos followed by a presentation on the activities of the DSOBS.

The DSOBS took the initiative in organising help to Nepal in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. Along with Varun Chaudhary (319 J, 2004) and Nauhar Rana (375 J, 1986) a lot of relief material was collected and sent to Nepal. What was encouraging to see was that our good offices were used by non-Doscos to send relief material across too. Including huge efforts by the DSOBS and the Chaudhary Foundation to get supplies, tents, and medical aid and more to the disaster victims in Nepal, other old boys and their concerns have been involved in raising funds to help with the dire situation in the neighbouring country. An example from Jamshed Masani (7 J, 1964) is here.

In response to Vijay Thapar’s help to Nepal disaster victims the Class of 1964 is collecting donations. As a gesture of good will we at Mayfair Practice contacted charities involved and they suggested to us that rather than money, clothes and other items, could we send a doctor to help? I took an executive decision within hours and the day after the disaster I sent Dr Hasham Ahmad who works at my practice to help with the medical relief. He was on a flight to Delhi the next day and onwards to Nepal where he is treating between 125 to 150 patients a day and still smiling!

Well done Jamshed and Hasham!

MARRIAGES Anraj Singh (307 T, 1974) and Dimple saw their son Adiraj Singh marry Harneet in February, 2015. The wedding reception was held in Kolkata on February 18th, 2015. Congrats!

Rahul Chaudhary (577 J, 2001) and Surabhi were married in a tour de force wedding at City Palace in Jaipur earlier this year. From all accounts it was colourfully festive and went off with a bang! Congrats old chap!

BIRTHS Sheel Sharma (345 K, 1964) and Pramila have become grandparents! Their daughter Vrinda and Salil Pawah were blessed with a beautiful daughter, Veda, on April 11th, 2015. Congrats! Siddharth Lal (501 H, 1994) and Swantika welcomed baby Meera into the world on May 1st, 2015 in Delhi. Shabaaash guys! Congratulations to Jai Bhatia (348 H, 1999) and Shivali on the arrival of their son Karam Vir

Bhatia on May 24th, 2015. Proud granddad Lt Col Yeshwant Desai (61 T, 1941) also joins them in the celebrations. Super stuff Jai! Late Arjun Raha’s (180 T, 1968) son, Adrit (590 T, 2001) and Anandita ushered a daughter, Ayra into the world on April 28th, 2015 in Muscat, Oman and into a family of Doscos. Lt Gen Bhupinder Singh (117 H, 1944), Ranjit Singh (115 J, 1968) and Karan Singh (449 H, 1993) all join in the celebrations. Well done! 7

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

OBITUARIES P Srinivasan (256 T, 1944) passed away on April 20th, 2015. He was born on January 6th, 1929. He was from a distinguished family in Madras (Chennai). Ramu as he was known, was the grandson of Srinivasa Iyenger, who was a renowned lawyer and the president of the National Congress in Madras. Srinivasan was called ‘Panchu’ after the Doon School gardener! And that became his permanent pet name later. The family built a temple in the suburb of Chennai called Avadi and had a big farm there. His brothers Gopal and Bhayasham also studied in Dehradun in Col Brownes and RIMC. Our condolences to the family. Dr Asoka Ratnam (327 T, 1961) passed away in Washington DC at his home on the morning of May 5th, 2015. He succumbed to a debilitating affliction that he faced with fortitude and cheerfulness. He leaves behind two daughters. We are sorry to bear this news.

Samir Lanba (220 T, 1961) passed away on March 9th, 2015. Our wholehearted condolences go to his wife Urmila, sons Asheet (528 T, 1987) and Jai (128 T) and all family members. We are sad to report the loss of J K Sethi, father of Sanjiv Sethi (205 H, 1976) and grandfather to twins Sidharth (8 T, 2015) and Kabir (5 H, 2015), in February this year. Our condolences go out to the grief-stricken family. We are sorry to report the passing away of the mother of Sanjeev “Bittu” Kassal (295 T, 1974) on April 16th, 2015. Our heartfelt condolences go out to him and his family. Nadir Rohinton Babaycon (103 K, 2002) passed away in the early hours of April 16th, 2015 in a motorcycle accident in Kolkata. He leaves a huge void behind him. Our prayers go out to all who knew him.

Update from Tihar Jail An excerpt from a letter to Gautam Vohra (154 H, 1963) from Kobad Ghandy (359 H, 1963): After all appeals have failed to DG, High Court, CM Delhi, superintendents and no response from any of these, I have as a last recourse been forced to go on this indefinite hunger strike. Because of this they will stop my phone calls, visitors and all access to the outside world. So there will be lack of contact. They will probably forcefully transfer me to a new jail, whichever it is, so you will have to find out.

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL

Remembering Keshav Gokhale Ashok B Gokhale 216 K, 1945

My older brother, Keshav (223 K, 1942) passed away in Pune on November 1st, 2014. He would have been 88 on November 29th. Diagnosed with cancer a few years ago, he treated the dreaded scourge with cheerful disdain and continued living in his characteristic carefree manner; always in good humour, never uttering a word of complaint despite being in and out of hospital several times since 2009. Keshav had a distinguished record at the Doon School and Science College, Patna. Apart from an outstanding academic sheet, he played cricket and tennis for his university. Later he received a first class B-Tech degree from the Bombay University’s prestigious department of chemical technology. After a couple of years with the Indian Aluminium Company at Calcutta, he joined Burmah Shell in the early 1950s. By the 1970s, he had become the company’s chief representative in Delhi before it

was taken over by the Government of India. He then worked with the TVS Group and as a director with Thermax till the 1990s, when he finally retired and moved with his spouse Jaya (Jaikuwar) to Pune. Thanks to his sunny nature and his love of golf, Keshav had a large circle of friends and wellwishers. His cheerful disposition was infectious. I doubt anyone witnessed him losing his temper, uttering abuse or, most importantly, displaying even a trace of malice through word or action. He kept himself abreast of current affairs and had a keenly analytical appreciation of global political developments. His mind remained as sharp as ever, even till the end. The death of Jaya at the end of 2011 (they would have celebrated 60 years together in January 2013) affected him deeply, but he rarely showed it. Keshav is survived by two sons and a daughter. Vijay is currently India’s ambassador to Germany, Madhav is a chartered accountant in Dubai and Uma works with the Indian Railways accounts service.

But I will continue the hunger strike there Regards, Kobad

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

Nadir Babaycon Avinash K Mahapatra 32 T, 2002

If nature could stand up and say something about Nadir it would say “This is a man and gentleman who departed for my lap early.” As a salutation to a friend of almost 25 years I pen these lines as a tribute to the friendship we shared from innocence to adulthood, in the evergreen lanes of lasting memory and everlasting brotherhood. Nadir, a great friend and a true soul, sadly met with a bike mishap while returning home after a weekend bike ride. Unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. He was 31. The Impact he left on our lives will always make him stay in our hearts.

favourite cinema halls, rolls joints and coffee-cakes cornershops in New Market and Park Street. In the evenings we sometimes went all dressed up, to Tollygunge or Saturday club with our parents. When we visit now there will be a vacuum. The food will not taste the same. After School, Nadir enrolled himself in St Xavier’s Calcutta. Nadir then met Megha and they were married in a beautiful ceremony in Calcutta. Nadir moved to London to establish a business venture. In no time he was able to establish business across

three continents. Megha and Nadir were then blessed with two delightful angels. He loved spending time with Veer and Mehr and always celebrated every birthday and holiday in a great family way. We have lost a great brother and the loss will always be felt when we congregate and celebrate our time in Doon. Nadir you will always be remembered. May God bless your soul and give strength to your family. Till we meet again.

Gone in a Flash Nadir outside the CDH, first from right.

The first time I met him was on a typical Chandbagh afternoon. The sun gleamed over the main field and Dehradun was coming to life after a brutal hill winter. Above the CDH, we were on the verge of making it into one of the most the hallowed of educational institutions in India. The final rounds of interviews for admission were being conducted and we three boys from Calcutta gravitated towards each other. Little did we know that this was the start of a friendship to last 25 years. Amongst us (Jay, myself and Nadir), Nadir was the initiated one. He’d already been a boarder at Hill Grange school in Dehradun. Ronny Uncle (Nadir’s father) was a thoroughbred tea man based out of Assam and was a true believer in the institution of boarding school. Standing on the MDR, Nadir came across as young confident boy who knew what he was doing.

tournaments. Nadir possessed the lethal combination of skill and aggression. Football was also a passion and his skill led to many memorable goals and victories for his house. On the athletics track Nadir used to take part in the 400m hurdles which is one of the most physically demanding races at School. Nadir’s on-field talent and firebrand skill made him an effective captain. He never took advantage of this authority. Integrity was as important to him as winning. When we were juniors, during a hockey match, a particular goal was awarded from just outside the permissible area. Nadir as captain, overturned it because he knew where to draw the line. This was a tough thing to do as a junior, but Nadir did not hesitate for a second. As with all gifted sportsmen Nadir wore his games blazer with pride while being house captain of Kashmir house. Nadir was also part of the School Mountaineering Team and was part of many successful expeditions.

Nadir was an above average student but his real calling was the sports field. In hockey he was striker for his house and the School XI team. He regularly became the highest goal scorer in school

One of the fondest memories with Nadir is holiday time in Calcutta which lasted for 2 months in the winter and summer. We would get 50 rupees from our parents and we would instantly head to our

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL

Abhimanyu Chandra 130 J, 2002

Almost every time I saw Nadir I remember him beaming, smiling from ear to ear. He was always in the midst of telling a joke, or had just finished cracking one. Even on the sports field when the team was down a goal or two Nadir never seemed deflated. Always able to see the lighter side of every situation, he pushed himself to play harder, faster, and to go further. That was our Nadir. Truly the zenith; truly the best of us. Never one to brag he always let his soccer boots do

the talking, or his hockey stick or his spikes on the athletics track. I distinctly remember being dazed by his blistering speed, his ability to bounce out of nowhere and convert a half chance into a sublime goal. He’d always flash in an out of the attacking half, creating chances, here one moment and gone the next. And now I can’t believe he’s gone again, in a flash. I miss you. If I’d known that that was the last time I’d see you, I wouldn’t have let you leave. Until we meet on that eternal pitch where I can watch you shine again.

Nadir at Socials, first from right

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

PROGRAMME FOR FOUNDERS DAY - OCTOBER 2015 DAY/DATE

EVENT

TIME/VENUE

Monday, 12 October

First show of Founder’s English Play-‘Dead Poet’s Society’ – Invited schools and Guests

6.30 pm - 8.15 pm Rose Bowl

Tuesday, 13 October

Second show of Founder’s English Play-‘Dead Poet’s Society’ – D to Sc Form

6.30 pm - 8:15 pm Rose Bowl

Final Dress Rehearsal for Hindi Play ‘Ek Ruka Hua Faisla’ – invited schools and guests

6.30 pm - 7.30 pm MPH

Dinner for boys

8.30 pm

Music concert rehearsals

9.30 pm - 11.00 pm Rose Bowl

Music Concert - Invited Schools and guests, D to Sc Form

6.30 pm - 7.15 pm Rose Bowl

Dinner for boys

7.30 pm

English play practice

8.00 pm - 10.10 pm, Rose Bowl

Wednesday, 14 October Thursday, 15 October

Friday, 16 October

Saturday, 17 October

FOUNDER’S DAY PROGRAMME begins Entry for parents to the school

4.00 pm Main Gate

Tea & Snacks for parents

5.00 pm - 6.00 pm CDH

Hindi Play - D to Sc Form and parents

6.30 pm - 7.30 pm MPH

Parents departure

7.45 pm

Dinner for boys

7.45 pm

O-House Silver Jubilee dinner for O-House boys, parents, O House Old boys and staff members

8.00 pm Lower Skinners

Music practice

8.00 pm - 10.00 pm Rose Bowl

FOUNDER’S DAY PROGRAMME Entry for parents

10.00 am Main Gate

Exhibition-Make in India/India by 2050, Street Play (Main Building), Art & Photography, D & T Centre, Library, Archives

10.00 am - 11.45 am Main Bulding, Art School, Library

R.L.Holdsworth Cricket Match

10.00 am - 2.00 pm Main Field

Food Stalls

11.00 am - 3.00 pm CDH/Tata House Fields

Silver Jubilee batch - lunch

1.00 pm HM’s Residence

Exhibition continues

3.00 pm - 4.00 pm

Chandbagh Debates

4.00 pm - 5.30 pm MPH

Tea & Snacks for parents

4.30 pm - 5.30 pm CDH

Founder’s Play (English) - ‘Dead Poet’s Society’ - parents & guests

6.30 pm - 8.15 pm Rose Bowl

Parents departure

8.15 pm

Jubilee dinner (batch of 55 & 65)

8.45 pm HM’s Residence

Dinner for boys

8.30 pm - CDH

Music Production practice

9.00 pm - 10.30 pm Rose Bowl

Dosco Lunch at Dum Pukht The DSOBS in association with Porsche Centre, Gurgaon, organized a grand lunch at Dum Phukt, ITC Maurya on Sunday April 5th, 2015. Champagne flowed and the delicious food served left everyone wanting more. The seating arrangements were excellent and the small space was well-organized. Some distinguished members of the DSOBS representing Board of Governors, past Presidents, Executive Committee members and senior old boys attended the lunch. We even had some Doscos over, who are otherwise rarely seen at Dosco get-togethers. All of them together truly made this an august gathering.

Our sincere thanks to Rashy Todd, Managing Director and Mikey Todd, director of sales and marketing, Porsche Centre, Gurgaon for helpingus make this a grand success. Full credit to Jaswinder Singh Bull and RPN Singh for organising this event.

Front Row: Jaswinder Bull, Kishore Lahiri, Sonia Singh, Haripal Singh, RPN Singh. Rear: Ashutosh Goyal, Donny Singh, Gaurav Sondhi, Sameer Dhingra, Rishabh Sharma

FOUNDER’S DAY PROGRAMME Entry for parents

10.00 am Main Gate

Oberoi House - PAGAL GYMKHANA

10.30 am - 2.30 pm Lower Skinners

Lunch for IPSS members

1.30 pm HM’s Residence

IPSS meeting

2.30 pm Library

Tea & Snacks for parents

4.00 pm - 5.00 pm CDH

Tea & Snacks for IPSS members

5.15 pm - 5.45 pm Library

Boys & Parents to be seated in the Rose Bowl

5.45 pm

Founder’s Speeches and programmes

6.00 pm - 7.30 pm Rose Bowl

Founder’s Day Music programme

7.40 pm - 8.10 pm Rose Bowl

Dinner for whole school

8.15 pm Main Field

Night out

After dinner

Old Boys’ Gala Dinner

Off campus (TBC)

Sunday, 18 October

Annual General Meeting of DSOBS

10.30 am - 12.30 pm MPH

Old Boys’ Lunch

12.30 pm - 2.30 pm Triangular Garden

Monday, 19 October

Boys return from night out

6.30 pm

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL

Ratan Kapoor giving his friend a heady time

Radhika, Varun and Vivek Sehgal, Mrs Nalni Narain and Indresh Narain, Indrave Singh Mann

The Royal Group: Sushma Singh, Upendra Singh, Chandravijay Singh, Raninder Singh

Jyotiraditya Scindia, RPN Singh

Amit Sawhney, Rajesh Wadhwa, Surinder Singh, Narinder Vasisht

The boys get down to lunch

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

CHHOTA INTERVIEW NAME: Mani Shanker Singh | NUMBER: 452 | HOUSE: Tata | BATCH: 2000 What is your official title and where or with whom do you work? Name three key responsibility areas.

time. I joined Myntra almost two years ago and scaling it up has been a hard fought bout. Today I lead one of the largest creative teams in the

country and my role comes with I am the creative director at www. a lot of responsibility. Also it felt myntra.com. I look after strategies great to be a creative director at to enhance the online shopping 31 and I hope to continue stronger experience. I’m building fashion than ever before. It has been fun imagery and content for the website MANI SHANKER SINGH to work with over 60 creative folk across verticals. I look after team and drive them towards one single goal: to make building and enhancing active participation of staff. Myntra the top fashion destination in India. How would you describe your day job? The nature of an online fashion business is very dynamic and demanding. I have to lead multiple projects at the same time and it requires tremendous focus to be flexible between assignments. Since the lead times are very short, it’s not only important how well you think, but also how fast you think. Lots of action all the time keeps me on my toes. What’s fun about your job? Everything on a website requires visibility and so I get to work with teams across functions which is a huge learning experience for me. I have always been a great enthusiast for storytelling and I get to do it on a large scale here. Directing shoots with some of the top photographers and stylists is always a great kick. What’s it like working for one of the biggest dot coms in India at the moment? I feel lucky that I was at the right place, at the right 14

How did Flipkart’s purchase of Myntra affect things? The Flipkart-Myntra merger has been a huge boost. While Flipkart has been addressing things horizontally, Myntra will focus to build the fashion vertical. The collaboration brings a lot of skill sets which has made both Flipkart and Myntra stronger in many aspects. We are now financially stronger and that

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL Name one or two highlights in your career. Prior to Myntra, I headed design for Van Heusen clothing and I launched Van Heusen Sport, the causal arm for Van Heusen. A lot of inspiration for this came from Doon. I was inspired by our traditional colour-blocked games shirt. The Scholar’s blazer and the Games blazer helped me define two very sharp looks. The sweatshirts with the full-colour badge; the all white look for cricket; the wool blazer, and even the concept of the change-inbreak inspired me. I also launched the footwear line for Van Heusen. I also established Scullers, Indigo Nation and Daniel Hechter, Paris, in India. My expertise was in conceptualising, designing and visual merchandising. What did you do before you got to this position? After I finished Doon, I decided to pursue a creative field. At Doon I was into art and I decided to make my hobby into my profession. I wanted to get into something I would enjoy and my parents played a huge role in supporting me. I joined NIFT, Bangalore where I specialised in fashion design and applied art. I was about to take my first job in advertising

when I was awarded ‘the most creative fashion designer’ NIFT Bangalore 2003, for my graduation fashion show. This put me in a bit of a dilemma and made me reconsider my options. What advice would you give Doscos wanting to get into the same field of work? My first question to all the Doscos would be ‘Are you right-brained or left-brained?’ In India NIFT and NID are two great institutes to pursue design. Internationally, FIT, Parsons, FIDM, Central Saint Martin, Florence Design Academy and Domus Academy are some of the best design institutes in the world. I studied fashion design but today I am directing shoots, driving the core web-site aesthetics, videos and fashion content. The future of design is digital and interactive. So it might be a great idea to study engineering and then do a postgrad in design. What are you planning to do next career wise? I would like to start my own design agency. I may also launch my menswear label. I would like to scale wide instead of scaling up.

The career column for Doscos wanting to hear from Doscos in the field. Contacts: manishanker_singh@yahoo.co.in, +919845213183

makes it easier to scale up, and face competition. What’s your view on the dot com scene in India? Online is already the present, and the future for Indian retail. Online business is getting consolidated and the market is huge, so there is a lot of space for several players. Alibaba in China has shown what a home grown dot come can do. Amazon is cash rich and comes with huge experience worldwide. The winner is going to be the one who understands the pulse of the Indian market better and makes the right choices. I believe the real winner is going to be the consumer. 15

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL

DSOBS London Get-Together A rather large and well-dressed get-together of Old Boys got underway in London on Sunday, June 28th 2015 at auctioneer’s Christies, on 8, King Street. The event offered cocktails and lunch and was organised by Vivek Thadani (532 O, 1995) and Nimai Swaroop (11 H, 1996). HM, Dhruv Sawhney, Harpal Singh, Malvinder Singh, RPN Singh, Jaswinder Singh Bull

Priceless exhibits on display at Christie’s

Dr Amin Jaffer, International Director Asian Art Christie’s addresses the gathering Ramesh Arora MD Montcalm Luxury Hotels picks a winning no. at the draw

Bull, Shashank Vira, RPN, Ravi Bullchandani, HM and Ravi Katari

Young Doscos came out for the event too

Old Doscos making their presence felt

Vivek Thadhani, Malvinder Singh and Sharad Rathke

Mr RP Devgan and friend

Ramesh Arora, Rahul Arora, Bull, Malvinder, Shashank Vira

HM’s Speech

Art appreciative Dosco wives

In vino veritas! etc.

A bronze exhibit

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL

No papparazzi please! Ashok Malik enjoying the company of Dosco wives

Young Doscos with their wives and girlfriends

Colgate smiles all round! Lets raise a toast

A point well made

“Lab Pe Aati Hai is...”

Gunday!

Nassir Kasuri, Amina Kasuri, Jaswinder Singh Bull

DSOBS New York Get-Together Shubho Ghosh 472 O, 1993

Amit Sawhney 252 T, 1973

On July 1st, 2015, DSOBS USA Chapter (New York) had the pleasure of hosting a group from School, including Headmaster Peter McLaughlin, DSOBS Vice President Jaswinder ‘Bull’, Director of Development and Alumni Relations, Rishabh Sharma and over 70 Doscos and their friends in the New York area, ranging from the batch of 1960s to the batch of 2014. A special thanks to Amit Sawhney and his wife Abha ‘Bunty’ Sawhney for hosting this wonderful event of dinner and drinks at his townhouse in New York city. We were joined 18

Rishabh, Amit Sawhney, HM, Abha Sawhney, a reveller, Jaswinder Bull

by wives, girlfriends and some friends of Doon from the area. Following drinks, and an update from the HM on the latest developments in school, the group broke out into an impromptu rendition of Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua... which was icing on the nostalgia cake. This was followed by a golden night style dinner of naan, butter chicken and kebabs from Bukhara Grill. Overall, this turned out to be a fun evening of drinks, dinner, laughter a great reunion for Doscos of all ages and a good opportunity to catch up on all things Doon.

HM and company

Boys will be boys

No crowding boys! 19

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

DSOBS Reunion Kolkata Saurabh Dudhoria 458 J, 2000

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL Dosco community, a few words were said about Nadir Rohinton Babaycon, who tragically passed away a few days prior to the reunion. The community pledged their support to Nadirâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family. The reunion was greatly appreciated, especially by the better halves and the latest additions to the ex-Dosco fraternity. The company of Chandbagh fans ensured that music and wine flowed well into the night. Dictated by tradition, the usual school songs were sung boisterously to cap things off. We hope that the

momentum of such a reunion will be maintained with more events in the future. A special thanks goes out to those who attended including Soumitra Sen (313 T, 1974) and Soumendra Nath Mookherjee (52 J, 1979), Sudhir Prakash (283 K, 1965), Aditya Bajoria (108 H, 1973), Anshuman Prakash (239 K, 1991), Umesh Chablani (45 J, 1973), Anil Garg (269 J, 1976), Siddharth Kothari (371 O, 1999), Dr Anraj Singh (307 T, 1974), Abhenav Khettry (159 J, 2003) and Rishabh Sharma (553 J, 1994).

Ravi Singhee, Gopal Jaidka, Ravi Lochan Singh, Pradipta Bhattacharyya

Nikhil Agarwal, Aditya Bajoria, Jaswinder Bull, Ranjit Chaudhri

Rishabh Sharma, Abhenav Khettry, Keya, Saurabh Dudhoria, Vibhas Kichlu, Gautam Bose, Arvind Nigam, Soumitra Sen, Alok Bhargava, Arjun Sengupta

When you get an email telling you of the visit of the president, vice President and EC of the DSOBS; the chairman and members of the Board of Governors; members of the IPSS, Headmaster and representatives of School to sleepy olâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Calcutta, you tend to get moving pretty quickly. Double mark-time, the Doscos of Calcutta organised a reunion planned for the evening of April 20th, 2015. The natural choice of venue was the ITC Sonar Hotel.

It was encouraging to see Doscos young and old attend, with their better halves, in greater numbers than seen previously in Calcutta. It was also great to see many from New Delhi, Mumbai, Ludhiana, England and Bangladesh, who had come down specifically for the reunion. The evening, however, started off on a solemn note. Having lost a dear friend and an integral member of the

Jaswinder Bull, Rahul Kohli, Saroj Mehera, Dr. Peter McLaughlin, Gautam Thapar, RPN Singh, Soumitra Sen

Saurabh Dudhoria, Siddharth Kothari, Aditya Kumar, Uday Jhala

Sumanjit Chaudhury, Saroj Mehera, Gautam Thapar

Soumitra Sen, Anil Garg, Alok Bhargava, Arvind Nigam, Arvind Mehrotra

The Headmaster holds court with the younger Doscos

Sanjeev Advani, Pradipta Bhattacharyya, Dr. Soumitra Banerjee, Rahul Kohli

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

Inter House Hockey 2015 Kunal Sharma 473 J, 1993

The Kashmir House brain trust met over beers to work out team strategy for this year’s DSOBS inter-house hockey tournament. Jaipur had to be stopped, having won the cup five years running. The chat on WhatsApp was rife with trash talk. The stage was set for the seventh edition of DSOBS inter house hockey. The tournament was held on Sunday, April 12, 2015 at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi. The format included five pool games with each house playing two matches and the top two teams going to a final. Jaipur and Tata kicked off the first game. The two teams had met in the final from 2011-13 so this was expected to be a good contest. The game was scrappy to begin with. In the first quarter, a defensive lapse saw Tata concede a goal. Jaipur’s Dhruv carried the ball in to Tata’s D, and sent a relatively tame push towards goal. Presuming the ball had been pushed from outside the D, the goalie let the ball through! Jaipur soon scored a second. A penalty was converted by Gopal of Jaipur

Hanumant attempts to get past Adhiraj

with good composure. Tata pulled one back just before the half time whistle with Aryaman making no mistake for Tata. The second half saw both sides create some good chances but no further goals were scored. Jaipur beat Tata 2-1. Hyderabad and Oberoi took the field next. Arshad had flown in from Mumbai after playing for the old boys in a cricket match that very morning. Hyderabad, had won the inaugural tournament but failed to make a final in the last four years. The first goal was a beautifully worked effort by Oberoi. They moved the ball down the left side of the field and a reverse flick to the far post found Adhiraj waiting to turn the ball into the Hyderabad goal. The second came soon after, scored by Kshitij. The score line was complete when Arshad successfully converted a stroke in the second half. Oberoi bt. Hyderabad 3-0

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL Dushyant Singh in goal, and a bunch of youngsters. Jaipur featured Deepak Kaul, the bulwark of Jaipur’s defence, and Vimalendu Verma. It was Jaipur that finally opened the scoring with a very well worked goal down the right side. Awarded a free-hit just inside the Kashmir half, a series of quick passes beat the Kashmir defence and Shrivats tapped in a goal. The second was scored by Gopal, a virtual repeat of Jaipur’s first goal against Tata. The second half witnessed no goals. Jaipur was through to the final. Jaipur: 2, Kashmir: 0. Hyderabad took on Tata next. A win was essential for either team to qualify. Hyderabad opened the scoring, somewhat against the flow of play. Tata’s Prithvi struck from the top of the D and scored! Both sides created chances, but despite good play by the likes of Gautam and Palta for Tata, and Johnny, Hanumant and Bhatal for Hyderabad, goals remained elusive for both sides. A draw knocked both teams out of the competition. Hyderabad: 1 - Tata: 1.

Kashmir then took on Jaipur. Kashmir featured Sandeep Vij, the ‘Sunday morning regulars’ of Pragyat, Atwal, Bery, Sanjeev, Bajaj, Rahul,

Finals Stage 1: Kashmir v. Oberoi. A win over Oberoi could see Kashmir through to the final. Captain Dhiren, along with the fearless and oftentimes prostrate Rajesh, did a terrific job of smothering all the Kashmir attacks. The young Oberoi midfield and forwards combined well to keep the Kashmir defence on its toes and Arshad’s wizardry with the stick was on full display. The deadlock was broken by a super goal by Nikhil for Oberoi.

Atwal gets the better of Anant

Shrivats gets the pass away with Gautam bearing down

Down, but not out, Kashmir poured on the pressure and Vij and Bery earned Kashmir a penalty stroke. Unfortunately, Vij went down on the play, dislocating his shoulder and had to make a trip to the hospital. Sanjeev stepped up to take the push. The Oberoi keeper dismissed it easily. That was to be the best chance for Kashmir in the game. Oberoi: 1 – Kashmir: 0. The final – Jaipur v Oberoi. Jaipur had won the 2014 final 5-0 so temperatures were high. Several old boys turned up to watch the game and created a festive atmosphere. Jaipur dictated much of the play with Oberoi adopting a counter-attacking approach. In the second half Jaipur dominated. Oberoi barely carried the ball into Jaipur’s half with their backs forming an impenetrable line. Would Jaipur score or would Oberoi take it to penalty strokes? A sharp hit from the half line was received by Kunal around the Oberoi D and beating defenders, a well-placed push got Jaipur a goal five minutes from the end! Jaipur: 1 – Oberoi: 0. The win is Jaipur’s sixth on the trot! Oberoi finished runners-up followed by Tata, Hyderabad and Kashmir in that order. The trophies were handed out by DSOBS President RPN ‘Richie’ Singh and Vice President Jaswinder ‘Bull’ Singh. Kudos to Fortis Healthcare for the medical cover and Jatin Bobb and SABMiller for keeping everyone hydrated and in good spirits!

Archit, Shrivats and Kunal receive the winners trophy for Jaipur House from Richie

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

Inter-House Football Karam Mehra 184 J, 2003

The weather was kind, the turnout was great, and the games were hard fought and competitive - played in the true Dosco spirit of aggression and camaraderie. The annual DSOBS inter-house football tournament was played at Plaza farms over two days – July 25-26th, 2015 – a weekend well spent. The ceremony was kicked off by the chairman of the board of governors Gautam Thapar (200 H, 1979). Also in attendance to spur the teams on, were Jaswinder Singh ‘Bull’, Vice Presidence DSOBS and Rahul Kohli (81 J, 1975), EC Member. The first games kicked off under a crisp sun with just the right amount of humidity to make the teams break into a sweat before kick off. Jaipur House reclaimed the trophy after a gap of two years to make it a fifth win. The final was a hotly contested affair between Oberoi House and Jaipur House, with Jaipur emerging triumphant with a 4-2 victory after

initially trailing 2-1 in the first half. The second half was a different ball game with a hard fought fight back where Jaipur House scored 3 goals without reply. I must take this opportunity to thank the entire team for not giving up and being resilient right till the final whistle.

by VP of the DSOBS Jaswinder Singh Bull and the winners were awarded the trophy by the chief guest of the evening Mr AN Dar. Mr Dar graciously made it to the DSOBS event and attended the entire second day session, sitting through all the matches with great patience. Aside from teaching English and being Hyderabad housemaster, Mr Dar was also master-in-charge of football while at school. A special thanks to all the teams for taking part this year and to all team captains for getting their squads together. That includes Mohinder

Pratap Singh Atwal, Varun Rai, Prithvi Singh Gill, Abhinandan Niku Sekhri and myself. Roy and Seth were outstanding with Seth being awarded ‘most valuable player’ title. Vahin Khosla was the top scorer with 18 goals to his credit! Prithvi Gill and Karam Mehra ensured everything went off smoothly and this event was a huge success. The turnout of such an audience was very encouraging with family members of the players showing up to support the teams.

A special mention must go out to Oberoi House. Abhinandan ‘Niku’ Sekhri and his young chargers went unbeaten till the final. Stand out performers were Yuv Vir Khosla and Vahin Khosla who spearheaded their attack. Stand out performers for Jaipur House were Anant Singh Mann , Aditya Vir Roy attacking combination led Jaipur House to victory. In defence Waseefullah Khan Sherwani and Raghav Puri were rock solid. The Jaipur House goal was fiercely protected by Khalid Amin Alawneh. I would like to thank the rest of the team for putting in spirited performances - Aman Nath, Anandbir Brar, Gopal Singh Mann, Shrivats Chandra and Shubhendu Kumar The runners-up trophy was handed to Oberoi house

The 5 teams line-up for a group shot prior to the start of the tournament

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL

Jaswinder Bull, Gautam Thapar, Rahul Kohli

Oberoi House mounts an attack on the Jaipur House Goal, in the final

Jaswinder Bull, Karam Mehra Jaipur House Captain, Mr. AN Dar

The scores for each match leading upto the final were: WIN - 3 POINTS, DRAW - 1 POINT, LOSS - 0 POINTS

HYDERABAD JAIPUR (4 POINTS) (7 POINTS)

KASHMIR (0 POINTS)

OBEROI (12 POINTS)

TATA (5 POINTS)

Round 1: H vs J - 1 : 4 H vs T - 2 : 2

Round 1 J vs K - 8 : 1 J vs H - 5 : 1

Round 1 K vs J - 1 : 8 K vs O - 0 : 8

Round 1 O vs T - 5 : 2 O vs K - 8 : 0

Round 1 T vs O - 2 : 5 T vs H - 2 - 2

Round 2 H vs O - 2 : 3 H vs K - 4 : 0

Round 2 J vs O - 3 : 6 J vs T - 0 : 0

Round 2 K vs T - 0 : 2 K vs H - 0 : 4

Round 2 O vs J - 6 : 3 O vs H - 3 : 2

Round 2 T vs K - 2 : 0 T vs J - 0 : 0

FINAL - J vs O - 4 - 2 Goal Scorers: JAIPUR HOUSE - Shivaan seth 2 / Aditya Vir Roy 2. OBEROI HOUSE - Vahin Khosla 1 / Yuv Vir Khosla 1

Old Boys’ and wives supported their respective teams

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL

CRICKET QUADRANGULAR Donny Singh 878 T, 1982

After the great success of the OBs Triangular Cricket Tournament, hosted by the DSOBS at The Doon School in December 2014, Dr. Sumer Singh (299 J, 1968) the principal of Daly College was very keen for Daly alumni to host the first Quadrangular Cricket Tournament at Indore in February this year. This tournament provided a platform for the alumni of all four premier institutions, namely Mayo, Daly, Sanawar and Doon to get together in one place. This would create a sense of camaraderie and bonhomie amongst them, which I must admit has been achieved, as the old hatchets have been buried, making way for mutual respect and friendship. The Dalian hospitality was par excellence, with them pulling out all the stops. Apart from competing on the field, these get-togethers have given us an opportunity to play an ambassadorial role for Doon by us meeting the boards of governors and other members of Daly, Mayo and Sanawar over cricket.

The teams line-up for the official photograph

Even though this tournament was held quite close to the Triangular one, the DSOBS think tank of Sandeep Vij, Raghav Mallik and myself, made sure that we fielded a reasonably strong team, in spite of players unable to travel to Indore over that weekend. The Dosco team featured seniors from 1982 right down to youngsters from 2008. The team was a good blend of youth and experience.

Standing L to R: Vivan Rai (2008), Shrivats Chandra (2008), Hemant Bishnoi (2006), Uday Bawa (1994), Simar Barnala (2006), Arshad Khan (1996) and Rituraj Raizada (2008)

Dr Sumer Singh, Donny Singh, Raghav Mallik and Sandeep Vij

Sitting L to R: Abhishek Misra (1991), Raghav Mallik (1984), Donny Singh (1982), Dr. Sumer Singh (1968), Sandeep Vij (1982) and Manas (1994)

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

T R AV E L S

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL

SAHIL VOHRA 56 J, 2002

A mosque in Istanbul

Whirling Dervishes

Sea Gulls

Bosphorus Cruise

Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia viewed from Asia

Okratoy Mosque

Bosphorus Bridge

The Basilica Cistern

Sultahamet tourist area

Pigeons at Galata bridge

Chess

Tulip glass tea

Sahil incubates start-ups for a living and travels extensively. He feels photography is the closest we can come to permanence. 29

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

Father, Phelps, Firpos, Refugees, Fairlawn 73 K, 1955

Everything in the title is what Calcutta is for me ever since 1948. I am writing this cameo in my room at the Fairlawn hotel, this being my 35th year of coming and going from this charming Calcutta institution.

As we looked at the past through the prism of the present, we experienced the warts of freedom in Calcutta: malaria, cholera, violence, electoral din, the arrival of Coke and Pepsi in step with the abomination of modern slab-block, glass-fronted buildings. Also the slow demise of Indian Tonic Water, a beverage as typically Indo-Brit as could be. We also witnessed the rebirth of social snobbery with fair-to-brownish upper-caste tones: a reincarnated colour-bar directed at lesser native mortals. A ‘free and independent’ snobbery grossly visible in tea, and in companies such as Imperial that was renamed India Tobacco. There was snobbery at work and play in clubs like Tollygunge and the Royal. It was more than a lark and laugh to see 30

housed many a unique doyen of Indianism such as Allen Llewellyn Basham, Ralph Russel, Peter Hardie, Kenneth Ballhatchet and others. Doyens of ancient Indian wonders, Ghalib, Arab-Mughal medievalism, colonialism and its hangover. These past six years my friend, companion and partner at the Fairlawn has been my very own ‘my fair lady’ Ningamla Lungleng. A beauteous Tangkul Naga that she is, Ningmala’s roots straddle across Manipur, Nagaland, Burma, Tibet and Mongolia! The late Violet Smith (who owned and ran the Fairlawn) - may peace reign upon her soul – never failed to remind me that I did not deserve such a splendid specimen of humanity as Ningamla to be a star in my life!

Baljit Malik

The first time I came here was in the summer of 1980 with friend and fellow travel writer Anna Lloyd - an attractively witty and British as a woman can be. We were in this north eastern metropolis to work on our book An Indian View of the British – The Raj Remembered from India. What better place to have been encamped at, than the Fairlawn. With gin and tonic (elevenses) to keep malaria away, we set-off into British Calcutta to discover the rights and wrongs, the good and bad of the old days.

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL

Fairlawn, Room No. 8

brown sahibs and their desi mems imitate their erstwhile white masters. Most of all, Anna and I enjoyed taking in the remnants of Anglo-Indian culture still alive in the dance bands and legendry crooners of the Jewel in the Crown that Calcutta used to be. Legends like Pam Crain crooning the best of pop and jazz at Princes in the Oberoi Grand, and at the Blue Fox on Park Street. Like Dick Morrissey blowing his tea-time tenor-saxophone at Trinca’s. Like the classicist John Mayer and his violin before he moved to London in the 1960s to team up with the likes of the West Indian Joe Harriott Quintet to produce the pioneering series of Indo-Jazz fusion. The early 1960s were also my London years at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). More than an academic institution of excellence, SOAS was a melting pot of races, religions and languages: its own crop of eccentrics. It also

My Calcutta years stretch back to 1946 when my father ‘KS’ acquired Phelps on old Court House Street opposite the Great Eastern Hotel. Civil and military tailors of class and finesse, Phelps was also a renowned business in New Delhi’s Connaught Place, and on the Mall in Simla. Later, dad went on to establish branches at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun, and at the National Defence Academy in Khadakvasla near Poona. In his younger days, my father made a name for himself manufacuring silk parachutes for the Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF). In the 1950s, I was introduced to the stylish bar that was Sherry’s at the Great Eastern Hotel by dad, to the ever lively Italian restaurant, Firpos on Chowringee, to cabarets at the Golden Slipper. And off-the-beaten track haunts – without dad – to the less sedate joints on Free School Street. Those were the days of friendly, efficient informality. I can picture father clearly as he dashed with his attaché-case one day from his office in Connaught Place to catch the afternoon Dakota from Willingdon–Safdarjung to Calcutta Dumdum. A trifle late, he saw the plane taxi to its take-off

point. Dad waved desperately to his pilot-friend Captain Patwardan, who slowed the engines, returned to the terminal and ordered the ground staff to enable dad to board the plane! Years later in 1971 it was a very different Calcutta for me. Oceans of refugees arrived uprooted, sick and in rags – caught as they were in the crossfire of the liberation and creation of Bangladesh and the desperate violence of a defeated Pakistani army. I arrived in Calcutta with a motley group of boys, girls and teachers from the school of which I was Head in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Those in the group had hardly ever ventured beyond the world of Udaipur District. We were on our way to volunteer at the smallest refugee camp – Digberia, only 35,000 inmates – on the Jessore Road to 24 Parganas. Oh what a sight and what emotions we felt. We were stunned into silence as our volunteers stood on Howrah Bridge! The cacophony, the crowds, the traffic, the giant girders of steel! Then, onto help dress the wounds of the 1971 war. Our team did a splendid job. Calcutta and the camps in turn injected us with strong doses of stark reality to bring us down to earth from the relatively idyllic world of lakes, palaces and hills that was Udaipur. Now, back to the present at Fairlawn. This time round, my room-mate being Sorei Keishing, Tangkul-Naga artist, painter, sculptor, comic-book maker and much more. I have brought him to Calcutta to meet my friend of 50 years, artist extraordinaire, the redoubtable Rathin Mitra. And as Soreh sketches Fairlawn, I write this cameo. I cannot help it, but my eyes moisten at not being able to meet the grand old lady of Fairlawn, Lady Violet Smith - resplendent in her immaculate coiffure, evergreen with her titillating tales and anecdotes of the passing show and the panorama of Calcutta life; Calcutta then, Calcutta now. 31

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

There Comes A Time – I Aamir Ali 214 K, 1939

I owe thanks to Kyril Tidmarsh for having bullied me into launching this series of articles; and even more for nagging me into going on with them. I owe thanks to Nalni Jayal, Gurdial Singh and Indira Ramesh, for the time and trouble they have taken to correct, revise, and edit them.

In and Out of Doon School I am 91 years old. In a few months I will be 92. And then 93: or perhaps I will never reach 93. I want to tell you about my life when I was in my early twenties, around 1946. Not because there was anything remarkable about it - in fact, just because there wasn’t. So let’s begin with a practice hockey game, a game like any other, though it seemed a life and death struggle to the players. I was an assistant master in the Doon School at the foot of the Himalayas, and I was as eager a player as any. The score was 4-3 (scoring was pretty prolific in those days) and there were about 15 minutes to go. We saw one of the school messengers weaving his way dangerously across the field, carrying a missive from the Headmaster, Mr Arthur Foot. Missive duly delivered to me, and signed for, the messenger was sent back on his dangerous way. I noted with some disgust that the missive was a nasty scrap of paper with a nasty, hand-written scrawl to adorn it. I stuffed it in my pocket and continued with the game. We won; the score remained 4-3. It was only when I got back to my chambers, a very comfortable two rooms adjoining the boys’ dormitories that I read the HM’s message. 32

I should tell you something about the HM’s relationship with me: it was close - very close, I should say - but not very warm. He had recently spent a day with us in Japan, where we were living at the time. Mrs Salim Ali, my aunt, was staying with us for a few weeks while her husband was on a birding expedition in Afghanistan. The Salim Alis were very close to the ‘Feet’. We were thinking of returning to India soon as war clouds had begun to loom. Mr Foot was very tall, which should have been an advantage, and was. The Salim Alis were keen advocates of the newly set up Doon School and its Headmaster. Ergo, I found myself there a few months later as a student. I landed straight from Japan, at the Doon School, in the middle of term. The boys all looked alike. Two years to Indianise me, four to rub out the Japanese part of me, and back at the Doon again as an assistant master. I already had had two years as a student there. Two days after I had finished my graduation exam I received a cable from Foot asking whether I would step into the place of a master who had left suddenly. Am I writing about how I came to the Doon or how I left it?

The Charges So, back to Doon. By this time, I had read the HM’s message, the one that had crossed the hockey field to get to me. It said that he did not intend to renew my contract beyond the current term. What was that? They did not intend to renew my contract beyond the current term? This came as a bombshell

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL to me; a real pukka bombshell. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t even know that I had a contract (or if I did, that it could be in such a scruffy form). I hurried to the swimming pool - where we usually took a dip before dinner - and I held a council of war with my friends Bidhu Jayal and Gurdial Singh. I guess the pool helped keep the general temperature down. In an unbelievably short time, the school was buzzing with this news. Boys asked me if it was true; how could it be. Two days later, I asked to see the HM. I had little hope of any change of mind but the scrappy paper and general sloppiness of the manner in which the whole matter was conducted, did raise some questions. Foot was extremely cordial. “I am very glad to have a talk with you,” he said. “Let’s have some tea.” He saw the scrap of paper in my hand and let out a hearty laugh. “A pure mistake,” he said. “The messenger was supposed to hand it in for typing; he’s a real uloo. Here, give it to me.” He snatched it from my hand, crumpled it a bit more, and threw it away in the nearest waste paper basket. He talked for a long time. His main point was that he didn’t believe one could double school mastering with any other job. One or the other, he said, and I had chosen the other - writing. (Had I?) I should describe the atmosphere in which Mr Foot and I met. It was spring 1946. There could not have been a more tense or sensitive time than this. The whole country was in a state of convulsion. Here are some of the points that galled Foot, rightly or wrongly: The Doon School Weekly, of which I was the Manager, was published every Saturday morning: news, reports, gossip, what have you. Once it conducted a Gallup Poll; it was an experiment to find out who

the greatest man in the world was. Mahatma Gandhi was unbeatable. Winston Churchill came below several others, but also below Hitler. Foot was most displeased. There was an earlier episode which I had forgotten about which I came across in a bundle of old letters very recently. I had written them to my mother when I was 21. Here is an extract from one of 4 November 1944 when Sardar Khan, Bidhu Jayal and I, amongst others, were invited to a dinner party by John Martyn, House Master and Deputy Head Master. After dinner, Bidhu made some excuse and left. I wrote that Sardar and I “had a terrific argument with the Englishmen... I have now reached the stage of the other Indian masters here...that it is just a waste of time and breath to argue with Englishmen and the best thing is never to discuss anything with them except... football....” I would certainly not have written anything like that now! An Old Boy wrote saying funds should be collected for the Indian National Army to fight the charge against them as mutineers. The HM vetoed this; the boy deputed to remove this from the proofs goofed and after a muddle the letter was published after all. I was under the belief that it had been junked. I explained what had happened to Mr Foot, who was justifiably furious. He hauled the boy in and threatened immediate dismissal. The boy in question, Narinder Dass, who was the editor and a prefect, came to me in tears. I was on my high horse and wrote a strong protest to Foot saying any sanction should go against me and not against the editor. I argued that I was in charge of The Weekly, so I should be held responsible for anything that went wrong. There was no reply. I had ordered a couple of books, one on journalism and one on writing in general. (They were pretty poor). As bad luck would have it, they were delivered by mistake to Foot. As I said, he had made a lot of fuss on previous occasions about how impossible 33

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015 it was to do two jobs at once, and that obviously I might prefer journalism. The previous winter, I was on a relief expedition to a flooded area with Foot and three other boys. Two or three local youngsters approached me to find out who we were, and why we were there; they were of the Communist persuasion. We got into a heated discussion. At one point, I said that all Britishers should be kicked out of the country. Alas, I learned that I had been heard by Foot. Jack Gibson, Housemaster, and by far my favourite English master, put on the play Strife, by Galsworthy. It was a huge success. I was given the part of Roberts, the Trade Union leader. Jack Gibson told me later that it was my part in Strife that had led Foot to take the steps he did. “Aamir is just the man for Roberts,” Foot had said. “They are both uncompromising and hard-headed.” The dismissal note was delivered to me the day after the play.

The Aftermath There were repercussions. Four masters wrote to the HM asking him to reconsider his decision; quite a dangerous thing for them to do. None of them could have had any illusion of achieving a result. Gibson was absolutely certain that it was my role as Roberts that did the trick. Nearly every class of mine came to commune with me; this meant boys from 11 to 18 years of age. They wanted to go on strike! It really wasn’t difficult to persuade them that that wasn’t on. Foot left the school in about 1948 to take care of his children in England. The school celebrated its silver anniversary in 1960. Mr Foot was rightly at the forefront of the festivities and had been invited especially from England. However, as a friend of 34

the family, he stayed with us for a couple of days before going on to Dehradun. It was nearly 15 years since we had last met, and our meeting was cordial. I was in India on holiday, also hoping to attend the festivities. One evening I was asked to speak in honour of Nandu Jayal who had died on Cho Oyu, one of the 14, eight thousand-metre peaks. Next morning, a rather flustered Mr Foot came looking for me. “I’m terribly sorry,” he said. “I had no idea that there was going to be anything in the press about this. I assure you I had nothing to do with it.” I didn’t know what he was talking about. We got it cleared up finally. The newspaper had carried a rather full report on the speech. It was attributed to Mr Foot by mistake. I assured him that it was of no importance whatsoever and we had a good laugh over it. Foot and I seemed always to be having a good laugh over something or the other. Somehow, our relationship was more relaxed after this. I couldn’t help feeling a little cock-a-doodle-doo about it. I have remained in close touch - and I mean close - with the School, with the masters, the boys, the gatherings, the Old Boys’ Society and its magazine the Rose Bowl. There were two occasions when I was tempted to go back. In the first instance, in the mid-1960s, I was asked whether I would agree to take the place of the retiring Headmaster, John Martyn. The second was in the mid-1970s, with Mayo College. Mayo had been set up mainly to cater to the sons of maharajahs and the like. It was now becoming democratic under the Headmastership of Jack Gibson, who had moved there from Doon. He revolutionised the school. When he was due to retire, he too asked if I would replace him.

Hindu-Muslim: Bhai-Bhai!

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL makes me forgive any fault he might have had. The Board of Governors was meeting to consider the arrangements for eating and drinking at the School. Should there be separate dining rooms for Hindus and Muslims? For vegetarians and non-vegetarians? Should there be separate places for Hindus and Muslims? And any number of other permutations and combinations around this question.

arrangements for Hindus and Muslims, he would take the next ship back for England. Boys would sit in the order indicated by their age and so on, not by religion. Boys could choose vegetarian or nonvegetarian food, but seating would have no bearing on the food. No pork or beef would be served. And so it was. And there was never any difficulty about seating hence.

The Board consisted of Hindus and Muslims. Some members favoured one solution; some another. Mr Foot stated that if there were to be separate

It was remarkable that an Englishman, who had never been to India before, could take such a strong stand. And win.

Planning a visit to Chandbagh?

Read this first!

We’ve all been there: you turn up to School wanting to walk around memory lane and you require all sorts of school chits and permissions. Now, the DSOBS and School’s Development and Alumni Relations office have digitized this process on dsobs.net so the process is smooth and hassle-free. Click the ‘Plan your visit to the Chandbagh’ button and fill out the online form, after logging into the site. Aside from options to use a golf cart at school for disabled or senior citizens, you can also select visiting the archives so you can see your school records too. There is also a new lounge for Old Boys to rest their weary feet and have a coffee with Rishabh Sharma (553 J, 1994) our friendly director of development and alumni relations (or ‘our man in Havana’). You’ll find a bunch of treasures in there including Bond’s signature pale green-coloured scooter. Check the dsobs.net site for visiting hours.

Mr Foot did a tremendous job of setting up the School in 1935. I learned of one incident about him which 35

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL Camp (ABC). Annapurna Circuit sounded the most exciting, with much trekking in high valleys and a traverse across the highest pass in the world - Thorung La at 17,769 ft. However, the whole trip would have taken almost 25 days and unfortunately that was beyond the time we had at hand. We therefore chose the shorter Annapurna Base Camp (13,545 ft.) trek which would be about a 10-day round trip from Kathmandu, Nepal. So a group assembled in Pokhara in early April 2014 including my wife Shobna, my daughter Anika, two of Shobna’s nephews and a friend; two Nepali guides and three porters, and myself, the team leader. Nobody listened to me of course, particularly the youngsters, but maybe that’s just how I saw things!

DANGEROUS BEAUTY

A Hike To Annapurna Base Camp ASHOK CHAKRAVARTI 163 T, 1963

Ashok, daughter Anika, and sunrise on Annapurna

It was October 2013 and I was back at School attending the golden jubilee (50 years) of the Class of 1963. Being with Gautam, Alok, Ajay and so many others with whom I had shared the joys of trekking and climbing in the mountains, and meeting 36

Gurdial ‘Guru’ Singh, the venerable old man of the mountains himself, inspired me to think of organizing a trip into the high mountains once again. I was going to be 67 next year, and so I decided that this trip would be my 67th birthday present to

myself! I discussed the matter with my daughter Anika, who had just climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro (19,331 ft.) in Tanzania. She expressed excitement at the idea and said, “Rather than going over one of the beaten tracks in the Indian mountains, why don’t

we do something in the Nepal Himalayas?” In the Nepali Himalayas, the three best options in terms of high altitude treks were Everest Base Camp (EBC), Annapurna Circuit and Annapurna Base

Day one started with a threehour drive to the road-head past Nayapul; a one-road town lined with shops selling equipment for treks up to ABC and beyond. From there we shouldered our rucksacks and started the steep climb to the village of Ghandruk, 15 km away. After an interminable uphill climb in the hot sun consisting of several thousand stone steps, we arrived at our destination. Along the way we stopped in at a fair number of tea houses: think one to zero star hotels, but with amazing menus.

We were offered a grand choice of Nepali, Indian, Italian, Chinese and Mexican cuisine, which in my opinion could give some five-star hotels, a run for their money. After settling in, we sat on the terrace, which gave us a magnificent view of Machhapuchare (fish tail) which is associated with Lord Shiva and therefore closed off to climbers. Unfortunately clouds covered the Annapurna massif, but for me it was exhilarating just to be out in the mountains again! Next morning we started out late – a big mistake we discovered later. The track wound up and down, and finally we descended to one of the streams that joined the Modi Khola river in the main valley. After a quick lunch we started the ascent to the highest settlement in this valley, the village of Chhomrung, high above us. At about 2pm it started raining heavily. We all got soaked to the skin and decided from the following day we would start at the first light of dawn so that we missed these afternoon torrential showers. With the mist and rain, this had been a miserable day. The only excitement had been the discovery by the youngsters of a field of marijuana plants. Of course, I didn’t allow them to spend too much time there!

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

CHHOTA HAZRI WITH FISH TAILS Chhomrung is a Gurung village. The Gurungs are an ethnic group of Nepalis like Sherpas and are Hindus with a distinct Tibetan flavour. As we sipped our morning tea with Gurung bread, a deep-fried naan essentially, we were treated to an incredible view of the sunrise on Machhapuchare, now looming closer. The day’s trek continued on the right bank of the Modi Khola, crossing high suspension bridges built over side streams, and then into a thick rhododendron forest. The beautiful pink and reddish blooms were everywhere and reminded me of the many mid-term treks that we did while at School. After several hours, the track descended into bamboo forests and soon we were almost by the main river. We spent that night at a stop appropriately called Bamboo. The Modi Khola valley had now begun to narrow into something of a gorge, and the next day the narrow track rose and fell sharply as we had to traverse across several cliffs. We could see the clear blue stream several hundred feet below us. Above us the rock faces rose high into the Annapurna range with Machhapuchare on the other side. Deurali village was our last stop before entering the upper valley. 38

Proudly wearing the Class of ‘63 shirt

AVALANCHES AND ADVENTURE The vegetation now grew sparse and the scenery more full of rocks and snow. On both sides of the valley, high cliffs rose towards the peaks above. After a few hours of trekking we came to a point where a huge avalanche had come down from Hunchuli peak (21,300 ft.), on the southern edge of the Annapurna massif. The pulverized ice had completely blocked the track for 500 or 600 metres. We were told that the avalanche had occurred a week earlier. Luckily nobody had been trekking there at that time and to think we were just strolling up the mountains! The guides indicated that we had no choice but to cross over the Modi Khola river to the other side. A temporary log bridge had been

put in place, but it was a precarious crossing over boulders and a raging stream below. Further up there was the danger again of avalanches from the cliffs of Machhapuchare above us, and so we crossed back to the right bank. After crossing several snow bridges across small streams, the valley began to open out again. We were now in its upper reaches, and the vista reminded me of something out of Tolkien novel. After a short climb over rocks and snow we arrived at a sign saying “Machhapuchare Base Camp”. A small tea shop welcomed us. The clouds were closing in, but it was still early and so we decided to press on to Annapurna Base Camp, supposedly just an hour away. The track had been obscured by heavy snowfall in the area. So

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL we followed a route just below the ridge of a lateral moraine. The four youngsters decided I was too slow for them and rushed off ahead with one of the guides. After an hour or so up the snow slopes, my wife began to lag behind. I left her with one of the guides, and the porters, and carried on at my own pace. All of a sudden, clouds descended on me and I was engulfed in heavy snow fall and piercing winds. The blizzard caused painful stinging across my face. Soon, my visibility was reduced to a couple of feet. I could not believe that the weather had changed so rapidly and that I was in conditions which could be called a ‘whiteout’. I was alone and not quite sure of what to do. I could of course wait for those still coming up, but there was no shelter where I was and it was now freezing cold. I figured that the ridge of the moraine was quite safe and that ABC should not be too far away.

I had experienced similar conditions once before, in 1967, when I was trekking with a group of friends from St. Stephen’s College in the upper reaches of the Kalabaland glacier in the Milam region of Kumaon in what was then still Uttar Pradesh. We had earlier climbed a peak around 20,500 ft. at the top of the glacier, and then since the weather was good, we decided to look for the Ralam Dhura, a famous pass around 16,000 ft. in the area. We did eventually get to the pass but were then subjected to similar conditions I faced in Annapurna, that is, a total ‘white out’; no visibility, and a raging blizzard. The danger in such conditions is that one gets lost and then freezes to death in the open as happened to the 40 trekkers on the Annapurna Circuit last year. Anyhow, the main thing was not to panic, but

to find our way back slowly and carefully, avoid the crevasses, and try as best as possible to follow the landmarks that we had noticed on the way up. It took us six hours of slow trudging in the new and deep snow, but we eventually made it back. Based on this past experience I maintained a similar mindset, no panic, no doubtful thoughts. I just followed the crest of the moraine in a very slow but determined manner hoping that it would eventually get me to ABC. I was not worried about the kids because they were far ahead of me and I presumed that they must have reached before the storm. I was very worried about my wife, but she was with a guide and the porters who had done this route scores of time before. So I felt she must be in extreme discomfort but at least she was with experienced peo-

I trudged slowly through the snow storm, my feet getting buried with every step into the newly fallen snow. I went on for close to two hours until to my great relief, I came upon a sign indicating that I had reached ABC. It took me another half hour to reach one of the nearest tea houses and get out of the raging blizzard. The Team at Annapurna Base Camp 39

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015 ple who knew the route and so could come through this safely. I then found the four youngsters of our group. Being much faster and with a guide, they had only experienced the initial part of the storm and wondered why I made such a big fuss about my walk through the storm! We were quite worried about my wife and the porters, who were much farther behind. They eventually showed up another hour later, having walked in the snow storm for almost four hours – all completely frozen to the bone, but with no real harm suffered.

With the bad weather, we had given up hope of being rewarded with the spectacular view of the whole Annapurna range from ABC, something which was supposed to cap off our trip. We climbed into our sleeping bags feeling disconsolate. Around 2am however, nature called and so I put on my boots and stepped out. Astonishingly, the storm had lifted completely. The sky was clear with a myriad stars and most awesome of all was the spectacular view of Annapurna I and II, now bathed in the bright moonlight. I quickly woke up the others for this un-

Sunrise on Machhapuchare

As I write this, I am reminded of the tragic incident which occurred in October 2014, when sudden snow storms caused the deaths of over 40 people on the Annapurna Circuit. In our case it seemed, the goddess Annapurna had been kind. 40

forgettable view. We all stood in awe of the great mountain and felt blessed that we indeed had the privilege of seeing something so heavenly and beautiful. The next morning we all got up early to see sunrise on Annapurna. As the sun rose in the east,

the summit and south face of Annapurna emerged out of the morning darkness, now bathed in a majestic golden glow. Everyone’s cameras were out now, recording this wondrous sight so that it would remain etched in our memories. The goddess had bestowed all her favours on us! The way down was relatively uneventful. I say relatively, because the blizzard had caused all the boulders and rocks to become icy. Near Machhapuchare Base Camp, I slipped and went flying off one of these boulders and damaged my left shoulder. The sprain still bothers me even today, particularly when I play golf, but there is a fond memory associated with the fleeting pain. A few days march, a steep climb consisting of almost 3,000 stone steps all the way up to the village of Chhomrung, and we were back at the road head. Then on to Kathmandu, a shave, a wonderful hot shower, and our flight back to Zimbabwe. I thought this was going to be my last trek. But now I am under pressure from my daughter and her friends to go out again next year. Maybe I will spend my 68th birthday on the Annapurna Circuit, or Tilicho Lake and Pass, or perhaps Everest Base Camp. It would seem that the mountains will never stop beckoning me. Ashok Chakravarti can be contacted at ashok.chakravarti@yoafrica.com

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL

Master Blasters The one-liners of teachers at Doon are as old as the ivy on the main building. But they will forever echo in the minds of those of us who walked briskly through its halls, often in the opposite direction of whence those one-liners emanated. In a collection of some of the greatest hits of masterly wit from The Doon School, this is five of the best! “Mr. Kisslay...smoke less. You will automatically get up for PT!” – Mr SK Vohra to Pragye Kisslay (87 K, 1995) who maintains to this day that he didn’t smoke at school. Eashan Mukherjee (160 O, 1997). Having gotten away with it, or so he thought, Eashan broke into a victory jig whilst NKB was not looking. Mr Bedhotiya however caught this dance in the reflection of a window to ask, “Why you isssscrew me from back side?” “You have no sense! You are nonsense!” Music teacher Mr Chattopadhyay remarking on a student having no physical reaction on being smacked on his knuckles!

Guru had a habit of bringing his newspaper to class (in my A-form) and discussing articles that had caught his attention. As this proceeded through the term, it became clear that we weren’t going to learn much geography, and some of us became a little perturbed about flunking Trials, and eventually our finals. One day, Guru came in and started reading out loud an article about inflation which he thought would interest us. I had never heard of inflation before, and didn’t care for it, so I interrupted him and reminded him that we were supposed to be

learning geography.

(Kartik Bajoriya 311 O, 1998)

He put down his newspaper, peered over his classes at me, and very solemnly intoned: “Mr Kumar, there is nothing that I can teach you about geography that is as important as you learning about inflation.”

“Mein duster phekoonga, and then I don’t care if it breaks your eye or head!” Sukhdev Bhatia warning his students about getting upto mischief in his classroom circa 1996. (Govind Dhar 192 T, 1997)

He was right, of course. (Arun Kumar 99 K, 1976) If you have any Master Blasters

On an inspection through the rooms in Oberoi house, Neeraj

Bedhotiya,

housemaster

failed to spot a contraband Sony Discman

being

concealed

to share, send them to us at therosebowleditor@gmail.com or on Facebook by finding us with ‘thedoonrosebowl’.

by 41

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

That Clueless Clot Indi Singh

I offered no opposition. Jayvant should have known better and suspected that all was not kosher! The next day he went off to work in the car. Soon after, I hopped on to our motorcycle and zoomed off to the

wife of late Rajkumar Jayvant Singh 180 H, 1945

Flying Club, an eager beaver if ever there was one. Mr Lall was my flying instructor, and so the days

When I was young, I bore a burning ambition to be

sped by, my cup of happiness overflowing, as I

an Air Force pilot, flying dangerous missions for my

learnt to fly a Piper Supercub. I would later return

country. But that was not to be. More than 50 years

home and demurely await Jayvant’s return.

ago, women pilots were a rarity in India and in the Indian Air Force – practically a non-existent entity.

One day Mr Lall was about to give my weekly booking slots for flying to my husband. Agitatedly

My brother Hari Bhagat joined the IAF and became

I told him that Jayvant had no clue about my

a dashing fighter pilot, much admired and envied

clandestine flying activities. So from that day all

by his kid sister. In time, I met and married his good

the instructors and members of Juhu Flying Club,

friend, Jayvant Singh who was also a fighter pilot

including members of the Bombay Squadron, were

in the IAF.

sworn to secrecy! The only person on that airfield unaware of my “daily high” was Jayvant!

An opportunity to partially fulfill my dreams arose when my husband was attached to the IAF as

Instructor. Being well under 25 years of age (in that

an instructor to the Bombay Squadron. This had

pre-historic time) I was entitled to a government

been raised at Juhu Airport by the Government, to

subsidy which enabled me to fly at the incredible

encourage civilian youngsters (only gents mind

rate of ten rupees an hour, for powered flying.

you) to learn how to fly. One day, just before my lessons started, we were driving past Juhu beach, a quiet spot in those far off days, when we witnessed a terrible flying accident between a light aircraft and a PIA (Pakistan International Airways) aircraft which was coming in to land at the then International Airport of Santa Cruz. The PIA aircraft landed safely but with difficulty. The wing of the light aircraft was sheared clean off and the craft spun into the sea, killing both its pilot and joyrider. Juhu Flying Club was right across the airfield

As far as Jayvant was concerned, my flying career

from Jayvant’s squadron, and I persuaded him

was over even before it had taken off. “With our

to let me learn to fly there. As he knew all the

young son, Vijit, we can’t have two members of the

instructors at the Flying Club, I was duly introduced

family flying,” he stated firmly. He received the full

to them, among them Mr Lall, the CFI or Chief Flying

backing of family members from both sides.

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL

Though I did my solo in just under 8 hours, I dared not share my triumph and excitement with anyone,

aggravated the instructor, but before he could

neither friends nor relatives. I passed the written

explode, the pupil said “Excuse me sir, but that

exams and flying tests and then awaited my PPL or

is not some crazy flying club type, but your wife

Private Pilot’s Licence.

who is flying!” This pupil took great pleasure from repeating this episode to all and sundry later.

One day I was practising ‘circuits and bumps’ or takeoffs and landings, when a Tiger joined my

Meanwhile, unaware of any high drama, I happily

circuit. As it was a faster aircraft than mine, I should

continued practicing my landings, until I noticed

have, as per air regulations, given way to him,

a Tiger Moth observing my manoeuvres. Aware

gone round again and then landed my plane. But I

that the cat was out of the bag, I hurriedly taxied

side-slipped the Tiger and landed ahead of him so

back and went home awaiting a well deserved

that he had to go around one more time.

reprimand. Instead I got a reprieve, as my husband good-naturedly said that as I was already flying

Meanwhile, in the Tiger Moth, an irate instructor

solo, he had better check on my flying to prevent

yelled at his pupil “Who is that clueless clot flying?

me being a flying hazard!!

Must be one of these crazy flying club types. Take his number down. I am going to report him and get

Of course, when I got my PPL, friends, family and

him grounded!”

instructors threw a great celebration for me. Jayvant participated in it with as much zest as

The pupil grinned from ear-to-ear, which further

any of us. 43

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

Little Steps to a Cleaner India Aviral Garg 191 K, 2016

I have designed a foldable bin that can be placed on the back of a car seat. The main objective of coming out with such a product was to make it more convenient for people to dispose of the garbage in their cars which would prevent them from littering on the streets. I started working on this project because honestly, I want to live in a clean India. I feel that without the support of the nation, the government is powerless. Though the current government has tried to clean the streets through the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’, it has failed to achieve its real target of a cleaner India because of the lack of our support. While we continue littering on the streets, even cleaning them up daily won’t solve the problem. I realized that many a times it can be an inconvenient task to hold on to empty wrappers or other such forms of garbage in the car till you reach your destination and find a bin. This made me come up with the idea of having a bin inside our cars. This would not only make it easier for people in cars to dispose of waste but also prevent them from littering on the streets which would only help keep our country cleaner. It took me a little over two weeks to come up with the final design. I started by researching ‘car bins’ on the internet. Though I came across a few products, they were mostly overpriced and the others would keep on toppling, as they were not particularly designed for cars. Despite an extensive search through the local market I was surprised to find nothing that resembled a car bin. So I drew a rough sketch of the design on a paper and approached a 46

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL too quickly and would often pierce the cloth, I replaced it with a zip. So after making many improvements to the initial design I finally came up with the bin which I thought was good enough for mass production. Before placing the order I made a few samples and gave them to a few friends and asked them to let me know if they had any problems in using the bin. After my product sample had been approved by all, I sent it for mass production.

keeping the costs minimal without compromising on ease-of-use or quality. Also my lack of experience in such a task was quite an obstacle.

Since I wanted to make this bin for the masses, it had to be affordable. The major challenge was

I see a huge growth potential in this product so I plan to make it a more commercial entity by branding it. I am still in the process of working on its brand name and logo. After I have finalized these, I will target a wider audience through e-commerce websites such as ‘Flipkart’ and ‘Snapdeal’.

Though the product was priced in such a manner that it wasn’t earning me a phenomenal profit, I was extremely happy as I was able to fulfil my primary objective which was to raise awareness and sell a great number of bins for a cleaner India.

If you’d like to assist Aviral with his innovation or get more information, please do so at 191@doonschool.com.

local vendor who makes bags and asked him if it was possible to manufacture my design. He pointed out a few flaws in my design so I kept on reworking it. I looked at the design of similar products such as pouches and small bags carefully, and tried to incorporate the ideas that could suit my bin. Once the design was finalized, I started looking at the materials which would make the bin cheap without compromising on its uality. Canvas and matte fulfilled these criteria, but ultimately I chose matte as it was lighter, stronger and cheaper. The first samples that I made had a spring to make it a foldable bin, but since the spring would get spoiled

The fully expanded bin

The compressed zipped easy-to-carry bin

A filled bin 47

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

Staying Fit over 40 Siddharth Chowdhury 91 K, 1991

If you live in the city, being a member of a gym is more of a necessity, than a luxury. As we get older and past the age of 35 our bodies start to lose muscle mass, and bone density. Our metabolism starts to slow down and there’s a decline in testosterone levels but don’t worry - it’s natural. With the help of training or physical activity two or three times a week for a period of just 45 minutes, you can slow down this process dramatically. There are a many things one can do or deem as physical, but I would recommend a bit of weight training. The simple reason is that it boosts the immune system, regenerates muscle tissue, strengthens ligaments and helps increase bone density. Start with your diet. It is a major part of being healthy and staying in good shape so some health tips from me would be: zz A squeeze of lime juice in a glass of water: Make it the first drink of the day when you wake up. Lime is alkaline to the body and it helps speed up metabolism and is a great detoxifier for the liver. zz Having a high-protein diet is 48

the optimum way towards fat loss. As your body will need more energy to incorporate each amino acid from protein into lean muscle tissue, you reduce fat because your body burns significantly more calories in this process than if you had eaten the same amount of fat or carbohydrates.

zz Olive oil is good eaten on its own, coconut oil is good and healthy for cooking purposes.

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL 1 Deadlifts are great because it

4 The bent over row is where

works the glutes, hamstrings, abdominals and lower back muscles. The amount of sets should be around 4-5 but the repetition range should vary between 5-8. Go higher for strength training purposes. Check with a trainer for what weight you should start with.

you lean over a support and lift weights toward your chest. Muscles worked: lowerback, lats, biceps, deltoids and abs. Sets: 5. Rep range: 8-10.

zz Drink green tea to lose fat.

5 Pull-ups work the whole back.

2 Squats help work the quadri-

zz Stay away from processed foods as they contain high amounts of sugar and flavouring agents. Beware of packaging that says ‘Natural’ or ‘Organic’ too. Read the labels for E-numbered ingredients and preservatives. zz There is evidence that certain foods like carbohydrates, sugars and salty foods result in chemical messages to the brain that causes us to eat more. Practice restraint!

ceps, glutes, adductors, lowerback, abdominal muscles. The sets should be around 4 with the repetition range between 10-12.

Sets: 5. Reps: 6. I recommend one does 5-6 pull ups at a time but maintain good form as opposed to banging out a lot of reps without good form.

Recommended Exercise

The six exercises I would recommend are all multi-jointed movements or compound movements. This means they require the use of more than one part of the body to be performed, hence the body works in conjunction as a unit. They are great for building muscle, help you lose weight and make you stronger. Always take the advice of a trainer before any weight training or cardio exercise so you know how to exercise your body without risk of harm or injury. The key is to start slow and build from there with a programme suited to your body and health.

3 Bench presses help work the

pectoralis major and minor, and deltoid anterior. There is a variation of the press such as the incline press or the flat press too. Sets: 4. Rep range: 10-12.

6 Overhead presses are where you stand straight and push barbells upward and over your head. Muscles worked: front deltoid, upper pecs and triceps. Sets: 4. Rep range: 8-10.

Rest between sets for between 60-90 seconds. Stretch before and after workouts. Mix your workouts in a week with some cardio exercise. I recommend not more that 30 minutes of steady pace cardio at a time. Mix in some high intensity interval training (HIIT) which means going at 80 percent of your full capacity for 20 seconds before resting and recovering for 10 seconds. You could use any cardio equipment from a treadmill, rowing machine or bike. This kind of cardio exercise is beneficial for fat loss and speeding up the metabolism for maintaining lean muscle. The heart rate is kept high and then forced to recover at short durations. There is a something called EPOC which stands for excess post exercise oxygen consumption. This is where there is a huge deficit of oxygen in the body from intensive training. It might take the body 16-24 hours to replenish those oxygen reserves, hence the body continues to burn calories even post-exercise. If you’re in London this summer and want to meet Siddharth for fitness advice or a preferential work out rate at his gym, contact him on: mustulboy@hotmail.com.

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

HOT SHOTS

GARAGE

START-UP GURU The co-founder of HCL and proud Dosco, Arjun Malhotra (325 K, 1964) is an icon in India’s IT history. We talk to him about his journey to one of the original garage start ups, Hindustan Computers Limited, his work with Goldman Sachs, how Doon shaped him and the apps he’s creating for health in rural India today.

Vidit Paliwal 161 O, 2003

convinced and passionate about the fact that micro-processors would change the world. So, that’s the start of what you know as Hindustan Computers Limited. Initially we did trading in calculators to make some money. Then we invested that money in the develop-ment of computers. We signed a joint venture with UP Electronics Corporation. And the rest is history. It’s now a 100,000+ people company.

The Journey In college I was pretty clear on what I wanted to do. I wanted a PhD and to work for NASA. I got a job as a senior management trainee at Delhi Cloth Mills (DCM). They paid a lot of money Rs. 950 rupees a month. Coffee in the Oberoi was five rupees and petrol was 63 paise a litre. So you can imagine, that was a lot of money. DCM decided to get into electronics and they didn’t have too many electronics engineers in the company. They were in textiles, fertilizers, food and rayon, but not electronics. I was called up by the boss-man and was told: hey, we’re getting into this new area; we want people who are technical, and you are one of the few technical people we have. We set up a big R&D team, microprocessors came out and we used them to assemble computers. And that’s when DCM ran into a problem. In those days, India was a socialist state and with computers DCM felt they might go against the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act. DCM was a 250 crore company, and the electronics division was around 1.7 crore. So obviously, they weren’t going to risk themselves for that. So, they told us that they’re not going to get into computers, and a number of us decided to leave and do it ourselves. HCL Afoot There was lots of bravado, no business plan and no money. But we thought we knew the market, we understood the technology, and we were fairly 50

JULY 2015 | THE ROSEBOWL What next? We decided to focus next on one segment, and become experts in it. So, we decided to focus on the capital markets and investment banks. That worked very well for us. We got into that business, became specialists, and then we merged with Headstrong that was an old James Martin company. They were looking at setting up something in India. HCL had a joint venture with James Martin and I was the chairperson of that. So, we started discussing it and ultimately, it ended up being a complete merger of the two companies. Techspan was into e-commerce. Headstrong focused on capital markets. That’s how we became the big player out of India because we had domain expertise. We had bought the back-end of some investment banks here, which no one else had. Accenture may have had domain expertise outside India, but they did not have it back in India. We were very unique in that kind of position. We went out looking for funds and what ended up happening is we got an offer we couldn’t refuse. So, in May 2011 we sold to Genpact. Then I basically thought: Hey, now is my real time to retire!

Retirement Plans When I started HCL, I was 25 or 26 and with work, I was hardly ever at home, planning to retire by 50. So, around that age, I exited HCL and got a consulting assignment with Goldman Sachs. They wanted to invest in the IT services business in India. There were some old HCL folks I knew who had started their own company. They gave Goldman a proposal and needed someone to run it. So, I got involved. It was called Techspan and we started in 1999. The company did very well. During the bubble, in our second year, we grew to 60-plus billing clients and were profitable. Then the bubble burst, things cooled down but we stayed cash flow neutral.

Now I’m working with Evolko – a company that looks at putting health resource data at the doctor’s fingertips or as we call it, a clinic in the cloud. I used to advise them in the beginning. They were a start-up by some HCL and IIT Kharagpur guys way back in 2007. We’re starting in five hospitals right now - three in Bangalore and two in Delhi. By June, we would have covered all the 40 plus hospitals that we have planned and we’ll be in 26 cities. Our plan is to be in 200 Indian cities by December. So it’s fairly ambitious plan.

balance sports and academics. I think that worked for me because finally when I graduated from Kharagpur, I got what is called the BC Roy gold medal, which is given to the best all-rounder: the top 10% of the graduating class, and good extra-curriculars. School was great. Mid-terms were great. One of the things I wanted to do, if I didn’t become an engineer was to become a professional mountaineer. I’d done a lot of that when I was in school, but just didn’t follow it up. In those days, you couldn’t follow your dreams. You had to get a job - security was important. And by the time you’re ready to follow your dreams, you’re too old, or you’ve put on weight, or you’re not fit enough. My son is 37, but he hikes, and does it regularly. I see my passion in him. Doon Influence Ultimately Doon set up a value system in me, that was really important. We used to have work quotas, both physical and manual. Physical work was cleaning moss from the walls for 45 minutes. That used to be one quota. You could cut grass, and it gave you a physical quota. You had to get four in a month or a week. And writing 100 addresses for The Doon School Weekly on the envelopes was one quota: that kind of thing. Today I do my own photocopies. Secretaries and admins, get a little upset. But that’s the way I’ve been. I think that’s what I’ve learned at Doon. Because when you do your physical work yourself, you don’t have to wait for other people to do it. These are small things, but when you add them up, they make you the person you are.

Years at Doon I had a lot of fun. I was there for four years and actually got into Doon by accident. One of the things about Doon is that you make great friends. I don’t have the time to make friends outside my work environment so they’re friends for life. I think that’s the important thing. The second thing I learned at Doon was how to 51

THE ROSEBOWL | JULY 2015

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