x cathedralite 2014

7/24/2019 X Cathedralite 2014

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The Cathedral & John Connon Alumni Magazin

The

2014

www.catalumni.com

Out of the box

Neha Choksi

Class Notes

Where are your

batchmates now

Nostalgia

Khalid Mohame

Spotlight

Rabi Ahuja,

Anuj Rakyan

My FirstAlumni on their most

memorable rsts



ContentsPresident’s Report 2014 4

Principal’s Message 7

Spotlight

Rabi Ahuja 11

Anuj Rakyan

13Out of the Box

Neha Choksi 14

Nostalgia

Khalid Mohamed

17

First Citizen

Nihal Kaviratne 19

Special Programme

21

My First 22

Aditya Hurry

Mikhail R. Yawalkar

Reenita Malhotra Hora

Lighter Side

School Memories 25

Events

Summer School 27

Founders’ Day 28

Teacher Updates

Notes from the Staff Room 31

Class Notes

32

Editor

Udita Jhunjhunwala (ICSE 1984)

Editorial team

Shyla Boga Patel (ISC 1969)

Mitali Anand Kalra (ISC 1989)

Anushka Shivdasani Rovshen (ISC 1997)

Business

Rohita Chaganlal Doshi (ISC 1975)

Amit Advani (ISC 1994)

Editorial Support, Design and Printing

Spenta Multimedia

Anaita Vazifdar-Davar, Cyrus H. Merchant, Nikunj Parikh

This magazine is not for sale and is intended for internal circulation only. Any

material from this magazine may not be reproduced in part or whole without

written consent. Views and opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the

individual authors and not necessarily those of the Publishers. The final decision

on all editorial content remains with the magazine editorial committee.

Published by The Cathedral and John Connon Alumni Association, 6, P.T. Marg,

Mumbai 400 001 and printed at Spenta Multimedia, Peninsula Spenta, Mathuradas

Mill Compound, Lower Parel, Mumbai 400 013. www.spentamultimedia.com

11

14 17

28

22

3227 Do write in with your feedback and ideas to [email protected]



o my fellow alumni,

I

pen this in optimistic ink, under the shadow

of welcome monsoon clouds arriving and,

Inshallah, Iraq clouds receding. Te epicelection outcome and a positive 100-day report

have raised the bar of expectations and aspirations,

banishing inertia and paralysis. Closer to home,

the year-that-was finally saw some light at the end

of Mumbai’s infrastructural tunnel. We now have

a new Eastern Freeway, a Monorail and a Metro

service, albeit leaky.

Against this backdrop, I got to travel backwards

in time when I reconnected with our founder Arthur

Members of the Executive Committee 2014-15

Seated (L to R): Rohita Chaganlal Doshi, Chitra Rajkumar, Mukeeta Jhaveri, Shyla Boga Patel, Mitali Anand Kalra

Standing: Bibhash Asar, Sundeep Ahuja, Udita Jhunjhunwala, Shonar Lala Chinoy, Gautam Shewakramani

Missing from picture: Anushka Shivdasani Rovshen, Amit Advani, Pragni Kapadia, Prakash Thadani, Viral Doshi

. Savage’s grandniece and nephew, now in their

nineties, in New Zealand. Sharing our ‘Undefiled

Heritage’ with them was a proud privilege for themand for me. Hearing Mrs. Isaacs announce the much-

anticipated roll-out of the International Baccalaureate

curriculum in April 2015 made me appreciate how

necessary a global future has become. Te SMAC

Stack or attack of social media, mobility, apps and

cloud is something we must all navigate and negotiate

to stay relevant and au courant.

Founders’ Week 2013 went off with its usual

flourish and reunions. Abundant fun and nostalgia.

4 Te X-Cathedralite 2014

President’s Report 2014



2014 Te X-Cathedral

The Executive Committee looks forward to

your active involvement with the Association.

Please do contact us on the Cathedral Alumni

Helpline (99305 77120) or through our

website www.catalumni.com

Executive Committee

(2014 – 15)

President

Mukeeta Jhaveri

(ISC ’83, Savage)

Vice-Presidents

Rohita Chaganlal Doshi

(ISC ’75, Wilson)

Bibhash Asar

(ICSE '86, Palmer)

Co - Treasurers

Sundeep Ahuja

(ICSE ’77, Palmer)

Shonar Lala Chinoy

(ISC ’90, Palmer)

SecretaryMitali Anand Kalra

(ISC ’89, Wilson)

Committee Members (ex-ofcio)

Principal

Mrs. Meera Isaacs

Committee Members

Viral Doshi

(ISC '75, Palmer)

Shyla Boga Patel

(ISC ’69, Savage)

Udita Jhunjhunwala

(ICSE ’84, Barham)

Amit Advani

(ISC ’94, Palmer)

Prakash Thadani

(ISC '69, Savage)

Pragni Kapadia

(ISC ’94, Palmer)

Anushka Shivdasani Rovshen

(ISC ’97, Barham)

Chitra Rajkumar

(ISC ’56, Savage)

Gautam Shewakramani

(ISC ’01, Savage)

Webmaster

Te monsoon havoc denied us a cricket pitch, but a basketball

tournament in the Middle School quad more than made up. Te old

boys literally kicked ***. On the Willingdon Club greens, 36 golfersbattled it out with organiser Akshay Kilachand bagging many laurels.

Tank you, Meher Amersey and Pushpa Bhatia, for your continued

stewardship of this popular fixture. More than a hundred attended

the post-Church High ea at the School. Cheval in Kala Ghoda was

the site of much multi-generational camaraderie and revelry at the

bi-annual association gala. It is always lovely to see many of our old

teachers, especially Miss Hallegua, let their hair down.

At the annual Manori Summer School, in addition to robotics,

astronomy, football, dance and environmental studies, some 70

children from Manori village and Cathedral School also enjoyed a

visit to the local East Indian Museum and made Christies-worthy

spider web sculptures. Meanwhile, the lotus-eaters Sundeep Ahuja,

Chitra Rajkumar and I savoured the summer breeze, curry and

homemade pickle. Tank you, Shyla Boga Patel, for bringing so much

joy to so many for 13 fun-fuelled fulfilling years.

Te pilot eachers Medical Benefit Scheme managed by Bibhash

Asar and Shyla is running well and currently serves 45 teachers

and staff. Please do continue to donate generously. As healthcare

costs escalate, even a small contribution from the Association is

embarrassingly well received and appreciated.

Our magazine under Udita Jhunjhunwala’s eagle eye and the

website under Gautam Shewakramani and Anushka Shivdasani

Rovshen continue to flourish.

Te Association has undertaken a mammoth Digital Archiving

project to help nostalgic alumni looking to reconnect with their

peers and others looking to learn something about beloved relatives

who were at Cathedral many years ago. If you have anything you’d

like to contribute or share, please connect to the Project Archive boxon the catalumni.com website.

Tanks are due to my stellar Executive Committee for keeping the

now well-oiled wheels of our little Association running smoothly.

I look forward to your continued engagement with Catalumni.

~ Mukeeta Jhaveri née Kataria

(ISC 1983)



2014 Te X-Cathedral

Principal’s Message

Mr. and Mrs. Mariwala, Members of the Boardof Governors, Ladies and Gentlemen, Boysand Girls. I deem it a privilege to welcome

you to our 154th Annual Speech Day. We have cometogether this morning to celebrate the achievements ofour children and to thank all those who have helped totranslate their dreams into reality.

No end-of-term summing-up is complete withoutrecording my appreciation to our Board of Governorsably led by our Chairman, Mr. . Tomas.

Cathedral is well known for imparting a holisticeducational experience so that every child can have his/her own unique place in the sun. We give our childrenopportunities to move along the path to excellence butit is up to them to take them and use them. As a pithyChinese proverb succinctly puts it, “Man who waits fora roast duck to fly into his mouth must wait a very, verylong time”.

I know that we harp on the fact that marks aloneare not the benchmark of excellence; yet, in thecontradictions of reality, we accept the fact that muchhinges on public exam scores. So here I go... TeBoard results have, as usual, been absurdly thoughexhilaratingly astounding. Out of the 151 candidateswho appeared for the ICSE Std. 10 examination, 99were in the 90+ category.

We sent up 114 for the Std. 12 ISC examinations.Sixty-four students got 90% and above. Moving to the

Advanced Placement Courses, of which we currentlyoffer 17, 93 students appeared in May 2013; 88.2% achieved scores above grade 3; 13

students were awarded AP Scholar and AP Scholar with Honours Certificates and ninewere awarded AP Scholar with Distinction.

Our College Board results continue to be excellent. Our candidates maintained a meanSA Reasoning Score of 2000 out of a best possible 2400, as compared to the worldwidemean score of approximately 1488.

Of the class that will be graduating in May 2014, 42 students opted to apply to collegesin India, 56 applied to the US, 12 to the UK, two to Canada and three to Singapore.

During the course of the year, besides the Annual Career Fair organised meticulouslyby our Guidance Counsellor, approximately 160 College/University representativesfrom USA, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore met our students, giving themfirst-hand information as well as opportunities for interviews on home turf. Our Std. 12students have much to thank the School, and especially Mrs. Shukla, for.

Only some of the achievements of our students are highlighted in this speech, as itwould be impossible to give a comprehensive overview of all five sections of the School.Here are a few snippets: a detailed account on the School’s website does justice to thecontrolled mayhem.

Students from the Senior School attended ‘Reach Cambridge’, an intellectuallystimulating summer school programme at the University of Cambridge; a culturalexchange programme — the Sunburst Youth Camp at Singapore; a Community Service-based exchange programme with Phillips Academy, Andover, USA, and another exchangeprogramme, ‘Eumind’, with schools in the Netherlands.

At ‘Melange’, an Inter-School Festival organised by G.D. Somani School, approximately70 of our students participated in 18 events. Tey won a number of prizes and ourSchool was placed third. Tey also participated in ‘Odyssey’, an Inter-School Festival at

Annual Speech Day –

2013-14

At the lectern: Mrs. Meera Isaacs, Principal




Principal’s Message

St. Gregorios High School.Here too our School camethird overall.

Te students’ writingskills and worldview havebeen showcased in the Outof Eden Project, an onlinelearning programme ofProject Zero of the HarvardSchool of Education. Te14-week pilot project wassuccessfully completed inJuly 2013.

Te Ethical LeadershipProgramme for Std. 8 to10 is alive and well. Teselected group of Std. 11leaders started various

initiatives focussed onthe safety of women inMumbai. Te Community

Action Plan was presentedat the Annual InteractClub Meet. “Te Know

Your Seniors Programme”,an initiative started lastyear, continues to besuccessful with students ofStd. 11 mentoring studentsof Middle School on a

weekly basis.‘Encore’, the music

concert and fest, apart fromshowcasing the soaringtalent of our youngsters,raised 20 lakhs throughthe initiative of thestudents of Std. 11. Temoney was divided amongthree NGOs that the schoolsupports — Muktangan,Te Foundation and

Apnalaya.Te Cathedral Model

United Nations Conferenceis one of the highlights ofthe year. Now in its 17thyear, 600 participants from41 schools across India andNepal came together todeliberate, debate, discussand dialogue on the world’smost pressing issues bothreal and imaginary in

the salutary and rarefiedatmosphere of therident Hotel.

At the Brain andBehaviour Camp, our Schoolteam secured first place fortheir research presentation

on ‘Nutrition and the Brain’.While working on thistopic, the students had theopportunity to interact withmany eminent scientists inthe field from IFR.

At the annual Inter-School Science Quizorganised by the NehruScience Centre, ourteam of Std. 9 studentsplaced third.

On August 26, 2013,26 students from Std. 11and 12 participated in the

Annual Mathematics andStatistics Fest conductedby H.R. College. Our teamsecured first place. TeInternational MathematicsOlympiad for studentsof Std. 8, 9 and 10 alsosaw our students doingus proud by winning

three golds and onesilver medal.

Te Nirbhaya Case,which forced societyto discard its blinkers,was the catalyst for ourSociology Seminar, aptly

named ‘owards an EqualWorld’. Te brainchild ofa proactive HOD and herenthusiastic departmenthosted a workshop andseminar discussingwomen’s issues rangingfrom ‘intimacy andabuse’ to ‘objectificationof women in Bollywoodand the dangers ofcensorship’. Te seminar

that followed involvedspeakers such as actorRahul Bose, activist AbhaSingh, journalist Geeta

Anand, academic NileshChatterjee and lawyerMrunalini Deshmukh.

o quote the greatMuhammad Ali,“Champions aren’t made inthe gyms. Champions aremade from something they

have deep inside them — adesire, a dream, a vision.”Tat desire, dream andvision is what drives ourmany champions on thesports field and hence thewide array of medals won

at both the School andindividual levels.

Rumi’s “Te only lastingbeauty is the beauty of theheart” runs like a refrainthrough the School,beginning with the Pre-Primary and activelyworking its way throughthe Infant, Junior andMiddle Sections — eachwith its own carefully

orchestrated programme,till it flows with intensity inthe Senior School throughthe Interact Club, which isably helped by the NatureClub and the IAYP. Teyhave striven tirelesslythrough the year to make asmall but significant impacton the world around them.

Te students andteachers contributed

Mrs. Mariwalla with members of Cock House, Wilson



2014 Te X-Cathedral

50 lakhs for relief workfor Uttarakhand; a largenumber of NGOs is hostedand supported by them.Te most important partis that the children giveof themselves — theirtime, effort and talentin addition to generousfunding. Most recently,they raised 2 lakhs,which they used to helpbuild houses at Karjatunder the aegis of Habitatfor Humanity.

One of the most activecontributions of ourstudents has been writing

for the visually challengedstudents at St. Xavier’sCollege. In December, theclub organised two eventsthat were undoubtedlythe highlights of the year.One was Cathedral’s firstever ‘4C’ Conference. Onehundred delegates from12 schools congregatedat Cathedral to engage indiscussions and form a

collaborative action planon various social issues.I am truly proud of ourchildren’s generosity ofspirit, their sensitivity andtheir endeavour to walk inanother’s shoes.

Te School’s visionwas complemented andenhanced tremendouslyby a massive digitisationexercise with each

classroom from thePrimary to the SeniorSection being fitted withInteractive Smart Boards.Needless to say, theenjoyment of the learningand teaching process forpupils and teachers soaredsubstantially, together withthe knowledge of excitingnew possibilities in theschool education space.

Another importantchange that we arepreparing for is theintroduction of the IBDiploma Programme fromthe year 2015. We havebeen working diligentlytowards this goal. Teteacher and administratorinitial training is over. Wehave acquired the statusof a Candidate School.

Again, there is muchexcitement within theSchool community.

o our Vice-Principals,Mrs. J. Mayadas andMrs. N. Samuel, our

Headmistresses, Mrs.D. Bhattacharya, Mrs.S. Ganguly, Mrs. R.alpade and Mrs. S.Lele, our Bursar, Mrs.Gehna Malkani, and ouradministrative staff,especially my long-sufferingpersonal assistant,Sandra — thank you for theability to carry out so manyonerous duties with such

élan and good humour. My deep appreciation

to all members of thePA, who every year seemto be getting enviablyyounger and slimmer,led by Mrs. MrunaliniMunim (Chairperson),Mrs. Khulood Noorani(Hon. Secretary) and Mrs.Jasma Kapadia (reasurer).Without their support, we

would find every event —of which we have dozens —a chore.

We owe a debt ofgratitude to all themembers of the Alumni

Association who supportthe school in variousways, to all my formerpupils who are always sohelpful and forthcoming.o Shyla Boga for her

teenaged brainchild, thesuccessful Annual ManoriSummer Camp, now inits thirteenth year, andto Dr. Anand Gokani,alumnus happily onperpetual call for not onlymedical emergencies butfor leadership programmeswhich the Std. 12 studentsfind so inspirational.

At this point, I wouldlike to tell you about ateenager who has madean impact on many of usand most certainly onme. I salute her spirit,which has refused to

accept anything less thana ‘yes’ for an answer;who has shown that thehuman will can surviveand conquer. She’s comea long way — from herhospital bed where she laycomatose two years ago tothe feisty young lady whois determined not to beconfined to her wheelchair.For her courage, her innate

strength of character and

her grit and determinationto beat all odds, and forher parents, her sisterand extended family, whocontinue to be the windbeneath her wings, ladiesand gentlemen, I ask youto put your hands togetherfor Rayna Arya.

I turn now to ourgraduating class, whichwas led with integrity,poise and good humour by

Anam Alwani, our HeadGirl, and Raghav Mehrotra,our Head Boy. On their

journey beyond the gatesof Cathedral and into the

real world, I trust that theywill remember some of thedeeper truths that theyexperienced here.

However, while theyare on their quest, maybeRalph Waldo Emerson’sdefinition of success willsteady and guide them.

o laugh

often and much,

to win the respect of intelligent people

and the affection of children;

to earn the appreciation of honest critics

and endure the betrayal of false friends;

to appreciate beauty;

to find the best in others;to leave the world a bit better

whether by a healthy child,

a garden patch, or a

redeemed social condition;

to know even one life

has breathed easier

because you have lived.

Tis is to have succeeded.



2014 Te X-Cathedralit

Smooth sailingPadma Shri Commodore (SCC) Rabi Ahuja (Wilson,

1953) tells us how sailing has been in his blood and

is his life.

Ihad a flash of insight when Iwas with Commodore (SCC)Rabi Ahuja. It felt like I was

talking to someone my own age.Tis active septuagenarian runs

an organisation known as theSea Cadet Corps (SCC) with anenviable vitality and enthusiasm.I was fascinated by his life beforePartition, when he studied in anEnglish school in Karachi (KarachiGrammar School), and then hisarrival at the Cathedral Boys’School, Fort, when he moved toMumbai (then Bombay) in 1948.He nostalgically recounted hisdaily commute from Andheri to

school and “mucking around” in thequadrangle with his pals, “rarelyever going home clean”.

“A large focus in schoolthen was on sports — cricket,football, hockey — and far less onstudies than it is these days,” saysCommodore Ahuja. He would sailon Saturdays and train in the SCCevery Sunday. He was initiated intosailing by his father, who was thefounder of the Sea Scout Group

in Karachi, an offshoot of the BoyScout movement. In 1951, it wasrenamed the Sea Cadet Corps. Since1966, the headquarters reside in theraining Ship Jawahar, named afterPandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who laidthe foundation stone (or “keel”) ofthe ship in 1963. Commissioned in1966 by Dr. Radhakrishnan (thenPresident of India), it is today anorganisation with more than 2,000young boys and girls from all strata ofsociety in Mumbai and another 3,000in Service Establishments acrossIndia and an international school.

“We impart practical nauticaland allied training to children,”says Commodore Ahuja. “Manykids don’t have the same skill setlearnt in schools such as Cathedral.We teach them how to march,tie a knot, pull an oar and someeven sail a boat to inculcate the

correct way of doing things and

learn responsibility, teamworkand leadership.”

Te organisation has had severalmoments in the sun, first in 1976when its Sea Cadets won India’sfirst medal for sailing in a WorldChampionship; then in 1988, it wonthe first Gold Medal in a world eventin yachting, and, in 1989, India’s firstGold medal abroad in China.

“A very small group of our kidsactually learns to sail,” admitsCommodore Ahuja, explaining thatmost are taught basic and practicaltechniques and learn how to“understand the elements”. He saysIndians aren’t very comfortable withwater, despite being surrounded byit. Te primary aim of SCC is to breakdown those barriers. Commodore

Ahuja generously extended aninvitation to all those interested tocome aboard and see the training

facilities. raining Ship Jawahar

is affiliated with INS Viraat andparticipates in an annual regattawith more than 400 Cadets pulling,canoeing, kayaking and sailing.

A number of Cathedralitesin the ’50s and ’60s joined theCorps — KSM Anees (1953), SohrabKapadia (1956), Bejon Nadir (1956),Dante Mody (1954) are just a few.Gradually, many youngsters joinedand helped make the organisationwhat it is today. Commodore Ahuja,our feisty Head Boy of 1953, isinvolved seven days of the weekand oversees the running of theSCC. Despite his busy schedule,he enthusiastically joined hisbatchmates for their Golden Jubileereunion in 2003, and he remains atrue-blue Cathedralite at heart.

~ Dhanwanti Rajwade (ICSE 2000)

Spotlight




Health, nutrition and fitnesshave always been AnujRakyan’s passions. Last

year, he realised that this passioncould also be a business opportunity.“When I started my career, I wasn’tdoing what I wanted to do but whatwas meant to be done. Like everygood Indian son, I studied Commerce

to become an investment banker inthe US, but I kept flitting; first, brandconsultancy in the US, and then the

jewellery business,” he says. Anuj quit the jewellery business

overnight, without knowing what hewanted to do next. Tat’s when herealised how important his friends’circle and networks were. “Tereare so many overachievers in theCathedral network, so you get greatprofessional advice.”

Spotlight

Conceptualising to launchingRaw Pressery took six months and

Anuj’s biggest challenge was peoplemanagement. “I started alone andnow, a year from the birth of theidea, we are 65 people. I realised thefirst 20 people will make or breakyour company.”

We talk about the health F&B

market in India and Anuj says thatpeople have started becoming awareof what’s good for them, but in theorganised market, there are fewproducts that are as good as theraw produce. Tis is where he saw abusiness opportunity. “In the last 10years, health has become cool. Weused to boast about how little weslept and how much we drank, butthose same people now talk of beingvegetarian and waking early for yogabefore work.”

However, the beverage segmentis still lacking. “Tere’s unhealthy,less healthy and more healthy.” Forexample, in an unhealthy etra Pak

of orange juice, there’s less than fiveper cent of the real fruit, he says.“How can anything in a cardboardbox with a shelf life of six months beconsidered fresh?”

‘Anything that’s good for you can gobad’ reads a sign on his factory walls.

Cold-pressed juices, such as thosefrom Raw Pressery, are 100 per

cent juice without any added water,made under sanitary conditions withmachinery that preserves nutrients.Doctors and dietitians have beenconsulted for the percentagesof various vegetables used toprovide different benefits. Sensoryevaluation teams have helped deliveron taste, resulting in a product thatarrives at your doorstep the samemorning it was made.

What is the Indian consumer’sperception of health? “Nutritionists,fitness trainers, dermatologists —there’s often conflicting advicefor the same objective and thishas led to confusion, which leadsto misconceptions,” says Anuj.

According to him, ‘calories’, ‘sugar’and ‘fat’ have become bad wordsbecause of incomplete or wronginformation about them.

What does the future hold? Anujwants to settle down before he losesany more hair! On a serious note, his

mission is to scale up and be “India’sfirst honestly healthy food andbeverage company”. He also intendsto move into the food sector withunique products that do not requireadded preservatives or chemicals.

Anuj has proved that anyone with anew, genuine idea can juice it.

~ Anushka Shivdasani Rovshen(ISC 1997)

Juicing a raw ideaAfter a decade in the jewellery business, Anuj Rakyan (ISC 1997) made a

radical shift to the health and nutrition space, launching a brand of cold-

pressed juices in India.




Presented at the Utah Museumof Contemporary Art, Frieze

Art Fair’s Sculpture Park inLondon, Te Generali Foundation,

Vienna, Te Enclave Gallery, London,Neha Choksi’s works are in notablepublic and private collections as well.Excerpts from an interview:

What inspired you to enter theworld of contemporary art?I always wanted to be an artist.Besides being gifted at drawing asa child, which is what leads manypeople into art, I thought I shouldlearn other things. I wanted toincorporate all sorts of liberal artsinto my education — theatre and

Out of the Box

poetry both excited me. I ended upstudying Greek and Latin at UCLA,mainly for the poetry and theatricaltraditions, along with some Sanskritand Avestan. A few years later,I transferred to the School of the

Arts to get a dual BA in Art. I waslucky enough to attend a schoolwith distinguished artists teaching,such as Paul McCarthy, MaryKelly, John Baldessari and SharonLockhart. My formal art educationwas already slanted towards thevery contemporary.

After UCLA, what? After UCLA, I spent a year hangingout with DJs spinning records in

Mumbai at various clubs. I studiedFrench and German as preparationfor my entry into the PhDprogramme in Classics at ColumbiaUniversity. While there, I was tryingto make art at the same time. I hada two-person collaborative show in

Australia over summer break andI soon realised I wanted to makeart full-time. But doing art andstudying Classics was proving to be aschizophrenic existence because fewin grad school really knew, or wereinterested in, my other life. I had myfirst solo art exhibition after gradschool, but full-time art came onlymuch later, in 2005, when I couldafford to.

The art of the matterContemporary artist Neha Choksi (ISC 1991) explores the relationship betweentime and space, what is left out and what is left in. The work is sometimes

poetic and absurd, sometimes tragi-comic, but always perceptive and sensitive.

Iceboat, f eatur in g the art ist Neha Choks i. Ima ge courtes y th

e art ist and Pro ject 88.




What is your process andinspiration? Te ideas that motivate me and liebehind the work keep me challengeddaily. Works such as Minds to Lose,

2008-2010 (for which I anesthetisedmyself and four farm animals) andLeaf Fall, 2008 (for which a peepultree was denuded over the courseof a single day, leaving behind asingle autumnal sprig) came outof a profound sense of emptinessand absence and wanting to figureout what that meant in a life thatis lived in a material fashion. Youhave flesh and you need othermaterial things; yet, there is a

striving towards nothingness that isapparent in my work.

How do you engage with allthe mixed media and variouscraftspeople, experts, artisans?It’s more like “Why?” It’s mechanicaland emotional and comes fromwithin me. How to put it alltogether is my journey and whereI am coming from and where itwill lead me. I try to make a work

that takes it all in. As for technicalthings, I usually try to teach myselfas much as I can about the medium.Of course, for things like bronzes,you rely on craftspeople because thefoundry is important. But there isno path teaching you how to denudea tree or make a boat out of ice.I teach myself.

How do you deal with the marketand commercial aspects?

Although I am pragmatic aboutthe need to make a living, I am notpragmatic about how I go about it.I make work that comes to me andhope that it does well. Sometimes,it is not clear or meaningful tobuyers at that moment. Tat’swhen the despair comes in. Butyou have to keep making work thatyou believe in and trust its timewill come.

Any memorable moments? A high point would definitely beduring the video performance work Iceboat, 2013, when the boat meltedand I was dropped into the lake.

Te work was many years in themaking. For it, I row a boat madeentirely out of ice in Lake Pavana.I am dressed in a fully solublecellulose garment and am withoutmy glasses, so I am virtually blindbeyond five feet. It was just me, theboat and the lake. Although I wasworking very hard with my body,that sense of freedom and liberationsans cold, fatigue and fear wasexhilarating. Te moment I slipped

into the water, when the boat couldno longer support my weight,everything became clear.

In 2010, I exhibited a sculptureof a gravity-defying bed, whichwas a mattress held aloft byflower-filled vases. A child found itinviting, engaging and interactiveenough to actually sleep on,knocking vases over in the process.I was amused and charmed atthe fearless impulsiveness. Te

piece was eventually bought bya South American collector fromFrieze London.

How did your years at Cathedral fitinto the equation?I did not take Art as a subject at

either of the school Board exams.

I outgrew very quickly both art

teachers and tutors, even though I

continued to paint. In 2006, at the

invitation of architect Kapil Gupta

and filmmaker Ashim Ahluwalia(ICSE 1989), I collaborated on

India’s first-ever entry to the

Venice Architecture Biennale. It

was a collection of films within an

installation. I did a film based on

a 25-year-old illegal building at

Banganga that still does not exist

on Mumbai’s development plan

and another on designated green

spaces in Byculla that do not exist

in reality.

Any advice to young alumnithinking of careers in art?I urge anyone considering a career

in contemporary art to learn not

only about contemporary and

traditional art forms but also

other creative endeavours. Go to

the theatre, learn music, attend

musical events, participate in

poetry readings. Find ways to

engage with culture as it is beingproduced. Humble yourself before

the vast cultural productions

of humanity.

~ Mukeeta Jhaveri née Kataria(ISC 1983)

Neha Choksi, Poise II, Mattress, clear vases, colour-sequenced flowers, gravity, time, 2010, life-size. Image courtesy the artist and Project 88.




Cat o’ timeless talesKhalid Mohamed (ISC 1965) reminisces about art,

essays and being cast as a tavern wench in Henry V .

Let me attempt a spontaneoustake on the way we were. “We”meaning the coolest Cats of

the swinging ’60s. At the risk ofbeing heckled as snobs ‘n’ toffs, theCathedral & John Connon School onOutram Road, facing the somewhatpedantically named Parsi Lying-inHospital, was a rarefied world. Wantmagic realism? You got it!

Te campus sprung surprises,

Gothic Anglo-Saxon arches giving

way to restored post-Independenceclassrooms atop a longish, windingstairway. And if one wing lookedas if it was in sync with a medicalprescription, there was the atticroomlet straight out of an EnidBlyton illustration. Tere, the dotingMr. Hazarnis presided, striving to

make us Picassos and Modiglianis.Since my draughtsmanship waswonky, that helped. Te kind soulliked my choice of colours, even if theapples in my still-life renditions lookedlike rotting squares and triangles. “Socubist!” he would thump my quakingback, rewarding me with the covetedPowvalla Art Prize. Protests went upfrom the other kids. Te IndonesianConsul General’s son, Agus Sutarjo,had painted a grey-black-and-white

Nostalgia

watercolour of a ship in a storm. It wasa stunner. Mr. Hazarnis, however, hada taste for the obtusely abstract.

Tat attic was my art paradiso. Anddown below, the commodious hall,topped by a proscenium stage, was asutilitarian for chanting morning hymns(if late, you had to stand in a cornerfor 20 minutes and count the cracks)as it was for staging the annual schoolplay. Every year it was a riff on Oliver

Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer ,

performed by professionals, till it wasdecided the kids would have a go andone of the teachers would direct.

Mr. Dexter, History-Geographyteacher, embarked on this projectto direct Shakespeare’s Henry V . AGodrej scion was Falstaff. Becauseof my papyrus-thin voice, I was the

tavern wench, Hostess Quickly.Padded up, I was a wreck on the lastday of rehearsals. For what seemedlike an eternity, I was pinched,particularly on my derrière. Onstage, I released all my pent-up angerabout the compulsory padding. I wasawarded the Best Actor trophy!

I find myself unable to composea structured ode to the schoolwhere I learnt all that I have, otherdegrees being a mere extension. Te

abundantly stacked library introducedme to Jane Austen, Charles Dickens,Ellery Queen, Daphne du Maurier andLeo olstoy (I pretended I’d completedWar and Peace; I still haven’t). It doubledup as lunchroom for kids whose homescouldn’t send them hot lunches. TeIrish stew (nice), mutton cutlets (dry),sultana pudding (delicious name, buttoo custardy) were delivered from the

Bombay Gymkhana.I’m indebted to Miss Mordecai,

Miss Rahimtoola, Miss Sutermeister,Mrs. Karat, Mr. Mehta, Mr. Joshi,Mr. Lewis and Mr. Elisha. Mr. Elishais the Dr. Frankenstein who createdthis monster, moi. In Std. 7, he askedfor an essay on ‘My first flight’. Neverhaving flown, I imagined this mildlyflirtatious conversation with a fantasyairhostess. Mr. Elisha found the essay“interesting”. He read it out to the

class, which was in splits, in a nice way.He then looked me straight in theeye to inquire, “Do you know howmany marks you should get for this?”I beamed. Signing my essay with aflourish, he announced, “Zero!”

So, to show Mr. Elisha he waswrong, I swore I’d write and be readsomewhere, sometime. If you’vereached this sentence, sweet revengeis mine. Cats somehow always scripttheir own purrfect ending.

Khalid, seated on the ground, third from right.

Khalid Mohamed is an author, film critic,scriptwriter and film and theatre director and is

pretty proud of his double promotions at school.




First Citizen

A helping handNihal Kaviratne (ISC 1963), named

one of ‘25 leaders at the Forefront

of Change’ by Business Week in2002, capped a 40-year career at

Unilever and now sits on a number of

eminent boards. He is Chairman of

TVS Indonesia and Akzo Nobel India

Limited and a champion of CSR.

Your pioneering role in corporatesocial responsibility (CSR) was

recognised as early as 2004 whenyou received a CBE for your workin sustainable development.Forty eight years of corporate lifein different parts of the worldtaught me that you can only dowell by doing good. oday, brandsderive strength from how well theircompanies are aligned to serve theneeds of the societies that sustainthem. Tis sort of enlightenedself-interest earns for corporates the

trust and loyalty of communities. Many of us want to make adifference but find it difficult tomake a start.rue. Our waking hours areconsumed by work, commuting,family and personal needs. Joiningan existing organisation avoids thehuge time investment of your ownstart-up. Look for one foundedon a big idea, run with efficiencyand integrity. Pick a cause youare passionate about. Withinthat organisation, take on a jobwhere you can personally make areal difference.

How did you zero in on such aneglected aspect of the cancerstory (care for children andfamilies undergoing long-termcancer treatment) when you set upSt. Jude in 2006?

I have always had an abiding interestin the welfare of children. Returning

to India after 22 years, I was lookingfor a need gap. Providing physicaland emotional comfort to theseneedy kids and their accompanyingparents from rural villages whilethey were in large cities for traumatictreatment and recovery wouldcomplete a circle of holistic care andmove the needle on survival rates.

St. Jude has evolved into a casestudy showcasing the success of

corporatising the NGO/not-for-profit model.

All the learning from my corporateexperience has been applied. Usingthe proven recipe of Tink big, startsmall, move fast, the founding teamspent 20 months developing, withcreativity and rigour, a breakthroughyet scalable business model in aprototype centre. We are now in rapidreplication mode across the countryand plan to have 100 centres running

by 2021. But the learning neverstops. Te manuals are continuouslyupdated without sacrificing oneiota of the unique quality that is thehallmark of the St. Jude’s brand. Tere are numerous NGOs doinggreat work in India but scalingseldom happens.Te secret is to retain the soul ofa small company in the body of a

burgeoning one. Small specialistteams are responsible for the design

work in each of the jobs to bedone and implementation is by all.Successful scaling requires vision,focus, drive, resources and, perhapsmost important, the suppression ofpersonal egos.

How do you juggle your schedule between London, Singapore andMumbai while sitting on the boardsof eminent MNCs to consistentlycommit to St. Jude?

Wherever I am, I devote half my timeto St. Jude. oday, there are manygreat people on the team drivingthe bus. My role as Non-ExecutiveChairman/Director is to help pavethe road ahead and to mentor. Itkeeps me refreshed and in touchwith a fast-changing world, as doesthe time I spend with my daughterand grandchildren. Each of us has somuch to be grateful for.

~ Mukeeta Jhaveri née Kataria(ISC 1983)

St. Jude provides the physical

and emotional needs that will

give children undergoing cancer

treatment a better chance to beat

their disease. For more information,

visit http://www.stjudechild.org/

Nihal Kaviratne with the little warriors



Presenters of Presenters of

To know more about the Foundation:E-mail: [email protected]

Visit: www.vsdf.org

The ‘Vinod & Saryu Doshi Foundation’is a non-profit, charity trust thataims at promoting Art, Culture,

Education and Community.

“Within 5 years, the Vinod

Doshi Theatre festival

has come to be recognised as

the litmus test for

first-grade theatre.”

DR. GIRISH KARNAD, PLAYWRIGHT

“The Vinod Doshi TheatreFestival has revived theexperimental theatremovement in Maharashtit is of great value to youplaywrights, directors another rangkarmis.”

DR.MOHAN AGASHE, A

“One day, I will

be a professionalbasketball

player.”

MOHAMMED SHAN,5-YEAR-OLD PARTICIPANT AT A CHIP SUMMER CAMP

SUPPORTED BY THE VINOD & SARYU DOSHI

FOUNDATION

“I am the first girl in

my family to go to an

engineering college. After

completing a degree in

Computer Engineering, I

will pursue my Master’s

from a U.S. University.The Vinod & Saryu Doshi

Foundation gave me a

chance to dream big.” CHITRA WATWANI,

VINOD DOSHI-COEP MERIT SCHOLAR




In an era of seles, 140-character

communications and ‘the article as a

slide show’, here’s how the Cathedral

Junior School is encouraging

little tablet-swiping ngers to

enthusiastically ip through the pages

of good, old-fashioned books.

he Junior School library is alarge, airy room with streamingsunlight and shelf-lined walls

crammed with books bearing themost delightful titles. A wanderthrough the heritage building reveals

that each classroom not only has aSmart Board system, complete withan Internet connection and projector,but also houses its own mini-libraryof well-thumbed books. Clearly, this isa place where adults are working hardto get young minds excited aboutreading.

Te Junior School Headmistress,Mrs. S. Ganguly, who startedthe school’s pioneering ReadingProgramme (RP) in 2007, is a firm

believer in the lifelong benefits ofa reading habit. She envisionedproviding children “a free spacewithout classroom-style agendasor expectations of comprehension”where they view reading as play,not work. Te RP aims to promotefluency, frequency and the enjoymentof reading, while simultaneouslybuilding literary confidence.

As with any initiative, theprogramme encountered some early

stumbling blocks, including thechallenge of burdening teachers. Aviable solution presented itself inthe form of parents who are ardentreaders and are keen to share theirlove of books with children. Trougha stringent application process thatincludes an extensive questionnaire,Mrs. Ganguly personally selectsa team of parents in sync withthe programme’s philosophy.Each volunteer parent mentors a

group of six children, conductingfortnightly Book Club sessions toencourage active sharing of readingexperiences. Trough the year, theyexplore different genres includingfiction, non-fiction and verse, and

children are encouraged to chooseadditional library books at their ownreading level. Hindi sessions, authorinteractions and class activitiesenhance the experience. While it isdifficult to measure tangible success,parents have reported that previouslyreluctant readers are enticed intoreading for pleasure and continue todo so for years.

Ardent young readers benefittoo, since RP activities help focus

attention, an important skillfor fluent readers who may betempted to race through theirbooks. Concentration and increasedattention spans are important forkids who will soon be immersedin short posts, chat messages andtweets. With multiple informationsources, tomorrow’s youth willneed to be intelligent consumers ofmedia, able to sift through reams ofmaterial to discern authenticity in

the clamour of information overload.It is heartening then that learningto find your own voice starts early,with the RP inviting children to shareobservations, form personal opinionsand articulate their views.

Possibly one of the best outcomesof reading books is the developmentof rich imaginary worlds. Te RPencourages young readers to tap intotheir creativity by drawing favouriteparts of stories, creating new book

covers, writing alternative endingsto stories or acting as they imagine aparticular character would.

Studies show that children andteenagers who read for pleasure havebetter academic results and larger

vocabularies; and books certainlyserve as entertainment, providingtranquillity and stress relief. Butmany reading enthusiasts point toa deeper reason they cherish thehabit —books can be wonderfultools in a journey of self-discovery,bridging time and geography toconnect with minds, enabling agreater understanding of the world.It is hoped that reading programmessuch as this one will gift the next

generation all those benefits, raisingvoracious readers who live in a worldof shortform digital communicationbut still have their social media feedspeppered with ‘shelfies’ of theirbeloved book collections.

~ Miel Sahgal(ISC 1989)

Special Programme

P h o t o g r a p h s b y D h i m a n C h a t t e r j e e

Sheles are forever




My First

Stepping outCathedralites love making the most of any

experience. Here’s a look at three of them

and their memorable rsts.

My rst year in college

A pproximately a year and ahalf ago, I was in the exactsame position on my bed,

headphones on, Kanye West playing,churning out application essaysby the bucket-load. oday I sit

here, same bed, same headphones,different music, different me.My first year of college at ufts

University in Boston, USA, has beeneverything someone’s first yearshould be. It’s been tough, no doubt.But that’s what I love about it. I’ve

totally changed my roommate’sperception of Indians by correcting

his grammar and I’ve met peoplewho have more information aboutHinduism at their fingertips than Icould ever dream of having.

Te ‘me’ that sits here today, asopposed to the one that sat here ayear and a half ago, is confused. I’mconfused because of the knowledgeI’ve acquired, the people I’ve met andthe experiences I’ve gained. I’d sayI’m just slightly more confused than

my friend was when I referred to an‘elevator’ as a ‘lift’. My first year ofcollege has been the most confusingand most liberating thing possible!

Tis freshman year saw a numberof firsts — first time living away fromhome, first time having to make myown money and live off it, first time

trying to survive a Boston winter. Asof now, I’m majoring in InternationalRelations and Economics witha minor in English. omorrow,International Relations might becomeComputer Science — who knows?

Tis is the first time in my lifeI’ve been this confused and I love it.

And as this set of firsts comes to aclose, all I can think about is how Iwant seconds.

~ Aditya Hurry(ISC 2013)

My rst Bollywood lm

I come from a family of artists —sculptors, to be precise. My fatherwas a third-generation sculptor

who never once told me I must followmy family’s line. He always advisedme to follow my dream and do what Ilove…and so I did.

Having spent five years in theU.S.A. pursuing a degree in Culinary

Arts and Hospitality Managementfollowed by a stint as Assistant F&BManager at Te Peninsula, New YorkCity, I came back to India with noreal idea what I would do next. I haddabbled in modelling and acting as achild, but never pursued it. Someonesuggested I try my hand at it again,so I decided to enroll at Te Barry

John Acting Studio for a four-monthcourse in theatre and drama. I knewI had a serious task at hand, comingfrom a non-‘filmi’ background, but Iwas beginning to love the craft, so Ikept at it.

I had begun auditioning, makingshort films and also compéring

at friends’ weddings. Ten, at thesangeet of one of my closest buddies(and classmate), I got ‘noticed’ andhad the opportunity to auditionfor Yash Raj Films. Several roundsof auditions later, I got that calland I started my career with arole in YRF’s August 2014 release, Mardaani (starring Rani Mukerji). Itwas surreal.

Costume trials, readings with mydirector, meetings with assistant

directors — I had dreamt of thisand now I was actually feeling likean actor at work. We worked on afew things, including my look forthe film, for which I had to growout my beard and moustache. Sincemy character was meant to ridea motorbike — something I hadnever done before — I signed up forbike lessons. Prepping for my rolewas exciting!

On my first day of shooting, I had

to be on set at 7:30 a.m. and didn’tsleep until 4 a.m. I wasn’t nervous,

just super excited. When I got to theset, I was thrilled to see my nameon the door of the vanity van, eventhough I didn’t spend much time in it.I preferred mingling with everyone,like on a first day at school. One ofthe assistant directors commentedthat once I become a star, I won’tventure out of the van. ime will tell.




I did well on my first day and gotapplauded by the entire unit. Tey

termed it my ‘debut’. I went throughmy share of trials, tribulationsand copious amounts of blackcoffee while shooting. Tere waschaos and I felt lost at times, but itwas beautiful.

I am now officially one film oldand a part of Bollywood. For me,nothing in this world comparesto being on a film set. It’s where Ibelong and where I’d like to spendthe rest of my life.

~ Mikhail R. Yawalkar(ISC 2003)

Reections of an

emerging novelist

A s far as the world isconcerned, my young adultcrossover story, Operation

Mom — How I got my mother a

life…and a man, is my debut novel.Entirely different from my previouslypublished non-fiction, this bookwas huge amounts of fun to write,something that I ‘spat out’ over thecourse of a summer two years ago.

When I embarked on a missionto write a novel about being ateen in Mumbai, I thought, howhard could it be? But it was. Mynephew was quick to remind me

that my lingo was out of date, andmy teen references, out of context.Ten followed a crash course incontemporary Mumbai slang.Between that and a slew of my own

young adult experiences, the storyunfolded. My characters and settingsare heavily inspired by my own lifescenes, so people who know me arealways looking to relate a particularcharacter to my family members orfriends. And while there is an overlapwith things that have been, as afiction writer you have the luxury oftwisting situations and charactersinto what you want them to be.

ruth be told, although Operation

Mom is my debut novel, the yet-to-be-published Arya’s Chronicles is thestory that marked my transition towriting fiction.

o define the trauma you gothrough from shifting writingstyles is to imagine the out-of-body experience that a caterpillarmust face as it takes wing in itsreincarnation as a butterfly. Weekafter week, I attended critiquegroups in San Francisco, to be

constantly reminded to shed mystructured non-fictional writingstyle, to get out of the box and let mystory flow.

Anyone who knows me can attest

to my rather, er, uptight nature. I seehappiness as a function of my abilityto plan things; to see the pot of goldat the end of the rainbow. Or so Ithought. On a karmic level, this mustbe one reason I find myself writingfiction and why my first piece offiction was developed in California,the playground of the anti-uptight.

All of us have terrific storiessubmerged within the depths of oursubconscious, but in writing my first

novel, I woke up to the realisationthat to birth those stories, I neededto blur my vision; to shift my focusfrom that pot of gold. Becausewhether in fact it is attainable or notis a journey of discovery...one thatcan be made only if you acquiesce tothe currents of your subconsciousand see where they take you, ratherthan fighting against them to stayashore where life is safe becauseyou’ve seen it before.

Arya’s Chronicles is fantasy fiction,about a 12-year-old boy in SanFrancisco who falls though a crackto find himself in Ramayana land. Hebrings with him the very last copy ofthe ancient epic, which Ravana, theking of demons, wants to destroyso he can rewrite history from hisown viewpoint.

My biggest problem was thattypical of first-time novelists: Iloved every character and was not

open to ‘killing my darlings’ toreally bring the story to life. Tebook took forever to write, editand bring to publishing, but inthe process, I went through myown metamorphosis as a writer offiction. Now I have an entire gardenof stories to pollinate.

~ Reenita Malhotra Hora(ISC 1989)




Fake it till youmake it!School extracurricularactivities taught me theart of ‘faking it’ — fakinga stomach ache, the flu,nausea, a really (really!)

bad headache; the samecrinkled, crumpledyellowing doctor’scertificate in my pocket toadd authenticity and relieffrom this torture.

After what wasbecoming a weekly ritualof absence, the HouseCaptain would see meapproaching and solemnlynod at me to just carry

on. It was the successof that experience thatemboldened me to usethe same ‘art’ in my laterlife — when the thoughtof going to work on aMonday morning seemedakin to hell. Like theysay...experience is thebest teacher.~ Farhad J. Dadyburjor

(ICSE 1990)

One dozen memorable yearsMy love affair with Cathedral began in Standard 1.When Daddy dropped me to school, I didn’t let go of thedoll in my hand. I was calmed by the sandpit and slideright outside our classroom...and the cherry on top — a

geriatric tortoise (who would come home with us onschool holidays), resident pet of 1M.Our class teacher, Ms. Whitebread, had the neatest

handwriting. She was partial to a few cute kids, carryingthem around and pulling their cheeks at break time.Others, whose writing was not clear, were joked at —“Nxxxxxxx Cxxxxx is a mouse because his letters of thealphabet are the size of a mouse.”

Ms. Athaide, the music teacher, is unforgettable. Inher lovely flouncy dresses with matching beads (the sizeof balls), playing the piano and teaching us SummerHoliday and Jamaican Farewell, and Mrs. Menezes’booming voice singing Kumbaya.

Tere was never a time I didn’t want to be at School...although during the monsoons, I did hope for thatone rainy day when the city would be flooded beyondrecognition and school would close.

~ Farah Kohli née Mistry(ISC 1995)

Colour codedWhile second-generation or third-generationCathedralites talk proudly of “inheriting” their House, Iam different. Not sure which House to assign, Ms. Prucepointed to a balloon and asked, “What colour?” I blurtedout, “Blue” and was swiftly assigned Wilson.

~ Rustom Dadabhoy(ISC 1964)

A line to rememberOur Middle SchoolHeadmistress, Mrs. Koshy,was a force to reckonwith — stiffly starchedcotton saris, grey hairfirmly tied in a neat bun atthe nape of her neck andglasses that slipped downher nose to just the rightangle to make the average10-12-year-old want todisappear. Fearfully, weawaited our first Geometryclass with her.

Mrs. Koshy began witha line that still thundersthrough the years. She

speared us with her gaze,rocked gently back andforth on her heels andsaid: “Geometry is thestudy of angles; not angels!

Anyone mixing up the twocan expect a zero in theirpapers.” Ten with a grimsmile, she began the lesson.Since that day, I have neverhad the slightest inclinationto confuse the two.

~ Sweta Dugar(ICSE 1995)

Such a long journeyDuring Cross Country oneyear, a marker accidentallygave wrong directions to

a whole bunch of runners,sending them off thecharted course. Not onlywere they untraceable forquite a while, they wereeventually sent home in ahearse! Imagine the shockfor their poor families!

~ Shiraz Mehta-Vaid(ICSE 1996)

~ Compiled by Anaita Vazifdar–Davar (ICSE 1996)

If you have an interesting anecdote to share, mail it to us [email protected]

Going the distanceI’ll never forget thisCross Country: all thebest runners were beaten

by someone in my classwho had never played asport before! Perplexed,we gathered around himat the finish line to askhow he had managed toachieve this without evenbreaking a sweat. He smiledconspiratorially and said,“Auto-rickshaw.” Not onlydid this kick up quite a stirwith the super competitiveHouse Captains, it alsoresulted in him receiving apink card!

~ Dhimaan Shah(ISC 2004)

Lighter Side

Everyone has a memory or an anecdoteabout school they love recounting. Here

are ashbacks from a few ex-students.

Those werethe days



Summer School Cathedral students tell us about their experience.

he 13th annual SummerSchool at Manoribel was

held from April 28 to May 5,2014. Te camp is an integrationinitiative and includes 25 childrenfrom the local village.

“Tis is the one week of the year thatI look forward to the most. Te camphas taught me how to do things I neverthought I was capable of — theatreskits, rappelling and much more.”- Devika Madgavkar – 7D

“Tese seven days just flew by. odayis the last day but I feel like the camphas just begun.”- Rae Billimoria – 6D

“Te chefs made different cuisinessuch as Chinese and Indian as wellas some yummy desserts. Tere wasbrownie and chocolate ice cream and

jelly, which made my mouth sweetand refreshed… We also learnt howto be more independent and do ourwork ourselves.”

- Muskan Betala – 7B

“We saw the moon and Jupiter, wecracked insane PJs, we danced till thefloor shook and this has been the bestsummer ever.”- Mehak Chadha – 7C

“Te reason I come here every yearis because the Summer School justhas a different vibe to it. Te lazy

afternoons sitting on the hammocksand the sound of the calm waves

in your ears...what’s not to loveabout Manori!”- Urja Mehta – 9C

“What’s the first word you think ofwhen you hear ‘Summer School’? Forme, it’s ‘FUN’!”- Nikita Fernandes – 7C

“Playing on the beach, chilling in therooms, relaxing on the hammocks,dancing with everybody...they’reall memories I will never forget. Ihad amazing fun with the Manorichildren. I made such great friends insuch a short time. Saying goodbye tothem was hard.”- Varun Kapadia – 9A

“Tis camp will be a bookmark in mychildhood.”- Sanaya Havaldar – 9

“I loved ‘survival skills’, where Iovercame my fear of heights.”

- Sam Vatcha – 6

“I’ve been to Manori thrice and Iabsolutely love the camp!”- Akshata Kapoor – 7A

“Tere were many activitiesarranged for us such as Robotics,

Art, Teatre, Pottery and Astronomy. We friends hadmidnight feasts. We had fun with

Events

the Manori children; they were veryfriendly and kind.”

- Ananya Agarwal – 7A

“Te sessions we took part in taughtme a lot and I’m sure this knowledgewill help me in life.”- Devansh Koppar – 9B

“We had a local home visit in which wesaw how others live their lives.”- Hansini Somaiya – 5D

“Te first day we had ‘survival skills’ —rappelling, river crossing and zipline.

While rappelling, I felt scared goingdown, but I soon calmed down. InRobotics, we had fun making differentmodels and remote controls. In

Astronomy, we saw interesting videosand made a telescope. In Teatre, we didsome plays. In Art, we made a spider.”- Devina Mogha – 5D

“My favourite part of the camp wasbeach games. We woke up everymorning and went to the beach to playfootball.”- Samin Khimji – 7B

“My parents always ask me why I wantto keep going back to camp but theydon’t understand that the camp is apassage to better friendship betweenthe seniors and the juniors. We alsohad a lot of fun with the Manorichildren. Tey are really kind, sweetand generous.”- Lianne Dhalla – 7B





November 14, 2013, betterknown as Founders’ Day,

was celebrated with its usualvigour and camaraderie.After a serene morning atSt. Thomas’ Cathedral, thealumni moved to the MiddleSchool, where there wasmuch chatter about oldteachers and friends, as theybrowsed through the photoson the walls. The tea andsnacks were also a hugehit! Meanwhile, the old boys‘thrammed’ the current classin basketball. The eveningbefore, old friends reunitedover cocktails and dinner atCheval in Kala Ghoda. Thephotos say it all.

Events


P h o t o g r a p h s b y U m a i d K u m a r C h o u d h

a r y

Founders’Day



2014 Te X-Cathedralit2014 Te X-Cathedralit




Anna Philip Anna Philip retired from

Cathedral in 1991, butshe visits it at everyopportunity she gets. Nowliving in Kerala, the formerMathematics teacher comesto Mumbai often andespecially tries to make it tothe Founders’ Day service.“Last year, I couldn’t bepresent on November 14,but I’m looking forwardto it this time,”

she says. Temother of fourproudly statesthat three of herchildren schooledin Cathedral.Mrs. Philip isenjoying retiredlife, reading,cooking (“nowmy family is verydiet-conscious; I

can’t cook withso much oil!”), knitting andcrocheting (“I like givingwhat I make as gifts”) andkeeping in touch with herCathedral acquaintances.Former students can contacther at [email protected] and 09847061208.

Mohini Sharma“If I lived closer to school,I would visit it every day!”exclaims Mohini Sharmawith longing. When sheretired in January 2008,the Junior School Hinditeacher took with her somewonderful memories.“Te children were soattached to school and usteachers,” she reminisces.“When they had to writecompositions about whom

From the staff room

Teacher Updates

they liked best, they wouldwrite about us.” She recalls

meeting a former studentat a restaurant many yearsafter she had taught him.He asked if she rememberedhim, to which Mrs. Sharmareplied, “Yes, you are mysweetheart.” “No, miss,” shewas promptly corrected,“We are your ‘shamelesscreatures’.” Mrs. Sharmasays it is heartening to see

her ex-students

doing well inall walks oflife. “Tey have

brought laurels to our greatinstitution. I feel so proudof their achievements.”Is she enjoying retiredlife? “Not much, because Imiss school. And I am notinterested in housework;I prefer to go out. Myhusband knows everythingabout the house, whereas Idon’t,” she laughs.

Manu Cariappa“Cathedral spoilt me!”exclaims Manu Cariappa.“After I left, I didn’t want towork anywhere else.” Armedwith a degree in LibraryScience, Mrs. Cariappa

took over as Middle SchoolLibrarian for five years

in the ’90s, a post shethoroughly enjoyed. “Teschool allowed me to becreative and I had a whale ofa time.”

She insists she isn’tretired. Working on herhusband’s coffee estate inCoorg doesn’t give her achance to live a retired life,

shesays.

However, sheenjoys reading,gardening andlooking after herdogs. Her sons, Arjun andKartik, live abroad; when shecan get away from the estate,she visits them. Althoughshe hasn’t returned toMumbai, Mrs. Cariappais still in touch with manyof her former colleagues.“We were so close,” shereminisces, “but I couldnever go chat with themin the staff room, becauseat lunch time I had regularstudents who wouldn’t wantto leave the library!”

Ravindra KashikarOn the day of his interviewin 1972, RavindraKashikar’s grandfather

passed away and he couldn’tattend. However, a few days

later, Cathedral called him“and I was selected on thespot,” says the octogenarianwho taught Sanskrit,Marathi and Hindi. He wasalso in charge of the buses,no mean feat. “School alsosent me for the Road SafetyPatrol course offered by thePolice department.” Tisenabled Mr. Kashikar toensure that the Cathedral

kids had a safe journeywherever they went, be it

to the maidanto practise forSports Day, to thebuses or from oneschool building toanother.

Mr. Kashikarleft Cathedral in1984 “becauseMr. Newton,

the Principal ofG. D. SomaniSchool, askedme to join him

there to implement all theprogrammes we had atCathedral” but he enjoysattending our Founders’ Day service. “I can relive thegood times and meet manypeople,” he says.

Retired and living inDahisar now, Mr. Kashikarsays, “In 1998, my brotheroffered me a job in hiscompany, Mika EngineeringIndia Pvt. Ltd. We havegood staff, so I don’t needto be there, but I go to thefactory every day. It keepsme active and I enjoy it.”

~ Anaita Vazifdar-Davar(ICSE 1996)

Anna Philip

Mohini Sharma

Manu Cariappa

Ravindra Kashikar




It was the early fifties. imes were

different; we were just emerging fromthe influence of the British Raj. “Africandeserts and snows of the Rockies, widesweeping prairies with winds blowing

clean” were our birthright… Not yetchanged to “Himalayan mountains…”

Girls and boys had separate schools.Tey came together only for the annual

socials or in the school bus. Boys hadfurious games in the quadrangle atlunchtime. We slid down the corridors,

rushed to the tuck shop during break,played Kitty Kitty and….

Out on the maidan, hockey/cricket/football/athletics inter-House matches

were played with a fierce competitivespirit.

Sixty years ago, in December, the

class of 1954 graduated with a SeniorCambridge Diploma and “went forth to

our lifework to earn for our school a fairname.”

Rahul Bajaj (Savage) is a Padma

Bhushan awardee and a former member

of the Rajya Sabha. He obtained a B.A.

(Hons.) from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi,an L.L.B. from Mumbai and an M.B.A.

from Harvard University. He joined the

family business in 1965 and has since

built it into a vast industrial empire.

He now plays “Parthasarathy” (role of

adviser) to his sons, Rajiv and Sanjiv,

who manage the businesses. He will

NEVER retire!

(Late) Pamela Ballantine (Wilson)

was a topper and an inspirational

leader. An Economics graduate from

Cathedral 1954 vintage

WHERE

ARE THEYNOW?

Class Notes

Bristol University

and a Diploma

holder in Social

Administration

from L.S.E., Pamela

devoted her time

to social service

in various fields

in and around

London and was

awarded an M.B.E.

in 2000 for her

services to race equality in the London

borough of Redbridge. She is, sadly, no

longer with us.

Armaity Mody Patel (Palmer)

studied Nursing

but did not

graduate. Shemarried Naval

(Wilson, Class of

1949) in 1960 and

was a homemaker,

residing in various

places, mostly in North India, and then

in Mumbai from 1990 to 2005. Having

played hockey, tennis, badminton and

basketball, she and Naval enjoy watching

sports on V. Tey are now settled in

Mysore.

Arnavaz (Guzder) Wadia (Savage)obtained a B.A.

(Hons.) from St.

Xavier’s College,

Mumbai. She did

some secretarial

work for a few

years, but has been

a homemaker since

1985. Settled in Pune, she travels a lot,

visiting new places in Europe and Asia.

Gracie Hayeem Lerno (Barham)

did a eacher’sraining course

at Cathedral and

then migrated to

the U.K. and then

the U.S.A. She was

a flight attendant

for many years.

Recently widowed, she now devotes

time to teaching senior citizens how to

take care of arthritis. She practises yoga,

.A.. (apas Acupressure echnique),

Zumba and ai Chi and lives in Simi

Valley, California.

Homa Shirazi (Palmer) did a

Diploma course

in Dressmaking

from Christian

Dior, Paris, and

had a successful

dressmaking career

in Mumbai before

returning to her

native ehran, Iran. She keeps busy

teaching and tailoring her own clothes

in her spare time. She travels quite a

bit, especially to London, Rome and

the South of France, where she enjoys

swimming. In ehran, she enjoys going

to the mountains, taking long walks and

being with friends.Jer Masani Delvadavala (Wilson)

obtained a B.Com.

from Sydenham

College and

an L.L.B. from

Government Law

College, Mumbai.

She helped her

husband run his

construction firm

and now likes to travel and listen to

English pop music.Mehroo Balsara Mistry (Savage)

attended a private

finishing school

in Mumbai. After

a brief marriage

that sadly ended

in divorce, she

joined the family

firm “Balsara”.

Based in Mumbai, she now works in

real estate.

Naju Vakil Dadrevala (Wilson)was married and

widowed early, but

has successfully

raised her daughter

and son to achieve

eminent positions

in life.

Nalini

Chandran (Savage) obtained a B.A.

(Hons.) from Elphinstone College,

Mumbai. She forged a career as a teacher




Class Notes

in the various

towns in which

her Army-officer

husband was

posted. Widowed

early, she

devoted herself

to social work

and educational activity and has

founded the Hari Sri Vidya Nidhi School

in Trissur.

Nergesh Mody Bharucha

(Palmer) did

some secretarial

work and was

homemaker to

an Army General.

Now retired, she

and her husbandread, play Scrabble

and bridge, walk, meditate and practise

yoga and aerobics.

(Late) Nilina Parker (Palmer)

obtained a B.A.

(Hons.) from

Elphinstone

College, Mumbai.

After marriage,

she moved to

the U.K. in 1963

and continued towork in the airline industry till early

retirement in 1966, when she moved to

Pune. She passed away a few years ago.

She had an ear for music and a bright,

nonchalant attitude towards whatever

life threw at her. Some of it was cruel,

but she bore it stoically and always with

a smile.

Zarrin Lam Aga (Savage) obtained a

B.A. (Hons.) from

St Xavier’s College,

a B.A. (Hons.) fromLeeds University,

U.K. and an M.A.

in Information

Management

from Tames

Valley University, London. After

working in Mumbai and London,

she settled to be a homemaker.

She is currently studying both Te

Avesta and the Avestan language

in Mumbai.

Dr. Vijaya Hattiangadi Gupchup

(Palmer) is a Ph.D.

and an educationist

and historian. She

was Headmistress

of the Cathedral

Infant School

from 1991 to 98.

She has authored

several books, such as Bombay: Social

Change 1813-1857, St. Tomas’ Cathedral

– A Witness to History and Sir George

Birdwood – Te Promoter of Goodwill

between East and West. Her children and

grandchildren are also Cathedralites.

Ratan Ramchandani Chawla

(Wilson) worked

at JW for five

years and marriedin 1962. She had

two children and

moved to London,

as her husband was

an international

trader. After living in the U.S.A. for three

years, she came back to India in 1992 and

is now settled in Bengaluru.

(Late) Sadhana Shah Madhusudan

(Wilson) was the

very essence of

a Cathedral girl.She brought her

upbringing both at

home and at School

into every facet of

her life. Her sunny

attitude was infectious and it permeated

through to her friends who held her in

high esteem all her life. She passed away

in 2013.

ahamtan Aresh migrated to the

U.S.A. in the early sixties and got a

degree in Electrical Engineering fromCal. Poly., San Luis Obispo. In 1970, he

moved to Iran, where he was involved in

land development. He returned to the

U.S.A. in the mid-seventies and started

a real estate development company in

California.

Rumi Daruwala (Savage) obtained

a B.E. (Civil) from V.J..I., Mumbai.

He worked with the ata Group, rising

from rainee Engineer to Chief Civil

Engineer. He is now a consulting

Engineer, Architect and Valuer settled

in Mumbai.

Dara Dastur (Palmer) obtained an

undergraduate

degree in Chemical

Engineering and a

Master’s degree in

Polymer Science,

both from U.D.C..,

Mumbai. He then

went to England

to the National College of Polymer

echnology, London, from where he

obtained his professional qualifications.

He worked in the plastic and rubber

fields in two small companies over a

period of 36 years, finally retiring in

2001. He now indulges in his hobby —

walking.Soli Davar (Barham) obtained a

B.Com. from

Sydenham College

and A.C.A. in 1963.

He then worked

in his father’s firm

as well as with P.C.

Hansotia, rising

to Partner in both

firms. P.C. Hansotia later merged with

Deloitte, where he continued as Partner

till he retired. His specialty being ax,he did some consultancy work before

retiring completely.

Darab Dubash (Barham) graduated

with a B.Com.

from Sydenham

College, Mumbai.

He immediately

joined the family

business (founded

in 1810) and has

been managing

that ever since. He now spends most ofhis time abroad but keeps in touch with

his business from overseas.

Pratap Dundh (Barham) graduated

with a B.Com.

from Sydenham

College in 1959

and an L.L.B. from

Government Law

College in 1961.He worked withMitsubishi in




Class Notes

Mumbai. Since retiring in 2001, he has a

textile consultancy business and spendsmost of his time with his grandson, also

a Cathedralite. Saleem Fazelbhoy (Wilson) spent

two years at St.

Xavier’s Collegeand then joined the

family business,selling auto parts

in Maharashtra andGoa. Eight years

ago, he moved toPune, where he spends his time playinggolf and going to the horse races. Te

business is now closed.

Prem Prakash Gupta (Palmer)

operated various hosiery units inMumbai and Ludhiana and founded

India’s first Angora rabbit farm in Kullu,HP, in 1965, for the purpose of wool/hair(not meat), which he made the largest in

the world.

Ravi Jaitly (Wilson) graduated as

a MechanicalEngineer. He is

now a gentlemanfarmer in theDelhi suburbs,

where he lives inone of ‘those farm

houses’!Rumy Kapadia (Savage) obtained

an M.S. and FRCS(E.N..) and haslived and practised

in London since1966, retiring

in 1999. A greatbeliever in

medicine, of allvarieties and ancillary allied professions,

he always aspired to the standard of aconcert pianist...without quite making it.

He loves to travel to different countries,both for pleasure as well as to attendmusic festivals.

Mohinder (Chubi) Lalwani graduated with

a BE (Mech.)from BenarasEngineering

College afterfinishing his Inter

Science fromK. C. College. He

has operated automobile workshops,

indulged in motor races and rallies and

has won numerous races. He continues to

be involved in the automobile field.

Sohrab Mehta (Barham) graduated

with a B.Com. from

Sydenham Collegeand qualified

as a Chartered

Accountant from

the U.K. After

a varied career

in Finance and

Management, he retired as Finance

Director of a textile and property

group in London in December 2003.

Now, computer pursuits, oil painting,

chess and philately keep him in

fine form.Dante Mody (Palmer) worked in a

bank for a few

years and then

migrated to the

U.K., where he

works in the

photographic

industry in

retail, wholesale

distributing and manufacturing. He is

currently involved in manufacturing and

selling worldwide.

Caveh Munshigraduated with an

M.A. from Mumbai

and an M.A. from

Oxford University

and taught English

at Elphinstone

College, Mumbai.

Suhas Phadke (Barham) graduated

with a B.Sc. (Hons.)

from St. Xavier’s

College, Mumbai,

and a D.B.M.from J.B.I.M.S.,

Mumbai. Tis

was followed by

a varied career

in sales and marketing for consumer

products and prescription medicines

until his retirement as General Manager,

Marketing, Beiersdorf India Ltd. in

1998. Now, computer surfing, following

sport on V and generally bumming

around keep him busy.

Anthony Ramsinh (Savage)

graduated with

a B.A. from

St. Xavier’s

College, Mumbai.

After stints in

copywriting,

advertising and

P.R., he emigrated

to the U.S.A. in 1976, where he worked

as a Purchasing Executive with IBM for

20 years. After retirement, he indulges

in travelling around the world, collecting

art, watching over his wine cellar, horse

racing and driving exotic cars, besides

caring for a variety of wildlife in his area.

Col. Perminder Singh Randhawagraduated from

the NationalDefence Academy

and joined the

Indian Army as

a Mechanical

Engineer, where

he served for 32

years, including in four major wars. He

is involved in spiritual activity on his

retirement.

Arun Shenoy (Palmer) qualified

as a Chartered

Accountant in theU.K. and worked in

various European

companies in

Finance, Marketing

and General

Management

before moving to the U.S.A. as a

Consultant to the pharma industry.

He retired to Florida to indulge in his

passion for golf.

Jal ata (Palmer) graduated with

a B.Com. fromSydenham

College, Mumbai.

After qualifying

as a Chartered

Accountant, he

worked in various

ata companies

in Financial and General Management,

retiring as C.E.O. of ata Services Ltd.

- Compiled by Suhas Phadke




Class Notes

Reunion — Class of 1963

Te stage was set. After consideringChiplun, Alibaug and Khandala, the

plans were final. Tere were to be twoget-togethers — one hosted by Hiroo

Advani at his mansion in Khandala;the other, by Rajkumar Seksaria at

the C.C.I.“What about the rest of the

programme?” people asked. “Well,there is the Church Service, wherewe’ve been provided special seating

since it’s our 50thyear. Tis will be

followed by a visit tothe Middle School,the one that we all

remember so well.”Te arrangements

were flawless. Tosewho requested hotel

stays booked in

advance. Cars were aplenty. Te take-off was timed perfectly. We all arrived

at Hiroo’s mansion together.It was a promising day, with plenty

of sunshine, lots of food and drinkand conversation galore. People were,

after all, catching up after many,many years! We were 36 in all —classmates and a few spouses.

Te Church Service followed thenext day and, like obedient children,

everyone arrived on time. Soon, wewere ushered into the area reserved

for the Class of 1963. Te Servicewas beautifully rendered. Singing

hymns and the school song broughtback memories of yesteryears. Albert

Aboody, Head Boy of 1963, wasaccorded the privilege of reading

a Lesson.Te Middle School tea ceremony

was fun, but it was the visit to the

main school thatelicited oohs andaahs from all ofus. Rememberingwhat happened

where, who satnext to whom in

which class…eventables and chairs

were recognised in

many instances.Te dinner at C.C.I. gave everyone

the opportunity to dress up accordingto the smart casual code. What a

lovely evening! Good food, lots todrink and music from the 1950s

and ’60s filled the air. It was difficultto believe we had spent threedays together.

~ Kishore Shivdasani

50-year reunion

F i f t i e t h R e u n i o n

Anand Desai(Barham) hasworked in the I..industry starting

with CompaqComputers/H.P.

as a ComputerSystems Analyst,

where he designed informationsystems solutions of large and medium

enterprises and set up new computersystems, both hardware and softwareapplications, to increase productivity.

Married to Ishwari, he enjoys travel,swimming and reading.

Dady Dadyburjor (Savage) received

his B.ech. degree from I.I.. Bombayand, subsequently, Master’s and

Ph.D. degrees from the University ofDelaware, all in Chemical Engineering.

He is currently a (full) Professor atWest Virginia University. He was in the

first group to receive the Distinguished Alumnus award from I.I..-B., in 1983.He is one of about 20 people worldwide

to be both a Fellow of the AmericanInstitute of Chemical Engineers and

a Fellow of the American ChemicalSociety. He has been married to Lou

since 1973.Deepak Deshpande (Palmer) moved

to New Delhi in 1965 with his parents,

where he got a B.Com (Hons.) degreeand qualified as a Chartered Accountant

and Company Secretary. After workingwith Price Waterhouse and Union

Class of 1964




Our thanks to

Sammy Medora

Vishesh Agarwal

for their generous contribution to

our Retired Teachers and

Staff Medical Benefit Scheme

Special thanks to the following

donors for their generous contributions:

Bajaj Foundation

Nisha KhattauPereena Lamba

Sarita Bhalerao

A well-wisher




Class Notes

Carbide, he started his own ManagementConsultancy firm, which over time

evolved into a trading and representationbusiness. He lives in Delhi with his wife,Rajul, and they have two daughters and a

son. “While my business keeps me busy,

I endeavour to give back to society whatthis life has given to me.”

Deena Tacker

(Palmer) ispresently Principalof Davar’s College

of Commerce.She has three

children, alsoex-Cathedralites.

Her grandson is a fourth-generationCathedralite. Te words “School first,house next, self last” have motivated her

all her life. She has worked closely withthe Association for the Blind. Fond of

gardening and animals, she has a housein Goa and a farm in Boisar.

Dr. Rohinton K. Khambatta(Barham) did his post-graduate studies in

Sydney, Australia, after which he startedhis private practice in dentistry for nearly30 years. He retired in 2004 and now

spends a few days every month in Goa.He is married to Gooloo Chothia (Class

of 1969) and they have two daughters.

Dr. Nadir Eddie Bharucha (Savage)is Professor andHead, Departmentof Neurology,

B.H.I.M.S.,Consultant

Neurologist atBombay Hospital,

and Head of theDepartment of Neuroepidemiology atBombay Hospital. He has more than

150 scientific publications in journals/textbooks, has helped organise scientific

conferences and is on the editorialboard of medical journals. He initiated

community-based epidemiologic studiesfor the prevalence of neurologicaldisorders. His committed work

has earned him numerous awards,including the Wockhardt Medical

Excellence Award (Harvard MedicalInternational). Married, he has three

daughters. His interests includereading, Western classical musicand travelling.

Hannah Behar (Barham) did six

months at Davar’s College of Commerce,worked as a secretary at Bombay

University for a year, then moved toIsrael, where she studied Hebrew for

six months on a kibbutz and marriedMoshe. She has two children and four

grandchildren, and is working as anExecutive Secretary, living 20 minutesfrom el Aviv.

Homi B. Patel obtained an M.B.A.from Columbia University and spent 35

years in the apparel industry. He retiredas Chairman and C.E.O. of Hartmarx

Corporation. He has served as Director of Amalgamated Life Insurance, Mrs. Fields

Cookies, CBY, Neways Corporation,and Northwestern Memorial Hospital,as rustee of the National Retirement

Fund, President of the ClothingManufacturers Association of America

and Adjunct Professor at Kellogg School

of Management. He lives in Chicago withhis wife, Anne. Tey have three children.

Homi Mulla (Savage) has morethan 35 years of experience in the fields

of Human Resource Development,Organisation Development and other

Behavioural Science Applications inindustry. He is a trainer and facilitator

and has conducted more than 900workshops and done a lot of organisationdevelopment work for a range of

corporate clients. He has also acted inmany theatre productions and advertising

films, including a role in a film withSalman Rushdie and a cameo in Aamir

Khan’s Dhobi Ghat, besides being anaccomplished pianist and accordionist.

Jimmy P.Billimoria(Palmer) qualified

as F.C.A. in Londonin 1975. He was

Group FinanceDirector, InlaksGroup, a private,

international group of companies

headquartered in Geneva, and Directorof Finance in several charities in London.

Married to Geeta, he is now retired andlives in Pune.

Michael Isaacson completed his

schooling in Londonand then obtained

his degrees fromthe University

of Cambridge. In1976, he moved to

Vancouver, Canada,to join the facultyat the University of British Columbia. He

served as Head of the Civil EngineeringDepartment for a five-year term and

then as Dean of the Faculty of AppliedScience for an 11-year term. Michael’s

primary research interests relate tocoastal and ocean engineering. He hasserved as a specialist consultant on many

engineering projects and has held variouspositions with provincial, national and

international engineering societies andassociations. He is married to Sharon

and they have four children and sixgrandchildren.

Mira Savara(Palmer) obtaineda degree in Liberal

Arts from ReedCollege, U.S.A., and

a Ph.D. in Sociologyfrom MumbaiUniversity.

Currently living in Pune and Mumbai,she has a jungle hut in Karjat. She loves

to travel, is fond of music and also enjoyswatching documentaries, partying and

practising yoga and Pranic Healing. Shewould like to go on an African safari,

write a book, put drip irrigation in, andstart a green house in her jungle hut

(now solar-charged).Nowroze J.N. Vazifdar (Savage)

graduated with a

B.Com. (Hons.)degree and

qualified as A.C.A.,M.M.S. (Finance)and F.C.S. and

was President ofthe Institute of

Company Secretaries of India. He hasworked in the accounting, finance and



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corporate secretarial and compliance

functions, in Godrej, Colour Chem,Mahindra Ugine and Kotak Mahindra.

He left Kotak in 2003 as Executive VicePresident and Secretary. He serves on the

boards of various companies and writes

and consults on law, taxation, audits andplanning. He has also served as President

of the Rotary Club of Bombay. He ismarried to Niloufer and they have two

children (both ex-Cathedralites) and twograndchildren.

Paul Kurrien (Savage) obtained hisM.A. in Applied Psychology from theUniversity of Bombay and went to New

York to work/study marketing and mediaresearch for four years. He then spent a

year in Manila to get a ‘South East Asianexperience’. He took over the family

businesses in 1976 and continued torun them till 1992, when he relocated toBangalore.

Phiroz Bhagat attended I.I..

Bombay and thenobtained a Ph.D.

from the Universityof Michigan. Hewas a Research

Fellow at Harvardand a faculty member at Columbia

University. He spent more than 20 yearsat Exxon, and founded Strategy Engines.

He has enjoyed working in many fieldsranging from petroleum and chemicalplant simulation and reactor inventions

to the development and deployment ofartificial intelligence in industry (he has

published a book, Pattern Recognitionin Industry, through Elsevier), and is

currently consultant to a financial hedgefund. He is married to Patti and they

have two daughters.Purnima Banswara married

in 1970 and has two children and

three grandchildren. After residingin Jamshedpur, Mumbai and Delhi,

she presently lives in Jaipur. Owing

to her husband’s abiding passion forthe environment and nature, she

has developed a keen observation ofwildlife, ornithology and gardening.

Her great passions have been painting,

art, film, music, fashion and style. Shehas participated in several exhibitions.

School and its wonderful teachings madeher truly appreciate the beautiful and

simple things in life.Roma Chandiramani Malkani

(Wilson) graduated with a B.Sc.(Hons.) degree in Microbiology fromSophia College, Mumbai. She married

Dr. Gulab Malkani in 1970 and hastwo sons. Once they started attending

Jamnabai Narsee School, she did a B.Ed.degree and subsequently taught there

for some years. She and her husband arenow enjoying being grandparents.

Shishir Bajaj obtained anM.B.A. in Finance

from New YorkUniversity in 1974

and attended theOwner/PresidentManagement

Program of Harvard Business School in2000. He is C.M.D. of Bajaj Hindusthan

Ltd., India’s leading sugar producer andthe fifth largest in the world. He is also

Chairman of Bajaj Group, whose Bajaj Almond Drops (manufactured by BajajCorp) is the second largest hair oil brand

in India. Married to Minakshi, theyhave two sons. He enjoys travelling,

reading and photography. e-mail: [email protected]

Rustom Dadabhoy (Wilson)

obtained a Master’s degree in CivilEngineering from Brooklyn Polytechnic.

After returning to India, he marriedMeher in 1976 and they have two sons.

He retired as C.E.O. and C.O.O. of alarge civil engineering firm, and has

Class Notes

designed and built several prize-

winning projects, such as powerstations, ports, bridges and industrial,

residential and commercial structures,besides creating a new city, Lavasa.

“What you build is what you see; when

you’re gone, your creations remain asfootprints in the sands of time.”

Shabnum Malkani Jagtiani (Barham) is

presently aFrench translator

and tutor. Afterobtaining her B.A.degree with French

from ElphinstoneCollege and a

Master’s degree in French fromBombay University, she worked for

Banque Nationale de Paris, Mumbai.She was then selected for a FrenchGovernment scholarship to Université

de Montpellier (South of France) andUniversité Paris-Sorbonne, which was

a dream come true. Shabnum lives inMumbai with her husband, Kumar,

and they have two sons. She enjoysreading, yoga, watching movies andtravelling.

Shahzadi (Advani) Kundanmal(Savage) is

Director of Financewith a yachting

company, OceanCrest Marine, atMandwa. She is also

a grandmother tothree. Both her sons

are also ex-Cathedralites. An ardentpainter, she travels extensively with

her entrepreneur husband, Ramesh,who is in automobiles, yachting and

real estate development.Sorab Pochkhanawala (Savage)

is settled in oronto, Canada, and is a

Member of the Institute of CharteredProfessional Accountants of Ontario,




and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered

Accountants in England and Wales.He has more than 40 years of senior

management experience with some ofthe foremost multinational corporations

including the ata Group, Johnson &

Johnson and the Emirates Group. He ismarried to Sheroo and they have three

children.

Rajiv Ved

(Palmer) receivedhis B.ech. degree

in MechanicalEngineering fromI.I..-Bombay

and then wentto London for

his M.B.A. from the London BusinessSchool. He worked for an international

photographic company for more than20 years, and has a son and a marrieddaughter.

amim yebjee attended SydenhamCollege, Mumbai,

and then joined hisfamily business. He

later branched outon his own, doingship repairs for

the Indian Navyand progressed

to becoming the sole British AdmiraltyChart Agent in India, a business which

still thrives. He now spends half hissemi-retired life with his wife, Durriya,golfing in the Nilgiris. Tey have two

children.

Dr. Manek-Phiroz Eddie Bharucha

is a retired Psychoanalyst and ChildPsychotherapist, qualifying from the

Seth G.S. Medical College and K.E.M.Hospital, Mumbai, and the avistock

Centre, Institute of Psychoanalysis,and Willesden Centre for Psychological

reatment, U.K. He teaches a smallgroup of students at the PsychoanalyticTerapy and Research Centre on a part-

time voluntary basis (psychoanalysis-mumbai.org).

ManoharGodfrey Jesudian(Barham)

immigrated toCanada in 1966,

where he enrolledin Ryerson

University, graduating in Engineering in

1970. Shortly thereafter, he joined thelargest Canadian telecommunications

company, Bell, and has since enjoyed asuccessful career, mainly in the telecom

sector, having held senior managerial

positions with various public andprivately-held companies in Canada and

overseas. He is currently V.P. of BusinessDevelopment for a technology firm and

plans to officially retire end-2014. Heis married to Diana and their principal

residence is oronto, with anotherresidence in Florida.

Rupendra Singh (Barham), F.C.A.,

trained withouche Ross & Co.

in London, wherehe was part of the

team of partnersthat establishedKPMG’s India

operations in1993. He also led the firm’s Forensic and

Business Ethics practices and retiredas Chairman in September 2008. He

is currently Chairman of the KPMGFoundation in India and has served onthe board of Te Prince’s Youth Business

International in London.

Anil Kapur

obtained an M.B.A.in Finance from

Wharton BusinessSchool and thenworked with major

global corporationssuch as the World

Bank, Citibank, McKinsey & Company,Inc. and Ford Motor Company in South

America, Asia, Europe and Africa. Heis currently an Adjunct Professor at

the School of Business, George MasonUniversity, Virginia. He is married

to Martha and they have lived inWashington, D.C. for more than 30 years.

Brinda Somaya

(Palmer) is anarchitect and urban

conservationistand the founder ofSomaya & Kalappa

Consultants,Mumbai. In

1978, she was awarded an HonoraryDoctorate from her alma mater,

Class Notes

Smith College. Her commitment to

merging architecture, conservation andsocial equity in projects (campuses,

St. Tomas’ Cathedral, quake-hittowns) has won her prestigious awards,

including UNESCO recognition and

the peer-led Weinberger. Brinda is oneof 100 Global Public Interest Design

people working at the intersection ofdesign and service globally. Married to

Dr. Anand Somaya, a Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon, she has two children

and is a grandmother.Basil Colaco’s

(Wilson) ‘Stairway

to Heaven’ startedwith the Cathedral

choir underMr. Velu, playing

a tea-chest bassin the first schoolband, Te Hearthrobs, with Homi Mulla,

continued to a 1960s pop band, Country& Western, folk choir, rock musicals,

disco work, teaching, and still continueswith singing in a classical choral choir.

Married to music and Christine, Basilhas had a successful career in Youth &Community Project Development.

- Compiled by Rajiv Ved

Class of 1966

Ashok Kurien (Savage) has been

building brands for more than 35 years,

having a keen eye on driving start-ups.Tese include advertising, V, lottery,PR and dotcoms, where he both invested

and mentored, successfully. Founderof Ambience Advertising, which was

subsequently sold off to Publicis Groupe,he is a founder-promoter/director of Zee

V, Dish V, Playwin Lottery, India.comand Hanmer & Partners. He is currentlya promoter of Livinguard echnologies

(producing low-cost water filters forbelow-the-poverty-line families).




George N. Chacko, MD, ABNM

was Chief of Nuclear Medicine at the

University Hospital in Oklahoma City. He

is currently Director of Midwest Medical

Isotopes - Medical Cyclotron Facility in

Oklahoma City, and in private practice at

the Oklahoma PE (Positron Emission

omography) Center at Deaconess

Hospital in Oklahoma City. After Senior

Cambridge, he went to Jai Hind College,followed by medical school, from where

he graduated as a radiologist who dabbles

in making medical isotopes. He is married

to Christie and they have two children

and live in Edmond, Oklahoma. His

future plans include retiring in four years

and doing social service in rural India,

while based in the U.S.A. He has adopted

an orphanage in Badlapur, Maharastra.

Jehangir (John) Pestonjee (Wilson)

is retired in ucson, Arizona, following

a 40-year career in engineering andmanagement at exas Instruments

and Raytheon. He is married to Gayle

and they have two daughters and one

granddaughter (so far). He stays busy

with travel, woodworking, guitar lessons

and being a grandpa.

Monojit Chatterji left Cathedral

in 1963 and, after completing his

Senior Cambridge from St. Columba’s,

Delhi, returned to Mumbai in 1967,

to Elphinstone College, from where he

graduated in 1970. He then went toCambridge and read for the Economics

ripos degree and did his Ph.D. there.

He remained in academia as a Professor,

teaching at several universities in

Britain, U.S.A., India and Australia. He

is currently teaching at the University of

Cambridge, where he holds a Fellowship

at Sidney Sussex College. He holds a

number of public positions, recently

being appointed as an advisor to the

Speaker of the House of Commons. He

Class of 1968is married to Anjum Rahmatulla from

Karachi and they have three children and

a golden retriever and live in a rambling

old house in Scotland.

Rahul (Bunty) Sood joined good

friend Monojit Chatterji for a B.A. in

Economics at Elphinstone College. With

fellow classmates Anand Patwardhan

and Akeel Bilgrami he learnt a lot

and took their college to new sporting

heights while bunking classes. A chance

meeting with Ashok Advani pointed

him to Development Communications

at Stanford University, where he

earned an A.B. (Film) and, years later,

a Ph.D. Exciting stints in Hollywood’s

documentary film production industry

and India’s development sector followed.

Married to fellow Elphinstonian, MeenaLal, he went into academia, teaching

Communication at Stanford and other

universities in California, where he rose

to Full Professor. Returning to India

in the 1990s as a bachelor again, he

switched gears to run a .V. production

company, Gudia Ghar Productions, which

produces pro-social and edutainment

programmes for children. He is also

Founding rustee of the NGO Atma

Mumbai. His new joy is writing articles

on his first love, golf. He and his wife offive years, Harinakshi Somaiya, travel

the world whenever possible to cover

big-ticket golf events and to play on

wonderful golf courses.

Ranjit Malkani (Wilson) retired as

C.E.O. of Kuoni (Asia). He is loving life in

Buddhist studies and Zen meditation and

supports various charities.

Roshan Danani née Davierwalla

(Wilson) attended St. Xavier’s College

and then obtained an L.L.B. degree from

Government Law College, Mumbai. Sheis married to Nikhil Danani and they

have a son and a daughter and recently

became proud grandparents. Tey live in

Bandra, Mumbai.

Xerxes Rusi Colah, MD (Palmer)

is an orthopaedic surgeon practising

in Clinton, Iowa. He likes to walk by

the Mississippi River and bicycle on

bike trails.

- Compiled by Rahul Sood

Ambika (Ambu) Morarka (Barham)obtained a Ph.D. in Archaeology and

was Senior Advisor to UNDP (NY) forScience, echnology and Sustainable

Human Development. From 1999 to2007, he was Honorary Consul of theIvory Coast. He is active in socio-cultural,

business and educational institutions,has received 10 awards and is a keynote

speaker in various historical fora. Ambikalives in Mumbai with wife Rashmi, two

sons and three grandchildren. Anand Mahajan (Savage) obtained

a B.A. from St. Xavier’s College in 1974

and an M.A. from Mumbai University.He worked with State Bank of India from

1975 to ’81 and then obtained an M.B.A.from Cornell University. He has been

with Grindwell Norton (M.D. since 1991)and Saint-Gobain Group (South AsiaHead since 1996) for the past 31 years.

He is married to Vera and they havetwo children.

Anil Hitkari (Barham) is no longerwith us. His memory lives on with his

family and friends. Anita Jean Captain née Cambata

(Palmer) designs luxury tours to India for

family company Greaves. Not forgetting

her theatre roots, she does voice-overwork and records books on tape in herspare time. She also learnt to fly a plane!

She lives in oronto and is married toRustom. She visits Mumbai often and islooking forward to the 50th reunion.

Anjalie (Elizabeth) Gupta (Barham)is an internationally reputed Kathak

dancer, who has delighted IndianPresidents, Governors and the press.

She placed third among 168 countries(second for choreography) at the WorldFolk Dance Festival in Spain, and has

received a fellowship for dance at theN.C.P.A. Anjalie heads the Kathak

Dance Academy of the Salaam BombayFoundation, where she teaches 120

underprivileged pupils. She has alsochoreographed the 150th anniversarydances for Cathedral School.

Anjla Singh (Savage) obtained aBachelor’s degree in English Literature

and a Master’s degree in Medical andPsychiatric Care. She spent 11 years

working in child and family therapy,

Class Notes




took a short break to dabble in furnitureand home accessory design, and re-entered private practice more than a

decade ago. She has two daughters, alsofrom Cathedral.

Antica Polic née Milos (Palmer)lives in the village of Hreljin in Croatia

with her husband, Mladen. After retiringin 2013 as Finance Manager of NavisConsult (Rolls-Royce in Croatia), she

has finally slowed down her life. Shehas two grown-up daughters and four

grandchildren. Arun Hitkari (Barham) obtained

a B.Com. from H.R. College. Anindustrialist, he runs a diversified family

business that manufactures cigarettefilters and specialty products for writinginstruments, exports tobacco-related

material across the world and tradesin paper products and machinery with

12 Fortune 500 companies. Marriedto Debbie, he lives in Mumbai and hasa son.

Asha Pochkhanawala née Nerurker (Savage) was a stewardess with Air India

after St. Xavier’s College. She worked inLondon with Tomas Cook and in Dubai

as a primary school teacher for 15 years.She now lives in oronto with husband

Farhad (Class of 1968) and they have

two children, both lawyers. Aspi Chubb (Wilson) lives in

Melbourne, Australia, where he iscurrently Finance Manager at Seadan

International. He is also rustee ofa charitable trust and participates inthe Cathedral Old Boys’ Association in

Melbourne. He is married to Arnavaz andthey have three daughters.

Avinash Naik (Savage) was a Memberof Legislative Council of Maharashtra

for seven years and Minister of Statefor a couple of years. Semi-retired now,

he looks after his family business andloves playing golf. He is married toNita. Tey have two daughters and live

in Mumbai.Bahadur Shroff (Palmer) worked

for many years in ata Share Registryand thereafter at ata Mutual Fund.Having retired prematurely to look after

his wife, Prochi, who fell critically ill, henow devotes his life to caring for her. He

lives in Mumbai and has a daughter andtwo grandsons.

Beroze Mehta née Ghadially(Barham) obtained a B.A. from St. Xavier’s College and worked at President

Hotel as Front Office Receptionist andat Air India as a stewardess from 1974

to 1996. She married Ronny in 1981 and

they have a daughter. Te entire familyloves dogs, especially Lhasa Apsos, and

playing the piano.Bina Sanghavi (Savage) studied

photography, practised law and has livedon three continents. She tries to explore

and experience both inner and outerworlds and continues on the mysterious,sometimes perilous, but always awe-

inspiring journey. She is married toSylvio Leonardi and they live in Koeniz,

Switzerland.Boman (Bomsie) Nicholson

(Palmer): A talented artist and actor (headored Liz aylor!), fashionable, withpointed shoes and skinny trousers, and

ahead of his time, he ultimately lived inEngland doing his own thing. He was

swept away with the tide of life and ismissed by all who knew him.

Chetan Wagle (Savage) has beenin the U.K. for the past 41 years andworks in London as Finance Director

for Freshair Ltd. Single again, he has adaughter and a son.

Chhaya Dwivedi née Shukla(Palmer) obtained a B.Sc. from Sophia

College and works as an accreditedpart-time teacher in a special educationprogramme. She lives in California.

Her husband is an urologist in privatepractice. She has three children.

Colin Clarke-Hill (Savage) went intomarketing research and became a business

academic, finishing off at the University ofGloucestershire as a Reader. He retired in2009 after a serious illness, but continued

his links with the University, where he

was appointed Emeritus Reader of theUniversity of Gloucestershire.

Cyrus Kharas (Wilson) has retired

from professional life and is now afull-time bum! He was a ManagementConsultant for almost 30 years, first as

a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopersin Holland and later as C.E.O. of Atos

Consulting in London. He lives in theNetherlands with his wife, Punnika, his

daughter and his wine collection, andspends his summers in Néoules, France.

1968 PrefectsFront row (left to right): Yohan Jeffereis (Savage House Capt.), Shobhna Patel (Wilson House Capt.),

Bahadur Shroff (Palmer House Capt.), Urmila Banerjee (Barham House Capt.), Sammy Medora (Head Boy), Mrs. Fernandes, Mrs. Jean Cabral (Principal), Mr. revor Barrow (Vice Principal), Antica Milos (Head Girl;Palmer House Capt.), Dinsa Mehta (Deputy Head Boy; Barham House Capt.), Asha Nerurker (Savage HouseCapt.), Jeevak Parpia (Wilson House Capt.)

Middle row (left to right): Nawal Seth, Perveez Merchant, Minal Melwani, Ravi Nangia, Gooloo Chothia,Ruma Roy, Gautam Desiraju, Naila Kanthawala, Jean Bhavnagri, Cyrus Kharas, Meher Katgara, GunitaKhera, Suresh Goel

Back row: Heena Kamte, Mohan Shivdasani, Dolly Grewal, ingoo Khatau, Monica Chudasama, JyotiChowdhry, Kapil Mathur, Debby Richardson, Shireen Jejeebhoy, Pheroze Madon, Bina Sanghavi,Harish Utamsing

Class Notes




Cyrus Meher-Homji (Wilson)

obtained a B.E. and went to the U.S.A.in 1976 for an M.E. and M.B.A. He has

been working at Bechtel Corporation inHouston, exas, for the past 15 years,

currently as an Engineering Fellow. He is

married to Chinnu and they have twins.Darius Shroff (Barham), Senior

Counsel by profession, practising in theHigh Court, Mumbai, is also an actor

(stage and film, English and Bollywood)by passion. Married to Sonja, he lives in

Juhu and has two children.Debby Maneckji née Richardson

(Savage) lives in her childhood home

in Mumbai and enjoys visits from herdaughters and two grandsons from

Singapore and the U.S.A. Sadly, she losther husband, Jean, a few years ago.

She still spends time in her belovedMatheran and stays in touch withold friends.

Dhanvir (ingoo) Khatau (Barham)obtained an M.B.A. from London

Business School. He participated in the Asian Games in 1970, won the Arjuna

Award in 1973 and has participated fourtimes in the World Marathon SwimmingChampionships at Capri-Naples. He met

his wife, Karin, in Capri and now lives inLausanne. Tey have two daughters, two

Beauceron dogs and three internationalequestrian eventing horses.

Dilip Mirchandani (Wilson) did

his A Levels in London, followed by adegree from the Goëthe-Institut and

Karlsruhe University, Germany. Afterapprenticeships in the U.S.A., Dulwich

College and France, he joined the family

business in 1979. He has been C.E.O. ofRafano (Belgium), manufacturing for

European fashion labels, since 1990.Married to Annie, he has two sons. He

has done humanitarian work throughRotary and plans to retire in Altea, Spain.

Dinsa Mehta (Barham) managedtrading businesses at JP Morgan, New York, for his whole career, where he was

Managing Director, Global Head, ForeignExchange Options and Commodities.

He lives in Bedford, NY. He is married toCarole and they have two children and

two grandchildren. Although retired,he is Partner at Pebblecreek Capital,running Algorithmic rading. He is also

an aspiring sculptor and avid gardener.

Elizabeth Virkar née Alexander

(Barham) has taught at various schoolsand currently lives in Mumbai, where she

teaches creative writing and art and craft.Married to Jeevan, she is mother to oneand a happy grandma to two.

Farhad Pochkhanawala (Savage)worked with Coopers & Lybrand in

London, then as Finance Manager for analuminum smelter in Dubai for 17 years.

He is currently Chief Operating Officer

for a food manufacturing facility inCanada. Settled in oronto, he is married

to Asha (née Nerurker). Tey havetwo children.

Ferial Lenterna née Irani (Palmer)

studied Chemistry and Microbiology atSt. Xavier’s College (it was never her true

calling, though!). She married Massimo,has a son and lives the sweet life (a.k.a.

la dolce vita) in Perugia, Italy. She has afashion company in Italy and supplies

embroidery to designers in the West.Fashionista per sempre!

Gautam Desiraju (Palmer) is a highly

cited Indian chemist, working in the SolidState & Structural Chemistry Unit of the

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore,and is responsible for the acceptance of

weak hydrogen bonding in structuraland supramolecular chemistry. He hasauthored books on Crystal Engineering

and Structural Chemistry and is therecipient of Indian and international

awards, including the Alexander vonHumboldt Forschungspreis.

Gooloo Khambatta néeChothia (Wilson) remembers schoolnostalgically...as happy, fun times. She

went to Art School, worked in a windowdisplay firm and taught at Mrs. Shellim’s

nursery school. She is married toDr. Rohinton Khambatta, a dentist, and

they have two daughters. Her five-year-old grandson is the apple of her eye.

Gunita Singh née Khera (Wilson)

is a dental surgeon, having qualifiedfrom Government Dental College after

two years at St. Xavier’s College. Aftermanaging her own dental practice until a

few years ago, she now works part-timeat a charitable hospital and is happy with

this laid-back status. She is married toKiranjit and they have a daughter and a

son. Tey are settled in Delhi, where sheenjoys her three granddaughters.

Haren Mehta (Savage) obtained

a B.Com. from Sydenham College,followed by an M.B.A. from California.

He is engaged in his family’s business(textile manufacturing, real estatedevelopment) and enjoys yoga, tennis,

swimming, reading and travelling.He lives in Mumbai. He and his wife

Nilima have a daughter, a son and twograndchildren.

2010 Mini ReunionFront row: Shireen Jejeebhoy, Anjla Singh, Ritu Anand, Sammy Medora

Middle row: Kavas Dadabhoy is behind Ritu; Shabbir Anik is above Sammy’s left shoulder Back row: Raju Shah in centre; Jeevak Parpia on extreme right

Class Notes




Harish Utamsing (Barham) moved

to the U.S.A. for an M.B.A. and has livedin New York and exas and, finally,

California. He worked in the hi-techindustry until a few years ago and then

started his own businesses. Married

to Mala, he has three children. He hastravelled the world and loves playing golf

and watching cricket with buddies.

Heena Kamte née Morarji (Palmer)

worked at Dharamsi Morarji ChemicalCo. from 1970 to 1990 and thereafter

in Goa for nine years. She then returnedto Mumbai, got involved in theatre and(finally!) put up an animal rescue farm

(her dream come true!) near Pune, whereshe spends most of her time.

Hemant Shah (Palmer) obtained aB.Com. from H.R. College. He relocated

to Ahmedabad in 1987 to managehis family business of textile tradingand manufacturing. Being fond of the

peaceful, laid-back life, he has settledthere. He gave up the textile business in

favour of marble supply and fixing. Heis married to Minal and they have two

daughters.Homi Byramji (Palmer) spent

35 years in computers and financial

information, including a stint as Senior V.P. for Tomson Reuters. He switched

careers to create Nezua, a resort andresidential community in Nicaragua

(www.nezua.com), which helps topreserve the Rio Escalante ChacocenteWildlife Refuge. Married to Ellen, he

has two sons and a daughter. He lives inBoonton, NJ.

Ira Kapur née Chopra (Barham)obtained a B.A. in History from Delhi and

has worked part-time at the AmericanEmbassy School as a secretary since 1982.

Married to Inder, she has two sons and agranddaughter and lives in Delhi.

Jean Tomas née Bhavnagri(Barham) obtained an M.A. fromChristian Albrecht University,

Germany, and has lived in Casablanca(in preparation for her M.A. thesis),

Cologne and Koenigstein, Germany(where she experienced motherhood),aipei (working at the aipei American

School), Hong Kong (working at DiamateImpex, jewellery manufacturers), and

Erlangen, Germany (where she taughtearly education and pre-school English).

Married to Christoph Hellwig, she

retired in Neunkirchen a. Br. and hastwo children.

Jeevak Parpia (Wilson) joinedSt. Xavier’s College for a year, then

graduated in Physics at I.I.., Chicago.

After getting a Ph.D. degree at Cornell,he remained in academics and is now a

Department Chair at Cornell Universityin Ithaca, New York. Married to Banoo,

he still does the things he loves.Joanna Gentilli née ims (Savage)

graduated with a B.A. in Literature,a Diploma in eaching and an M.A.preliminary degree in Classics. She

taught high school and technical collegeand now teaches History of Teatre at

Academy of Performing Arts, Perth. Sheis a theatre critic for Te West Australian

newspaper and an occasional bookreviewer for Te Australian. She has adaughter and spends every Christmas

in Rome.

Jyoti Chowdhry (Wilson) obtained

a B.A. from St. Xavier’s College andthereafter worked in the travel business

for many years. Interested in readingand swimming, she has also travelledextensively, both in India and overseas.

She lives in Mumbai.

Kapil Mathur (Savage) graduated in

1972 from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi,then did textile training in Germany,returned to India and started his own

textiles export company. He is currentlya buying agent for some European

companies. He is married to Arati andthey have two children. He is also agrandfather, but claims he doesn’t look it!

Kavas Dadabhoy (Wilson), B.Com., A.C.A. (Eng & Wales), has worked two

years in Mumbai, nine years in the U.K.and returned to ‘desh’ for the next 24

years ‘silver-smithing’. He settled in

Canada in 2008, where he continues hisbusiness remotely and volunteers time

for ‘not for profit’ work. He marriedMeher in 1991 and proudly witnessed his

son’s graduation in 2014.

Khoorsheed (Kookie) reasurywalanée Batliwala (Wilson) obtained a B.A.

from St. Xavier’s College. She re-startedgiving tuitions in 2008 (after her husband,

Firoze, expired) to keep away the soundsof silence and prevent the brain from

being addled. She tutors primary-seniorstudents in the Arts stream. She lives inPune and has a son and daughter.

Kiran Wagle (Savage) obtaineda B.Sc. from St. Xavier’s College and

worked in hospitality with the ajGroup of Hotels (Mumbai, Dubai and

Bengaluru), where he became RegionalDirector of Sales. He resigned in 2006and then worked as V.P. – Sales &

Marketing with Concept Hospitalityfor three years before retiring. Now

a Consultant to the Kohinoor Groupof Hotels in Mumbai, he is married to

Gauri. Tey have two daughters and areexpecting their fourth grandchild.

Lalit Bhuwalka (Savage) obtained

a B.Com. in Kolkata and owned an autoancillary business in Pune. Fed up of the

‘rat race’, he cashed out in 2001 and nowworks from home in the travel business,

pursuing the things he wants in life.Married to Shobha, he has three childrenand a two-year-old granddaughter.

Larry Peters (Palmer) attendedWilson College, St. Xavier’s College and

Elphinstone College. He lived in Bahrainand Dubai before settling in Melbourne,

Australia, in 1988. Now married to Andrea, he has 10 ‘at-home kids’ and two

‘away kids’ (contributions from threewives!), three grandchildren, a one-eyed

cat and a demented dog. He works as anI.. programmer in order to keep the wolffrom the door.

Loubnan Jumabhoy néeMoloobhoy (Wilson) graduated from St.

Xavier’s College and is interested in massmedia. Living first in Singapore, she isnow settled in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,

where she is active in organisingcultural events for the expatriate Indian

community. Married to Rafiq, she hastwo children.

Kapil Mathur and Monica Chudasama

Class Notes




Opening on November 22nd 2014on view until January 9th 2015 at TARQ

11 a.m. to 6 p.m.Closed on Sundays

TARQ F35/36 Dhanraj Mahal, C.S.M. Marg,

Apoll Bunder, Colaba, Mumbai 400001

[email protected] | 022 66150424

THE SHADOW TRAPPER’S ALMANAC

TANMOY SAMANTA

CURATED BY RANJT HOSKOTE




Madhuri Moorjani (Barham)

graduated from Sophia College and isnow a homemaker, living in Mumbai

with her family.Mallika Singh née Dolly Grewal

(Palmer) lives in Nanaimo on VancouverIsland. She volunteers thrice a week at

an organic co-op. farm in Cedar. She hasa wholesale business of handicrafts thatshe imports from India.

Mariam Ram née Abraham(Savage) is in the business of delivering

publishing services and developingsoftware for academic publishers. She

moved to Chennai after school andhas lived there since. Now married toN. Ram, she has a son from an earlier

marriage, a stepdaughter and twogranddaughters.

Marise De Quadros (Palmer)obtained a B.A., B.Ed (Bom), Dip of

eaching and B.Ed (Melb). She taughtin Cathedral for a couple of years. After40 wonderful years of teaching, she

is enjoying retirement by keeping fit,volunteering and babysitting. She lives

in Melbourne and has two children andthree grandchildren.

Meher Bhandara née Katgara(Barham) worked with ravel

Corporation India for 25 years. She iscurrently Director, WaterMaker (India),

and a Partner of rail Blazer ours inMumbai. Married to shipping consultantJehanbux, she has a daughter and a son.

She is also grandmother to a fourth-generation Cathedralite.

Mohan Jacob (Savage) obtained aB.Com. in Jaipur. He then worked withSharp & annan, Lakmé and Greaves

Foseco, and in 1991, moved to Pune asG.M. (I..) at Sesa Seat for four years.

He drifted into semi-retirement in1995 and is now an active and dignified

‘senior citizen’. Married to Anne, he has

two daughters.

Mohan Shivdasani (Wilson) went

to I.I.. and the University of Michigan,followed by a hectic consultant’s lifestyle

at Accenture, Deloitte, A.. Kearney and

.C.S., supported by an understandingwife, Adele (since 1977). He has two

children. Now retired, he keeps busyand young teaching at Georgia State

University’s B-School.Mona Jhuremalani née Malani

(Savage) has been living in the U.S.A.since 1980 and lives in Bowling Green,Ohio, where she has made new friends,

a new life and built a career in personalbanking. Having worked with three

different banks, she is currently withFirst Federal Bank of the Mid-West. She

always gets excited about news fromschool buddies!

Monica Vaziralli née Chudasama

(Savage) has been an interior designerfor 30 years and lives in Mumbai.

She has a son, a daughter and fourgrandchildren. She is a personal shopper

and organises high-end vacations inIndia. She has been written about bothin Europe and America.

Nadir Reporter (Barham) boxedfor the school team and was fondly

nicknamed ‘Beta’. He obtained a B.Com.from H.R. College and was a Chartered

Accountant with his own establishedpractice. He was a well-respectedprofessional in business circles until

he was snatched away from us verysuddenly. He is survived by wife Niloufer

and son Hosner.Naila Stremke née Kanthawala

(Wilson) claims that her educationreally began after school! She married

Gerd and settled in Germany, battledwith a new language, another mentality

and a myriad chores she had nevereven dreamt of doing before! She hastwo girls.

Nandkumar Seksaria (Barham)completed three years of B.Com. from

Sydenham College and then joined thefamily business. Now into real estate,he deals mainly in suburban Mumbai

and enjoys reading. He married Reetain 1972, has three children and is a

grandfather to four little ones, three ofthem in Cathedral.

Nawal Seth (Palmer) is semi-retired

after working 21 years in the shippingand freight business. He now helps

young children gain admission to PrepSchools in America. He is married to

Sneha and has three children.

Niloufer Singara née Sethna (Palmer) obtained Sociology and

Psychology degrees from St. Xavier’sCollege and then worked two years

with Oberoi Hotels as Front OfficeReceptionist. She then worked for

Kuwait Airways as Sales Officer for34 years. Now retired, she looks afterfamily properties. Married to Ratan,

an advertising copy director, she livesin Mumbai and has two children and a

granddaughter.Perveez Merchant (Palmer)

obtained a B.A. in Psychology from St. Xavier’s College and then managed herfamily’s oil company, specialising in

finance. She wrote for Inside Outside,a design magazine, for 10 years and

continues her involvement with familyinvestments. She lives in Mumbai and

enjoys art, literature and travel.Pheroze Madon (Palmer) is currently

with Entrac Inc., an engineering export

group in Englewood, NJ. He wasformerly in Dubai and then moved to the

U.S.A. (NYC / NJ). He was involved ingarment manufacturing. Having lived in

L.A. from 2005 to 2009, he was in Chinafrom 2010 to 2013 and is now home inNew Jersey.

Poonam Chand née Chaudhary(Wilson) headed the East India

operations of South India SurgicalCompany for 16 years before retiring to

a life of zen meditation and attemptingto make the world a better place via her

participation in various social outreachand upliftment activities. Married to

Rajiv, she has two daughters and livesin Kolkata.

Radhika Rajpal née Rita Rajpal(Savage) obtained a B.A. in Psychologyand Law. She moved to the U.S.A. in

1975 after marriage and returned toMumbai in 1982, forging a dance careeralongside being a single mom. She lives

a happy, meditative dancing life. Nowmarried to the man of her dreams,

Subhash, she has two granddaughtersand lives in California and Pune.

Dolly Grewal and Heena Kamte

Class Notes




Raj Melville (Barham) is Executive

Director at Deshpande Foundation, wherehe supports four centres that have helped

launch several start-ups. He has spentmore than 25 years among Microsoft,

Digital Equipment Corporation, Booz

Allen and some internet and mobile start-ups. He has a Master’s degree from Sloan

School, a doctorate from M.I.. and aBachelor’s degree from I.I.. Bombay. He

lives in the U.S.A.Rajendra (Raju) Shah (Barham)

spent a year at I.I.. Bombay and sixyears at M.I.., studying ChemicalEngineering and Management. He was

thereafter involved in long-term stockmarket investments and occasionally

raising monies for small and mediumlisted companies. He lives in Mumbai, is

married to Shefali and has two daughters.Rajiv Gupta (Barham) graduated

from S.R.C.C., Delhi, and started his

own business. He lives in Mumbaiand divides his time equally between

business and social work as aRotarian. He is married to Minakshi, a

scriptwriter, and they have a son.Raju Chainani (Wilson) was a

unique squash journalist, ever ready

with a quip and humour. He had a deepknowledge of the sport and global

players. He criticised India’s squashauthorities for the woeful way they

selected teams. oo late in cutting backon alcohol and cigars, he succumbed toheart failure at 49.

Ramesh Kapadia (Palmer) obtaineda B.S. (Hons.) from St. Xavier’s

College and has been in the U.K. since1974. After finishing postgraduate

studies at U.M.I.S.. (Manchester), hechanged career paths. He is currently

a partner in a Chartered Accountancyfirm in the City of London, having

qualified as a Certified Accountant(FCCA) and Chartered Accountant(ACA). Married to Meera, he has a

daughter.Ramgopal Rangaswamy (Barham)

joined Cathedral in Std. 10. From thevery beginning, he became one of us,as if he had always been there. He

impacted us all and why he was snatchedaway so suddenly and tragically remains

a mystery. He will always remain inour hearts.

Ranjana Maliye (Palmer) loved

horses and was an amateur rider. Shespent early mornings at the racecourse

looking after a stable-owner’s horsesand invested seriously in the stock

markets. Gentle, soft-spoken and always

smiling, she was interested in chess,animal rights and vegetarianism. She

passed away a few years ago and ismissed by her school friends.

Ravi Nangia (Palmer) obtained a B.A.(Hons.) from St. Stephen’s College and

a double M.Sc. in Economics, and Public Administration and Policy from L.S.E.He worked for 17 years with I.C.I.C.I.,

then consulted with the World Bank,I.F.C. and A.D.B. for more than 20 years.

Now retired in Delhi, he is looking for theoccasional consultancy work. Married to

Rita, he has a daughter and a son.Rita Mehta née Karanjia (Savage)

was formerly the owner of Cine Blitz and

Hi!Blitz magazines and is now Director,Keynote Media (India) and Key Global

(U.A.E.), an international celebrity,brand and event management agency.

Living in Dubai with her daughter, shevisits Mumbai regularly for businessand loves travelling to exotic places.

Her husband, Karl, passed awayin 2011.

Ritu Anand (Wilson) obtained B.A.degrees from Wellesley College and

St. Xavier’s College and an M.Sc. fromL.S.E. and then worked in India beforespending many years at the World Bank

with some stints in India. She returnedto her motherland end-2004 and

worked at S.B.I. and I.D.F.C. Recentlyretired, she is ready for the next

phase in life.Rohinton (Ronnie) Desai (Palmer)

is a musician, singer, copywriter,composer of advertising jingles and

audio producer for radio, V andfilms. He is presently the proprietorof audio production house Musica,

Studios Eardrum and Soundslap, andis a Director in Musicard Productions,

Bandwagon Studios, Octavius Studios,32nd Street, and a Partner in Sound Barand Hi Octane Studios. He is single and

lives in Mumbai.

Rohit Panchal (Savage) relocated

to Bengaluru from Australia in 1998.Having formerly worked with K. Raheja

Group and Patel Engineering, he now

specialises in real estate, currentlyconsulting with M.N.C.s interested in

real estate deals. Married to Rita, he hastwo sons and two grandchildren.

Rubeen Malkani (Palmer) is

currently Director, Percept Ltd, Director,7 Peace Values and CSR Advisors. He

works with ECCO/CMS and Allstateas an advisor/consultant and is also

legal facilitator to various lawyers andsolicitors. Married to Sunita, he has

two daughters and a granddaughter andlives in Mumbai.

Ruiynton Dinshaw (Wilson)

has lived in the U.K. since 1972. Hequalified as a Chartered Accountant

before embarking on a banking careerand is currently Director, Capital

Markets, Citigroup London. Married toKhorshed, he has a son and a daughter.His interests are sailing, wine and travel.

Ruma Medora née Roy (Palmer)lives in Kolkata and has moved from

travel to tea to I.. (Consulting).Currently Director, Operations (India),

at A.M.I. Partners, a global I.. &elecom consulting firm, Ruma iswaiting to sign off and take on G.M.

duties, but no luck yet.

Sammy Medora (Savage) obtained a

B.Com. from Sydenham College in 1973,followed by a Chartered Accountancy

qualification in England in 1978. Hehas worked with Arthur Andersen(1979-1993) and KPMG (1994-2014) in

five countries and settled in Canada in2012. He is semi-retired (enjoys home

gardening) and consults six monthsa year with KPMG India. Married to

Havovi, he has a daughter.Sanjay Nene (Wilson) worked as

a scientist for 29 years with NationalChemical Laboratory, Pune, and retired

in July 2014. He plans to keep sane withminor consultancy and relaxing in ashack built in Wai (with music, reading,

gardening and drink!). Wife Suvarnais a dental implantologist and they

have two sons.Shabbir Anik (Palmer) obtained

a B.S. in Pharmacy from Institute of

Chemical echnology (Mumbai) and aPh.D. from Wisconsin. He is Senior V.P.

at Onyx Pharmaceuticals and Chairmanof Valgenesis (a software company).

Class Notes



The Furniture Store

www.pinakin.in2nd Floor, Raghuvanshi Mills Compd.,

S.Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai - 400 013




Married to Ashrafa, he has a son and a

daughter. Settled in the Bay Area since1978, he has been doing ‘good drugs’.

Shireen Jejeebhoy (Barham)obtained a Ph.D. from the University

of Pennsylvania following a B.A. from

Bryn Mawr College. She worked atW.H.O. Geneva (1998-2002) and as an

independent researcher from Mumbai.She has been a Senior Associate at the

Population Council since 2002, doingpolicy-oriented research on the situation

and needs of young people in India, andmore generally on women’s health andrights. She lives in Delhi.

Shiv Mathur (Savage) studiedmusic (1975-80) and obtained ALCM

(Associate London College of Music)and LCL (Licentiate rinity College

of London) qualifications. He thenreturned to India and has doneadvertising music (jingles and the

like) ever since. He enjoys chess and ismarried to Elfin. He lives in Mumbai.

Shobhna Patel (Wilson) worked as acredit manager for a travel company and

now works in Finance, being responsiblefor several care homes in the U.K. Sheis single once more and enjoys yoga,

power walking, charity walks for cancerand gardening. Living in North London,

she makes annual trips to the U.S.A. tobabysit her sister’s grandchildren.

Sohrab Davar (Palmer) obtained aB.Com. from Sydenham College. He isan advertising photographer in Digital

Fine Art Photography and is known forthe ‘Silverpoint Calendar Series’. He was

Hon. Secretary and Founder Memberof the Advertising and Industrial

Photographers’ Association and was onthe Committee of the Photographers’

Guild of India. He is a member of RotaryClub of Mumbai Midtown, a Freemason

and an officer at Grand Lodge of India.Sorab Lawyer (Savage) left his

classmates a few years ago after a long

illness, but memories of him sneaking‘fags’ outside class, his first dance at

the social, and stealing the famousschool bell will live on! He marriedtwice and has two children and four

grandchildren.

Soyam Chidakashi (Palmer) went

to Jai Hind College and then obtainedan M.B.B.S. from Seth G.S. Medical

College. Following two house posts in

Paediatrics and Nephrology, he workedfor a year on an oil rig at Bombay High

and as a K.E.M. medical officer for ayear, then in private practice as a G.P.

He has now stopped his practice, but

makes emergency house calls in hisown area.

Sudhanshu Ranade (Barham)worked with State Bank of India until

1984 and then went to Princetonmid-career and got a Ph.D. He never

thought he would become a journalistbut surprised himself by working withTe Hindu and writing several good

articles during his tenure there. He livesin Chennai.

Sudhir Diwan (Barham) gallivantedat I.I.. Roorkee, worked, attended the

University of oronto for Architecture,practised, and from the age of 26 to 56struggled, relearnt, earned 15 minutes

of fame, published, received awardsand authored books. Now gracefully

retired, he runs Sanskruti interior designcorrespondence courses. He is awaiting

the next reunion, wherever it may be.Sunil Morarka (Barham) joined his

family business in 1973 after attending

St. Xavier’s College. He left Mumbai in1989 and settled in Hospet, a small town

in Karnataka, running his own logisticsbusiness. Married to Sumita, he has a

daughter and a son.Suresh Goel (Wilson) obtained a

B.Com. from H.R. College and studied

in England to be a corporate trainer. Hereturned to India and is now a corporate

trainer to a large number of companiesin India and abroad. He married Leela in

1977 and has a son.Urmila (Mila) Banerjee (Barham)

graduated Phi Beta Kappa fromWellesley College, where she studied

on a full scholarship. She has been ateacher and has published short storiesin literary magazines such as Te London

Magazine and Chicago Review. She is nowa (dancing!) Osho sanyasin.

Vanita Makhija née Advani(Palmer) studied interior decoration atSir J.J. School of Art for three years and

worked in her father’s plastics companyin Accounts. She married Micky

Makhija, an actor, in 1981 and has twosons.

Veenal Vasvani née MinalMelwani (Palmer) lives in Kingston,Jamaica, where she heads a foundation

for rape, domestic violence and abusedwomen. She still parties hard and

travels extensively. Married to Deepak

(in 1972), she has three children andtwo grandchildren. Reggae singer Bob

Marley’s sons are partners with hersecond son in Marley Coffee.

Victor Sassoon (Savage) obtainedB.Com. and Chartered Accountancy

qualifications in India. He then workedin finance with several companies suchas Larsen & oubro, Escorts and Hertz.

He was General Manager, Response,International Media Representation

with the imes of India Group, andis now Vice President, Strategy, with

Osource India. He lives in Mumbai.Vidya Virkar née Shanbhag

(Palmer) studied Microbiology at St.

Xavier’s College, followed by MassCommunications at Sophia College. She

has done genetic research in Cambridge,copywriting in London, newsletter

editing in Holland, and partneredher father in setting up six Strandbookstores in Bengaluru and elsewhere.

She subsequently closed many stores,responding to global trends. Her

spiritual calling now predominates.Married to Prakash, she has a daughter.

Yohan Jeffereis (Savage) left Bharatin 1972 for the U.S.A. on a one-yearscholarship. He is still there, 42 years

later! He married Amy (his studentat Columbia University) and moved

to Wilton, C, to raise three kids.Corporate training pays the bills, while

he roars, “Let it rip! Let it thunder!”Zarine Pavri née Panthaky

(Wilson) obtained a B.A. from Xavier’sand studied Ancient Indian Culture

and English Literature. She is an avidcollector of coins and stamps. Marriedto Nariman, she has one son. She

lives in Mumbai and takes full-timecare of her bachelor brother who lives

with her.Te following left our class shortly

before 1968:

Darius (Dolly) Kapadia (Palmer) isa Chartered Management Accountant.

He worked in the U.K. and Kuwait infinancial management positions and

Class Notes




Anaita Udwadia Hegde (Palmer) is a

Paediatric Neurologist. Her patients aresurprised when they find their specialist

doctor to be tall, slim and wearinghigh heels, or, as one of their mothers

recently remarked, “Why didn’t you tellme Dr. Hegde was such a ‘phataak’?”Looks and brains aside, she was known

at school for her legendary hot lunchesand tuck packets, which half the class

counted on for sustenance. And, moreimportantly, for being the best sprinterthe school has ever produced — winning

medals in the Indian nationals. Anaitastill juggles a mind-boggling array of

activities, from fundraising for the Jai Vakeel School to running medical camps

Class of 1983/85

returned to India in 1992. He managed

Everest Advertising and its subsidiary,Edge Communications, until recently,

when they were sold. He spends histime in Mumbai and London. He has

two sons.

Jaishree Lachiram (Palmer)attended Sophia College till the

intermediate examinations. She thenreceived a B.D.S. in Dentistry from

Government Dental College. She lived inJakarta for a few years and now lives in

Mumbai. She has a son, a daughter anda two-year-old grandson.

Meenal Manning née Nevasker(Barham) is an advisory teacher forhearing-impaired children in Ipswich.

After leaving India in May 1967, shemoved to Nairobi and then settled in

the U.K., where she got an M.Ed in Audiology and Education of the Deaffrom Manchester University. She is

married to John and they enjoy playinggolf and other sporting activities.

Mukesh Munim (Palmer) spent20 years in commercial photography

in Mumbai. He has been fulfilling hisdreams in Coonoor since 2006 and ismarried to Anjali. Looking after home,

dog, five hens and a rooster keeps himbusy. He spends his spare time painting,

growing his own vegetables, teachingphotography, practising asanas/

pranayama, watching films and listeningto music.

Radhika Nath née Mahindra(Wilson) taught at nursery schoolinitially and now works at Mahindra &

Mahindra. Married to Kanwar, she hasa son and daughter. Living in Mumbai,

she keeps busy working and pursuingher interests — travelling, reading and

listening to music.Sohrab Framjee (Wilson) left

Cathedral in 1967 for Bishop Cotton,Simla, and settled in London after aB.Com. from Sydenham College. He

served as an independent director onvarious boards and was also Director of

ata in the U.K. Married to Uttara, hehas a son. Now semi-retired, he shuttlesbetween the U.K. and India.

- Compiled by Sammy Medora,Perveez Merchant, Anjla Singh,

Kavas Dadabhoy, Ambu Morarka

X-Cats in the news

Jeroo Mulla (ISC 1969)

Jeroo Mulla, associated with

the Sophia Institute of Social

Communications Media and

Sophia Polytechnic (Social

Communications MediaDepartment), Mumbai, in

leadership positions for more than

three decades as well as teacher

of Film Appreciation, Photography

and the Fundamentals of

Communications, received

the Prof. Satish Bahadur

Lifetime Achievement Award for

Outstanding Contribution to Film

Education in South Asia at the

Alpavirama Film Festival 2014.

The award is named after the

Professor of Film Appreciation at

the Film and Television Institute of

India (FTII).

in rural areas and hiking in North India.

She is married to Hemant Hegde andthey have three children.

[email protected] Bose (Savage) was best known

in school for his performance as the

prince in Te Prince Who Wouldn’t alk in Std. 7 and for the eponymous role

in Te Little Man in Std. 12. He wenton to become a well-known stage actor

before embarking on a film careeras actor, screenwriter and director.

He also represented India in Rugbyfrom 1998 to 2009. In 2006, Rahulstarted an NGO called Te Foundation,

which sends underprivileged childrenfrom the furthest corners of the

country to some of India’s top privateschools. He still lives in Mumbai, still

frequents the Bombay Gymkhanaand frequently shows up in schoolat Mrs. Isaacs’ request to speak to

unsuspecting students forced to listen tohis speeches.

Renuka Lalwani Kirpalani (Palmer): What would you do if your

daughter wanted to become a race cardriver? Renuka is proof that a woman

can go into the most male-dominatedprofession, thrive at it, have a familyand do all this while looking like a

million bucks. Renuka followed herfather into race car driving, winning

her first race at the age of 18. Shepursued motor sports until 1993. She

has taken part in and organised multi-country rallies, including ASEAN, whichinvolved driving from Singapore to India

overland. She is a juror for the World Carof the Year awards among myriad motor

competitions. She currently hosts Te Autocar Show on Bloomberg V India.

She is married to Ravi Kirpalani andthey have two children.

[email protected] Sarita Saraiya Bhalerao (Barham)

can boast of being one of Bollywood

star Rahul Bose’s first leading ladies —and, quite likely, the most reluctant. In

Std. 7, she played the queen in the classplay, Te Prince Who Wouldn’t alk. Tescript called for Sarita to kiss Rahul on

the cheek, but demure Sarita steadfastlyrefused, forcing the director to change

the script to allow her instead to taphim on the cheek with a rose. Sarita is

Class Notes




WITH

BEST

COMPLIMENTS

FROM VIVEK DUJODWALA




now a doctor, specialising in obstetrics

and gynaecology. She is married to Abhay and they have two children.

[email protected] Nasir Khan (Wilson) was perhaps

best known for his lead roles in

the school plays, most memorablyeahouse of the August Moon, where he

played Sakini. He studied in the U.S.and has worked in banking and lived

in Manhattan ever since. He is nowManaging Director in infrastructure

deals at Bank of okyo in New York. Heis married to his childhood sweetheartand former Cathedralite, Mona

Anand, and they have two [email protected]

Sumana Ramanan Dixit (Savage)was known for her passion for academics

and her avid basketball playing. She hasspent her 20-year career in journalismplaying a leadership role in Hindustan

imes as one of the top editors beforeleaving recently to become a consulting

editor with Scroll.in, a digital daily, basedin Mumbai. She also focuses more now

on her own writing as a freelancer. She ismarried to Jaikumar Radhakrishnan andthey have 14-year-old twins. Te family

lives in the same IFR compound whereSumana herself was raised. She continues

her lifelong devotion to Indian classicalmusic. [email protected]

Ramona Palia Maheshwari(Barham) runs Montessori classes out ofher home in Bandra, where she focuses

on teaching Mathematics to youngchildren. Tis is a constant source of

amusement to her classmates becauseMathematics was her least favorite

subject! In school, she was best knownfor being the naughtiest, boldest and

most fun of her classmates, introducingthem to Judy Blume in Std. 7, when

most of them had read only Enid Blyton.She went on to study at St. Xavier’sCollege, then flew with Pan Am and

Air India to see more of her boyfriend,Neeraj, who was studying in the U.S. She

later switched professions and taught forfive years at Besant Montessori Schoolbefore starting her own Montessori

classes. She and Neeraj have twodaughters. [email protected]

Maneesha Garware Shah (Palmer)is perhaps best known for having the

two daughters. She has been a fearless

journalist for 20 years, breaking severalstories, including two that were part ofWSJ ’s Pulitzer Prize-winning coverageof corporate corruption. In Std. 7, herwriting caused its first stir, when she

began ghostwriting scores of chits onbehalf of amorous suitors until one

got snagged by a teacher, resulting innumerous counselling sessions with

Mrs. Bapat. She sobered up in Std. 11and 12 and became Head Girl. oday, sheis an avid practitioner of yoga, which,

together with her unrelenting sense ofhumour, keeps her sane amid deadlines

and juggling work and [email protected]

Hari Aiyar (Wilson) was bestknown in school for being a championtennis player and swimmer, carted off

to competitions all over India by his

devoted grandfather. Being the youngestin class, he was the object of amusementfor (read, bullying by) certain female

classmates and, perhaps, thereforefounded the Brahmachari Club (whichalso counted PV Rao, Akhil Agrawal and Shobhik Choudhary as members).He studied in the U.S. and lived in New

York for almost two decades, working atMorgan Stanley. In 2006, he returned to

India and surprised everyone by gettingmarried! He and Aparna have a three-

Class of 1983/85, Std. 7

Class Notes

only Std. 10 romance that resulted inmarriage. She and Shatul Shah wenton to marry and have a daughter. Tey

live in Pune, where they frequentlyplay host to their classmates from

Mumbai. Geeta Anand claims credit forintroducing Maneesha to Shatul, whom

she knew from training together at the

Breach Candy pool. Maneesha had anear monopoly over her classmates inMarathi class, where they relied heavilyon one of the only Maharashtrian

students to save them from almostcertain failure during exams!

[email protected] Dube (Barham), the class’

favourite all-rounder, who excelled inboth athletics and academics, headsDelta Airlines’ Asia operations. He lives

in Hong Kong with his wife, Swati, andtheir three sons. Vinay broke many

hearts when he left after Std. 10 tostudy at the United World College in

Wales, followed by Knox College inIllinois, U.S.A. Vinay’s only weakness hasbeen his questionable spelling ability.

Fortunately, heading an airline doesn’trequire any special expertise in that area!

[email protected] Anand (Palmer) is a senior

writer at Te Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in Mumbai, where she lives with herhusband, Greg Kroitzsh, and their




year-old daughter and a baby girl. Hariruns an investment firm, First Finance.

[email protected] araporevala (Barham): If

any Cathedralite’s life has panned out

exactly as he wanted it to, it has to beCyrus’. Focused from Std. 9 on a career

in finance, Cyrus completed an M.B.A.from Cornell University and thenworked at McKinsey & Company for

14 years in New York and Copenhagen.He is currently at Fidelity Investments,

where he is Executive Vice President ofInvestment Solutions and President of

Fidelity Investments Life Insurance. Helives north of Boston with his wife, Fie,and potters around as a country squire

with his sundry four-legged “children”(horses, dogs, cats). [email protected]

Shatul Shah (Wilson) turned his Std.10 romance with classmate Maneeshainto a devoted marriage. He was knownin school for his raw athletic ability,most notably in swimming, diving

and gymnastics. He won medals in theNationals in swimming and diving.

Shatul is a champion of a friend. When

close friends have encountered personalobstacles, they haven’t found a moreardent supporter than Shatul. He andManeesha live in Pune, where he runs a

family-owned engineering firm.

Lakshman Charanjiva (Savage)

was known for his passion for tennisand his kind, gentlemanly behaviour.

He lives in South Florida with his wifeand two children, after multiple-yearstints in New York and Washington,

D.C. He is Chief Information Officer at

NextEra Energy, North America’s leadingrenewables power company. He is one

of the most devoted dads we have everencountered. No parent sang Do thehokey pokey louder, spun around more

energetically or climbed higher on themonkey bars than Lakshman! He’s been

spotted in Mumbai on occasion, visitinghis [email protected]

Anil Asher (Palmer) was known as‘ODO’ in school. A jovial, easy-going

person from behind his thick-lensedspectacles, and a friend to all, he runs his

own manufacturing company, Datawrx,in Plano, exas. He calls his family the AAAA family — wife Aneesha, daughter

Anika and son Akhil. [email protected]

Gaurav Bhatia (Wilson) and brother,

Anuj, are best remembered as the‘Bhatia Brothers’ who sang songs such as

Crocodile Rock. Gaurav lives in Bengaluruwith his wife, Rupali, and 14-year-oldson. He is Global Leader for Business

Excellence at leading business servicescompany Concentrix. After school, he

studied Economics at St. Stephen’s

College in Delhi and obtained an M.B.A.from McGill University in [email protected]

Premal Pajwani (Barham) obtained

a B.Com. from Sydenham College,then an M.B.A. from the University of

Cincinnati. He spent 10 years in New York, working in various Wall Street

firms. He has been living in London since2000. He’s married to Nisha and worksat J.P. Morgan Asset Management as a

global healthcare specialist. He visits

Class of 1983/85, 25-year reunion

X-Cats in the news

Class Notes

Homi Adajania (ISC 1990)

After wandering the world overland

and underwater, Homi Adajania

set off on a new adventure as a

lmmaker. In 2006, without any

formal training or background in

the eld, he made his directorialdebut with Being Cyrus, followed

by the Bollywood romance Cocktail.

His third lm, Finding Fanny ,

released in September this year.

Adajania says he sees life “as a

series of shots… The advantage of

not knowing what tools you have

around you is that nothing restricts

your imagination.” His next feature

lm is the Bollywood adaptation of

The Fault in Our Stars.

India frequently and almost always calls

his classmates to arrange a get-together. [email protected]

Jasmin Jagada (Wilson) was achampion diver. She graduated from

Randolph-Macon, Virginia, with a B.A.

in Liberal Arts and spent a few joyfulyears in San Francisco before returning

to India in 1991. She then worked withTe Bombay Environmental Action

Group for a couple of years beforestarting Le Papillon, a clothing company

that specialises in nightwear. Her truepassion, however, is animal welfare andactivism. Perhaps that love for animals

was sparked by her pet Beagle, Rolly.She currently lives between Pune and

Goa with her partner and their manybeautiful, furry critters.

[email protected]

- Compiled by Geeta Anandand Sarita Bhalerao




Abhijay Sandilya (Barham) lives

and works in Singapore for WhitbreadPLC, working on hotel development andinvestments. [email protected]

Chetan Gupta (Palmer) is now anaccount strategist with Google Inc.

[email protected] Singh Kathiwada (Wilson)

has pursued fine arts as a career aftergraduating in urban planning and

Class of 2001/03 business from USC. He is a full-timesemi-professional sportsperson (cricket)

and will create one of India’s greatestbusiness houses for sports infrastructure

by 2017. [email protected] Kochhar (Savage) works

at DBS Bank in Singapore, focused on

the telecommunications, media andtechnology space.

[email protected] Sekhsaria (Palmer) co-

founded Greenlight Planet, bringing

affordable solar-powered lights to rural

homes, after working at Google in

Silicon Valley. With Greenlight in the

hands of an amazing team, Mayank has

now become the seventh generation

to join his family business. He resides

in Mumbai with his wife, anvi.

[email protected]

Mihir Sheth (Wilson) is currently

working at Khosla Labs. After obtaining

an undergraduate degree from Harvard,

he has jumped between finance (Lehman

Brothers), government (Aadhaar) and

being an entrepreneur in the vocational

training sector. He lives in Mumbai with

his wife, Namrata.

[email protected]

Natasha Sabharwal (Savage) is

based in Mumbai and is on the board ofInventive Green echnology Solutions,

whose patented product, Nectair/Aakash

Amrit, creates drinking water from the

atmosphere. She is also the creator of

the brand Shimmer Shack, which deals

in costume jewellery.

[email protected]

Neha Arya Sethi (Barham) decided

after a year in investment banking that

finance wasn’t her thing and chose to

go in the opposite direction by opening

her own bakery/cookie joint — Sweetish

House [email protected]

Paridhi Mittal Somani (Wilson)

obtained a B.Sc from Babson College,

after which she worked at Grant

Tornton LLP in Boston as an

investment banker. Switching gears,

she acquired an M.S. Ed in Educational

Leadership from University of

Pennsylvania. She has since been at

Walsingham House School as the Junior

School Coordinator.

[email protected] Batra (Wilson) is a chef who

has trained and worked in Chicago. He

is now back in India and expanding his

family’s restaurants. He aims to have one

restaurant in every major Indian city in

the next five years.

[email protected]

Rustom Chowna (Wilson) is an

assistant vice president at Barclays

Wealth & Investment Management

in London, where he manages Client

Reunion — Class of 1994/96

On Founders’ Day in 2012, AnshumaShah (our very own Senior School

teacher) commented to her husband,Runit Shah, and to me that our class

(1994/1996) didn’t get togetherat all. Perhaps to defend our class’pride, or simply to show her that two

Wilsonites (had to throw that in here!)would prove her wrong, we boldly

stated that we would organise anevent shortly. So the wheels were set

in motion, and with Rohini Behl’s helpon our class’ Facebook page, Runitand I started planning something for

December-January to accommodateour N.R.I. classmates who would be

in town for the holidays. After muchpolling, we decided on a brunch at

Busaba on January 6, 2013, and hadapproximately 50 alumni and their

spouses show up.Over five hours, we met old

friends, reminisced and had morethan enough to drink and eat.Of course, any reunion would be

incomplete without a rendition ofthe school song and some ad hoc

speeches that had us laughing. It’sbeen 20 years since we finished our

I.C.S.E. and over a decade since someof us last met, but the brunch servedto remind us how school friendships

and bonds from the time we spenttogether in school remain so close.

~ Aditya Dhawan

Class Notes




Portfolio Analytics.

[email protected]

Shaila Pandole (Barham) is apre-primary teacher at Hill Spring

International School. [email protected] Maloo (Barham) is

Managing Director of Enso Group,based out of London. He obtained anundergraduate business administration

degree from Carnegie Mellon University,a postgraduate diploma in global

business from Oxford University, and joined the Executive MBA programmeat Cambridge University, which he left

midway to join [email protected]

Varun Jalan (Wilson) and NehaHiranandani had a baby this January.

Varun has started a logistics company,while Neha continues to grow her Houseof Hiranandani. [email protected]

Varun Parikh (Wilson) pursueda Master’s degree in Strategic

Management at Cass Business School,London, after obtaining a degree

in Electronic Engineering from theUniversity of Mumbai. He works for

Jefferies in London and started hiscareer in investment banking with [email protected]

- Compiled by Mayank Sekhsaria

Class Notes




Class Notes

Adwaita Nayar (Barham) went

to Yale University to study Applied

Mathematics after an I.B. from the

Dhirubhai Ambani International School. After graduation, she joined Bain

Consulting in New York for a year. Since

then, she and her mother have started an

e-commerce company, Nykaa.com, which

focuses on beauty and wellness products

in India. Next year, she will be at Harvard

Business School for an M.B.A.

Alisha Sett (Savage) is an Edmond

J. Safra Network Fellow at Harvard

University, working on a project about

psychiatry in Kashmir and also works

as an analyst at Dasra, a strategicphilanthropy foundation. After school,

she studied English and Political Science

at ufts University.

Anchit Desai (Palmer) is moving to

the United States to train with a New

York-based track and distance running

club. He is simultaneously pursuing

a Master’s degree in cyber security.

He completed his undergraduate

engineering education at Imperial

College London.

Aneesha Shah (Palmer) graduatedwith a B.A. in Psychology from

St. Xavier’s College. o pursue her

childhood dream of acting, she

completed a year-long course from Stella

Adler Studio of Acting, Mumbai. She

has featured in multiple V commercials

for brands such as Airtel, Fastrack,

McDonald’s, Hyundai and Maybelline.

She has also acted in several theatre

productions.

Arati Venkatram (Wilson) has

been ‘reaching for the stars’ since 2008.

After completing her B.Com., Chartered

Accountancy and L .L.B, she ventured

into the world of investment banking.

She now works in equity capital markets

at Kotak Investment Banking after a

three-year stint at Deloitte.

Arshan Vakil (Palmer) obtained a

B.Sc. in Economics from Te Wharton

School and a B.Sc. in Engineering from

Penn Engineering and then moved

Class of 2006/08 back to Mumbai to join Hopscotch, an

e-commerce start-up. He also founded

a mentorship and career guidance

initiative called Project Vahana. Te

combination of the start-up and Project

Vahana convinced Arshan to start KingsLearning, an education setup focused

on enhancing the employability of

India’s youth. Kings Learning is based

in Bengaluru with a second centre

in Chennai.

Avisha Shah (Savage) pursued her

childhood dream of becoming a dentist.

After finishing five gruelling years at

Y.M.. Dental College, she now holds

a B.D.S degree. She is doing advanced

clinical training in Endodontics at the

University of California, Los Angeles. Azhar Chougle was not Head Boy in

1979! After pursuing further studies in

monasteries, breweries and universities,

he spent four months on the Amazon

River as Brazil’s 49th poet-in-residence.

Four years and five-and-a-half days

later, he took up knitting and led

Cameroon’s national team to their first

ever ice hockey victory.

Dr. Deepak Bhushan (Palmer)

studied at D.G. Ruparel College. Upon

completing the H.S.C. exams in 2008,he spent five and a half years studying

for the M.B.B.S. degree at Rajiv

Gandhi Medical College, Tane. He is

currently studying for his postgraduate

entrance examinations.

Dhvanil Sheth (Wilson) acquired

Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in

Commerce from H.R. College and

simultaneously qualified as a Chartered

Accountant. He works at Te Boston

Consulting Group in Mumbai.

Diksha Ahuja (Palmer) pursued

undergraduate studies in Life Sciences

and Biochemistry at St. Xavier’s College

after a two-year stint at Cathedral.

She then obtained a Master’s degree

in Immunology from the University of

Oxford. She currently works at Kantar

Health, a healthcare marketing insights

company, in Mumbai.

Gitanjali Dusija (Palmer) graduated

with a B.Com. in Accounts and Finance

from H.R. College and spent two years

with Deloitte in the Risk Consulting

practice before deciding to transition

to the social sector. After working with

impact investment firm Elevar Equity

in Bengaluru, she is now with Edelweissin the Venture Philanthropy division.

She is also pursuing her L.L.B. from

K.C. Law College.

Ishita Advani (Barham) graduated

with a Bachelor’s degree in Management

Studies (B.M.S.) from H.R. College in

2011 and then worked at Deloitte in the

Enterprise Risk Services practice for two

years. While there, she simultaneously

pursued an L.L.B. at Government Law

College, Mumbai. After working on

several civil cases, she embarked on acareer in law. She graduated from law

school in 2014 and currently works at

M/s Desai & Diwanji, in Mumbai.

Jivesh De Sousa (Savage) is

pursuing a Ph.D. in Economics at Duke

University after graduating from the

University of Notre Dame.

Jyotika Udeshi (Wilson) obtained a

Bachelor of Pharmacy degree (B.Pharm)

from UDC, Mumbai. She is currently

studying for a degree in Law from

Government Law College, Mumbai.Kabir Barat (Savage) joined St.

Xavier’s College after I.C.S.E. He then

spent the next five years at Symbiosis

Law School, Pune, where he received a

B.B.A.-L.L.B degree. In 2013, he joined

M/s Desai & Diwanji as an associate and

has been working in civil litigation and

commercial arbitration.

Kanika Khakhar (Palmer) obtained

a B.A. in Law and Business Studies

(Qualifying Degree) from the University

of Warwick, after which she completed

the Legal Practice Course (L.P.C.) from

B.P.P. Law School, London. In order to

practise in India, she completed the

Indian Bar Exams and currently works

as an associate lawyer with Desai Desai

Carrimjee & Mulla.

Krishna Shivdasani (Barham)

graduated from the Stern School of

Business at NYU in 2012 with a B.Sc.

in Finance and Accounting and is




Class Notes

currently a management consultant

in KPMG’s Advisory Practice in New

York, working mainly with financial

services firms. Krishna and a friend

from college are also working on a

start-up that aims to change the wayluxury retailers deal with customer

relationship management.

Kunal Sajdeh (Wilson) pursued

C.A. along with a B.Com. degree at H.R.

College. He worked at Deloitte for two

years and at Credit Suisse for a year

while studying. He is now with Citi as an

assistant manager. Te one constant in

his life, which helps de-stress the most,

is his first love — football.

Leesha irodkar (Palmer)

graduated with a B.B.A. from N.M.I.M.S.University, Mumbai. She then pursued a

Master’s in Finance from Cass Business

School, London. Returning to Mumbai

made her realise that her passion lies in

education. She is currently managing

Te Scholar High School, Mumbai.

Lianne Ginwalla (Wilson) obtaineda B.Com. in Accounting and Finance

from H.R. College and an M.Sc. in

Accounting and Finance from the

London School of Economics and

Political Science. She works as an

analyst in institutional banking at DBS

Bank, Mumbai.

Malvika Sharma (Palmer)

graduated from St. Xavier’s College,

Mumbai, with a double major in

Psychology and Sociology. Her keen

interest in organisational behaviourled her to pursue a Master’s degree in

International Employment Relations

and Human Resource Management from

the London School of Economics and

Political Science. After completing a year

in Human Resources at Godrej & Boyce,

she is currently working with Deloitte

as part of the human capital consulting

team in Mumbai.

Meghna Mehrotra (Wilson)

obtained a Bachelor’s degree from

Mumbai University and an M.Sc. inCommunications and Media Studies

from the London School of Economics.

She is now with the L’Oréal Group in

India where she has worked on sales and

marketing projects across the country.

Based in Mumbai, she is part of the

marketing team for professional luxury

skin care brand Kéraskin Esthetics.

Mihir Shah (Wilson) went to Purdue

University for undergraduate studies

in Computer Engineering. He now

works for Accenture as a management

consultant for the Accenture Digital

Division.

Mikhail Vaghani (Barham) obtained

a B.A. (Hons.) degree in Management

Studies from University of Nottingham

and an M.Sc. in Marketing Management

from the Aston Business School. His

dream was to work for his family

business. He is currently a marketing

executive in the digital marketing

division at Hamilton Housewares

Pvt. Ltd.

Mriganka Lulla (Palmer) graduated

from Bryn Mawr College, where she

completed an undergraduate degreewith Honors in Political Science,

Psychology and Human Rights.

Mriganka has worked with refugees,

migrants, high-risk populations,

women and children in Johannesburg,

Philadelphia, New York, New Delhi,

Kashmir, Assam and Mumbai. She

has dabbled in high-level policy and

advocacy as well as spent time on the

field with the United Nations and Save

the Children International (India). She

currently works at Dasra in Mumbai.Radha Venkatraman (Savage)

obtained a B.A. in Anthropology and

Philosophy from Bryn Mawr College

and worked with Asia Society, a global

not-for-profit, for two years, focusing

on business and policy programming

and business development. Radha will

shortly be returning to the U.S. to pursue

a Master’s degree in Communications at

Columbia University.

Radhika iwari (Palmer) left

Cathedral after I.C.S.E. and, aftergraduating from the Stern School of

Business at NYU, has been working in

New York as an analyst for a venture

capital firm for the past two years.

Raghav Bubna (Wilson), a true-blue

Wilsonite, soon moved on to the blue

of Deloitte, where he trained in audit

for three years. After obtaining a B.Com

from H.R. College and qualifying as a

C.A., he switched to corporate finance.

He is now in London for a six-month

stint in M&A transaction services.

Rahul Krishnan (Barham) worked

at Microsoft and IBM and graduated

in 2013 with a degree in Electrical

and Computer Engineering from the

University of oronto. He decided to

shirk his responsibilities to enter the

workforce and contribute to society, and

is presently pursuing a Ph.D. in Machine

Learning at N.Y.U.

X-Cats in the news

Justice Rohinton F. Nariman

(ISC 1972)

Harvard Law School graduate

Rohinton F. Nariman has practised

law for the past 35 years and

has more than 500 reported

Supreme Court Judgments to his

credit. An expert in Comparative

Constitutional Law and Civil Law, he

served as Solicitor General of India

from July 27, 2011 to February

4, 2013 and was elevated to the

position of Judge of the Supreme

Court of India in July 2014. He

balances his commitment to

legal practice with his passion

for Western classical music. He

is also an avid reader of history,

philosophy, literature and science

and a dedicated daily walker.



Class Notes




Rebecca Phillips (Savage) graduated

from Boston College in 2012 with a

B.A. in Economics and did a stint at a

social media and publishing start-up

in New York. Rebecca currently works

at Dasra, India’s leading strategicphilanthropy foundation, where she

creates and designs content for training

programmes that build the capacity of

India’s social entrepreneurs.

Riah Kapashi (Wilson) pursued an

undergraduate degree at the University

of Pennsylvania, where she studied

Economics and Psychology. She has

been working with Deloitte Consulting

LLP in New York City for two years in

the strategy and operations service

area, focusing on clients in the financialservices space.

Dr. Rudra Sukhathankar (Wilson)

joined D. G. Ruparel College after I.C.S.E.

She then joined Nair Hospital to pursue

a career in medicine. She cleared the

MBBS exams this year and is preparing

for the postgraduate entrance in

November. She is to be married in 2015.

Rustam Sethna (Palmer) graduated

from University of Warwick with a Law

degree in 2012, after which he passed

the L.P.C. as part of solicitors’ trainingin London in 2013. He returned to

India and qualified as a lawyer in

2014. He is now practising at AZB &

Partners, Mumbai, in their corporate

law division.

Sanjana Basu (Palmer) graduated

from ufts University, where she

studied International Relations and

Economics. She is now pursuing an

M.B.A. from I.I.M. Bangalore. She

has interned at public policy think

tanks such as Center for Strategic and

International Studies in Washington,

D.C. and Gateway House in Mumbai,

conducted fieldwork with the

ata Chemicals Society for Rural

Development in Gujarat and the

Institute of Development Studies

Kolkata (IDSK) and has worked in

investment banking at Barclays

in Mumbai.

Shamit Munjal (Barham): After

a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical

Engineering from Georgia Institute of

echnology, he took the non-traditional

route by pursuing a career in health care

risk advisory services with Deloitte.He is based in Boston and hopes in

the near future to pursue an M.B.A.

following which a move back home is

a possibility.

Shanaya Mehta (Savage) acquired

a B.Com. from H.R. College followed

by a merit diploma in architectural

interior design from Inchbald School

of Design in London. She works as an

interior designer at alati and Panthaky

Associated in Mumbai.

Simoni Bhansali (Barham)obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in

Communication Design from Parsons,

New York, and then worked as a graphic

designer with Skarma for almost two

years in Mumbai. She is now testing the

waters as a freelance designer, cooking

and giving back to the community.

She hopes to be able to set up her own

communication design studio in the

near future.

Simonil Rustomji (Barham) was

just your average Cathedralite. After aB.Com. in Accounts and Finance from

H.R. College, she took a gap year to

figure out her life. ravel, introspection

and a puppy named Muttin led her to

the social sector, where she started her

career at Swadhaar FinServe Pvt. Ltd.,

an urban microfinance institution.

She now works for Samhita Social

Ventures, a CSR consulting firm. She

also volunteers with the Welfare of

Stray Dogs (WSD) and her life’s goal is

to create world peace.

ejasvee Prasad (Palmer) left

school after I.C.S.E. He completed

his higher education from Ramnivas

Ruia Junior College and obtained a

Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering

from the University of Pune. He is

now a graduate student at the Georgia

Institute of echnology, looking to

complete his Master’s degree in Civil

Engineering by May 2015. Presently

interning as a structural engineering

consultant in San Francisco, he

absolutely adores the Golden Gate

Bridge and, in his free time, apart

from hiking and cycling, dreams ofbeing a part of a landmark structure

like that!

Udit Hinduja (Savage) obtained a

Bachelor’s degree in Economics and

Politics from New York University, after

which he was with KPMG for a year and

a half. He works in the social enterprise

space at Mumbai-based Micro Housing

Finance Corporation, which provides

housing finance solutions to low-

income families. “Hi, mom. I am finally

in a magazine!”Uzra Khan (Savage): After a B.A. in

Psychology and Journalism from Yale

University, she worked in research for

Reuters in New York and has written

for Foreign Policy and Te Huffington Post

on social and political issues in India.

She will be starting a Master’s degree in

Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy

School of Government this year, as a

Shorenstein Center Scholar.

Visheshh Jatiaa (Barham) obtained

a B.Com. from H.R. College. After athree-year stint with Ernst & Young and

qualifying as a Chartered Accountant

in 2012, he joined his family business.

After expanding the business in the

mining and realty sector, he started

his own digital printing business, VVH

Printing Solutions. He is currently

setting up a new chain of restaurant-

bars in the city.

Zahan Malkani (Wilson) lives and

works in the San Francisco Bay area. He

spends his weekdays helping Facebook

grow its user base in emerging markets.

Te rest, he spends experiencing the

cultural and natural delights of the city

and exploring all he can on two wheels.

He welcomes any book suggestions you

may have on Indian history/politics.

Yes, he’s at that stage now!

- Compiled by Uzra Khan

Class Notes



THE GIVING BACK FOUNDATION

“We are to the universe only as much as we give back to it.”Meera Gandhi, CEO & Founder

We are excited to announce that

THE GIVING BACK FOUNDATION 2015 GALA

will be held

on Wednesday, April 15th 2015

at the Pierre Hotel,

with a star lineup of guests already confirmed.

Tickets are $1250 each

To book your tickets contact [email protected]

Meera Gandhi,General Chair

2014 Giving Back Gala

Ajit Hutheesing accepting the 2014Giving Back Gala award from Phylicia Rashad

on behalf of Nimesh Kampani

Barbara Tober, 2014 Giving Back Gala Honoree,

with Meera Gandhi

x cathedralite 2014

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