OLD SANAWARIAN (OS) MIDDLE EAST CHAPTER

DINNER AND DANCE

by Kunal Chowdry

Venue :           Dubai  - Sanjeev Suri's (N77) Home
Date :              Friday 20 March 2009
Attendees :     54 (+10 KOS – Kids of OS’s)

Dubai OS Committee :          Sonali Ahluwalia (N85) – Chapter Head
                                             Angleen Malik (S80), Chitwan Sidhu (V91),
                                             Shaila Singh (N85), Rajiv Suri (N80), Kunal Chowdry (H80), Sanjeev Suri (N77) 

In organising the second OS reunion dinner (the first being in November 2008), Sonali (nee Bhandari) Aluwalia  and her committee (and the SOS’s – Spouses of OS’s) organised yet another sensational OS reunion.

The main event was for all the OS’s to come together and reconnect.  We had many OS’s from the region and India who made a huge effort to come to Dubai for the reunion.  There was good food - Chak de India catering organised by Rajiv and Rohini Suri; music - Angleen Malik was bopping away and managed to get a few girls on the dance floor,  since the boys still don’t (can’t?) dance; an open bar – most importantly arranged by Shaila and Vipin Singh; great weather and a perfect venue thanks to Sanjeev Suri, all of which contributed to a perfect evening. 

Sonali was the perfect MC for the night, kicking off a charity drive to raise funds for Kodagu Vidyalay – a school for special needs children in Coorg, run by an OS.  Rajiv Suri (Jashanmal) generously donated 2 dinner sets to be raffled and Kunal Chowdry donated a painting for auction.  

The younger OS’s were given the task of selling as many raffle tickets as possible and Rajiv Suri was the splendid auctioneer for the night.  Overall, we managed to raise in excess of 50,000 Rupees which has been sent to the school.

We look forward to the next successful event towards the end of this year.

Dear OS, 

The Board of Governors met on 12th May 2009. As your representative on the Board, I would like to update you as follows.

The Board unanimously ratified the action taken by the Head Master with regards to the incident on 27th April wherein seven Upper Sixth boys were sent home for resorting to violence.The concerned boys will not return to the School.

The Head Master has been given a fresh tenure of five years with effect from 1st July 2009.

The Board was deeply concerned with the happenings in School and has directed the Head Master to urgently implement a suitable sensitization program, so as to encourage and educate students to rationalize their actions and not resort to violence as a means of settling differences.

A zero tolerance policy towards violence and bullying of any kind will be implemented . At the same time the whole aspect of pastoral care is to be reviewed ,so as to educate and train teachers on the sensitive issue of bullying and violence seemingly prevalent in School. Teachers in general and house masters/ staff in particular need to be trained and counselled to understand students under their charge.Potential 'flash point' situations should be diffused well in time before they erupt, as happened in this incident.

Having seen the mails exchanged by OS over the past two weeks, one is heartened by the unity and concern we all share for our alma mater.

I can assure you all that the School is doing well and very soon the happenings of the past few days will be just a memory,albeit an unpleasant one.There is a lesson in all this turmoil for us and some dedicated work for the HM and the School faculty so that Sanawar becomes a better place to live, play, learn and above all make life-long friends------ in a envronment where the mind is without fear .

Never Give In.

Warm Regards,
Brig(retd) I S Chima
President
Old Sanawarian Society
2007-09.

Our Silver Moments at Founders 2009
Anuradha (Verma) Bhatt (OS84)

When and how 25 years sped by I still haven't a clue but it all started in April this year for me when Sanjit Kaur applied the royal boot and got me in contact with our batch for our silver jubilee Founder's celebrations.

I must say that the team who co-ordinated the whole show for us – Anjali Khosla, (Thappo) Munji, Devika Mohan, Ranbir Nabha(Hathi), Dalip and Harbir Romana, did a brilliant job, cajoling and coaxing us to contribute towards a gift for the institution which has shaped us into the individuals we are today. Thanks especially to Harbir for ensuring that the basket ball court at old Trafford got completed on time.

I remember the first few emails I read from the Sanawar 84 group! It was fantastic to be back with the people we knew best. For those of us who have been out of the country for a period of time and not been in contact with school mates, there was an instant sense of belonging, of citizenship to this group, where we could go back to basics again.

The first of the parties started before Founders' at Sabina's house in Delhi, followed the next day, by a dinner hosted by Munji and Praveen (Mr. Munji) at the Habitat Centre. It was here that most of the batch met for the first time and the differences in girth, height and hair growth were duly noted. I did notice that quite a few of the boys had grown at least a foot after leaving school! (Was it the food, or rather the lack of it in school, I wonder) but it did surprise me to see some of the short ones towering over us.

The next day (1st of October) was spent travelling to Chandigarh in a convoy of cars, where Dalip and Haathi had organised a fabulous dinner reception, at the Black Magic night club. The highlight was screening of an audio visual CD comprising of 500 pictures of school days from our batch with music from our times. It was a glorious start to the formal re-union, with not a dry eye in the room.

The 2nd morning was a mad rush to get to Baikunth, (the nerve centre for the OS). After a quick change into formal attire, we dashed off for the inauguration of the basket ball court, by 'our' very own Heady (Mr Shomi Das).

Our class gifted a synthetic basket ball court built at Trafford Court with a plaque that read "In gratitude to the institution that taught us to Never Give in".

It was very moving to hear Heady speak of our batch so fondly, reminiscing about all the wicked and funny things we had done. He did say we had the dubious accolade of being the naughtiest batch he had ever dealt with, what with his jeep being stolen and for never doing what we were told.

The real surprise was meeting Soli (Mrs. Solomon), our house mistress and Ms Bakshi the only other teacher from our time. They were and are all very special and we owe them a ton of gratitude for guiding and shaping us into the people we are today. We missed Muchoo and all those teachers, who weren't present.

Later that afternoon, we attended the chapel service for the Golden & Silver jubilee batches (1959 & 1984) and the speeches by Shiraz and Varun had us in splits and tears in equal measure. A special mention must be made about the lovely invitation cards and roses handed out to all of us by the students as we entered chapel.

The Head Master's High Tea for the two batches was spent eating and registering for the OS society dinner with the occasional comment thrown in for good measure, to prove we had grown past the food grabbing days in CDH! I must admit, it was all very well organised and civilized. I don't think I remember much else of that afternoon apart from thinking that we are still not 'old' enough to have a drink with the Head Master and have to make do with High Tea.

There was yet another dash to get back to Baikunth in time, to change and dress for the formal class dinner (organised by us, for us but invaded by previous batches that were up for founders!) Good to know we are still the 'happening' batch!!! And we welcomed them all. Needless to say, with loads of alcohol and music, there were a lot of inhibitions lost and lost times made up for. One could hear the occasional grey haired man recounting his lost opportunities in school, especially when Sanjeet made an appearance!! Things hadn't changed. We could count on the usual suspects, to fight over the favours of a good looking girl! (Now, a lady!) I think Alloo won, or was it Sanjeeva?

Huffing and puffing down to Barnes on the 3rd morning for the school athletics, was avoided by all who had had too much to drink the night before. Only those with kids in school made the heroic effort to wake up in time. We did however make it for the OS vs. PS football match in the early afternoon and it was gratifying to see that the OS team was out in numbers (27 strong) on the field, facing just 11 PSs and sadly may I add the OS lost 4-1.

Walking around the school that afternoon, wearing the 'Sanawar 84' T-Shirts brought back all sorts of memories, of mischief, of exams, CDH and Parker Hall ledge, frequented by dating couples (remember going steady!). However, Charlie was an institution in our time, as were the Kasauli 'bun-sums which is now lost to memory.

The school buildings hadn't changed but there wasn't much else which we could recognise. The school library, that haloed building, was like a sitting room, resplendent with neat sofas and shining silverware. It was good to see that the PCs were aplenty but it seems books (the type you pick up off a shelf and open and flick through or read the printed page) are not as important as they used to be. In fact, there were fewer books in the library now then I remembered. Possibly all have been scanned onto the hard drives, for the new generation of students.

Later that evening, Tattoo was as enthralling as ever and the screening of the 'Class of 84' CD made by Thappo, had us all screaming again. It was followed by PT and later Gymnastics, the school dance and other events were all well performed and brought back memories of our preoccupation with tattoo evenings and reserving places with shawls and sweaters. I did miss the cocoa which used to be served earlier.

The late evening was spent chatting and drinking after which we proceeded for the OS dinner, at the Victoria International Hotel. There were old friends to meet, from other batches which made up for long haul to Victoria.

It is my very humble opinion that some of principals that built our character like serving and clearing up in CDH, wishing guests, parents and teachers when they passed us, have got lost in the mist of time. It would do well for the school to bring back these basic etiquettes that made Sanawar so special.

The NCC parade on the 4th of October saw a resplendent display by the school. The troops and the band were all very smart, although a little out of tune, very occasionally, but very endearing nonetheless. The girls were smarter than boys. It was reassuring that the NCC tradition has endured over the years and is just as thrilling today as it was when we were on parade.

It was now the turn for the Silver jubilee batch to march past on peace stead, 71 strong, who were greeted by a huge applause!

The final send off for those of us leaving after the NCC, was the rain, as the heavens opened and bid us a fond farewell, drowning out the goodbyes and promises of a reunion sooner than our Golden Jubilee, in 2034 or is it 2035!

All said and done, I would not have missed our reunion for the world. It was very heartening to note that friendships from youth do last a life time!

PS – apologies for the excessive sentiment but it was that sort of occasion!