KASAULI REUNION HELD FROM 10TH APRIL TO 15TH APRIL
WRITTEN BY S K SHANTAGIRI ( SHASHI )
AT THE OUTSET I WOULD LIKE TO INFORM YOU THAT THIS WRITE WOULD HAVE BEEN DONE ONLY BY ONE PERSON – U V GOKHALE (THOMA) . BUT DUE TO SHABNUM BEING INDISPOSED FOR SOME TIME , THOMA WAS ALSO ABSENT DURING PART OF THE REUNION.
HE ASKED ME TO FILL IN THE GAPS WHICH I AM DOING ( in my own way). SO INCASE THERE IS ANY DUPLICATION YOU WILL JUST HAVE TO SWALLOW IT.
We had our last reunion at WELLINGTON GYMKHANA CLUB, CONOOR in December 2022.
During our reunion names of various names of places were discussed as to where the next reunion was to be held. The unanimous decision was KASAULI in HIMACHAL PRADESH.
Amaraj Nain and his charming wife BRINDA (GULLU), (who live fairly close to this place) volunteered to assist in making arrangements at Kasauli. It was decided that I, along with Thoma would visit the place in January (along with AMARAJ and GULLU) and finalize all arrangements.
Emails, whats app msgs etc were circulated to everybody of our batch (plus 2 of other batches – who have become regulars at all our reunions) and we got a modest response, modest compared to our earlier reunions.
We did not realize that fate would play a big part on our reunion attendance. I suppose age and other factors would be the cause of a partial disruption in the smooth conduct of our reunion.
Unfortunately, there were a number of persons who had to drop out , (prior to the start of the reunion and some during t the reunion).
Following is the list of persons who could not participate partly or fully during our reunion. (all mainly due to health issues)
1. Ravi and Priya Deshpande
2. Ravi’s daughter, son in law and two grand children
3. Ravi’s friend and his wife
Initially Ravi indicated that they may not be able to join as Priya was not well. As time went by Ravi confirmed that Priya had recovered completely and they would attend.
However after about 3 weeks Ravi advised that he had been hospitalized and been discharged. But he was too weak and would not be able join us at the reunion.
He has confirmed that he would definitely join us in the next reunion when it takes place.
Cancellations of rooms for Ravi and his group was done accordingly.
Shaila and I had decided to go to Kasauli ONE DAY EARLIER (ie 9th April) to oversee the final arrangements at the club and various restaurants where we would be having our lunches during our stay.
4. SOMESH and UMA BATRA – On 9th April Night Somesh informed me that a close relative of theirs had been taken very ill hence they would not be able to join us in Kasauli.
5. BRINDA (GULLU ) NAIN – On 10th morning Brinda called me and advised that she could not come since she was down with a throat infection and Amaraj would be coming alone.
6. SHABNUM GOKHALE – On 11th evening we got the bad news that she was not feeling well,
On 12th morning Shabnum did not feel any better and they (Thoma and Shabnum) decided
To go back to Delhi.
7. CHITRALEKHA (Wife of SUDHIR SUBHEDAR) – ) on 13th Sudhir informed us that Chitralekha had an upset stomach and would not be able to join us for some of the meals with us. So we missed her on 13th dinner and 14th lunch. Fortunately she was able to join us regularly from 14th dinner.
On 12th Morning The Gokhale’s went back to Delhi, with Thoma assuring that he would return the next day, provided Shabnum’s condition improved.
The rest of us (a little subdued after Thoma and Shabnum left ) went to another RESORT called DALE SIDE MANOR for lunch. We sat OUTSIDE on the lawns to have our pre lunch throat quenchers . lunch was also served outside. This was a very nice place (newly constructed and very well maintained – hence I presume the costs also were very high compared to the other places).
On 13th morning we all had our breakfast and were lazying around, chatting and generally passing the time. The main discussion was about Thoma and Shabnum.
Thoma called back to say that he was definitely coming, but was delayed by the late arrival of his taxi.
Lunch was going to be at a resort called BAIKUNTH and the taxis were arranged accordingly. Some wanted to leave a little earlier as
SHALINI (KANWAR’S WIFE) with Suresh and Amaraj were going to visit Shalini’s ancestral home which was a short distance from the club.
Chitralekha and Sudhir Subhedar left early to visit a local brewery .
All congregated at Baikunth Resort and had very pleasant throat lubricants (beer /gin Vodka and what not) on the lawns and moved into the main restaurant for our appetizing lunch.
On 13th evening we had planned our regular BIG NIGHT OF THE REUNION, but due to the reduced numbers we had to keep it at a low key.
As was the usual practice, A plaque with the names of our departed batchmates (RIP) was placed. Amaraj Nain was our speaker for the evening who said a few words about the reunion and the departed batchmates.
All the participants (ladies and gents) lit a candle for each of our departed batchmates. Two minutes SILENCE was observed after this as a mark of respect.
We all then headed for the bar to have a well-deserved drink for the evening. Soft music was played over the music system.
Our good friend SOMAN MANI had prepared a short skit (or speech) the topic being UNDERWEAR FOR LADIES AND GENTS. This was quite humorous and all enjoyed it and had a good laugh.
Thoma Gokhale made his entrance after the sobering respects were paid to the gone by batchmates.
Normally this evening of the reunion would be accompanied by a musician playing dance music/ crooners in our group would join in singing and the rest dancing.
Since our initial group was small and reduced further by health issues it was decided to keep it at a sober level.
Thoma had asked me to fill in the gaps of the events when he was not present (when he went to Delhi and returned) and I have tried to do the best I can. Thoma can continue with his write up before and after his absence.
I , have been involved in arranging all the reunions (from COORG onwards) along with the others namely Badal Sen Gupta, Lester Weinman, Thoma Gokhale, Amaraj Nain with Parmindar Aulakh, Hiranandani and others, if any others names have been left out, I apologize for the omission which is unintentional.
I must admit that this reunion at Kasauli has been one of the most stressed and difficult one to organize. The club bookings had to be made in individual members names, along with payments in individual club members account and keeping track of the same. Brinda and Amaraj were the main persons who got me the consent and names of about 8 members , the names along with their membership numbers and Log IN IDs and passwords. Thank you Gullu and Amaraj. Please thank your family and all your friends who shared their club membership details which enabled us to do the bookings. This reunion would not have been possible without their generous offer.
It would not have been possible without the tremendous help and assistance by GULLU (Brinda) , Amaraj and of course Thoma (who considers himself as the ballast).
Things were further complicated by so many drop outs totally / partially etc. resulting in cancellations.
Thank you all for having made this small reunion possible with good cheer and understanding.
Thank you.
Shashi Shantagiri
REQUEST TO ALL OUR BATCHMATES /FAMILY / FRIENDS
THE NUMBERS ATTENDING THE REUNIONS HAVE BEEN GRADUALLY REDUCING. I KNOW THAT THE COVID YEARS HAD PUT A SPOKE IN OUR MEETINGS. HOWEVER ALL THOSE PROBLEMS ARE SOMETHING OF THE PAST..
ONE OF THE OTHER REASONS HAS BEEN THE AGE FACTOR. AGE IS CATCHING UP ON EVERYONE AND ONE MAY NOT BE AS SPRITELY PLUS OFCOURSE THE HEALTH REASONS.
ALL THE BATCHMATES ARE CLOSING IN ON THEIR 8TH DECADE – SO LET US CELEBRATE THE EVENT BY ATTENDING OUR NEXT REUNION IN JAN 2024 – LIKELY VENUE VIZAG
I HOPE MOST OF YOU WILL MAKE A GENUINE ATTEMPT TO ATTEND. ESPECIALLY THE AUSTRALIAN CROWD WHO HAVE ALWAYS COME IN SUBSTANTIAL NUMBERS.
SEE YOU ALL IN JAN 2024 IN VIZAG
WRITTEN BY U V GOKHALE ( THOMA )
T.S.Dufferin 1061-63 Batch Reunion at Kasauli, April 2023
A decision was collectively undertaken at our previous reunion to meet again in April of this year, with the chosen venue to be at Kasauli, Distt. Solan, in Himachal Pradesh. The short interval between meetings was to even out the annual event after it had got disturbed by the Covid epidemic that caused a gap of almost two years since the last one at Hyderabad.
Shashi, Amaraj and I worked out a recce trip in the middle of January this year, with our technical adviser Brinda Nain who happens to have a wealth of experience and detailed knowledge of our target venue. Must add here that Amaraj probably worked the hardest as he drove us around the entire tour without a whimper. I was there as ballast to keep the ship on even keel. We spent four days at Kasauli staying at the club whilst taking trips around to visit places of interest, under Brinda’s guidance and got a good idea of what we would adopt as schedule of visits during our stay at Kasauli and took the unanimous decision of staying at The Kasauli Club itself which offered the best solution to our needs. Shashi was very meticulous about gathering all the necessary info and figuring out all the necessities with Amaraj and Brinda. The tour concluded at Amaraj’s House/Villa/ Palace/estate at Gouripur where we spliced the main brace and dispersed the next day which was the 15th of Jan.
The Reunion date and duration were fixed for the 11th for four days until 15th of April. Shashi, Amaraj, Brinda and myself were “A” Party with the rest to follow the next day. Before concluding our recce we had, after having visited a number of resorts in and around Kasauli, fixed on the Kasauli Club, situated on the hilltop within the military Cantonment, as our venue. Circulars then followed and Shashi got on with the nitty gritty of making the necessary arrangements and managing everything in that beguiling style of his. His experience in this sort of thing is more than a decade old, with his first whack at it with Badal for the Coorg reunion [2011]. The final list of delegates was :
1. Amaraj Nain & Brinda
2. S.K. Shantagiri & Shaila
3. Soman Mani
4. Suresh Kanwar & Shalini
5. Ripu Daman Sudarshan & Neelam
6. Sanat R. Bhate
7. Sudhir Subhedar & Chitralekha
8. U.V. Gokhale & Shabnum
[Shashi please fill in names of those who booked in all earnest but could not make it]
On 10th April the “A” party gathered at Kasauli, Sanat had also decided to join early. Amaraj and Brinda had so meticulously worked out the accommodation angle with reservations being done with the help of many others of their own family to sponsor our collective stay. We all got well appointed rooms within earshot of each other – at ground level – and not very far from the Main Clubhouse. Unfortunately Brinda was unable to join us as a result of some viral infection which laid her low. She was really missed since she has been a regular member of our little brotherhood.
We got down to partying right away with cocktails and dinner at the Club, catching up with each other and then turning in for the night.
11th April began with a sunny morning and we took it easy. Breakfast was followed a leisurely chat session in the courtyard whilst we followed the progress of the Sudarshans and the Kanwars as they motored their way up from the plains. Since their ETA was well tucked away into late afternoon we decided on making our first foray into the countryside to ROSS COMMON (HIMACHAL PRADESH TOURIMS DEPARTMENT OPERATED Resort). Before lunch we sat out in an open balcony with wonderful views across the beautiful valley. Lunch we took inside the dining hall and returned to camp, where we learnt that our two couples had made it in good time and had, very naturally, crashed out for a good afternoon nap. Evening followed with drinks in the lounge. Amaraj’s friend Mr. R.P.Singh joined us and provided some excellent views about a wide range of subjects.
Unfortunately, Shabnum caught the viral bug on our way up from Delhi and could not shake it off overnight and we had a situation on our hands. She had tried to battle it out during the previous day without any appreciable success – it was time to throw in the towel and run back to home, more so to avoid passing the bug onto others. We had to wait for a night, which did not bring any improvement. So we decided, with heavy hearts, to bow out and head for home. When we got there, chances of my rejoining the Kasauli party had heavy odds against them.
As it happened, there was some good news the next morning, Shabnum had taken a turn for the better and she insisted that I rejoin the party. I took the chance and headed back, but was too late in getting there. I got an enthusiastic welcome back reception so that made up for everything. Shabnum also recovered so the worst was on its way to getting solved. Unfortunately, Chitralekha Subhedar got some severe gastric problems and remained confined to bed.
Our last full day began with a clear bright sunny morning, breakfast as usual and shooting the breeze on the verandah outside Amaraj’s room. Sanat gave us his insights into the USSR – Ukraine imbroglio of which he has some very deep insights gained through the time he has spent there. We then sallied forth to our last outing to the Kasauli Resort which was started by an old shipmate of mine – P.S.Chimni of the 1963-64 Dufferin batch.
Being a Public Holiday the place, which looked like it was deserted, got to chock-a-block strength by the time we got half way through lunch. Food was good wherever we went – no complaints. Must thank Brinda Nain for showing us to the right places. Too bad we could not have her company for any of the days. Chitralekha also had to miss out on some of the events.
As we got to the last evening of our program, thoughts of parting the next day started creeping in and the last evening came but inexorably slipped away, to become a bright spot in our life’s history.
Our checkout the next day was a subdued affair. We took leave of each other. The Delhi walas, the Chandigarh walas, and the Bangalore walas. Soman, Amaraj and I were bound for Gouripur, Nain’s place where we had been invited to spend a couple of days. Soman would be catching a train to Kochhi on the 19th. I would be leaving a day earlier, back to Delhi. Sanat Bhate went to see his friend in SOLON (Remember the old whisky SOLAN No.1) and would be spending a couple days there.
My first visit to Gouripur was in 2012 Feb shortly after our reunion in Jaipur. After that it has become a favourite haunt for me. Brinda and Amaraj as also their next generation have always been very gracious hosts. They were both so involved with everything that happened here for our batch. We owe Amaraj and Brinda a round of applause and thanks for the success of our reunion.
Shashi Shantagiri always manages to cross all the “t”s and dot all the “I”s. It was great that Shaila could make it. We had missed her at Coonoor. So, me hearties – stay well – till we meet again.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/8XEAMg7E6Rj5QrkT7
ABOVE IS THE LINK FOR VIEWING ALL THE PHOTOS OF KASAULI REUNION. HAPPY VIEWING
You can see them on google
THIS WRITE UP AND THE PHOTOS WILL BE UPLOADED ON OUR WEBSITE www.dufferin61-63.com
In a few days and you can view them again , whenever you feel like.
Happy viewing