This was the eighth reunion that our batch had since we started in 2008. Of all the years that have passed since then, we only missed one occasion and the November 2015 mini-reunion was piggy-backed onto the DRACEA Global Meet at Amby Valley. We have always had an enthusiastic participation by all those who have attended these meets and suffered pangs of sadness when we parted again till the next occasion.
This time our local hosts were Amar Raj Nain and CO Aulakh who went about their chosen task with due diligence. The main idea was to have the minimum of excursions and have more of time to shoot the breeze. The basic ingredient of this concept was the choice of a good affordable venue which would provide us comfort for most of the time spent there. All legwork done was the handiwork of the host duo named above. Dates for the occasion were chosen by experience to be held after the middle of February 2017 so we zeroed in on the 16th, 17th, 18th and the 19th of the said month.
We gathered at the venue, in Chandigarh, mostly after lunch on the 16th and got settled in to recover from our respective journeys, in order to be sufficiently resuscitated by the time the evening’s show got going.
The evening began with our customary homage to our compatriots who had gone before us, sad to say, the list has swelled to 23 since we started this tradition. The latest batchmate to leave us was Promod Mokashi, who passed away last year. We are like Roman soldiers who are only decreasing as the years go by, they aren’t making any more of us. Little did we know at that time that we would be mourning the loss of Layla Mani who passed away the next morning. She had, along with her husband Soman, been regular participants in our meetings until our reunion at Mahabalipuram in February 2015. May her soul rest in peace. We are with you Soman, in this time of grief.
The dinner that followed had all the ingredients of a good party except that we have, sadly, not yet broken out of the system of gender segregation that still exists among us. Come on my friends, none more of this, we have to develop a more convivial atmosphere at our gatherings. Nevertheless, there is a nice level of bonding among the ladies which is growing stronger by the year. It plays a very important ingredient in the success of our meetings.
Gifts and mementoes were distributed- a well compiled book made up of excerpts from the “Indian Cadet Magazine”, dupattas for the ladies and a set of leather coasters embossed with the Dufferin Badge. Good selection as well as production by Amar Raj and CO Aulakh.
The next morning saw us preparing for an excursion to Anandpur Sahib, the birthplace of the Sikh Panth. We had nice comfortable buses to undertake the two hour journey in, which got us to our destination in about two hours. The object of our trip was to visit Virasat-i-Khalsa, which is a memorial to the foundation of Sikhism and a testimonial to the great service that the Sikh community has done, to not only this nation, but to the whole world. A massive structure, that looks more like a sculpture than an example of architecture houses the extensive exhibit. We were given to understand that, from a certain viewpoint, it looks like an approaching ship. Nevertheless, it is a great example that matches the grandeur of the other holy places that surround it. We, unfortunately, did not observe the tradition of partaking food at the langar, which is said to be the best way of paying obeisance at any Gurudwara. My dear friend and shipmate, Bandy Sekhon made me aware of this after the fact. The “langar” is the free food that is cooked and served at all Gurudwaras and is made available every day to anyone who wishes to partake of it, irrespective of cast or creed. Remarkable and very expressive of the basic secularism of the path shown to us by Shree Guru Nanak Devji.
Maybe, I can make up for it by observing the ritual at a Gurudwara in Delhi.
Immediately after having completed our visit to Virasat, we set course back to Chandigarh, with an intention of stopping for lunch halfway home at “Sarai Bharatgarh”. It a nice upmarket, well managed tourist trap with very nicely manicured lawns, indoor as well as outdoor dining spaces and good loos. We had everything good going for us until Audrey had an accidental backward fall because the rear legs of the chair that she tried to sit on sank into the soft soil of the lawn. Only she knows how much pain resulted from that fall, but to the rest of us it was a great relief to see her get up and sit out the rest of the lunch. She has a remarkable composure which she maintained all through the rest of the reunion. John, of course, in his inimitable style, flicked a red rose from the nearby flower bed and offered it to her on bended knee. If anybody took a pic of that, please publicise it on the Cavaliers homepage on “whats app”.
After she had reasonably recovered from her fall we managed to continue our lunch interval with plenty of beer, laced with great food and then resumed our homeward journey. The weather had been very kind to us during the entire interval.
Once back at the hotel, we prepared for the next encounter, which was dinner in the hotel. This turned out, again, to be a nice cheerful gathering with good liquor laced with some good food. The most relaxing feature of this arrangement was that our managing committee, with a tremendous foresight, had eliminated all the hassle of dressing up and going out to some other swanky place which would have probably give us the same kind of hospitality at a much higher price.
Saturday, the third day of our meet, was mostly devoted to a visit, for a lunch party, to Amar Raj & Gulu’s house at Goripur, where they also have their farm holdings. I have special regard for that place and been there a number of times since 2012. The first words that come out from my mouth whenever I enter their premises are “This is paradise!” The Nains have been gracious hosts to a number of our colleagues, who have found the time to spend there. Keep it up!!
We must have got there by noon and got down to the serious business of enjoying the ambience of the place. A well-stocked bar including a decanter of AS Nain’s home brew, and a glass of fresh sugarcane juice as the “welcome” drink began the proceedings.
It was a jolly afternoon fortified with good alcohol, food and of course, a good camaraderie among those present. The weather was on the warmer side, as compared to the average for the month, but there was enough shade to keep us cool enough through the party. There was music to dance to but the response to it was a bit weak. To sum it up, excellent hospitality provided by Gulu & Amar Raj, a wonderful venue and a relaxed atmosphere were the perfect ingredients for an extremely enjoyable occasion.
On return to the hotel we prepared for the evening’s activity, dinner in the hotel. The congenial atmosphere, the well knit group kept the spirits flowing and the sound level of the party was testimony to its success as being a perfect cap to the day’s activities.