Msgs from Old Boys 29

Picture sent by sir, Mr. Lobo

Sitting L to R: V Janardhanan, P K Gupta, A K Roy, Bruce Wallace,Ashok Oberoi, Mr. Matthew Lobo, M J Patel. F Verahana, Roger brady, P Ghoshal, Partha Roy,
Standing Middle Row: L to R:Glen Miller, Satis Shroff, David Ludwig, SC S Rai,. P P Singh, Tom Ma, K K Rai, I N Shrestha,Manos Chowdhry.
Standing Back Row: L to R:Radheshyam Sharma, Sanjoy Dasgupta, K T Liu, J K Ghosh, Wangdi,Ramdhari Agarwal,Sheane Brady, S P Chatterjee, Gurmeet Singh, Darriel Michael. N Venkatraman


Bro.Anil and Radheshyam
Picture taken by Sir, Mr Lobo at St Mary's during his last visit to India.

Msg from Vishal Gurung

Hello Mr. Sharma,
regards!
I’m an ex-goethalite. I am looking for a friend of mine, an ex gms too but in vain. His name is Kiran Atal from the batch of either '84 or '85 or '86. I am not sure. Could u help me out?
Regards
Vishal
22.06.2008

Msg from Thondup Sherpa

Dear Chief

I think you should read the Sunday edition - 1st, 8th & 15th of June - of the Times of India. There is a column by Subramaniam Aiyer.... you will like it.

Best regards

Thondup
26.06.2008
P.S. As for the agitation.... when the Govt of West Bengal is convinced that Bengal means only that area in and around Calcutta and harnesses all development ( funds) only around Calcutta then don't you think the people in North Bengal have a right to differ ? It is a different issue that Siliguri and the so called locals here are anti-Gorkhaland. But then what percentage of the population are actual Siliguri-vaasis and NOT BANGLADESHIS? If one wants to nit pick then one should remember that the original inhabitants of Siliguri and the surrounding areas are Rajbangsis and then the next lot of settlers are Nepalese. Unfortunately it has been made into a communal issue. There are Marwaris, Biharis, Assamese, Bengalis, Tibetans and even a sprinkling of South Indians (Tamilians, Keralites, Andhraites and even the odd Mangalorean) settled in the hills - NONE OF THEM HAVE BEEN THREATENED. UNFORTUNATELY THE MEDIA AND THE PRESS HAVE THEIR STRINGS BEING JERKED FROM CALCUTTA SO THE NEWS IS SLANTED AND JAUNDICED (THOUGH IN THIS CASE THE COLOUR IS RED )

And since we are on a political wicket now let me ask you a few personal questions

1. WOULD YOU VOTE FOR A PARTY THAT IS CONVINCED THAT THE NUCLEAR DEAL IS GOOD FOR THE COUNTRY BUT UNFORTUNATELY THE LEADERS OF THE PARTY ARE TOO GREEDY WANTING TO HANG ON FOR ANOTHER YEAR SO THEY WILL NOT STAND UP TO THEIR CONVICTION?

2. WILL YOU VOTE FOR A PARTY THAT CANNOT FIND A NEW LEADER OTHER THAN FROM THE SAME OLD NEHRU / GANDHI FAMILY? I MEAN EITHER INDIA IS UNDERPOPULATED OR THE CONGRESS RANKS ARE FILLED WITH INCOMPETENT NINCOMPOOPS THAT THEY CANNOT FIND ANYONE ELSE.

3. IN CASE THE CONGRESS TOES THE CPI (M)'S LINE AND SCRAPS THE NUCLEAR DEAL DO YOU THINK ANY THINKING PERSON WILL VOTE FOR THEM IN THE NEXT ELECTION? DO WE WANT SPINELESS LEADERS?

3. WILL YOU VOTE FOR A PARTY THAT DOES NOT GIVE ANY VALID EXPLANATION FOR REJECTING THE NUCLEAR DEAL BUT GOES AHEAD WITH THEIR VETO BECAUSE SHOULD OUR COUNTRY GET THE DEAL THEN THEIR MASTERS IN BEIJING WOULD FEEL THREATENED?

4. WOULD YOU VOTE FOR A PARTY THAT STILL MAINTAINS - THOUGH NOT VOCIFEROUSLY - THAT THE 1962 SINO-INDIAN WAR WAS DUE TO THE INDIAN ARMY INTRUDING INTO CHINA? AND THE SAME PARTY WILL ALSO AGREE THAT ARUNACHAL BELONGS TO CHINA?

SO WHO DOES THAT LEAVE US WITH???????

I am NOT a political animal but in the face of the above I believe we have no one to take us out of the mess other than the BJP ( this despite the fact that I was a staunch practicing Gandhian - khadi et al - during my college days ). That is if the BJP does not mess it up

Thondup

Msg from Sanjay Chettri

Hello friend,
This is the 1st mail of yours I am responding to. Plz do not mind. You seem to be quite concerned about our school, the ex-pupils and the place as well. it is really good.
Let me tell you a few things regarding the politics of the hills. The demand for a separate state of the Gorkhas (i.e. Nepalese of Indian origin) is till date 101years old. Unfortunately the leaders till Ghising just made it a begging bowl for his personal use. This demand is just for our identity as Indians since we have contributed a lot for the country till date in all aspects. The Bengali people have Bengal, Punjabis - Punjab, Biharis-Bihar etc.
Why not Gorkhaland for the Gorkhas as well as other communities living in these parts for generations. This area we are demanding never belonged and still is not a part of Bengal. It was annexed due to some technical mistake. We need to look back at the history of this area seriously then only it is good to have an opinion. We want to be recognized as Indians when we go o the plains like Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai etc not people from Nepal or other parts. Besides this we have been deprived economically, academically and so on. You must have noticed the area when you came for the centenary. It has become worse in the past couple of decades. So I hope you will also give it a good thought and pass on a positive message.
We love to live in India as Indians, a state within India.
With regards,
Sanjay.
23.06.2008

Msg from Ralph Reeves

Hi Radhesh,

Thanks for the message. Thought you would have enclosed the picture of our school. Never mind - next time.
Talking about gasoline prices. We call it "gas" here. Right now CAN$ 1.34/litre. The Canadian dollar is in par with the US$ or there about so it's almost the same in Rupees viz: approx. Rupees 95/litre. Looking at the prices in Europe, we should be happy, yet people are unhappy and always complaining. If one came to terms with certain ways of life, the world would be at peace. But then again, all are not made the same.
Next week is our reunion. I will give you an update.
Take care and be safe
Ralph
22.06.2008

Msg from Pradeep Mohan

Dear Friends,
I felt so sad seeing the pictures.
How many births all of us have to take in the world to save millions suffering from acute and deplorable conditions.
All the 'Hell' and 'Heaven' we talk about are here in the world for us to see.
The message the pictures convey is like getting an electrical shock and when we see our plate filled up with our daily food, we cannot but thank the Almighty and it is cruel to waste the food and water
All of us can do one thing. If we know such people live in a specific African country and there is one dependable organization willing to extend their reach there, we can and should support it by consciously reducing our daily intake and send the money equivalent to them. That is the only way we can thank the Almighty for the kindness extended to us. By doing this way, the total demand for food will remain the same, as per the American President and we will not add to inflation.
We all live in this strange world where the parity between the Rich and the Poor is so much far-apart that on one side tons of food and millions of gallons of water are being wasted and on the other side, some unfortunate people are starving and even dying from hunger and water. The extent to which some one goes to seek even a drop of water is shocking and sickening to see.

The least we can do is to take an oath of NOT WASTING any grains or a Drop of Water from now on. For what we can save just by not wasting may feed thousands and may even help keep inflation under some control.
Regards
Pradeep Mohan
24.06.2008

Msg from Kalyan Kr Pramanick

Dear Radheshyam

Its refreshing to get your mails every time.
I finally managed to take time out to fill out my persona details form.

Cheers
Kalyan
(GMS 83-91
23.06.2008
Msg from Raj Lama

Dear Raja,

I am sorry if my mail has offended you.
I have been repeating throughout my blog that politicians are the root cause of all problems faced by the general public.
Ghising was ruling Darjeeling with a iron hand for the last 20 years or so. He did not do anything to remove the grievances faced by the people. He built his wealth making a fool of the general masses.
Now it is the turn of Mr. Gurung to repeat history.
He too will have hordes of people killed in his demonstrations.
All these politicians shout against each other during the day and sit on the table with a bottle of alcohol with their opponents at night.
If anybody is to be killed, it should be these politicians who mislead the masses for their own selfish ends. Then after their purpose is served, they leave them high and dry.
I regret if my views of politicians offend you, but that is the truth.
Yes, you can say they are a necessary evil but they are evil, no doubt about it.
Having studied in Goethals, I would not want the education and other activities in Darjeeling to suffer as it did in Ghising's time.

Radheshyam


Dear Radheshyam,

I am an ex-day scholar boy of the 1987 batch, presently based in Darjeeling and a supporter of the GJMM movement in the hills. Many other ex-boys are actively involved in the movement. Therefore, i take offence to the derogatory remarks that you have made without taking cognizance of the ground reality here or in Rajasthan, as for that matter.
Please keep in mind that troubles the worlds over are mainly the result of oppression, suppression, exploitation, blah, blah, blah.... which, I firmly believe, is the case with the Darjeeling hills. And, please don't take my views as some form of monomania since everyone here thinks the way i do.

Raja lama.
16.06.2008