Msgs from friends 32

Msg from Viraj Thacker

Dear Mr. Sharma,

I trust this note will find you and the family well in Kolkata. You might have wondered about my prolonged silence and non-participation in our blog……due apologies.

It’s been a few busy months with work related travel and the summers generally get busier with two growing lads! All is well with us.

I enjoyed the pictures from the recent GMS reunion at the Bengal Club (a particular favorite with Paulites and ‘boxwallas’ back in the day). It was refreshing to see you and a few familiar faces and all in all, I sensed that a good time was had by all!

I plan to be in India-Nepal in March for six to eight weeks in connection with my academic facilitation work and will certainly look forward to meeting you in Kolkata. 2010 will probably take me back to Australia as I am considering two teaching fellowship offers from the Universities of Melbourne and Queensland. I am excited about my work in Nepal-India before that.

I have also been working towards the publication of my third book and have the publishers and funding in place; I would like to invite you to make a contribution….anything you like (introduction, message, foreword, afterword or a short chapter)……..I look at this as a fitting ‘word of thanks’ and tribute to your efforts at bringing ‘old boys’ together and your honest views on a range of very relevant issues. Attached is a copy of a brief statement by the prospective publishers to introduce the work. A contribution of your choice, in consideration of the main themes, would be very appreciated and it would, I believe, add immense value to the book. Please get back to me on this.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Warmest Regards to you and the family,

Viraj.

Dear Viraj,

I hope you and your family are in best of health.
Thanks for your mail.
Yes, I was wondering what had happened to you, no mail and no blog post.
I was pleased to receive your mail.
It would be a pleasure to write something for your book.
I'll send it in due course.
It was a good reunion and we all rally enjoyed it.
My son finally went only to Belgium on a 3 week trip and is back.
I shall be awaiting your visit in March 2010.
Do take care.

Radheshyam

Dear Mr. Sharma,

Thanks for writing – always good to hear from you.
Thanks also for offering to write for the book – I look forward to it – a real pleasure to have you as a contributor. I have attached the publishing statement in ‘MSWord’ and if you could write your final draft on the same document, it would be in keeping with the publishers’ request. They have requested the same from all my contributing writers. This will also make it easy for me to give things a final ‘look-over’ in terms of thematic consistency etc.
I will certainly look forward to meeting you and the family in Kolkata – will keep you posted on specific dates.
Warm Regards & All Good Wishes!
Viraj.

Msg from Merill Smith

Hari Om Radheshyam:

Writing is not one of my favourite subjects but I could not help writing in regards to one of the comments made by an ex Goethalite about taking offence to Hari Om friends.

Your reply was very well written & I agree with your responce. I would like to see this person take the time & patience to do what you do for free. I can imagine much how time it takes out of your day replying to all the emails & writing for the blog.
I for one & many others enjoy your receiving your blog every week, & like the comment that Willy Wu made we really look forward to receiving your email. I am not Hindu & I don't take offence to your greeting.

I guess there is one in every crowd who dosen't appreciate the fine work you are doing. Don't let one bad apple discourage you from the good work that you are doing.
Regards

Merrill.Smith ex Gms 1948.

Msg from Anthony Gasper

Dear Partha,

Thank you for your mail. May I take this opportunity to offer some
suggestions.

1). A Scanned copy of Goethals Alumni Kolkata Registration Certificate may
be put on the net for all to see of down load as they wish.

2). To increase our Alumni Fund we should take up a small contribution of
say Rs. 2000-2500/- from each member as Corpus Fund. This should give us a
decent enough amount to start our activities on a small scale.

3). Two Celebrations should be mandatory for our Alumni annually.

a). Anniversary of the Official Opening of our school ie on 30th April (
1907 ).

b). The date our Alumni Kolkata was registered.

4). We should put together a memorabilia of the 2007 celebrations and sell
the same to people who could not attend the centenary celebrations which
will also be a source of income for our alumni.

5). A WEB site can also be created for the Goethals Alumni Kolkata where
all can post news, information, photographs and comments, anything of
mutual interest etc.

6). A directory of all the members can be put up on the web giving, name,
year of passing, occupation, address, tel no. mobile no. and e mail
address.


With warm regards,

Anthony Derrick Gasper
( Marguerite Gasper)
Sr. Manager(Con-Sales)/WBSO
Mobile : 94330-45635
Tel.: 033-24145988
Fax : 033-24145507

Dear Anthony

Thanks for your suggestions.
We shall discuss & try to firm up on them in our next meeting.

At the moment we are trying to get all the Kolkata boys Registered with the
Alumni by contributing Rs 1000.00 (one thousand only). We shall discuss and
put the Fund Raising into place.

Many thanks again for your cooperation in thinking how to take the
ALUMNI forward. Please do carry on with your active participation.

Best Regards/Partha

Dear Anthony.

Almost all the suggestions listed by you were already in my mind and I have been slowly proceeding in that direction in that direction. However, I believe in doing "First Things First" I try not to ":jump the gun:"

Is anyone aware of the necessities involved in hosting a Web Site or how to go about it ?? Well, I am aware and in fact I already have many web sites on the World Wide Web for my many newspaper clients. For your kind information, I have already begun work in that direction.

However, as Parthada has mentioned in his reply, our primary focus today is to get as many Ex-Goethalites as possible and make the Kolkata Alumni string and healthy so that it does not collapse. Another issue which has a higher priority with me is to settle the Bengal Club bill without incurring losses, hopefully.

I am not sure how much of s success your idea of "contribution of say Rs. 2000-2500/- from each member as Corpus Fund" will be. But there is no harm in trying. I am a practical person and hence my doubts.

I do not wish to sound too pessimistic but your suggestion that "We should put together a memorabilia of the 2007 celebrations and sell the same to people who could not attend the centenary celebrations which
will also be a source of income for our alumni" ...... also does not seem feasible because there is not even a lapel pin left and many many of our boys, even some who had paid Rs. 1,500/= did not get even a small item . You do realize that putting together these items once again in smaller numbers is going to be expensive and many be impossible like printing the SOUVENIR once again at this late stage. Had it been done soon after the Centenary, this would have been possible but expensive.

Once we have the WEB SITE up and running, we shall have the Directory of our Members and much much more on that site. As already mentioned earlier, work is already in progress in that direction.

Looking forward to many more suggestions from you as well as from others. Your suggestions will go a long way in helping our Alumni become a Model Alumni as desired by us.

Thanks N Regards


Ranjan Guha Majumder
CE-163, Salt Lake,
Sector-1, Kolkata - 700 064

Msg from Ranjan Guha Mazumdar

Dear Friends,

We have received invitation for the LORETO Darj NITE at Burdwan Palace, 10A Diamond Harbour Road, Kolkata-27 on SUNDAY 13th September at 7.00 pm.

These passes cost @ Rs. 300/= per pass (including Dinner) per person. We have been requested to participate in large numbers and make the event a success.

We hope Ex-Goethalites will rise to the occasion and participate in the event along with their family.

For Passes, please contact the undersigned and we will guide you form where and when to collect the required passes.

Let us live up to the Goethals Motto and DO ALL THINGS WELL and show the other Hill School’s Alumni that Goethals Alumni (Kolkata) has arrived with a BANG We can then expect a similar response from other Hill School Alumni and this way we can have a vibrant Hill School Alumni in Kolkata.

Waiting to hear from you guys.

Ranjan Guha Majumder
CE-163, Salt Lake,
Sector-1, Kolkata - 700 064

Msg from Desmond Oliver

Dear Radheshyam,

Could you please send me the email addresses of my classmates Manas Chowdhary, A.K.Daw and N.G.Kar.
Thanks,
Regards,
Desmond Oliver

Dear Desmond,

N G Kar does not seem to have an email ID His cell no/Restaurant no is 09831082509 / 03322521710.
Anup Daw's ID is anupdaw@yahoo.in and Manas's is craig.chowdhury@gmail.com
Hope you can now bring yourselves up to date in news.
Regards

Radheshyam

Dear Radheshyam ,

Thank you very much for the prompt action taken, it is very kind of you to take all the trouble to find out and mail the info, back to me. I shall update you as to the outcome.

Thanks once again.
Regards

Desmond Oliver

Msg from Kamlesh Kallani

My Dear Mr. Radheshyam,


It was fior the first time meeting you on 9th August and seeing old boys whose names we had heard of as good sportsmen. As soon as I came to know about the get together I got my tickets made and informed Rudra RoyChoudhury. During the journey from Siliguri to Kolkata I met Mr. Anil Oborai his daughter and Ashwini, it was a good past time and we talked all about our old days at school. The fun had started and i was simply waiting to meet old friends. The programme was very nicely done and I must thank Ranjan for the good work and all others who were associated to the success.

Where have you put up the photographs that you took. I shall be sending the photos taken by me and as informed to you time and again I will scan the 50 yrs. celebration magazine and send the same to you for all friends to see.

Rest is fine, returned home after another two days with sweet memories and once again meeting Rudra, Pinaki, Pradeer Mohan at China Town over a wonderful dinner. I sometimes wonder why all these good happenings are taking place only now after 38 years.

All the best and good wishes.


Kamalesh (Kamal) Kallani 1971.

Dear Kamlesh,

Yes, it was wonderful seeing all you boys.
No amount emails and telephones can take the place of a personal meeting.
It was really good of all of you coming all the way from Siliguri, Kurseong, Darj and Sikkim.
I suppose the centenary celebration acted as the catalyst and the vast advances made by India in telecommunication aided the passage of info.
We must thank Rajeev Gandhi for these advances otherwise we would still be making Urgent, Lightening, Fixed Time Calls.
E mails, Broad band has also helped.
We must take the effort further by taking our school in the circuit so that info of the school is shared by everybody.
I put the photos on our blog on Last Tuesday. You may see them if you click the link below.

http://goethals1907-2007.blogspot.com/2009/08/finally-on-9th-of-august-we-goethalites.html

Some photos which did not come well were not posted.
It is easier to post the photos on the blog than to mail them as the mail file becomes very big.
I shall wait for your 1957 magazine photographs.

Cheers,

Radheshyam

Msg from Thondup Sherpa

Chief

Our prurient interest in these types of TV shows is what promotes the producers with coming up with such garbage.... the problem is that with all the hoopla about how we have progressed economically we , Indians, feel we need to ape the West...add to that our present generation's low threshold of interest. We need immediate excitement and have no patience. That is why these shows , which pander to our lowest level of interest hold us prisoners and the ratings shoot up...therefore another show which is bolder and more crass.

Remember the days when even the mention of the Red Triangle - the Family Planning symbol - would bring a blush to most of us ? Today we have commercials which are blatant in their expose of ladies' hygiene products..and what about the I Pill ? TV is making sex casual .. it has invaded our bedrooms and minds. I am sure the producres of the shows would hesitate to watch their own show along with their family.

thondup