Us 59ers have got together on various occasions, and many of our Mumbai crowd try to get together a couple of times a year. 49ers have been getting together, thanks to the organising skill of New Delhite Yezad Kapadia. 54ers had a historic reunion in Mumbai last year. The 69ers also had their 35 year reunion at the same time.
Just last week I had this email from Gracie Hayeem in California:
"Dear Jacob,
Thanks for e. mail. I also noted the name of Barbara Rossi. I was wondering if she was in class 69, like it was noted and if anyone has her contact. E. mail or Phone number?
I remember teaching a Barbara Rossi in Kindergarten and counted the years and it could be the same Young lady!!
Veronica Lely and myself had two Kindergarten classes in One Room and we held our concerts together and Art classes, etc.:
Barbara was in my class and everyone was crazy about this little girl who was so smart and so very cute and sweet. I have a picture of her in our Christmas Concert.
Would love to know if it is really her. Miss Hayeem was my name then!!!!
You are the best detective and people connector.
Bless you and your family,
Gracie."
The "people connector" got to work and located a Barbara Rossi within 5 minutes, to whom I sent an email. Within another 5 minutes I got this reply:
"Dear Jacob,
miss Heym... followed by miss Hyn in first standard
yes! how could I forget my first teacher! (I knew the pronunciations... it was the spelling I didn't know... but then how would I have known if she was the first one to teach me to draw neat little letters in Cathedral & John Connon School exercise books...)
my memories are not THAT good, but a bit of refreshing this year at the 35 year reunion did help remember that wonderful period of our life that was attending Junior school!
I am most touched she remembers me!!!!!
and do please give her my e-mail or address, whatever is easier
Barbara Rossi Montevecchi
Milano, Italy
e-mail : supplied
and before I close, to you an enormous thank you for finding me!"
Attached with this email was this:
Poor Barbara, as the emails that have followed have been that she has been totally distracted and her "work" has gone to pieces!! Sorry Barbara.
It has been such a pleasure to put people, fellow alma maters, teachers and students, together again.
Many of you will remember an email I sent out a long time ago under Newsy Notes mailings about why I do this job on the web.
This work, done in memory of our dear 59er classmate, the late Bala Parasuraman, gives me the thrill and excitement that no other activity (other than playing with my grandchildren) can!!!
Both Barbara and Gracie have sent me lovely emails since. Barbara has sent me her link to a site where she has scanned in images of the 1958 School Prospectus. I will, in later issues of this blog, put up a couple of the photographs, and maybe some of you can help me identify some of the faces!!
And finally, I have news of a group of fabulous musicians who will be touring 7 Indian cities, and there are 3 famous Cathedralites in the group - Sara Manasseh (director, vocals, dumbuk: drum), Abe Hayeem (vocals, tambourine) and Pamela Solomon (vocals). Abe sent me the CD of theirs called "Rivers of Babylon" and it is really a wonderful piece of music.
I hope all of you will make it a point to see them when they are in your vicinity.
"Remembered Rhythms": A festival of diaspora and the music of India
2-22 February 2005
Lecture-concert tour of 7 cities in India
Sara Manasseh and Rivers of Babylon have been invited by The Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology and the American Institute of Indian Studies, New Delhi, to participate in an amazing three-week tour of seven Indian University cities. The event is supported by the Ford Foundation. The concert performances are preceded by a short, introductory lecture and are open to University students and the general public. Admission free.
Here are details of the lecture-performance dates and venues:
Delhi: Sunday 6 February, Pearey Lal Bhavan, 7pm
Kolkata (Calcutta): Tuesday 8 February, Birla Hall, 6:30pm
Hyderabad: Thursday 10 February, University of Hyderabad: D S T Auditorium, 7pm
Chennai (Madras): Monday 14 February, Music Academy, 7pm
Bangalore: Thursday 17 February, A D A Ranga Mandira, 6:30pm
Pune (Poona): Sunday 20 February, Symbiosis: Vishwabhavan Auditorium, 6:30pm
Mumbai (Bombay): Tuesday 22 February, Patkar Hall, 8pm
For the full programme, including details of an introductory Seminar and other participating groups, please check out the website dedicated to the festival:
http://www.musicdiaspora.org
which will have up to date information, including any changes.
Please pass on this information to anyone who may be interested.
If you are in India during this period, we would be delighted to see you at one or more of our concerts. Do let us know - via our website, or email us:
info@riversofbabylon.com
If you would prefer not to receive information about forthcoming events by Sara Manasseh and the Rivers of Babylon, please let us know.
With our very best wishes,
Rivers of Babylon
Sara Manasseh (director, vocals, dumbuk: drum), Ahmed Abd Alrahman ('oud: Arab lute ), Abe Hayeem (vocals, tambourine), Saeed Nathan (Druze and Indian flutes, sba'ten: speciality finger clicks), Peter Shade (accordion), Barry Solomon (oboe, cor anglais, vocals), Edward Solomon (vocals), Pamela Solomon (vocals), Solly Solomon (vocals), Susan Verney (violin).
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