Happy birthday Pushpa

Just under 5 years ago when I was searching the alumni website I came across the name of William Shiri, my Physics teacher. I dropped him an email through the alumini website, when it was possible without having to go through the rigmarole that it has become today.

That was on November 17th 2000.

I received this email in reply:

From: "William & Pushpa Shiri"
To: "Jacob Matthan"
Subject: Re: Wonderful surprise

Dear Jacob,

Lovely surprise hearing from you. What a lot of information about old Cathedralites!

Thank you.

It is great to re-establish contacts with my students from the distant past! I will write a long letter one of these days but wanted to send a quick note to acknowledge receipt of your letter.

We are often on the phone with one of your classmates - Hasnain Chinwalla - who lives in Toronto and has just retired. I have forwarded your letter to him.

Glad to hear that so many of you have had illustrious careers in all corners of the earth. When I registered on the Alumni Page my wife, Pushpa (you may remember seeing her at the church or at the school), suggested that I might hear from you. She is interested in knowing where your sister, Elizabeth, is.

We were both very sorry to hear about your parents. We did meet them once at a church in Bangalore on one of our trips back to India.

Do keep in touch . I hope to hear from Ranjit one of these days.

With regards to both you and your wife (your children also if they are still in Finland),

Willie Shiri

Ever since then, Willie and Pushpa have been in touch with me. We have shared many many snippets of information and helped each other put people in touch.

They are the titular head of "MY" Cathedralite" family.

There should be a generation gap, but Willie and Pushpa are still the same as I knew them in India, Pushpa I knew from Church and not from school, as she was a Kindergarten teacher way back in the fifties.I did not go to the Cathedral Kindergarten, and even if I did, she would have been too young to be teaching me then!



Today is Pushpa's 72 birthday and I hope all of you will join me in wishing her a very very happy birthday and many many wonderful ones. (I have a feeing that 59er Hasnian Chinwalla was the photographer, but maybe Willie can help me out on that.)