Update on 59ers

Many thanks to 59er Shivi (Rtd. Commander Vijay Shivdasani) for this update about several 59ers:

Naubir and Aarti Mohinder------They have just returned from Canada and NY where their beautiful daughter works and where Aarti has a sister. I think he visited all the old haunts from his college days, rumour has it he found a few Mohinder look-alike in the vicinity. He did not quite make it to New Orleans that is why he is back and suffering only jetlag.


Naubir

Piloo Dastur------Last heard from Piloo yesterday – she is jetsetting or cruising in Maui, Hawaii having a ball. She is not wearing the Hula-Hula skirt!

Ramesh Mirchandani------Johnny saxon is Jetsetting also, somewhere.


Piloo, Ramesh at a class reunion in Mumbai

Percy and Frainy Mistry----------he is still mysterious and inscrutable. Taken to the Trumpet in a big way and blows it loud and clear! along with his mates in the Jazz Junkies he is blowing to club galleries all over Mumbai and Pune! He has had a lil altercation with his grandfather (clock) recently and retired hurt.


Percy & Frainy

Ashok and Madhu Kapur------they have recently announced that their son Tunnu has said YES to a young lady from Delhi and plans are afoot for the mother-of-all-weddings in November. It seems Tunnu is a chip of the ole block cause Ashok has taken to saying YES to a very successful bank!


Ashok & Madhu

Ooky & Rifka Elias------they are delighted grandparents twice over and are going great guns with their containers, oops! actually they call them consoles or cabinets or modules, for the telecom industries. Alongwith the Sensex their shares have jumped over the moon.


Ooky & Rifka with me

Arvind and Gita Thadani------last seen in the property souks of Dubai and Mumbai buying up valuable apartments like I buy ‘chana’ me thinks his next destination Manhattan. Think Gita is hereabouts in SE Asian recently on a jaunt while Arvind is doing the Indian rope trick in his 10000 sq foot mansion in Washington. Please do not mention the shanties of maharashtra to him (see below)

Viney and Purnima Sethi-------just had a long chat with Viney who is settled in Alibaug across the harbour from Mumbai in a beautifull bungalow which reminds us of the one he had at Woodland Hills in LA, swimming pool et al. He is now busy shooing away the pigeons who crap all over the place. I did advise him pigeon soup is good for the winter months to come! And to invest in an airgun which the Indian Ordnance has announced that they will dispose of shortly. Not sure he is into crap shooting though.


Arvind, Viney and me

Ratan and Niloufer Singara------had dinner with them this week. Their son Fali is into film making and recently made a film about the last Pope and was invited to the Vatican. Handsome Fali has his father’s creative genius and mother’s dash.


Ratan

Adi Cooper & Phiroz------he is visiting Dubai alone every week recently. Is it called Consulting these days?

Aroon Sethi------drinking the evening away at the Bombay Gym Bar, says he has just made a million in Yemen or Syria or Iraq -forget which!

Apart from all this rumour mongering, I must mention that I did attend a Reunion in Pune recently which was superbly organised by Fleur Ezekiel of Miss India 1959 fame,


Fleur and Manu

on behalf of Salil Fazalboy I think he was a few years senior to us but now looks a few years junior! Cause (our wives may please note) he has remained a bachelor. The Reunion was for all Puniete Cathedralites—I think I qualify on both accounts as I have a shanty in Pune—pls note BTW shanties are IN, cause the Maharashtra Govt eventually gives all shanty owners a palace and our shanty is just behind Aga Khan’s palace.

It was a wonderful evening about 45 Cathedralites there and yes the Class of ‘59 was in full force—besides myself, Vikram Kamdar with his beautiful Miss India Nandini, Khoshru Balsara and his ‘ Efficient Secretary of the Decade’ wife, Inderjit Shah with his wife, Shirisha (Wink - Vijay). He has become quite a poet and was heard reciting Urdu shairies and couplets all evening much to the bemusement of those present cause being Cathedralites naturally they could not understand Urdu. I had not seen Inderjit in 45 years!

We were among some Cathedralites of the Class of the Roaring 40’s and 50’s----- some of them still mewing! The rich’n famous were also there, Rahul Bajaj (Ed: who is a Cathedralite and Stephanian, like me, jacob not Shivi) to drop one name at least in case you actually read this email.

It was an evening of fine wine & dine at the decorated banquet hall of the Poona Club, very generously hosted by Fazalboy.

Gotta go friend I think I have filled you up sufficient--just look at the price of gas! You may like to include this in your global circulation as there maybe more takers for shanties at least!

As ever,

Vijay (Shivi) Shivdasani
Class of ‘59, Wilson House Captain 1959,
Represented School in Tennis, Cricket, Football
Swimming & Tennis Blue from NDA Khadakvasla
At age of 37, Commanded a Nanuchka Class Missile Corvette,
At age 39, Commander of the Indian Aircraft Carrier Vikrant (which is why she is ending up in the Museum.)
A Hongkong diamantaire par excellence.
Tired and Retired now but still able, with a golf handicap yesterday of 18.

The photographs have been added from my archives - some very very old ones - the one of Arvind, Viney and me was taken in Mousouri in 1960 Maybe some of you can update my archives and add a few missing persons to it. Thanks (in anticipation, but I am not holding my breath).