Founders' Day Photos coming in

Dear 69er Barbara Rossi from Milan, Italy, was at this years Founders' Day in Mumbai. She has sent me this great collection of shots which sets the mood.

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

This was who was my correspondent and my eyes in Mumbai this year. :-)



Here is what Barbara wrote soon after she touched down in Italy:

Dear Jacob ,

I am back in Milan, grey and cold and naturally have downloaded the photographs I took during the past few days into my computer and am sending them to you, before anyone else, "in anteprima" as they say in Italy because from the very first of the beautiful Mrs Isaacs standing in front of the entrance of the Saint Thomas Cathedral
to the last in which I captured Fleur when she turned around for a moment as she stood in the group of ladies of '57 (!)

I thought I could act as your virtual eyes at the Founder's Day celebrations.

My photographs are not exceptional, but they surely help you to see the fantastic tradition of school repeated over and over again in its minutest details
and of course the photograph of those joyful choirboys is dedicated to you.

I missed Mr. Velu greatly, but the incredible size of the choir this year and the innocent enthusiasm of the singers did make up for that in part

lots of love

Barbara

Mrs. Meera Isaacs waiting to welcome the guests.

































As I was in school and took part in several Founders' Day services, was part of the Cathedral Church Choir, and was also one of those who read the Bible Lessons, etc., this set of photographs is especially nostalgic.

I remember wearing those choir costumes, walking down that aisle, sitting and listening to sermons and doing lots of mischievous things that we boys would do.

I wonder how we would have behaved if we had had girls in the choir?

Isn't she sweet?

I have pleasure in bringing you this photograph of those curly locks that 63er Ian Deane spoke about. I vouch that this baby is just as she sweet was at the time the picture was taken. 54er Gracie Hayeem in San Francisco is going to love this picture of her student and vouch for what I have written!

69er Barbara Rossi - as 63er Ian remembers her!

This was Barbara checking in yesterday from Italy!

here is the Barbara with those curly locks

lucky to be the daughter of those two very special parents who gave her the possibility to be brought up and educated in Bombay, at Cathedral

a life she loved from when she woke up and got ready for the school bus to when she filled her school bag at the end of the day, with text books exercise books pencil box, compass-set (yes Globe!) gym shoes (Bata) etc etc.. in anticipation of the next wonderful day to come

the badge...........hell where on earth have I misplaced it.........this is worse than when the watch was ticking, the bus was arriving, the lift had already been called up to the 6th floor............

hehehe I'll find it I promise!

love, Jacob

have a lovely day, and keep doing your "homework"!

Barbara

I am sure that the omission of punctuation marks was something she did not learn in Cathedral! At least she capitalises MY NAME!!!! Love you too, Barbara. :-)

Another 69er Zahid Parkar submitted this scanned extract from the 1969 School magazine. (Quality of the original was not good, but hope it is readable.)



And Ubi fed me with the info which gives you the reason why I did not even know about CJO's wife!

Hi,

C. J. Olliver married very late. In fact, he only got married after taking over as Principal of St Peter's Mazagon, well after he left Cathedral.

After Bernard Gunnery, Rev. G. Ridding took over as Principal. To the best of my recollection, he did not stay for his full tenure-but I could be mistaken.

CJO left at that point of time.

Kuruvilla Jacob I think came after Ridding.

Ubi

This is not a very good picture of the staff in 1965 where, obviously Rev. Ridding is there as Principal and Ollie is not in the picture!

Last night I had dinner in Oulu with someone from Mumbai, and although not a Cathedralite, knew many Cathedralites. Amol Shah, one of the owners of MJ Pharma, which has bought a Finnish company. He knows 52er Yusuf and 56er Muku Hamied of Cipla, as also 59ers Ashok Kapur, Ooky Elijah Elias and also Vijay Shivdasani! Amol plays a good game of badminton, Ashok says!

Very small world.