25 years seems a long time back. Indira Gandhi had just lifted the emergency, confident of wiping out the opposition, but instead got booted out in an election. 6 years earlier I joined school, when we had just won the third Indo-Pak war & Bangladesh was born. That year India won its first away series in cricket under Ajit Wadekar. That's the era the batch of 77 spent in Lovedale. There were 80-90 of us. 36 of us made it back this founders. Sadly, 5 had passed away over the intervening years.

One of our batch, S Ramanathan, called Kokku in school, but henceforth called Ramu took it on himself to organize the 25th reunion. Roped in Apurva Verma, also called Wordings, & Mohan Frank to help in the job. Started a long time ago, & put up a website (www.lovedale77.com), contacted people through the e-mail etc. Once Ramu landed up here in Bombay & found people from our batch (Sashi Krishnan, son of Kaka, Nita Joshi nee Chopra & Sumanthi Sinaha Ray) who I didn't even know lived here. Meeting them was great fun & from then on I had pretty much decided that I had to attend the founders.

I hear that the guys one year junior batch have their own website, apparently labeled MOAR for mother of all reunions. After the bash we had, these guys are going to have to change the name to step mother of all reunions or some similar lesser name.

There's is no way they could match us. Read on.

Well before reaching Ooty I was a bit apprehensive about my ability to recognize faces & people after all these years, or worse still, not recollect any thing about some people. It's been 25 years since I left. And only one trip since, 19 years ago for the 125th founders. Luckily I ended up with only a couple of amnesia associated "incidents"

Day 0: 1st May 2002

Ramu had booked a fair proportion of a hotel called Sullivan Court. Very central & comfortable. On reaching the hotel one was greeted with a big banner welcoming the batch of 77. Checking in I learned that quite a few OL's had already arrived and was given a list of those expected with allotted room numbers. This was more efficient than my memories of Ramu, but as he was to repeatedly prove, he was always one step ahead in all arrangements and proceedings over the next three days. Later met the man himself and was promptly given a bag of goodies including a hat, an OL batch of 77 crest, an up to date address book of the whole batch etc. Hang around a bit in the lobby & then I run into my first amnestic incident. There's this smart looking & articulate guy drinking a beer, who is obviously an OL. I introduce myself, & he retorts, of course I know who you are & then refuses to tell me who hw is. So there I am racking my brains with no luck.

More people join. Some I recognize, Mathai Cyriac, Nita, Apurva Verma, Clare, etc. Monish Rao introduces himself, but Mr. Good Looking & Articulate piles on the agony by refusing to identify himself. Later Chitra (Chet) joins us, with some real cute kids in tow, & seeing my confusion helpfully informs me that he's her husband. Since I don't know her new name, that's not much help. This goes on for more than an hour, when Chet finally lets me know that her surname is Gopinath. Hell, this guy was our headboy & I'm mortified that I didn't get it. Hope there's not going to be too much more of the same over the next few days. Soon the place is full of 77 OLs with spouses & kids. Luckily the kids get along like a house on fire & the parents are spared the hassle of watching their every move. The most obvious thing is the genuine warmth & pleasure people are expressing at meeting each other after all these years. No trace of any under the surface tensions or strains. Soon the bar is taken over by the batch & it's getting later & later with none showing any inclination to make any decisions regarding dinner. Finally at about 11PM Saaz, Clare & me along with others go to our old & popular Chinese, Chin Kow (did I get that spelling correct). Sorry, their out of food, so we drive to our dossa guy near Assembly Rooms, but they too are closed, so back to the hotel before the last order.

I ain't as energetic as some of them & after dinner with Eli (Santosh Alexander) & his fiancée, we turn in. We later hear that some of these guys were up till ~ 5 in the morning.

Day 1: 2nd May 2002

Full of anticipation, we drive into school next morning. Wonderful driving past the station, the post office, the bridge entering school & the pine woods. First surprise on reaching flag staff. There's a barrier which does not allow the car to turn into the senior school road. There's also some sort of military contraption at the base of flag staff. Next surprise, we have to register. Out I get, & spy Commee (Mr. Venkatachalam) at the counter. I wasn't ever taught by him, & he shows not a flicker of recognition. Pay up Rs. 50/- & go to park in the church. I note quite a few banners of the sponsors Nestle or some such company pinned to the hedges. Got to move with the times I suppose.

Next disconcerting event. Groups of kids repeatedly approach with appeals for donations. Don't have the heart to say no to the kids but also quickly realize that the inability to say no is going to prove costly. So I give all a stock reply that we are already contributing via our batch donation. There seem to be an array of uniforms. All the kids are now in long pants. Lucky guys. I remember freezing in those shorts all the way till the final year.

Some kids are wearing the khaki battle jacket while other are wearing a blazer. Similarly some of the girls are in a dark blue sweater while other are in the more familiar maroon one.

Since I'm with the wife & kid, I decide to show them school in chronological order. Head towards Prep school & note that there are now new buildings between the Church & the Prep school which look like staff quarters. It's looking good from outside, though Ramu, the previous evening had warned us that the classes were pretty rundown. Go all around it once, & then in, show my daughter my past bed (no 3) in what was Jamuna house. All the beds are now double decker. Later stroll down to the dinning room, kitchen etc. From the inside, it's obvious that a lot of maintenance is going to be required. Then walk passed the girls school & again I note that an extension has been added which sort of abuts onto the road. Off to junior school, & on the way I'm happy to se that the band room is open, I walk in & someone is painting the drums & doesn't seem to object to my entry. Hit the drums a bit. I note that all the bugles & trumpets are now silver, whereas in my days they were brass. See loads of E flat alto saxes but do not find the C melody tenor sax I played when I was in the band. Don't play any of the saxes for fear of spoiling the reeds but can't resist the temptation of blowing the trumpet. No tune emerges but I can still hit those high notes. Not bad after all these years. Twirl the drum majors mace a bit, look nostalgically at all the instruments & then head on to junior school. If Prep school looked run down, this looked in worse condition. What was our dining room is now a dorm & what was Himalaya house is locked & doesn't appear to be a dorm any more. A quick stroll into the "new" block whose foundation stone I saw being laid way back in the 125th founders. Up the 67s to senior school. By now my daughter's wilting in the heat & demands a rest. I run into a couple of familiar faces from one year senior & one from our batch, Sriram, a doc I had transiently met during my UK days. Here I get into my second amnesic incident. They introduce me to an ex teacher & I miss the name. So I politely converse, all the while trying to recall who he is. No luck, so I move on to the exhibition in the senior school classrooms. The standard is way above anything I remember from our time. The art looks much better than what I remember from our time but I'm not too good at spotting good from bad art. But the photography section, the woodcraft section, the Batik section all clearly vastly better than any thing comparable from our era. Then off to the weaving room where a young and enthusiastic student show us how its done. Again, there is a vast improvement. These guys are weaving all sorts of patterns including the school crest into the cloth. The best we could do was checks or stripes. The weaving exhibition is opposite the weaving room. Apparently in the past parents didn't believe that the cloth was actually woven in school, so the exhibition is now opposite the room so that parents & other visitors can see how it's done. In the weaving exhibition I spy Dhanagopal & go up to him & introduce myself. He looks at me funnily & informs me that I just met him some time back on top of the 67s. Gulp. This fading memory of mine is one day going to put me into some serious trouble. Luckily that's my last goof up.

Then visit the gymnasium, the staff club, top-flats, check out the tennis courts etc. Would love something to drink & there are stalls all around but none accepts cash, only coupons, which are not yet available. There is also loud music from a speaker, and the choice of music is nothing I can identify with. Head back to the Prep school for the Ols lunch. Most of those expected from our batch have now arrived & are there for the lunch. Again, it's really wonderful meeting all the folks & seeing how much obvious happiness & warmth there is as people slowly recognize & meet each other. I am particularly happy to see Mohan Frank & Ayyappan after all these years. It's really hot. I can't remember Lovedale being so hot before. Last night we had used the fan in the hotel. I can't remember ever using a fan in Ooty or Lovedale previously. Is this global warming or has age affected my ability to deal with the heat. We're next due for the OLA meeting but my daughter is tired & we head for the hotel instead. Ramu, Apurva etc. will represent our batch & coordinate what we can do to assist the school with whatever funds our batch has collected/pledged. I gather it's around 5 lakhs & this will probably be used to refurbish the prep school class rooms. At 4 in the evening, the whole class meets again at the hotel. The ever efficient Ramu has booked the conference center for us, for a formal introduction to each other. I note I'm getting better at identifying people & now my memory appears to be well focused & I'm identifying most people before they can place who I am. In fact when Arvind Gopinath walks in I can't believe that I couldn't identify him the previous evening, Everything is the same, the walk, the posture, the grin etc. Funny thing this memory is. A blur suddenly snaps into focus & then there is no problem. When enough people gather, each OL briefly introduces him/herself, their family & what they've been doing with themselves over the intervening years. This is a good idea & it helps everyone place each other. Our batch mirrors the world and I note that quite a few are currently single, many separated, some with their second spouses etc. It's great to see how many people have made it back after all these years, some from US & UK too are there. We express , not for the first or last time, our gratitude to Ramu, Apurva & Frank, for their efforts in putting together this whole reunion. Normally at reunions like these the spouses get bored to tears but people are really mingling well & we don't see too many people looking lost of left out.

Then back to school for the variety entertainment. I'm disappointed that there is no Indian or Western Orchestra, but otherwise it was pretty much what I remember from our time. Towards the end I take my daughter up to the balcony, & show her the framed "colors" on the way out. The Large Hall is looking real nice & well maintained. We end the day with an OL dinner at our hotel. There's a band playing, alcohol & other drinks are freely flowing, & this band is real good. Choice of music is wonderful, none of this rap crap or indipop. Slowly the place livens up an by late evening the place is really swinging & rocking. Rumor has it that the band leader was heard to mutter that he had performed for many OL dinners but had never seen anything so wild.

Whether this was fact or good marketing on his part is a moot point, but its been a long time since I really enjoyed myself so much. Here in Bombay, no matter which band one hears, it slowly degenerates into this modern pastiche of indipop & hindi music & all sense of rhythm & movement drains away from me once this music starts. This Ooty band however goes on unabated with some real good ol music and this results in crowds flooding the dance floor.

Somewhere down the line, Arvind Gopinath & later Regy Thomas take the mike to join the band and the flood gates open as loads of wanabee karaoke singers join them. Somehow this revelry seems also to have spread to the kids. Instead of being in bed by 10 Pm or whatever their normal bed time is, they are having a ball entertaining each other in one of the designated guest rooms, with periodic appearances on the main floor to check out their parents. This goes on till the early hours of the morning & somewhere at 2 am, us lesser folks call it a night. Again, the more indefatigable of our batch are up till around 5 in the morning.

Day 2: 3rd May 2002

It's time to take the younger generation head on. It's time to see what we oldies are made of. It's time for the past to take on the present students in a series of games. Jo-Jo, from one year junior to us, & I start of the proceedings with some tennis. I play singles with the "best" of the current lot. He has his proud parents watching & some colleagues there all set to cheer him to victory. The rules are set. The first to reach 8 games wins. This round goes to us old timers. He's easy pickings and can barely collect a couple of games before it's all over. Off we trudge to middle flats for football. Luckily we have Jo-Jo & a couple of other younger OLs who manage to put up a semblance of an opposition. These young kids are running rings around us. By half time we are two goals down. Jo-Jo & I leave for more tennis but in the second half the rout continues and we are thrashed by a humiliating score of 5-0. I manage to squeeze in a game of badminton with one of the present students, along with Jack Chakola & Sudhir Rao, both a year senior. Another white-wash, with us OLs not managing to win a single game. So it's back on the tennis court for the doubles. After all this incessant loss to the present generation, we are in a mean mood & go for these guys with a vengeance. They don't know what's hitting them & in no time we are 6-0, 5-0 up & vowing to show no mercy. They manage to grab two games before we close out. I hear we also got beaten at basket ball & squash but don't meet anyone who played those games so can't verify that. It's noon now, & its decades since I've played three different games over the space of one morning & every part of me is aching. Luckily no OL did any thing alarming like get a heart attack or drop dead with the unaccustomed exertion. No jokes guys. Being a doc I've seen quite a bit of this in my years. A 40 odd year old guy decides he needs to get fit. No medical check up. No slow warm-up. Throws himself into a strenuous game & is in my ICU a few hours later. Depressing & sobering scenario.

Go to flag staff & thumb a lift to town. It takes less than 10 secs for an obliging parent to offer us a ride, & then they go out of their way to drop us to the hotel. Ramu, now resembling our patron rather than our co-odinator, has hosted a dinner at a really nice place. The food's fabulous. Due to all my strenuous exertions I'm late & I gather that much serious discussion has gone into deciding what we should do for the school with the money collected from our batch. As with most things in life, no meaningful decision is made & we tell Ramu to represent us & do whatever he deems fit. Quite a lot of "pledged" money is still to be collected & I really hope our batch does not fall short of our commitments. Yet again Ramu has surpassed himself. He had handed out "class of 77 OL" crests to everyone. Earlier in the day he organized for someone to stitch them onto our blazers/coats. All we had to do was deposit them in his room, & the job would be done.

Later in the evening we are back in school for the school play. There's some FLS meeting going on & it shows no sign of ending even though we are well past the starting time of the play. Whatever happened to good old punctuality. When the play finally does start, I'm again disappointed to note that there is no school orchestra playing. A couple of people who appear to be professional musicians play when accompaniment is required. There are two plays. The first is good & quite humorous, while the second is really performed well. Compared to our times these were quite risqué for a school play & I couldn't quite explain some of the jokes to my 9 year old who wanted to know what all the laughing was about.

Straight to the PT after the play. By the time we got out of the large hall, this event had already started & finding a place to see anything was close to impossible. Some helpful OL or parent allowed my daughter to squeeze in so she could see all the action, but for us "latecomers" it was a matter of constant peering over others shoulders or heads of others to check out what was going on. Again, I note there is no orchestra, only a drum beat. To further cloud things, a heavy mist descends over middle flats and one gets to see the action in sporadic bits. The standard is really quite disappointing. I hear that the event has just been restarted after a gap of some years & that may explain the relatively low level of the performance. There's is no horse work or flower drill, & we leave before the event is actually over. We were lucky, as a little later the rains really came down & we missed getting drenched.

So it's back to yet another dinner in our hotel, this one hosted by Hariram Shastri for the batch of 77, with a few others from around the same era. Once aging the foods great, & the band is swinging away. Again the ethanol flows freely, but the strain of the previous two nights is catching up & everyone is aware that we need to be on top flats nice & early for the parade. We are informed that t his is the last night we are going to have live music & some enterprising guy promptly remedies that by informing the band that they are needed tomorrow. Any potential objection is quickly drowned out by a loud vocal vote on the absolute need to have these guys for our dinner tomorrow. Recorded music just will not do. So once again people are drinking away & rocking away. The kids are now completely into each other & we parents are relegated into the minor role of just being present to serve their every need. Completely relaxed, I watch or join my colleagues on the floor. Everyone is now comfortable with the others & the tentativeness of recalling & recognizing each other has all gone. Again I am struck at just how happy people are to meet up after all these years. Even when I run out of conversation with some of our batch mates, the underlying warmth lingers. Many thought cross my mind. The first was that the decision to attend this reunion was one of the smartest ones I've made in recent times. People who couldn't make it really missed three unique & wonderful days. We sort of decided that waiting for the next 25 years is way out of line, so, for the 150th founders our batch needs to organize a similar event. All sensible folks should block these dates now itself. I think how much opportunity we had at school for a well rounded education & development. I think of the vast choices we lucky folks had. Arts, band, Indian music, dancing, piano, carpentry, weaving, sculpture, & an absolute array of sporting activities. Unimaginable in the contemporary Bombay school. I watch our batch mates & I see mostly well settled & successful people. Many are in family business, many on the plantations and quite a few some are professionals. No iconic figures like Arundhati Roy or Anjali Ela Menon. I had checked out my e-mail earlier that day & noted that Arundhati was again stirring up controversy & comments on this OL forum. Also saw her name on the Presidents medal honor board on the way into the large hall. Even though our batch may not have a "star" &, what ever one choose to think of the batch of 77, the kids of this batch are absolutely gorgeous. They are the cream that tops off a wonderful group. The younger ones are completely into each other. Those a little older are busy swinging to the music while some of the quieter ones watch their parents with a combination of indulgence & bemusement. Before this get together I though my 9 year old would be one of the youngest. We docs spend so many years studying & training that by the time we finally get around to having kids, many of our contemporaries have teenagers. So I was pleasantly surprised to see the kids ranging from those graduating out of college to Joe Anthony's little one who is just a few months old. Kanchana's younger daughter is a carbon copy of her mother & they could easily pass off as sisters. In fact Kanchana gets my vote for the person who looks the most similar to what they looked like in school.

There's a common theme here. The girls look pretty much the same while most of the guys have changed, or dare I say it, aged more obviously. In the looking young department, testosterone is obviously not the great thing it is often touted to be. The late nights are beginning to tell on most people & we are all mindful that we need to be on time for trooping the colors. Ramu has strictly laid out the dress code. All the guys in blazers or coats, with the batch of 77 crest stitched on. All batch members have to wear the especially provided hat, again with the school crest & "batch of 77" proudly displayed on it. So around midnight this party winds up.

Despite our best effort at a quick breakfast & an early start we reach top flats after the parade has started. I don't remember it starting so early in our times. By the time we get there the band and the guards are already in place & we see the chief guest drive into the top flats. The batch of 77 congregates at the far end near the bands. I absolutely loved being in the band & the orchestras in my days and closely check out the current bands. The bugle band looks pretty much the same. There are changes in the brass band. There is a sliding trombone in the first row which definitely wasn't there in our days. There are two rows of saxes, one in front of & one behind the drums. We only had a single row of 4 saxes back then, three E flat altos & one C melody one. They are playing well. The tunes are the same ones we did & at the same time of the parade as before. I remember all the tunes but can't get many of the names. Most of the instruments seem to be playing the melody. I seem to remember that there was more harmonic & rhythmic accompaniment to the tunes in our days. Back then, the main melody was basically carried by the trumpeters & saxes. The bass instruments, the cornets & the clarinets played harmony or variations around the melody so that it did not sound too much like a simple mass of instruments playing the same tune or chorus. All under the watchful eyes & sharp ears of Denzil Prince. Anyway my memories are rusty & may it was not as different as I seem to remember. Unfortunately, a mist settle on top flats & visibility is not as good as one would like. The parade progresses well. The guards are looking good & marching smart. The first guard picks up the colors. They then "troop the colors" while the chief guest inspects the guards. Finally they all march forward & mass up at the front end for the final march-past. It's great watching them at close quarters & it brings back loads of memories. My brother (twin) was one of the two guards accompanying the colors way back 25 years ago. Prio, the vice headboy carried the colors in that year & Regy commanded the first guard. That year Chet rode the horse for the parade. Arvind the head boy obviously was in charge but I can't remember a mascot along with him. Some of my colleagues seem to remember one, introduced by none other than our very own Abdul Kader. After the final march past, the prep school kids troop up near us & march off. They are followed by the massed OL guard, & then finally the moment we are all waiting for arrives. The guard of the batch of 77. They are more than 30 of us so we are a respectable size. Our headboy, vice head, & both prefects Ramu & Regy are present so they do the honors & lead us. We are lined up in height order & off we go. Even if I say it myself, this guard is looking smart, what with uniform hats and blazers proudly bearing the "batch of 77" logo & school crest. The band is playing one of the school tunes & never before in the 144 year history of founders did such a smart guard close out the parade. The band followed us & I got to say the drum major is good. He's tossing the mace to heights never attempted by our contemporaries. We then get together for some group photographs of the batch with & without families. They will all be put up on the website shortly (www.lovedale77.com), so doubting Thomas's can visit it and confirm all these tall claims of the smartest guard ever.

Next event is the prize distribution but I've got an urge to explore school more. Want to crowd in as many memories & nostalgia as I can in the remaining hours left in school. Of course, things like Big Hill, Lovedale Lake, Smiths Cave & Grass Pitch are not really feasible. We go back to the senior school for tea at the counters on the lawns. The biscuits / cookies taste just as they did in our days. I meet our old bursar Mr. Mehta, introduce myself & ask if he recognizes me. Pat comes the answer, of course, & you had a twin, & you're from Belgaum & please give my regards to you parents. Then, tongue in cheek, he asks me if I want to know anything else. Some people have all the luck in the retentive memory powers department. The lawns are looking just as green & there is now a gnat fighter out on the lawns. The remnants of the old soap box are there. Apparently Homi Captain's free speech & Pisk's (Kailasam) subsequent outburst, both in our final year, were the last episodes on that hallowed platform. The whole concept of free speech on the soapbox then died in school, unfortunately never to be resuscitated over these 25 years. Previously we had visited my Aravilli dorms. I saw a little notice requesting no visitors. I selectively interpreted that as pertaining to parents. It ain't right to prevent us OLs from visiting our past. Roamed all over the senior school again & then, bought some goodies from the memorabilia stall just outside the Nilgiri house. The prices are a bit over the top , but what the hell, hopefully it will all go back into the school treasury. After that we take a walk to the hospital & meet the nurse who is Selvapakium's wife. He is the only one from our time I did not finally meet. Then back to school to attend what left of the prize distribution. Again I notice there is no orchestra. What's happening. In our days, in addition to trooping the colours & beating the retreat, we played for the PT, the school play & the prize distribution. The prize distribution is in large-hall unlike our time when it was in the gym. In the pit before the stage, where the orchestra sat, now was an enclosed area for the prize recipients. There are loads of prizes. Much more than were present in our time. I note many are named after specific donors and awarded in for specific activities. Good way to encourage excellence both in academics & in other spheres. After it's over we head back to town. Like yesterday, it takes less that 5 seconds for us to thumb a lift from an ever obliging parent. Roam around in town itself proper for the first time. Buy some stuff from King Star, pass Chellarams & browse in Higginbotham's. Later have lunch in Kurunjee's where I have a good ol huge south Indian paper dossa. Then back to the hotel for a nap.

Unfortunately it pours during this time & I worry that beating the retreat will be washed out. My worst fears are confirmed when I hear that some parent from our batch left for the event & then returned because it was cancelled. Inasu's recent post seemed to indicate that it had taken place. If so, looks like everyone from our batch missed it. I for one was really disappointed. For me it was always the event of the founders. OK, so Trouping the Colors was the flagship or the blue riband event, but retreat had soul. The whole thing was a wonderful package. the massed bands, the bugle fanfares, the bugle band formations, the drummers retreat & the trumpet solo. I remember Rodney played the solo in our final year & if I'm not mistaken it was either "Danny Boy" or "distant drums", the other being played the year earlier. In fact a year earlier to our final year there was a fairly gifted saxophonist so there was an additional sax solo. The retreat always ended of with the wonderful trio of "abide with me", the buglers call to "beat the retreat" & finally day the rendition of "day is done". Real magic & I was really upset at missing the event.

Anyway life has to go on, & our batch met yet again with the band, free flow of drinks for one last time in our hotel. Everyone is aware that this is the last meet for quite some time & are out to have a real good time. Proceedings start slowly but pick up rapidly as more & more crowd the dance floor. This band is rally good & keeps the crowd moving non stop. We take a break for some tambola. Saaz is the "master of ceremonies" or should I say "maam of ceremonies". She conduct the whole proceeding in a marked malloo accent. May not be the most politically correct thing but she really has the whole hall in splits of laughter. She also achieves something which had eluded me in my previous 40 odd years. I actually get a prize in tambola. It's a lowly "middle row" but it better than anything I have won previously. I actually also theoretically win the final full house, but two kids win on the same number as me, & since they claim their prize with more alacrity than my aging body can do, they walk away with the prize. The batch, yet again formally thank Ramu, Apurva & Frank for all they have done and give a gift as a small token of our appreciation for the stupendous efforts put in. The band is on again & folks from the batch of 77 are crowding over the mike to display their vocal talents. Again these vocal proceedings were kicked of by Regy & then further conducted by Arvind. Some young kid called PJ, don't know if he's a student or a recent PL, joins in and he's pretty good. Showing the batch of 77 how it's to be done. A competition ensues as to whether any of us can match him & it’s a moot point who actually wins. All the batch of 77 were clear that we were the best but more neutral observers felt that it was a no contest with the young PJ being vastly more capable of holding a tune than any 77er. Whenever the singing form these 77ers threatened to turn into cacophony, Rachel would take over the mike & rescue us with a soulful rendition some song or the other. She also did a bit of a mime on some of our batch & was good enough that it took less than a few seconds for us to identify her chosen victim. Frank D'Souza made it a personal mission to ensure that every female in the room was on the floor & Lou Bega, of "A little bit of Monica" fame, could have learned a trick or two from our Frank. With alcohol flowing I noted that some folk were going a little over the top. Did I see some old flames rekindle. Too much alcohol may not be a good thing, & I hear that some was offered to a minor. Arrgh! These are the kinds of things we can do without. But overall, the mood was of disinhibited fun. No OL seem to have any desire for the night to end. The bad tries to stop playing at about 1 AM but are promptly sent back on stage. Arvind tries to be a stand up comic, but it a'nt no good & we tell him that he needs to keep his daytime job. Should he try to earn a living with his comedian skills, his lovely wife Chet & beautiful daughter Pratika may find themselves starving.The non OL spouses are slowly wilting and are leaving one by one, but the batch of 77 stays on. At 3 AM the band makes a more determined effort to wind thing down. They are cajoled into playing more after a small dinner & drink break. During that break, Zerasp gets on the drums & Prio on the guitar. I join them on the keyboards with the clear understanding that I can only play 2 chords, C & G. Anything more than that & they are on their own. More than one OL joins on vocals but the result is a sad indication of our lack of talent. Luckily the band comes back, & keeps going. Repeated request by them to wind thing down are rejected. The guitar guy & thon of the keyboard guys finally pack up leaving the drummer & the band leader on their own. The band leader is real good. He plays keyboard, guitar & sings. I complement him & he informs me that he a relate to Ma Enos. His name is Ivan & I strongly recommend him for future get-togethers buy other OL batches. He's ready to throw in the towel by 4 AM. And so, to the strains of "those were the days" & blowing in the wind" comes to an end three of the most wonderful days I have had in a long long time.

farhad kapadia

1971-77

Jamuna-Himalaya-Aravalli-Nilgiri