Ashok "Chicky" Ranganathan (33-T '51) passed away peacefully on Tuesday, December 19th, 2006 in New Delhi. He will be deeply missed by family and friends. A memorial service will be held on 30th December 2006 between 3.45 and 5.00 p.m. at the first floor, Chinmaya Mission Auditorium at 85 Lodhi Road for all those who knew and loved him.

Posted at 05:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The first Eagle Challenge Golf Trophy is scheduled to be played in February/March, 2007, at Gurgaon/Delhi. Jaipur House, winners of the 2006 Inter-House Golf Tournament, shall take on all comers, regardless of House or School in a “BEST BALL” format. The Tournament shall be followed by a Grand Ball & Prize Distribution Dinner at an appropriate venue. Don't miss this tournament if you are going to be in Delhi.

In order that we make this Fund-raising initiative a grand success, we are looking to you to Lead/Part sponsor the event as follows:-

1. EVENT SPONSOR : Logo shall be carried on all Players’ shirts
Rs. 5 Lacs Logo shall be carried on all publicity material,
Invitations, On-Course Banners, Tee-Boxes,
Backdrop at briefing & Dinner.

2. CO-SPONSORS : These have been grouped as follows
Rs. 2 Lacs each a) MEDIA PARTNERS
b) HOSPITALITY PARTNERS
c) TRAVEL PARTNERS
d) BEVERAGE PARTNERS
E) WELL-WISHERS
Each of the above categories shall be entitled to carrying of their logo on all publicity material, Invitations, On-Course Banners & on back-drop at briefing & Dinner.

The Jaipur House Fund-Raising Initiative


1st EAGLE CHALLENGE GOLF TROPHY
JAIPUR vs. REST OF WORLD
FEB/MARCH, 2007

In addition, we shall be printing a special “Golf for Goofs” Handbook, to mark this event, which shall be distributed to all participants, and also shall be available for sale to all Doscos.

We appeal to all of you to support this by way of providing advertisements in the publication as follows :-

1. Full Page : Rs. 1 Lac
2. Half Page : Rs. 50,000
3. Quarter Page: Rs. 25,000
4. Strip Ads : Rs. 10,000 per page

Suggestions to make this event memorable and also successful may be addressed to :-

Ranjan Bhalla : ranjan@matrixgurgaon.com (98-112-71428)
Vivek Seth : vs@cultureclothingindia.com (98-110-63031)

Posted at 09:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jaipur House, along with other buildings in the school, was inspected by the Central Building Research Institute for safety in 2003. The building had been getting lodged and there were cracks in the walls and the floors. The CBRI suggested extensive repairs. When work commenced it was found that the damage to the first floor was more severe than appeared on the surface.

It was therefore decided that the floor be replaced. The roof had also sagged in certain areas and it was not desirable to replace only a part of the roof if a 50-year perspective was taken. As a result it was prudent to retrofit the entire boarding house approx 3600 sq mtrs (38,500 sq ft)- all the credit that we will now get for the structure are the foundations and the wall.

Sikandar Villa, (the housemaster's bungalow), being a heritage building, was also found to be in need of extensive repair. This 700 sq mt. (7,500 sq ft) house is probably a 120 year old and is among the buildings declared as heritage structure on the estate.
The policy is to preserve and retain the original design and facade and restore the elevations of these buildings to their original shape.

Work on both has commenced and expected to be completed well in time for the autumn 2007 term i.e. end June 2007 (the autumn term from next year will start from July 15th owing to the adjustments required to accommodate IB).

The new plans entail:

- A complete refit, reworking and rationalization of the interiors of both buildings without significant change to the elevations.

- Some area is to added to the first floor of the boarding house as accommodation for the dame and a single master.

- The planning of the floors is to changed to bring it into line with international requirements for boarding houses. No more than 8 boys will occupy the larger rooms.

- The windows of the rooms will be enlarged to allow more natural light.

- Senior boys will have rooms with two beds and two toyes, and will be bunched together.

- Larger toyes will be brighter and modern.

- The bathrooms will be brought up to international specifications.

- A Laundromat is being provided.

- The entire area of the old dining hall is being given over to the common room. This will now open on both sides and have access to the eastern and western garden.

- Provision for a basketball net and a badminton court is being made.

- A stage is a bonus addition and we hope that it will be of use in house entertainments.

In this era of energy conservation and "green" buildings we hope to achieve as much thermal comfort as is possible through treatment of the walls and roofs. New buildings are being designed to achieve a range of 16 C - 27 C and we hope get as near this as possible in Jaipur House

The cost of refurbishment/rebuilding of the Jaipur House Building Complex, both the boarding house and Housemasters’ residences (Sikandar Villa) - a total of about 4300 sq mts (approx 46,000 sq ft)- is estimated at approximately Rs 4.90 crores (Rs 3.83 crores for the boarding house and Rs 1.07 crores for the Housemasters’ residences).

It needs to be remembered that the repair of old buildings is a very specialized job - and that these don't conform to present-day norms. The height of Sikandar Villa, for example, is in places over 7 mtrs, which equals that of a double storey building today. The volume of these houses is three times as great as contemporary homes. Moreover, standards of construction being followed are stringent and of high ratings.

Lastly, the open areas are to be landscaped and we should have very pleasant gardens on all sides.

It should, as it always has been, the most modern and comfortable house in the school when it is ready for occupation by July 1, 2007

Posted at 09:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Raghav Nayar (443-TB '93) got married on March 1st, 2006 to Pallavi Chopra. He is based in delhi and is working as an operations manager with Wipro. He can be reached at ravnayar@yahoo.com.au.

Posted at 09:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

M.Ct.P. Chidambaram (135-HA '76) has been appointed as the Honorary Consul of Finland in Chennai.

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Nikhil Bhandare (634 JA-'95) married Behnaz Khusrokhan in Mumbai on December 14th, 2006. The couple are based in New York. Nikhil just completed his MBA from the Wharton School and is working with Booz Allen Hamilton. He can be reached at nikhil.bhandare@gmail.com

Posted at 09:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On December 17th, 2006 The Times of India published a story about a 16 year old "Doon student" who got into a car accident while driving on the Delhi-Noida highway. A subsequent news item appeared next day in the same daily stating that the boy was under arrest and The Doon School was mentioned again.

Moin Quershi has informed us that the student was not from The Doon School but from the Doon International School on Survey Road in Dehra Dun.

Posted at 06:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ashoka "Chicky" Ranganathan (33-T '51) passed away on December 18th, 2006 while in Delhi. The community extends its condolences to his family and friends.

Posted at 06:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rahul Chaudhuri (309-OB '98) has joined Virgin Radio - Fever 104 fm as Senior Manager - Advertising & Sponsorship Sales. He can be contacted at rahulc309@gmail.com

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It was the last polo match of the Delhi season with a face off between teams sponsored by the well-known Doon school and Welham girls. Though the Welham team had top polo champs Angad and Uday Kalan they still lost to the Doon team led by Dosco Sanjay Kapur as reported by NDTV. Though Kapur's wife Karisma Kapoor gave it a miss polo lovers were out in large numbers. Please note, this was not a DSOBS official event.

It was the clash of the titans the age-old rivalry between Welhams and Doon school which was displayed on the field.

Delhi's polo lovers enjoyed a tooth and nail match and the cup went to the Sanjay Kapur led Doon team.

Welhamites left no stone unturned to keep their team's morale up.

"As long as the spirit is alive, we will fight. We don't mind losing and all as long as we have a good time. The competition never stops," said Mandira Koirala, an ex-Welhamite.

"I'm a die hard fan of polo," said Ramneek Paintal, a model.

"Difficult for me to say. I'm not a Welhamite, I'm not a Dosco but I'm here today with all the Welhamites. I think they both played very well. But Doon of course had an edge, they always have an edge," said Poonam Bhagat, a Polo lover.

The page 3 quotient seemed to be missing from this last match but polo fans seem to be multiplying 10 fold.

By Mansi Mehta Sudhir

Posted at 01:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Harinder Singh Hassanwalia (339-H '65) retired last year as the Deputy Chief Economist of the Royal Bank of Canada after 23 years with them. He can be reached at 905 847-7251 in Toronto, Canada.

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The Old Boys fielded a strong combination with as many as six former school cricket captains - Arun Khanna, Nalin Khanna, Shashi Vaish, Pratyush Vaishnav, Amitoj Singh, Hemant Bishnoi in their ranks. They would have been joined by 2 more captains - Donny Singh and Samarjit Gaekwad but for the Class of '81 dinner on Saturday night. View all the photographs at Flickr.

The Old Boys fielded a strong combination with as many as six former school cricket captains - Arun Khanna, Nalin Khanna, Shashi Vaish, Pratyush Vaishnav, Amitoj Singh, Hemant Bishnoi in their ranks. They would have been joined by 2 more captains - Donny Singh and Samarjit Gaekwad but for the Class of '81 dinner on Saturday night. Preparations for the Old Boys XI started with Shantanu (Class of '94) sending his selection request from the U.S a month prior to the event. The Old Boys Bench strength included 'Pepe' Dugal (Class of 80) who drove up from Delhi wearing his cricket clothes in the morning of the game but got piped to the post by his cousin Jaspreet 'Hardout' Singh (Class of 1976). Sandeep Chandra (Class of 1979) was kind enough to accept the role of the 'official' photographer for the DSOBS XI. The match was played at 25 overs a side and the School Cricket captain Avyay Jhunjhunwala won the toss and chose to bat first.

The Old Boys seemed seriously handicapped in the fast bowling department but Amitoj stepped in and bowled a hostile and accurate spell from the skinners end beating the bat aplenty and generating fiery pace off the wicket. He was supported from the CDH end by Jatin Chhabra, at military medium, bowling a spate of wides, but still denying the rather watchful batsmen Ajmani and Samridh the freedom of strokeplay. Brilliant wicket keeping by Shashi Vaish made the Old Boys bowling look even better. The batsmen gradually opened out and played some good drives taking the score to 67 in the 11th over when Ajmani, who played a decent knock, was adjudged Lbw to the old fox- Indu Sekhar (Class of 1974). Kinshuk Kocchar joined Samridh who seemed a bit rusty, and accelerated the scoring rate-playing aggressively off both feet. With Pratyush tying up one end Nalin rotated the bowlers from the other end with Deep Singh & Hemant Bishnoi rolling their arms. The score moved to 75 when Samridh tried to lift Nalin over extra-cover and failed to clear Arun Khanna. Kinshuk was joined by Avyay but was beautifully caught by Uday Bawa and Jhunjhun too was soon caught and bowled by Pratyush who was too much to handle for the school batsmen. He also consumed Abhimanyu Raj, S. Sharma and Dilsher Khanna cheaply. Amidst the ruins Baheti, partnered by Shubhum managed to take the score to 124 when the overs ran out! The last over bowled by Deepak Kaul (Class of 1982) went for only 4 runs. Perhaps Deepak will get his next posting to the Caribbean Islands fairly soon.

Amitoj and Hemant, opened for the old Boys to the bowling of Gurshant and Abhimanyu. Hemant played only one great shot over backward of point before sky-ing Sharma for Samridh to complete formalities. Johnny weathered some hostility from Abhimanyu, and though obviously out of touch , played an exquisite straight drive, followed by a series of attacking strokes and brisk running between wickets in the company of Arun Khanna. Anirudh Kapoor came on from the skinners end and Johnny lifted him through mid-wicket but perished when he repeated the shot to be taken quite brilliantly by Samridh at full stretch and at the second attempt. It was 69 for two as Nalin joined his cousin, who, after an uncertain start was now in full flow and took complete charge of the bowling. Rituraj was brought on from the CDH end but soon gave way to Baheti. Arun Khanna was as always clinically ruthless in his treatment of the loose ball of which the school bowlers dished out far too many. With only a small total to defend the task proved beyond their limited powers and with Nalin joining the fun the Old Boys reached the target in the 20th over to win by eight wickets. Anoop Bishnoi was left stranded in the Pavilion with his pads on.

The school lost to the Old Boys after a winning sequence lasting four years. The Old Boys led by Nalin Khanna were an unusually strong side and completely outplayed the school. For the first time the match was played at 25 overs a side and was completed before lunch.

Write up by Gursharan Singh & Nalin Khanna

Posted at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Being in the hotel industry for over three decades, Ashok Khanna, managing director of IHHR Hospitality, has seen it all. But he believes there are peaks yet to be conquered, finds Sanjeev Bhar. I am greeted with an enchanting smile - a trademark of Ashok Khanna and a style perfectly in sync with his flagship brand 'Ananda'. His brainchild - Ananda in the Himalayas - voted by Condé Nast Traveller as the world's best destination spa, second year in succession - has become symbolic of Indian spas

What's surprising is that Khanna says that he had never planned to become an entrepreneur. After schooling at Doon School in Dehradun, he went on to graduate in Bachelor of Science from Cornell School of Hotel Administration, Ithaca. "Both my father and grandfather had a strong professional association with the hospitality industry and were the brand identity of the Oberoi Group. All I wanted to do was get into that industry and I started working towards that goal," he says.

The Oberoi association

During his tenure at Cornell University, Khanna worked as an executive assistant with the VP (F&B) of Sea Pines Plantation, Hilton Head, South Carolina, which introduced him to the intricacies of the department. His stint with the Oberoi Group, that lasted more than two decades, began when he came back to India in 1974. He joined the Oberoi Towers, Mumbai overseeing the operational aspects of the hotel. He was later promoted to a project manager in 1976 and was responsible for the entire project development. Over the next decade, he was in charge of several Oberoi properties as projects director. Thereafter, Khanna was made president and CEO of Indus Hotels - a subsidiary of the Oberoi Group established to promote medium range hotels in the country.

While he was sharpening his skills, Khanna was clear that he wanted to venture out alone. He avers, “I figured there is a need for health and wellness spa with rising stress levels of professional life. Moreover, tourism was getting liberalised and more flights were landing into India."

Setting up IHHR Hospitality was a tough call, but he followed his instincts. His success can be described in one word - foresightedness. He saw a potential market for health-wellness-luxury hospitality, (better known as destination spa today) at a time when it was an unknown concept in India. With the continuous support of his father, Khanna clinched a deal with the maharaja at Narendra Nagar, Tehri-Garhwal for his future Ananda. "We renovated parts of the palace and built the rest of it. The spa was finally launched in September 2000," informs Khanna.

The human side

Khanna believes that the human resource of an organisation holds the key to its prosperity and growth, which is why he absorbs students from hotel management institutes and trains them to suit the group's requirements. "We have also set up an institute especially for spa training in Hyderabad," he reveals. As an entrepreneur, Khanna is constantly learning. He recalls, "You have to learn how to fly once you have jumped off the cliff. The first two years of Ananda were scary," avers Khanna. Today, the group is planning spa resorts in cities as well. On the personal front, Khanna enjoys travelling but is averse to business trips. "I detest the long wait at airports and hovering above airports in planes waiting for permission to land," he quips. Presently Khanna is enjoying every bit of his success and the challenges that come his way. But he is in no mood to take it easy. He concludes, "I want to see the company grow internationally."

From the Indian Express

Posted at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

He's full of energy, despite a late night fashion show triumph. And he's got mega plans up his sleeve. He finds Bangalore a charming mix of the trendy and the traditional — the couture set rubbing shoulders with the saree-clad. He loves Bangalore but hates the traffic. He mulls the conundrum of the big-earning, low-spending techie.

He's on the Blood Group diet, so breakfast is an unusual mix of idlis and sambar finished off with smoked salmon and green tea, which he thoroughly enjoys. Tarun Tahiliani, the MBA in finance from Wharton Business school and a self-confessed 'moophat', can write a book of anecdotes on his famous friends and clients. But he won't — not yet!

I've heard so much about Bangalore's rich IT sector
But I realise they don't dress up. Like Steve Jobs — jeans and sneaker clad! But I admire them. India's industrialists dream on a mega scale. Many know about having fun, but also the discipline to return to what they must do. Recently, I was at Nita Ambani's birthday party, which was also Shah Rukh's birthday. She had a blast, but was so focused — she was up and off at 6.30 the next morning to Hyderabad for her retail store opening.

Nobody serious has time for freebie lunches and parties. They're either playing golf or on flights. Fashion shows are attended more by the socially 'relevant' Page 3 types than serious buyers — and they're not who you think they are!

I went to Wharton because of my family
I was so upset when I got in! I didn't understand finance. Now, at 44, I understand. I married my college mate, Sal, and came back to India where I earned Rs 4,000! We had no money. My family cook loaned us Rs 20,000 which we used for kharcha! So Sal started modelling. Two things happened. First, Pierre Cardin, in his prime, brought a couture show to India. Sal was asked to model and I snuck in to watch.

It was an epiphany... the show blew my mind! The second: Rohit Khosla was styling a fashion shoot and was desperate for a model. Sal got a panic call and went off to Jaipur. I tagged along — on my cook's money! — and met Rohit. He'd studied in Doon School with me, though our only interaction then was when he'd once stopped me and said, "Shorty, I hear you draw dames too!" We never spoke again — he was senior and I was 'Shorty', remember! Fast forward 12 years — and the idea of a high-fashion store was born at that shoot. My career started thanks to Rohit.

There was no place to buy fashion in India till then
No wonder everyone still wore polyester! It was all frenzied shopping at exhibitioncum-sales. But shopping isn't just about buying clothes — it's the experience. Beautiful things were available abroad but not here. (I bought my first branded jeans from a hippy in Goa, which was boiled before I was permitted to wear it.) I could sense the change coming — something was happening in fashion. I convinced my family to buy the machine tool shed at the Naval Dockyard to set up my store. That was the beginning.

At first, we were kids running helter skelter
Rohit was a great mentor. He had this incredible ability to share. It was learning in fast forward. I decided to study fashion, went to New York's FIT for a year with a wife, two kids and a maid in tow. My love was for draping. India was all about drapes — saris, pugris — what's a sari but just five and a half metres of cloth wrapped differently? No amount of love was too much to put into fashion.

I love Delhi
I moved there and I far prefer it to Mumbai. You're surrounded by history, there's the Purana Qila, the concerts. I'm tired of seeing blond girls with blue contact lenses. I feel strongly that sometimes we've lost the nuance of being Indian. Our society's become split. Earlier, good education was a ticket out of India. Today, I'm glad my son who's studying at Wharton wants to come back.

I don't do Bollywood
It's all packaging and razzmatazz. I have clients from there, but no movies. Movies need stylists, and there's a difference between designers and stylists. They just put 'looks' together — a bag here, a skirt there. Armani did The Untouchables and American Gigolo. That's fine. But you don't go to Armani for Moulin Rouge! Yes, Bollywood's powerful. But among my A-list clientele no one gives a damn what Rani or Preity are wearing in films.

It's great fun being in fashion, but it's a bitch of a life
Yes, there are wannabes, but that's everywhere. The tragedy of media is everyone's playing to the galleries today. Ritu Kumar is the biggest selling designer in India, but people who don't understand design have panned her. They also get scornful about saris. But what's the point in spoofy, bubble-frocks? I don't see those worn at the best parties.

I'm not looking for publicity
My serious investors are not interested if I'm on Page 3. My wife Sal's a big influence, she has zero tolerance for all that. Nor do I go for others' shows. Fashion Week has 30 designers at each others' shows. Where do you see that abroad? I wake up early, work out with my trainer — I must be healthy if I'm planning big. I play to win the game — that's my high now.

Posted at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anil Mukerjee (62-JA '79) was awarded the prestigious Fulbright-Hayes scholarship. He currently resides in Salvador De Bahia, Brazil researching a specific period of Portuguese colonial history for his doctoral dissertation at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He can be contacted at anil_mukerjee@yahoo.com

Posted at 09:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pranav Chanchani (62-KA '00) is currently pursuing a MSc at the Wildlife Institute of India, and will soon undertake 6 month dissertation study on the Tibetan plateau (in the Sikkim Trans-Himalaya). He intends to study ecological interactions and aspects of resource partitioning between domestic and endangered wild ungulates on the plateau over the winter months. He can be reached pranav.chanchani@gmail.com.

Posted at 09:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Amortya Sinha (362-OB '99) has joined REIT Asset Management's India office in Mumbai after having spent the last three years in management consulting with The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). REIT is a UK based private equity firm focussed on the global real estate marketplace. He can be reached at amortya@gmail.com

Posted at 09:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Arjun Jolly (275-TB '91) recently got married to Priyanka Nayar. The couple are based in the Hague, The Netherlands and can be reached at arjunjolly@mac.com.

Posted at 08:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gaurav Bhatia (286-HB '91) is currently Vice President- Business Development with Capital One (Financial Services) in Dallas,TX, USA. He can be reached at bhatia_gaurav@yahoo.com.

Posted at 07:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rahul Goyal (210-OB '03) is doing a six month internship at Paramount Computer Systems,Dubai; a regional leader in information security. He can be contacted at rahul_210@rediffmail.com.

Posted at 07:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tarun Garg (406-JA '99) isursuing a one year MBA in Boston, USA. He can be reached at tgarg2007@hult.edu

Posted at 07:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The 5th Gibson Goodwill Golf Tournament was played on Sunday, 10th December, 2006, at the Golden Greens Golf & Country Club, Gurgaon. This tournament has now become a much anticipated event on the golfing calendar of both, Doon & Mayo alumni, and is played in the true spirit of “Goodwill & Friendship”, yet remains very competitive. Twenty Seven teams each from Doon & Mayo participated on a cool & crisp morning.

The tournament was played in a match-play format at _ of handicap. Shot-gun tee-off at 11.45 and leading the Dosco contingent was the sprightly Col. A.K. Khanna (99H, 1944). Several Mayo players who have played against him in previous editions, complimented Col. Khanna’s zest, as also his considerable skills around the Greens. Chitranjan Bakshi (24J, 1966) waged a brave solo battle as his playing partner did not arrive due to a mis-communication.

Several bottles of beer and a few sandwiches later, the first of the 4 Balls started returning to the Club house around 4 P.M. – some with ear to ear grins and a few with glum faces and tragic stories of those “just missed putts”. By 5 p.m., all teams had submitted their cards and were settling in for a well-earned round of Beer, Kebabs & more.

The revelry continued thereafter at Ranjit Nanda’s (377Ta, 1974) lovely farm-house, adjoining the Golf Course. Several of us lounged around a crackling log-fire, putting away several more bottles of beer and enjoying the farm fresh salads and food that Ranjit had so efficiently arranged in the short notice period we had given him. The icing on the cake was Jasmeet Singh’s putting performance on the extremely tricky (& dimly lit) practice greens that Ranjit has in his garden. He sank two “hole-in-one” in quick succession in response to a (mistaken?) challenge by Ranjit.

The Prize Distribution Dinner was scheduled at 8 P.M. on 11th December, at the Hotel ITC Welcomgroup, Saket. Traffic-jams in the city due to the wedding rush, ensured that the hall was slow to fill up. It was only at around 9.45 P.M. that most people were able to make it. Many non-golfers attended the dinner and it was a pleasure to see Mr. Sheel Vohra fully recovered after his knee operation. Col. H.S. Kapur (48H, 1939) outranked Col. Khanna as the senior-most Dosco present, and it was wonderful to be able to interact with him & his charming wife about his experiences in School and the several skiing expeditions he went on with Jack Gibson. Col. Kapur had brought with him, a letter written to him by Jack Gibson in 1988, which he was kind enough to allow us to read out to the assembled guests. A big thank you to Col. & Mrs. Kapur for bringing to life the figure who is remembered by both Doon & Mayo alumni as a larger than life personality, and who was considered the most appropriate person to name this Goodwill Cup after.

On to the main course for the day – all present unanimously applauded the hard-work, skills & organizational abilities of Jasmeet Singh “Jassie” (Mayo), who has over the years done a wonderful job in institutionalizing this event, and ensuring an efficiently run tournament. In order that Jassie continue to organize many future events as efficiently as he has the previous five, the “Dabur Chavanprash Basket of Good Health” prize was jointly handed over by the President of the DSOBS, Gautam Chadha (389H, 1971) on behalf of both fraternities. The contents of this basket would be inappropriate to disclose in this open forum – I can only say that they were adequate to keep his vim, vigour & vitality flowing.

In keeping with convention, the match-by-match results were read out; cheers & applause from both sides alternated with each result. At the end, and after many close matches, Team Doon emerged victorious 15-12 ( 12 Matches won, 6 Matches All-Square). It was appropriate that Col. A.K. Khanna, who had handed over the trophy to Team Mayo last year, received it back this year on behalf of Team Doon.

As part of our responsibility towards social causes, two cheques of Rs. 1 Lac each (one on behalf of each Old Boys’ Association) were handed over to the Salaam Baalak Trust, an NGO which does very good work with street & runaway children in and around the New Delhi Railway Station.

A bit of history now: Five editions of the Gibson Goodwill Cup have been played so far. The first edition in 2002 was a dead-tie, and surprisingly enough, was followed by yet another tie in 2003. Team Doon broke this sequence by winning 2004, which was quickly avenged by Mayo in 2005. The score today therefore stands at 2-1 in favor of Doon. Good going DOSCO’s.

A big, big thank you is due to SRF Ltd., for lead sponsoring this event again. Both Ashish & Kartikeya Bharat Ram have been extremely supportive over the years and we look forward to the same in future events also.

Also to Kapil Bhalla & Arun Murugappan for so efficiently managing the complex task of informing participants, sending emails, drawing up lists, and co-ordinating the many small things that make for a successful tournament.

Last but not least, a huge cheer for Team Mayo for being gracious in victory last year, and gentlemanly in a reversed result this year.

Do I see “GIBBY” smiling down on this “Spirit of Goodwill”??

View a letter(PDF 1.3mb) from Jack Gibson.
Contributed by Ranjan Bhalla

Posted at 01:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gaurav Kishore Bahri (258-OB '98) is currently pursuing his MBA from Said Business School, University of Oxford. He can be reached at gaurav.bahri@sbs.ox.ac.uk or gaurav.k.bahri@gmail.com

Posted at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Did you know that Jaipur Hosue boys have ben moved the holding houses as the main house has been declared unsafe? What's worse is that there's an urgent need for funds to restore J House. As we learn more about this, we'll share the information here. Please get in touch if you know more about the issue.

Posted at 01:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Madhav Dhar (259-TB '98) and the artists from his independent production company called Audio Embassy are doing the opening act for the Sean Paul Trinity World Tour Concert in Dubai on Friday, December 15th, 2006. Doscos in Dubai are invited to attend.

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Alcan and the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) announced that the winner of the 2006 US$1 million Alcan Prize for Sustainability is India’s Barefoot College. The Barefoot College was founded and is managed by Bunker Roy (125-J '62) . The Alcan Prize annually recognizes NGOs, not-for-profit, and civil society organizations working to build sustainable societies around the world.

"We are very pleased to congratulate the Barefoot College as the winner of the third annual Alcan Prize for Sustainability,” said Daniel Gagnier, Senior Vice President, Corporate and External Affairs, Alcan Inc. “The Barefoot College makes a valuable contribution to India’s rural and impoverished citizens by providing them with necessary and practical skills to improve their communities,” he added.

Since 1972, Barefoot College has improved the lives of India’s poorest people by emphasizing practical knowledge and skills over paper qualifications through a learning-by-doing process of education. Barefoot addresses the issues of drinking water, female education, health and sanitation, rural unemployment, income generation, electricity and power, as well as social awareness and the conservation of ecological systems in rural communities.

“The Alcan Prize is a validation of Barefoot’s community-based model of development. The strength of our organization is a testament to the will power and hard work of our students. Their abilities are a constant source of inspiration,” said Bunker Roy, Barefoot College Executive Director.

Located in Tilonia in India’s northwest Rajasthan state, the Barefoot College was selected from a field of almost 200 entries from 55 countries around the world by an international adjudication panel of distinguished experts on sustainability.

“The Barefoot College has created an inspirational ripple effect in rural India and communities in other countries through its innovative work in demonstrating how empowerment, grass roots technology and education enables people to promote sustainable communities and better control their destinies,” said Robert Davies, IBLF Chief Executive Officer.

“The Barefoot College is a remarkable organization that impressed and inspired us with their sustainable impact on environmental, economic, social and cultural issues. They have effected great change through strong leadership and partnerships, which coupled with their grassroots approach serves to empower the poorest of the poor,” added David Runnalls, Chairman of the adjudication panel and President and CEO of International Institute for Sustainable Development.

In addition to the Alcan Prize, the Adjudication Panel also awards US$15,000 Alcan Grants to enable finalist organizations to build capacity in cross-sector partnerships through a program coordinated by Cambridge University in the U.K. The 2006 Alcan Grant winners are:

Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevoelkerung (DSW), Germany
Fundación del Empresariado Chihuahuense, Mexico
Instituto Terra, Brazil
Naandi Foundation, India
Sustainable Energy Africa, South Africa.

Previous winners of the Alcan Prize include the Forest Stewardship Council (2004) and the Aga Khan Planning and Building Services Pakistan (2005).

Posted at 06:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gautam Chadha the new President of the DSOBS will be visiting Singapore this weekend. He is keen to meet up with the OBs here for a quick drink. It has been a while since the Singapore OBs met so everyone is encouraged to attend this event on Monday, December 3rd. Get in touch with Himmat for more information at +6590174177.

Posted at 06:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)