Kunal Sharma (473-JB '93) took some interesting photographs of Chandbagh on a recent visit to the school. Included are photographs of the new buildings and of Jaipur House which is currently under reconstruction. You can view the photographs on The Dosco Network among the photo albums. He also published photographs of a recent Batch of 1993 get-together which are also viewable online in the network too. Join The Network today!

Posted at 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At the memorial service held on Tuesday the 29th May 2007 at 5.15 pm at the Cathedral of the Redemption, Church Road (near Gurudwara Rakabganj) North Avenue, New Delhi, in memory of Lt Col Eric Simeon, Headmaster, The Doon School 1971 – 1979, his son Mr. Dilip Simeon expressed a desire to compile various anecdotes relating to his father. Any student who had the privilege of being with him in School and has some interesting anecdote to relate is requested to write it and send the same to Dilip for compilation. Dilip's email ID is dilipsimeon@gmail.com

Posted at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A memorial service for Lt Col Eric Simeon will be held on Tuesday the 29th May at 5.15 pm at the following venue: Cathedral of the Redemption, Church Road (near Gurudwara Rakabganj) North Avenue, New Delhi.

Important: Constraints of time at the venue make it necessary for us to start on time. Please do your best to be seated by 5 pm or soon after.

Posted at 11:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Airtel Scholar Hunt Destination UK - a brand new series on NDTV - is turing out to be a big draw amongst the students.

The competition will award scholarships worth Rs 40 lakh to five lucky students from across the country to pursue further studies in the subject of their choice in some of the leading universities in England. This story originally appeared on the NDTV website.

Ayushman Jamwal is an aspirant from Delhi. He likes to read, write poetry and play basketball. He also dreams of changing the world and that is why the Doon School student entered the Airtel Scholar Hunt Destination UK Contest.

''The competition is great because the best from all over the country will compete. I'm very excited about it. I can't explain how I'll feel if I win,'' said Ayushman Jamwal, Contestant, Airtel Scholar Hunt Destination UK.

His parents too have great hope in their son who studied at the Doon School in Dehradun.

''This programme is very apt for someone like him,'' said KGS Jamwal, Ayushman's father. ''It will be a great financial help for us, because education in the UK is very expensive,'' added Poonam Jamwal, Ayushman's mother.

Close competition

Ayushman has some stiff competition in his own city. Prithvi Rohan Kapoor, who passed out of St Columbus School is a science student and wants to switch to Journalism.

To pursue his dreams he decided to enter the Airtel Scholar Hunt Destination UK.

''I want to do Journalism and Media from Cardiff. There aren't too many undergraduate journalism courses in India. It's very difficult to get scholarships to study in the UK,'' said Prithvi Rohan Kapur, Contestant.

Prithvi's parents think he is already a winner given his skills in drama, debate and writing. He is just as eager when it comes to watching movies or hanging out with friends.

''Good education is about overall personality development, not just academics but also curricular activities. I've seen him working very hard. I wish him all the best,'' said Nirupama Kapur, Prithvi's mother.

These youngsters are now looking forward to the next round of the scholarship hunt and hoping to be among the final five who take home the grand prize.

Posted at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A self-proclaimed party animal, Ajay S Shriram smiles as you hint about his share of wealth. The wealth of relationships — some acquired way back in school while others from the business fraternity.

“You may spot me promoting a friend’s painting exhibition or even promoting a social cause,” he says. Unlike many honchos of his league, the chairman and senior managing director of DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd doesn’t shy away from talking about the parties he attends. With an equally open mind he welcomes comments from his employees about how he looked at last night’s party.

Note this article appeared in The Financial Express on Sunday, May 13th, 2007.

You can discern the same pride in his voice when he talks of his friends tilling the fields miles away. The farmers who buy fertilisers and other agri goods from his Hariyali Kisan Bazaar and who await his arrival with complaints and demands.

Among many memorable moments is one close to his heart —how as a child he dined with a union worker at his quarters even as the company faced a labour hassle. “The principle of my life is to keep the conversation alive, with anyone, anywhere and on anything. It may not be very relevant, but the openness helps a lot,” says the man, much revered for his sharp business sense.

It is the gift of gab and respect for each relationship that helps strangers instantly connect to Shriram. Heading a company with a turnover of Rs 2,500 crore and with interests spanning agriculture, chemicals, textiles and retail, Shriram looks more than contended. And his busy portfolio keeps him on his toes.

He enjoys every waking moment — be it pumping iron at the treadmill, doing pranayam, analysing industry researches, dining out with his family, or catching up with Yes Minister later in the evening.

“Delhi has good eating joints and great people to make friends with. So, why not plan an evening better than last,” says Shriram, who has even chalked out his schedule post retirement.

“Photography is a hobby I’d like to give my heart and soul to once I call it a day at office. In fact I want to enroll in a course in London to refine my photography skills,” he says. Shriram has recently donated his collection of videotapes on wildlife to his alma mater— Doon School. His love for nature provides him another excuse to globetrot, as he takes in various wildlife sanctuaries across the world. And if that was not enough, the man also enjoys a good round of golf and is quite addicted to solving crosswords.

One can’t help but ask how he manages to find time for so many interests? “I guess I am able to manage all these because I respect the people around me and give them the personal space to experiment and perform. I leave most of the strategising to my younger brother Vikram. That gives me the time to introspect. This not only helps us work in harmony, but also get the best out of each other. The principle applies to the family too. Every relationship is an effort. One needs to put in that extra bit. Fortunately the Indian values help us achieve half of the task. Today, my kids speak to their uncles and aunts more than their parents,” he says.

Shriram has tried his hand at everything that could improve him as a person. He hopes that his children too will inherit this attitude. “I was inspired by my father who after pursuing his penchant for years is today an expert in bonsai art. Attending to the plants gives him immense satisfaction. It shows that even small things pay huge dividends,” he says.

By Jyoti Verma for The Financial Express

Posted at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

India-born corporate executive Dynshaw Italia, finance director with Cobra Beer, has won the Young Finance Director of the Year award conferred by a leading business lobby, the Confederation of British Industry.

The award was conferred during the third excellence awards function co-hosted by the Real FD trade magazine at the Dorchester hotel here to celebrate outstanding performance of Britain's finance directors across all sectors of businesses.

"To be running a fast-growth business at his age is an excellent achievement," read the citation on 36-year-old Italia. "Reorganising the business in such a way to drive its growth shows a mature and clever approach to the job."

Trained as a chartered accountant, Italia is also the chief operating officer at Cobra Beer, which was founded by the Hyderabad-born Karan Bilimoria, who sits on Britain's House of Lords.

"Innovation does not stop at sales and marketing but also applies to finance. I am fortunate to be working with a brand that continues to go from strength to strength and the sky seems to be the only limit for us," Italia said.

A product of the Doon School in Dehradun, Italia pursued a foundation course in accountancy from the Guildhall University in London with distinction, after securing a bachelor's degree in commerce from Osmania University in Hyderabad.

He became a chartered accountant in 1996 and joined Cobra Beer in November 2001 after working for KPMG and eBrokers Plc previously.

Posted at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Vasant Valley's principal Arun Kapur shows that cooking comes as easily to him as teaching.

Vasant Valley may be one of Delhi’s premier schools, but after having demolished a fabulous meal cooked by principal Arun Kapur last week for the benefit of this column, it will forever be associated in my mind with good food and good times. Note, Arun Kapur taught at The Doon School prior to joining Vasant Valley.

That’s also the image Kapur conjures up when he talks of staff meetings (over pot-luck lunches), birthday parties (with “four-five people volunteering to cook for all the staff”) and tea breaks with school maalis (“I get their perspective”), where cooking tips are swapped: slice a raw mango, rub masala on it and dry; crumble one in the dal for an immediate explosion of flavours.

“What would you like to eat?” asks Kapur as we gingerly peep into his kitchen. There’s a shelf full of cookbooks and we flip through a Roald Dahl (yes, a cookbook), then a series called the Modern Library Food, highly-recommended, then Ismail Merchant’s Indian Cuisine. Rogan Josh is decided upon; the vegetarians settle for stuffed tindas, onions and tomatoes. Olive oil is sizzling along nicely in a very hot wok (leading Kapur’s 80-year-old mom to fret about what might be burning), the garlic’s evenly browning, delicious aromas permeate the space and there’s red wine and conversation. “I am particular about the sequence of ingredients in a dish,” Kapur remarks. For instance, it would have been possible to start this dish with whole spices instead.

Back in the late ’70s, Doon School kids would have been happy with this master: Kapur had tiny quarters in the middle of a dorm with a kitchenette attached where he’d turn out anda-toast for hungry boys. As he moved to bigger accommodation, first at Doon, then London and Delhi, the dishes got more complex: fish, smoked using a Dalda tin, trout, exotic salads, even chicken liver, part of a larger meal, spread out for “former girlfriends” on a foil-covered table, everything except kishmish in rice that his grandfather had force-fed him.

Like most of us, Kapur cooks from memory — dishes his mother would do, aloo chokha his father would assemble. But he also remembers exact flavours. Revisiting St Stephen’s, he ordered the famous mince and toast. Only it didn’t quite taste the way it used to. Not because the intervening years had changed the recipe but because he had ordered buttered toast instead of the plain bread of his student days.

Richer flavours couldn’t compete with nostalgia.

FAVOURITE RECIPES
ROGAN JOSH

1 kg mutton, washed
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp onions, chopped
1 tsp each of garlic and ginger, chopped
1 1/2 tsp whole garam masala
3 tbsp tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp each of haldi, lal mirch & coriander powder
Salt to taste
3 cups of water
A dash of red wine

Saute the garlic in very hot oil till golden brown. Now add the onions, ginger, garam masala, followed by tomatoes, haldi, mirch and coriander. Brown the masala till it is well done. Now, add the mutton pieces and bhuno on a low flame for 10 minutes. Add a dash of wine, salt to taste and water and let the gravy simmer for an hour or till the mutton is well cooked. Serve hot.

STUFFED TINDA

2 big spring onions
2 medium tomatoes
2 medium tindas
1 tsp each of saunf, garam masala, dhania, haldi, lal mirch and amchoor powders
Salt to taste

Wash and clean the veggies and make four cuts on the top for the stuffing. Blend the masala and stuff the veggies with it. Heat oil in a wok and lightly saute the veggies. Cover and steam till the tindas are cooked but not overdone. Serve hot.

Posted at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ajay Miglani (928-JA '82) has recently relocated to the US to set up the US operations for Kankei, a leading Sales, Marketing and Customer Engagement Services company. Founded in India 1998 by Ajay and a team of professionals, the company has over 2000 employees in India. Kankei Inc has recently been set up in the US and the company is looking for Business Development Managers as well as Partners who will work to develop business in the US. Anyone looking for an entreprenuerial role with business development experience in the US can contact Ajay on 212 380 1356 (EST).

Posted at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ashutosh Nandan Bagaria (149 -KA '03) is currently doing an internship in Karlsruhe, Germany and is interested in meeting Doscos in/around the area. He can be reached at anbagaria@gmail.comand will be in Karlsruhe from 3rd May to 15th July-07.

Posted at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Colonel Eric Joseph Simeon (1918-2007) – Officer, gentleman and educationist, passed away in New Delhi on the 15th of May 2007 in his 89th year. He is deeply mourned by his extended family of relatives, colleagues and students of the Corps of Signals; Sainik School Kunjpura; La Martiniere School for Boys, Kolkata; The Doon School, Dehra Dun; and the Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai.

Col. Simeon was Headmaster at Doon School from 1971 to 1979. With Colonel Simeon’s passing, The Doon School has now lost all Headmasters from 1935 to 1979. We at the DSOBS extend our heartfelt condolences to his son, Dilip and join him in praying that his soul finds everlasting peace.

Posted at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Founders Day will be held on the weekend of October between Friday, October 5th and Sunday, October 7th 2007. You can download the program (PDF). It is the Diamond Jubilee year for the class of 1947, the Golden Jubilee year for the class of 1957. Both classes will be having special dinners Friday evening. There will also be a 35th year dinner for the class of 1972 and a Silver Jubilee Dinner for the class of 1982.

Posted at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is amazing how much alumni from other schools are concerned with Doscos. A fellow dosco sent us an MP3 of a song written and put to music by some people from a certain boarding school in Gwalior! As the saying goes, " Doscos as well as people from other public schools are obsessed with one thing - Doscos!"

We've got the MP3 over at The Dosco Network as we didn't want this circulated too widely on the web. If you're a dosco, wanting access just submit a request and enter your school number and house too.

Posted at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This year the Summer trip has been planned for Jaipur at the Clarks Amer from Friday June 1st to Sunday June 3rd. The rates are Rs.10399/- for 2 nights/ 3 days This however does NOT include Lunch on Friday the 1st of June. The More the Merrier.

To confirm your participation contact Sheel Sharma: dsobs@airtelbroadband.in or 9810444423. Y/ou can also contact Indrave Singh Mann at ismann@progressive.in or 9811033865.

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

he 6th edition of the DSOBS Inter House Cricket (appropriately christened the Sheel Vohra Cup) got under way on a perfect winter morning in Delhi . Every house had its pre-match hiccups at the net practice (For H house it was quite literal in the case of Anil ‘Paps’ Malhotra) with Donny having a sleepless night not knowing whether Tata would be able to field a full strength XI.

Of course little did we realise that Donny was taking cue from the Sri Lankans strategy of trying to be the under dog. By the time Mr. Vohra did the toss all houses had their teams in full strength.

TATA vs. KASHMIR

Last years runner up Tata played Kashmir in the first match. Donny beat Sheel Sharma to the toss and put in Kashmir to bat. Early strikes in a fiery opening spell by Asheet Lanba and Naved Farooqui and keen fielding kept the scoring rate in check, restricting Kashmir to a meagre 46 for 3 at the end of 10 overs. A rearguard action by Sheel Sharma (senior most participant), Pratyush Vaishnav and Manas Sr. (out to a diving return catch to Donny) got the score some respectability, finishing at 111 for 9 in their allotted 20 overs. Raghav Malik, Vivek Narain, Surkam and Pragyat were all out early. Alok Goyal ‘75 and Harshul Sondhi ‘76 also showed their experienced hands at batting. Sidharth Sahay ‘75 and Deepak (Mathu) Mansukhani ‘76 took the field for Tata. The bowling honours were shared by Ambuj Bansal 1 for 10, Karan Vir Lamba 2 for 20 and Sanjay Medi 1 for 13.

The target of 111 held no terrors for Tata. Medi was out early to Pratyush 2 for 8, bowled fast for a change and was quite a handful with his in swingers. Pepe Dugal and Hemant Bishnoi made sure that there were no more hiccups. Donny was out early. Pranav Swarup and Hemant took Tata to the brink of victory, when Asheet in his customary fashion these hit the wining run after being dropped on the shot. On the bowling front, apart from Raghav’s variety we got to see the lethal in swing from Alok Goyal. For the third year running Tata made it to the final to take on Hyderabad .

Brief Scores
Kashmir : 111 for 9, Sheel Sharma 23, Pratyush 28, Rahul Aggarwal 21, Karan Vir 2 for 20, Naved 2 for 23
Tata: 112 for 4, Hemant Bishnoi 36, Pepe Dugal 23, Pranav 23, Pratyush 2 for 8, Alok Goyal 1 for 27


JAIPUR vs HYDERABAD

Jaipur batted first and opened with Deepak Kaul and Sandeep Chandra. Both openers positive approach intimidated the H house fielders. Despite a steady opening spell from Mohit Bawa and Nischay ‘handsome’ Mitter, both batsman put on 37 runs before Nischay cleaned up Deepak in the 8th over. Uday Bawa joined Sandeep and after a hesitant start they took on H house bowlers. Arun Khanna rang in the bowling changes alternating between Manu Saxena, Jonny Singh, Nalin & Amrit Kochar. Fortunately for H, Sandeep got run out for 41 (off 38 deliveries) and Shobit Verma came up trumps for Hyderabad at the death overs. Anant Tyagi scored a quickfire 18 (off 14 balls) and Shobit accounted for Kunal and Anand Bir. Uday Bawa held the Jaipur house innings together scoring 50 off 33 balls including a six. Jaipur reached a formidable total of 151 in their 20 overs.

Vipin & Jonny opened for Hyderabad but Deepak struck early getting Vipin caught. Jonny and Arun steadied the H house innings and took the score to 113 before Arun fell to the bowling of Nalin Syal. Sandeep rotated the J house bowlers and enthusiastic fielding led by the father/son duo of Rajbir Singh and Anand bir kept the Hyderabad batting in check. But Mr. Extras came to the rescue of Hyderabad house with the Jaipur house bowlers giving as many as 24 wides. After Jonny retired scoring 51 (off 42 deliveries), Nikhil and Nalin Khanna saw Hyderabad home with 9 balls to spare. Those 24 extra deliveries and runs saw Hyderabad to the finals.

Brief Scores
Jaipur 152 for 6, Uday Bawa 50, Sandeep Chandra 41, Shobit 2 for 22,
Hyderabad 153 for 2, Jonny 51 retired, Arun Khanna 38, Nalin Syal 1 for 10, Yatin 1 for 13



JAIPUR vs KASHMIR

A replay of the previous years Jaipur and Kashmir fought for the 3rd and 4th positions while Hyderabad and Tata played for the cup.

Jaipur House won the toss and elected to bat. Pratyush Vaishnav who surprisingly opened the bowling attack got Nalin Sayal of the very first delivery. Jay Bawa after hitting a much cheered boudry was bowled by Ayush. J House after the setbacks settled down with Kunal and Anandbir Singh putting up 42 runs. Later Rajbir Singh joined son Anandbir, both of them had flown to Delhi just for this event. Regretfully a perfect understanding was put to an end by the father being run out. Vivek Seth, Pinaki Misra and Deepak Kaul scored briskly to take the score to 120 in 15 overs.

Raghav Mallik and Sheel Sharma opened the innings for Kashmir House. Sheel Sharma was wrongly adjudged run-out when this is unthinkable for players over 60?
Raghav tried to belt the ball (missing more often than hitting) and was caught at the deep with the score at 28. Pratyush walked in and everyone was treated to a brilliant display of hard hitting sensible cricket. Pratyush finally retired after getting his 50 . Sarthak and Pragyat then steered Kashmir to victory with Sarthak scoring an unbeaten 38.

Brief Scores
Jaipur: 120 for 8, Kunal Sharma 29, Anandbir 24. Raghav 2 for 22, Ayush 2 for 28, Pratush 1 for 13,
Kashmir : 123 for 2 Pratush 50 retired, Sarthak 38, K Shrivastava 1 for 29


TATA vs HYDERABAD
Arun Khanna won the toss and decided that Hyderabad will bat first. Vipin & Jonny put on 23 before Vipin got run out. Arun & Jonny took the score to 70 before Ambuj bowled Jonny for 29 (off 23 deliveries). Nalin joined Arun and the 2 cousins seem to pit their wares against the Hardout cousins (Meetu & Peppy) who were manning the off side field behind the crease. Meetu colourful attire (the red turban matching the maroon kit of Tata house) seemed to inspire Arun who reached his 50 off 34 balls. Donny saw this retirement as an opportunity and took immediate control of the game. Nalin fell soon after to Donny and Nikhil, Manu and Kochar tried to give the necessary impetus to the Hyderabad innings. Steady bowling from Asheet, Naved, Donny and Karan Vir Lamba ensured that Hyderabad could score 158 in their allotted 20 overs.

Pepe & Indu opened for Tata against the bowling of Mohit & Nischay. Whilst Pepe fell early to Nischay, Indu batted as if he was making a point. He rattled up a fierce 25 off 21 balls including 2 cover drives. Hemant Bishnoi at the other end started slowly but Indu’s departure at the score of 36 made him take control of the game. Unfortunately wickets fell in quick succession at the other end with Donny falling to Mohit, Asheet getting run out, and Shobit getting rid of Pranav and Sanjay Mediratta. Hemant retired at 50 but Naved gave new impetus to the innings scoring 26 off 14 balls before falling to a brilliant catch by Jonny. Finally Tata needed 16 runs off 12 balls to tie the game with 2 wickets in hand and Hemant at one end. With Hemant scoring 5 runs off the first 3 balls of the 19th over, Udayan Singh struck for Hyderabad clean bowling Karan Vir and Siddhart Sahay . Hyderabad won by 11 runs.

Brief Scores:
Hyderabad : 158 for 6, Arun 50 retired, Jonny 29, Donny 4 for 16
Tata: 147 all out, Hemant Bishnoi 60 n.o, Naved 26, Indushekar 25, Udayan 4 for 32, Shobit Verma 2 for 21, Nischay 2 for 25

FINAL POSITIONS:
Hyderabad
Tata
Kashmir
Jaipur

Posted at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Siddharth Kothari (371 -OA '99) has relocated to Tokyo, Japan in the last year. He's interested in getting in touch with Tokyo based doscos and can be reached at sidkothari@maharaja-group.com

Posted at 9:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)