KTWV06 Issue 19: Get your FREE 2006 Desktop Calendar

As a prelude to the release of Annikki's book "Edible Art" in 2006, we are pleased to inform you that the 2006 Desktop Calendar, featuring 13 of her beautiful cake designs, will be sent, ABSOLUTELY FREE OF COST, to the first 500 readers (relatives who are in touch with us regularly need not check in) who send us their snail mail (posting) address.

FREE 2006 Desktop Calendar featuring
13 of Annikki's beautiful and artistic cake designs

As the calendar is being printed and dispatched from our printer in China, please act quickly, as I will be transferring the final database to the printer for posting purposes within the next few days.

You can email your snail mail address to:

Free Calendar Request

KTWV06 Issue 18: Hollywood Binge?

I am pleased to inform you about an occasion in Hollywood featuring Stephanian Prabhu Guptara.

(Click to see the enlarged image)

KTWV06 Issue 17: Sharp increase!

My campaign to identify those who had been in St. Stephen's well as Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai(Cathedralites) got a sharp kick a few days ago when I received an email from a consultant in the Phillipines, Ravi Nangia, who finished from Cathedral in 1968 and then graduated in Economics from our college in 1972.

Ravi reported to me two others in his year: Kapil Mathur and Sudhanshu Ranade were from Cathedral and went on to St. Stephen's College.

In a later post Ravi said that Kapil was in Bombay and that he probably saw an article with a by-line by Sudhanshu in The Hindu (the newspaper from Chennai).

Kapil Mathur (68er Savage, Treasurer and Executive Committee Member of the Cathedral Alumni Association 2003 - 2004) seems to be very active in the School Alumni set-up. Here is a picture from the Alumni web site where he is at the cricket match between the Old Boys and the School. Kapil is the one in the blue shirt. Photo by Rajiv Bhatia (Barham'81) I wonder whether he is active in the Stephanian group which is large in Mumbai?



I will try to g4et some comments from kapil in due course.

I was able to track references to Sudhanshu as he has hundreds of references to his work when you search for him in Google.

There is a commernt about him in this online article A fine blend of religion and culture by V. Sundaram

According to Sudhanshu Ranade (author of the articles in The Hindu `The great betrayal' (February 7, `99) ``Religion and Politics'' (August 1, '99) and ``Religion and Politics'' (August 15, '99) the linkage between religion and politics during the Vedic Phase of the Hindu religion ended in a total disaster 2500-3000 years ago. Eminent men including Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Keshab Chandra Sen, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda, Sister Nivedita, Anne Besant, Aurobindo and Mahatma Gandhi (whose academic and other credentials can be considered equal to that of Mr. Sudhanshu Ranade) have all passionately underlined the man-making soul-elevating and nation-building impact of Hinduism through the ages on the people of India. Mahatma Gandhi had professional intellectuals like Sudhanshu Ranade in mind when he observed: ``Rationalists are admirable beings; rationalism is a hideous monster when it claims for itself omnipotence. Attribution of Omnipotence to reason is as bad a piece of idolatry as is the worship of stones believing them to be God. I do not plead for the suppression of reason but for the recognition of `that' in us which sanctifies reason.''

Starting initially with his quasi-religious pieces, as indicated from the quote above, Sudhanshu appears to have gone up the ladder to be a leading correspondent on a variety of subjects in the newspaper.

Sudhanshu appears to have been at The Hindu for some time, doing book reviews. His recent pieces include many of general interest to me: China's rapid economic growth hits Asian nations differently, Garment exporters: Know your customer, The logic of tax on fringe benefits, savings

I am sure many others may now come forward who have this double heritage!

Thanks Ravi for the leads.

KTWV06 Issue 16: Stephanians embroiled in Oil for Food Scandal

Natwar Singh , Shri K.
May 23, 2004 Appointed, External Affairs Minister
Nov 7, 2005 Resigned, , External Affairs Minister
Father's Name: Shri Govind Singhji
Mother's Name : Shrimati Prayag Kaur, elder sister of Punjab Chief Minister Amrinder Singh
Date of Birth : 16 May 1931
Place of Birth : Bharatpur (Rajasthan)
Marital Status : Married on 21 August 1967
Spouse's Name : Shrimati Heminder Kumari
Children : One son, Jagat Singh
Educational Qualifications : B. A.(Hons.) History Educated at St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, Delhi, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, U.K. and Peking University, Peking, China
Profession : Diplomat, Writer and Political Worker
Permanent Address : " Govind Niwas", Bharatpur, Rajasthan. 321001
Positions Held : 1971-73 Ambassador to Poland, 1973-77, Deputy High Commissioner to U.K.,1977-80 High Commissioner to Zambia, 1980-82 Ambassador to Pakistan, 1982-84 Director, Air India Board of Directors, 1984-89 Member, Eighth Lok Sabha, 1985-86 Union Minister of State, Department of Steel in the Ministry of Steel, Mines and Coal, Union Minister of State, Department of Fertilizers in the Ministry of Agriculture, Oct. 1986-Dec. 1989 Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs, March 1998-April 1999 Member, Twelfth Lok Sabha, Member, Committee on External Affairs and its Sub-Committee-I Member, Committee on Public Accounts, Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of External Affairs, April 2002, Elected to Rajya Sabha, April 2002 – May 2004 Member, Committee on External Affairs

Refer this article Piecing together Natwar’s ties to see other connections to our college.

Andaleeb Sehgal, 35, paid kickbacks to Saddam Hussein, says Volcker Report. Sehgal, son of Delhi businessman Suman Sehgal, studied at Lawrence School, Sanawar, and St Stephen's College, Delhi. He married Suhani Kumari, daughter of Vijendra and Raymon Singh. Vijendra's mother was the princess of Patiala and is the aunt of Natwar Singh's wife. Vijendra has been a Congress MLA from Nalagarh. Raymon is the grand-daughter of Sir Soba Singh, author Khushwant Singh's father.

Andaleeb Sehgal, is Natwar Singh's son's (Jagat Singh) childhood friend.

I would like someone to get to the bottom of this. It is quite unlike Stephanians of any era to behave in this manner. We are taught better values than THIS.

KTWV06 Issue 15: Another two located

Recently I had written about some of us who are both Cathedralites as well as Stephanians.

Some of you may have noted a Comment recently which introduced me to two 90er Cathedralites and 93er Stephanians. Welcome to my alma mater blogs, Gop.

My email address for Ranjeev was when he was in the U.K. He has moved on. Can anyone give me his most recent email address?

Gopkiran Rao, Bombay Scottish 88er, Cathedralite 90er, Delhi Stephanian (Eco Hons) 93er

Ranjeev Bhatia, Bombay Scottish 88er, Cathedralite 90er, Delhi Stephanian (History Hons) 93er

Gop has a very nice set of web pages filled with a huge selection of classic pictures.

I chose one which makes my memory cells go back a few years.

Katherine and Gopkiran, LA, 2002

They certainly are a beautiful couple.

Hope both of you as wonderful a marriage as I have had for the last 38+ years.

KTWV06 Issue 14: Happy Diwali Stephanians

Today is the 1st of November 2005.

It is the 37th birthday of Jaakko, our eldest son, who lives in Birmingham, England. Our elder daughter, Susanna, and her family, husband, Chris, and daughter, Asha (8), will be with Jaakko to celebrate the day with him.

To brighten his birthday and also show you the grand festival of lights, I have chosen to use one of his most famous sunset photographs which uses "light", one of Jaakko's most favourite themes.

Happy Diwali to all of you