AFCSers held Big Bash 3
At Coonoor we AFCSers held Big Bash 3
A combo of classes '64 and '65, d'you see
The spirit was willing, with fun times galore
And the years rolled away; 'twas '58 once more
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Ekta was the Queen of Hearts
Saroj our doyen of the Fine Arts
Pammi wielded a mean knitting needle,
while Shylaja could always our teacher wheedle
Into forgiving our shenanigans (never malicious).
Miss Gupta taught us to make food (delicious)
Our needles she guided, mastering embroidery
While the boys, they slaved away at carpentry
Amitava, Rudy, Gurumani , Puddy and Pavan
Bala, Biman, Dalip, Ashok, Gurramnik - the list goes on
With a nod to Vijaya, Geetha and GVG
For I left AFCS before their entry, you see.
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Fast forward, and Anjan, Geethu, AB and Ranju,
Neelam and Ashok (guests), GVG and Namagiri too
Anil and Vijay, Tava and Jhilmil, Manjit and Neena,
Rudy and Ann, Pammi and Tejpal, Biman and Roma,
Graced the gathering, hosted perfectly by Snitchie and Girija
Add to the mix the rollicking singles
Pavan, Bala, Vijaya, Saroj and Geetha and me
JJ, Rajesh, Rohini, Kanwal, Manju, GeetaM and Jyoti
Sorely did we miss the rest - Kamal and Neeru,
Askok K, Ekta, Uday, Deepak, and Rajpal too
Amongst others, (forgive the list incomplete)
But the scene was set for the action - a treat
in store every day, orchestrated perfectly
by Girija and Vijay, assisted ably
by their troop of drivers and chefs and musicians
Who never said no, it was always "yes we can-s"
The first night was touching we made our obeisance,
paid tribute to martyrs, had dinner with song and dance..
On the Wellington Lake, with magical ambience..
The following morning we were out and about -
Some to tee off at golf; the others were knocked out
By the trek - a goodly four hours did it take
Us, up the hill and down, with the Raliar dam for a break
And a visit with the Todas, to purchase their ware
Was our goal, but alas, we had scant time to spare,
Nor energy, forsooth; had we overestimated
Our fitness? But no, we were all unprostrated
By the effort; and ready for lunch eventually
At the WGC was delicious. That evening (no rest for
the wicked) we turned out at 4
At Coonoor station to board the toy train
For Lovedale and dinner at Ooty; twixt the twain
We shopped for chocolates; the place was a thrill
The chocaholics amongst us sure had their fill!
King's Cliff was our host for dinner that night,
A charming venue, and the food was a bit of all right!
The next (and final) day we thought we were all tuckered out
But to our surprise, the old legs held out!
We started out for Pykara Lake; a boat ride
and then a picnic lunch on the side.
That night we had a bonfire grand,
With booze and bites and a live musical band.
The same from the Wellington Lake; in no time
the gang was gyrating to numbers sublime.
(Ins zwischen, Jhilmil and I made foray -
The Needlecraft shop was our goal, oh I say!
The drive, most scenic, was well worth it all
(For we found the shop shut), and on return we did call
to stock up on tea and spices at the Vishal traders stall)
Dinner was indoors, with more music, (Pavan - valiantly)
And toasts, Rudy and Roh did the honours most gallantly
Then 'twas time for adieus and promises to meet
At BB4 , the venue is yet to be fixed but it will be a treat
Mallika
BB3 commenced with a solemn memorial service at Wellington for those soldiers who sacrificed their lives. It was a sun-drenched afternoon transtioning to a cool dusk. The traffic around the roundabout was curtailed as we assembled. Many of us were seeing each other after a lapse of 2 years some even longer But the AFCS blog kept us afresh of the alumni. It struck me right off the bat that we were such a compatible lot. There was Anjan and Gitu with their attractive in-laws Neelima and Ashok. Mallika our resident documenter-in-chief was there sans her sister Geetha. There was also the other Geethas-- Menon and Mehta-- looking so attractive. Bala, Anil Baweja, Jaggu Dada, Adhikari-- after a lapse of 50 years,my brother and SIL Vijay and Girija who were to show what a lovely event they put together for all of us. Parminder and Tejpal, Kanwal for the first time, Manjeet and the Mrs Amitava and Jhilmil, Saroj,Vijaya who always has that wonderful smile. My partner in past get togethers for doing the Twist and getting down low! Jyoti Malkani nee Gurbaxani came for the very first time nursing a sprained/broken wrist. GVG Rao and Mrs also visited for the first time. Manju Chand was there. Rajesh Kaura, the versifier, and of course Rohini from Bahrain. We reminisced about those who could not make it, grateful for the ones who were there and each of us in pairs took a single red rose and to the Last Post placed this at the memorial. Very solemn ceremony.
The "Thambis" new recruits of the MRC gave us a stirring dholak (mrindingam in Tamil) display in the dusk, even while it was cold, they were draped in dhothis and nothing else. Da Gang was definitely spell bound, especially after which we were whisked off to the Madras Regimental Centre museum where we were hosted by Lt. Col Baskhi of the MRC who took us around the exhibits. Rohini recited verses composed by "the Admiral" Vijay Shankar of the bravery of Havildar Thomas Phillipose of the MRC who earned a MVC for his bravery in the 1971 was tasked to capture Lalial and Sarajchak, prior to establishing a bridgehead across the river Basantar. Enemy minefields covered the entire area and the Pakistani infantry was well entrenched in the area. Pakistani observation posts kept a close watch over Indian movement. Accompanied by only 15 men, the havildar led a fierce attack and secured
Then it was off to a dinner & dance, one of three, by Wellington Lake with a live band in attendance who lit up the stage with old 60s numbers.. Beatles, Elvis, Beach Boys. Wonderful night. There were the Admiral, Pavan and Anjan and Mallika joining the singers and took us down memory lane. Especially Cliff Richards' tunes.Day 2: The Hike, Riallah Dam, Narrow Gauge Train Journey to Ooty and Kings Cliffe
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| GVG Rao, Vijaya Muthanna, Mrs GVG Rao, Rudy Shankar Seated: The Toda people with their wares |
The morning of the second day was bright and especially from Vijay's home that is nestled between twin peaks and facing East seemed to splash light all over. A cup of Nilgiri tea in the morning is such a wonderful waker-upper and in the cool morning air makes life so wonderful. The morning activities were in the hands of Col. Cherian, a retired Army infrantryman whose younger than retirement age must surely be due to extreme hiking. He rattled of the rules and regulations: when bisons cross, make way; when elephants cross, ditto. And, ah, yes, panthers have been spotted but they are after domestic prey. As we looked around, we noticed that any of the aforesaid animals could easily wander into our hiking expedition. Hopefully we will each treat the other nonchalantly. Or just say Hi. The trail was meandering, interesting, took us past ast tea estate. There were the Malabar squirrel that Manju so lovingly captured. They are known to utter loud, piercing cries at the approach of larger animals and/or to alert the rest of their brethren...or I suppose when they see humans. The hike had started to see the entire group now very dispersed, the advance party well in front and any a kilometer or more behind. So the clear instructions of Col. Cherian were thrown overboard: stick together he said since we could get lost. But he was kind enough to send several scouts ahead of the "Type A's" who scooted ahead (author included). We of course must have missed out on the wonderful animals along the way.
The cool morning gave way to a warm sun and we decided when we reached the "summit" a Toda village. They were expecting tourists and laid their wares for us to observe. Before the 18th century, the Toda coexisted locally with other communities, including the Kota, and Kuruba, in a loose caste-like community organisation in which the Toda were the top ranking. The Toda population has hovered in the range 700 to 900 during the last century. Although an insignificant fraction of the large population of India, the Toda have attracted (since the late 18th century), "a most disproportionate amount of attention because of their ethnological aberrancy" and "their unlikeness to their neighbors in appearance, manners, and customs." Their worship is more animistic and still follow those traditions. Off in the distance we saw what was a thatched hut that was described as their place of worship. Their wares consisted of fabrics, and scarves. Obviously they are prepared for visitors such as us. We assured them that we were the advance party and there were many going to follow up. It was time to move down the summit and back to we started since we had a pretty long day in front of us. We decided to take a "short cut" over the Ralliah Dam which is a small dam situated in between Coonoor and Kotagiri. Ralliah Dam is a catchment area where Coonoor town gets it's drinking water from. This is a silent place amidst green lush forest makes it ideal for a picnic. Sir Arthur Hope Governor of Madras opened this dam in 1941. This was a very scenic area, no noise, not of water or any creatures. One can walk across the dam from one side to another. The water is approximately 30 feet below the walkway. We made our way back to the starting point after nearly 3 hours. The events for the day had just started and we had a date with KingsCliffe.
After a quick nap in the afternoon and we hurried down to the Wellington Train Station where Da Gang was gathered for what was to be a very busy rest of the day. We first hopped on to a narrow gauge train from Wellington to Ooty a distance of 40 odd km over one of the most picturesque mountain scenery. before it arrives at Wellington, the train negotiates a rack and pinion rail to assure hold as it climbs the mountains. After Wellington it switches to diesel locomotives but still a very steep drive to negotiate.
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Coonoor station was one of two used as locations in David Lean's film A Passage to India. You can also see Coonoor station and its heritage locomotive in many of the Indian films. Wellington station always finds a place in most of the films casting the Indian army or army training storyline mainly due to the MRC Indian Army Regiment, Defence Services Staff College, the Cantonment and the Cordite Factory. We arrived at Ooty (or as in Tamil called Udhagamandalam) where our respective rides were waiting for us and were on the way to the restaurant which was going to be our night entertainment.
But on the way we stopped at the "Modern Store" to do some shopping grab some tea.
Kingscliffe Restaurant
This place has everything to make you feel like you have gone back in time!!! The architecture of the old building and the aesthetics of the place simply makes you sit back and ponder about the beauty that lies within. Our place for dinner was in what looked like a green house, outdoors where our dinner was served. The dim lights, the hot soups, spicy food and the wonderful music that was played live by a singer indoors simply made our night sooo special! By the time it was time to leave we were dog tired and ready to hit the sackDay 3: Lake Pykara, The Farewell Dinner
The last day of the get together started with a lunch at the Lake Pykara boathouse. This is a Indian Naval facility and with my brother Vijay's status with the IN I suppose reserving the facility was easier. What a beautiful sight as you enter the main vista. The waterscape and landscape is as clear as your eyes can see. The large body of water Lake Pykara has on its banks several water buffaloes and occasional Indian wild dogs I was told. The eyes try to capture the quiet scenery. I was struck by how quiet it was. An occasional hawk would skim over the water surface looking for fish. Off in the distance were some buffaloes lazing on the ground and then headed for the water. Off to the right was an even quieter scenery. We busied ourselves with a game of silent charade and surprised that all of us could get it after some hit and misses. Lunch was served but we had to hurry since we needed to get to our respective lodges to get ready for the final bash at the Gateway hotel for the farewell dinner. The last 3 days were so busy and the long night 
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