the martinians · ajay vig becoming the chief guest at school on independence day. majid khan, alok...

The Martinians | OMA Delhi Chapter | October 2018 1| P a g e

The Martinians

OMA | Delhi Chapter October 2018

o From the Editor’s Desk

o The Story Teller

o Dr Vijay Kohli Roundup

o Message from Carlyle

o Appeal from Bursar

o Martinians Shining

o In conversation with

Supratim Mukherjee

o Sunday Bunday

o A Martinian’s Code of

Conduct

o La Martiniere Lyons

o Soaked in Nostalgia

o Blast from the Past

o Upcoming event

In this Issue

From The Editor’s Desk

Chief guests were revered at school

functions such as Independence Day,

Republic day, Prize day and Sports day.

Those who inspected the parades on

Independence days or Republic day

were more often than not from armed

forces. A smart officer in a uniform and

multi medals on lapel would smartly take

salute as we marched. He walked

elegantly, talked with great authority and

for us would become a talking point for a

few days after the parade. Rohin Arora

Our teachers such as Mr. Baker and Mr. Ireland, in charge of NCC

naval wing and Air Wing respectively would inculcate in us the

values we needed to possess to serve our nation and reach such

a position. If you were not paying attention or did not understand

what they were saying you were dispatched to run up and down

the bund with a heavy .22 gun in your hands which had to be

raised above the shoulder.

In this era of hyper nationalism the Armed forces have attained

even more respect and adulation of the people of India. Kargil

was fought more than a decade ago and the full-fledged war by

India was fought in 1971 – almost half a century ago. We have

many veteran Old Martinian’s from armed forces who make it a

point to attend the annual function.


The Martinians OMA | DELHI CHAPTER

When my batch passed out from school in 1982, the

last war that India had fought and won was just a

decade or so old and a lot of students were joining

the armed forces after passing out from school. La

Martiniere having a Major General as its founder and

the school having been endowed with Battle

honours has a rich tradition in the matter of armed

forces. It also helped that many students themselves

studying in school were children of army officers.

There were quite a few. Some of them would regale

us with stories about the Indo Pak wars of 1965 and

1971 in which their fathers had participated. Many

from our batch were inspired to join the armed

forces then, and once I left school I had no clue just

how many had actually done so. It is only recently

that I realised 9-10 of my batch mates had joined the

armed forces and now were senior officers. This year I

was proud to see the pictures and video of Brigadier

Ajay Vig becoming the chief guest at school on

Independence Day. Majid Khan, Alok Awasthi and

Alok Dhawan had earlier held this honour of being

chief guests. Other than Alok Dhawan, all others are

army guys and Alok happens to be a very reputed

scientist.

Recently when school held a function to honour the

1965 war heroes, I was fortunate to attend the

function. The function had Air Force chief as chief

guest and he was very impressed with La Martiniere,

its historical background and history of army

traditions. All ex-students in armed forces had been

invited for this function and I was pleasantly surprised

to see several from a batch just one year my junior. I

think around 14 boys from that batch had joined

armed forces, many of whom I was seeing for the first

time since leaving the school.

Sadly, not many are joining the armed forces now.

Admiration for armed forces is not resulting in boys

from good schools joining the forces. Even if they are

joining, the figures are not significant. Perhaps, it

would be interesting if the principals of Lucknow and

Kolkata schools could find out exactly how many

have joined the forces in last 10 years

Rohin Arora

1971-82 Cornwallis

Brigadier Ajay Vig of 1982 batch was the Chief guest

at Independence day

Guard of Honour

Senior School Parade was held at the East Terrace

which was reviewed by Brigadier Ajay Vig (Batch of

1982)



Obituary – Mr. Edmond Myall

Mr. Edmond Myall, a very good looking and

popular teacher during the 70’s at La Martiniere

Lucknow passed away in May this year.

He was the head of history department and in

charge of the NCC Air Wing. He was also the

house master of Martin House. He moved to

Mumbai in 1978 and went on to become

Principal of St Peter’s school, Mazagaon,

Mumbai till he retired in 2001.

Those who knew him remember him very fondly

till date.

The Story Teller

The following article was written for La Martiniere Gazette, a publication of La Martiniere Alumni, Lucknow. It

is being re-produced here.

Mr. Benny Fernandez

(popularly known as

‘Fundu’) never taught us

history though I wish he

had.

For me his story telling

prowess remains

unparalleled till this date

and it has been 40 years

since he taught me last!

He had this god’s gift of

telling a story.

I remember we had gone

for a class picnic in class 6

or 7 and during the lunch

break he sat on a rock,

took a stick in his hand

and drew a map of

Africa. That was how he

started his story about

some war in the Congo

area of Africa and no one

stirred till the story was

complete. Mr. Benny Fernandez unveiling the plaque at the 35th year passing out

function of our 1982 batch



Story telling is an art. Not everyone can do it. Only a

few do it well. Mr Fernandez would be in total control

while narrating a story. The class black board was the

canvas on which maps were drawn and lines of

attack by allied forces on Nazis would be specified.

The attack on Pearl Harbor, Rommel vs Montgomery

in North Africa and the D-day would all come alive

on the black board. He had those perfect pauses

and just when the suspense would about to be

revealed – as if on cue, the bell would ring signifying

end of class. Story to be continued next week and

suspense would remain a suspense.

When we were told that Fundu would be our class

teacher in class 8, there was a bit of celebration. We

looked forward to hundreds of historical stories in next

one year. Sadly, we just got just one story in the entire

year - The Guns of Navarone. The story was based on

Alistair Maclean’s 1957 novel about battle of Leros

during the World War II. The book had been made

into a terrific film having the cast of Gregory Peck,

David Niven and Anthony Quinn. Later I read the

book as well as watched the film and realised that

Fundu had gone much beyond what was in the book

or the film. He had created scenes out of nowhere.

Even though I had commerce as main subject, I

studied history till class 12. Although it was an

additional subject, high marks in history were

instrumental in my getting admission in college of my

choice in Delhi.

The European history syllabus for ISC (XII) was

interesting. A large part of it dealt with Germany

spanning the Bismarck Era, the First World War and

the third Reich under Hitler. While writing down the

notes in the class being dictated by the teacher in a

monotonous tone, I always wondered how Fundu

would have taught us about Bismarck, The Czars, The

World Wars and Hitler. Why did I never go to him and

tell him that I wish he were our history teacher?

There is a reason that I am writing about history and

Fundu. Other than the odd war films and fiction

books, I had been detached from history since class

12. Then suddenly I discovered something called

audio books. I do spend a great deal of time on road

driving around NCR and I don’t like being driven by a

driver. For many years it was music which kept me

going but as I mentioned above, then l discovered

audio books.

After experimenting with several books

including the Sapiens, it was time to turn to

real history. The voluminous books such as

‘The rise and fall of third Reich’, ‘Stalin-The

Red Czar’, books about Romanov dynasty

and books about Ottomon Empire would

finish in just a couple of weeks. It was when I

started listening to fiction based on history; I

would be reminded of Fundu and his story

telling. By fiction based on history I mean

books such as Ken Follet trilogy ‘Fall of

Giants’, ‘Winter of the World’ and ‘Edge of

Eternity’ ; The Herman Wouk two part classic

‘Winds of War’ and ‘War and

Remembrance.’

In these books the narrator has to stick to

the unabridged version of the novel and

cannot create the scenes out of thin air like

Fundu did, but he uses his/her voice

modulations, change of tones and bring to

life the character and story. It is as if the film

is being played in front of you. Each

interesting war story that I hear, I imagine

Fundu narrating it. That says a lot about the

kind of impression he left on us.

I have been fortunate to meet Mr Benny

Fernandez a few times since passing out of

school. I last did when he was the guest of

honor to unveil the plaque of our batch on

completion of 35 years of passing out. This

was last year. He did open up once and

said that the stories had come to an abrupt

halt as he had been reprimanded by the

principal as someone had tattled that he

narrates stories to the students and

compromises on the syllabus. Thus had

ended those great story-telling sessions as

this had hurt and upset him.

I wonder if he ever did resume those

wonderful sessions or were the future

generations deprived of listening stories from

one of the greatest story teller of our times. I

must ask him when we meet next.

Rohin Arora

1971-82 Cornwallis. Involved with activities of OMA Delhi since 1988.



The year 2018 started on a sad note, with the passing away of Dr. Sultan Ali Sadiq, a very senior

Martinian and renowned Orthopedic surgeon. He had passed out of Lucknow La Martiniere in the

fifties and retired from Aligarh Muslim University a few years back. We knew each other for over twenty

five years and met again, but for the last time in December 2017 at the La Martiniere alumni reunion

hosted by the Girls’ School in Lucknow. He met me very affectionately and repeatedly told me that if

he had a cardiac problem (he was probably anticipating it), he would come over to me in Delhi. At

that time his words did not strike me as odd as he was with me in flesh and blood.

We hope and pray that his soul rests in peace.

Major General Claude Memorial Trust:

There has been a lot of discussion related to the future of the Trust which had been set up many years

back. As suggested by Dr. RK Pachauri, it is proposed to revamp it and give it a new shape. We are in

the process of charting the future course and will keep you updated. Since a few members have

passed on, it is proposed to induct new and active younger members.

Founder’s Day celebrations:

As always, Founder’s Day has been celebrated around the world with a lot of zeal.

Martinians of the sixties got together at Lucknow at the behest of Robert Cook, the chief coordinator

of the event.

Here is an excellent account of the event in Robert’s own words. It has brought back a lot of old

memories, of old boys and girls of our vintage. The names ring very pleasant bells. I would have loved

to meet Cedric Towning, Maxwell Fletcher, Noel Peters, Keith Thomas, Mehru Jaffer, Linda

O’Connor(nee Cook) Maxine Reding (nee Cline) and Joan Yeoward. I wonder if fate will bring us

together again.

1960’s Old Martinians Reunion

The Old Martinians both boys and girls who studied at La Martiniere in the 1960’s got together for a

reunion at La Martiniere, Lucknow from 12th to 14th September 2018. Some were visiting the college 50

years or more after they left. Martinians who made the effort and attended from abroad were Phillip

McFarland (the oldest Martinian present) & Cedric Towning from the UK, Noel Peters, Keith & Kenneth

Thomas, Maxine Reding nee Cline, Robert Rowland, Lorraine Rowland nee Edwards, David Nijjar,

Maxwell Fletcher & Gloria Fletcher nee Cooke from Australia, Arvind Baghel & Betty Edgar nee Cooke

from Dubai. There were also a number of Old Martinians who attended from all over India, some of the

older lot who studied during the 50’s & 60’s who attended were, Phillip & Russell Montes, Brig Rajendra

Mehrotra , Walter Johnson ,Susan Coutinho nee Lawrence, Mehru Jaffer, Lynda O’Connor nee

Cooke, Christine Kelawala nee Cooke, Promilla Mathur & Joan Yeoward to name a few.

Dear Alumni,

Greetings to all of you in the Founder’s season!

The preparations for our New Delhi OMA Reunion and Founder’s dinner have

been in full swing with Rohin at the helm of affairs. We look forward to a

wonderful meeting on the 6th of October at the India Habitat Centre.

Dr. Vijay Kohli’s roundup



For the event a logo was devised by Rajeev Shukla a designer and old Martinian from Delhi. This logo

was printed/ embroidered on the souvenir mugs & t-shirts brought out for the occasion. A magazine

‘Echoes From The Mart’ was also put together by Keith Thomas with contributions from others. Some of

the left over souvenirs and magazines are available on sale at the college souvenir shop.

The events kicked off on 12th Sep 2018 where those who could make it, attended the normal morning

chapel service with the boarders. At the chapel service the Principal Mr Carlyle McFarland very

graciously permitted Keith Thomas as a memoriam to read out the names of all the old boys who were

our contemporaries and had passed on to a better life since leaving college. Thereafter the old boys

and girls attended the college morning assembly on the East Terrace, where Cedric Innis a former

College Captain addressed the boys. This was followed by tea in the Blue Room where Salahuddin

Ahmad (Crafty) presented some old copies of the school magazine he had as well as the trophy he

won as Colts Champion when he was in college.



After tea the old boys & girls were taken around for a tour of

the college. The excellent renovation work undertaken by

the principal & which is still in progress was highly

appreciated. Later in the day we had lunch with the

boarders in Sykes Hall, where everyone was astonished to

taste the excellent fare provided to the boys for their lunch.

That evening we also attended the past vs present Football

Match where the teams vied for the Kurt Mitson Memorial

Cup which, unfortunately the past lost. Later in the evening

many of us attended the dinner hosted by the LMGAA at

Levana Hotel where everybody thoroughly enjoyed

themselves.

Founders Day 13th September 2018 the 173rd

Commemoration Chapel service in the morning was

attended by all and brought back nostalgic

memories of our younger days in college. In the

evening all enjoyed the Variety Entertainment

programme in Spence Hall which was followed by

the Founders Day Dinner on the Principals lawn. All

joined in a silent toast that was raised to the Founder,

because of whose generosity we were able to get

an excellent education as well as imbibe excellent

values and a Martinian spirit that is the envy of many.

The last event was the dinner on the 14th September

at La Martiniere College, Lucknow, which again was

held on the Principals lawn. The music from the 60’s

was appreciated by one & all, as they danced the

night away. The Principal Mr Carlyle McFarland also

conducted a quiz based on various facts and facets

of La Martiniere, which enlightened many of us. The

quiz was won by Lyons House.

The evening finally wound up with everyone in

agreement that it was worth the time and effort to

attend the event and everyone vowing to be back

again in 2020 when the college celebrates 175 years

of its existence.

Special thanks to Keith Thomas who initiated the

event, Principal & staff of both the colleges, LMA,

LMGAA, Pradeep Sagar (who unfortunately couldn’t

make it),Anil Srivastava, Rajnish Chopra, George

Newton & many others without whose generous

contributions, help & support the event would not

have been a success.

VIVE LA MARTINIERE



Dear friends, I take this opportunity to inform

you that Kush Bhargava of my batch (batch of

1968 ISC) has taken upon himself to plan and

organise a celebration to commemorate fifty

years of our batch in November this year.

Kindly inform all those of the batch of 1968 to

get in touch with Kush for details of the

forthcoming celebrations. His phone number is

098 390 14541.

Founder’s Day celebration at Boston, in

the US: For the past few years, the OMA of New England

has been celebrating and remembering our

Founder with great pride.

My senior from Lucknow La Martiniere, Kaplesh

Kumar has very kindly consented to my request

and sent me a very nice write up of the

proceedings, which are being reproduced

below.

The Old Martinians Association of New England

(OMANE) continued its annual tradition of

holding its Founders Day celebration dinner on

September 16, 2018 at the Masala Art, an Indian

restaurant in Needham, Massachusetts, a suburb

of Boston.

Although a significant number of its members

were missing - travelling, busy, or sick, or moved

out of state, as in the case of OMANE Vice

President, Dr. Ali Ashter, who has found new

employment in California, - a respectable

showing nevertheless, happened, with new and

regular Old Boys and Girls from the Kolkata and

Lucknow schools.

The proceedings included the usual annual

reports presented by the Officers of OMANE,

preceded by an informal meeting of the

attendees over drinks and appetizers and

renewal and enrolment of memberships.

This was followed by a detailed slide show

presentation of the Lucknow school with

photographs taken the previous month during a

campus visit by Mr. Syed Ali Rizvi, OMANE

President, and Mr. Siddharth Jeevan, OMANE

Treasurer. The tremendous progress achieved in

the school’s renovation and constant upkeep

under Mr. Carlyle McFarland, the Boys school

principal, was impressive.

Letters of Claude Martin mailed from New York

by Mr. Vijay (Spaggie) Gupta were read by Mr.

Rajiv Sharma, OMANE Secretary. OMANE

Trustee, Dr. Kaplesh Kumar, urged those present

to help identify and recruit alumni from the Lyon

school(s), so OMANE can proudly claim to

represent all New England based Martinians.

Should anyone reading this report be aware of a

Lyon or other Martinian in the New England

area, not yet an OMANE member, you are

requested to forward all pertinent contact

information for OMANE follow-up.

The meeting concluded with the singing of the

school song, followed by a sit-down sumptuous

dinner and the taking of a group picture.

“Hail, Hail the name we own ….”

Vive La Martiniere!



Another Founder’s Reunion was organised

in the Washington DC/ Baltimore area in

the US by Kolkata Martinian Suprotik

(Supro) Ghose(1983 batch) on the 22nd of

September .Unfortunately, the details of

the event are not yet available to me.

Founder’s Day celebration in

London: (Kind courtesy Vinoth

Kumar)

Dear Martinians

In London we raised a toast to the Founder

Maj Gen Claude Martin and in

attendance were some 100 Martinians

with their families and friends.

A good meal at the Indian Gymkhana

Club, talking with much nostalgia of our

days at La Martiniere and singing the

school song was the order of the day.

We were privileged to have with us senior

Martinians, Beresford Daniel of Kolkata

from 1935 to 1941 and Frank Thompson of

Lucknow from 1941-1948 amongst others.

Malcolm Macclesfield from 1947 to 1955

the treasurer of OMA UK was the MC.

Vive La Martiniere!

Vinoth Kumar

LMC 1954-1962

Around a hundred Old Martinians, with

their families raised a toast to the Founder

on the 16th of September 2018 at the

Indian Gymkhana Club. I know from

personal experience (having participated

in one reunion way back in the year 2000),

the UK OMA celebrations are always well

organised and proper.

Let us all meet in good numbers and celebrate the Founder’s spirit on the 6th of October 2018.

Vive La Martiniere!

Dr Vijay M Kohli

Lucknow La Martiniere I959 to 1970, Cornwallis House

Malcom Macclesfield welcoming the guests

Old friends, Bryan “Buster” McDonald (coloured tie) and

David Chaplin (sitting on his right) can be seen in this

picture. We last met on their visit to India a couple of years

back.


Message from Carlyle Mc Farland, Principal, La Martiniere Lucknow:


Dear Rohin,

I'm aware of the 6th October 2018 programme and

send my best wishes. It is not possible for me to attend

this year; I am sure you will convey my greetings to the

alumni. I shall be happy if you remind them that the

college in Lucknow shall be commemorating 175 years

in 2020. I expect ALL those present at the Delhi reunion

to be here in Lucknow for this .

Have a great time.

Carlyle

Appeal from Bursar

Dear All,

Greetings from La Martiniere College!

It was a wonderful experience to interact with so many of the Alumni from the 60’s who chose to

come and participate in the Founder’s week programme. I am sure your homecoming was moving

for you and your family.

The proposal of Mr Noel Peters to raise the seed money from the Alumni based in the U.K., Australia,

the USA and the Middle East for the proposed auditorium to commemorate 175 years

(quartoseptcentenary) of La Martiniere College in 2020 has been placed before the Executive

Committee of the La Martiniere Alumni (Regd) on Sunday, 16 September, 2018. The Principal, Mr

Carlyle McFarland is the Patron of the Association.

The outcome of this meeting was broadly, as follows:

1- The Alumni has resolved to apply for Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licences for a

particular purpose (i.e. – construction of an Auditorium). Such permissions are likely to be granted

to the Alumni in 5-6 months’ time, which is the usual lead time in such cases.

2- The Auditorium shall be named appropriately to include the event and the contribution of the Old

Boys. This may be decided in due course after consultation with all concerned.

3- The initial proposal was for a state of the art auditorium with modern fixtures and fitting. This was

estimated to cost INR 60 Crores (approx. US$ 8,256,000) The proposal has now been revised to a

modest plan for a multi-purpose hall to accommodate 3000 PAX. The fresh proposal shall

considerably reduce construction costs as well as running costs, for the future.

4- The outline has been conveyed to the architect who has estimated an approximate cost of INR 12

– 15 crores (US$ 1,652,400 – 2,065,125). A modified plan is being presented, which should be ready

within a month

5- It is to be clarified that once the construction of the auditorium is completed; the permission for

FCRA clearance shall be surrendered.

With warm regards,

Adrian Michael

Bursar, La Martiniere College, Lucknow - 226001

+91 9454469203 / 9838229029


Martinians shining


Amrit Kiran Singh has been keeping Old Martinian’s in

Delhi happy and tipsy each year since last two decades

by providing the choicest of liquor at the OMA functions.

While earlier he could be seen on Page 3 very often, now

his concentration is more on achieving the target travel

to 100 countries by the year 2019 is over. He is very

diligently following this quest and is already in mid 90’s. So,

instead of Page 3, now we can see him in more exotic

locales around the world at Instagram.

Immediately after our function on 6th October-, Amrit will

be off to Edinburg, Scotland. He has been conferred the

title of ‘Keeper of Quaich’ by the Government of

Scotland. The investiture will happen in October at

Gleneagles. Knowing that Amrit is a keen golfer, I am sure

his visit to Scotland will end up with a round or two of Golf

at the Old Course-St. Andrews.

Amrit is the Executive Chairman, International Spirits &

Wines Association and has been leading the industry

efforts to normalize alcohol through building its reputation

by getting its members to sign up to a strict ethics code

and promoting a culture of responsible consumption. He

has passionately advocated that governments work in

partnership with industry to curb irresponsible

consumption through education and enforcement of

strict laws. The Road Safety and Stop Underage Drinking

campaigns have become more visible as a result in

recent times.

Tanmoy Chakrabarty

Tanmoy Chakrabarty from Kolkata

Martiniere 1980 batch was promoted this

year from TCS to Tata Sons Limited. He

was appointed as the groups

Government Affairs officer and his role

will be to synergize the Tata Group

Company initiatives to Governments and

to develop a “One Tata“ approach to

the Government Sector

It was a well-deserved promotion from

someone who has been with the Tata

group for 29 years now. Earlier Tanmoy

was the Vice President & Global Head -

Government Industry Solutions TCS. He

built the Government Business for TCS

worldwide from 2004 until March 2018. If

we find our passport application and

procedure very simple nowadays, we

have to thank Tanmoy and his

organizational skills for that.

He has been a member of various

committees like IT Sub-Committee at

Assocham, CII, FICCI and PHDCCI,

Defence IT Sub Committee for FICCI, IT

Task Force of the Chief of Air Staff, Indian

Air Force and a Member of the IT Think

Tank for the Chief of Army Staff, Indian

Army

Tanmoy and his wife Preeti make sure

that they attend all the alumni meets of

OMA Delhi. His annual contributions keep

us happy and go a long way in financing

our evenings.

Amrit Kiran Singh



His wife Farah, alumni of Loreto Lucknow often envies that La Martiniere has such a robust alumni

association in Delhi. She is the co-founder of Urban Suburban theatre group in Gurgaon and has

directed many plays which are staged there. Her love for the theatre and a great team of like-minded

talented people has given Gurgaon its own very successful theatre group.

Keepers of the Quaich : The Keepers of the Quaich is an exclusive and international society that

recognises those that have shown outstanding commitment to the Scotch Whisky industry. Founded by

the leading distillers, it is by its very nature, the beating heart of the industry. In establishing the Keepers

of the Quaich, the industry pooled its influential resources to build a powerful society working together

and united.

This prestigious society takes its name from the traditional two handed drinking cup which is described

in the ancient Gaelic language of Scotland as a Quaich, a vessel long associated with friendship and

the enjoyment of Scotch Whisky. In a ceremony not open to the public each keeper swears with his

right hand resting on a giant handmade silver quaich to uphold the spirit and aims of the Keepers of

the Quaich. All that is accompanied by a laudatory speech; and the signing of the members list, which

already features illustrious names such as the former US President Ronald Reagan and Prince Charles.

The few select new Keepers are inducted at a private ceremony held in the Scottish Highlands at Blair

Castle. The induction ceremony is a grand and confidential ritual, and once this ceremony is

complete, the Keepers are gently led into the glamorous banquet that unfolds in the stunning ballroom

of the castle. It’s a Scottish Cinderella’s ball, complete with red carpet, ball gowns, kilts, pipers and

plenty of toasts, all presided over by the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire and grandmaster of Keepers of the

Quaich, and the Atoll Highlanders – Europe’s only private army.

The 700-year-old iconic Blair Castle with its Scottish baronial architecture has been the home of the

Atholl family for over seven centuries and has had a rich and diverse history. Serving as the

quintessential centre for this award ceremony, the arrival ceremony of the new Keepers was marked

by the grandly decorated castle and the great highland bagpipers’ music in their traditional highland

dress. This was the beginning of more than just an award ceremony. It was a glimpse into the well-

choreographed Royal Scottish lifestyle.

Amrit and Farah at

OMA Delhi function.

They are flanked by Anil

Grover, Ajoy David,

Rohin Arora and

Avaneendra Mishra



Sunit Tandon takes over as Director, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi

Most of our OMA Delhi functions in last 15 years have happened at India

habitat Centre. The place has now been identified with us. So, it is a matter

of great joy for us that one of us, who has attended most of these functions

and has often been the master of ceremonies there is now the Director of

the India Habitat Centre.

Sunit Tandon is a very familiar face to even those who are not Martinians. He

was Doordarshan news reader for several years and has acted in hundreds

of plays. Not many would know but he directed a play called ‘The last of

the Red hot lovers’ in mid 90’s which was staged by OMA Delhi very

successfully.

Last few years he has been ‘behind the scenes’ guy as a director of Lok

Sabha TV; DG of Indian institute of Mass communication; and Director of

international film festival of India.

Sunit passed out of Boy’s school La Martiniere Lucknow in 1974 and has fond

memories of the school and the teachers.

We wish him all the success in this endeavor and hope that he will direct

and perform in a play for the OMA in near future.

Sunit Tandon

Dr Sumit Dubey now holds a GUINNESS WORLD RECORD

Lucknow Martinian Dr Sumit Dubey well established Dental

Surgeon in New Delhi as an instructor / Dental Speaker for

Dabur Red Paste Dental Brigade In Association with Dainik

Jagran Jagran Solutions for OFFICIAL ATTEMPT "Guinness

World Records" conducted "LARGEST ORAL HYGIENE

SESSION" for school kids in Gurgaon on 21st Day of March

2018.

Dr Sumit Dubey shared his knowledge with school Children,

faculty and Volunteers on Basic Oral Hygiene care, Tooth

Brushing, ways to keep tooth brush in better condition (away

from contamination) Oral rinses, Dental Flossing,

Disadvantages of irregular teeth, Gum issues in Younger

children, Oral ulcer, Tobacco Cessation , advantages of

Saliva and of course Importance of teeth in maintaining

general Health for longer better life.

1st INDIAN dentist speaker / instructor to break the RECORD

by conducting largest oral hygiene session for Dabur Red

Paste Dental Brigade In Association with Dainik Jagran

Jagran Solutions Amity International School, Gurgaon.

Previous Guinness World Record was registered in Romania.

Dr Sumit Dubey is also a rural Dentist, strengthening Rural

Oral Care in remote villages across india. His Nobel social

program is self-funded along with like-minded fellow dentist

by the name National Oral hygiene Campaign India an

initiative for HASNAA (Healthy Affordable Solutions Nationally

for Aam Aadmi)

Dr Sumit Dubey creating the record



Mr. Rajinder Khanna with Kolkata Martinian’s Raghuvir, Sanjay and

Abha.

In conversation with Supratim Mukherjee

Q. How do you still know that the Martinian spirit is alive in you?

I don’t think one could ever differentiate between their personality

and the Martinian spirit, it just gets engrained. After spending your

transformative years in an institution like La Martiniere, you might

not realise it but by the time you graduate, your personality has

already been ‘aligned’. On a more serious note, the real test for a

Martitian is when you have an urge to give a ‘cutlouse’ to people

who bull sh*t, even today I can feel that urge, guess the spirit is still

alive!

Q. What did you friends call you, and why? We want all the names?

I have a name which people struggle to pronounce under normal

circumstances, so I have no qualms when they get it wrong. In fact,

I’ve been called anything from ‘Suprabhatam’ to ‘Supper-time’.

But somehow my friends at school were very kind to me and one of

them (don’t remember which one!) started calling me Supri which

has stuck with people beyond school. Even my in-laws call me by

that name :) )

Q. What’s the toughest part of being a Martinian?

While at school being caught coming in late and then the torturous

PD was perhaps the toughest part. After leaving school there is

nothing that I could look back and complain about.

Supratim Mukherjee

Mr. Rajinder Khanna

Mr Rajinder Khanna or Khanna as he

is popularly called passed out from

La Martiniere Lucknow in 1971. Early

this year he was appointed as

Deputy National Security Adviser of

India.

Mr Khanna was the chief of R&AW

before this posting. He joined R&AW

in 1978 and is the first chief of R&AW

who was directly recruited into the

Research and Analysis Service (RAS)

cadre and not seconded from any

other cadre (most other chiefs were

recruited from the IPS cadre). He is

well travelled and considered to be

an expert on several countries.

Mr Rajinder Khanna makes it a point to attend the annual founder’s dinner of OMA and when we had

the dinner meet at CRPF mess at Nizamuddin a couple of years back, he was instrumental in getting

the venue and arrangements done for us. He has been most helpful in many ways for us.


Q. Have you ever 'bumped' into a Martinian overseas? Tell us about it

Not by accident but perhaps this is the closest we got (my wife is also an ex-martinian), recently

walking around Wimbledon we met a lady, who was half French, and planning to relocate to Lyon.

She was exploring La Martiniere, in Lyon for her son’s schooling. We really bonded well on the subject

and somewhere there was a great sense of pride of talking about a school, 4000 miles away in

Lucknow and recommending one situated in France.

Q. Socials & Spence Hall, what do they mean to you.

My first tryst with a social was when Hodson won the cock house in c1985 (perhaps the only one in my

11 years at school). I still remember, going to Baluja’s (I think) in Hazratganj to buy new shoes for the

occasion. The excitement was palpable even though I was in class V!

I vividly remember walking up to a very charming girl and asking her “didi, can I please dance with

you”. I think I had been on the dance floor for a bit too long. A senior (most of them were for me!)

came up and said “Roy is looking for you”. You can imagine the sense of pride when the college

captain, S.K. Roy, is supposedly looking for a boy of class V, I excused myself and walked away only to

be threatened by this chap because he (or maybe his friend) had been waiting to dance with this girl

for a while. Unperturbed I walked into the makeshift canteen and enjoyed a 7’O which was being

served by ‘canteen Sir’, Nadeem bhai’s late father. Of course, things looked up since that incident and

the thought of socials still brings back very fond memories.

Q. What are your thoughts about the school now?

I haven’t had the opportunity of visiting the school in the last 6 years but thanks to social media, I have

been in constant touch with the developments. The layout, maintenance, new initiatives, sports

facilities and even the fact that the school is now growing its own farm produce is an incredible

success story. Having known Mr. Carlyle McFarland, I cannot think of a more pragmatic and

committed leader who could bring about this unimaginable change. I feel even more proud of our

alma mater given where it is today. As a small token of gratitude, I had donated a sun dial to the

school a few years back and I’m told the students really enjoy having it in their midst. There is so much

more that can be done, and I do hope my fellow Martinians would come forward and join the others in

this mission.

Supratim Mukherjee is an old boy from La Martiniere College, Lucknow of the ’93 batch (1980 – 1991).

He is a communications and marketing professional who started his career in advertising agencies like

JWT, working on brands like Lipton and Tropicana. After spending a few years in advertising Supratim,

joined ABN AMRO Bank and was then selected for a global role by the parent company, RBS Group,

based out of Edinburgh in 2008. Keen to do something more meaningful, he made a career shift and

joined an international anti-human trafficking NGO fighting the crime on the frontlines in South Asia and

Western Europe. Supratim now lives in London with his family and is on the board of a couple of UK

based charities. You can find him on [email protected]

The beautifully crafted new sundial presented to La Martiniere

Lucknow by alumnus Supratim Mukherjee is installed on the

campus. It has remarkable accuracy. The previous sundial which it

has replaced was installed on 1937.

The base of the original sun dial with a Latin inscription on it loosely

translated as "And the use of teachers and children in College

Martinensis Lucknow this clock built dedicated Joseph Miles Clay

College keeper 1937"

mailto:[email protected]


SunDay BunDay


A journey which began 5 years ago on 24th November, 2013 as a friendly meet of few friends exclusively

for ex Martinians or male bonding transformed into a gathering of ex Martinians and their family. This love

spread in the campus by Martinians and their family on last Sunday of every month brought the old

teachers back to college. Some of the retired teachers which blessed the occasion were Mr Russell

Wilber Carville (former Vice Principal of College), Ma’am Tamanna Raza and Ma’am Lila Rawat.

Martinians relive their college life; share the nostalgic memories of college campus and their friends with

their family. The adornment done by the most active, energetic and youngest ex Martinian i.e the

principal of our college, Mr Carlyle Mcfarland is equally enjoyed by the visitors. Sunday Bunday with the love it got has crossed all the geographical boundaries and reached all

around the globe. Some of the ex-Martinians staying abroad came back to the college on Sunday

Bunday just to celebrate their birthday and anniversary in their college.

The widespread gathering of ex Martinians passed out from the year 1950 to the year 2017 came under

one roof to enjoy delicious and mouth-watering cuisines by Nadeem Kazmi, a man who ensures the

tradition of providing some delicious food to ex Martinians and their family with an extraordinary zeal

and love. The Buntack, BunKabab, Sheermal and samosa are some of the servings. The menu has

become more tastier and bigger.

In the history of La Martiniere College,Lucknow only three girls studied here-

1. Ms. Tessa Dignum of Batch 1964

2. Ms. Rogers of Batch 1933

3. Ms. Penelope Doutre of Batch 1960.

We had the pleasure to have Ms. Dignum, an alumni and the daughter of Mr & Mrs. Dignum who are the

former teachers of the College on SunDay BunDay.

On 25th March,2018, batch of 1992 celebrated their silver jubilee with Sunday Bunday. These cherishing

moments and reunion of Martinians irrespective of their age and batch constitute the Sunday Bunday.

We would like to invite all our fellow Martinians and their family to join us on last Sunday of every month

from 9 a.m. to 12 noon at La Martiniere College, the name which unites us.

Hail ! Hail ! the name we own, Hail ! to the giver.

Jointly organized Ratnesh Gupta & Mohd. Rizwan


Mart was always considered one of the most ‘exclusive’ schools with a unique code of conduct and a

distinctive set of rules!

While only a few of these were actually official in nature; the rest; though unwritten, were no less in

importance or stature!

Thus, just by studying here you couldn’t automatically claim to be Martinian and smugly bask in the

glory of its fame!

You were accepted as a ‘True Martinian’ only when you had the mind of a ‘devil’, but the heart and

virtues of gentlemen!

To behave ‘like a man’ was the first thing you were taught. By never wincing when a ‘jhaanp’ or ‘six of

the best’ you got!

At that time being ‘macho’ meant playing rugby where about getting a broken nose or ‘rugger-

fingers’ one didn’t care and with cut lips or black- eyes one proudly walked about. As these were

proofs of a hard and well fought boxing bout!

The girls never really got impressed if you had a car. But you’d be the center of attraction if you could

play the guitar!

In Mart we had many sons of the rich and the influential but for us students, this was totally

inconsequential!

You could come to school on your own bike or car uninhibited, but getting them inside the school gate

was totally prohibited!

And the school uniform at all times had to be neat and clean; with the tie properly in place and shoes

polished till they did gleam!

And long hair those who did dare harbor, Were promptly given a ‘tonsure’ by Mr. Carver !

Danny’ our Principal, was an old army man who On Terry-cotton uniforms had placed a total taboo! His

logic was simple and crystal clear- There had to be uniformity in what we wear!

Since ‘terrycot’ was then exclusive preserve of the wealthy Mart would never encourage a trend that

was unhealthy!

Then there was also an unwritten convention in Mart that was permanently etched in every student’s

heart. One could always play pranks or break rules if he so dared; but anyone getting others in trouble

was never spared!

A MARTINIAN’S CODE OF CONDUCT



So, whenever a serious ‘crime’ in school took place and it became impossible for the authorities to

trace!

The culprit who was responsible for the act ‘Punishment drill’ (PD) was ordered, despite the fact that the

teachers knew the boys, however weak- Would never break a ‘Martinian’s code’ and ‘sneak’

But this invariably helped the school authorities find who was the actual culprit or the real mastermind!

As seeing colleagues being punished for his crime; the offender would (as expected) ‘own-up’ in no

time!

Growing up with such qualities one may well say is passé and has no place or meaning in the world

today!

While the values that we picked up in Mart May not have helped to make us ‘street- smart’

But one can confidently say that all said and done; as a good human being, a Martinian is second to

none!

Nilesh Kunwar


La Martiniere Lyons

We have been in touch with La Martiniere Lyons

through Danielle Martinod. She had visited India

last year and spent time at Kolkata and Lucknow

schools. She had also met Dr Kohli and me in

Delhi.

Dr Pachauri had visited Lyons early last year and

he had this to say:

‘I was deeply touched by my visit to our three

sister institutions in Lyon, France early this year.

Ms. Danielle Martinod has very kindly put together

a brief booklet with photographs and write-ups

about my visit, which I have great pleasure in

attaching for your information. I feel that the

Martiniere spirit involving all our institutions should

be strengthened and kept alive through regular

and frequent contacts between our institutions.‘

This message and photograph was received by us a few days back :

Thanks a lot not to have forgotten the Lyon Chapter, for the Founder’s day celebrations !

Wish you all, a great Saturday,

Personally, I am sorry not to be able to attend, this year ....

On the 13 th of September we had, here, the kind visit of

Dr. Anirudh Saxena

Post Graduate Resident, Department of Community Medicine,

Vardhman Mahavir Medical College & Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi

*Hope to see one of your team visiting Claude Martin’s birthplace, in 2019 !...

Kind regards,

Danielle Martinod (coordination of “La Martinière High Schools Lyon-Lucknow-Kolkata”)

Right to left : Jacques Garden : President of Martin’s Foundation,

Maxime Bosse-Platière : President of Lyon Alumni Association,

Grégoire Brault : Director of Alliance française Lyon, Nathalie Perrin-

Gilbert : Lord Mayor of the 1st district of Lyon, Danielle Martinod :

project manager for coordination with the Martinières in Lucknow

and Kolkata



Soaked in Nostalgia

Gates of memories opened at the Founder’s Day

Dinner organized by La Martiniere Girls ‘Alumni

Association at a city hotel. The silver citizens of 60s

batches relived the good old days with their

classmates. The scintillating evening kick started with

a nostalgic quiz which soon turned into a battel field

as all assembled Martinians were asked to

participate according to their respective Houses.

The chants of Go Hodson and hooting of Loser

Martin were deafening. Lyons House ultimately won

the True Martinain House hamper. Hosted by Ishita

Basu, it hooded everyone with waves of nostalgia.

Mauveen Shaw was the judge for selecting Rocking

Martinian, by dancing on ’60s numbers. Eldest

Martinian girls prize went to Mauveen Shaw, Olive

Matthews, Atiya Suleiman and Rajinder Mehrota (all-

1962 batch) while Eldest Martinian Boy prize went to

Zubair Ahmad (19461953 batch).

Reggie Wilson and Donna Filose were crowned

Rocking King and Rocking Queen respectively.

They shared anecdotes about their most naughty

memories which left everyone in splits. The dinner

concluded with the singing school song in which

both principals Aashrita Dass and Carlyle McFarland

joined in unison.


Blast from the Past, OMA Annual Dinner 2017


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are grateful to

Diageo India and Old

Martinian's 'Anand

Kripalu & Amrit Kiran

Singh' for their continued

support to OMA Delhi

and for keeping the

spirits of alumni very high

year after year.


This magazine is meant for students, teachers and alumni of La Martiniere Schools. Please do forgive us

incase of any presentation/ grammatical/ typographical errors as this magazine has been assembled

without any professional help.

Chief Editor & Producer - Rohin Arora ([email protected])

Joint Editor - Kunal Punn ([email protected])

Any information regarding La Martiniere Schools for future News Letters should be to either of the above.

Articles, stories and photographs would be welcomed.

Upcoming Event: OMA , Delhi Chapter Annual Founder’s Dinner

on 6th October 2018


the martinians · ajay vig becoming the chief guest at school on independence day. majid khan, alok...

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