X Cathedralite 2012

The
2012
The Cathedral & John Connon Alumni Magazine
Founders Day Brunch 2011
EVENTS
Rumble in the Jungle
OFF THE SHELF
Amish Tripathi and Akash Shah
OUT OF THE BOX
Dhanya Pilo
Contents
9
15
13
18
Presidents Message
2
Events
5

Founders Day 2011

Rumble in the Jungle
7

Memories and Mayhem
9
10
School Update
Summer School
13
Spotlight
15

Keshav Desiraju

Sudha Shah
17
Off the Shelf
18

Amish Tripathi and Akash Shah
Out of the Box
21

Vijaya Pastala

Dhanya Pilo
22
Nostalgia
25
Reunions
27
First Citizen
29
In Memoriam
31

Mrs. Irene Saldanha

Mr. Anthony Dias
33
Class Notes 36
The Quiz
68
Editorial Team
Udita Jhunjhunwala (ICSE 1984)
Miel Sahgal (ISC 1989)
Shyla Boga Patel (ISC 1969)
Mukeeta Jhaveri (ISC 1983)
Mitali Anand Kalra (ISC 1989)
Business
Rohita Chaganlal Doshi (ISC 1975)
Editorial support, Design and Printing
22
Kirtana Shetty
Minaal Pednekar and Nikunj Parikh
Spenta Multimedia
This magazine is not for sale and is intended for internal circulation only. Any
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written consent. Views and opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the
individual authors and not necessarily those of the Publishers.
Published by The Cathedral and John Connon Alumni Association, 6, P.T. Marg,
Mumbai 400 001 and printed at Spenta Multimedia, Peninsula Spenta, Mathuradas
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21
36
Special thanks to the following donors for their

generous contribution: Rajeev Sahney, Ashwin Ramesh,
Basanti Singh, Gaurav Talwar, Mukeeta P. Jhaveri
Presidents Message
To my fellow alumni,
s I write this, I see dark clouds casting

luminescent shadows on the Arabian Sea
outside. They bring back fond Cathedral
School memories.
After years of organising an evening event, last
year the Association experimented with a Sunday
brunch at Blue Sea to mark Founders Day. We
were rewarded with a large turn-out, including
many retired teachers who find night functions
challenging. Much revelry was well fuelled by
the generous support of Rajeev Samant of Sula
Vineyards, ensuring that Blue Sea had to literally
throw us out.
In other Founders Week events, 31 golfers teed
off at the Willingdon Club courtesy alums Akshay
Kilachand, Meher Amersey and Pushpa Bhatia. Out
on the maidan while palm shadows lengthened the
Old Boys won the annual cricket match organised
by Sanjay Shah. The traditional Old Girls Middle
School post-Church Service Tea too was held and
attended by stalwarts and visiting alumni.
The editorial team under the leadership of Miel
Sahgal and Udita Jhunjhunwala did a sterling job
with The X-Cathedralite magazine. When sourcing
content, it was enthusing to see how well our alumni
are fairing in the myriad waters they choose to

navigate. The new look received great feedback as
did the web version.
In a bid to take our members outdoors, be
more active, involve families and give back to the
community, Miel Sahgal and her team of naturalists
from Sanctuary organised a wonderful Nature Trail
and shramdhaan to clean up Borivali National Park.
For us SoBo slickers, the early Sunday morning
sojourn into the lungs of what has become an
abominable concrete jungle was delightful and
surprisingly accessible.
Under Shylas passionate and painstaking
planning and God-lies-in-the details execution,
the 11th Annual Cathedral Summer School was
a resounding success. The day we visited, we were
treated to awesome fish curry, gallery-grade artwork
and some really cool hi-tech kites. Seeing both sets
of children in the relaxed magical setting of Manori
beach letting their hair down and creative juices flow
was so rewarding.
Our mid-year event this time around was hosted
by Tarini Mohindar the generous dynamo from the
Class of 1993 at the new mid-town bistro Caf Zoe.
What started off as an intimate gathering slowly
Committee 2011-2012: From left to right: Sundeep Ahuja, Udita Jhunjhunwala, Anuskha Shivdasani Rovshen,
Vikram Kothari, Shyla Boga Patel, Mukeeta Jhaveri, Miel Sahgal, Chitra Rajkumar, Viral Doshi
2 The X-Cathedralite 2012
Executive Committee
(2012-2013)
morphed into a raucous take-over of the restaurant

by a 100 pan generation Cathedralites. Many I
suspect had never stepped into the new nightlife
district of Upper Worli before.
Our retired Teachers Medical Benefit Scheme is
now well established thanks to Bibash and Shyla.
Please do continue to donate generously to support
the premiums for over 45 beneficiaries covered.
Sadly, this year we lost three members of staff Mrs.
Irene Saldanha, Mr. Anthony Dias and Mrs. Shobha
Chainani. The large turn-out and the moist eyes
at Mrs. Saldanhas funeral mass were testimony
to the love and high regard with which she will be
remembered by her children.
Our new www.catalumni.com website is up
and running thanks to our web-master Gautam
Shewakramani. We welcome and invite your
feedback.
Thank you my Executive Committtee for taking
ownership for the various endeavors of the
Association all through the year.
A great team effort all around.
President
Mukeeta Jhaveri
(ISC 1983, Savage)
Vice-Presidents
Rohita Chaganlal Doshi
(ISC 1975, Wilson)
Bibhash Asar
(ICSE 1986, Palmer)
Co-Treasurers
Sundeep Ahuja
(ICSE 1977, Palmer)
Vikram Kothari
(ISC 1974, Palmer)
Secretary
Mitali Anand Kalra
(ISC 1989, Wilson)
Committee Members (ex-officio)

Principal
Mrs. Meera Isaacs
Committee Members
Amit Advani
By Mukeeta Jhaveri nee Kataria
(ISC 1994, Palmer)
(ISC 1983)
Shyla Boga Patel

(ISC 1969, Savage)
Viral Doshi
(ISC 1975, Palmer)
Udita Jhunjhunwala
(ICSE 1984, Barham)
Pragni Kapadia
(ISC 1994, Palmer)
Shonar Lala
Photo credits: Sundeep Bhatia (ICSE 1985)
(ISC 1990, Palmer)
Prakash Thadani, Pragni Kapadia, Gautam Shewakramani. Missing from the committee
pictures are Rohita Doshi, Amit Advani, Bibhash Asar and Mitali Anand Kalra
Chitra Rajkumar
(ISC 1956, Savage)
Gautam Shewakramani
(ISC 2001, Savage)
Anushka Shivdasani Rovshen

(ISC 1997, Barham)
Prakash Thadani
(ISC 1969, Savage)
The Executive Committee looks forward to

your active involvement with the Association.
Please do contact us on the Cathedral Alumni
Helpline (99305 77120) or through our website
www.catalumni.com
Founders Day 2011
EVENTS
Brunch at Blue Sea
Golf tournament
Church service
EVENTS
Rumble in the jungle

THE TRAILBLAZERS
Photo credits: Arun Janardhan and Mayank Tejura
n Sunday March 18, 2012,

45 enthusiastic participants
assembled bright and early
at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park
for the Alumni Associations Nature
Trail and shramdhaan. The group
of alumni and their families walked
along the Kanheri Cave trail led by
naturalists and the Sanctuary Asia
team, marvelling at the treasures of
the forest along the way.
Avian sightings included the Crested
Serpent Eagle, Shikra and Blackheaded Oriole and the forest floor
revealed spider webs, termite mounds,
and, in an exciting turn of events,
a tiny scorpion. The children were
particularly intrigued by the sounds
of cicadas and barbets, the smells of
flowers, the feel of different plants

and, of course, climbing onto low lying
tree branches. Scrambling up the top
of the hill to see the beautiful ghost
trees, the group encountered a busy
troop of Hanuman langurs foraging
for breakfast.
After the trail, the group, including
little toddlers, moved to the Kanheri
Cave complex for a shramdhaan
where they successfully collected
over 15 bags of litter, contributing
to the Forest Departments clean up
efforts. The event was included in the
Earth Day Networks Billion Acts of
Green campaign and the Association
is delighted with the members
involvement in its very own
Act of Green.
We went on the nature trail with

our three-year-old daughter
Sharanya who was thrilled
at the thought of going to a
jungle. She yanked us out of
bed, and chattered excitedly
through the journey about all the
cobras, pythons and cheetahs
she was hoping to see and she
really enjoyed herself. We saw a
scorpion, some monkeys, poked
around in a tree hollow for
cobwebs andthe highlight of
the tripate flowers and fruit of
the karonda tree. Shes now told
all her friends that she went to
the jungle, made friends with the
monkeys and ate karondas with
them (shes clearly taken artistic
license)! So were all excitedly
waiting for the next Nature Trail.
Priyanka Kheruka nee Todi

(ISC 2000)
The trail was a resplendent

morning in the lap of nature;
well organised, informative,
invigorating and fun for all
ages. We are all so swayed by
technology that we often forget
the miracles of nature and
ecology. The shramdhaan was
very thoughtful and invoked
in us a sense of consciousness
towards our environment. I look
forward to more.
Mayank Tejura
(ICSE 1987)
An excellent fun morning.

More events like this would
be welcome.
Pereena Lamba
(ICSE 1988)
EVENTS
MEMORIES
and
MAYHEM
On July 18, 2012, on a wet Wednesday, Caf
Zoe in Mumbais Lower Parel area saw
ex-Cathedralites young and old troop in
to the cosy, warm and welcoming caf. Thanks
to Tarini Mohindar (class of 1993), one of the
partners at Zoe, there was an array of delicious
snacks and excellently priced beverages.
Photo credits: Sundeep Bhatia (ICSE 1985)
Near the bar, one batch boasted of having

the maximum numbers from their class. In
another corner, a young entrepreneur and an
established professional exchanged numbers.
After a few drinks people grabbed tables
and proceeded to have dinner. It was a long,
leisurely evening, as the rain pattered outside
and conversation continued inside. At closing
time, we could still feel the warmth of old
friendships and shared history.
School Update
A message from the Principal,

Mrs. Meera Isaacs
he School year was

tumultuous with the juggling
of academic schedules,
sporting events and cultural
jamborees and, as usual, the
children came through with flying
colours. The Schools philosophy
is that we must give our pupils a
rich and varied experience with
challenge being a key ingredient.
Academic achievement is only one
part of the whole.
Examination Results
As usual, the Board examination
results were outstanding. At the
ICSE 2011 Examinations, Raahil
Shah ranked 1st in Maharashtra
with 98.60%, followed by Evangeline
Samuel at 97.20%. Ninety
candidates got 90% and above; 48
in the 80s, seven in the 70s and
one fell in the 60% bracket. At
the ISC, Arjav Jain came 1st with
97.50%. Out of the 90 candidates
who appeared, 54 got above 90%, 34
stood in the 80s and five, in the 70s.
The results of the 2011 Advanced
Placement Programme were quite
exceptional as were the College
Board results and SAT Reasoning
Scores. From the graduating ISC
class of 91 students, 59 applied to
institutions of higher education
overseas to the US, UK, Canada and
Singapore. The latter is increasingly
gaining in popularity but the US,
despite everything, continues to be
the under-grad El-Dorado.
Beyond the Classroom
Our students have received
international accolades in various
events from creative writing
competitions to science and
mathematic Olympiads to the
Cathedral Model United Nations.
Prowess on the sportsfield
is equally prized by the School;
Sporting activities are encouraged

as a vital facet of healthy growth.
Discipline, leadership qualities as well
as subjugating the individual self to
the team are important lessons that
children learn.
Basketball saw its fair share of
success, Football has seen an overall
growth in skill, finesse and ratings
as our teams have been upgraded to
the A Category, and Cathedral was
judged the best School in Karate
for the year 2011-12. At the DSO
and Zonal Under-13 Swimming
Championship we placed 1st in the
Medley and 2nd in the Freestyle
Relays. The various school tabletennis teams had successful runs
with two teams placing 1st and 2nd
and third in the MSSA and DSO.
Lawn Tennis also had our Under-13
Boys team claiming first place and
qualifying for the Zonals. The DSO
Athletics Meet saw our Under-13
Girls bagging 1st place in the 4 x 100
metres relay, and 3rd place in the
Zonals. The Senior Girls Badminton
team took second place at the District
Level and was selected for the Zonal
trials; the boys team bagged the 3rd
position and was selected for the
State trials. Chess and Squash too
saw stellar performances this year.
The story on the boys cricket front
continues to be dismal. It was left to
the fledgling girls team to salvage our
pride which they did spectacularly
by taking first place in the Mumbai
Cricket Association tournament.
The Arts
Our students were very fortunate to
meet and paint with inspirational
artists Sunil Padwal, Raza and Jitish
Kallat. The yearly Art exhibition
at the Tao Art Gallery fattened the
Interact kitty by Rs.1,60,000/- which
was donated to various causes
pin-pointed by the young artists

themselves. The School Artists
Organisation of UK printed eight
posters painted by our students in
the World Student Artists Book and
at the International Youth Festival
on art and culture, 16 of our Art
students received Certificates of
Merit for their posters. The Institute
of Career Studies, Lucknow, published
paintings of two of our young artists
in their Silver Jubilee calendar;
while La Salle Art College Singapore
selected three of our students for
their outstanding performance in
Art studies, and has applauded the
Schools Art Department as being one
of the best in India for aspiring young
artists. Art has become a viable career
option with a good number of our
graduating class going on to study at
Parsons in the UK, the Rhode Island
School of Design, and the prestigious
National Institute of Design in
Ahmedabad.
Community Service
The Interact Club is the magical
spiders web that weaves school
activities with community service.
The substantial monies raised
through student efforts are used to
bring comfort to sick children, the
differently-abled and the elderly.
Tata Memorial Hospital, the Cancer
Survivors V Care Foundation,
Yuva, VOICE, Apnalaya, Goonj, the
Akanksha Centres, the Sadhana
School and Om Creations, the
Door-Step School and Seva Sadan,
St. Xaviers College and the National
Association for the Blind are some
of the institutions with which we are
strongly linked.
The Nature Club has forged
strong links with Sanctuary and the
inimitable Bittu Sahgal. References
to understanding and saving the
School Update
worlds environment and biodiversity especially our national
icon the tiger are strewn through
the project work. The Infant School
project was so outstanding that it
was aired on television by Sahara
Mumbai. The Club endeavours
to spread this message through
talks by conservationists, quizzes,
presentations, field trips, art work
and photography workshops.
Leadership Skills
Our young people are strategicallyplaced to become the leaders of
tomorrow. They are bright, creative,
imaginative, well-informed and
progressive-minded and will in
time be, I presume, the movers and
shakers of the world and we hope,
underpin what they do with a strong
sense of right and wrong.
Training in ethics begins at the
three-year level and is one of the
lynchpins of the School. Through
value education, counselling
sessions, films, stories and assembly
programmes the lessons of evolving
into right thinking, principled human
beings is emphasised. The Ethical
Leadership Programme that the
School subscribes to is a step towards
consciously helping our students have
the courage to make the right choices.
Our Teachers
There has been a constant endeavour
to better teaching and inter-personal
skills through workshops and
seminars. Curricula is fine-tuned and
audited so that the teaching learning
process is challenging, stimulating
and enjoyable. Mrs. J. Mayadas, our
Vice-Principal, had the opportunity
to attend the International School
Leadership Summit 2011 in
Iowa. Mrs. Sudarshana Shukla
further enhanced her skills at a
10-day-certificate course on Career
Counselling in Bangalore Four of
our teaching faculty, Mrs. Kamakshi
Tewari, Mrs. Vaishali Bafna and
Sarah Varghese of the Senior School
appeared successfully for their

Bachelor of Education Examination.
Mr. Nanda Das our creative and
much-loved wizard of the Art
Department had two of his paintings
exhibited at none other than the
Guggenheim at New York.
Farewells have, of necessity, to be
made. We bid a reluctant au revoir
to Miss Jennifer Vaz, Headmistress
of the Middle School for 15 years.
We thank her for her many years of
dedicated and loyal service to the
School and wish her a lifetime of
blessings. Other teachers who retire
after a long and fruitful innings
with us are Mrs. Lakshmi Ramani,
Co-ordinator of Mathematics at the
Senior level who has been with us for
13 years, and Mrs. Rita Fernandes,
Art Teacher of the Junior School who
has clocked close to 21 years. Mrs.
Namita Prasad, Mrs. Piyali Pant, Mrs.
Nivedita Jaiswal, Mrs. Tanvi Banerjee
are others who left during the course
of the year. They all go with our good
wishes, gratitude and affection for
having been an integral part of the
School community and for gilding
so many lives with value. It is with
personal sadness that I say goodbye
to Mrs. Jean Pereira, the feisty lady
all of you meet when you come to the
Principals Office.
I would also like to formally
welcome all new members of staff.
It is particularly gratifying that a
slowly but steadily increasing number
of former Cathedralites are opting
to give back to their alma mater by
taking on the mantle of teachers. I
trust that they will have a long and
rewarding tenure with the School
Thank You
Our Vice-Principals, Mrs. Jyotsna
Mayadas and Mrs. Nalini Samuel, our
Headmistresses, Miss J. Vaz, Mrs.
S. Ganguly, Mrs. Z. Shroff, Mrs. R.
Talpade, Mrs. Gehna Malkani our
Bursar, our Administrative Staff
and our entire teaching faculty you have always walked the extra
mile and have carried out your

duties with grace, finesse and good
humour. Thank you for being such an
incredible team and for sharing the
slog and the joy of taking our School
along its journey to excellence.
To all the members of the PTA
led by the generous-spirited Mrs.
Mayuri Bhasin (Chairperson) and
her cohorts, Mrs. Sangeeta Kapoor
(Vice-Chairperson), Mrs. Alka
Samant (Secretary), Mrs. Sapna
Vaid (Assistant Secretary) and
Ayesha Soonawalla (Treasurer),
incredibly creative, efficient and
energetic young ladies. There is much
appreciation and admiration for
your never-say-die attitude and for
genuinely seeming to like what you
do for the School!
To the members of the alumni
association who support the School
in various ways, and especially to
Anand Gokani, doctor on perpetual
call and motivational leader to our
Std.12s, many, many grateful thanks.
I would like to thank our Board of
Governors , led by Mr. T. Thomas, for
their wisdom and vision. They have,
as is their wont, spent considerable
time and effort in guiding the policies
of the School. We are truly blessed
to have the goodwill, support and
patience of people of such high
calibre each a stalwart in his field.
It is a tremendous privilege for
me to head a School such as ours.
The young people we deal with are
undoubtedly children of paradise..
If, as a School, we have helped our
students discover and develop
themselves, to inculcate qualities
of sportsmanship, leadership and
team spirit, to be grateful for their
many advantages and to be able to
accept all their achievements with
humility and grace, to value and
respect one another, to be kind and
compassionate, to be able to reach
out in help to someone in need in
other words, to let the heart have
its way then we have succeeded in
our mission.
www.ravalgaon.in
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DBOZPVDBUDIBMM
summer school
The Cathedral
Summer School
A circular went out eleven
years ago to the children of the
Middle School. It said:
Would you like to
Dance?
Gaze at the stars?
Paint a wall?
Kick a ball?
Craft a pot?
Laugh a lot?
Act?
Sing?
Plant a tree?
Fly a kite?
Play Housie at night?
Of course, they would. The

response was overwhelming and so,
since 2002 the Summer School has
become an integral part of the School
Calendar. By December each year we
have a waiting-list of hopefuls. As
soon as the School vacations start so
does the Summer School.
It is held at Manoribel in Manori
village. The idea, besides having
a lot of fun, is for the 45 children
from the Middle School to integrate
with 25 children from the village
who take part in all the activities
alongside the Cathedral children, The
Manori children are sponsored by
the Association. The Summer School

was conceptualised in 2002 by Shyla
Boga Patel (1969) and has been
meticulously organised by her for
the last eleven years. It is at all times
accompanied by five staff members of
the school who take excellent care of
the children.
The accommodation at Manoribel
is superb and the food tends to
vanish quite fast! We take the entire
hotel so that there are no outside
guests, or security concerns.
The workshops are run by
men and women known for
their excellence. Art: Nanda Das,
Environment: Anish Andheria,

Theatre: Rajit Kapoor,
Pottery: Abbas and Yusuf Galwani,
Robotics: Asha Sundararajan,
Dance: Shiamaks troupe, to name
a few. Of course, over the years, a
whole host of other disciplines have
also been covered.
The main aim of the Summer
School is integration of the rural and
the urban. The Mumbai children visit
the local farm houses, temple and
church, learn how toddy is tapped and
rice is grown. On the other hand, the
Manori children get the opportunity
to learn astronomy, pottery, dance
and robotics. Another aim is to learn
outside the confines of a schoolboth
mentally and physically.
The Summer School receives a
donation of Rs. one lakh from the
Alumni Association. One visit to the
Summer School at Manoribel and you
will see that the sheer electricity and
joy in the air certainly make it money
well donated.
Spotlight
A sense
of Service
Keshav Desiraju (1970) joined the IAS in 1978. He is
currently Special Secretary in the Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare, Government of India. In the 34
years since Keshav joined the IAS, he has only known
three other Cathedralites in the civil service
Tell us about the sector in which
you currently work.
My work in the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare covers
a wide range of health policy
issues including the prevention,
treatment and management of
non-communicable disease, issues
in medical education, strengthening
health human resource development
and matters related to the WHO. In
our federal system, the responsibility
for the delivery of health care rests
with the state governments who
are also free to frame their own
policies. In practice, however, major
policy initiatives in recent years,
such as the National Rural Health
Mission (NRHM), have come from
the Government of India. Among the
many things I learnt from Cathedral,
was a sense of service and while we
have known alumni play prominent
roles in public service, working for
the Government has not been an
option that Cathedralites have readily
looked at.
What are the key problems?
As we look to the 12th Five Year Plan,
2012-2017, the big issue is universal
access to health. Some readers would
be familiar with the remarkable
achievements made by Cuba and
Thailand in providing universal
access. The task is more difficult in
a country of our size. Finding the

resources is one problem, but a much
more difficult problem is finding the
right people. India faces an alarming
shortage of qualified professionals at
the locations where they are needed.
This covers the entire range from
health workers and midwives in
the villages to specialists and super
specialists at tertiary care centres.
You have said Public health has
to be a public responsibility.
Please comment
The question of qualified human
resources is linked closely to the
question of private provisioning of
health services. There is no denying
the contribution to healthcare
delivery of the private sector and
the services provided by private
hospitals. However, for the vast bulk
of Indias people, healthcare needs
to be provided easily, locally and
inexpensively.
Where do the challenges and
opportunities lie?
We need to invest much more
substantially in health research, with
a view towards new and improved
treatment for both communicable
and non-communicable diseases.
We have seen remarkable success in
addressing the challenge of polio,
but malaria and other communicable
diseases remain a challenge. India

is a large producer of inexpensive
generic drugs. Our challenge is
to maintain our competitive edge
while also seeking a greater share of
the world market. Infant mortality
remains unacceptably high; at the
same time Indians are living longer
and we need to be able to address the
problems of old age, not all of which
have medical solutions.
What are the perceptions of the
government and the civil services
in a changing polity?
The print and television media
does not hold the government in
any great regard, and the IAS in
particular is an object of scorn.
Certainly it could be said that the
civil servants have failed to maintain
the standards for which their
community was known and which
were so much in evidence in the
early years of Indias independence.
But to my mind, and it surprises me
that I should have taken so long to
realise this, there is so much that can
be done in this government. While
I may have entered the government
service somewhat shakily, there is
now nowhere else I would rather be.
By Mukeeta Jhaveri nee
Kataria (ISC 1983)
Spotlight
Road to Mandalay
Amitav Ghoshs novel The Glass Palace was the inspiration for Sudha Shahs
first book on Burma
The King in Exile: The Fall of

the Royal Family of Burma
(HarperCollins, 2012) is the moving
biography of a fascinating family
the last king of Burma, King
Thibaw, his two queens, and his
four daughters. The book describes
King Thibaws seven-year rule from
the resplendent Golden Palace
in Mandalay, and the loss of his
throne to the British. It recounts
the adjustments the king and his
family had to make as state prisoners
during their long exile in Ratnagiri,
India. And it details the life of the
family once the exile ended after
the kings death, including the lives
of each of the princesses who were
suddenly thrown into a world that
they had absolutely no knowledge of.
Sudha Shah (nee Malkani), the
author of the book, graduated from
the Cathedral & John Connon
School in 1972
followed by Smith
College, USA. She
has spent the last
seven years researching and writing
this book. Her sources include
in-depth interviews with King
Thibaws descendants and others
in Ratnagiri, Kalimpong, Kolkata,
Mumbai, Mandalay, Yangon and
Pyin Oo Lwin; libraries, newspaper
records and government archives
in Mumbai, New Delhi, London
and Yangon.
Her interest in the subject was
sparked by Amitav Ghoshs book,
The Glass Palace. In his review of
her book, Ghosh has written that it
is an absorbing read. Exhaustively
researched and gracefully written
The King in Exile tells a story of
compelling human interest, filled
with drama, pathos and tragedy.
[It] heralds the arrival of a writer of

non-fiction who is both uncommonly
talented and exceptionally diligent...
One of the great merits of [the
book] is that it is completely free
of jargon and theorising. It is in
essence a family story, centred
on five women whose lives
were waylaid by history. The
book was shortlisted for the
prestigious Shakti Bhatt
First Book Prize, and was
on The Asian Age bestseller
list.
Says Sudha, Although
my parents were very
liberal and both were
avid readers of literature
and history, as many
of my generation I was
pressured to do a more
practical subject
in my case, science.
Science was never my
interest and my much-better-thanexpected ISC results astonished
no one more than me! In college I
majored in economicsanother
practical subject. It was only
recently that I found my passion,
and this book is a result of it.
She adds, My mother, Sheila
Malkani (nee Advani) went to
Cathedral and so did my son Karan.
My mother often talked about how
much she valued the education she
got at Cathedral, a sentiment my
son and I also share. That, and the
enduring friendships we all made,
make for very special memories of a
very special school.
By Rohita Doshi
(ISC 1975)
Amish Tripathi and Akash Shah at

Om Book Shop, Lower Parel
Turning the pages

of HISTORY
Amish Tripathi (ICSE 1990) and Akash Shah (ISC 1992)
who once went a few rounds with each other in the
boxing ring, now occupy two sides in the same field
one is the bestselling author of The Shiva Trilogy, while
the latter is a successful publisher of his familys Jaico
Publishing House. Over a light supper they reminisce
about school and life thereafter
What are your memories of each
other from your school days?
Akash: We were in the same class
but we werent part of the same
gang. Both of us were into sports,
but we trained with our respective
houses. I remember Amish mainly in
the context of boxing.
Amish: I used to train with my twin

brother Ashish; he was a very good
boxer. But yes, Akash and I really got
to know each other through sports.
We both participated in boxing,
gymnastics, cross country and rugby.
In gym the pummel horse and rings
were my apparatus.
Akash: The pummel horse was my

favourite, too, but I broke my arm on
the vaulting horse.
Amish: Thats another thing we have
in common! I broke my back on the
vaulting horse.
Akash: In boxing I remember
Amishs style was very
unconventional. He came into the
ring with this non-stop energy. I
didnt know what hit me. He was
very aggressive right from the
beginning.
Amish: Akash was a technically very
sound boxer and he had beaten me
the previous year. I knew that if I
hung around too long with him I
would lose so I decided I was going to
go aggressive and head-on.
What did you do after leaving
school?
Amish: I was in corporate insurance
before I became a full-time writer.
After school I went to Xaviers and
Photo credit: Dhiman Chatterjee
Off the shelf
then did my MBA. The only fiction

I thought I was going to write were
insurance company business plans!
I always liked to achieve things and
I tended to be pretty aggressive.
That attitude has toned down since I
started to write my books. In college
I was an atheist, but in the last few
years I have become deeply religious.
When I was young my passion was
history but I was practical enough to
realise that I needed to do an MBA
to get into banking. I made those
choices then, but now I am lucky to
be working on my passion. When
I wrote the first two books (The
Immortals of Meluha and The Secret
of the Nagas) I was till working
as the National Head Marketing
Products and Service Quality at IDBI.
I resigned only when my royalties
were more than my salary.
Akash: It was when I was in the
9th standard, and for the first time
Ms. Hallegua wrote something very
encouraging on one of my essays

that made me think that maybe I
could be a writer. That was when my
interest in literature suddenly came
alive. I then graduated in English
and Art History before going on to
do my MBA at Columbia University.
I always knew I would end up in
publishing, but it worked out well
because I was interested in literature
and books. And I combined it with
a business background as well.
Besides work, I write a blog about
travel and I am also very interested

in photography. My last project was
shooting the 36 Mumbai skywalks.
Akash, have you read Amishs
books?
Akash: I read them when he first
sent me the manuscript when he was
looking for a publisher. I thought the
idea and concept were unique but
then I did a stupid thing. Until then
I had never worked with a friend,
and we had decided that since we are
friends we should not work together.
We were not doing fiction at that
time, so it was a block in my mind.
We just started doing fiction earlier
this year.
Amish: I sent the manuscript to him

for advice. Working with friends can
be complicated. Also it must have
been a surprise to him because I
had never shown a tendency to be
creative, ever. I loved reading but I
didnt read to experience the beauty
of language. I like to read because I
like to learn new things. My writing
is antithetical to how I have lived my
life so far. Even when the manuscript
was sent around, I was not as
emotionally attached to success as I
had been before. I genuinely did not
care if the book succeeded or not.
This was a new thought, for me. I just
wanted to do the best I could.
Akash: Amishs success is definitely
revolutionary. Hes done whatever he
had to in order to establish his brand
and name. The way he marketed

his book has shaken up publishers
with a conventional take on book
marketing.
How did you come up with these
unique marketing ideas?
Amish: In a way it helped that I
didnt have a publisher and selfpublished because otherwise I may
not have had the freedom to do
the things I wanted to do. Now by
Gods grace, as the books have done
well, the publisher listens to me. I
was lucky because I have been in
marketing but many of the ideas
were from other people I was just
smart to listen to them. The idea of
the first free chapter came from my
wife. The idea of the trailer came
from a friend.
Akash: Amish is a very good
example of someone who broke out
and created his own life. I would like
to get more creative with the books
that are coming out of our publishing
house but I think I need his advice
on how to market these books!
Amish, what do you think of
Akash the publisher?
Amish: His company does very well
and is very strong in the market. I
think everyone has their own model
on life, as long as you are happy with
what you are doing. I just want to
know from him, when we can expect
Robin Sharmas next book?
Are you in touch with other
school friends?
Akash: We are a small close group
that has kept in touch.
Amish: Regrettably not, but I am
getting back in touch now. Its good
to talk about stuff that brings a smile
to your face. When I meet old friends
now their first reaction usually is how did you write a book!
By Udita Jhunjhunwala
(ICSE 1984)
Out of the Box
Queen BEE
Why is development professional Vijaya Pastala (ISC 1984) using
bees to tackle poverty across Western India, and what has this got
to do with your breakfast? The X-Cathedralite finds out
Photo credits: Priyam Dhar and Charlotte Anderson
developmentpossibly piqued by
early exposure to the real India
through DEAS camps led to a
string of assignments at the World
Bank, The Aga Khan Foundation and
the European Commission among
others. Her trajectory was one of a
successful development professional
focussed on livelihoods and
natural resource management. But
something happened along the way.
ijaya Pastala bounds into

our meeting at the end of a
working day exuding energy.
Dropping onto the sofa, she thrusts
forward a sheaf of papers, Come on
Sunday! Bring the kids! The event is
a swimming gala during Joy of Giving
Week, and she is pushing her cause Bees for Poverty Reduction. Pastala
was instrumental in this swimathon,
conducted along the lines of the
popular Mumbai Marathon. Her
rationale: I dont run, I swim. So if
runners can fundraise for causes, why
cant swimmers do it too?
The same just do it attitude seems
to pervade the rest of Pastalas life.
Entrepreneur, mother, homemaker,
social activist, the 45-year-old fills all
roles with drive and enthusiasm.
The Early Years
After Cathedral, Pastala studied
International Relations and Womens
Studies at Mount Holyoke College,
followed by Regional Planning
at MIT. An interest in rural
The Shift
Pastala attributes the life-change
to being a late mom. She
explains, I hesitantly embarked
upon motherhood at 38, when my
career was going very well. I soon
discovered, however, that the joy and
energy of parenting was something I
was not experiencing through work.
Thats when I started the questioning
process. Pastala researched
opportunities in the fields of
agriculture and rural development,
looking for excitement, meaning and
flexibility. She laughingly reminisces
about Cathedral friends Naheed
Carrimjee and Sophie Moochalla
being at the receiving end of an
endless barrage of ideas (both are on
the board of her company today).
The actual epiphany occurred in the
apple orchards of Himachal Pradesh,
where she discovered farmers
bringing in bees at flowering time
to help with pollination.
The Bees
Of all natural cross pollinators,
bees can be domesticated, Pastala
explains, pointing out that crop
production could increase as
much as 200% with bee boxes or

artificial hives.
She soon embarked on a venture
funded by her own savings
to promote low cost beekeeping
as a way to increase agricultural
productivity and provide additional
income for farmers. Once the bees
came, honey was a natural next
step. With her Cathedral and Mount
Holyoke network, ideas rolled into
action and she was soon retailing
her own brand of fair-trade, single
flora, organic honey, Under the
Mango Tree (UTMT). Pastala is
quick to point out that she uses
indigenous honeybee species, and
no antibiotics. She also guarantees
market access and surplus honey
to farmers, making UTMT a unique
enterprise with both for-profit and
non-profit divisions.
The Future
Pastala, whose son Yohan is in
Junior School (a Wilsonite, she
happily notes), finds the challenge of
the work-life balancing act exciting
and what keeps me going. Before
parting she speaks emphatically of
her desire to influence government
agricultural policy with respect
to honey, to directly influence
the lives of 20,000 farmers, and
to expand the urban beekeeping
programme in Mumbai. It all seems
likely in the foreseeable future since
Vijaya Pastala, whose semi-official
designation at UTMT is Queen Bee,
can probably do anything that she
sets her mind to.
By Miel Sahgal (ISC 1989)

Out of the box
Wall to wall art

Filmmaker, designer and visual artist, Dhanya Pilo (ICSE 1996) is also the founder
of Indias only self-sustaining public art project, The Wall Project (India). Here she
talks about the importance of public art in urban life
According to you, what defines
public art?
Public art falls between the realms
of art and urban planning. It
brightens up an area, adds context
and story while intriguing and
motivating, and simply humanises
the built environment. The
effectiveness of public art is in
achieving more convivial urban
environments while retaining
the idea that imagining the
urban future is as much part of a
democratic society as using
public space. It provides an
intersection between past, present
and future, between disciplines,
and between ideas. Public art is
freely accessible, it reflects our
current society.
In my ideal, the best public

art contributes just as much
to the public good as it does to
the history of art; a relatively
unobtrusive installation that ends
up beautifying and popularising
functional urban space rather than
interfering with it. For example, a
road in Drachten, The Netherlands,
is painted blue to symbolise the
water. It is 1,000 metres long and
eight metres wide. It was created
to form an urban river and recreate
the path of a waterway that used
to be where the road currently
runs. Look at any of the Anish
Kapoor stainless steel installations
in Londons public spaces they
motivate every passerby to interact
and have fun with them.
How has public art failed or

succeeded in Mumbai?
The only public art that has survived
in India are historical statues and
fountains, which are reflective of a
bygone era. In Mumbai, the painting
of the map on Lion Gate at Regal is
reflective of that area. R.K. Laxmans
common man enjoying the breeze
at Worli Sea Face is aptly made and
installed and can be comprehended
by the old and young equally. On the
other hand, a huge sculpture of a
woman holding a baby with the quote
A child gives birth to a mother under
the Bandra flyover might be sincere in
concept, but the execution is distant
from the idea itself and would not
have worked without the quote. The
sculpture could be self-explanatory.
The Wall Project has succeeded

as a movement all over Mumbai,
as well as spread to other cities like
Delhi, Bangalore, Goa, etc. More
societies and colonies want to adopt
this practice. The BMC, as well as the
government, have shown support
in the past but it will always be a
work in progress. Painting walls at
Tulsi Pipe Road, the Bandra villages,
Colaba and Andheri, with the support
of locals and the municipality has
been achieved in a collaborative way.
More than 800 people have been
part of the Wall Project painting
public walls in their cities. Why? I say
for self-satisfaction, to contribute
Discuss any piece of public art in

Mumbai and what it has achieved
The Tulsi Pipe Road project was to
write all the letters of the Hindi
alphabet on each wall and each
painter had to pick one letter and
visualise a word starting with that
letter, e.g. S for Superman. The
alphabet project was a simple mural
concept which, when painted, would
form a word learning wall for all
those who passed by it, like a school
text book on the wall.
The paintings by the Bandra
project, the Wall Project and other
travelling artists has made the
lanes of Bandra a charming place to
cycle or walk around exploring the
paintings. One such is the painting
of the little boy eating bhel (see
image on left), so if any other person
buys bhel, he or she can sit next to
the boy and eat.
What do you think is the future
of public art in the world and
in India?
The production and consumption of
public art encapsulates the tensions
that existed between different
visions of the city over the years.
Its also about the playfulness
and joy that can be brought to
our public spaces. Unsuccessful
public art installations are usually
the end result of giving an artist a
creative role that is too prescriptive,
unrealistically high expectations, a
mediocre artist who wont offend,
limited funds, or an insistence that

everything is approved by everyone.
Using public art can actually
transform schools, offices, public
utility spaces, public spaces, colleges
or hospitals into extremely positive
and inspiring spaces. Art, design and
technology are separated by a thin
line, but need to be ingrained into
the planning and execution of all our
cities current and future.
What inspired The Wall Project?
How has it evolved?
The Wall Project came out of a need
to have a creative canvas beyond
the scope of establishments. With
the Wall Project we were able to
reclaim various spaces to be public
spaces by painting on the walls
and including every curious passerby.
It has also made people want to do
more for their city, neighbourhood
and themselves. Basically, its a
widely accessible canvas.
It started with a wall in Bazaar
Road, Bandra, an old fishing
village with so much character yet
somehow the house walls seemed
unkempt. On seeing one painted
wall the neighbours and other
artists got interested and offered
their walls, and that started a
chain reaction.
We are in the process of creating a
Public Art Centre which will serve as
a body to motivate, mediate, research
and execute many public art projects,
workshops, etc. in India.
By Anushka Shivdasani
Rovshen (ISC 1997)
Photos courtesy: The Wall Project
Photo credit:
credits: Nishant
NishantDesai
Desai
to their city and to be proactive in a

creative way.
Nostalgia
Geography
LESSONS
Born in Bombay in 1940, Adil

Jussawalla is the author of three books
of poems Lands End, Missing
Person and Trying to Say Goodbye.
He also edited the influential
anthology New Writing in India
While visiting Pakistan, Adil Jussawalla (1955) is transported back to the classroom
nvited to Lahore in 1993, I

booked a flight through an
agency called The Great Escape.
There was some irony, entirely
unintentional, in my choice of
agency, as my trip wasnt meant to
be a great escape at all. I was going
to Lahore on business, as one of
the three judges who had to select
two books for The Commonwealth
Writers Prize. Choosing two books
out of more than 50 is a lot of
business.
As it turned out, the trip was
sheer pleasure. At one stage we
found ourselves in the mountains
beyond Murree, looking out over a
valley through which a line of water
ran. The line twisted in its tracks
like a trapped snake, bright silver
in the mornings, an exhausted grey
by evening. The mountains held us
and the line in thrall. We shall not be
moved, they seemed to say. Do your
worst. Were here to stay.
Living among mountains, even
for a little while, you begin to learn
why they engender so many myths
and why they are the objects of so
much worship. Their faces blacken
as clouds pass over them, they blaze
white hot under snow and they
shield you from the fierce sun. They
have moods which they let you know
of in no uncertain terms.
We had been taken to Nathia
Galli, a hill-town close to Pakistans
border with Kashmir. There was our
host, the novelist Bapsi Sidhwa,
Lyn Innes from the University of
Canterbury, England, and myself.
From that hill-town we ranged the
world in our reading. The novels

took us to Western America of
the last century, to New Zealand
and to the Andaman Islands. They
took us into the minds of the very
young and the very old, through
worlds radiantly whole or hopelessly
disconnected.
We journeyed without maps,
occasionally losing our way, but
however far we travelled we came
back to the mount under our feet, its
rocks and slopes. We came back, in
fact, to a map, its security, and what
we had learned at school: how to
draw maps with a mapping pen and
India ink, rivers names in italics,
borders in broken lines, big cities
names in caps.
An atlas may not be literature
but learning to read it at school was
like getting to know a masterpiece.
What work went into the making of
these wonderful maps, what wealth
of detail, gathered from millions
of cubic metres of earth, air, water
and sky, was finally reduced in scale
to a few square centimetres so that
it was possible for even the most
timid of schoolchildren to look earth
in the face and say, you dont scare
me any more. Below our feet in
NathyaGalli were the ever-widening
contour lines our geography teachers
had taught us to draw.
Since maps stablise an unstable
world, however temporarily, those
teachers made the world a safe
place to live in. But the world didnt
turn out to be a safe place for them.
All the geography teachers who
taught me in Bombay left India
for places where they led cramped

and impoverished lives. All of them
are dead. They conjured up foreign
lands for us but found those lands
inhospitable when they got there.
Its as though they were outricked
by their own profession, the maps
that forever hovered in front of their
eyes.
Perhaps history taught them what
geography couldntthat the world
is a dangerous place, after all, that
its flat, and that if you travel too far
along its surface, you can slip off it
into a monsters jaws. Perhaps they
should have spent their years of
retirement in India, travelling only
by the atlases through which they
once taught us and which brought
the world to our doorsteps.
One of those teachers, Alan
Glynne-Howell, lost sight in one eye
in his late years. All the same, he
wrote a novel set in India. No British
publisher touched it so he sent the
novel to Bombay through one of his
ex-students. Id like to think that
the words from an atlas came back
to him during his final years, that,
on certain evenings, the walls of a
room in a small English town heard
strange sounds being repeated.
Were crossing the Jhelum, Bapsi
said on the flight to Rawalpindi.
The words came back to me in slow
motion: Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas,
Sutlej. And, again, Jhelum, Chenab,
Ravi, Beas, Sutlej.
Mr. Howell stood by his desk in
the Geography Room opening and
shutting his mouth. It was his voice
that I heard.
Reunions
30 Years Class of
1981/83
ow! Another reunion of the class (family) of

1981/83 has gone by. On 30 December, 2011,
we brought back many great memories of our
school days, truly memories to treasure!
Once again, a big thank you to Shapoor for hosting
our reunion at his lovely home on Walkeshwar Road,
Mumbai. After several rounds of drinks and delicious
food on the lawn, I am sure our loud laughter could be
heard a mile away! It was fun making so much noise in
front of our teachers and it was great to catch up on
everyones stories, hearing about spouses and children,
career choices, hobbies and lifestyles.It was great to
meet old friends and see familiar faces, especially since
many of our batch-mates have moved to different parts
of India and the world.
The next evening saw a gathering of 10A at the
Bombay Gymkhana. With some 10A classmates who
could not attend Shapoors also present, and a school
visit for a few lucky 10Aites. Overall, it was an eventful
reunion, one we shall always cherish. A big thank you to
Rajiv and all the organisers. I look forward to seeing you
in 2016 for our 35th reunion!
Till then adieu!
By Sunil Gupta
25 Years Class of
1986/88
t began months earlier with a trickle of e-mails.

Could it really be 25 years since our ICSE? The
trickle slowly became a flood, as the excitement
grew and the RSVPs came in thick and fast.
And then, quite suddenly, it was the night of
January 7, 2011. All roads led to Worli, where the
Class of 1986 gathered to bask in the glow of old times
all enthusiastically wearing their House colours.
Arvind and Tanya Dubash graciously offered their
beautiful home and hosted the event (and even more
more graciously cleaned up the mountain of bottles
afterwards).
The turnout was beyond everyones expectations.
Thanks Nisha Khattau Mahadevia for leading the
reunion planning and tracking down so many people!
Classmates came from around the country and the
world. For those who live in Mumbai, it was another
chance to get together and party, while for those
coming from out of town it was like coming back to
the school social. Cries of Oh my God, hiiiyou look
just the same...! were heard everywhere, as people
hugged and slapped backs. Nicknames that hadnt

been used for years were shouted enthusiastically,
and long-buried tall tales from class folklore were
discussed and dissected, having lost none of their
spice with the passage of time.
Theres nothing quite like old school ties, and it was
so good that night to reconnect and remember. Play
up School! And heres to our next reunion!
By Sonali Bhagwat Rao
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FIRST CITIZEN
A Towering EFFORT
Dilnar Chichgar (ISC 1972) and Rohita Doshi (ISC 1975) are active members of Indians
For Safe Environments, an initiative against dangerous levels of cell tower radiation
arly this year, we observed that

18 cell phone transmitters had
sprung up on a building in our
area. With the knowledge of tragic
events at another neighbouring
building where cell towers were
suspected to have caused grievous
harm, a small group of us got
together to remove these silent
hazards in our midst. We were certain
that our pleas and explanations
would work, especially with a school
being affected, but the buildings
society stood firm. The towers, with
all the income attached, were going
to stay.
We sought information through
the RTI Act and discovered that
the majority of the towers in our
city are illegal. We soon realised
that government policies urgently
needed to be changed if we were
to benefit from mobile technology
without the incumbent health
hazards which range from headaches
and sleep disorders to tumours and
cancer. At that point, our campaign
also changed from a localised
neighbourhood conflict into a
nationwide initiative.
Initially, we found people sceptical
or unaware. The media was tightlipped and it was a struggle to
get any report in the press. There
was a great sense of fear when it
came to confronting the powerful
telecom industry .
Our group, IFSE (Indians For Safe
Environments), organised rallies,
talks and discussions involving
experts like IIT Professor Girish
Kumar, Dr. Anand Gokani and
celebrity Juhi Chawla. We held
signature campaigns, contacted
associations and the media, sent

appeals and met with the state and
local ministries. Non-Ionizing
Radiation, as is emitted by cell towers
and cell phones, is the harbinger
of a new set of diseases which will
overtake a large unsuspecting
population that doesnt heed
preliminary warnings of this invisible
danger. Stringent moderation and
controlled use of this technological
tool is the only way we can enjoy its
benefits yet stay free of its harmful

effects, said Dr. Gokani (ISC 1974).
The WHO has classified cell tower
radiation as a Class 2B carcinogen.
Experts believe that the ICNIRP
guideline, our earlier norm, did not
sufficiently protect us from long term
exposure. Further, there seemed
to be no regulations on distances,
heights or numbers of antennae.
MP Milind Deora had said, We
wouldnt want that 20 years down
the line we have an entire population
of young children, young adults and
old suffering from serious health
effects due to our negligence, our
inaction or our ignorance. So,
along with Professor Kumar who
has done research in this field, Mr.
Kasliwal, whose family has been
a victim of tower radiation, and
activist Prakash Munshi, we took the

opportunity to make a presentation
to Milind Deora, the Hon. Minister
of State (C& IT), and to the Dept.
of Telecommunications in New
Delhi. We appealed for stringent
regulations with regard to the
location, heights, distances and the
number of antennae permissible
in a single cluster of towers and
to significantly reduce the power
output from each antenna.
We sent a letter to the Hon. Prime
Minister with a thousand signatures.
The Hon. Prime Minister had
recently ordered the Dept. of Science
&Technology to appoint an Expert
Committee to address radiation.
On September 1, 2012, the C&IT
Ministry announced the maximum
permissible limits of radiation
density be reduced to one tenth of the
previous limit, bringing some relief.
We have seen an explosion of
public awareness, an awakening of
the media and some encouraging
response from the Government.
However, those who are currently
forced to live in close proximity to
towers and children in neighbouring
schools require much more
protection. We will continue our
effort to secure adequate safety
measures and look forward to
working with other citizens,
associations, NGOs, the telecom
industry and local, state and
central governments to create a
safe environment.
By Dilnar Chichgar (ISC 1972)

and Rohita Doshi (ISC 1975)
For more information, visit
www.controlradiation.org
In Memoriam
Mrs. Irene Saldanha
athedral School lost

Mrs. Irene Saldanha on July
17, 2012, just a few weeks shy
of her 70th birthday. In a beautiful
mass at Holy Name Church, Mumbai,
her loved ones paid their respects to a
lady who, in the hearts and memories
of her Cathedral family, will always
remain larger than life.
Mrs. Saldanha began her career at
Cathedral as a P.E. teacher in Junior
School, taught 3M and ended her
tenure after a nine-year stint as
Headmistress of Junior School. The
first thing most people noticed about
Mrs. Saldanha was her imposing
height (5 feet 11 inches) and her
booming voice.
As an educator, Mrs. Saldanha
was respected and loved for her
dedication to School, and her

commitment to her children. It was
during her stint as headmistress that
the Junior School camps started. She
was always the go-to person for first
aid and soothed her patients with her
healing touch and practical sense.
Upon Mrs. Saldanhas retirement
Mrs. Isaacs wrote, She brought to
her work a robust common sense,
an unusual flair for organisation, an
ability to see the humour in trying
situations, an undoubted love for her
little wards, respect for her colleagues
and, above all, an unflinching loyalty
to the school.
Jennifer Fernandes, formerly
Junior School secretary, fondly
recalls, She always took such
personal interest in each one of us
Mrs. Irene Saldanha (centre) with

her family
and shared all our family problems.

Ms. Vaz, former Headmistress of
Middle School, adds, Despite being a
strict disciplinarian, Irene was always
playing pranks on us. Mr. Dias,
Mr. Thomas and she would send us on
wild goose chases, once telling me I
was summoned to Mrs. Devs office!
Mrs. Saldanha loved to cook
and dance. Her chicken curries and
sannas were legendary. She loved to
dance be it the bhangra, cha-cha-cha,
the square dance or the reel!, shares
Mrs. Khullar.
Mrs. Saldanhas strength, love
and resounding voice will be dearly
missed.
By Maleeka Lala (ISC 1989) and

Shonar Lala Chinoy (ISC 1990)
A Tribute to Mum (excerpts from the funeral service):

Our mother was larger than life, in more than stature.
Although to us, her sons, she was downright petite and
adorable, we could never keep up with her persona. She
was the kind of person who swept into a room, turned
it upside down, and left with a flourish... It would be
wrong, then, not to acknowledge that her personality
and presence, were nurtured, encouraged, and indeed,
instigated by her partner of over 50 years .
Today, while it comes to the two of us to write in
celebration of our mother, we have long been happily
resigned to the fact that while she had two sons,
she had many, many children. All Cathedralites,
her children, were always incredibly important to
her and they will always remain her children, even
when they return to Cathedral with children of their
own. In addition, she prized her relationships with her
fellow teachers and parents at The Cathedral & John
Connon, some of whom became her closest friends and
confidantes.
Thank you for your love and warmth and support,
in sharing our grief as well as for joining us in this
celebration of how our mother, Irene Saldanha, touched
so many lives.
By Colin (ISC 1984) and
Kenneth Saldanha (ISC 1989)
In Memoriam
Mr. Anthony Dias
r. Anthony Dias, Hindi and

Marathi teacher and one of
the stalwarts of the Middle
School, passed away on September
29th, 2012. He taught at the School
for 23 years, retiring in 1990.
Mr. Dias was a very good
colleague with an excellent sense
of humour, says Mr. Mehta, fellow
Hindi teacher. Miss Vaz fondly
recounts Mr. Dias love for pranks
and jokes. When I joined Cathedral,
I didnt speak a word of Marathi.
Mr. Dias (in cahoots with Mrs.
Saldanha) actually convinced me it
was compulsory for me to address the
Assembly in Marathi once a week. He
even wrote a paragraph which he said
I would have to read out myself which
I promptly started mugging! He was
a great friend to have. Mr. Dias was
a kind-hearted person who made
learning fun, says Mrs. Pereira.
His children, ex-Cathedralites

Salome (ICSE 1981), Troy (ICSE
1985) and Jason (ICSE 1986),
remember their father for his zest
for life. Dad was the perpetual
entertainer who delighted everyone
around him with his jokes, singing
and dancing. He was patient, kind
and generous always willing to
help those in need. Despite modest
beginnings, through sheer hard
work and determination he achieved
recognition in the field of drama and
was well-respected as a writer and
teacher. We will sorely miss him.
Even in his retirement, Mr. Dias
remained attached to Cathedral
School and was often spotted in the
School even though he was then
teaching at New Activity and J. B.
Petit schools. He also directed plays
and composed hymns for the church
and often travelled abroad often to
Mr. Dias, top row second from the left
meet his children and grandchildren.

Sadly, in his latter years, he suffered
from Alzheimers which progressively
became more severe.
Mr. Dias, your kindness, patience,
and good humour will be sorely
missed, not just by your children, but
by your entire Cathedral family
By Shonar Lala Chinoy

(ISC 1990)
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Class Notes
Class of 1961
Jamini Morarji (Barham) lives in
Mumbai and is a costume-jewellery
designer. In addition she is the Creative
Director of her daughter Maithili
Ahluwalias (also a Cathedralite)
furniture store Bungalow Eight. She has
no plans to retire any time soon!
Ranjini Chinappa Kalappa (Palmer)
is an architect, currently residing in
Bangalore.
Hilloo Avasia Damkevala (Barham)
worked with Amersey Bros. Pvt. Ltd.,
followed by Tata Sons Ltd. from 1971 to
2005 from where she retired as Deputy
Manager. She is currently involved in
social work and spends many happy
hours being a grandma.
Gita Mukerji Cueppers (Palmer)
studied at a language school in Munich
from 1962-65 and became a translator
and interpreter. Back in Mumbai she
worked at the German Consulate
General before returning to Germany
in 1971. She worked as a high school
teacher, has now retired and spends time
travelling.
Ajita Advani Tolani (Palmer) lives
in Los Angeles and is working as the
General Manager of a beauty supply
distribution company. She is all set to
retire soon.
Suchita Assomull Shivdasani
(Savage) lived in Hong Kong from
1985-95, where she worked with the HK
Tatler; she compiled the first 100 Best
HK Restaurants guide. Now, back in
Mumbai, she designs pearl jewellery and
plays Mahjong.
Savage:
Mumtaz Siddique, Mumbai
Aruna Hiranandani Jehangir,
Mumbai/Goa
Ratan Lalvani Ramani, New Delhi
Mohini Joshi, Pune
Shameem Botawala, Mumbai
Palmer:
Binnie Bhatia, Kolkata
Rajkumari Ramchandani Advani,
Mumbai
Saroj Kimatrai Chanrai, London
Asma Tyabji Shah, Mumbai
Barham:
Purnima Muzumdar Sethi, Mumbai/
LA/Goa
Sartaj Abdul Hai Noorani, Mumbai
Anjali Nath Khosla, Mumbai
Kanta Malkani Manglani, Chicago
Wilson:
Veena Thadani, USA
Naheed Ahmed Khan, Pune/Paris
R.I.P.
Monica Mirchandani Sahoo (Barham)
Rehana Hussein Amarjeet (Palmer)
Moyna Mukherjee Rajadhaksh
(Barham)
Meher Guzdar Titania (Palmer)
Jyoti Kurma Baswan (Palmer)
By Suchita Assomull Shivdasani
Class of 1962
Adil Gandhy (Palmer) joined
his family business, Chemould,
which is into contemporary art and
picture framing. He ran the factory
manufacturing operations until 2006.
He now runs Chemoulds retail picture
framing shop in Mumbai. His son and
daughter are settled in the U.S.
adilgandhy@gmail.com
Ali Merchant
(Savage) co-founded
the national
advertising agency,
Triton two decades
ago. His wife,
Sandra, owns a
boutique corporate
publishing
company; his daughter is with Diageo
NYC and his two entrepreneur sons
are in mineral trading and real estate.
He loves to serve ghar ka biryani and
kebabs especially to Cathedralites!
almerch@gmail.com
Arun Chopra finished his Std.10
and Std. 11 from Bishop Cottons,
Bangalore, B.Com. from St. Xaviers,
Calcutta, and C.A. from Delhi. He is
pleasantly retired in Bangalore, where
he plays golf six days a week and if
lucky, bridge thrice a week. Note:
His wife and daughter go to work!
arunandbindu@gmail.com
Aruna Jagtiani,
ne Dialdas (Wilson)
did a stint at
Elphinstone College
and K. C. College
for a post graduate
in Journalism. She
went on to work in
The Indian Express, Orient Longman
and All India Radio. She married Suresh
in 1971 and they have two children,
Aditi and Savitar, both of whom were
in Cathedral. Counting her school years
as being among her best years, she felt
great connecting again and working
for the Cathedral PTA where she was
Chairperson for two years. Alongside,
she has worked more than 40 years
in the Maharashtra State Womens
Councila welfare organisation for
underprivileged women and children.
Having been on the Board of the Sindhu
Resettlement Corporation founded
by her father, she is currently doing
real estate consultancy work with
Nagarwalla Estates. jagtiani@gmail.com
Aruna Jehangir, ne Hiranandani
(Savage) is managing director of
Meridian Holidays, a tour-operating
company, and splits her time between
Mumbai and Goa where she has recently
launched a new Ayurveda centre with
vacation rooms in South Goa.
jehangir.aruna@gmail.com
Aruna Malik, ne Gore (Wilson)
married Preet Malik who was in the
Foreign Service in 1967. Her interest in
Bharat Natyam helped her to conduct
classes wherever she was posted. The
performances put up by the students
helped to raise funds for local charities.
They have been posted to Sikkim,
Geneva, Bahrain, Cuba, New York,
Malaysia and Myanmar, besides stints
back home. Her husband is now retired
and they live in Delhi.
aruna.malik46@yahoo.co.in
Dr. Ashok
Kirpalani
(Savage) became
a Nephrologist
from the Mount
Sinai School of
Medicine, New York
in 1977. He is an
expert in Kidney
Class Notes
Transplantation and Dialysis and
is currently Professor & Head of
Nephrology at the Bombay Hospital,
Mumbai. He is Medical Director of The
Taj Group of Hotels as well. He runs
an NGO called the Marrow Donor
Registry in India, which helps to find
bone marrow donors for needy patients.
dkirpalani@hotmail.com
Darab
Talyarkhan
(Savage) qualified
as a Chartered
Accountant in the
UK, after obtaining
a B.Com. (Hons.)
degree from
Sydenham College.
He returned to India, worked in the
profession, then established his own
business. He is presently Hon. Treasurer
of the Bombay Gymkhana Ltd.
darab.talyarkhan@yahoo.co.in
Dev Ghosh (Wilson) was an aviator
for 46 years as a fighter pilot with the
Indian Air Force, then as Senior Captain,
followed by Operations Management
with Air India for the past 26 years.
He retired from active flying this year.
Currently mentoring at the CAE Flight
Training School in Bangalore, he has
two sons, Pradip and Shondip, both
Wilsonites. dkg47@yahoo.com
Everard A. Elijah (Wilson) is
currently involved in providing major
financing for international projects. He
retired as CFO of Westinghouse Power
Generation Group in Florida, USA.
Fudli Talyarkhan (Savage) was the
managing partner of Ernst & Young,
Muscat and Abu Dhabi till 2003. Retired
and living in Muscat, he does some
business advisory work and travels for
pleasure. ftalyarkhan@yahoo.com
Gitanjali Aiyar, ne Ambegaokar
(Barham) did a B.A. Hons. (English)
from Loretto College, Calcutta,
followed by a Diploma from the
National School of Drama in 1971.
A pioneer in presenting the English
news on Doordarshan, she read the
news for 31 years. She is the winner
of several Best Anchor Person Awards,
and was awarded the Indira Gandhi
Priyadarshini Award for Outstanding
Women in 1987. Having worked
with the Taj Hotels, the British High

Commission and heading PR companies,
she is now a full-time Consultant with
the WWF.
Hutoshi Kotwal (Palmer) joined
St. Xaviers College for a Masters in
English Literature and French, and
then went to Davars College, securing a
first-class first in Business Management
Studies, which gave her an appointment
as Assistant Director, Management
Studies. She was also a Professor in
English for 15 years. She worked with
Air France for 18 years, and is now
working at About France, the France
Tourism Development Agency in India.
She is a qualified third-degree black
belt in karate, teaches the sport, has
participated in karate demonstrations,
both live and televised, and has qualified
as Indias first recognised karate judge.
In 1991, she was recognised as a
National Referee, which is the highest
level of competition judging.
hutoshik@hotmail.com
Krupa Srinivas (Wilson) completed
an M.A. in English at Central College,
Bangalore. He has been in the travel
industry since 1972, and retired from
Delta Air Lines in 2005 as Manager
Reservation and Ticket Office, Mumbai.
krupasrini@gmail.com
Laali Alzayani (Savage) left
Cathedral School and Mumbai in 1958
at the age of 11, and competed her
schooling at the American College for
Girls in Cairo, and then did an M.A.
degree in Education from the American
University of Beirut. She started her
career as an English language teacher in
the Ministry of Education in Bahrain,
then was Head of In Service Training
for seven years, and retired as Director
of Curricula in 2007. Presently, she
and her husband are enjoying their
grandchildren and travelling.
zayyani@batelco.com.bh
Nazreen Karimbhoy, ne Assur
(Wilson) is an advertising copywriter
turned Montessori teacher and
administrator. Semi-retired, she is
currently a consultant in Curriculum
Development and Teacher Training.
Living in Toronto, Canada, she globe
trots with her husband and never
misses an opportunity to visit India.
nkarimbhoy@rogers.com
Percy N. Karanjia, MD. FRCP, says,
My life trip was given a good sixer
at the wondrous Cathedral and John
Connon Boys High School tossing me
over the park to St. Xaviers College and
Grant Medical School where I completed
the usual MBBS followed by the MD
exam. Dr N.H. Wadia, the worlds
finest neurologist, inspired him to
pursue a career in Neurology, which he
did in the U.K. He specialised in strokes
at the University of Pittsburgh, where an
old friend persuaded him to move to the
Mid-West to Marshfield Clinic, where he
wrote papers and did Clinical Research
in Stroke and Patient Care. He was
elected a fellow of the Royal College of
Physicians (FRCP), which no one in the
US knew anything about, particularly
since his award was in Latin, which he,
sadly, had not learned at Cathedral!
karanjia.percy@marshfieldclinic.org
Priscilla Clare, ne Bebbington
(Wilson) left India in 1957 and
completed her schooling in England.
Qualifying as a Primary School Teacher
in 1967, she taught in London until
December 1969. She emigrated with
her husband as 10 pound poms to New
South Wales, Australia, and has taught
in New Zealand, Queensland and as a
volunteer in Tonga. Since 1978, lives
on their own small rural property in
Far North Queensland, participating
in community life. In charge of an
adult literacy and numeracy training
programme. pclare666@bigpond.com
Roda Desai,
ne Billimoria
(Barham) went on
a field placement to
Ahmedabads BM
Institute for Mental
Health after School,
St. Xaviers and a
M.A. degree from
Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS),
where she was exposed to children, both
normal and those with special needs.
This led her to pursue Integrated/
Inclusive Education, and studied at
the University of Minneapolis. On
her return to TISS for a Doctorate in
Social Sciences, she helped the Spastics
Society set up their research centre and
Class Notes
joined the Special Care Centre for school
dropouts as their Director. She went to
the University of Uppsala on a Swedish
Institute scholarship and got a Masters
in Education. Returning to India, she
joined S.N.D.T. University as a Reader
in the Education department. She has,
together with her family, established
an educational foundation to promote
integrated education, a charitable trust
of which she is the Honorary Managing
Trustee. ritestep@gmail.com
Rohit Mehta (Palmer) did his B.Tech.
from IIT Powai in 1968, completed a
Masters degree in USA, worked in the
engineering field for a year, and then
pursued a MBA degree. He worked
for a management consulting firm for
three years; returned to India in 1973
and worked for TCS (Mumbai) until
1976. He then went back to the USA
and worked for the same consulting
firm until 1979. Thereafter, he had a
26-year working career with the World
Bank in Washington D.C. in financial
analysis, IT systems and management of
development projects in East European
countries. Semi-retired, he now lives in
the Washington D.C. area.
94romehta@gmail.com
Salim Merchant (Wilson), graduated
from Grant Medical College in June,
1970 and migrated to Melbourne,
Australia, where he obtained
Membership followed by Fellowship
of the Royal College of Radiologists,
Australia and New Zealand, in 1975. He
is the Founding and Senior Partner of
Radar Medical Imaging, a conglomerate
of nine Diagnostic Specialist Medical
Imaging Centres in Melbourne. He is
now a full-time Consultant Radiologist
to the largest publicly owned medical
corporation in Australia, Primary
Health. salimmerchant@hotmail.com
Sara Manasseh (Savage) is an
ethnomusicologist, performer and
researcher in the musical traditions of
the Jews of Iraq. She is the founderdirector of the musical ensemble, Rivers
of Babylon (London, 1999). Following
her schooling up to HSC (1964) at
Cathedral School, Sara moved to London
in 1966, where she gained diplomas
in piano (LRAM) and in specialist
music teaching, and degrees in music,
including a PhD in ethnomusicology

at Goldsmiths College (London).
She was Head of Music at London
Comprehensive schools for a number
of years, Senior Lecturer in Music
and Teacher Education at Kingston
University (Surrey), and also lectured
in Jewish Music at SOAS (School of
Oriental and African Studies, London).
sara@manasseh.co.uk
Sudhir Bhatt
(Savage) retired from
Hewlett Packard/
Agilent after 28 years
in sales management.
He currently runs
Global Commercial
Sales, a boutique
brokerage firm
focussed on hospitality and investment
sales in the US. He also directs foreign
investment to select commercial
projects. Sudhir resides in Myrtle Beach,
South Carolina with his wife Margaret.
sid@gcs2011.com
Zaheeda Sahaya,
ne Hussain
(Palmer), was born
into a family of
actors. She was the
heroine of many
successful films
with superstars
such as Dev Anand
(Gambler, Prem Pujari), Sanjeev Kumar
(Anokhi Raat) etc. Having done more
than nine films, she bid goodbye to the
film industry early in her career to settle
down to marital bliss and motherhood.
With two sons, Brajesh and Nilesh
Sahaya, she is today content and totally
devoted to Shree Sai Baba of Shirdi,
and is running her late sister Shahida
Hussains Sai Baba temple at Marine
Drive. zeesahaya@gmail.com
By Aruna Jagtiani
Class of 1967
Anita Sakraney Watumull (Savage)
is the evergreen beauty of our class.
Divorced from classmate Gulu Watumull,
with whom she has two sons, she lives
in California, and keeps busy with
voluntary work, fitness, music, dance,
and travel to Mumbai to visit her father.

Despite her svelte looks, she is a true
chocoholic.
Avan Kapadia Bhathena (Wilson) is
a homemaker. Her husband Cyrus runs
an automobile garage. Their only son,
Naushad, is settled in New Zealand, and
Avan enjoys her trips there to visit her
grandchildren.
Bindu Chadda Singh (Barham) lives
in Bangalore along with her son and
his family. She works as a relationship
manager in exports.
Dimple Uberoi (Wilson) is single
and the founder/owner of Designer
Holidays, an elite travel agency. This
lady is born with wings and hard to pin
down! A connoisseur of food and wine,
she hails from a family of Cathedralites
her elder brother Ubi and elder sister
Harmohina were Head Boy and Head
Girl respectively, and there are several
Cathedral children and grandchildren in
her family.
Erna Manekshaw Chandra (Palmer)
married Sunil, a dashing Punjabi
hotelier and is settled in Delhi. Apart
from raising two kids, Erna assists her
husband at Basil & Thyme, a gourmet
restaurant in Delhis Santhushti
Complex.
Feroza Pocha Ginwalla (Savage)
lives in Cardiff, Wales. Her husband
Reyaze has retired from his post as
Consultant Radiologist, and the two
spend their time travelling.
Hilla Dubash Mehta (Savage) is
the Mother Teresa of the class. Always
one to lend a helping hand, visit and
take care of the sick and ailing, whether
family or friends. Hilla is deeply religious
and regularly visits agiaries. She spends
her time in social work, and lives with
her confectioner daughter Asheesh.
Homai Madon Maier (Palmer) is
a realtor, licensed in Washington D.C.,
Maryland and Virginia. Newly married
to Adam Maier, Homai enjoys pets,
walking and exercise.
Dr. Jesmin Uranwala Mitra
(Wilson) lives in New Jersey, USA.
A practising gynaecologist and
obstetrician, Jesmin just cannot keep
still when the music plays. Jesmin enjoys
hiking, dancing and travelling when time
permits, along with her husband, Amit
and son, Avir, who are also doctors.
Jogesh Singh Mittal (Palmer) lives
in Mumbai and teaches accent and
Class Notes
Standing: Siraj-Ayesha Sayani, Shobha Agarwal Jhunjhunwala,

Dr Jesmin Uranwala Mitra, Head Girl Zarine Kotwal Bhedwar,
Jogesh Singh Mittal, Sheela Mehta Sanghani,
Avan Kapadia Bhathena
Sitting Middle: Dimple Uberoi, Anita Sakraney Watumull
Sitting L R: Vesna Arsenijevic Vucic, Prerna Shah Dange,
(Late) Zarin Meherhomji Antia, Vimla Malani Carr
communication skills. Both she and

her husband, Rajan, enjoy socialising,
travelling and music. Her daughter,
Muskan is married and working in
Dubai, and her MBA son,Varun lives
with his parents.
Kavita Advani Jhanigani (Palmer)
lives in Canada and is a practising Public
Accountant with a host of business
degrees behind her. Working in Exxon
Mobil as Business Control Advisor,
she and her husband Suresh have a
wonderful life together.
Madhu Nariman Talwar (Savage)
married businessman Ravi. Madhu
is a homemaker who loves gardening
and cooking. A mother of three and a
grandmother to boot, Madhus name is
engraved in the Schools ISC list of 67
toppers.
Meher Golwalla Sattha (Savage)
lives in Vernier, Switzerland with her
advocate husband Aspi. Gentle and kindhearted, Meher is a housewife who loves
the cinema and travel. Both her children
study at the University of Geneva.
Prerna Shah Dange (Barham) is a
housewife living in Mumbai. She loves
to socialise and catch up with friends.
Accompanied by her husband Joginder
(Jo), Prerna often travels overseas to
meet her son and daughter.
Shanta Chatterjee Tolat (Palmer)
aka the brain of our class, lives in
Ahmedabad, and works with abused
women and children. Her retired
husband has a passion for driving. This
couple rarely catch a flight, however
long the distance. Their home is rightly
named The Travellers.
Sheela Mehta Sanghani (Wilson)
handles her family finances, and is a
keen student of classical music and
singing, as well as playing the sitar.

Sheela and her husband Jayant, take
leisurely holidays to exotic locales.
Shirin Shivdasani (Barham) was
in charge of the diamond department
of the Tribhovandas Bhimji Jewellery
showroom. After her father passed
away, Shirin devoted years tending to
her ill mother, who recently expired.
Deeply religious and spiritual, she loves
to catch up with friends.
Shobha Agarwal Jhunjhunwala
(Savage) is busy with social work.
Helping out with an orphanage for
abandoned children and a school for
slum children, Shobha helps organise
exhibitions to raise funds for these
charities. Her husband, Arun, is a
practising Chartered Accountant, and
their sons Varun and Vaibhav (both
Cathedral alumni) are both working.
Siraj-Ayesha Sayani (Savage),
Pooh as she is called, made advertising
commercials for 33 years and has now
shifted to the wonderful world of
celluloid, documentaries and feature
films. Her childrens film Hungama
Top Row: Ranjit Sinh, Roy David, Rajesh Bahl, Victor Macmull,
Brian Samuel, Dr Rohit Deshpande, Rajesh V Mehta
2nd Row: Shahrook Munsiff, Dr Jehanbux Chichgar, Dori
Schmetterling
1st Row: Veeranjan Nath, Ranjit Bhavnani, Farokh Guzder,
Neville Mehta, Tony Singh, Manjit Sadarangani, Rustom
Kanga, Allen Ashkenazi
Bottom (Sitting): Ashok Kurien, Amit Shah with Partho Rakshit
(leaning over Ashok)
Bombay Ishtyle with Pearl Padamsee, is

a worthy watch. She lives life king-size,
along with her confectioner daughter
Aadore.
Syloo Commissariat Mehta
(Wilson) has shifted base to the South
of Australia. Working alongside her
surgeon husband, Keki, Syloo helps
out at their Mehab Medical Centre.
With three sons, a daughter, and their
families, this lady finds little time to call
her own. She comes to Mumbai regularly
to be with her family.
Taima Tyebjee (Wilson) lives in
Toronto, Canada with her husband,
Qaid Silk and her son Nihaal. While

in Bombay, she taught in pre-school,
developed a training programme for
slum based pre-school teachers and
worked in her family business. After
moving to Canada, Taima developed an
interest in the oral tradition of telling
stories and she does this with groups.
Tehmi Oomrigar Dastoor (Barham)
lives in Virginia, USA. An interior
designer by profession, Tehmi also gives
ghazal concerts and teaches Indian vocal
music, a passion she has cultivated from
her school days. Her gastroenterologist
husband, Firdaus, has recently retired,
so Tehmi hopes to catch up on her
travelling.
Veena Khemka Bindal (Palmer)
lives in Delhi with her husband, her son
and his family and her daughter. Her
eldest daughter is married and settled
in Delhi. Veena is blessed with a caring
family, and wonderful friends.
Vesna Arsenijevic Vucic (Palmer)
is our Yugoslavian beauty. Vesna lives in
Beograd, Serbia, and is the Repartitions
Assistant in UNHCR. Vesna loves
motorcycles and travelling. We were
thrilled when Vesna flew down for our
class get together at Cathedrals 150th
celebrations.
Vimla Malani Mintz-Carr (Wilson)
lives in London and is married to Roy
Carr, an author. Their only child, Leon,
lives with them. Vimla enjoys gardening,
reading and yoga. She makes frequent
trips to Mumbai to visit her mother and
sister.
Zarine Kotval Bhedwar (Savage)
was and will forever be our Head Girl.
Koti married Cathedral Head Boy Homi
Bhedwar, and settled in Delaware, USA.
A first rank holder throughout school,
Zarine won the Jardine Medal and Lady
Sykes Shield as well as a trophy for the
most activities in her final year. She
can spout poetry at the slightest prod,
and the contagion has spread among
the others in our class. With Homis
transfer to Hyderabad for a few years,
Zarine started an NGO and served on
the executive committee of an expatriate
organisation.
Zarin Meherhomji Antia (Barham)
was a bottle of champagneuncorked.
A former dental surgeon, Zarin later
became a spiritual healer. Mother of two
girls, Zarin sold off her Chennai house,
to tend to her mother in Bombay. She
Class Notes
PREFECTS Girls School 1967

Standing: Cheryl Ampherlaw (HSC), Taima Tyebjee, Hilla Mehta, Zarine Mehta, Tehmi Oomrigar, Pheroza Shroff
(HSC), Antica Milos (Jr Prefect) Jesmin Uranwalla, Praveena (Jr Prefect)
Sitting: Dimple Uberoi, Zarine Kotval (Head Girl), Mrs Cabral (Head Mistress of Girls school), Zarine Meherhomji,
Kavita Advani
PREFECTS Boys School 1967

Back row: Jehangir Guzder, Ananth Vidyasagar or Adi Vakil, Jamshyd Godrej, Abe Aboody
Middle Row: Arun Tolani, Veerajan Nath, Jehangir (Tanko) Dadabhoy, David Long, Ashok Anthony, Shahrook Munsiff,
Kavas Petigara, Neville Mehta
Front row (seated): Deepak M, Bulbul Mukherjee, Dilip Kinra,
Rev George Ridding (HeadMaster), R Srinivasan, Mantosh Dewan
Last Row:
Manu Chotirmal, Poosie Sayani, Vimla Malani, Kavita Advani, Silloo Commissariat, Zarine Mehta
4th Row:Regina Sofer, Jean Sadgun, Madhu Nariman, Vesna Arsenijevic, Arlene Crawshaw
3rd Row: Talyarkhan, Jogesh Singh, Dimple Uberoi, Julie, Feroza Poncha, Hilla Mehta, Shobha Agarwal, Nirmala
Agarwal
2nd Row: Zarin Meherhomji, Karen Shah, Esme Esmeralda, Zarine Kotval, Mrs. Downey, Shanta Chatterjee,
Khursheed Antia, Khursheed Baltiwalla, Lila Ajgaonkar, Avan Kapadia
Front Row (seated): Meher Golwalla, Sheela Mehta, Taima Tyebjee, Homai Madon,
Wendy, Jesmin Uranwalla
was another class twinkle toes, unable

to stay off the dance floor. We grieve
losing her on March 12, 2011. She is
deeply missed.
Zarine Mehta Oomrigar (Wilson)
is a special education needs teacher
living in London with her husband,
Fali. A mother of three children, Zarine
is fond of gardening and looking after
her family.
Allen Ashkenazi (Savage) lives
in Los Angeles with his son and two
daughters. With an Aeronautical degree
from the Technion in Israel and an
MBA from Pepperdine, California, Allen
is in the software business, helping
companies sell to the US Federal
government and developing mobile
apps. An exercise freak, Allen stays in
touch with his friends around the globe.
Allen helped the class start their website,
to connect and interact regularly.
Amit Shah (Savage) is a jeweller
and a government-approved valuer
for jewellery. Both his daughters are
presently working and studying in
Boston, USA. His wife Madhavi, also
helps in his jewellery business.
Arun Tolani (Palmer) lives in Menlo
Park, CA, USA. An IIT graduate from
Bombay, Arun is the Executive VicePresident, Strategic Business for Runa
Inc. Married to Nisha, the couple enjoys
golf, travelling, Latin jazz and social
entrepreneurship.
Ashok Kurien (Savage) was the
boxing captain in school, and excelled
at sports. He started Ambience
Advertising, a creative powerhouse
in the Indian media. Later, Ashok
partnered with Subhash Chandra of
Zee TV, to set up Indias first satellite
channel. For the last two years he has
been building India.com, which is
already in the Top 10 Indian media sites
on line. Ashoks dictum is When you go
for a fight, stand there and win, because
there are no draws in boxing.
Brian Samuel (Palmer) is based
in Kronberg, Germany. A friendly
and happy-go-lucky person, Brian
is a businessman, living with his
physiotherapist wife, two teenage
daughters and their dog. He is involved
with a lot of charitable work, and looks
forward to his infrequent trips to India.
Carl Engineer (Palmer) lives in
San Carlos, CA, USA. A telecom and IT
Class Notes
person, Carl and his paralegal wife Dina,
love gardening, music and reading.Their
daughter, Nisha, and son, Jehan, live
with them.
Cooverji Katrak (Barham) is a
racehorse trainer, shuttling between
Pune and Bombay. Cooji with his wife
Teena tend to his racing fraternity and
friends. His daughter Lyla, is married to
Zubin Marker, and both Cooji and Teena
dote on their granddaughter, Nicole.
Dinesh Nayak (Palmer) is an MBA
from Wharton. A bachelor, Dinesh is
now retired and lives with his mother
in Mumbai. Dinesh likes spending his
leisure time at the CCI, indulging in
a game or swimming a few laps, and
catching up with his friends.
Dori Schmetterling (Palmer) resides
in London with his Tehran born wife,
Fariba, and their son, Raphael. Dori is
a consultant in pharmaceuticals and IT.
He is the guardian of the Class of 67
site, and if any of us slip up, Dori is our
magical panacea.
Farokh Guzder (Palmer) and his
twin brother,Jehangir, were both part
of our class. Farokh is into construction
and repairs and power plant efficiency
products. Married to Nawaz, a partner
at Drewet Chowna, their son, Jamshed
assists his dad in the family business.
Jayant Sohonie (Wilson) is the
hazel-eyed boy in the class. Married
to Najoo, Jayant leads a retired life
spending his time reading.
Dr. Jehanbux Chichgar (Barham) is
a Doctor of Medicine and Critical Care.
Attached to most of the prestigious
hospitals in Bombay, Jehan is blessed
with a sharp memory, he can recount
anecdotes of his friends and teachers in
the most humourous detail. His wife,
Dilnar, is also an alumnas. Father of
Sharlene, Alia and Pheroze (all alumni),
Jehan is fond of opera, and looks
forward to his retirement.
Jehangir Guzder (Palmer) is the
other Guzder twin of our class. Presently
based in Quebec, Canada, Jehangir
works with his son, Rumi, a graduate in
Electrical Engineering.
Kavas Jehangir (Savage) is a
bachelor. He is in the travel business,
and organises and operates tours in
India and overseas. Kavas enjoys the
company of tame and wild animals.
Playing the guitar is a stress-buster for
him and he loves his quiet lifestyle.
Kersi Homy Vachha (Savage)

is a partner at Price Waterhouse. A
Chartered Accountant from England
and Wales, Kersi loves horse racing, and
watching all the sports channels on TV.
Manjit Sadrangani (Wilson) is
based in Nigeria and travels all around
the world, for his seafood business. His
wife Deepa, accompanies him on most
of his travels, especially when he visits
Mumbai.
Mantosh Dewan (Wilson) stays
in Sycracuse, NY, USA. Mantosh is a
psychiatrist, teaching at SUNY Upstate
Medical University. Married to Anita,
they have two children. Bearded,
bespectacled and silver haired, this
elegant man is one of the brains of
our class.
Neville Mehta (Wilson) primarily
stays in Nashik, looking after his school.
Neville is the CEO and Managing
Trustee of Boys Town Public School. He
enjoys golf, reading and music.
Partho Rakshit (Wilson) was the
true all-rounder of the class. He recently
retired from his full-time job as South
Asia Head of the Nielsen Company,
though he is still associated with them
in an advisory capacity. Partho loves his
spare time and uses a lot of it going to
obscure corners of India with his wife
Panchali. Partho has two daughters,
Meghna and Rhea.
Rajesh Bahl (Wilson) calls himself a
farmer or shetkari. His favourite haunt
is his coconut plantation in Nandgaon,
Mora, where he spends most of his
leisure time, with his wife, Vanaja.
Rajesh does Inspection of Commodities
for a living, assisted by his son, Neel.
Rajesh V. Mehta (Wilson) stays
in Dubai with his family. His diamond
business, the Super Gems group,
keeps him busy. He enjoys books on
philosophy, loves trekking and believes
in water conservation. Rajesh and his
wife, Asha, make frequent trips to
Mumbai to catch up with family.
Rajesh Shah (Barham) is the
Chairman and MD of Mukund Ltd.
Though his work keeps him very busy,
Rajesh finds time for his annual holidays
with his wife, Bansri, and his two
children. Rajesh believes in paying back
his dues by helping the less fortunate.
Ranjit H. Bhavnani (Savage) is the
Chairman and MD of Calibre Chemicals.
His wife, Mala, works alongside him, as
the Executive Director of the company.

Ranjit and Mala share the same birthday
2nd November, a lovely coincidence
for this close-knit couple. Helpful by
nature, Ranjits sons, Rikhil and Trivik,
lend adequate support to their father in
the office.
Ranjit Sinh (Barham) and his lovely
wife,Vandana, are both practising
architects with their own firm Ranjit
Sinh Associates. His two daughters
are ex-students of the school too. This
family works hard and then takes
leisurely vacations, spending quality
time together.
Ravi Bhandari (Savage) grew up in a
military environment, as his father was
in the Armed Forces. Settled in Delhi,
Ravi set up his own security systems
company. In his spare time, Ravi loves
to play Scrabble and catch up with his
classmates on e-mail. He occasionally
travels with his brother and enjoys the
company of his grandchild.
Dr. Rohit Deshpande (Palmer) is
a Professor of Marketing at Harvard
Business School. This greying, tall
and handsome Prof, exudes style and
elegance in a room. His work takes him
to different destinations, to meet up
with a wide spectrum of people. His
popularity in the college is legendary.
Rohit never fails to keep his date with
his 96-year-old dad, and schedules his
plans so as to be in Mumbai for his
fathers birthday.
Roy David (Barham) helps classmate,
Neville Mehta, in the Boys Town
Boarding School at Nashik. His wife,
Lakshmi, and teenage son, Rajan, keep
Roy company at home. A total sports
freak, Roy believes in and practises
nature conservation.
Dr. Rustom Kanga (Wilson) has
gone Down Under, to Sydney, Australia.
A happy-go-lucky nature and a very
positive attitude keep his glass of spirits
always half-full. Rustoms name is
engraved in the schools ISC list of 67
toppers. His artificial intelligence based
surveillance company iOmniscient
boasts of cameras, which are used
globally in airports, museums and malls.
Rustom writes poetry in his own unique
Roald Dahl style (on the class website)
keeping us in veritable splits. Marlene,
his wife, runs her own company, and
is the next President of Engineers,
Australia. Their older son, Zubin, is
Class Notes
now winning international acclaim as a
pianist in London, whilst their younger
son, Jehan, is completing a PhD. in
Chemistry.
Shahrook Munsiff (Savage) works
with Lintas India Ltd. as their Finance
Director. A regular at the racecourse,
Shahrook enjoys surfing the sports
channels in his free time, while enjoying
a glass of wine with his wife, Anupam.
Their children, Aliya and Cyrus, study
overseas.
Tony Singh (Wison) deals in
womens wear. Along with his wife,
Sherry, he owns and runs Designer
Studio, a boutique and spa in Mumbai.
In his spare time, Tony enjoys music and
reading. Their daughter, Tanya, is an
architect, and son, Raoul, is a student in
Toronto.
Veerajan Nath (Savage) is the
Proprietor of Naath Exim India, which
imports and exports raw material for the
steel industry. His wife, Radhika, makes
Our Teachers
his article would not be complete

without a mention of our teachers,
who influenced us immensely, and left
their mark on our lives:
The huge piano in the Junior
school was for our music master Mr.
Velu, who made us cup our fingers in
front of our waists, stand erect, feet
together and sing:
Early one morning, just as the sun
was rising,
I heard a maid sing in the valley
below;
O dont deceive me,
O never leave me!
How could you use a poor maiden so?
Then there was Mrs. Downey clad
in long lungis, with her black frames
atop her head, raising an accusing
finger to ask, Now which of you
have hidden my glasses? She struck
fear in most of us. Mrs. Chacko with
her typical Keralite accent, teaching
us Math, there was the late Mrs.
Nargolwalla, our Hindi teacher and
Mrs. Navalkar, our Marathi teacher
who all carved their places in our
hearts.
We cannot forget the firangi
teachers like Mr. McArthur, Mrs.
McDonald and Mrs. Das, who gave
garments for Mahindra & Mahindra.

His son, Kaveesh, works with Boston
Consultancy and his daughter, Shloka,
works with Forbes International as a
senior features writer.
Victor Macmull (Palmer) is always
game for meeting up with old friends,
however short the notice. When a gang
of girls from the class decided to go
to Founders Day, Victor was the only
guy who found time to come along.
Proprietor of United Works Pvt. Ltd., he
never misses a day of office, but refuses
to let stress get the better of him. His
wife, Rachel, recently retired as Cultural
Attach at the Israel Consulate, Mumbai.
Their sons, Jeremy and Simon, stay
overseas. Victor and Rachel have recently
become proud grandparents. Victors
smiling demeanour and warmth make
him very popular with his classmates.
Yogesh Shah lives in Ontario,
Canada where he runs his own business.
His wife, Shivani, is a home-maker, and
both his sons, Akshay and Salil, study

and work in Canada. Yogesh is a good
singer and loves taking holidays with
his family. He visits Mumbai to meet his
family and friends.
We have no news of some of our
classmatesKhursheed Batliwala,
Leela Ajgaonkar, Manju Malaney, Salwa
el Moursi, and Vivian Pasgon. If any
of our readers know of them or their
whereabouts, please do let us know.
There are 10 names in our Memorial
List, of friends who left us much too
soon. Among the boys: Abe Aboody,
Roland Adie, Jehangir Dadabhoy
(Tanko), Cyrus Ghasvala, Anil Hitkari,
Haresh Kumar, Shiraz Rahimtoola, and
Homi Reporter. The two girls who are no
longer with us are Manu Chotirmal and
Zarin Meherhomji Antia. The mischief,
fun and joy we shared in our youth will
keep their memories alive forever.
us a strong foundation in written and

spoken English. And last but not the
least, Miss Carlier (later Mrs. Patruni)
who was our class teacher for two years
in succession, and saw us through our
final years at school.
In the boys school, there was
Mr. Jamdar, who targeted truant
children with duster or chalk or
whatever else he had in his hand.Mr.
Timmins taught Mathematics, and
would spank mischief-makers on their
backside and then turn to tell the
class He has an iron cutlet. Mr.
Swaminathans Chemistry class was fun
and the boys actually learnt something.
The Physics teacher, Mr. M.T. Kamath,
was affectionately nicknamed James
Bond for his antics and accent.
Mr. David Elisha (History & Biology)
and Mr. David Hawkey (Physics) were
both brilliant teachers of our time.
Lastly, Mr. Gunnery, our Principal
into whose office the naughty ones
were sent for a caning. Mr. Gunnery
would make the offenders turn to the
wall and touch their toes, and then he
would take a short run-up from the
other end for the caning!
It would be inappropriate not
to mention Reverend Ridding, our
Headmaster in 67, and the architect
of the schools makeover to a co-
educational institution. Though

reticent by nature, the Reverends
vision was bang-on. Not only did he
foresee that co-education would be
good for students, allowing the girls
and boys to imbibe the best of what
the school had to offer, Rev. Ridding
completely transformed the archaic
Physics and Chemistry laboratory, had
a new Biology laboratory constructed,
as well as a much larger and betterstocked library. He struck a deal with
The Bombay Gymkhana Club, which
allowed the boys to use the playing
fields of the Gym. He also tried
getting the school a more permanent
sports field in Colaba at the naval
base, but that did not work out.
In conclusion, we can proudly
say that our class remains in touch
with each other. Our class website,
expertly managed by Allen (LA, USA)
and Dori (London,UK) allows active
networking, and keeps us happily
connected. On the website, Zarine
Kotis poetry, as well as Rustom
and Rohits verse, are applauded
and appreciated by all of us. And
it becomes an excuse to meet and
party, if anyone from overseas
visits Mumbai.
By Shobha Jhunjhunwala
By Shobha Jhunjhunwala (1967)
Class Notes
Class of 1969
Afzal Assur (Wilson) has been
with IBM for 29 years, and is currently
the Vice-President of Business
Development. Married with two
children, he is now involved with
mentoring and coaching local highschool students who come from
challenging environments. He is fond
of golfthough the enthusiasm for the
sport is not reflective of the handicap!
Amit Desai (Palmer) is a Psychiatrist
in a private practice in Mumbai. He is
also attached to Jaslok Hospital as a
Consulting Psychiatrist.
Ashok Raiji (Savage) is a Principal
in the New York office of the global
engineering firm Arup. He designs
buildings and plans new cities all over
the world. Ashok is also a Visiting
Professor of Architecture at The Cooper
Union in New York City and is on the
Board of Directors of the American
Institute of Architects NY. He is an avid
golfer and plays to a 5-handicap.
Barbara Rossi (Palmer) left Bombay
in 1971 and is currently a translator
in Milan.
Brian Ashkenazi (Savage) spent
four years in Israel and speaks fluent
Hebrew. He graduated with a BS in
Mechanical Engineering in 1979 from
California State University, Sacramento,
with a concentration in Direct Energy
Conversion. He then worked in the
fields of cutting tools, automated
plastic reinforced composite products
development, flexible coated/laminated
fabrics product development/sales
and high-power RF amplifiers. He
currently lives in Los Angeles, California
and is employed as a Commercial
Property Manager. In addition, he is

an independent Energy Technology
Developer/Inventor with several patents
issued and pending. He volunteers a
lot in coaching and refereeing of youth
soccer and is currently involved in
starting a new special-needs soccer
programme for handicapped children, as
one of his sons was severely injured in a
pedestrian accident about five years ago.
Geeta Antony (Savage) is a real
estate broker and the President of
Bankers Realty & Mortgage, located in
Rancho, Santa Fe, USA. Contact: (858)
349-4844. Address: P.O. Box 8611,
Rancho Santa Fe, Ca. 92067.
Jal Bharucha (Savage) is Head of
Compliance at NBADs Private Bank in
the UAE, based in Abu Dhabi. He has
been in the UAE for nearly seven years
with his wife Hutoxi. Both of them
enjoy the expatriate lifestyle. He is an
avid music lover and modestly collects
modern art. E-mail: jaltoxib@emirates.
net.ae. Address: NBAD Private Banking
UAE, PO Box 4, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Kamal K. Kavarana (Savage) is
still single and stays at the same place.
Some things never change! E-mail:
kamalkavarana@gmail.com.
Kamal Parsram (Palmer) is an ENT
Surgeon (M.S., FCPS, DORL) attached
to Lilawati Hospital & Research Centre,
Bandra, Raheja Fortis Hospital, Mahim,
and the Ali Yavar Jung, National
Institute for the Hearing Handicapped.
Bandra. He lives on Pedder Road,
Mumbai.
E-mail: kamalparsram@gmail.com.
Mita Chatterji Sujan (Wilson)
would have loved to graduate with her
Cathedral buddies from kindergarten
but spent the last three years of school
in Delhi. She is currently a Chaired
Professor in Marketing at Tulane

University in the Big Easy (home of jazz,
zydeco and jambalaya, also po-boys,
fried oysters and Mardi Gras).
Nadish Naoroji (Savage) worked
in Mumbai until 1990 as an audio
& acoustic consultant, professional
photographer and audio-visual director
and producer. He is currently living in
Sydney, Australia, and is Director and
CEO of leading imaging companies
Multimatch Australia, Pixel Perfect
Prolab and Asukabook Australia &
New Zealand.
Nilima Daga, nee Malani (Wilson)
moved to Dubai in 1983 and has been
there since, though she is looking to
move back to India in the near future.
She is blessed with three wonderful
daughters. Nilima would like to get in
touch with batch mates if they are based
in, or travelling to Dubai. Mobile: 00971
50 7058625.
Praveen Toshniwal (Savage)
graduated from IIT Delhi in 1975.
Since then, he is in the business of
manufacturing and distributing Process
Control Instruments. He lives in Indore.
Ranjan Mitchell, nee Sukthankar
(Savage) graduated from St. Xaviers
College, Mumbai and the University of
Reading, UK. She worked in marketing/
market research jobs in book publishing
and as an editorial correspondent for
the trade press in several countries.
Now retired, she can be found either
in Mumbai or Goa, India, or in
Stamford, UK.
Ravi Daryani (Palmer) is the
CEO of Panar Group, Lagos, Nigeria
which manufactures plastic pipes and
packaging. He is married with three
children and two grandchildren.
Renee Maulik (Wilson) lives in
London, is semi-retired and volunteers
as a Justice of the Peace. E-mail:
reneem@btinternet.com.
Sheba Thomas, ne Eapen (Palmer)
returned to Mumbai after college in
Bangalore. E-mail: shebatho@gmail.com.
Shyla Boga Patel (Savage) lives with
her husband Naushad Patel (Wilson)
and their daughter Alisha, in Bombay.
She works as Consulting Editor with
Sanctuary magazine. E-mail: shylaboga@
gmail.com
Sujit Chatterjee (Savage) was
School Football and Boxing Captain and
Class Notes
Hockey Vice-Captain. Now, Dr. Sujit
Chatterjee, he is a Gynaecologist and
Oncologist but changed track and went
into Hospital Design. He is the Chief
Executive of a 240-bedded tertiary
care hospital, the Chairman of the
IMC Health vertical for 2012-13 and
a member of the CII -National Health
Committee. He is married to Caroline
Holmes (Palmer House Captain), who is
now a home-maker and the Captain of
his ship.
Zarine Khambatta Batliwalla
(Barham) has lived in the San Francisco
Bay Area for over 35 years. She has been
involved in all aspects of real estate
along with her husband Neville. They
refurbish, build and design homes,
manage investment properties and
help clients to purchase and sell their
homes. Zarine has two daughters and is
now enjoying her first granddaughter.
She enjoys travelling and loves coming
to Bombay.
By Shyla Boga Patel
Class of 1974/75
Ernaz Sidhwa Irani (Barham)
works and lives in Silicon Valley, CA,
USA. Currently Director of Marketing
& Alliances at Netfira, a B2B software
company in San Jose, CA, USA, she
trains for half marathons and runs for
worthy causes such as the Lymphoma
& Leukaemia Foundation. Married to
Mahyar, they have three children.
Sudhir Kumar (Barham) went to
Elphinstone College and then to the
USA to do his M.B.A., after which he set
up a chemical manufacturing company,
making pharmaceutical and herbicide
intermediates in Bombay. He is married
to Ayesha Singh (Wilson, 1978), who
runs a design studio for larger-sized
women in Colaba. They have two
daughters, Mitali (Barham 2006), who
is in the hospitality industry, and Sonali
(Barham 2011), who is an undergraduate
at Barnard College.
Nariman Karanjia (Savage) did
his undergraduate training at Guys
Hospital, London, and his postgraduate
surgical training at St. Georges Hospital,
London. He is father to Rustam, 20
years old, who is reading Medicine at
Imperial College, London, and to Delna,
19 years old, who is about to read

Business Studies in Birmingham. He
was appointed Consultant Surgeon in
Gastrointestinal Surgery in Guildford UK
in 1994, founded the Hepato-PancreatoBiliary Unit for Surrey & Sussex in 2003,
and was appointed Professor of HPB
Surgery in 2007.
Bharat Jog is a Marine Engineer by
profession. He sailed in the Merchant
Navy for 25 years, where he was Chief
Engineer for 18 years. The last 10 years
of his sailing career were with APL. He
now works as a Technical Manager at
Medallion Marine Pvt. Limited, looking
after Technical Operations. Married
to Anjali, who is a French teacher and
does communications training with
small firms and at a Marine engineering
college, MANET, in Pune, their son,
Varun, is pursuing his C.A. while their
daughter, Sagari, is in her second year of
her B.A. degree at Pune University.
Ajay Shah completed his B. Tech. and
a Masters degree in Finance. Having
worked for a long time at NOCIL, he is
currently managing the chemical business
of Reliance Industries Ltd. His wife,
Punita, is a Class Teacher in the Cathedral
Infant School. Both their children are exCathedralites: Shikha, a lawyer, and Sahil,
a chartered accountant.
Kurush Bilimoria says he has
had a truly chequered life and career.
Starting out in Accounts & Taxation, he
moved on to Foreign Exchange Control,
graduated to become a Corporate Banker
with a couple of Foreign Banks for a few
years, and ended up owning a company

representing 17 international shipyards.
In the interim, he has found time to
re-educate himself three times over, get
married, father a daughter, continuously
circumvent the globe, sail occasionally,
and play snooker most evenings.
Anup Kapur (Savage) wonders how
many of you remember him. He was
in XI-C 1975 (Science), was the guy
between Viral and Ramu in the class
photo, and was a regular on the squash
courts. He left Bombay after school, did
a degree in Engineering at NIT, Srinagar,
and a degree in Marine Enginering at
DMET. After spending some time in the
Merchant Navy, he settled in Delhi. He
is currently with Steag Energy Services
(a German company in the power
sector). Married to Sunita, they have a
son, Uday, who is studying journalism.
Do catch up with him some time. Tel:
09871259557
Dinesh Mirchandani (Barham) is
the President of the Indian operations
of Boyden, a leading global executive
search firm. His focus is on filling CEO
and Board level positions for MNCs and
large Indian companies globally. In 2008,
Business Week nominated him as one
of the top 50 headhunters in the world.
Previously, he was also a Director on the
Global Board of Boyden for eight years.
His life can be summarised thus: from
Head Boy to Headhunter. He is based
in Mumbai.
Sorab P. Engineer joined
Sydenham College and appeared for
Class Notes
the examinations held by the Custom
Commissionerate, Revenue Department,
GOI to obtain a licence to carry on the
family business of International Freight
Forwarders and licensed Custom House
Agents. Elected President of the Bombay
Custom House Agents Association and
to the Board of Trustees of the J.N. Port
Trust and to the Board of Mumbai Port
Trust (BPT), he is also on the Board of
Advisors of BCHAA, on the IMC Ports &
Shipping Committee, and is an Associate
Member of the Federation of Freight
Forwarders Association in India. His
sons, Noshir and Adil, were the third
generation of students to study at our
illustrious school.
Kiran Tawadey (Savage) went to
INSEAD with her husband after doing
her M. Phil. degree from Gokhale
Institute in Pune. After working with
a Professor of M & A there, and then
in London with a consulting firm,
she started a tea-importing business
in 1987, after which she launched a
retail tea brand in the UK. She has two
children, Rohan and Raoul.
Ranjan Patwardhan (Palmer) went
on to read Economics at Cambridge
University and then entered the banking
industry where he has been working
for the past 25 years. During the course
of his career he has worked in Bombay,
Bahrain, Mexico City and Sao Paulo,
and has now been in London for the last
several years, where he lives with his
wife, Aparajita, and their two teenaged
children. In his spare time he pursues
an interest in extreme sport, but is also
a keen and amused observer, via email,
of the various goings-on within the
1974/1975 Cathedralite community.
Dina Wadia (Palmer) (mis)spent
her time after leaving school on the
parapets of Sydenham College and at the
morning shows of every movie theatre
in South Bombay. She then decided,
for no apparent reason, that she would
take to the Law, and spent more time at
Government Law College, Mumbai, and
Cambridge University, U.K. The law has
had her ever since. She lives and works
in Bombay, and is a Senior Partner of J.
Sagar Associates. Its been wonderful
re-connecting with our batch, and I
occasionally spend some of my free
time trying to steer them away from
political correctness.
Ricky Lamba (Savage) is the founder
& owner of The Raj Company (www.
therajcompany.com), a business he is
passionate about, that deals in antique,
colonial & custom furniture. He is
married to Laila, whom he was fortunate
to have met in school, and with whom
he has three children, Rohaan, Armaan,
and a daughter, Imaan. He swims for
recreation, is a collector of art, and
lives in Mumbai. He thoroughly enjoys
meeting his batch mates at their raucous
get-togethers.
Shantanu Khosla (Barham) went
to IIT Mumbai and then IIM Calcutta,
after which he joined P&G and has been
with them ever since. Over the years,
he has worked and lived in the UK,
Japan, Singapore and Malaysia before
coming back home to Mumbai about 10
years ago as CEO, P&G India, a role he
continues to do. His wife, Latika, runs
a design practice specialising in Color
Trends for Industry, and a home store
called Freedom Tree. His son, Rishabh,
works for Bain in Boston. His daughter,
Simran, is doing her Masters degree in
Journalism at NYU.
Gauri Pohoomul, ne Daftary
(Palmer) heads Daftary Descon
Engineering, and is a part of Sahachari
Foundation, which supports deserving
NGOs. Her daughter, Ashika, got
married to Ronak Mehta (batchmates at
Cathedral).
Cyrus Mistry (Palmer) got a degree
in Chemical Engineering, after which
he went onto become an oil exploration
geologist based in the Middle East and
North Africa. He then spent three years
in the family business in Bombay before
returning to the UK, where he worked as
a Eurobond Trader in the city of London.
After that he set up several businesses
in the UK over the years: import/export,
marketing of energy-saving products,
and was one of the first to introduce
video streaming to the UK. He also does
part-time consultancy work for a large
utility company. He is single with two
lovely children who are at university.
Ila Raiji (Savage) has been living in
Wellington, New Zealand since 1988.
She has two children: Ritika (29) and
Jay (17). She is a self-employed IT
Programme/Project Manager currently
consulting in the NZ Government sector.
She enjoys karate, photography, and
blogging.
R.J. Gagrat (Savage) graduated with
First Class Honours in Politics from
Elphinstone College, before reading
Law at Downing College, Cambridge

University, and graduating with
Honours. He qualified as a Solicitor
of the Supreme Court of England and
attended Harvard Law School. He is an
Advocate of the Supreme Court of India
and a Notary of the Union of India. A
Senior Partner of Gagrats, Advocates
and Solicitors, Bombay and Gagrat &
Co., Advocates, Supreme Court of India,
New Delhi, and a director of public
and private limited companies and
mutual funds. His practice areas include
Aviation Law, Corporate Law, Mergers
& Acquisitions, Banking & Finance
Law and Energy & Infra-structure Law.
Married to Lia, their son, Jeh, did his
ICSE at Cathedral and is completing
his schooling at Winchester College in
England.
Timmie Kumar (Wilson) is the
Managing Trustee of Help in Suffering,
a charity which works for the welfare
of all street and captive animals. It is
a 32-year-old charity which gives free
medical aid and medicines to all street
animals from birds to elephants. They
also have a hospital for camels in a
village named Bassi, en route to Agra
from Jaipur . When we had the Jaipur
reunion the Cats of 75 had visited the
shelter.See www.his-india.in. He is
always looking for supporters for the
cause of animals.
Abeezer Essabhoy (Savage)
studied in London for a year and then
completed college at the University
of California, Berkeley. He has been
in the San Francisco Bay Area since
1977, and currently lives with his wife
and two daughters in Palo Alto. He
enjoys playing tennis and golf, and
squeezes in some time to work,
managing real estate.
Ashok Jahagirdar (Barham),
better known as Juggy, went on to
IIT, Powai and subsequently to Bombay
University to do a B.Sc. He has been
in the IT (information technology)
industry since 1985. Currently, he takes
on diverse training contracts having
an IT connection. Happily married
to Surela, they have a 12-year-old
son, Niranjanand, and live in Mahim,
Mumbai. His mobile number is
9820817017.
Rajul Parikh (Barham) runs a
successful business that manufactures
and markets UV- based water
purification systems sold under the
Class Notes
brand name Alfa. She is, currently,
the Vice-Chairperson of the Water
Quality Association Task Force in India.
An active Rotarian, she enjoys classical
Hindustani music, meditation and
yoga. Living in Mumbai with spouse,
Anand Parikh, she has two kids (both
ex-Cathedralites) Ankur and Nupur, and
thoroughly enjoys being a grandma to
three grandchildren .
Shephali Ruia (Palmer) studied
Commerce, then joined her dad at
his factory in Thana in the design
department, and did a Diploma
in Textile Designing from Sophia
Polytechnic. She got married in 1985
and has two children. She then joined
her husbands family business in the
administrative HRD department.
Amita Sarwal Lovett (Barham)Life
has been pretty kind with me, as I
narrate my journey so many years on
with a soul-mate,the British Foreign
Service, three kids, schools and now
Olympics on this Isle. The Cathedral 75
cats group emails which keep making
me smile and remind mefacebook,
i-phones and e-life we did await..
Yasmine Stafford (Palmer) did her
Bachelors in Sociology at St. Xaviers
College, followed by a Diploma course in
Travel and Tourism and an IATA UFTAA
travel consultant qualification. After
landing her first job with Diners World
Travel, she moved over to the clients
side in the oil and gas industry, Wharton
Williams Taylor, then Stena Offshore BV.
She then moved to London, where she
worked for a distributor of independent
documentary films. The new millennium
saw her return to Mumbai in time to
help organise her batchs 25th reunion.
The FTII Film Appreciation course
in Pune and a course in journalism
followed. She has put together a couple
of jazz festivals in the city, and has
been freelancing in film production for
international units.
Vaidehi Mukhi Buddy Dalal
(Savage) has been all over the place after
school, pursuing different fields: Sophia
Polytechnic, Mumbai, for a major in
Weaving, and the Fashion Institute of
Technology, NY thereafter, for a major
in fine art. Back in Mumbai, for a job in
garment manufacture and exports for
a couple of years, she switched fields,
and worked in the family business of
manufacture and exports of chemicals.
And then once again jumped into the
fitness business. She has been a fitness
trainer since 1992. Somewhere in

between, she got married and has one
son, 20 years old, who (obviously!) went
to the Cathedral.
Vivek Hurry (Palmer) has become
a C.A., got married to Kavita, had a
daughter, Tania, started a software
company, had a son, Aditya, launched
Indias first website for legal information
and a pioneering outsourcing company,
retired, and started a financial advisory
and wealth management company with
his wife, which prospers and keeps him
out of mischief. He is particularly proud
of fathering two Prefects and House
Captains, which should be reckoned
as his contribution to the alma mater.
He continues to like reading, jigsaws,
crosswords, the blues and other peoples
dogs and babies
Rabindra Hazari (Wilson) attended
St. Xaviers College, Mumbai, where
he achieved the distinction of being
suspended, rusticated and denied
re-admission a total of four times for
Student Union activities, finally finishing
his B.A. under Court Orders; then did
a M.A. and M.Phil. in History from
JNU, followed by an L.L.B. from Delhi
University. He started his law practice in
1986. After a six-year stint with Crawford
Bayley, he set up his own law firm,
Rabindra Hazari Associates in 1992, with
offices in Mumbai, New Delhi and Verona,
Italy. He is happily divorced and resides
on Pedder Road with his much beloved
blond bitch.
Nitin Parekh (Wilson) moved to
Europe from India, met his wife while
working in Holland, and now lives in
California with his wife Mariette, and
two daughters, Jasmine and Malou.
He is part of the founding team for a
young company in the solar thermal
space that is targeting India as its initial
market ramp.
Viral Doshi (Palmer) graduated in
engineering from Cornell University
after finishing his higher education
in London. After a stint in banking
in New York, he set up a super alloys
manufacturing plant near Mumbai.
Ten years ago he switched careers
mid-stream and followed his passion
of guiding and mentoring students on
their careers. Viral Doshi Associates
in Mumbai, helps young people access
opportunities for higher learning and
choose their optimal career paths. He
now has offices in Dubai, London and
New York. Viral is married to Sucheta,
and they have a son, Sudeep who works

in New York City.
Sharmilla Khanna, Roy Choudhury
(Barham) is a luxury event organiser,
has a branding and marketing company,
and is on the organising committee
of ARAAISH exhibition for Save The
Children India Charity. Married for
27 years to ex-Cathedralite, Sandiip
Khanna, a property builder and Sorbet
stores owner, they live in Mumbai with
their daughter, Shaan.
Cheryl Shaker ne Holmes (Palmer)
has been living in Auckland, New
Zealand, for the past 17 years. She is keen
to organise a class reunion in Auckland.
Rahul Chatterji (Barham) left in Std.
10, to attend Highgate School (London,
UK). Moving to the USA, he graduated
from New York University (Stern School
of Business) with a B.Sc. in IT (M.I.S). He
worked as an IT consultant in New York
City on several large-scale cutting-edge
IT corporate projects, and continued
playing his guitar. Recently having
returned to India, he currently resides
in Pune where he pursues his artistic
side composing music, teaching guitar,
performing in various venues, painting
and doing voice-overs. Email: eatmusic@
gmail.com.
By Rohita Doshi
Class of 1978/81
Lena Chaiwalla Mukhi (Savage)
did her B.Com from Sydenham College.
She is the owner of Cascades, a boutique
retailing ladies garments located in
Mumbai and is also a director in a
luxury lifestyle and travel company
Luxury Link India Pvt. Ltd.
Anuradha Shankardass Grover
(Barham) is a Fellow Member of The
Institute of Chartered Accountants,
India. She has been a consultant with
many start-up organisations, helping
facilitate their launch into the Indian
Market. She is currently working on a
part-time basis.
Yasmin Tyebjee (Wilson) has been
in The Hague, Netherlands, working for
the last 13 years for a United Nations
Organization, The Organization for
the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
where she specialises in Operations and
Logistics. She hopes to be moving to
somewhere sunny in the near future!
Class Notes
Nandini (Gajendrasinh) Narvekar
(Barham) graduated from Sydenham
College and went on to be trained as a
Dental Ceramist in Philadelphia. She
currently runs a dental laboratory in
Mumbai.
Rehaab Barodawalla Kamte
(Wilson) graduated from Sydenham
College and did a Le Cordon Bleu course
for Patisserie in Paris. She catered for
parties and personal orders but has now
quit work to become a full-time mom to
her three children.
Monish Sahni (Wilson) completed a
BA and an MBA from Cornell University,
then spent several years at Citibank
between New York, Hong Kong and
London. He is now with CQS, a Londonbased multi-strategy hedge fund.
Ashish Bajaj (Palmer) is currently in
Hong Kong and works with Citibank as
Regional Head of Financial Institutions.
He has worked and stayed in five
countries since leaving school, but is still
in love with Mumbai.
Ajay Kakar (Wilson) is currently
CMO, Financial Services, for the Aditya
Birla Group. Prior to that he worked at
Reliance Capital, Ogilvy & Mather and
SR Batliboi & Co. (an Ernst & Young
associate company).
Dr Maleeka Khurana Sachdev
(Palmer) did her MBBS from TNMC
Mumbai (1981-1987) and MD
(Dermatology) from PGI Chandigarh.
She has been practising as a Consultant
Dermatologist and Cosmetologist in
Chandigarh for the past 20 years. She
has been a pioneer in dermatology lasers
in North India.
Subir Mehra (Savage) did his
undergraduate degree from Wharton
and his MBA from Kellogg. He spent
several years in Consulting with KPMG
and E&Y. Since 1999, he has been with
HSBC in India, Hong Kong and London.
He is currently the Global COO of the
Commercial Banking business. He has
been in London for nine months, and is
enjoying the incredibly diverse culture of
the city.
Gaurang Muzumdar (Palmer)
is a Consultant Dermatologist in
Colaba, Mumbai. He graduated from
T. N. Medical College, specialisng in
Dermatology. After doing his residency
at Nair Hospital, he has been in private
practice since 1991.
Riyad M.M.Mucadam, aka Riyaz
Mistry (Savage) resides in Wellington,
New Zealand. Did what I wanted to:
oceanography, science writing, trading

outpost, hydrogeology, rural solar
electrification, remote Pacific atoll life,
children, women, fastest sailing canoes,
hiking, volcanoes, enjoying positively
the coolest capital city. His current
labour of love is a Ph.D in Applied
Physics Bio-Nanoscience.
Shakeel Durazi (Wilson) lives
in Mumbai where he runs his own
business. Those Fantastic Golden
Years!, he recalls.
Ramachandran Ramu Iyer
(Barham) did a stint in Jai Hind
College, after which he obtained a B.E.
(Computer Science) from Regional
Engineering College (Trichy), an MS
degree (Washington State University)
and an MBA (Northwestern University).
Ramu is currently a Project Turnaround
Consultant with Slalom Consulting in
Seattle.
Dina Mehta Golwalla (Savage)
completed her Bachelors Degree in
Commerce from Sydenham College. She
is married to ex- Cathedralite, Sharukh
Golwalla, and they have a daughter,
Zeena.
Pankaj Wadhwa (Wilson) lives in
Mumbai where, for the last 25 years,
he managed and owned a packaging
company. Having sold the company
in January 2012, he is presently in
vacation mode!
Vinay Bijawat (Savage) did a BA

(Economics & Statistics) from St.
Xaviers College, followed by an MBA at
Jamnalal Bajaj Institute, Mumbai.He
joined ANZ Grindlays and worked in
Mumbai and Melbourne. He then joined
Citigroup in 1993 in various roles in
Singapore, Thailand and London until
2008. He bought out a firm along with
some partners in 2008, which consults
for banks in the emerging markets
(www.banktandd.com).
Shahab Durazi (Wilson) did his
B.Com from Sydenham College and then
proceeded to New York to complete
a two-year Associates in an Applied

Science Degree from the Fashion
Institute of Technology, after which he
launched his own label in 1988. He is
presently Director of Persha Design Pvt.
Ltd., which manufactures and retails
his own brand in Mumbai, New Delhi,
London, Dubai and New York.
Romi Lamba (Savage) is married to
Sagiri Dayal (Wilson, 1978). They have
lived in Hong Kong since 1994, before
which they spent several years studying
and working in Philadelphia. After a
career in investment banking, Romi is
Head of Market Development at the
Hong Kong Exchange. Sagiri is involved
in Indian Contemporary Art and is also a
designer of semi-precious jewellery.
Shaila Batra Sondhi (Barham) did
a BA from St. Xaviers College, Mumbai,
and worked in Lintas for three years.
She lives in Delhi with her husband
and daughter. She has learnt Chinese
brush painting and now paints English
watercolour landscapes.
Mahesh Khubchandani aka
Macy (Barham) studied Mechanical
Engineering and did an MBA in Finance
at UM, Ann Arbor. He is a Member
of the Bombay and National Stock
Exchange. He resides in London, UK,
and has offices in Mumbai. Besides
trading in the global securities markets,
he enjoys cricket, tennis, travelling and
comedy.
Amit Bhargava (Barham) spent his
undergraduate years at IIT Bombay.
Since then he has lived in Boston,
Washington DC, Seattle and now lives in
Connecticut. He has worked at Motorola,
McKinsey, Venture Capital and, most
recently, he has been an Executive in
the industrial sectorDanaher Corp.
followed by United Technologies where
he currently works.
Anand Krishna (Savage) is a
Marketing Director with Honeywell
Intl, working with acquired companies
in the Netherlands and Germany. He
shuttles between Delft and New Jersey,
USA, where his wife, Sonali, and two
daughters live. He worked at Siemens,
Booz Allen & Hamilton, and Lucent
Technologies before Honeywell.
Divya Bhatia (Wilson ) went to
Oxford to read Law. She lives in London
and practises as a Divorce Barrister at
Coram Chambers.
Pandu Nayak (Wilson) is married
to Mala Sanghavi Nayak (Savage).
They live in Palo Alto, California. Mala is
Class Notes
trained as a Psychiatrist and works at a
community mental health clinic. Pandu
is currently a Member of Technical Staff
at Google, working on web search. They
have two daughters.
Anita D Paymaster (Savage)
acquired a B.Com degree she did her
LLB (Gen) and is a Fellow Member of
the Institute of Chartered Accountants
India. She worked with Deutsche Bank
and Maersk India until 1994. Since then,
she is a practicing C.A. with her own firm
A.D. Paymaster & Co. which specialises
in payroll management for companies.
Sangeeta Gupta (Barham) lives
in Cairns, Australia. She did a French
basic cuisine course with the Cordon
Bleu in Sydney. She is a food stylist and
writes food articles for a local magazine.
She is also a Critic with the Wine and

Food Society and judges wines at the
annual Cairns Wine Awards. She has
written a cookery book which is yet to be
published.
Salman Noorani (Palmer) did his
B.Com from Sydenham College. He is
currently the Managing Director of
Zodiac Clothing Co. Ltd. Mumbai, a
brand that designs, manufactures and
retails mens clothing.
Vinay Gupta (Barham) is retired in
Aotearoa (New Zealand). Was lost for
a while after leaving Cathedral... Did my
MBA, worked in the family business,
then had an epiphany and moved to New
Zealand. Been here for the last 12 years
and loving it.
Gopa Khandwala (Savage) achieved
her lifelong ambition to be a full-time
slacker. She divides her time between
Pennington, NJ (annoying her spouse,
child and dogs) and Mumbai (annoying
her mother, staff and dogs). She is now
contemplating what to give up next, on
her journey to Buddhahood!
Dr. Rajyashree (Tunia) Das
Murdeshwar (Palmer) did her MBBS
at Grant Medical College, Mumbai. She
worked at Bhatia General Hospital as
an OPD and Casualty-in-Charge. She

then practiced as a Family Physician for
six years, but has now quit her practise
to be a full-time mom. She also teaches
English at an NGO, potters with plants
and bakes brownies and bread rolls!
Navpreet Singh (Barham) graduated
with a B.Com from Sydenham College.
Thereafter, he was articled with Arthur
Anderson and qualified as a Chartered
Accountant. Currently he is the Joint
Managing Director and CFO of the
Dolphin Offshore Group.
Zaheda (Rangoonwala) Davies
(Barham) lives in Wellington, NZ. She
did a two-year stint at Nirmala Niketan
followed by a BA at St. Xaviers College,
worked with PanAm and Fourways
Travel in Bombay before moving to
Moscow for 10 years, where she worked
with Lufthansa. Presently, she is a travel
broker, running her home business.
Mudit Jain (Savage) did his B.Com
from Sydenham College, followed by an
MBA from Wharton (1987). He has been
working in his family business, DCW
Limited, for the last 20 years looking
after the day-to-day operations of the
caustic soda division and manufacturing
various chemicals.
Poonam Batra (Palmer) did her pre
-medical from Government College for
Women, Chandigarh (1981). She then
went on to King George Medical College,
Lucknow for her graduation, internship
and post graduation degree in Dental
Surgery. She moved to New Delhi in
1990 to practise dentistry where she
runs a multi-specialty dental clinic with
six specialists.
Maya Sharma Kharwar (Palmer) did
her B.Com and M.Com from Sydenham,
then BGL and ACS. She is working with
her spouse Jayesh as Director Finance &
Accounts in their own company, Natech
Solutions (I) Pvt. Ltd. They have two
sons, aged 13 and 18.
maya.kharwar@natechindia.com.
Maya Dhondy Putois (Barham)
lives in Paris and teaches Cross Cultural
Management at the Universit de
Dauphine. She did her MPhil and
Doctorate in the same subject. After
submitting her Doctorate, she went to
an ashram in Orlans to do a teacher
trainer course in yoga. She plans to teach
yoga to children in underprivileged

schools during her holidays.
Rabindra Nath (Barham) did his
B.S in Management followed by an
MBA in Marketing at the Golden Gate
University, San Francisco, PharmD
- UC San Francisco. His marketing
endeavours have been in the high-tech
sector and subsequently in the biotech
sector for Pfizer. Currently, he owns and
operates real estate investments in Palm
Springs.
Rahul daCunha (Barham) did his BA
in English Literature and Psychology.
He has been directing, producing and
writing plays since 1984, such as Im Not
Bajirao, Class of 84 and Pune Highway,
under the banner RAGE. He also runs
an advertising agency called daCunha
Communications that creates the
famous Amul hoardings.
Dr. Darius Soonawalla (Savage) is
an Orthopaedic Surgeon, practising in
Mumbai. He is attached to Breach Candy,
Jaslok and Saifee Hospitals. Married
to Ayesha, they have two sons, both in
Cathedral.
Adil Bharucha (Savage) is a
gastroenterologist, practicing at Mayo
Clinic, Rochester. He is married to
Kashmira and has three daughters.
Behram Ardeshir (Wilson) was born
in Mumbai, lives in Mumbai and hopes
to die in Mumbai! He did his B.Com
from Sydenham College. He has various
business interests in the automobile
industry, real estate and consultancy,
and is a contributing Editor to Auto
India. His first novel will be published
later this year.
Jehangir Ginwalla (Wilson) did
his B.Com from Sydenham College.
He is currently manufacturing writing
instruments for export at Crescent
International Pvt. Ltd., and is also
involved with interior design and civil
work at Crescent Interior.
Niranjan Deshpande (Wilson)
did his B.Com at Sydenham College,
Bachelor of Law at Government
Law College, Mumbai, Chartered
Accountancy (Institute of Chartered
Accountants of India) and Certified
Practicing AccountantCPA Australia.
He worked in various roles in the
accounting and banking professions,
Class Notes
and is currently a Partner and Director
at LPA Partners, a CPA practice in
Melbourne, Australia.
Vijendra Jain (Barham) graduated
from DMET (Marine Engineering) and
sailed for a few years before joining
Lloyds Register of Shipping as a Ship
Surveyor. He has been self-employed
for the last 15 years and runs a marinerelated business in Mumbai.
Ravi Cunha (Palmer) did his B.Com
from Sydenham College and is an
Associate Member of the Institute of
Chartered Accountants of India. He is
currently a director of a stockbroking
company in Mumbai. Simultaneously, he
is making plans to retire with his lively

wife Erika, in his dream villa, by the sea
in Istanbul.
Atul Malik (Palmer) did his B.Tech
from IIT, Mumbai, followed by an MBA
from Rice University, Houston. He has
worked with Citibank and Deutsche
Bank in various roles across Asia. He
is currently CEO of Maritime Bank,
Vietnam.
Rustom Kharegat (Palmer)
graduated from the London School
of Economics. He is a member of the
ICAEW in England and Wales. Currently
with KPMG , he is Global Head of the
Private Equity and Sovereign Wealth
Group. Rustom loves hunting.
Vijay Arora (Wilson) did his B.Com
from Sydenham College, Mumbai
followed by an MBA from Cornell
University with a Major in Hotel
Administration. He is currently a fashion
designer for ethnic wear, men & women,
having launched his own label. He has
also launched Gelato Vinto the first
Italian ice-cream brand in India, which is
rapidly growing with 40 outlets presently.
Rajeev Bhaman (Barham) did his
HSC from St. Xaviers College, Mumbai,
followed by an undergraduate degree

and MBA from Cornell University. He
also did an MBA in between in Belgium
at the Katholieke Universiteit. He has
worked with Barclays in Singapore
and New York. He is currently with
Oppenheimer Funds (16 years) as a
Portfolio Manager, having launched
and run their Developing Market and
Global Fund.
Vikram Jagtiani (Barham) lives
in New York where he works as a
business incubator/angel investor
for entrepreneurial companies across
multiple verticals. He assists start-ups
in marketing efforts and networking
activities to build strategic partnerships
and improve access to VC funding with
the goal of moving up the value chain.
He is currently exploring opportunities
in India in the fragmented 3PL space.
Kavita Anand (Palmer) did her
Masters degree in International
Relations, JNU, Delhi, followed by a
web design course. She studied the
Upanishads for 15 years with Swami
Prabudhanada. Currently, she lives in
Delhi and teaches web design, filmmaking, and ethics at Vasant Valley
School.
Soma Rao (Barham) did her MBBS
from Christian Medical College, Vellore.
She moved to the U.S. in 1989 and
started working with animals. She is
currently in Long Beach, California
working as administrator at an animal
hospital. Living my childhood dream of
caring for animals, hope to continue it
in Bombay sometime in the future!
Geetika Aggarwal (Barham) did her
B.Com from Sydenham College followed
by a course in interior decoration and
mass communication from Sophia
Polytechnic. She lives in Mumbai and is
currently working from her residence.
Sharique Ansari (Bahram) did
his B.Com from Sydenham, followed
by a B.Sc in Newspaper Production
Management at Rochester Institute of
Technology. He worked at the family
newspaper business for two years and
returned to RIT for a Masters Degree
in Electronic Publishing. He is currently
CEO at Chakra Communications (a
graphic communication company in
Buffalo, NY).
Ashutosh Mankar (Palmer) did his

B.Sc. from St. Xaviers College, Mumbai,
followed by a Masters degree in
Computer Science from Pune University.
He currently lives in Princeton and
works for Infosys. Married to Nandini
Kholi, they have two daughters.
Sanjay Mehra (Savage) did his
HSC from Jai Hind College followed
by a Bachelors degree in Industrial
Engineering, a Masters degree in
Computer Systems Engineering and
an MBA from the US. He is currently
VP India, setting up business for his
company (Wolverine World Wide) which
has 16 (mostly lifestyle) brands in their
portfolio. They have recently announced
a JV with Tata to market their products
in India.
Pramit Jhaveri (Savage) is currently
CEO of Citibank India. His wife,
Mukeeta, is currently the President of
the Cathedral Alumni Association and
their children, Nynika and Prithvir, are
hard-core Cathedralites.
Vikram Utamsingh (Palmer) works
at KPMG Mumbai in the Mergers and
Acquisitions Group. He still loves Jim
Morrison and the Doors!
Sunando Guha (Palmer) did a B.Com
from Sydenham College and moved
to Kolkata where he did his C.A. and
spent the next 20 years. Thereafter, he
had a two-year stay in London before
returning to Mumbai where he currently
resides and practises as a management
consultant.
Abraham Tharakan (Savage) did his
B.Com. from Sydenham College and has
thereafter spent nearly three decades in
the advertising and media industries in
Mumbai, in organisations such as The
Times Group, Sakal, Wizcraft and The
Afternoon Despatch & Courier. He is
currently practising as a consultant.
Kumkum Jalan (Wilson) did a
B.Com from Sydenham College followed
by a teachers training course from
Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai. She
taught at the Birla Public School and the
Cathedral Infant School. She moved to
Delhi after getting married where she
taught at the Delhi Public School and
Sardar Patel Vidyalaya. She is currently a
full-time mom and wife.
By Anuradha Shankardass Grover
Class Notes
Class of 1981/83
Monisha Jeet
(Wilson) is better
known as Nisha
Dobberstein today.
Recently moved back
to Bombay after
having lived in Kuala
Lumpur for the last
15 years, her life has definitely come
full circle! These days being a museum
docent, helping in an NGO, travelling
and reading voraciously keep her
suitably occupied.
Anna Varugis
Khendry (Palmer)
lives in Bangkok and
has been there since
her marriage 22 years
ago. Her passion is
theatre and music.
She is currently the
Chairperson of The Bangkok Community
Theatre.
Byram Dhalla
(Savage) graduated
from St. Xaviers
College in 1986, got
an MBA in Mumbai,
and has worked in
the family logistics
and transportation
business since then.Married to Shehnaz
in 1990, they have two children a
son, Jehaan (19). His other interests
include running a Trust at School
(Yuva Pratishthan) for the past seven
years along with a bunch of other
Cathedralites, running long distance
(marathons etc.), keeping fit, crosscountry driving and trekking.
Gautam Smallie
Mehra (Savage)
started his own
footwear business in
1989 and has been
living in Delhi for
the last 15 years.
Apart from being a
workaholic, he is passionate about travel
and single malts.
Rajiv Bhatia (Barham) married
Devayani (nee Welinkar)in 1989. They
have a son, Devavrat (Barham, 2008
ICSE) and daughter,

Maitreyi (Barham
2013 ISC). Rajiv
runs management
service companies,
and a few foundations
and trusts. His
current passion is the
development of the North East Region
of India and he has set up a foundation
for the purpose. He actively networks
with Cathedralites on Facebook and
enjoys meeting them as often as
possible. He is the class leader for the
1981 ICSE 1983 ISC class.
Ranjit Ahuja
(Wilson) returned to
India after spending
his formative years in
NYC. and appointed
himself chief
craftsperson, of his
eponymous hometextile company based in Mumbai. He
loves his work, travels and follows live
sports events such as rugby, football
and sailing.
Rohan Jacob
(Palmer) continues
in the Strategic
Advisory and
Investment Banking
business as he still
hasnt quite figured
out what he wants
to do; and so contemplates these
and more mundane matters on the
golf course. He has worked for large
and small investment banks, and for
himself along the way.
Shireen
Adenwalla (Palmer)
runs her own food
business called
Truffles.
Gayatri Puranik
(Palmer) works and
lives in Germany.
She enjoys the
challenges, the ups
and downs of life and
experiencing her two
daughters growing
into personalities.
She loves coming
back to India every now and then.
Sanjay
Mirchandani
(Barham) is currently
based in Boston,
working for EMC as
CIO. He has been with
them for six years after
spending 11+ years
with Microsoft. Sanjay returned to the
US in 2009 after 15 years away in Dubai,
India and Singapore, and is also an
early investor in start-ups. He has two
daughters Pooja and Simran.
Saloni Chand
Jhaveri (Wilson)
lives in Mumbai with
her husband, Anand
Jhaveri also an exCathedralite, and their
two children Ishaan,
(18) and Mana(14).
Anand and Saloni started a software
business that they have sold and they are
now both happily retired. She pursues
her passions namely reading, travelling
and yoga, and has enjoyed the results of
chasing her classmates for class notes.
It is great to know what you are all up
to and I will surely be guided by some
of the things that you are doing in the
quest for my next adventure
Sunil Jasani (Wilson) has been
pursuing his passion interior designing,
for the last 22 years, and would love to
fulfill his desire of being a restoration

architect, by restoring all the old,
dilapidated buildings of Mumbai. He
enjoys travelling and playing poker
(which he could do all day). Living in
Mumbai with his wife, Jasma, and kids,
Sachita, (14) and Dheer (11), he loves
the company of family and friends.
Rambhagat Kapoor (Savage) aka
Ramu, Baggy and Blondie, has moved
from being an engineer to MBA to
copywriter to creative director to CEO;
Class Notes
and from Mumbai to Singapore to Ho

Chi Minh City to Singapore to Berkeley.
He has gone from being single to
married (to Indu Tandon ). His current
avatar is that of Executive Director,
Marketing and Digital Communications,
University of California, Berkeley.
Ardaman Kohli (Wilson) became
an old China hand, through 20 years
in Hong Kong and moved to Calgary
in Canada. Now, if only he could do

something about the winters! As an
authority on national-scale IT projects
and technology marketing, Ardaman
consults to governments and tech
companies; theres a fair chance that
Zebra Digital Assets, a start-up hes
working on, will touch our future use
of the Cloud. While enjoying the Rocky
Mountains in the backyard, and the
Himalayas near his Kathmandu office,
Ardaman remains nostalgic about sailing
and dragon-boat racing in Hong Kong.
Sanjay Mehta (Barham) runs a
Holograms & Security Labels Company,
and enjoys reading, music and road
travel. He lives in Mumbai with wife,
Neeti, and children Aditya (17) and
Avantika (15).He loves watching all
sports especially cricket, and does the
occasional gym and yoga whenever not
tempted to just relax instead!
Djena Sunavala ne Rowhani
(Barham) became a very successful
solicitor with a leading firm of solicitors
in Mumbai. She is also actively involved
with the property and legal affairs of the
Bahai community, at both a national

and international level. She is married
to fellow Cathedralite and solicitor
Bakhtiar Sunavala. When she finds the
time, Djena enjoys cooking, travelling
and spending time with friends.
Sanjay Khiani (Wilson) exports
fabrics from his factories in Mumbai
to his US company. He studied finance
and accounting at UT Austin, Textiles at
Sasmira and home-studied Technology
with Masters books from UDCT. He
lived in Los Angeles till 2008, where he
was part of the fashion industry and
loved its glamour; it was a driving force
to work harder and excel.
Madan Menon (Barham) is a career
banker, now based in Singapore, where
he is responsible for the Asia Pacific
banking business of RBS. Passionate
about his family, wife Ruma and their
two girls, mother, brother, and sister,
and his friends, he is now considering
street biking as a hobby!
Jasjiv Sawhney (Palmer) lives in

Bangalore with three equestrian riders,
Deepa, and their two boys, Maryk (20)
who is now in Trinity College, Dublin,
and Anantya (17).
Pavan Kanwar (Savage) did not
make it to the ICSE years, but was in the
Class of 1981. He has been living with

his wife and two daughters in Prague
for the last several years. They are in the
process of moving to London at present.
Zulfi Tyebjee (Savage) started his
career by spending an interesting five
years with The Indian

Express Group, after
which he has been a
serial entrepreneur
by setting up a range
of companies across
various verticals. He
has been a Director,
since 2003, at A La Concierge Services
which offers holistic support services to
employees of large corporations. He is
also Managing Director of ValuAccess
Services, a technology company that
provides GiftCard & Loyalty Program
Solutions to retailers in India. His wife is
Shernaz, and he has a daughter, Leia.
Shakir Ebrahims
(Palmer) life
philosophy was,to
spend a million
dollars in his youth
and then to spend
the rest of his life
paying back the debt.
He was successful in the first part but
is now having a hard time with the
next! Hopefully my sugar daddy (real
daddy) is loaded, so now looking to
spend a couple of mill again. In the
middle of this drama, he runs a medical
publishing business, family warehousing
business, looks for plays in the stem
cell sector, plays bridge and tennis,
goes to the gym, and fights court cases
to reclaim valuable ancestral property
which will help him start the cycle all
over again!
Devika Misra,
nee Dayal (Wilson)
says that she has
few achievements
to list. She is now
based permanently
in Singapore and
sees herself as an
environmental immigrant; that is, she
lives there for its clean government,
corruption-free bureaucracy, safety and
cleanliness rather than its economic or
political opportunities. She writes part
time for the website www.bigkampung.
com which caters to a middle aged
audience having now been categorised as
a writer for the silver segment! Before
this she worked for Singapores only
English news and talk radio station,
Class Notes
93.8LIVE for about five years as a
broadcast journalist, where she covered
politics and contemporary social issues
in the region. Since Cathedral, she has
studied History at the post graduate
level - Indias, and more broadly that
of Asias, an interest she keeps up with
as a member and docent of the Asian
Civilisations Museum in Singapore.
She is also actively involved with the
Indian Womens Associations initiative
to support injured and duped transient
migrant workers to Singapore. Her
two boys are now 20 and 17... Hurrah!
Unfortunately for her she now has few
reasons to visit Bombay as her parents
live in Delhi, but she would love to be in
touch with Cathedralites from her batch.
Sandeep Lalwani (Barham) has
spent a number of years in Hong Kong
and Chicago and specialised in Banking
Technology Software Products, after
an initial stint with Arthur Andersen.
Travelling has been his passion and he
has managed to visit many countries
and do projects in 45 of them! For now
Bangalore is home where he runs the
sales and business development for three
software product companies.
Anna Mathai (Barham) loves the city
and the outdoors in the SF Bay Area. She
works for IBM and hopes to write more
than Facebook posts in the near future.
Chinku Mahindra
(Savage) is an
entrepreneur and
graphic designer,
creating candles
under her own label
Yuthica. She lives in
a Boston suburb with
two teenage kids and two dogs, enjoying
life, this new adventure and all thats
to come!
Sunil Gupta (Barham) married
Nilima ne Aggarwal, Amritsar) in 1990.
They have two sons Aditya (Barham,

Class of 2006/2008) who graduated
this year from UC Berkeley and is now
employed in the Financial Markets
in New York, and Madhav (Barham,
currently in Std.10 at Cathedral). Besides
running his auto components factories,
he has pursued a Ph.D (Commerce), and
is also actively involved in running a
college in Mumbai as a trustee.
Rukn Kizelbash (Wilson) is happily
married with a gorgeous daughter who
is five years old (yes, he started late!).
He ventured into Media post college,
and after various misadventures
including stints with ESPN, Star Sports
& Ten Sports, is now running WWEs

(World Wrestling Entertainment)
India operations, based out of BandraKurla, Mumbai. He tries to keep fit by
playing tennis and squash. His fondest
memories still remain those of getting
bullied by Ranjit, Rajiv Doshi and Arun
in Middle School!
Ranjan Banerjee (Savage) followed
the beaten track
with an engineering
degree from IIT and
an MBA from IIM.
After six years in
corporate India, he
broke the mould
and built his own
consulting firm out of Pune. Ten years
down the line, he handed over his firm
to a mentor, and finished a Ph.D in the
US. Back in Pune, he mentors his old
company, Renaissance, and is starting
a new venture, Anvetion, with an IIM
batchmate. He also teaches at top
B-schools in and outside India. His wife,
Anindita, is an expert on cross-cultural
communication and diversity and they
have two boys, Aditya and Uday. Both
his boys intend to become car designers.
His interests include reading, seeing
new places, teaching, spending time

with family, and giving people (often
unsolicited) advice. He intends to write
a book or two somewhere down the line
and has been trying unsuccessfully to
lose weight for the last three years.
Ashish Bhasin
(Palmer) is Chairman,
India & CEO,
South East Asia for
Aegis Media. His
wife, Mayuri, just
completed her term
as Chairperson of the
Cathedral P.T.A. He is active in several
advertising and media industry bodies in
India and South East Asia.
Bharat Samant
(Wilson) lives and
works in Mumbai,
and has two delightful
sons (aged 10 and
8). He has recently
discovered the joys
of dispensing with
shampoo, conditioners, hair-cutting
folks and associated paraphernalia like
combs, hair-dryers, etc. He would much
prefer to be scuba diving in the Maldives
than be cooped up in an office, and cant
do without his daily dose of yoga, which
has been a life-changing activity. He
tried his hand at some salsa last year,
but would rather let others be the judge
of the result. He has completed 15 years
as a die-hard supporter of the Red Devils
- thats Manchester United, of course.
Kishore Mehrotra
(Barham) graduated
from IIT Bombay
1988, and then did
a Masters degree in
Chemical Engineering
from Lamar University
in 1989. Married to
Teresa, he has one daughter, Shimarah
(21). He is currently employed with
Marathon Oil Corporation in Equatorial
Guinea, West Africa as Projects Manager.
Hemanth Hegde (Barham) studied
medicine, decided not to practice it,
then started a dermatological company.
He plays tennis, gyms regularly, goes on
treks with family and works sometimes.
His wife is a paediatric neurologist, and
they have two boys (17 and 15) , and
Class Notes
Class of 1991/1993
one daughter (10). He loves living in

Mumbai with family and friends.
Pankaj Kalra (Wilson) is currently
with Credit Suisses Investment Banking
Division in Mumbai where he is
responsible for coverage of the Energy
and Telecom sectors. He has been with
Credit Suisse since October 2008, prior
to which he spent 12 years with Merrill
Lynch across Hong Kong, Singapore,
London and Mumbai. Married to
Mitali (also an ex-Cathedralite, Class of
1987/89), he moved back to Mumbai in
2006. They have two boys, Shiv (5)and
Raghav (3).
Rajiv Doshi (Wilson) studied
Mechanical Engineering in Germany
and returned to Mumbai, only to start a
business in the diamond trade. Once the
sparkle in the stones wore off, he moved
to Pune in 1998 and got involved in the

outsourcing business. He currently runs
a company that provides electronic and
mechanical After-Market Solutions for
the home appliances industry. He and
his wife, Sonali, two daughters, Anika
(18), and Anya (15) who is in her final
year at school. In my free time, I try my
hand at classical guitar many hours of
practice to make up for lack of talent.
Sweta Kothari ne Bhansali
(Wilson) has been married for 26 years
and is settled in Mumbai. She is a
freelancer in the travel line and has a
21-year-old daughter.
By Saloni Chand Jhaveri
Alefiyah Sarma ne Merchant

(Savage) is Marketing Director at
Diageo, North America. She has led
marketing for Jose Cuervo, Baileys,
Don Julio and Smirnoff in the US.
Alefiyah lives in New York City, and in
her spare time dabbles in triathlons and
photography.
Ambika Nehru (Wilson) quit
advertising after 14 years and to start
her own t-shirt business called Asya.
Asya works with self-help groups
in villages in U.P. using traditional
Lucknow Chikankari embroidery
in contemporary ways. The income
generated empowers the village women,
financially and otherwise.
Anita Schiavi-Chowgule (Wilson)
finished her schooling in Switzerland,
from where she got her commercial
degree. After 18 years in the German
part of Switzerland, perfecting her skills
in sales and logistics, she decided to
perfect her French and moved to the
French part where she now works in the
internal technical sales department of a
company selling industrial products and
solutions. She is married to Fabrizio and
lives in the Lausanne area.
Angeli Pawar (Barham) has been
living in the UK for the past 20 years.
With an M.Sc in Speech and Language
Pathology from University College,
London, she currently runs a very
successful private speech therapy
practice and also practises as a Highly
Specialist Speech Pathologist within
the NHS, treating patients with
communication disorders including
verbal dyspraxia and cleft palate speech.
Anjali Nangia Pollack (Palmer)
attended St. Xaviers College in Bombay
and then FIT in New York. She never
left New York and now lives on the
Upper West Side with her husband
Michael and two sons Damian (6) and
Zachary (4). She is an interior designer
and runs a boutique firm in NYC, Anjali
Pollack Design.
Bhavna Vazirani Vaidya (Palmer)
graduated from Tufts University, after
which she returned home to Mumbai.
After a short stint with Tatas, she
joined Unilever as part of the marketing
team for Lakme Cosmetics. She is
currently on a career break, enjoying
quality time with her husband and two
young children.
Binita Bodani Putcha (Barham)

completed her BA from Sophia College
and then began her career in PR at
Indian Public Affairs Network (A Hill
& Knowlton Associate). In 1998, she
founded ActiMedia, which today is a
leading lifestyle PR agency. Binita has
recently launched Funky Monkeys,
Mumbais first indoor play centre for kids.
Chandani Kapur (Palmer) studied
psychology and sociology only to then
pursue her first love, fashion design
and garment construction at NIFT. She
became a head designer at a store and
now supplies stylised cotton garments
to high-end stores. Fortunately, she also
discovered her passion for teaching and
has been teaching poetry and elocution
to primary school children in Mumbai
for the past 12 years.
Darshita Thakkar Talim (Barham)
is a general dentist and lives and works
in Orange County, CA. She is also a fulltime mom to her son, dog and husband!
Divya Rajani (Palmer) pursued
a B.A. (Psychology) from Xaviers
College, followed by a Diploma in Early
Childhood Education from Sophia
Polytechnic, after which she taught
for many years at pre-schools in the
city. After an M.A. in Early Childhood
Education from Columbia University,
New York, she is now back at her alma
mater and teaches at the Cathedral
Infant School.
Diya Ramachandran ne Rajani
(Wilson) worked in advertising for a
decade in both London and Bombay,
and is currently enjoying being a fulltime mum.
Dr. Freya Javeri (Savage) joined
St. Xaviers College after school. She
graduated from the Bombay Veterinary
College in 1998 and completed her
Masters in Veterinary Clinical Studies
from the University of Melbourne,
Australia in 2001. She currently works
as a consultant for Zydus Research
Centres Canine Research Facility in
Ahmedabad. Freya also has her own
private practice.
Gulshirin Dubash (Palmer) is
an actor and theatre professor at
the Interlochen Center for the Arts
in Michigan. She also works with
a non-profit organisation called
Clowns without Borders that
goes to refugee and war zones and
disenfranchised areas of the world,
clowning for children.
Class Notes
Kanupriya Agarwal Bajoria
(Barham) presently lives in Kolkata. She
is married to Anand and they have one
daughter. Kanupriya runs a catering unit
specialising in desserts and gourmet
meals. She also runs a boutique for
ladies garments in Chennai and Kolkata
under the label, Moksh.
Karishma Gupta (Barham)
did textile designing from Sophia
Polytechnic, specialising in screen
printing and designing. She freelanced
as a designer for a couple of years before
getting actively involved in school
activities as Class Representative for
the Pre-Primary and Junior Schools
respectively. Karishma currently resides
in Mumbai.
Khulood Noorani ne Kably
(Savage) is married to Awais Noorani
(Palmer, 1991/93). After 15 years of
marriage, our classmates still wonder
how the good girl in class wound
up with the class prankster. She is
currently a member of the Executive
Committee of the Cathedral School PTA.
Kulsum Merchant (Wilson)
returned to India in 2009 after spending
nine years in Canada working in the
book publishing industry, travelling,
and finishing the first draft of her inprogress novel. She currently manages
public relations for the Indian operations
of global consulting firm, McKinsey &
Co. She is married to Sridhar Vedala,
from New Delhi.
Laila Naterwalla (Palmer) did a
BA in Political Science from St. Xaviers
College, Mumbai and a LL.B from KC
Law College, Mumbai. She set up her
own business in partnership to run
a fitness health club in Bandra and
managed the MIG Cricket Club fitness
centre. After selling the business,
she continued studying Health and
Wellness in the UK, especially at the
London School of Beauty and Make-Up,
returning to Mumbai with a diploma
in Body and Beauty Therapies. She has
been working at the Jiva Grande Spa,
Wellington Mews, Taj Hotels since 2007.
Lulu Raghavan, nee Srinivasan
(Savage) graduated from Davidson
College with a degree in Economics and
from SP Jain Institute of Management
and Research with an MBA. Starting
her career in brand consulting at Ogilvy
in Bombay, she worked with Landor
Associates in San Francisco. Married to
Harsha Raghavan (Savage, 1988/90), she
moved with Harsha and Landor to New

York and London. She has been back in
Bombay for five years now having set-up
Landor, India, where she is Country
Director.
Mandira Koirala (Palmer) is
married to Himanshu Koirala and
lives in Gurgaon, Delhi with their two
kids, JaiVeer, four and Nynaa, all of
20 months. Her company, The Koirala
Group, has Ladybird Effect, a marketing/
branding, imaging/pr company that
works with fashion and lifestyle,
Stylemark International, which works
with stylists in India and internationally,
and a kids clothing line, Little People.
She has her hands full and life is good
with no complaints.
Megha Shah Ralhan (Savage)
lives in London and is currently taking
a break from a career in finance to
look after her two under-two kids.
She worked at Citigroup (Consumer
Division) in London & New York.
Prior to that, she worked at Northwest
Airlines in Minneapolis.
Meghna Damani (Savage) is a
documentary filmmaker and artist in
Jersey City, NJ. Her autobiographical
film, Hearts Suspended (www.
heartsssupended.com), won critical
acclaim and was instrumental in
bringing to light the untold story of
thousands of dependent spouses in the
United States. While continuing to help
women on the dependent visa rebuild
their lives, she is working on her next
film project and other artistic endeavors.
Nairika Kotwal (Wilson) works for
The Arts Council, Inc. in Gainesville,
GA, which is an arts advocacy group
which presents a variety of worldclass performances, and engages in

bringing the arts into schools in nine
surrounding counties. Nairikas pride
and joy are her two boys Kamyaab and
Shayaan.
Natasha Nagpal Budhiraja
(Barham) did a double major in History
and Psychology from Jai Hind College
and then a Masters in Tourism. She
was with Thomas Cook (India) Ltd.
for 10 years and as Head of Product
Development & Contracting, has
travelled the globe several times over.
She joined the Government of New
Zealand as the Regional Head, S.E.Asia
for the New Zealand Tourism Board.
She now runs her own travel consulting
business while enjoying her 20-monthold happy, full of energy son, Vedant.
Niharika Sagar Seth (Barham)
finished her schooling at Modern School
Vasant Vihar, Delhi and then graduated
from Sriram College. She then worked
at Ipan, a public relations consultancy
company leaving only to enter her next
role as that of a wife. This took her to
Hamburg, Germany where she now lives
with her two daughters. After training
and working as a designer during her
first six years in Germany, the birth
of her daughter inspired her to start
her own line of childrens accessories,
Coocoobara.
Nisha Mehta Bulchandani
(Wilson) did a Bachelor of Fine Arts
degree, specialising in Interior Design
in London. She returned to India
and worked with Talati and Panthaki
Associates Pvt. Ltd. for five years and
with Phiroza Naterwala for four years.
Class Notes
Currently, she is working as a freelance
interior designer and is raising her kids,
both of whom are studying at Cathedral.
In her spare time, she pursues her
hobbies of learning Kathak and painting.
Niyati Nath ne Mehta (Palmer)
did her BA in English Literature from
St. Xaviers College, followed by a degree
in Law. She is a partner at law firm, J.
Sagar Associates in Bombay.
Nymrata Advani Bickici (Wilson)
went to Mount Holyoke College in
Massachusetts to study Mathematics
and Economics. She worked on Wall
Street at Salomon Smith Barney,
and later for Citigroup as a Director,
Corporate Strategy and Mergers and
Acquisitions Group. After 11 years at
Citi, she took a break for a few years
to be a mother and now works as the
CFO of Silver Slate Group in New York.
Nymrata is married to Yunus Bickici
and has two children, Anysa, five and
Arman, two, who keep her on her toes!
Pooja Sehgal (Savage) did a B.Com
at HR College and an MBA from
Sydenham Institute of Management.
She worked in advertising in JWT and
Lowe Lintas followed by a secondment
at Unilever for a year. She then joined
Marcio, working on a number of
brands as a Senior Brand Manager and
then joined Kellogg as a Marketing
Manager. Pooja has been in England
on a secondment to Kellogg UK for the
past year.
Preeti Sethi (Wilson) has been
working in the areas of Direct Marketing
and Loyalty Programme Management
which includes eight years at Direxions
Marketing Solutions Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai.
She is now married and settled in Delhi,
and is currently a full-time mum.
Purnima Singh ne Thacker
(Palmer) graduated from Sydenham and
then from the Government Law College,
Mumbai. After an LLM from the
University of Sheffield, UK, she worked
at Simmons & Simmons, London,
for some time. Purnima is married to
Dhananjay and enjoys juggling the life
of an IP and Media Lawyer at Mulla &
Mulla, Mumbai while being mum to her
two-year old son, Veer.
Rachna Mubayi (Wilson) did a B.A.
(Hons) in History from St. Stephens
College, Delhi and then spent a year
with the UN Development Programme,
before doing a Masters at the Institute
of Development Studies at Sussex, UK.
Marriage came next, after which Jatin

and she spent a few years in London and
Hong Kong. Rachna worked there as a
consultant with various international
agencies in the field of Public Health
and Education before moving back
home to Delhi where she is enjoying
being a full-time mom to Yuvaan, seven
and Samaya, four.
Rittika Chokhany ne Budhiraja
(Wilson) completed her B.Sc.
Occupational Therapy from Seth GS
Medical College (KEM Hospital). After
working as an Occupational Therapist
for a while, she realised that she hated
getting to work every Monday morning.
So she did a Diploma in Interior Design
and is very happy with her new line of
work. After taking a seven-year break

to raise two beautiful children, she has
recently started working again.
Shaista Agboatwala-Gupta
(Palmer) pursued Paediatric Medicine at
the Grant Medical College & JJ group of
Hospitals, as well as MGM and DY Patil
Hospital. She is currently a Consultant
Paediatrician in Mumbai at The Prince
Aly Khan and Noor Hospitals. Married
to Anand Gupta, they have a two-and-ahalf-year-old son, Vivaan.
Shiru Awatramani (Wilson)
went back to Infant School to teach
from 1997-2007, and is now based in
Shanghai. She has a two-year-old son,
Ansh.
Shonali Garud (Barham) did a B.A.
in Anthropology and Psychology at St.
Xaviers College, Mumbai, and a Masters
in Gender and International Relations
from the University of Bristol, UK.
She is married to Gautam Dhingra and
moved to New York in 1999 where she
has been since. She worked briefly at
the UNs Commission on Sustainable
Development and then took time off
to raise two daughters, Mayanka and
Annika. She is now a full-time mom and
an active member of her kids school.
Simone Currim (Palmer) completed

her Bachelors in Dentistry and Masters
in Orthodontics from Nair Hospital
Dental College. She then acquired
the Diploma of National Board DNB
and M.Orth from the Royal College
of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Simone
currently works as a Consultant
Orthodontist at Jaslok Hospital
and Saifee Hospital. She practises
as a highly specialised orthodontist,
treating patients with cleft lips and
palates, craniofacial anomalies and
cases requiring a combination of
Orthodontics with surgery. Most
importantly, she thoroughly enjoys her
work and on most days gets out of work
in a better mood than she comes in.
Sonal Arora (Palmer) graduated
from H.R. College (B.Com) with a major
in advertising. Soon after she graduated
she got married and started designing
Indo-Western and Indian clothes for
women under the brand, XOTICA. She
set up her own boutique and holds
exhibitions in Singapore and Mumbai.
She is the proud mother of Tanya, 12,
and Anika, seven, both at Cathedral.
Tarini Mohindar (Wilson) lives
in Mumbai and has recently turned
restaurateur with her new venture, Caf
Zoe. Prior to that she spent a decade
in advertising, working with numerous
advertising agencies. She is married
to fellow Cathedralite, Sundeep Bhatia
(Barham, 1985/87).
Abhishek Agarwal (Savage) worked
for almost a decade at Microsoft, before
starting S3Edge Software, an asset
tracking company, with some other
Microsoftites. He had hoped to retire
by now, but that seems to him like a
distant dream!
Abhyudaya Morarka (Barham) has
gone back and forth between the US and
India so many times that he no longer
knows which country he belongs to! It
doesnt help that his wife and two kids
are Americans. He was lucky to be a
part of the early 2000 dot com bubble
burst with his own online venture,
and was then with CEB, a corporate
education company. He now finally has
his own digital media education venture
in Mumbai, FX School.
Aditya Kilachand (Barham) has a
degree in finance from Boston College.
He has been working in hospitality by
co-founding one of Mumbais premier
Class Notes
nightclubs (Prive) and fine-dining
Japanese restaurant, Tetsuma. He is
currently working on a new venture at
the same location and is simultaneously
involved in the development of a niche
luxury real-estate project in Alibaug and
Pawna, which should be on stream by
early 2013.
Arnav Sheth (Palmer) teaches
finance at Saint Marys College of
California and also (when asked nicely!)
at the University of California, Berkeley.
A financial mathematician by training,
he published his first book in October
2011. He lives in San Francisco and was
last seen swimming across the bay from
Alcatraz (he made it!).
Awais Noorani (Palmer) completed
his MBA at IMD Switzerland. He
currently works at Zodiac Clothing
Company as Vice-President of Sourcing
and International Sales, and is married
to Khulood Noorani (Savage, 1991/93).
Brijesh Bhatia (Savage) pursued his
undergraduate studies at the University
of Texas. After graduating, he joined
Microsoft Corp. and has been living in
Seattle since.
Carl Cooper (Savage) completed his
B.Com from Jai Hind and his MBA from
Ecole Nationale Des Ponts Et Chausses
(ENPC) with a major in Marketing. He
worked at Compaq Computers and then
was part of the start-up team at Tracmail,
one of the first call centres in India. In
2005, he founded Safehouse Information
Management Solutions which provides
information management services and
solutions. Carl is married to Geeta from
Mauritius and they have a seven-year-old
daughterZara.
Chintan Gandhi (Palmer) graduated
from Babson College in 1996, and has
since worked in the pharmaceutical and
infrastructure sectors in India. Living in
Mumbai, he now manages Millennium
Herbal Care, a research driven natural
healthcare products company, making
highly-effective and safe conditionspecific dietary supplements.
Faisal Siddiqui (Barham) did a
B.Com from H.R. College and then
an MBA in Aviation from Concordia
University, Montreal, Canada. He is now
running the family business of travel
and aviation services.
Farokh Vakil (Barham) has postgraduated in Internal Medicine from
Grant Medical College in Bombay, and
is now attached full-time to Bombay
Hospital as a Critical Care Specialist. His

passion is supporting Liverpool Football
Club and trying to catch as many
football matches as is humanly possible!
Feroz Dubash (Palmer) read Law at
Cambridge and worked at Linklaters,
a leading global law firm in London.
He moved to Bombay in 2006 to help
found Talwar Thakore & Associates,
Linklaters best friend law firm in
India. Feroz is currently a partner at
TT&A and is married to Perin Bharucha
(Savage, 1998/2000), a fellow lawyer
who is currently busy looking after their
recently-arrived daughter, Anya.
Gaurav Bhatia (Wilson) studied
Economics and Film-Making from
Middlebury College in the U.S., worked
as an ad man on Madison Avenue and
returned to Mumbai seven years ago.
He is now Marketing Director at LVMH
Mot Hennessy India and is sharing the
magic of Champagne with India. He is
married to Pratima, and has two boys
Abeer, five and Adhiraj, who is one.
Gautam Kakodkar (Wilson, Head
Boy) lives in New Yorks Upper West Side
and works in Finance. After graduating
from Dartmouth, he went on to receive
his Masters degrees from MIT and the
Tuck School of Business.
Harsh Seksaria (Barham) completed
his graduation from Sydenham College,
Mumbai and has since been involved in
the family business. He loves playing golf,
listening to music and catching up with
friends. Harsh is married to Nalini, and
they have two kidsArnav and Aadyaa.
Jaideep Kulkarni (Savage) is an
Endocrinologist in Australia. After
leaving school in 1991, he made it
unscathed through two years at Jai Hind
College, Mumbai. He then went on to get
a Graduate and Post Graduate education
in Internal Medicine from Grant Medical
College, Mumbai. He currently loves his
busy life as a professional and a dad.
Jehangir Panthaki (Wilson) studied
in the UK and moved back to Mumbai in
early 2006. He runs his own information
technology company, together with
managing the familys real estate
portfolio. Married to Ooravis from New
Zealand, they have two kids, Zahan
and Ariyanne, who are both studying at
Cathedral.
Karan Khemka (Palmer) is Head of
Parthenon Group in Asia. He is married
to Heike Khemka and has a daughter,
Emilia.
Karl Billimoria (Wilson) did a

nine-year stint in the Middle East and
is currently VP Contingency Risk, with
HSBC Bank, India.
Kedar Mehta (Wilson) lives in sunny
Los Angeles with his wife Samantha
and children, Nikhil, four, and Alekha,
two. He completed his undergraduate
degree in Engineering at NC State,
and then worked in China, Japan and
Michigan. After completing an MBA at
the University of Southern California,
Kedar worked with Strategy Consulting
firms in Bombay and Dubai, and has
now moved to Los Angeles where he
makes dreams come true at the happiest
place on Earth as Director of Finance,
Strategy and Planning for Disneys
Interactive Media Group.
Mathew Abraham (Wilson) is still
a physicist (perhaps the only geek left
standing from our class!), working on
stitching together atoms to make new
materials. Much to his delight, he is able
to collaborate with some professors at
IIT-Mumbai, and so he gets to visit our
great city of Mumbai a few times a year.
Mridul Mehta (Palmer) spent a few
years in academics (in Mathematics)
and then moved to Finance. Earlier
this year, he resigned from the hedge
fund he worked with, and is now an
entrepreneur, spending time between
Boston, New York and London.
Nikunj Nik Sekseria (Barham) got
his BA in Economics and BBA in Finance
from UT Austin. After that he spent
14 years with Citigroups IB division in
NY and London before moving back to
Mumbai last year with Citi.
Paritosh Khanna (Savage) got his
MBBS and MD in Radiology from the
University of Mumbai and two PostDoctoral Fellowships in Washington DC
and Seattle. He has worked as Consulting
Physician/Faculty Paediatric Neuroradiologist at Seattle and San Diego
Childrens Hospitals and the Universities
of Washington and California.
Prashant Lamba (Savage) moved
to Pune to do his B.Com and MBA. He
then started his own software business
under the name of Phonologies. Lamba
is currently based in Hyderabad with his
wife Amrita, an ex-J.Bite.
Prateek Poncho/Ponjo Mehta
(Barham) studied at NYUs Stern School
of Business and then had a brief stint
at BNP Paribas before joining the
Class Notes
family business. He is a Director at
AEPI Designs and The Apple Tree, both
garment and design companies working
with leading fashion designers like
Armani and Chloe. After successfully
launching the Rahul Mishra label,
one of Indias upcoming and hottest
designers, he is currently concentrating
on launching some fashion brands for
the Indian market. That would probably
explain why he is still single!
Rahul Agarwal (Barham) is Global
Product Manager for High Frequency
and Automated Foreign Exchange and
CFD Trading systems at GFT UK in
London. He previously worked at TD
Ameritrade in New Jersey for seven
years, followed by ETRADE in London
and then Saxo Bank. Rahul is married to
Reema and has one son, Rayaan.
Ravi Bohra (Wilson) graduated
with an Economics Degree and a
Diploma in Interior Design, but ended
up dabbling in movies and advertising.
Ravi is currently a freelance copywriter/
photographer/graphic designer in
Mumbai, hoping to start his first film
in the coming year with his family
production house, Bohrabros.
Rutton Patel (Savage) currently
lives in sunny London with his wife
Kainaz Antia (Wilson, 1995/97) and
his young son Jehan. After school,
Rutton obtained a degree in Chemical
Engineering from U.C. Berkeley, and
then worked in San Francisco as a
Management Consultant. Thereafter he
obtained an MBA from the University
of Chicago and joined Deutsche Banks
Investment Banking team in London.
Currently he leads an engineering
company focussed on Energy
Distribution and Smart Grid Projects.
Sachin Shah (Savage) runs his own
Real Estate Private Equity firm, Samsara
Capital, in Mumbai. Previously,
Sachin lived in NYC, where he worked
at Starwood Capital and Blackstone.
He graduated from Harvard Business
School in 2001. Sachin is married to
Gayatri, and has a seven-year-old son
and a three-year-old daughter.
Shiraz Chothia (Palmer) graduated
in Economics and Accounting from
the University of Bombay, and
then completed an MBA. He spent
the first few years of his career in
Advertising, after which he moved
into more challenging roles in Brand
Management/ Marketing for companies
in the lifestyle, retail and luxury space.

He also spent two years in Australia as
a consultant for an E-Learning portal
and is currently Head of Marketing for a
leading real estate company.
Shirzad Khusrokhan (Bahram) is
an artist and musician living in New
York City with a freelance Technology
Consulting job that pays the bills.
Shonar Majmudar (Wilson)
got Biochemical Engineering and
Economics degrees from the University
of Rochester, and then worked on
Vaccines and Antibody Development
in the Biologics group at Merck & Co.,
USA. He returned to India in 2004, and
has worked in various roles including
consulting for a US PE Fund on Life
Science investments in India and setting
up a design services start-up. Most
recently, Shonar co-founded Serra Fine
Chemicals, a producer of niche, specialty
chemicals for flavour and fragrance.
Vivek Sikri (Wilson) runs a camera
design company based in Cambridge,
MA. In his spare time, he has been going
to music and arts festivals all over the
USA and indulging himself with several
mini-retirements.
Dr. Vivek Tilwani (Palmer) pursued
his MBBS, MS and LLB degrees. He
is presently a practising Consultant
Surgeon and Medico-legal Consultant
in South Mumbai, in addition to being
a university-recognised post-graduate
medical teacher at the Grant Medical
College, Mumbai.
Zaheer Karanjia (Bahram) is
currently a pilot with Emirates Airline
on the Boeing 777. He left school to
start flying in Florida, and moved to
Dubai from Singapore earlier this year.
Sheetal Savani (Savage) graduated
from Sydenham College, became a
fashion and jewellery designer, and
presently exports resort wear to several
countries. She is married to Kunal, and
they have two kids Keisha, eight, and
Amaira, five, both studying at Cathedral.
Vishalakshi Rao (Palmer) graduated
from Sydenham College and then
pursued her passions. She trained at
the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering,
leading multiple High Altitude Treks.
She simultaneously studied at Bihar
School of Yoga, and has been teaching
yoga for over 12 years. She is currently
based out of the SF Bay Area, CA, and
lives with her husband and their threeyear-old daughter.
Prashant Salvi (Palmer) studied

Architecture and worked in Mumbai
before enrolling at the University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor as a Charles
Moore graduate Fellow to specialise in
Urban Design. He worked with Perkins
Eastman Architects in Washington
DC and recently moved to the firms
Mumbai office as a Senior Associate.
By Purnima Thacker Singh
Class of 1992/94
Amit Advani (Palmer) lives in
Mumbai with his wife, Pooja, and
children, Yuveer (three years) and
Ayesha ( seven months). A first
generation entrepreneur, he set up
Swagelok in Mumbai in 1999, in
association with Swagelok Company
U.S.A, a world leader in the field of fluid
system technologies, and is currently
its Managing Director. He completed
a degree in Chemical Engineering from
the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
and the Owner-President Management
Program from Harvard Business School.
Vivek Dujodwala (Savage) went to

HR College, Mumbai and also joined the
family business. He presently heads the
business with diversified interests in
chemicals and finance.
Nirvaan Kirpalani (Savage) moved
back to Mumbai in 2010 with his wife,
Payal, and son, Sumehr, after living in
New York for 12 years. He is an Executive
Director with Direct Brands Inc., a direct
marketing media company based in
New York and also is the COO at Payal
Singhal Inc., an Indian clothing fashion
house based out of Mumbai and New
York. Nirvaan shuttles between his two
favourite cities every couple of months.
Class Notes
Gaurav Talwar (Barham) is
currently Managing Director of Brilliant
PolymersPvt. Ltd., a company that
manufactures a wide range of specialty
polymers. He is also on the board
of his family investment company,
Wham Investments Pvt. Ltd, which
has investments in renewable energy
and mutual fund brokerage, amongst
others. He lives in Mumbai with his wife,
Priyanka, and their two children, Jaiveer
(three and a half) and Raisa (nine
months).
Pragni Kapadia (Palmer) currently
lives and works in Mumbai. She
studied at HR College of Commerce
and Economics and got her Bachelors
in Commerce from the University of
Mumbai. In 1998, she worked for a
few months at the Chambers of Zia
Mody prior to leaving for her LLB at
the London School of Economics. In
2001, she completed her LLM from
the University of Pennsylvania Law
School and returned to Mumbai, where
she worked with AZB & Partners
until October 2007. She has been
with Wadia Ghandy & Company since
October 2007, where she specialises in
corporate, intellectual property, food
and pharmaceutical law.
Sushma Kilachand (Palmer)
currently lives in Toronto, Canada,
and is the North American partner for
DAGMAR Jewellery. She is currently
in talks with Canadas largest auction
house, Waddingtons, in an effort to
launch South Asian contemporary art in
Canada, and is also in talks to work on a
villa project in Alibaug.
Shalini Amersey (Barham) went
to Iowa State University to do a B.A.
in Acting and Directing and a B.Sc. in
Business Logistics. She then moved to
New York and started a business, making
uniforms for law enforcement agencies
in the Tri State area. She simultaneously
did her MBA from Pace University.
Having lived in New York since 1994,
she set up a Mumbai branch in 2010 and
travels between the two cities frequently.
Atiyah Curmally (Savage) lives in
Washington DC where she works for the
International Finance Corporation as an
environmental specialist.
By Amit Advani
Class of 1994/96
Abhijit Nimbalkar (Palmer)
pursued a Bachelors in Economics at
Ohio Wesleyan University, followed by
a Masters in International Relations
at Fletcher School, Tufts University.
He now works as an international
development practitioner with the
Research Triangle Institute (RTI) in
Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. He
recently visited Baghdad accompanied
by body armour, helmets, armoured
convoys and bodyguards!
Abhishek Mehra (Wilson) went
to HR College and then travelled
across the globe for a bit. Following a
PGDBM course at Xaviers Institute
of Management, he joined his fathers
business manufacturing and importing
office seating. Food is his passion; he
dreams of owning a fine dining French/
Italian restaurant and is giving up
bachelorhood and marrying Meetu.
Abhishek Ray (Palmer) pursued
architecture and design. Loves
architecture and earned the Ashoka
Lemelson Fellowship for social
entrepreneurship in 2006. Currently
heads an architecture design company
engaged in the development of cultural
spaces and museums across the country.
Married to Sudatta, a pharmacist by
profession and is settled in Mumbai.
Aditee Ghate ne Vyas (Savage)
studied at Sophia College and TIFR.
Following her PhD in Neurobiology
from IGBMC, France, she returned to
India and joined Piramal Healthcare
as a Research Scientist and currently
manages the Metabolic Disorder and
Diabetes portfolio in the NCE unit.
Married to Eki, they have two daughters,
Meghana (a young Cathedralite) and
Samiksha.
Adeeti Sanghvi ne Goyel (Palmer)
did her B.Com from HR College followed
by a diploma in Travel/IATA from
Canada. Worked in Singapore Airlines
for a while but found her true calling in
Social Service. Started a school to help
slum children in Colaba but had to shut
it down. Married and has a son.
Aditya Bhansali (Palmer) went to
HR College, then did his GIA in New
York and joined the family diamond
business. He stares at the CNBC screen
every day, dabbles a bit in stocks and
shares, and is getting married to Pooja.
Aditya Dhawan (Wilson) graduated
from Ohio Wesleyan University, moved

to NYC to work in Private Equity and
M&A Investment Banking, and then
moved to London to join a hedge fund.
Following an MBA from INSEAD, he now
manages a hospitality group focusing on
hotels. Married to Anaheeta, they have
two lovely daughters Maya and Diya.
Ajay Mathur (Palmer) went to live
in Denmark after school and then did
Software Engineering in the UK. He
worked at IBM before leaving to get an
MBA and is currently working on his
second start-up! He lives in London with
his wife and two children.
Alokik Advani (Wilson) graduated
from Ohio Wesleyan and worked with
Merrill Lynch in Investment Banking in
NYC. Following an MBA from INSEAD
he joined Goldman Sachs, London. Now
lives in Hong Kong with wife Shruti. He
tries to play squash as often as he can,
and indulges in travel which is centred
around food!
Amar Tidke (Wilson) graduated
from Sydenham and got into Media by
accident, working as a Creative Director
in print, online, television, radio and
mobile gaming in Mumbai and Shanghai
for a few years. He is currently back in
television at 9 Media Network and has
recently applied for one of the most
challenging jobs ever fatherhood!
Amrita Shahra (Wilson) did
a Bachelors degree in Business
Administration and Psychology from
Carnegie Mellon and started her
career in Marketing at Ruchi Soya,
Mumbai, where she now heads Business
Development. She loves to travel and
has a new-found love for safaris, works
closely in her familys charitable trust
and is getting married to Aakash later
this year.
Anisha Rakshit ne Mehta
(Barham) graduated from the George
Washington University and then did her
MBA. After working with Fosters, she
fumbled through parenthood the first
time with daughter Mahika, only to find
herself an expert a few years later with
son Shourya. Married to Kunal Rakshit,
her time is spent in domestic goddess
duties.
Anjali Bohlken ne Thomas
(Palmer) graduated from Dartmouth and
after a three year stint in the corporate
world went into academia. A Ph.D. in
political science from NYU, she is now
a Professor at UBC in beautiful (but
rainy) Vancouver. Married to Craig, she
Class Notes
is enjoying being mom to their two-yearold son Neev.

Anoma Baste ne Behal (Barham)
did an HSE from Jai Hind College, after
which she completed her Bachelors in
Architecture from Mumbai University,
and has worked across multiple projects
and practices in Mumbai, Pune and
Singapore. Currently lives in Singapore
with husband Harsh where she loves to
bake and have friends over.
Anugraha Gopalakrishnan (Savage)
left school in Std. 8 to live in Jeddah.
A post-graduate from the London Film
School, she worked on a movie with Mira
Nair called Vanity Fair where she met
her husband Barney. Now proud mom
to Yash, she is an editor at a TV Channel
in London.
Anupa Mathews ne Kuruvilla
(Palmer) went to Sir JJ Institute of
Applied Art for her Bachelors in Fine Arts
(Visualisation). She worked with MTV &
Vindia.com among various other media
firms and then moved to advertising in
Dubai where she met her husband Sujit.
Her world now revolves around their two
angels, Simone and Ethan.
Anuri Mehta ne Desai (Bahram)
had her heart set on marketing and
has worked with Tata Infomedia and
Bisleri . Now with Hindustan Unilever
Limited, she is working on brands like
Surf & Kissan. After becoming a mother
to adorable Aryan, she is now brand
manager for Swirls ice-cream.
Arish Dastur (Barham) graduated
in Neuroscience and Religion from
Oberlin College and then from Columbia
Universitys School of Architecture,
with a Masters Degree in Urban
Planning. He now works at the World
Bank in Washington DC, travels to Asia
and Europe, and works with national
governments on policy, programmes
and investment strategies for cities and
metropolitan areas.
Arnab Chakravarti (Savage) went to

Sydenham College and then worked at
KPMG before completing his Chartered
Accountancy. Since then, he has been
working with ICICI Bank primarily in
Market Risk. Married to Ina, they have a
son, Aditya.
Aryanish Kapadia (Savage) went to
Sydenham College, then the University
of Texas at Austin and earned her
BBA and MPA degrees as well as a
CPA license. Living in NYC, she looks
into Healthcare Investment Banking,
formerly with JP Morgan and now with
Citigroup. She is marrying a fellow
Cathedralite from the class of 1995.
Avantikka Kilachand (Bahram)
graduated in Economics and Political
Science from St. Xaviers College.
Following a short stint at Hindustan
Lever Limited, she moved on to become
Beauty Editor and Contributing Editor
for Seventeen Magazine and LOfficiel.
Now works as Assistant Editor at HELLO!
Married to Pramod, she is enjoying
playing mommy to daughter Anasuya.
Behram Dubash (Savage) went to
Knox College in Illinois from where he
majored in Political Science. After joining
AIG as a consultant for shareholder
litigation, he quit and moved to Los
Angeles. He has just become a father and
is doing what he loves working as a
screenwriter and developing TV shows
with several production companies.
Darshana Kanabar ne Gokal
(Bahram) graduated with an MBA and
MA in Finance and worked as a Portfolio
Manager before switching to set up a
paint manufacturing unit in Kolkata. She
has now moved back to Mumbai to work
in her fathers garment export company.
Deepna Mirchandani (Wilson)
graduated from HR College and then
went to the New Jersey Institute of
Technology for her second Bachelors in
Management, finishing with a Masters
in Management of Information Systems.

She worked as a Project Manager for
various companies across NY/NJ, and
lives in New Jersey with her husband
Shadaan and their daughter.
Dilip Raghavan (Savage) is an
engineer by qualification. He now works
as a journalist, heading an integrated
publishing house called Colour
Publications in Mumbai. Married to
Anuradha for 10 years, they have a fiveyear-old son, Siddhartha.
Enakshi Singh (Savage) left
Cathedral after Std. 9 and moved to
Brazil. After graduating from Cornell
University, she worked at Salomon
Smith Barney in NYC and then did
her MBA at MIT Sloan, where she met
her husband Kabeer. She lived in San
Francisco, then Dubai and is now back
in SF, managing a sovereign wealth fund
focused on investing in technology.
Freyan Crishna-Bieri (Savage)
left for boarding school in Connecticut
and then graduated in Political Science
from Gettysburg. Following a course in
interior architecture, she married and
moved to Dubai, where she lives with
her husband and very bouncy baby
boy Kiyan. She has climbed Mount
Kilimanjaro with Nisaba Godrej, and
loves Tibet and travelling.
Gaurav Nahar (Savage) went to
HR College and then to NYU, earning a
degree in Finance/Management. After
taking a year off to travel, he returned
to India to join the family business in
diamonds, working mostly in the Middle
East. He has a four-year-old son, Neev,
who also goes to Cathedral.
Gaurav Sarin (Palmer) forayed into
Media Buying & Planning with Group
M, followed by a career in telecom with
Airtel and then Aircel. He has recently
taken the entrepreneurial plunge,
founding a company that focusses on
Telecom Value Added Services and
Behavioural Analytics. Married to Neha,
they have a son, Nirvaan.
Gautam Kulkarni (Savage)
graduated from IIT Bombay and has
a PhD from UCLA. He worked at
Broadcom and Cisco, and now works
for a start-up focussed on Data Center
Networks in Silicon Valley. Outside
of work, his interests include yoga
and Crossfit. He is looking forward to
his wedding to Kiran in Mumbai this
December.
Gautam Mago (Palmer) went to
Sydenham and then to IIM Calcutta.
Class Notes
Now a Venture Capitalist at Sequoia
Capital, he has had previous stints at
McKinsey and Arthur Andersen. Having
lived largely in Bombay, briefly in NYC,
he now lives in Bangalore with wife Anu.
He travels like crazy and tries to squeeze
in squash and poker when he can.
Gayatri Patel (Barham) graduated
from Smith College and then worked in
New York in both Investment Banking
and Education. Following an MBA at
INSEAD, she worked in Private Equity at
a start-up fund in Bombay until late last
year, when beautiful Nainika was born to
her and husband Vishal.
Gurpreet Jolly (Savage) went to KC

College and then joined the Merchant
Navy, sailing for 13 years with a
Japanese firm (Mitsui O.S.K. Lines).
Following a Masters in Shipping in the
UK, he now works as a Senior Marine
Consultant on behalf of SHELL OIL,
and a few other oil trading firms in
Singapore. Married to Daman, they have
a daughter, Tara.
Hiren Daswani (Palmer) moved
to China 10 years ago and now
manufactures CCTV cameras amongst
other trade. Working on launching www.
standscan.com, he is getting married to
Deepti.
Hormuz Batliboi (Wilson)
graduated in Art and Mathematics
from Grinnell College, Iowa and did his
Masters in Architecture from University
of Pennsylvania. He worked between
degrees in Washington DC and is now in
New York at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
(SOM). Married to Madhavi Tandon,
together they juggle work and parenting
their two young sons, Zahaan and Cyrus.
Hrushikesh Mehta (Wilson) went to
HR College and then to Bryant University
(Finance & Economics), after which he
worked at Osram Sylvania in the US and
then at CIBIL (a credit bureau) in India.
Following an MBA at ISB, he tried his
hand at various jobs before heading back
to CIBIL. He is married to Rashi and plays
golf once a week.
Jamshed Engineer (Palmer) went

to HR for his undergraduate degree
and then to the University of Southern
California for his MBA. He lives in
NYC and worked at Goldman Sachs for
three years in bond trading. For the last
three years, he has been at a hedge fund
managing a bond portfolio.
Jhilmil Jain (Wilson) completed a
B.E. in Computer Science from COEP
India, M.S. in Software Engineering, and
a Ph.D. in Human Computer Interaction
from Auburn University USA. She joined
Hewlett Packard Research Labs and
then Microsoft, and is now at Google.
She lives in the Silicon Valley with her
husband, Manu, and their dog, Scruffy.
Joy Larrosa ne Badami
(Savage) did her Bachelors in Business
Administration and Culinary Arts in
Switzerland, and has been in the Food
& Beverage and Hotel Industry for the
past 16 years. She currently lives in Palm
Beach, Florida with her husband and
son, Justin.
Kaizad Dinshaw (Wilson) is happily
unmarried! A lawyer by education, he is
now the creative head of the Mumbaibased interior design firm, Nitido Interior
Design, specialising in premium turn-key
residential and commercial projects.
Karan Singh (Savage) went to
boarding school and then to Minnesota
to get a BA in Geography/GIS followed
by an MA in Urban Planning and
Geography at Michigan State. He
currently lives in Chicago in the great
neighbourhood suburb of Glen Ellyn
with wife Tanya and his two boys, Jonah
and Krishtian, who have a ravenous
appetite for mischief!
Kiku Engineer ne Mistry
(Palmer) majored in Political Science
and Psychology at Sophia College, and
now lives with husband Jim and two
daughters Zara and Alea, and an English
bulldog, Winston, in Chicago. Having
started a business called Spice Kitchen
Catering specialising in Parsee and Asian
fusion food, she aims to be the Tanaaz
Godiwala of the West.
Kshitej Bahl (Wilson) joined Jai
Hind College, followed by a degree in
Chemical Engineering at the University
of Mumbai. After a short break, he
joined his family business in the
Inspection and Testing of Commodities
and has moved to Singapore. Married to
Riddhima, they are the proud parents
of two beautiful princesses, Amaira and
Pranaya.
Kshitij Karundia (Barham) went to

Sydenham College and then to ISB for
his MBA. An investment banker, he has
worked with Andersen, Goldman Sachs
and is now with Rothschild. He lives
in Hong Kong with wife, Shruti, and
son, Krish, and loves to cook when not
working or parenting.
Kshitij Morarka (Wilson) got his
B.Com from Sydenham College and then
a degree in Hotel Management from
Ecole Les Roches, Switzerland. He has
since worked in various capacities across
the hospitality sector. Currently, he
owns and operates Mumbai Deli, a caf
located at Lower Parel, Mumbai, and is
also involved in real estate development
across Mumbai.
Kunal Madnani (Palmer) completed
his B.Com. at HR College, and then an
MBA in Finance. Starting with a variety
of roles in Consulting and Corporate
Banking at Citigroup in Mumbai and
then in Singapore, he now works as an
Investment Banker at Credit Suisse in
Singapore. Married to Seema, they have
a son Karan.
Kunal Rakshit (Wilson) completed
his undergraduate degree at Amherst
College, followed by an MBA at IIM
Bangalore, and started his career
at HLL before trying his hand at
entrepreneurship. Following that,
he worked in Private Equity and is
currently at a hedge fund in Mumbai.
Married to Anisha Mehta, they have two
kids, Mahika and Shourya.
Kurrien John Kurien aka Che
(Savage) moved to Bangalore in Std. 8,
then to St Xaviers College, Mumbai,
Lawrence University, Wisconsin, and
then did the journalism program at
NYU. Back in Mumbai, he started at
the Indian Express and then Time Out
Mumbai, followed by Reuters. Now
Editor at GQ India, he is married to
Antara with whom he has a precocious
baby girlSayi.
Lyla Muncherjee (Savage)
graduated in Art History from Lawrence
University, followed by a Masters in
Arts Administration from the School
of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC).
She moved back to Bombay during the
Indian art boom and has since worked
with many local and international
art organisations. She lives in Delhi/
Gurgaon with her husband and adorable
German Shepherd, Brix!
Madhavi Batliboi ne Tandon
(Savage) graduated from Brandeis and
Class Notes
started out as a business analyst before
going to Columbia Law School. She
works at Morrison and Forester in NYC
and is married to Hormuz Batliboi, with
whom she has two boys, Zahaan and
Cyrus, who keep them on their toes!
Mansi Kilachand ne Mehta
(Barham) graduated from Lafayette
College in English and Economics
and then did her MBA at the SP Jain
Institute of Management. She worked
as a private banker at Kotak Wealth
Management, and then joined her
family business as a fashion designer.
Married to Tushar Kilachand, they have
a son Yuvaan, also a Cathedralite.
Menaka Kumari Shah (Savage)
went to Maharani Gayatri Devi School,
Jaipur, and then to Cambridge Arts &
Sciences, followed by a BSc. (Hons) in
Sociology at Bristol University. Joining
the art industry, she has worked at
Concern India Foundation, the British
Museum and Christies. She has
recently visited Macchu Picchu and the
Galapagos Islands, her next destination
being Burma.
Mikhil Narang (Savage) was packed
off to Mayo College in Std. 7 and then
returned to Mumbai to attend HR
College. He then went to Paris to work
at Saint-Gobain & Imerys, followed by
an MBA at INSEAD. Having lived in
Shanghai for a brief period, he is now
back in India, continuing his quest for
minerals and himself!
Mrinalini Nair (Palmer) went to Jai
Hind College and then graduated from
Government Dental College (Mumbai).
After a stint as a general dentist for a
UK corporate chain, she now works for
the Kings College NHS Trust, London.
She is married to Shankar, and is
passionate about food from all over the
world.
Myrna Jivraj ne Majmudar
(Wilson) graduated from the University
of Pennsylvania and then worked for
Appian, a technology consulting firm, in
Washington DC, followed by BlackRock
in New York and Hong Kong. She met
her husband, Aleem, at Penn with whom
she has two kidsAlina and Armaan.
Her latest passion is studying wine!
Naman Vidyarthi (Palmer) went
to Jai Hind College and then did
Engineering in Pune. He worked with
BT in London and then did his MBA at
IIM Ahmedabad. He advises banks and
insurers, formerly with Ernst & Young,
and now with Accenture in Mumbai. He
is married to Shweta, who works in a

news channel reviewing the latest cars
in the market.
Nisaba Godrej (Wilson) went to
boarding school in England and then to
Wharton for her undergraduate degree.
After working in Mumbai for a bit, she
then went to Harvard University for her
MBA. She is currently heading Product
Development and HR at Godrej. She is
passionate about the development sector
(education), horse riding and trekking
(she has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with
Freyan Crishna).
Dr. Nitya Nathwani (Wilson)
went to Jai Hind College, followed by
Medicine at Nair Hospital in Bombay
and then did his Residency and
Fellowship in Haematology-Oncology at
the University of Southern California.
He now works at City of Hope, Los
Angeles, doing bone marrow transplants,
and is married to Ayesha, also an exCathedralite (Class of 2001).
Nupur Mubayi (Wilson) left after

Std. 8 for Delhi. Following her B.Com,
she did a course in Interiors and then
set up an Interior Design practice, did a
home makeover show on NDTV, wrote
a column for Mint Lounge, conducted
training programmes and led the Design
Team at Samira Habitats. Married to
Shahid, they live in Singapore.
Omar Balsara (Palmer) graduated
from HR College, and then started a
business trading electronic components.
Following an MBA from the University of
Rochester, he now works in International
Development, primarily in the field of
Public Health. He lives in Dar-e-Salaam,
Tanzania, with wife Zohra and two man
cubs, and tries to get in a game of tennis
or golf in between diaper changes!
Polaad Dadyburjor (Barham)
graduated from Jai Hind College and
then went to the US to get an MS in
Management, majoring in Information
Systems. After working in IT services,
software and a BPO consultancy,
he joined the Stanford Financial

Engineering Program and ventured
into Financial Services and Investment
Banking, recently foraying into real
estate. Still single, he tries to make time
for badminton.
Pranati Mehta (Palmer) graduated
from St. Xaviers College, Mumbai, and
then worked at a number of companies
in Marketing, PR and Internal
Communications. She then decided to
leave the corporate world to freelance
in Graphic Design, and did a course in
Art Education and CELTA (TESOL).
She currently teaches art at the Junior
School!
Prem Raheja (Savage) graduated
from HR College and then did an
MBA from the UK. He joined Jones
Lang Lasalle, and then realised that
his passion lies in Capital Markets.
Branching out his familys business
into Capital Markets, he also heads
an agricultural venture. Married to
his college sweetheart Payal, a Std. 1
teacher at Cathedral Infant School, they
have two daughters who are both at
Cathedral.
Rahul Anand (Palmer) went to St.
Xaviers College and then graduated
in Engineering from the University of
Michigan. Working in the US and then
his family business in India, he married
Tasmai. After an MBA at Harvard
University, he joined Diapers.com in
New York and is now back in Bombay
launching an online kids apparel
business.
Dr. Rahul Doctor (Palmer) is an
opthalmologist, currently running a
nursing home in Mumbai called Bay
View Clinic. His latest venture forays
into health foods and he also runs a
few wealth management boutiques. He
recently got married to Chandeshwari.
Ranjit Mittra (Wilson) went to Jai
Hind College for his Bachelors Degree
and then to Mumbai University for
his MBA. Starting his career with BBC
World India, he has since worked with
Radio City, 9XM, Zoom in the role of
Research and Strategy and is currently
working with GroupM in Bombay.
Married to Sreejata, they love travel,
food and fun.
Riddhesh Gandhi (Savage)
graduated from the University of Texas
at Austin, and then started YoungBuzz
a company in the education space in
India. Following an MBA from Harvard,
he now works at Goldman Sachs as an
Class Notes
Executive Director in Mumbai. Married
to Devna, they have a sonAman.
Rishi Dalal (Wilson) left after Std.
8 to go to boarding school in the US.
Graduating with a BBA from Washington
University in St. Louis, he worked in
NYC and then moved back to India to
work in his family business. He recently
started a new design venture called
www.megustaproducts.com. Married
to Rachita, he loves cooking, golf and
travelling.
Rohan Pai transferred to boarding
school at KIS for his IB and then went
on to Northwestern University, Chicago.
Having worked as a stock analyst in NYC
at Deutsche Bank and Bank of America,
he is now at a reinsurance company in
Bermuda, where he lives with his wife
Simmi. In his free time, he coaches and
plays badminton.
Dr. Rohan Thakkar (Palmer)
graduated from medical school and is a
keen environmentalist, especially when
it comes to water consumption. Save
water, drink beer is his motto!
Rohini Behl (Savage) armed with
degrees in Psychology and Sociology,
joined Hindustan Lever Limited and has
been a slave to consumers, brands and
marketing ever since. She is currently at
Unilever HQs in London. Sails as much as
she can but not as much as shed like to,
she still plays a bit of squash.
Rohyt Belani (Barham) went to Jai
Hind College and then to Carnegie Mellon
University for his Masters degree, after
he which he moved to NYC. Starting out
as a hacker, he has since co-founded two
Cyber Security companies. Married to
Vidula, they have a son Veer.
Rosenyn Kapur ne Nindrajog
(Palmer) graduated from Cornell
University, and joined her family
printing business, followed by a stint in
automobile dealerships. She now runs a
business in Early Childhood Enrichment
called Kidville in Mumbai, and has two
children.
Runit Shahs (Wilson)
entrepreneurial career spans industries
such as manufacturing, real estate
development, and technology. He is the
founder of a tech-enabled brick & click
retail concept in the fine jewellery space.
His wife, Anshuma is a Mathematics
and Physics teacher at Cathedral Senior
School and they have two boys, Vedant
and Abhinav, both of whom study at
Cathedral.
Samantha Stevenson (Savage)
studied Literature and Anthropology

at Lawrence University, and moved to
Chicago to work as a Producer and PostProduction Supervisor. After marrying
filmmaker Ben Berkowitz, they moved to
California to work on his feature film and
now live and work between Cupertino,
San Luis Obispo, and LA. Other passions
are her dogs, travel and food and wine.
Satvik Mohatta (Savage) went to
H.R. College and then to Penn State
University for his MBA. Back in India, he
has set up a steel forging unit and looks
after the familys wire rope business.
Married to Andrea, they have a daughter
Maya. He still has an exotic selection
of pets; a bulldog, rottweiler, Labrador,
African grey parrots and an ostrich!
Saudamini Nesargi (Wilson) spent
two years at St. Xaviers College, and
then went on to study medicine with
a specialisation in paediatrics. After
moving to Bangalore to do a fellowship
in Neonatology, she currently works at
St. Johns Hospital, where, because it is a
medical college, she not only gets to play
with kids but also teach.
Shaival Chandra (Barham)
graduated from Ohio Wesleyan
University, and joined Merrill Lynch
Investment Managers in New York.
Returning to India as Director at
Twincity Sunlife, focussing in the
renewable energy space, his love for
food led to the launch of a fast casual
food concept called Simply Potatoes.
Married to Anisha, they are expecting
their first child at the end of this year.
Shiva Kabra (Savage) went to Jai
Hind and then Grinnell College, Iowa.
He worked in NYC in Investment
Banking and followed this up with a
MBA degree from INSEAD. Now working
in his family business of coding and
marking, printing of variable data onto
products, he is married to Nyana, and is
a big foodie and traveller.
Shivani Palat ne Kumar (Palmer)
went to Jai Hind College, the Academy
of Architecture, and then to Texas A&M
University, for a Masters in Architecture
with a focus on Sustainable Architecture.
Married to Sucheth, they lived in San
Francisco and Dallas before backpacking
in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru
and most of Western Europe. Now in
Bangalore, they own an architecture
design studio StudioXS, and have a
daughter Anaya.
Shivani Somany ne Agarwal
(Barham) joined Sydenham College and
simultaneously did an Interior Design

course at Sophias Polytechnic, and
Kiran Patki Interior Architects. After
getting married, she moved to London
and then to Delhi, where she set up her
own interior design firm. Now mum to
Nirvaan and Sharanya, she has set up
a clothing manufacturing unit, trying
to revive the art of hand-block printing
under the label Threads.
Shraddha Thacker (Palmer)
graduated from HR College, and then
did an Early Years Course at Sophia
Polytechnic. After teaching at nursery
schools in Bombay, she then started her
own class called Bright Beginnings
with some friends. Married to Rajiv, she
has since moved to Portugal, where she
now teaches at CLIP, an international
school. They have two beautiful boys,
Ryan and Dylan.
Siddharth Chhabria (Barham)
completed his Bachelors degree from
HR College and his Masters degree from
Sydenham College, followed by a brief
stint in Advertising and then switched
to Finance. He is currently at Goldman
Sachs in Singapore, where he lives with
his wife Aarti and daughter Ariana.
Passionate about golf and soccer, he is
also a big foodie ,always on the lookout
for the next great meal/bottle of wine!
Sid Juwarker (Wilson) moved to
Singapore midway through Std. 11, and
then to Drake University, from where
he graduated in Environmental Science.
He got an MBA degree at the University
of Iowa, dabbled as a geologist and is
now a Senior Project Manager at an
Environmental Consulting firm, Barker
Lemar Engineering. Besides serving
on the Boards of the Environmental
Professionals of Iowa, Leadership
Iowa, Iowa Association of Business and
Industry and The Des Moines Social Club,
he also performs in local theatre and has
written a comic book!
Siddharth Mundra (Wilson) married
Anjali (Class of 1993), with whom he
has a daughterTaara. Living in NYC,
he currently works at Barclays, having
worked before that at Lehman Brothers
and Accenture in Mumbai.
Siddharth Thacker (Palmer)
graduated from Government Law College,
Mumbai (LLB) and from NYU Law, New
York (LLM), and then qualified as a
solicitor in India, England & Wales and
as an attorney in the State of New York.
After working for a few years in Mumbai,
then at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP in
Class Notes
New York, and at Steptoe & Johnson
in London, he now practises at Mulla &
Mulla, Craigie Blunt & Caroe in Mumbai.
When not arguing (law or otherwise), he
tries to improve his golf handicap!
Siddharth Wazir (Barham) graduated
from Indiana University with a Bachelors
degree in Business Administration and
then worked in Chicago for a year, before
heading back to Bombay to join the family
business in Chemicals and Engineering,
recently diversifying into Healthcare. He
is married and has a son who attends
Cathedral Infant School.
Soha Singh ne Parikh (Barham)
went to HR College and then attended
Bentley College, from where she
graduated in Marketing. After working
in her family business in Mumbai, she
got married and moved to Delhi. She is
now the full-time mom of two lovely baby
girls, trying her best to bring them up
with the best values.
Sonali Motiwal (Savage) went to Jai
Hind College, and then did a BSc (Hons)
in Microbiology from St. Xaviers College.
She then went on to do research on DNA
based vaccines for HIV at Sheffield (UK).
She graduated with a PhD and worked at
the FDA in Maryland. Married now, she
moved to Tampa Bay, and is a new mum.
Suhasini Jalan ne Ranjit
(Wilson) left in Std. 7. She graduated
from Jai Hind College with a BA in
Economics, followed by an MSc in
Business Economics from the University
of Reading, UK and a degree in
Econometrics at the London School of
Economics. Having worked as a Senior
Economist at the Tata Group, she is
married to Rajiv and has a daughter,
Alesia.
Sumeet Vazir (Barham) did his BCom
at HR College and a Masters Degree in
Computer Science in the US, and is now
working with Yahoo! He got married this
year to Reema.
Tanaya Prasad (Savage) graduated
from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi
followed by a Masters degree from Delhi
School of Economics. She lives in Mumbai
and has worked at the Bank of America
as a Risk Analyst, and at ICICI as an
economist. Currently working at CRISIL,
she manages the Sovereign Team working
with S&P on Sovereign Ratings.
Tanuj Garg (Savage) graduated from
Sydenham College and did an MBA at the
Strathclyde Business School, UK. Having
worked for the Radisson Group of Hotels
and BMI, he relocated to India to join
Kumar Mangalam Birlas entertainment

company, Applause, and then UTV and
Viacom/Studio18 in the UK. Now back in
Mumbai, he is the CEO of Balajis motion
picture business.
Tanya Singh Ahluwalia (Savage)
went to Northwestern University, and
then moved to New York to work in
Investment Banking at Salomon Smith
Barney (Citigroup) and then Unilever.
After an MBA from London Business
School, she moved to Amsterdam to
work with Nike, and then moved back
to London to work with Coca-Cola. Now
based in Gurgaon, she is a Senior Brand
Manager for Thums Up.
Tara Jhaveri (Barham) went to
Australia after Std. 11 and joined CRC
High School in Melbourne. She graduated
from the Royal Melbourne Institute
of Technology (RMIT) followed by the
Aarhus School of Business, Denmark.
Working at Ogilvy and Mather, Mumbai,
she discovered a flair for design and has
launched the brand Tara J Fine Jewellery
(Taraj.in)
Tina Singh ne Mitha (Barham)
studied Design at School of Visual Arts
(SVA) in NYC and came back to India
to work in Advertising at Leo Burnett
and then at Publicis. She then joined
Conde Nast working on Vogue, GQ and
Traveller. She recently started All Things
Beautiful, a boutique design house and is
married to Ambrish.
Tushar Jiwarajka (Savage) went
to Babson College, Boston and then
dabbled in entrepreneurship, technology
incubation and venture capital in New
York, London and Singapore before
founding Volte Gallery in Colaba, which
represents some of the worlds greatest
living artists, organising exhibitions in
major museums and galleries around
the world. Married to Archana, a graphic
designer, they have a son, Vivaan.
Tushar Kilachand (Barham)
graduated from The University Of
Michigan Business School and worked
in Investment Banking at Credit Suisse
First Boston and Sandler ONeill &
Partners in NYC. Having completed his
MBA at INSEAD, he is back in Mumbai
manufacturing auto components and
processing/trading steel. Married to
Mansi Mehta they have an extremely
naughty son, Yuvaan.
Vishaka Vaswani (Savage) completed
her B.A from St. Xaviers, Bombay, worked
in Corporate Sales at the Taj Group and
then led Client Development at a couple
of law firms. After marrying Naveen in

Mumbai, she moved to Chennai, where
her daughter Rianna. She has recently
moved to Perth where she is exploring the
beaches and wine country.
Vishal Gupta (Bahram) is a Ph.D. and
an Engineer, living in the Silicon Valley
designing chips for cell phones. Married
to Tarang, he loves cooking and writing
poetry.
Zerna Karian ne Khursedji
(Barham) left Cathedral to move to Pune
in Std. 4. She has a BFA in Photography
and is a freelance digital re-toucher &
photographer in NYC, where she also
helps with the family web start-up. She is
married to John, with whom she has an
incredibly mischievous daughter, Lea and
two cats.
Zia Ardeshir (Barham) left India
for sunny Perth after Std. 10. She did
her undergraduate and postgraduate
degrees at the University of Western
Australia, and now works as a Clinical
Psychologist working with children,
teenagers and families with mental health
issues/disabilities/trauma in both Perth
and Melbourne. Married to Laurie, she
continues to live in Perth.
Sunil Mulchandani (Palmer) went
to the University of Texas in Austin after
which he dabbled between a software
start-up family business and his own
venture in the nutraceutical space. He
completed his MBA from ISB and has
since been at Yes Bank. Now VP of
the Media, Entertainment and Sports
Banking Group, he is married to Twisha.
Last but not the least, we would like
to remember Rehan Goplani and Robin
Shroff, our dear classmates, who, due
to tragic circumstances, are no longer
with us.
By Rohini Behl
Class of 1995/97
Madhuri Mohindar: (Wilson) After
studying English at St. Xaviers, Madhuri
completed media studies programmes at
Sophia Polytech in Mumbai and the New
School in New York. She is working as a
Multimedia Producer for human rights
organization Breakthrough in New York,
creating online documentary campaigns
and digital strategy on immigration,
race and womens issues, while pursuing
documentary filmmaking.
Class Notes
Shruti Gupta Singhal: (Savage)
graduated in 1995. After completing her
MBA from Thunderbird, USA she worked
in the Financial Services industry for 10
years. After which she started her own
after school program for children called
iLeap Academy. It has three centres - two
in Mumbai, one in Bangalore and one
opening in Dubai. The Program focuses
on developing childrens language skills
and thinking skills through general
knowledge topics
Sweta Dugar (Wilson) spent 12 years
managing and teaching at a Martial Arts
Institute. She combined being Shihandai
and Chief Camp Officer with a B.Sc.
from St. Xaviers. She worked with her
family diamond business and designed
her own range of AVA custom jewellery.
Currently residing in Iowa with her
husband Alok, they are expecting their
first child this year.
Roxanne Maben ne Patell(Wilson)
followed up her B.Com from HR College
with a post grad from XIM and spent
six years at Planet M selling music,
managing the store and training staff
across India. Married to Arvin, she has
spent the last five years being sold on
motherhood, being managed by her son
Samuel and being trained in the art of
mother-child negotiations, and the use
of faintly-remembered science classes
to explain the extinction of dinosaurs
and how scabs are formed. She also
occasionally freelances as a research
associate.
Rashid Contractor (Wilson)
completed his B.Com and MBA from
Mumbai. After starting his career at
SEBI, Rashid joined Deutsche Bank A.G.
in 2005 and is presently working in the
Securities Services unit.
Samvit Tandan (Savage) left after
the ICSE for United World College in
Singapore. After completing his I. B.
there, he matriculated into Knox College
near Chicago. Sam graduated magna
cum laude with a major in Biology, and
pursued his research interests with a
Ph.D. in molecular cardiology with Dr.
Joseph A. Hill at UT Southwestern,
Dallas, TX. He then rounded out his
basic science skills with an M.D. at
the same institution, and is currently
training at Albert Einsteins Montefiore
Medical Center as a first year internal
medicine resident. He hopes to continue
his passion in research, most likely in the
field of cardiology in the coming years.
Faiz Memon (Barham) is currently

the director of investment management,
healthcare and human resource
consulting firm. He lives in Bombay
with his wife and two daughters.
Namrata Daswani (Wilson) got
married in 2006 and moved to New
York. She now lives with her husband
Arjan Khiantani and son, Ishaan
between New York, Las Palmas de Gran
Canaria and Canary Islands. Namrata
continues to be passionate about her
graphic design career and her love for
cooking, while running a cooking blog
(www.simrancooks.blogspot.com).
Kusum Harchandrai Nairi
(Barham) is a Visual Arts teacher
at Wildwood Schools elementary
campus, an independent K-12 school
in the Los Angeles metro area. In
2011 she graduated from the San
Francisco Art Institute with an MFA
in sculpture/installation. Images of
her recent work can be viewed at www.
kusumharchandrai.com. She lives with
her husband Pramit Nairi (Palmer 1996)
in Santa Monica, CA, spending her free
time at the beach or making pottery.
Tulika Devidayal (Barham) studied
liberal arts at Oberlin College after
graduating from school. Until recently
Tulika worked in the retail industry
in Mumbai first with Good Earth and
last with Le Mill. She still consults
occasionally independently. Married to
Harsh Jasani (Palmer, 1997), they have
a two-year-old sonVeer.
Harsh Jasani (Palmer) currently
trades commodities for Trafigura Beheer
BV. specialising in Coal.
Maneka Mulchandani (Palmer )
pursued a career in public relations and
has been in the field for over 12 years.
With varied experience in luxury and
lifestyle, she currently works for Gucci
and heads their Communications office
in India. Maneka got married in 2004 to
Nitin Thadani and lives in Mumbai
Kainaz Antia (Wilson ) got her
Bachelors and Masters degree in
Accounting from the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After
completing her CPA, she worked at
KPMG in Mumbai and then joined her
family business. Kainaz currently lives
in London with her husband Rutton
Patel (Savage 1993) and their son.
By Anushka Shivdasani Rovshen
Class of 1998 / 2000

Vikram Chogle (Wilson) is
currently a private equity associate
at Warburg Pincus, based in Mumbai.
An undergraduate alumnus of the
University of Michigan Ann Arbor,
he spent six years as an investment
banker in Chicago, before pursuing an
MBA at London Business School prior to
returning to India.
Mallika Singhania (Palmer)
graduated from Northwestern
University, and then went to LSE for her
Masters degree. After graduation, she
wrote books, a newspaper column, and
has done a few TV shows on shopping/
fashion in India. She currently runs
a fashion e-commerce website, www.
indianhanger.com. Some of her
interesting travels in the past include
Egypt, Turkey and the Olympics in
London earlier this year.
Asheesh Dubash (Savage) joined
IHCL (Taj) after a BCom from HR
College and a two-year course at Le
Cordon Bleu, London. He now works
as a Food & Beverage Consultant and
Caterer.
Devanshi Ruparel (Wilson) moved
to London with her family after two
years at Sydenham College. She still has
her flat in Mumbai so she visits every
couple of years. She is a finance business
partner and currently works at Cisco
Systems after qualifying as a Chartered
Accountant in London and then doing
an MBA from the London Business
School.
Prateek Banerjee (Palmer) did his
Bachelors in Architecture from Kamla
Raheja Architecture College in Mumbai
and worked at Raj Rewal associates in
New Delhi. He became a partner of a
50-year-old firm Architects Combine
in 2006, and launched Arbor Research
Initiatives in Architecture in 2010.
He is currently working on a range of
projects including institution buildings,
hospitals, schools and hostels.
Tanvi Patel (Savage) did her
BA from St. Xaviers College and
followed it up with a Diploma in
Social Communications from Sophia
Polytechnic. She undertook a project
on alternatives in education at CED,
Mumbai, and then did an MA in
Sociology at JNU, New Delhi. Alongside
teaching at Cathedral School as a
Sociology teacher from 2007-2011,
Class Notes
she consulted with Quantum Market
Research. She is currently pursuing a
PhD at IIT Bombay.
Varun Ahuja (Savage) left Cathedral
in Std. 8 and went to Mifflief School
(UK) followed by the University of
Durham (UK), from where he completed
his BA in business finance and MA in
International Relations. He began
his career in Hospitality with the Taj
Mahal Palace in Mumbai followed by
the opening of the Four Seasons Hotel,
Mumbai. He moved to the Maldives
with the Four Seasons, once again
retuning to Mumbai, where he now
oversees Sales and Marketing for the
hotel.
Ankit Mody (Savage) is Director
of Sales at IMOC, a minerals and
metals trading company based in
Mumbai. Prior to this, he worked as an
entrepreneur and investment banker
in Chennai and Philadelphia. After
graduating from Cathedral, he earned
a dual Bachelors Degrees in Economics
and Government from the London
School of Economics and Political
Science, UK and Oberlin College, USA.
Though he vowed never to study again,
he is battling a seven-year itch to do just
that now!
Robin Mehta (Wilson) moved
to Edinburgh, Scotland after school
and is now the Managing Director of
Union Technology, Scotlands largest
advertising group. As well as investing in
and assisting new start-ups, he spends
his time travelling and playing golf.
Aneesha Durga (Wilson)
completed her BCom from HR College,
Mumbai and went on to do her MA in
Communications from the University of
Westminster, London. She worked with
CNBC in India for five years on their
editorial team and currently resides
in Dubai with her husband where she
enjoys a relatively low-stress working
life in advertising.
Priyanka Khanna (Barham)
graduated from Hamilton College
and then moved to New York where
she worked in the Public Relations
department of Hearst Magazines
on magazines like O, The Oprah
Magazine, Harpers Bazaar, Seventeen,
CosmoGIRL! and Marie Claire. She
returned to Mumbai six years ago and
joined the launch team of Vogue India.
Married to Rikin Sheth (1997, Barham),
she is now the Fashion Features Editor
at the magazine.
Tara Mahadevan (Savage)

practices as a Nutrition and Health
Psychologist in Mumbai. She helps
clients permanently lose and maintain
their weight by combining nutrition and
cognitive-behaviour therapy. After doing
her BA in Psychology (Vassar College,
NY), she did her MA in Psychology
(SNDT University) along with multiple
international certifications in wellness
and nutrition.
Gauri Kitchlu (Palmer) completed
her undergraduate degree from
Georgetown University in Washington,
D.C. She then moved to New York City,
where she worked for four years at a
Public Relations firm, specialising in
hospitality. She returned to India in late
2008 and joined The Oberoi Group in
Mumbai, where she is the Manager of
Communications.
Hansel (Jaidev Rego) Cordeiro
(Barham) is an attorney with the United
States Department of Veterans Affairs
in Washington, D.C., where he advises
the Veterans Health Administration (the
United States largest integrated health
care system) about issues that impact
the lives of more than eight million
American veterans.
Maansi Kakkar (Wilson) graduated
from St. Xaviers College (Economics
Honours) after which she joined Ernst
& Youngs consulting practice. She
was simultaneously a freelance sports
journalist with The Times of India and
did a Masters in English. After her
MBA from ISB, Hyderabad, she rejoined
E&Y. Now turned entrepreneur, she is
a Director at DK&A, a company into
branding and advertising.
Akshai Sarin (Barham) has lived
in every continent except South
America and Australia. A brand/culture
consultant, musician, journalist, serial
entrepreneur, record label and studio
owner, global media content distributor,
nightclub and restaurant owner, he has
performed with the likes of the Black
Eyed Peas, Chemical Brothers and has
also brought Akon, the Vienna Chamber
Orchestra and more to play shows
in India. Akshai quit his job heading
Culture Marketing for energy drink
Red Bull recently and has been touring
Europe promoting his album Connected.
www.akshai.in
Akshay Jalan (Wilson House
Captain) graduated from the
Management and Technology program
at the University of Pennsylvania in
2004. He worked in the financial services

industry in New York between 2004
and 2007, first as an Investment Banker
and then as a Hedge Fund Manager. He
decided to return to India in 2007 and
has since then been playing the role of
an entrepreneur, developing businesses
in various industries across India. He got
married in 2009 and has a one-year-old
baby daughter, and is currently running
in the race called Life!
Jehaan Shroff (Savage) is currently
a lawyer with AZB & Partners. After
completing his B.Com from HR College,
he studied Law at the Government Law
College, Mumbai, and then pursued
an MBA. from the Indian School of
Business, Hyderabad.
Vinay Pamnani (Savage) Graduated
from ISB. Currently a Manager at Ernst
& Young in Chicago, he is looking to
move back to India in a few years.
Janjri Jasani (Barham) graduated
from the University of Edinburgh
with an M.Sc in Environmental
Protection and Management and is
currently working with the Centre for
Environmental Research and Education
(CERE). Following her two years at
Cathedral, she has had a lot of amazing
and inspiring experiences, from fencing
with her collegiate team to attending
DISHAA, a UK-India initiative. She is
also a co-author of several books and
lives in Colaba with her mum and pet
beagle, Lenny.
Hutoxi Antia (Wilson) graduated
from Indiana University and went on to
pursue a Masters degree from FIT. She
currently lives in Dubai and works in her
family business.
Subita Doshi ne Godhwani
(Savage) pursued her BBA from The
University of Texas at Austin, after
which she came back to join her own
company, Zooni, a fashion brand which
has been around for sometime. As
Directors of the company, she and her
sister, Reema Godhwani (two batches
younger), have taken the business to
new heights.
Rahul Lulla (Barham) will be
joining the New York office of 3i Group,
a Private Equity firm, after recently
graduating from Columbia University
with an MBA. His biggest achievements
since Cathedral are growing to six feet
and getting a tan. He was five foot five
and pasty in 1998!
Ateya Khorakiwala (Wilson) is
currently a doctoral student at Harvard
Class Notes
Univesitys Graduate School of Design.
After training as an architect, she
moved into the world of professional
academia in the hope of becoming a
historian of the built environment.
She currently studies the architecture
that came out of Indias modernisation
and development project, and hopes to
teach and research the same at some
point in the near future.
Jeremy Macmull (Palmer) currently
lives in Portsmouth, where he is happily
married to Jenny. He graduated from
Leicester University in 2006 and works
at Scottish and Southern Energy in
Research and Development. They
are expecting their first baby boy in
September 2012.
Shirish Barwale (Savage) worked
with BCG after graduating from Cornell
University. Between BCG and a MBA at
INSEAD, he was a substitute Economics
teacher at Cathedral and simultaneously
put together a fresh produce
distribution business. He got married
to Pragya, a short six months after
bumping into her in Mumbai. He works
in his family business which endeavours
to find new technologies to make
agriculture in India more sustainable,
environmentally-friendly and profitable
for the farmer.
Priyanka Todi Kheruka (Wilson)
graduated from the Wharton School,
and spent two years in NYC as a
Management Consultant at Bain and
Co. She moved back to Mumbai after
getting married to Shreevar Kheruka
(Savage) and set up the Indian arm of
Technoserve (a US based non-profit
consulting company). After traipsing
all over the world and India for four
years, she is now forced to stay put in
Mumbai due to the birth of her two
delightful children. She currently works
as Marketing Consultant to Borosil.
Vitek Goyel (Palmer) did his A levels
at Harrow School, UK, and then got a
degree in Electronic Media, Arts, and
Communications from RPI in Troy,
NY. He is currently CEO of Pixeltek, a
3D animation company in India, and
Vice-President of Phoenix Online, a
US based game developer. He is also
a musician, and plays in a band called
Slow Down Clown. He is set to marry
fellow Cathedral alumna, Maya Bhogilal
(Savage, 2001), in November this year.
Zain Rais (Wilson) studied at Jai
Hind College, Mumbai and then began
his career at Wizcraft, followed by
MTV. After getting tired of working for

corporations, he decided to set out on
his own. He joined Cineyug and heads
their events division, executing projects
like the National Games and various
Bollywood award shows.
Uttam Chopra (Palmer) went on to
scale new heights by heading internet
firm Contest2Win and thereafter joined
Yahoo, after working at a creative
agency called Flaky, Mellow and
Grounded. He now heads a division of
Yahoos Asia operations and is based
in Singapore. Uttam sky-dives and test
drives Scrot-Karts in his spare time.
Sahir Hidayatullah hacked his way
to notoriety as a young man by breaking
the defences of various websites. His
chance at redemption came when the
Mumbai Police asked him to use his
skills to help them solve a cyber crime
case. He went on to become their mosttrusted advisor. Sahir now has his own
firm specializing in digital security.
By Priyanka Todi Kheruka
Class of 2004/06
Pranav Mehra (Wilson) was
Athletics Captain in school. After a
Bachelor of Arts in Telecommunications
and Psychology from Indiana University,
Bloomington USA, he joined UTV
Disney as an Executive in Video
Optimization, handling UTVs two main
channels on YouTube, Bindass and UTV
Stars.
Natasha Kewalramani (Wilson)
completed an MSc. in Development
Studies from the SOAS, London, and
then worked there with the Institute
for Philanthropy. Returning to Mumbai
in July 2011, she worked for a year as a
CSR consultant, assisting companies on
how to look for social returns on their
investments. Recently, she quit her job
to set up an organic food and agri-tech
venture.
Karan Gill (Barham) graduated this
May 2012 with an MSc. in Electrical
Engineering from USC, and is now
interning at the USC Stevens Institute
in Los Angeles, carrying out patent
research.
Rohit Taparia (Wilson), Vice
Captain, graduated as Valedictorian from
the Kelley School of Business at Indiana
University in 2010, and subsequently
worked at PwC in New York City for a

year. He is currently setting up a userdriven website called MyTopTeacher.
com. The website will provide ratings and
reviews on teachers in India. Rohit is a
huge Manchester United fan.
Sharana Jhangiani (Wilson)
completed a Bachelors degree in Mass
Media and Journalism from Jai Hind
College. She worked at Star India Pvt.
Ltd. for a year and a half, and then at
Indias leading entertainment agency
- KWAN Entertainment & Marketing
Solutions Pvt. Ltd. for two years. She has
just quit her job and is now a founding
member of a start-up e-commerce
venture. She also conducts dance classes
and teaches a writing class at Jai Hind
College.
Abhinay Jhaveri (Savage) is
currently working as a consultant with
Capgemini Consulting in Paris, France.
Hed be happy to meet up with any
alumni that are passing through.
Zohanne Dinshaw (Palmer)
currently works as a client servicing
Account Executive for a top advertising
agency (Draft FCB Ulka). His passion
for music lives through his rapping
ability for which he has gotten
due acknowledgement (http://
bombayhiphop.com/?p=4639). he
performs at happening night clubs all
across Bombay.
Gurlyn Ahluwalia (Wilson) is a
qualified doctor after five years of
medical school. Currently interning at
Dr. D.Y. Patil Hospital, she plans to start
her post-grad training in Dermatology in
the coming year.
Phiroze Shroff (Palmer) was a House
Monitor in school. After a B. Com from
H.R.College, he first did an internship
as a Business Analyst for the Managing
Director of an I.T. company, SAP Pvt.
Ltd., followed by another internship
as an Associate Investment Banker
at a Japanese investment banking
corporation, YEN Managements
& Consultants. After working as
Business Administrator for a German
multinational, Schott Zwiese, he started
on his M.Sc. in International Business
& Management at the University of
Bedfordshire (London, Luton) this
September.
Neville Bhandara (Barham) dabbled
in theatrewriting and directing
playsafter he left school in 2004,
after which he interned at various
publications including Mid- Day and
Class Notes
Verve magazine. He currently works at
Cond Nast Traveller, where he writes
for and handles various sections of the
website www.cntraveller.in.
Rashee Shah (Barham) did her
A Levels at Millfield School, got a
B.Sc. in Economics, Accounting and
Management from Cardiff University,
and a MA in Marketing Communication
from Westminster University. Rashee
is currently running a company called
Doggie Dabbas in Delhi, NCR which
provides gourmet food for dogs.
Shikha Choudhury (Wilson)
graduated from Georgia Tech with
a Bachelors degree in Industrial
Engineering and is currently a Strategy
Consultant at IBM Global Business
Services in New York City.
Pia Davis (Savage) graduated from
USC with a BA in Psychology, and a
Double Minor in Consumer Behaviour,
and Theatre. She worked in casting
at 20th Century FOX, then in talent
management and production, with
Bender and Associates, followed by a one
year stint at Sager Entertainment. She is
currently working towards her M.Sc. in
Human Behaviour at USC.
Avika Bhansali (Wilson) is currently
the Marketing Head for West & South
India and an Interior Design Consultant
for B&B Italia, an Italian luxuryfurniture brand. She is also a glass artist,
and has participated in residencies
in Scotland and the United States on
invitation.
Adib Parkar (Savage) is currently
doing his Masters in Computer Science
at USC (University of Southern
California).
Farah Khan (Savage) is currently
working as Brand Manager at a luxury
and lifestyle brand management and
event planning agency called Creative
Co. She loves her job and has been there
for almost two years now.
Aarti Mody (Barham) is currently
a second year student at Fordham Law
University in New York.
Ishani Roy ( Savage) did her B.A.
from St. Xaviers College, a Mass
Communication course at Sophia
Polytechnic, and is now an Assistant
Director for documentaries; she hopes to
make her own film.
Parinaz Vakil (Wilson) graduated
with a Bachelor of Legal Sciences and
Bachelor of Law from Government Law
College, Mumbai, while simultaneously
working as an Articled Clerk at a reputed

law firm. She holds a Diploma in Cyber
Law, has completed a Certificate Course
in Alternative Dispute Resolution and
continues to be involved in international
conflict resolution activities with Seeds
of Peace, USA. An Advocate enrolled
with the Bar Council of Maharashtra
and Goa, and an Associate at the law
firm, Bharucha & Partners, Parinaz is
presently preparing for the Solicitors
Examination.
Sneha Jaisingh (Savage) completed
her Bachelor of Legal Sciences and
Bachelor of Law from Government Law
College, University of Mumbai while
simultaneously working as an Articled
Clerk at a leading law firm in Mumbai.
She is enrolled as an Advocate with the
Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa, and
is an Associate at the law firm Bharucha
& Partners, primarily practising in the
Bombay High Court. She is presently
preparing for her Solicitors Examination
Same as above.
Rahul Mahtani (Wilson) graduated
with a Major in Mechanical Design
Engineering and a Minor in Electrical
Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic
Institute, Worcester, USA. He has
been working as an Automotive Fuel
Systems Development Engineer with
a fuel and filtration systems company,
Stanadyne Corporation, since 2010. He
spends most of his free time engaging
in competitive motor racing and league
cricket.
Neel Ghose (Savage) graduated
from Shri Ram College of Commerce
(SRCC), Delhi. After working for two
years in the hedge fund D.E. Shaw &
Co., he got bored of the corporate world
and ventured into the domain of startups. He is currently a Vice-President
in Zomato.com, one of Indias fastest
growing e-commerce ventures.
Chintan Chandrachud (Barham)
is currently an M.Phil. candidate
specialising in Constitutional Law at
the University of Oxford. He completed
his Masters degree in Law at the
University of Oxford, after pursuing his
LLB at the Government Law College,
Mumbai. Besides authoring articles for
international and national journals,
he has contributed to several pro bono
projects including a report to the United
Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right
to Food.
Arindam Bora (Savage) graduated
from MPSTME, went to Bogota,

Colombia, to serve as an International
Business Analyst for an oil company
called Petrotiger for about 14 months.
He is currently based in Manila,
Philippines, serving as a Corporate
Consultant/Business Development
Executive to the Chairman and CEO,
Mr. Joseph Sigelman, who heads Asias
biggest fabrication company, Atlantic,
Gulf & Pacific Company of Manila,
catering to the Oil and Gas business.
Ishita Jain (Palmer) studied
Construction Engineering, did her
MBA in Marketing, and is working at
Infosys as a Consultant. She plans to
teach English someday! She also studied
fashion designing for a while but still
hasnt found what she is looking for!
Jayni Shah (Savage), Head Girl,
currently works in the Investment
Banking division at Deutsche Bank in
New York City.
Khyati Mandalia (Wilson) graduated
with a B.Sc. degree in Industrial
Economics from the University of
Warwick in 2009. During her three
years in London, she interned with
Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley
in the Investment Banking department.
She then returned to India and is now
working as a Finance Associate at Kiran
Energy, a solar power company in
Mumbai. Khyati will be getting married
in January 2013 to fellow classmate
Karan Kothari.
Karan Kothari (Palmer) is currently
a Partner at Images, a leading leather
goods company. He graduated from
Emory University (Atlanta, USA) with a
BBA degree in Management, Consulting
& International Business.
Aditya Mittal (Barham) received his
Undergraduate degree in Business from
the University of Southern California.
Currently a Director in his family
business, Mittal Builders, he is starting
his own real estate venture, Mittal
Universal.
Karishma Shah (Palmer) completed
her B.A in 2009. During this time, she
also freelanced with The Times of India
and other publications. She is currently
working at Text100, a Public Relations
firm in Bombay, and intends to join her
family business, Kushmi Kosmetics,
shortly.
By Karishma Shah and
Sharana Jhangiani
The Quiz
How well do you know your school?
2. Who was Mr. John Connon?

a) First Principal of school
b) Chief Registrar of Bombay
when the School was built
c) First Principal of the co-ed School
d) Founder of St. Thomas Cathedral
3. The first three words of the school
song are:
a) Gateway of India
b) Prima in Indis
c) Play up school
d) Let it thunder
9. The School became co-educational

in which year?
a) 1860
b) 1880
c) 1922
d) 1967
10. The Cathedral Pre-Primary School
is located:
a) On Mahatma Gandhi Road
b) In the old Choir School
building at St Thomas
Cathedral
c) On Malabar Hill
d) In the Junior School
4. The school colours are:

a) Blue and black
b) Purple and white
c) Purple and grey
d) Purple and black
11. The School Emblem, with the

Bishops Mitre (Anglican) and the
Diagonal Cross of St. Andrews
(Scottish) to represent the AngloScottish Education Society, was
taken from the Girls School badge
designed by:
a) Mrs Zoe Bebbington
b) Miss Nora Whitfield
c) Mrs Jean Cabral
d) Mrs Joan Dev
5. The schools motto Clarum efficiunt

studia is translated as:
a) Studies maketh famous
b) Only efficient studies
c) Studies maketh men
d) Studies are delightful
12. Which of the houses is named

after a businessman and
philanthropist, one of the funders
of the school?
a) Barham b) Palmer
c) Savage
d) Wilson
6. The Cathedral School was

founded in:
a) 1860
b) 1960
c) 1880
d) 1920
13. Which of our

school buildings
boasts this lovely
carved stone pillar?
a) Pre-Primary
b) Junior
c) Middle
d) Senior
7. The Senior School is located on:

a) Little Gibbs Road
b) M.G. Road
c) Purshottamdas Thakurdas
Marg
d) Prescot Road
8. The school motto was chosen by:
a) Percival Wilson
b) Sir Thomas Arthur Savage
c)
Bishop Palmer
d) Cannon Barham
14. It is believed that

the School Hymn
was written by:
a) Rabindranath Tagore
b) Rudyard Kipling
c) Robert Louis Stevenson
d) Ruskin Bond
15. The current Junior School was

previously known as:
a) The Cathedral Girls School
b) The Cathedral Boys School
c) The John Connon School
d) The Cathedral Grammar School
16. It is believed that horses used this
staircase. In which of our schools
would you find it?
a) Pre-Primary b) Junior
c) Middle
d) Senior
17. Which of these famous

personalities was NOT an alumnus
of Cathedral School?
a) Kareena Kapoor
b) Shiamak Davar
c) Kajol
d) Cyrus Broacha
18. True or False: Initially the School
did not have enough money to
construct a building, so it was
started in tents at Azad Maidan.
19. True or False: The School was
always only a day school, never a
boarding school.
20. To commemorate 150 years of
the School, which national public
personality launched a stamp of the
Cathedral and John Connon School?
a. Vilasrao Deshmukh
b. Rahul Gandhi
c. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
d. Pratibha Patil
Compiled by Sarita Bhalerao

nee Saraiya (ICSE 1983)
and Nandita Duggar
nee Rajkumar (ICSE 1988)
1.C
2. B
3. B
4.D
5.A
6.A
7.C
8.B
9.D
10.B
11.B 12.D 13.B 14.B 15.C 16.B 17.C 18.True
19.False
20.D
ANSWERS:
1. What date is celebrated as

Founders Day?
a) November 15
b) February 23
c) November 14
d) September 2

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The

The Cathedral & John Connon Alumni Magazine

Founders Day Brunch 2011

Rumble in the Jungle

OFF THE SHELF

Amish Tripathi and Akash Shah

OUT OF THE BOX

Editorial support, Design and Printing

Special thanks to the following donors for their

s I write this, I see dark clouds casting

are fairing in the myriad waters they choose to

2 The X-Cathedralite 2012

morphed into a raucous take-over of the restaurant

(ICSE 1986, Palmer)

(ISC 1974, Palmer)

Committee Members (ex-officio)

By Mukeeta Jhaveri nee Kataria

(ISC 1994, Palmer)

Shyla Boga Patel

Photo credits: Sundeep Bhatia (ICSE 1985)

(ISC 1990, Palmer)

Anushka Shivdasani Rovshen

The Executive Committee looks forward to

Founders Day 2011

Brunch at Blue Sea

2012 The X-Cathedralite 5

Rumble in the jungle

Photo credits: Arun Janardhan and Mayank Tejura

n Sunday March 18, 2012,

flowers, the feel of different plants

We went on the nature trail with

Priyanka Kheruka nee Todi

The trail was a resplendent

An excellent fun morning.

8 The X-Cathedralite 2012

Photo credits: Sundeep Bhatia (ICSE 1985)

Near the bar, one batch boasted of having

2012 The X-Cathedralite 9

A message from the Principal,

he School year was

Sporting activities are encouraged

pin-pointed by the young artists

appeared successfully for their

mile and have carried out your

12 The X-Cathedralite 2012

Of course, they would. The

the Association. The Summer School

Environment: Anish Andheria,

a country of our size. Finding the

diseases remain a challenge. India

Kataria (ISC 1983)

2012 The X-Cathedralite 15

16 The X-Cathedralite 2012

The King in Exile: The Fall of

[It] heralds the arrival of a writer of

Amish Tripathi and Akash Shah at

Turning the pages

Amish: I used to train with my twin

Akash: The pummel horse was my

Photo credit: Dhiman Chatterjee

Off the shelf

then did my MBA. The only fiction

encouraging on one of my essays

travel and I am also very interested