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March 2, 2016
My dear Family n Friends:
Newsletter No.4
OMG. I last wrote on Gandhi Jayanti and
already Gandhi Barsi has come n gone! It is five 5 months to the day. I found this draft on my laptop and I shall let some extracts serve as preamble:
Quote:
I was happy to welcome Tejaswini Joshi, (a
Twitter friend) and her son Bibhas on their first visit to Lavasa…..
The weather here (Lavasa) does get warm
during the day, outdoors. But indoors it is cool n comfy. At the most I need
slow speed fans. (it was valid when I wrote it in Oct and now in end Feb)
Sukhjit tells me that they have almost
completed the job of breaking the affected areas. …..Sukhjit plans to make a trip to Lavasa
when they do the ‘Mono-par’ treatment, which lets out unbearable fumes and
smell.
Meanwhile, Vicky is doing a yeoman job
pampering his mother with take-outs from different outlets. His mother feels for him, when she sees him
all sweaty, bringing tiffin for her. That is Mother-son bond. ……
Here I am ‘learning’ to cook basic things e…….
Though the first operation of pressure cooker was a disaster; today was ‘not
bad’. I have managed to cook couple of veggies too.
The dhaba, Lake View Dining is a good find.
The owner is an employee of the Lavas Corporation. He delivers whatever I need
(or he suggests).
……I have learnt how to set the curds.
Unquote.
Let me now share with you the highlights of
what has transpired in 5 months.
I had spent all of October in Lavasa and
regained good health. I returned to Mumbai end of October. Since
the structural repairs had been completed, I undertook the task of making the
house habitable. We rebuilt the bathroom in that wing; as per Sukhjit’s choice.
With some heart-ache we got through rewiring, restoring the electrical fittings
and painting. Finally, we had this wing habitable and moved in. Phew! That is
done.
We then spent a few days in Lavasa;
celebrated my birthday there and returned to Mumbai in time for Diwali.
Vineet and Sofia hosted the family Diwali
party. They laid out great food, booze, and fun. In walked Anu n Vicky with a
large bag. They brought red silk shirts for all male members and multi colored
Bandhni dupattas for all the Ladies. And
surprise was that the shirts were verily bespoke and fitted all the recipients.
This added more color and jubilation to the Party.
During last few months, my knee had been
hurting quite badly. I had over exerted
negotiating the gradients and stairs in Lavasa. Ultimately, Dr Nirad Vengsarkar
injected steroid into my knee. That has given considerable relief; though I am
now conscious of not pushing my luck.
They say this relief lasts only 5-6 months. I hope and pray that I am
the exception to the ‘norm’. Encouraged
by this, Sukhjit also got an injection into her painful shoulder. That does not
seem to be of much help; though it might have reduced the severity of pain.
We have had our share of ‘guests’ to
Ashiana. By now most of the family members have blessed our second home with
their presence. We will get the remaining members when they can make it. It gives us great pleasure to have ‘house-full’.
Details in the picture gallery.
We met Ajay Panot and his sister when Ajay
came here for a wedding at their native place. We had a lovely lunch together.
Ajay n Tram celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary on Dec 26,
last year. We could not join them on this happy occasion, since Mickey n his
family were scheduled to visit around the same time. So we had to be content
with sending a small gift with Ajay.
While on the subject: Rajbir n Mickey had their 25th
anniversary and Anu n Vicky their 20th late last year.
We had returned to Mumbai on Dec 6 along
with Eddie, since we had a wedding to attend: that of Anu’s niece. The bride’s
father Anil Wadhwani had helped me to connect with Santosh Wadhwani, my
colleague at Esso Bombay Refinery some 60 years ago. Santosh was at the wedding and we had a great
reunion. As ever, Santosh turned out to be well kept and well dressed.
Meticulous as ever, he had brought a photo from our Wedding Reception and some
other photos. Later, thanks to Twitter, we were
‘found’ by Saurabh Mehrotra, a
neighbor in Lavasa who turned out to be a friend of Santosh’s son as well as of
a young man in Asuda Kutir. Small world,
this. We met Saurab again last Friday
and he told us that Santosh lost his elder brother n Anil’s Uncle Kishen. Rest
in Peace, Senior Wadhwani Sir.
We were happy to have Mickey and his family
visit us in Mumbai around year-end.
First Harkirat landed in Mumbai direct from Toronto. Then came Mickey,
Simran and Venus, one by one. We had a rare opportunity to have most of the family together at dinner at the Sodawater
Bottle wala in BKC. Harkirat, you were
missed. The last gathering of the full family had been in Raavi Dhaba in Dubai
some 12-13 yrs ago. We look forward to the summer break expectantly.
Golf has taken a back seat since I spend time
away from Mumbai. All the same I played two tournaments: Seniors conducted by
the Western India Golf Association and Mercedes Trophy. My game is nowhere near
competitive but there is great satisfaction in getting out there on the course
and participating.
We lost Narjit Kaur, wife of my first
cousin Harmohan Singh of Barnala after a brief illness. Last month, Harmohan
himself was critical; but thanks to good medical care, he has recovered and is
in good health now. His younger brother Billa had rushed from Holland to be by
his side. Veena did a great job of looking after her parents while they were
hospitalized.
And then my sister Swarnjit had a fall and
broke her ankle. She is recovering nicely at home…
We arranged Akhand Path Saheb at the
Citilight Gurudwara, through kind efforts of Jagjeet Singh ji and Guljit Kaur. This
was to thank the Almighty for all his boons and seek His continued blessings
for our family n friends. I had a special prayer said for the good health of
our long time friend n neighbor, Bhagchandani, and our beloved Sambandhi Ranbir
Singh, critically ill in Delhi. Venus is keeping a vigil there and we pray to
Lord Almighty to give him the boon of good health.
Now I have brought you up to date on family
n friends.
These last 5-6 months have seen many
worrisome happenings in the country’s political scene. I shall write on that
subject shortly.
Newsletter No.4
OMG. I last wrote on Gandhi Jayanti and
already Gandhi Barsi has come n gone! It will be over 5 months when this sees the light of
day. I found this draft on my laptop and let some extracts serve as preamble:
Quote:
I was happy to welcome Tejaswini Joshi, (a
Twitter friend) and her son Bibhas on their first visit to Lavasa…..
The weather here (Lavasa) does get warm
during the day, outdoors. But indoors it is cool n comfy. At the most I need
slow speed fans. (it was valid when I wrote it in Oct and now in end Feb)
Sukhjit tells me that they have almost
completed the job of breaking the affected areas. …..Sukhjit plans to make a trip to Lavasa
when they do the ‘Mono-par’ treatment, which lets out unbearable fumes and
smell.
Meanwhile, Vicky is doing a yeoman job
pampering his mother with take-outs from different outlets. His mother feels for him, when she sees him
all sweaty, bringing tiffin for her. That is Mother-son bond. ……
Here I am ‘learning’ to cook basic things e…….
Though the first operation of pressure cooker was a disaster; today was ‘not
bad’. I have managed to cook couple of veggies too.
The dhaba, Lake View Dining is a good find.
The owner is an employee of the Lavas Corporation. He delivers whatever I need
(or he suggests).
……I have learnt how to set the curds.
Unquote.
Let me now share with you the highlights of
what has transpired in 5 months.
I had spent all of October in Lavasa and
regained good health.
I returned to Mumbai end of October. Since
the structural repairs had been completed, I undertook the task of making the
house habitable. We rebuilt the bathroom in that wing; as per Sukhjit’s choice.
With some heart-ache we got through rewiring, restoring the electrical fittings
and painting. Finally, we had this wing habitable and moved in. Phew! That is
done.
We then spent a few days in Lavasa;
celebrated my birthday there and returned to Mumbai in time for Diwali.
Vineet and Sofia hosted the family Diwali
party. They laid out great food, booze, and fun. In walked Anu n Vicky with a
large bag. They brought red silk shirts for all male members and multi colored
Bandhni dupattas for all the Ladies. And
surprise was that the shirts were verily bespoke and fitted all the recipients.
This added more color and jubilation to the Party.
During last few months, my knee had been
hurting quite badly. I had over exerted
negotiating the gradients and stairs in Lavasa. Ultimately, Dr Nirad Vengsarkar
injected steroid into my knee. That has given considerable relief; though I am
now conscious of not pushing my luck.
They say this relief lasts only 5-6 months. I hope and pray that I am
the exception to the ‘norm’. Encouraged
by this, Sukhjit also got an injection into her painful shoulder. That does not
seem to be of much help; though it might have reduced the severity of pain.
We have had our share of ‘guests’ to
Ashiana. By now most of the family members have blessed our second home with
their presence. We will get the remaining members when they can make it. It gives us great pleasure to have ‘house-full’.
Details in the picture gallery.
We met Ajay Panot and his sister when Ajay
came here for a wedding at their native place. We had a lovely lunch together.
Ajay n Tram celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary on Dec 26,
last year. We could not join them on this happy occasion, since Mickey n his
family were scheduled to visit around the same time. So we had to be content
with sending a small gift with Ajay.
While on the subject: Rajbir n Mickey had their 25th
anniversary and Anu n Vicky their 20th late last year.
We had returned to Mumbai on Dec 6 along
with Eddie, since we had a wedding to attend: that of Anu’s niece. The bride’s
father Anil Wadhwani had helped me to connect with Santosh Wadhwani, my
colleague at Esso Bombay Refinery some 60 years ago. Santosh was at the wedding and we had a great
reunion. As ever, Santosh turned out to be well kept and well dressed.
Meticulous as ever, he had brought a photo from our Wedding Reception and some
other photos. Later, thanks to Twitter, we were
‘found’ by Saurabh Mehrotra, a
neighbor in Lavasa who turned out to be a friend of Santosh’s son as well as of
a young man in Asuda Kutir. Small world,
this. We met Saurab again last Friday
and he told us that Santosh lost his elder brother n Anil’s Uncle Kishen. Rest
in Peace, Senior Wadhwani Sir.
We were happy to have Mickey and his family
visit us in Mumbai around year-end.
First Harkirat landed in Mumbai direct from Toronto. Then came Mickey,
Simran and Venus, one by one. We had a rare opportunity to have most of the family together at dinner at the Sodawater
Bottle wala in BKC. Harkirat, you were
missed. The last gathering of the full family had been in Raavi Dhaba in Dubai
some 12-13 yrs ago. We look forward to the summer break expectantly.
Golf has taken a back seat since I spend time
away from Mumbai. All the same I played two tournaments: Seniors conducted by
the Western India Golf Association and Mercedes Trophy. My game is nowhere near
competitive but there is great satisfaction in getting out there on the course
and participating.
We lost Narjit Kaur, wife of my first
cousin Harmohan Singh of Barnala after a brief illness. Last month, Harmohan
himself was critical; but thanks to good medical care, he has recovered and is
in good health now. His younger brother Billa had rushed from Holland to be by
his side. Veena did a great job of looking after her parents while they were
hospitalized.
And then my sister Swarnjit had a fall and
broke her ankle. She is recovering nicely at home…
We arranged Akhand Path Saheb at the
Citilight Gurudwara, through kind efforts of Jagjeet Singh ji and Guljit Kaur. This
was to thank the Almighty for all his boons and seek His continued blessings
for our family n friends. I had a special prayer said for the good health of
our long time friend n neighbor, Bhagchandani, and our beloved Sambandhi Ranbir
Singh, critically ill in Delhi. Venus is keeping a vigil there and we pray to
Lord Almighty to give him the boon of good health.
Now I have brought you up to date on family
n friends.
These last 5-6 months have seen many
worrisome happenings in the country’s political scene. I shall write on that
subject shortly.
This has been a long letter; therefore Picture
gallery will follow in the next Newsletter.
…..oooooOOOOOooooo…..
 |
| With Tejaswini Joshi n Bhibas |
 |
| Sukhjit with Jasbir n Mini |
 |
| My 80th birthday at the American Diner Lavasa |
 |
| Red Army Amrik Singh ji, Vicky and Mintoo |
 |
| the Clan in Red - courtesy Anu n Vicky |
 |
| Many splendoured side of the Clan |
 |
| At home with visitors Amarjit Singh ji, Inderjit Singh ji and Nini |
 |
| Witth Ajay Panot and his sister Varsha |
 |
| Anuvicky at Darbar Saheb - blessed |
 |
| with Nini at Lavasa. Inderjit not in pic |
 |
| At last reunion with Santosh Wadhwani - my colleague from 1955 |
 |
| Cheers with Ajay |
 |
| With Suresh Mehta at Wiga Seniors Tournament |
 |
| Dinner at Willingdon Club for Wiga Seniors |
 |
| Sukhmani Saheb Path at our 2nd home in Ashiana Utsav Lavasa |
 |
| Family at street food festival - Lavasa courtesy Vineet, Sofie n Naisha who brought their Mom n Massi's |
 |
| With l-r Sofie, Naisha, Swarnjit, Sukhjit, Jasbir n Harjit |
 |
| With Hark Dec 2015 |
 |
| Venus with Vicky n Anu |
 |
| The Family together... but for Harkirat . 2 Jan 2016 and the Compleat Family in May 2004 pic below  |
 |
| Our Three Generations |
 |
| The extended Family at Gurupurb of Guru Gobind Singh ji at Malad Gurudwara |
 |
| Jagjeet Singh n Guljit at Lavasa Dam |
 |
| at night at the local Flea market |
 |
| With neighbours at Republic Day Function at Ashiana Utsav Lavasa |
 |
| with Shekhar and Sudha..Pic by Aditya old colleagues at Thakral Viet Nam They have taken steps to acquire an apartment at Ashiana |
 |
| Sukhjit with Anupama n Vicky at the Lake front at Lavasa |
 |
| With Swarnjit on her birthday. Her mended ankle in a cast. |
 |
| with Dilip Madan on his 21st Birthday. Born on 29 Feb. |
 |
| at the Leap year born birthday boy's party Sukhjit with my senior Devoo Kothari and Indu behn. |
