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THE
KALIMPONG ASSOCIATION (UK) Summer 2008 Newsletter
May the rest of the year be good and kind to you and may you walk this
earth with confidence as it is an open door before us, an open door which each of us must pass
through but once; the opportunities to do good must always be taken. There will be chances to do good, to help our fellow man; so let us use each moment of the remaining months of
2008 to do the very best we can, whenever we can. Margaretta
Purtill (Byers) BIKE
Back in And then I remember the vast wheat, lentil and paddy fields en route to
Kalimpong ….families sitting in the nursery fields in Bengal picking saplings
and bunching them into little bundles, the farmers bending over the paddy
fields, planting with precision and speed the saplings and then seeing the
next field in a more mature stage and then the next ready to harvest and the
next field bare following the harvest and the next being ploughed by bullocks
to prepare for the next planting!! In
a few months all these plains would be flooded by the monsoon rains and
perhaps crops lost or should the monsoons be late then crops would also
fail. We passed palms laden with
coconuts, and trees heaving with papayas and bananas and the closer we go to
the foothills, the start of the miles and miles of tea gardens waiting for
the pluckers who would start handpicking in a few months time. Accompanying us on the highway was every
form of transport carrying the harvest of the fields and fish caught in the
tiny little ponds. We saw bicycles
carrying kid goats in jute sacks on each side of the back pannier and also
carrying up to a family of four.
Children were working in the fields and not at school. Homes were simple, made of mud and people
bathed in the little ponds where clothes were washed by hand. Cyclists and people on motorcycles and
scooters would accompany us asking questions. Truckers and bus loads would wave to this
spectacle of veterans with safety helmets and cycling shorts, quite an alien
sight to most. Whenever we stopped crowds of locals would appear to just look, some
would ask about the bikes, touch them, move the gears (not good when they
were not moving), and then just sit and keep us company till we moved
on. When I explained in my best Hindi
that we were cycling to help poor children go to school, it somehow seemed an
empty explanation as all the children around us were in need of exactly what
we were trying to achieve. Our trek team, Heat
Flexi Team, as they called themselves ensured our safety, comfort and kept
the kitchen tent working hard to match our appetites, well mine I guess as I
ate like a horse!! A mixture of
Nepali, Sherpa and Bengali staff, their faces were a joy to see at the end of
each day’s cycling. The vision of our
tents neatly prepared with the “toilet tent” and “bath tent” ready on our
arrival was a reassuring and welcome sight. Our leader, organiser
and inspiration Rev. John Webster maintained discipline and harmony and
entertained us at each day’s end, and if anyone was losing heart and could
not face the next day’s pedalling, he would soon dispel any thoughts of
quitting. I know that for some it was
lots of enjoyment and a little effort and for others the effort was greater
than the enjoyment but ten veterans set off and ten made it all the way. Our shaky start out
of the bustling city of Phoning home was a
pleasure and a daily contact with a colleague at work meant that my story was
being shared and I was getting lots of encouragement. The map on the wall was marked as a guide
to my progress. Andrew, the true
cyclist in the group would race ahead at times and mark on the road in bold
scrawl when we reached, 400, 500 then 600 kms (it always sounds better than miles)! The final day must be
described. It started off fairly flat
for the first twenty miles, then we hit three inclines of about 500ft with
the joy of the freewheel down the other side.
Monkeys sat nonchalantly on the roadside chattering as we raced past
them. Then it was the big climb after
lunch. I shovelled down as much food
as I could handle, filled my water bottle and then once we crossed the The rest of the group
also made it combining some cycling and walking, pushing their bikes and I
know the effort was as great for them.
We only had the walk through the town
and then the last 500ft more to go to get to the Homes. The welcome and march through the town was
uplifting, the school Pipe Band leading us brought a tear to the eyes of the
grown Scotsmen. The Principal of the
Tibetan school in town, a former pupil of the Homes, had his students lining
the road to welcome us and garland us with “Khadas” (a silk scarf which
welcomes and honours us). Then the
last two miles up to the school, a steep ascent. It was easy considering I had done ten
miles of the same already. The welcome at the Homes was heart warming. Seeing the children, hearing the welcome
speech from the Bursar and Principal and then the tea and cakes ….. we had come
412 miles, a journey symbolic of the one the school children make to the
Homes from the streets of Kolkata to the lofty foothills of the I know that for me it
has been a wonderful experience and to think that it will raise funds for Dr
Graham’s Homes, a place that was my home for so many years. Thanks to you all for the promise of
sponsorship and to those who have already given generously. Thanks also to the school friends in preparation that will
help them live lives of worth and in turn help others. Thank you for helping to make this
possible. However, I have been
disappointed at the lack of OGB support.
This is not a criticism, but it is a general malaise within a powerful
group who can make such a difference to the Homes. Criticism of the Homes is made by OGBs who
do not offer support. Anyway I had a
wonderful adventure and it was good to be back in the Homes. Vanda Fraser (nee
Goodwin) WEDDING
BELLS I am
delighted to tell you that Christine and I were married in a hilltop retreat
in the Daintree Rainforest overlooking the Coral Sea in tropical We flew
Virgin from Perth to Sydney on the midnight horror (something which we will
try never to do again … we were booked on the 08.00 hours flight but some
four days before our departure date the airline informed us that they had
re-programmed the flight to midnight), and then from Sydney to Cairns. On arrival in
We
should have found our retreat sixteen kilometres from the ferry crossing, but
we had forgotten about the sixteen k’s bit and simply motored on, until
common sense told us that hey, we should ask someone where to go. What followed, of course, is we had to do a
‘U-ee’ (a Kolkata turn as Christine puts it) and that is how we go to
Cockatoo Hill Retreat – and what a place it is. Set on
a ridge overlooking the emerald rainforest canopy, this wonderfully secluded
hilltop retreat is an escapist’s However,
we did get to swim in the wet-edge pool with its cabana bar, and enjoy the
garden and the surroundings – see the web of the golden orb spider and a frog
or two attesting to the health of the area – and butterflies of great
variety, the most magnificent of which would have to be the Ulysses with the
iridescent blue and also the Cairns birdwing which has a black green and
yellow colouring. In the morning the
birdwing butterfly is slow, waiting for the sun to warm it up I guess, after
which it flies around with far more zing.
On our fourth day, a brush turkey scampered around the forest floor close
to our cottage, while above, cockatoos squabbled and flew around in pairs. Has anyone
been to the Daintree rainforest? I had
not, and did not think much of all the hype about it, as a forest is a forest
and that’s it as far as I was concerned.
One saw forests while driving to Kalimpong from the plains and then
going back down again to Siliguri and Bagdogra and that was quite something
in my opinion. But should you be
fortunate enough to visit the Daintree, you will see that it is quite unique,
and most beautiful. It is, I am told,
the only rainforest in the world that comes down to meet the reef, and the
result is a sight and an experience not to be missed. Owners and managers of the businesses in
the Daintree told us that not many Aussies visit and that it was far more
likely that overseas tourists did.
This is a shame. In the
Daintree there are many things to do and see.
The Marrdja boardwalk, a free tour, has signs, diagrams and pictures
illustrating how the mangroves came about, how they work and how they
continue to survive and the necessity of having them in the first
instance. It astonishes me the impact
that mangroves have on both forest life and on us. The
Discovery Centre tour costs about $30 and is another good one to do. You are able to do a treetop walk and there
is also a large tower that rises way above the forest. Like the Marrdja one, there is a boardwalk
and in both these areas of the rainforest, the boardwalk, is necessary, to
prevent people inadvertently destroying the forest. The Marrdja one is in the main a mangrove
section while the Discovery Centre is chiefly central forest. The
Cooper Creek Guided Wilderness tour costs $40 and is another good one to go
on. Prue was our learned guide and I
guess there is very little indeed that she does not know about that ancient
forest. I was most interested in all
that she pointed out and was fascinated by her knowledge of the forest, its
history, and the particulars of the vast variety of the plants contained
therein. One could, really, listen to
her for hours as she takes you around on the walking tour, but the tour
duration is two hours. She must have
liked the seven of us in the tour group because it was three hours by the
time we returned to the starting point.
Our group consisted of a husband and wife with their daughter (a
solicitor) from the You
will see massive mahogany trees worth $40 – 50,000 each (a pie in the sky
price as they will never be harvested, the buttressed roots of the ancient
yellow pender trees, giant strangler figs, and palms the like and variety
that I doubt you would have ever seen before.
Imagine standing in a forest that is 130 million years old. Epiphytes
flourishing in impossible positions, the old and giant tree that George
Clooney stood in front of for the film The Thin Red Line. When Prue pointed this out to the group I
guess everyone promptly took their cameras out and had their photographs
taken in exactly the same place, much to the amusement of Prue. The
owners of the retreat that Christine and I stayed in also have a secluded
self-catering cottage along a lovely section of After
being shown around the cottage and having a swim in the creek we left Carmen
at the cottage as we had to get some lunch.
After lunch we went on the Wilderness Tour and on our return to the
hilltop retreat Carmen asked us whether we had come across the Cassowary
birds. We had not. What had happened was that after we left
Carmen at her There
are many activities on offer in the Daintree.
We went on the Daintree river cruise and our luck was in as we ended
up seeing seven crocs, including Fat Albert and Gummy (it had lost some
teeth). There are jungle canopy
surfing and walks on pristine beaches and eco-friendly boat rides on the river,
kayaking on the Coral Sea, an insect and butterfly museum, 4wd safari tours
and aboriginal culture to learn about.
Walks through old growth rainforest on natural trails and on
boardwalks, and views and sightseeing.
Well worth a visit. Incidentally,
when we received our Marriage Certificate a few weeks after our return to Our
garden is looking bare as all the leaves have fallen off the deciduous trees,
the trails of pumpkin plants have been removed, the rose bushes and grape
vines pruned. I’ve completed the small
low brick wall in the back to keep the lawn out of the garden beds and the
garlic bulbs are doing exceptionally well under the rose bushes. Two additional Avocado plants that we knew
nothing about have sprung up near the bare fig. The saplings, apart from the Mulberry and
Macadamia are not doing as well as we had hoped. The mango plants have an unseasonable flush
of growth and the dwarf peach and nectarine are still, well, dwarf. The guava gave us a few large fruit (much
to the delight of Errol and Nurinissa) and we expect the same this year. Some of the jalapenos had bugs in them and
the snails have definitely doubled in numbers. We installed a small frog pool in the side
garden and incidentally harvested 37.97 kgs of pumpkins this year, which is
up from the 15.45 kgs we were lucky to get last year. Your favourite pumpkin recipes are welcome! We
leave for a Globus tour of the On
the 26 of last month Douglas Van Steensil and his wife Yvonne (Sampson) held
a momo night at their home. You have
no idea just how generous a couple they are, nor how versatile and what
accomplished cooks they both are, too.
Christine
and John Dempster Rajeev Ravidas “Kalimpong, April 4: Dr Graham’s
Homes today played hosts to a cricket team from The boys from Cockermouth played two 15-over matches as part of a
tri-series. They beat Dr Graham’s
Homes by 25 runs before losing to two teachers arrived here from “This is an attempt to encourage links (between the two schools),” said
Peter French, the Assistant Head Teacher of Cockermouth. “Our kids will gain by interacting with
different cultures. Broadening their
horizons is an important part of education.”
The English students, for starters, seemed focused on broadening their
cricketing horizons. “There is nothing like playing in conditions very different from home. To
bat for 15 overs in 35-36 degrees Celsius (in Gimber, though, seemed to relish the cooler climes here and scored 48
fluent runs against Graham’s Homes.
His drives flowed as smoothly as the poetry of another native of
Cockermouth, William Wordsworth. Unusual for this time of year, the ground was covered with fog for the
better part of the first match. It
prompted David Foning, the Bursar of Graham’s Homes, to say to French: “Peter,
didn’t I tell you not to bring the English weather along with your team!” Foning said a team from Graham’s Homes could pay a reciprocal visit to “Such exchanges will do a world of good to our boys,” said Rocky
Chhetri, a teacher and the Cricket Coach of The above
article was sent by Freddie Strong. KALIMPONG
ASSOCIATION WEBSITE Dave Edmunds has very kindly set up and is maintaining a website for
the Association. Members can download
previous issues of the Newsletter, outstanding articles, notices and
information on forthcoming events.
Please take a look when time permits.
The address is www.kalimong-association.co.uk Thanks Dave for all your hard work. The current donations received so far for the Assam Cottage Appeal
fund, which celebrates its Centenary year in 2009, now stands at an
impressive £1,111.99. Note: This excludes donations recently sent to
Vince (Treasurer). Many thanks for your continued support – special thanks to Jean
(ex-Elliott & Thorburn) for her generous donation received since the last
update. Malcolm Johnson OBITUARIES BETTY
McKAY ( Beatrice McKenzie Walker was born in She attended the Sydney Missionary and Harold Goldsmith an old Homes boy (brother of Judy Bland) put her and
Tina Coutts on the train in Mr Purdie then appointed Betty as Housemother of Calcutta Cottage which
was a small boy’s cottage. Here she
was joined by Connie Freestone newly arrived from Returning from furlough she met Stanley (Scot) McKay, the Chief
Engineer on the ship. They married in
the Katherine Graham Memorial Chapel in 1952 and returned to live in George Smith MICHAEL
SMITH – 1948 - 2008
Those were the days when the world was at our feet. We had
no worries; the cottage aunties would take care of our comfort and security
and if you could call it “worry”, the only fear we had was being rejected by
our girlfriends or rather the girls we had a crush on. Life was beautiful;
the future was ours for the taking. Life in Kindergarten was enjoyable and what fun Mike, John
Doyle and I would have. John was another friend of ours also in the same
cottage. I can recall the times when we would sneak into the Teacher’s
Common room during morning break and help ourselves to a teaspoonful or two
of sugar which we would share behind the classroom wall. It was all great fun
and it never occurred to us that we were doing wrong but that it was plain
mischief. About 1959, Mike and his eldest brother Wilfred were
shifted to Wiston Cottage but Mike and I maintained our friendship all
those years until the early sixties when there was an exodus of Anglo Indians
from I learnt about Mike again some ten years later in
1972 when I met Eddie Lamb in Kalimpong during the Home’s Birthday
celebrations. Eddie and Mike’s father Hector happened to be friends
and contemporaries in the Homes. It was during my first visit to We kept in touch ever since and every year or so when I
would visit London, we would meet up in his house or in London in some of the
quieter pubs and drink beer to our hearts’ content and talk about old times,
our families and children and of course about other things that men like to
talk about! As I had my three children educated in Mike was a man who kept his personal problems to himself.
He never once mentioned to me that his marriage was in trouble until one
summer when I visited him at his house to find that Janice had left the
family house. They had separated. I could see that it broke his heart but
somehow he kept it to himself. However, whenever we met, he would still call
Janice over the phone and later would ask me to speak with her as well.
He never thought of remarrying but kept himself busy with his grand
children. The last time Mike and I met was in the summer of 2007. We
met several times in the various pubs of On the night of Monday the 10th of March 2008,
I received a phone call from his son Paul informing me that Mike
had had a massive heart attack on Sunday night, at about 9.30 pm,
from which he never recovered. Mike was 59 years old and just approaching his
60th birthday. I could not make it to his funeral on 19th
March, but by daughter Jeannette was there to represent me. Curiously, she
met Mike’s elder brother, John, for the first time, but she felt listening to John speaking was so much
like listening to Mike! He will be much
missed by his family, children, grandchildren and friends and
especially by his mother Beryl with whom he was living. I too shall
miss Mike enormously. There
was a very special bond between us. He was more than a brother to me; he was
my very special friend. NEWS FROM
THE SCHOOL I send greetings from the Homes.
It also gives me an opportunity to thank Margaretta and all the Office
Bearers who give so much of their time to help raise funds for the Homes and
to thank all of you who I know dearly.
I love the Homes and would do anything for its future. Things are somewhat difficult at Kalimpong presently with frequent
‘bundhs’ and new political shifts underway.
In such times, closures are a measure of protest and we must
cope. The Board would, however, like
to set at rest any speculation and at the recently concluded International
Conference made a categorical statement that we are committed to supporting
the Homes in whatever way possible so that the Homes continues to grow in
Kalimpong. The Board does not envisage challenges that cannot be effectively
met. Kalimpong has a very special
meaning for all of us, in that Dr Graham founded the Homes on the hillside
and it is here that the Homes have grown and served generations of children
and the communities for over a century.
It is unthinkable that the Homes can be delinked in any manner from
Kalimpong. Whatever may be the nature
of future political developments in the region, the Board is confident that
the Government will ensure that there is law and order and protection to the
lives of all. In recent years, several
larger states in Many broad issues were discussed at the International Conference and
for the first time many local OGB Associations were invited to
participate. The Board has also
appointed a strong Local Advisory Committee to assist in the task of
management of the Homes. I am also pleased to advise that there are now over 400 supported
children studying at the Homes and all are doing decently well. All 23 of our supported children sent up
this year passed the Class XII Board Examinations which qualify them for
college. Presently 41 children are in
Colleges and are supported by the Homes.
Hopefully, this year also a number of them will be admitted into
college. Jobs in At the Conference many suggestions were received by the Board of
Management and these have been duly recorded and action on points have been
taken up. This will also be my final
year as President and Chairman of the Board of Management. It has indeed been a privilege to serve the Homes as its
first Anglo Indian President for almost 15 years. I have often been asked if I am an OGB to
which I have replied “I wish I were!”
I, however, believe in the philosophy of Dr Graham most passionately and have used
my contacts and talent to ensure that the Homes remains on a platform which
not only helps develop all round decent human beings but strives to give
children the confidence to achieve the very best in life. I have said it is a great time for people
graduating and great opportunities lie ahead for those who are willing to work
hard and honestly. I have also developed
with great pride and with much passion for the Homes a heritage museum to
which continued inputs from OGBs is a must.
Old photographs, letters and your personal reminisces and any keepsake
(an old doll, a uniform) you might like to share or gift at some point in
time. Finally, we have said that with your Birthday Wish for the Homes you
might like to demonstrate your gesture with a small donation on the Homes
Birthday to say ‘Thank You Homes’ – I remember’. Any amount given to the Association to be sent
to us will be most welcome and gratefully accepted. There is always a huge shortfall in
contributions for our supported children and any amount will help towards
this end. I have had the privilege of meeting so many of you, shared your
hospitality and your concerns for the Homes over the years. I want you to know that I have greatly
valued your support and know that you will never forget our beloved Homes. God Bless you always. Michael Robertson [Chairman. Board of
Management] The following message was received from Mr A Sampayo, Principal of Dr
Graham’s Homes on 23 June 2008 after we had held our AGM on 21 June. [MP –
President] I sincerely apologise for not sending the information that you had
asked for much earlier than this. I
trust the information will give you a brief account of the happenings in the
Homes. My sincere wishes to everyone.
With kind
regards. Mr A Sampayo Principal KEEPING IN
TOUCH Yvonne
Cordell (nee Drummond-Hay) Garry Cordell, Yvonne’s son writes “I was wondering if you can help
me. My Mum (Yvonne Cordell, Maiden
name Drummond-Hay) attended Dr Graham’s Homes in Regards Garry
Cordell Email: garry.cordell@btinternet.com George Ipe George Ipe lives in Email: george.ipe@reuters.com Marjorie Jacinta
Smith George Smith would like to trace the whereabouts of his sister Marjorie
Jacinta Smith. Their father’s name was
Thomas Edward Harper-Smith and he worked in Powai Tea Estate for most of his
working life and then at Teok. His grandfather
was in Bhataikal. Powai is somewhere
near Digboi but has no idea where the other tea estates are located. Marjorie Smith was not in DGH but did nursing and lived in Shillong or
Tezpur in late 1956. She is most
probably married so of course her name would have changed but hopefully
someone will be able to give him some information about her. If anyone is able to offer any assistance George Smith’s contact
details are given below: Email: gsmith39@bigpond.net.au Park Orchards Krishnan Nair Sushil I am proud to state that I was a student of Dr Graham’s School and
completed my education in 1962. I was
a Heathland boy and remember that during the Chinese attack in September –
October we were evacuated to My address is: 3B Food for
thought The best Vitamin for making friends is ….B1. *************** The heaviest thing we can carry is a grudge. **************** If we lack the courage to start, we have already
finished. **************** One thing we can’t recycle is wasted time. **************** Pain and suffering is inevitable but misery is
optional. **************** Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, Today
is a gift – that’s why it is called ‘the Present. ***************** A good exercise for the heart is to bend down and help another up. Cooking Tips Longer Lasting Fresh Herbs
– Wash them and shake off the excess water and then place in a plastic bag in
the salad section of the fridge. Broccoli
Cooking Tip – Make an X incision in the
stems of broccoli from the end towards the top before you cook it. It will then cook as fast as the top. Save
Leftover Wine – Don’t throw out all that
leftover wine. Freeze into ice cubes
for future use in casseroles and sauces.
* * * * * Sadly, we
have lost our printer, Mr Webber, as he has retired from the printing
business. If there is anyone in the
UK who would be prepared to take on this job please do get in touch with the
President/Secretary. |
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