“Indian Cash”

We are delighted that my son is making his first visit to India from the US where he has gone to study. My wife and I were talking about this when I suddenly said ‘ I wonder how much of “Indian cash” I should keep for him”. My wife naturally asked ” Indian cash? What on earth is that?” and then I realized I had unconsciously used a phrase I had perhaps not used for 40 years or more.

 

Cliff Richard

A newspaper item caught my attention recently. Cliff Richard was making an appearance at a show. I asked myself- could this be THE Cliff Richard-the pop star of my childhood. For many of us at The Lawrence School, Lovedale at that time- he was a  major hero. It turns out it was.

The event was the-  you won’t believe this-

 

Battle of Britain

We were lucky to have a terrific library at the Lawrence School, Lovedale- presided over- in those days- by Mr. Mohan Raj. He was in some sense instrumental in making me a voracious reader.

As a schoolboy, I was nuts about the Second World War and read almost every book I could lay my hands on about the War. One of my big time heroes was Douglas Bader- the legless RAF ace. His story – captured in Paul Brickhill’s ” Reach For The Sky” remained my favourite for many, many years.

I recall seeing the movie too in School- an old black and white flick with Kenneth More acting as Douglas Bader.

Talking about the fighter pilots of the RAF Fighter Command, Winston Churchill described the Battle of Britian in one of his most famous quotations – ” Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”.

September 15 is celebrated as Battle of Britain Day. This brought back memories of Bader and all the stories I read in those days.

 

50 + Years Record broken

As a kid studying at the Lawrence school, Lovedale, I used to be crazy about cricket. The fact that my father was a well known cricketer in the Madras ( of those days) of his youth made this more than an interest- it became a passion.

 

Remembering P G Wodehouse

If you are a fan of P G Wodehouse, join the new network I have created at Ning called ” Celebrating Wodehouse”. To me he remains my biggest stress buster! Every one has their special way to relieve stress.

 

Cricket- The Great Leveller

Cricket, they say, is a great leveler. One moment you are riding high and the next you are down and out. An event that caught the attention of the world’s sporting media last week was the second auction for the Indian Premier League at Goa.

 

The Perils of English Pronounciation

English is not our native tongue but I am one of many in India who have had the privilege of studying the language from a young age. Yet, the intricacies of English pronunciation continue to interest me.

 

Thoughts From The Past

It’s amazing, as you grow older, how you remember something that happened a few decades ago so very clearly- yet forget what was said by someone just a few minutes ago:)

 

Premjit Lall is No More

Another icon of my childhood passed away recently. Indian Davis Cupper, Premjit Lall died at the age of 68 in Kolkata. In the 60’s and early 70’s, you could not say “Premjit Lall” without saying “Jaideep Mukerjea” his doubles partner.

 

Stuart Clark

I would love to stand corrected on this one- but to the best of my knowledge , no Lawrencian has ever played cricket for India. Perhaps no one has come remotely close to doing so.