X Cathedralite 2015

The
www.catalumni.com
2015
The Cathedral & John Connon Alumni Magazine
Spotlight
Zoravar Gill
Nostalgia
Founder T. A. Savage
Michael Anderson
Events
Amish Tripathi and
Ashwin Sanghi
exchange notes
Class Notes
Catching up with
batchmates
Kitchen
Unconfidential
Cat alumni serving up success stories
Contents
10
23
29
Presidents Report 2015

2
Principals Message
5
Cover story

Kitchen Unconfidential
10
Spotlight

Zoravar Gill
19

Lyla and Jamsheed Mehta
21
Nostalgia

Michael Anderson
23

T.A. Savage
25
Out of the Box

Jamshyd Cooper
27
First Citizen

Trishya Screwvala
29
Events

Founders Day 2014
30
Ronnie Screwvalas book launch
32
History remastered with Amish Tripathi
34
Special Project

Digital Archives
38
Teacher Updates

From the Staff Room
41
43
Reunions
49
Class Notes
Editor
Udita Jhunjhunwala (ICSE 1984)
Editorial team
Shyla Boga Patel (ISC 1969)

Mitali Anand Kalra (ISC 1989)
Anang Agarwalla (ISC 2005)
30
Business
Rohita Chaganlal Doshi (ISC 1975)

Amit Advani (ISC 1994)
Editorial Support, Design and Printing
Spenta Multimedia Pvt. Ltd.

Anaita Vazifdar-Davar, Cyrus H. Merchant, Nikunj Parikh
34
38
On the cover (in alphabetical order): Aditya Parikh, Gaurav Goenka,

Neha Arya Sethi, Ranbir Batra, Tarini Mohindar, Urvaksh Hoyvoy,
Yohaan Dattoobhai, Zahir Goghavala a.k.a. Nico
Cover shoot location: courtesy Caf Zoe, Mumbai
Photographer: Dhiman Chatterjee
This magazine is not for sale and is intended for internal circulation only. Any
material from this magazine may not be reproduced in part or whole without
written consent. Views and opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the
individual authors and not necessarily those of the Publishers. The final decision
on all editorial content remains with the magazine editorial committee.
47
Published by The Cathedral and John Connon Alumni Association, 6, P.T. Marg,
Mumbai 400 001 and printed at Spenta Multimedia Pvt. Ltd., Peninsula Spenta,
Mathuradas Mill Compound, Lower Parel, Mumbai 400 013.
www.spentamultimedia.com
Do write in with your feedback and ideas to magazine@catalumni.com
Presidents Report 2015

To my fellow alumni,
s I sit down to mull over my fifth report as

President, it is with a deep sigh. With both
kids now having flown the Cathedral coop,
I feel strangely orphaned. I realise that the umbilical
cord has finally been severed. That is the nature of
the strong bond and hold School has over us. There
is something adhesive about the need to remain
connected as parents or alumni. Being an active part of
Catalumni not only reassures me as I stay abreast with
our alma mater but it allows me the luxury of basking
in the successes of the ex-Cathedralite universe.
And there have been many opportunities. We were
lucky to be able to host two book events this year.
Ronnie Screwvala (1972) with Dream with Your

Eyes Open took us through the highs and lows of
his entrepreneurial journey in the worlds of media,
TV, Bollywood, online shopping and kabaddi. Then
Ashwin Sanghi (1985) coaxed Amish Tripathi
(1990) to take us on another journey through their
world of mythology and morality, fiction, fantasy
and philosophy via the latter's latest novel Scion of
Ikshvaku. It is ironic that neither author had any
literary ambitions initially, yet had the confidence to
explore, conquer and then share with us new domains.
You will see as you turn these pages many other stories
being scripted in unusual even alien spaces.
Members of the Executive Committee 2015-16

Gautam Shewakramani, Sundeep Ahuja, Rohita Chaganlal Doshi,
Mitali Anand Kalra, Mukeeta Jhaveri, Shyla Boga Patel, Chitra Rajkumar, Anang Agarwalla
2 The X-Cathedralite 2015
After 13 energetic frenetic sell-out years, the annual Manori

Summer School took a hiatus. We look forward to it in its new
blockbuster avatar next year, courtesy the indefatigable Shyla Boga
Patel. The Teachers Medical Benefit Scheme is now five years old and
going strong under the care of Bibhash Asar and Shyla, benefitting
53 immensely grateful teachers and staff. Please do continue to
donate generously.
Our 154th Founders Day 2014 was hectic. In the prettily decorated
pews of St. Thomas Cathedral sat the reunion classes of 1954 and
64 with eyes moist and lumps in their throats as they savoured the
memories and camaraderie. This was followed by a raucous coffee
morning in the Middle School, or the Girls School as it still stubbornly
is to some. They returned with the latest issue of The X-Cathedralite,
another well-earned feather in the cap of Udita Jhunjhunwala
and team.
Meanwhile, out on the (Hindu Gym) maidan while palm shadows
lengthened, sadly the Old Boys lost in the last over despite a valiant
opening partnership of 90 runs by Dinesh Advani and Rushab Vora. On
the Willingdon Club greens this year, 24 teed off with Jamsheed Mehta
and Behram Gamadia taking pole positions. A big thank you to the
organisers of both eagerly awaited fixtures.
It gives me great joy and pride to announce that the Cathedral
Digital Archive we have been working on with Head Librarian Malti
Thiagarajan and Nadish Naoroji (1969) has made great progress.
We owe them and Mrs. Isaacs a deep debt of gratitude for steering
and supporting this herculean endeavour, Gautam Shewakramani for
his tech ammo and ringleader Shyla for ferreting out treasures from
all over the world. We now count on all of you to continually feed and
enrich the archive by sharing material and tagging photographs.
Thank you, my Executive Committee, for all that you do with such
enthusiasm and grace through the year to support me personally and
all the Associations initiatives: magazine, website, Medical Benefit
Scheme, events, accounts, fund raising, the whole smorgasbord that
keeps Catalumni going.
~ Mukeeta Jhaveri ne Kataria
(ISC 1983)
Executive Committee
(2015 16)
President
Mukeeta Jhaveri
(ISC 83, Savage)
Co-Vice Presidents
Gautam Shewakramani
(ISC 01, Savage)
Anushka Shivdasani Rovshen

(ISC 97, Barham)
Treasurer
Sundeep Ahuja
(ICSE 77, Palmer)
Co-Treasurer
Shonar Lala Chinoy
(ISC 90, Palmer)
Secretary
Mitali Anand Kalra
(ISC 89, Wilson)
Committee Members
Mrs. Meera Isaacs
(ex-officio)
Viral Doshi
(ISC 75, Palmer)
Shyla Boga Patel

(ISC 69, Savage)
Chitra Rajkumar
(ISC 56, Savage)
Rohita Chaganlal Doshi

(ISC 75, Wilson)
Udita Jhunjhunwala
(ICSE 84, Barham)
Amit Advani
(ISC 94, Palmer)
Prakash Thadani
(ISC 69, Savage)
Pragni Kapadia
(ISC 94, Palmer)
Anang Agarwalla
(co-opted)
(ISC '05, Barham)
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. You can
reconnect with us by registering/updating your
details at www.catalumni.com
Principals Message
Annual Speech Day

2014-15
Mrs. Meera Isaacs, Principal
hri Devendra Fadnavis,

Honourable Chief Minister,
Maharashtra, and Mrs.
Fadnavis, members of the Board of
Governors, parents, grandparents,
boys and girls, welcome to our 155th
Annual Day, where we celebrate
the performance of the School in
all its myriad avatars and applaud
the achievements of our youthful
game changers. Again, the School
has been ranked first in Mumbai
and Maharashtra and second in the
country. We need to change the latter.
This is the time to acknowledge
the many people who contribute
to the well-being of our students
and the excellence of our School.
Foremost among them is our Board
of Governors and our Chairman,
Mr. T. Thomas. We are blessed by
their wisdom, goodwill, progressive
outlook and vision.
The end of term rolls around with
its share of change and farewells.
Mrs. Gangrade from the Senior
section retires after 12 years. She will
be missed for her motherly and gentle
presence and her ability to enliven her
Hindi classes.
The second person who has made
a difference to thousands of lives is
Mrs. Komalam Kumar. She is quite
literally a one-woman phenomenon,
who has worked as the right-hand
woman of all Vice-Principals since
1980. Her knowledge of the Board
and School exams, admission
registers, rules, regulations and
timetables is unbelievable. Her sound
common sense has stood the School
in good stead. She also conjures up a

mean Malayali meal! Both these good
ladies go surrounded by a lifetime of
affection, good wishes and prayers.
We also remember those who have
had to leave us for other reasons
during the course of the year.
A former Head Girl said rather
emotionally in her Farewell Speech:
There is a driving spirit within these
walls that pushes you to reach for
the stars and to believe that they
are yours to take. We see this belief
system in operation at the Board
Examinations. Of the 143 candidates
who appeared for the ICSE exam, 99
students got 90 per cent and above,
34 between 81 and 89 per cent and
10 between 70 and 79 per cent. At
the ISC, of the 107 candidates who
appeared, 52 attained 90 per cent and
above, 42 got between 81 and 89 per
cent, 12 between 70 and 79 per cent.
Our students who aspire to wing
their way to universities abroad
continue to maintain high SAT
scores, with a mean SAT Reasoning
score of around 2000 out of a
maximum of 2400; a good 700
points above the worldwide mean of
approximately 1488.
I move on to the Advanced
Placement (AP) Courses: Currently,
we offer 17 AP courses at our School;
145 students appeared for 234 AP
examinations in May 2014; 50 per
cent achieved the perfect score of 5.
Of the 111 students who appeared
for their ISC Examinations this
year, 65 have their sights set on
institutions of higher education
overseas, the majority to the

undimmed effulgence of the US,
while 44 opted more thriftily for
undergraduate degrees in India.
Thanks to our Career Counsellor
Mrs. Sudarshana Shuklas
unrelenting industry.
The excellence of our Art
Department, headed by Mr. N. Das,
in his suitably bohemian shirts,
is well-recognised, with a number
of prestigious Art and Design
Schools not only visiting us but
also wooing our students with
beguiling scholarships. In fact, we
have just concluded the formalities
of a Summer Course with the Arts
University Bournemouth.
Each section of the School,
from the Pre-Primary onwards,
is carefully calibrated to be the
scaffolding for the next until finally
the students erupt into the blaze
of opportunities that is the Senior
School. So, while I may dwell mostly
on the achievements of the Senior
section, I cannot emphasise enough
the meticulous labour of love that
goes into polishing and refining our
youngsters into the kind of people
that we, as a school, value.
Let me begin with the
opportunities given in Science
and Mathematics. Our teams
participated in a week-long residential
programme at the Sunburst Brain
Camp conducted by the National
University of Singapore, where
they presented a research paper
on Memory and Learning; five
Std. 12 students represented India
Principals Message
at the London International Youth
Science Forum.
The Aqua Regia Science Quiz saw
our School team win the Mumbai
Finals and go on to be the first
runner-up at the All-India Finals at
Hyderabad, while the Nehru Science
Centres Interschool Science Quiz saw
our team win several rounds to finally
settle for second place.
Neel Karia of Std. 10 is the budding
young astronomer to watch. He
was selected to be part of the threemember Indian team for the 19th
International Astronomy Olympiad
held in Kyrgyzstan.
In the Science Olympiad, Arpit
Kalla and Neel Karia won the Gold
Medal of Excellence and were declared
the State award winners.
In the Computer Science Olympiad,
Arjun Mirani won the Gold Medal and
ranked 4th in the State.
The International Young
Mathematicians Convention saw our
team winning bronze in the Maths
relay with Aahan Tulshan and Arpit
Kalla taking the individual Silver.
At the First Lego League of India
2014, held in New Delhi, Soham
Lekhi of Std. 8 won the best Robot
Design Award.
Cathedralites have the reputation
of being keen MUNners an
acronym from the Model United
Nations Conferences, where debate
and the skills of persuasion are
paramount. The Cathedral MUN,
which is meticulously planned by
the students and faculty advisors at
the Oberoi Hotels elegant Ballroom,
is eagerly awaited by schools
across India. Around 500 delegates
attended, including two from
Pakistan and Nepal.
And at the Harvard MUN, in
Boston, the Holy Grail of MUNs, from
which we got our inspiration 18 years
ago, our delegation of 17 won the
Best International Delegation Award
and three individual awards, which
closed the sacred area of MUNning
on an extremely high note.
Our students participated in
a number of inter-school events

through the year.
Zeb Khalid of Std. 9 aced it at the
Discovery of India Essay Writing
Competition at the Nehru Centre and
bagged the 1st prize.
Out of hundreds of schools from
across India which participated in a
National Essay Writing Competition,
The India We Want, the 1st prize
was bagged by Yashna Shivdasani of
Std 12.
In the International General
Knowledge Olympiad, Tanmay
Chopra of Std. 10 received the
1st International Olympiad rank,
accompanied by a trophy for the
School, while the English Olympiad
saw Arjun Mirani, our present Head
Boy, take the Gold medal.
Sports is about those incredible
moments where sheer human will
and desire overcome the odds. These
are the moments we remember. Our
under-14 Girls Football team has
much to crow about. At the MSSA
level, they won 3rd place and went on
to win 1st place at the District, Zonal
and State levels.
Some of our students played
Squash at the DSO level and were
selected to play at the Zonal level,
where Yohan Pandole went on
to clinch the gold. Jeh Pandole
of Std. 5 won 1st place at both the
Indian Junior Open Tournament and
the Indian Junior Nationals and was
Runner-Up at the State level.
Success is no accident. It is hard
work, perseverance, learning, studying,
sacrifice and most of all, love of what
you are doing or learning to do, said
the legendary Pele. At the Interschool ICSE Basketball tournament,
our Girls under-17 team won the
Runners-Up position.
The things you learn from sports
setting goals, being part of a team,
confidence thats invaluable. It is not
about trophies and ribbons, its about
being on time for practice, accepting
challenges, and being fearful of the
elements, said Summer Sanders, the
Olympic gold medallist swimmer.
Being phenomenal isnt a part-time

thing. Being phenomenal is a daily
goal and phenomenal, it seems, is
the new normal for the Cathedral
swimmers. A total of nine of our
swimmers represented the Western
region, which included Maharashtra,
Madhya Pradesh, Goa and Gujarat,
at the ASISC National Swimming
Competition, held in Bangalore on
November 17 and 18. In total, the
Cathedral swimmers won 14 medals
and two Individual Championships.
Both our sailors proved their
mettle at battling the wind and
waves. Rhea Bhasin of Std. 5 was
adjudged one of the Top 5 Girl
Sailors and Best Young Girl Sailor
at the Republic Day Regatta hosted
by the Sailing School of India (SSI)
in January 2015. She was also
declared the Best Female Sailor
Under 10 Years at the National
Inland Optimist Championship
in December 2014. This is one of
the most important national-level
sailing championships held in
India. Diya Correa continued with
her top-notch performance in
Sailing by representing India at the
Asian Games.
Isha Vazirani marches to a unique
drumbeat altogether. Fencing is
her sport of choice. She won at the
District level, made her way through
the Zonals and on to the State.
The Girls Under-16 team won the
Runners-Up position at both the
DSO and MSSA Inter School Table
Tennis tournaments.
Year after year, I have bemoaned
our lacklustre performance on the
cricket field.
We salute our Under-14 Boys
team for lifting the trophy at the
Inter School Giles Shield Cricket
Tournament and salvaging
Cathedrals cricketing honour. Finally,
the light at the end of the proverbial
tunnel is beginning to be visible.
When youve got something
to prove, theres nothing greater
than a challenge, said the great
Terry Bradshaw.
Our girl athletes gave a new

meaning to the word Girl power
by taking up the challenge to be a
rich source of inspiration to others
at the Inter-school AISM Athletics
Competition. Their prowess saw them
being selected to compete at the
National level. The Karate firmament
continues to glow with many stars.
The total medal tally for the year from
various championships stands at 63
Gold, 57 Silver and 63 Bronze.
We are conscious of the fact that our
children have practically all that they
may wish for and more, while many in
our country have next to nothing.
At the core of the Schools
activities is the Community Service
programme, which is ably run by the
Interact Club at the Senior School and
substantially supported by the IAYP
and Nature Club. Every section of the
School subscribes to what Mother
Theresa said: At the end of life, we
will be judged by I was hungry and
you gave me something to eat, I was
naked and you clothed me.
The Junior and Middle Schools
take this initiative further. This year,
the Juniors had a superb project
on Values, which was an effort that
impressively integrated every aspect
of the Junior School through a
Multiple Intelligence Skills Map. A
number of disadvantaged children
were helped through NGOs such as
Hamara Foundation, Muktangan,
Seva Sadan, Oscar Foundation, Door
Step School and Magic Bus.
The Middlers have been especially
open-hearted this year. The Door Step
School visits them every Thursday
to spend one afternoon of fun and
sharing. The children voluntarily
collected almost four and a half
lakhs, which they decided to allot to
HelpAge India, Salaam Baalak, Alert
India, Indian Cancer Society and
Dignity Foundation.
The Senior School, under the able
stewardship of Mrs. Latha Balaji,
drives Community Service to another
level altogether by not only collecting
funds but by contributing time and
Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Honourable Chief Minister, Maharashtra, chief guest at Speech Day
effort on a weekly basis throughout

the school year. In Tilangwadi district
of rural Maharashtra, they made and
laid bricks for three village homes.
This year, the first-ever residential
camp of the Interact Club was
launched. From December 18 to 21,
the students stayed at Govardhan Eco
Village and helped build a security
outpost from scratch. Members of
the Interact Club planned, designed
and built this outpost. The young
members embodied the Clubs spirit
of adventure by willingly churning
even cow dung.
The Club also received a citation
from the Rotary Club for providing
exemplary monetary support of
R21 lakhs to the victims of the
horrific floods in Kashmir. In fact, a
member told me that our children had
shamed many Rotarians into delving
into their own deep pockets. Several
fundraisers were organised for acid
attack victims, the Terry Fox Run and
other deserving causes.
The Red Cross is in the process
of building two schools in flooddevastated Uttarakhand in the name
of the Cathedral School, using funds
contributed by our students in the
form of a whole school donation of
R45 lakhs.
Together with all the superb work
that the Art Department does, it also
has a splendid exhibition of the Art

students work both canvases and
contemporary thought-provoking
installations. The students raised the
substantial sum of R1,67,000, which
will be disbursed for a worthwhile
cause of their choice.
While the Reach Cambridge
Summer programme has now
become an old staple for the School,
where senior students get the
opportunity to study a wide range
of subjects at the fabled British
university town, other perennials are
the Sunburst Youth Camp cultural
exchange in Singapore, and Eumind
with the Netherlands.
This year, we added three more to
our already overflowing kitty:
1. The School signed a Memorandum
of Understanding with the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Both parties intend to focus on
higher education collaboration,
which will become the foundation
for future more formal
partnerships between a select
number of institutions of higher
education. This is a privilege
limited exclusively to our School
in India.
2. We were again the only school
from India to be invited by the
United Nations International
School (UNIS) to attend the 39th

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Principals Message
Spotlight
Annual UNIS-UN Conference,
held in March in the UN General
Assembly in New York. We had
the unique privilege of listening
to the UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moons opening address in
the historic precincts of the UN
General Assembly.
3. The Japanese Government has
invited 20 of our children who are
science- and technology-inclined
for an eight-day, all-expenses-paid
visit to Japanese universities.
More important than all this
is the fact that a long-cherished
dream is finally coming to fruition.
The Diploma Programme of the
International Baccalaureate will be
rolled out in June 2015 with its first
cohort of students.
The teachers have been engaged
in IB workshops and training,
curriculum planning, after-school
teaching presentations so that they
can deliver the programme with the
surety of experienced professionals. I
know that the toll has been heavy, but
Cathedral teachers are always more
than up to challenges. This was clearly
proved by the verification team who
were delighted by, and I quote, our
clarity of vision, sincerity of purpose
and readiness of execution. They
further commented, It was a privilege
to visit your school and an extremely
enjoyable experience. We have not
visited a more deserving school!
I would like to make a special
mention of our Senior School
Librarian, Mrs. Mila Chakrabarty,
who realising what the DP would
entail, even before I suggested
it, enrolled herself for an online
professional development workshop,
Inquiry and the Librarian, organised
by the International Baccalaureate.
At the same time, over the past
two years, Mrs. Malti Thiagarajan, our
Head Librarian, has been as busy as a
beaver digitally archiving our 155-yearold history with meticulous precision
and joyful enthusiasm. I thank our
Vice-Principals, Mrs. J. Mayadas and
Mrs. N. Samuel, our Headmistresses,
Mrs. D. Bhattacharya, Mrs. S. Ganguly,

Mrs. S. Lele and Mrs. R. Talpade, our
Administrative Staff headed by our
diminutive Bursar, Mrs. G. Malkani,
and a special mention to Mrs. Sandra
De Souza, my patient and loyal
Personal Assistant. They keep the
giant cogs of this School moving
effortlessly, with their efficiency,
grace and willingness to give of
themselves so tirelessly.
What can I say about our PTA?
Thank you to an absolutely superb,
fun-loving and enthusiastic group
of young ladies and the lone,
brave gentleman of the Executive
Committee. Our alumni are
always a tremendous source of
support. The Manori Summer

School, a great success year after
year, is the brainchild of Shyla
Boga. Dr. Gokani, Barham House
Captain and Prefect of 1974, is
considered a veritable rockstar
with the Std. 12s, who clamour for
his Leadership and Community
Service Camps.
Make the most of the years ahead;
have the courage to strike out into
unfamiliar territory, and create
a life that reflects your highest
values, your deepest beliefs and your
greatest dreams.
(This speech has been edited due to
space constraints.)
IB at Cathedral
n harmony with the spirit of tradition and enterprise, our 155-yearold institution is proud to offer the International Baccalaureate
Diploma Programme (IBDP). This much-awaited two-year
programme was launched early this year with a batch of 25 students and
22 teachers.
All stakeholders have quickly embraced the freedom and rigour that
the programme affords. In addition to core subjects such as Theory of
Knowledge and Creativity, Activity and Service, the School is pleased
to offer a range of subjects under different groups English Language
and Literature; Second Language options of French ab initio, Spanish
ab initio and Hindi B; History, Geography, Psychology, Economics and
Business and Management; Biology, Physics, Chemistry; Computer
Science; Mathematics and Visual Arts. Subjects are offered at Higher and
Standard Level. Students may also opt for Mathematics Studies.
The staff comprises an IBDP coordinator, who comes with many years
of IB experience, and a group of committed teachers from a background
in IB, ISC and other professional training courses. Team teaching is
practised in many subjects, further improving the teacher-student ratio
as well as adding a new dynamic to classroom interaction.
Classrooms and laboratories, currently in the Senior School building,
are well equipped with the requirements of this progressive curriculum.
With regular professional training subject workshops, technology
seminars and a newly furbished e-library having a wealth of resources
literally at your fingertips, the transition into the new curriculum has
been exciting yet smooth.
With plans to move to a new location, not too far from the hallowed
corridors of this beautiful edifice, the air of enthusiasm and expectation
is palpable.
~ Gauri Mukhi
Head of English Department
Cover story
Kitchen Unconfidential
These ex-Cathedralites are cooking up a storm
From L to R: Aditya Parikh,

Urvaksh Hoyvoy, Neha Arya Sethi,
Yohaan Dattoobhai, Zahir Goghavala a.k.a. Nico,
Ranbir Batra, Gaurav Goenka, Tarini Mohindar
brought them into this line and this

passion has helped them create their
own niche and revel in the success
they currently enjoy. Here, we focus
on those who have a hands-on, daily
involvement with their restaurants,
from conception to menu design,
cooking and day-to-day operations.
Jay Singh (JSM Corp), Karl
Kothavala (Universal Kebab Kona) and
Rohan Talwar (Ellipsis) are just a few

of the ex-Cathedralite restaurateurs we
were unable to contact. The 13 former
students featured in this special story
were happy to share their experiences,
lessons, frustrations and the joys
of running a restaurant. They were
also delighted to have a mini reunion
during a photo shoot at Caf Zoe,
Mumbai.
Dhiman Chatterjee
x-Cathedralites can be found

in all parts of the world and
across all fields. The restaurant
industry in Mumbai is no different
and many ex-Cathedralites have
contributed to revolutionising this
space. Each of the restaurateurs
interviewed had a unique story and,
surprisingly, only one has had any
culinary training. Their love for food
Cover story
Aditya Parikh (ISC 1999, Savage)
Director at Aqaba, Paninaro and Pronto
AD Singh (ISC 1976, Wilson)

Managing Director, Olive Bar and Kitchen
rustrated with the lack of healthy,

non-messy and inexpensive food
options in Mumbai, Aditya Parikh
decided to start the food chain
Paninaro and then take over Pronto.
He had recently returned to Mumbai
after giving up his banking career and
culinary exploits in New York and
believed he could make a mark on the food industry in
Mumbai with offerings that are easy to eat and delicious.
Part was love and a part of it was necessity, Aditya states
of his foray into this space.
Most recently, he opened Aqaba at Peninsula Business
Park, Lower Parel, which offers an expansive menu that
includes Mediterranean delights at the affordable price
point that the restaurant has set. It is one of the few
restaurants that not only has separate vegetarian and
non-vegetarian cooking spaces but completely separate
kitchens. Aditya manages the marketing, strategy and
finance in addition to his operational responsibilities. He
has discovered the importance of being open to learning
from those around him and accepting that every day
comes with new lessons.
Aditya says he is a fussy eater whose biggest fear is
having the same food daily; it was his love and passion
for good food that led him toward the success he currently
enjoys. While eating at other establishments, Aditya finds
himself critical on pricing but more sympathetic than he
previously was towards the staff.
Gaurav Goenka (ICSE 1997, Barham)
Managing Director, Mirah Group
hile pursuing a Business degree at the

University of Wales, Gaurav Goenka
was exposed to a plethora of restaurants and
became aware of the vacuum that existed in
the food space back home. While Mumbai at
that time had classic restaurants, expensive
restaurants in 5-star hotels and generic coffee
shops, there were few concept places and
Gaurav decided that he wanted to make his
mark by establishing something new and
buzzing. He had previously gained experience
in hospitality while working with his familys hotel chain,
Citrus Check Inns.
With this under his belt, Gaurav moved back to Mumbai
and entered the restaurant space with Rajdhani. His vision
was based on creating a scalable model with a focus on
the perfect packaging. This included the concept, style,
staff and, of course, great food. The Mirah Group has now
ew would be aware that restaurant pioneer AD

Singh has no culinary training but, instead, a
degree in Electrical Engineering from Lafayette College,
Pennsylvania. He gives credit to destiny for his success in
the restaurant business, which he stumbled into through
his love and craving for great desserts. Just Desserts
(1990) was his first venture, which served desserts by the
slice with an accompaniment of jazz music.
Today, AD has a number of iconic restaurants including
Olive Bar and Kitchen and Soul Fry; he has been involved
in the gastropub Monkey Bar and
The Fatty Bao. His newest restaurant
chain, SodaBottleOpenerWala, has just
opened a branch in Mumbai. ADs role
has changed over the years from being
hands-on to giving strategic direction
and focusing his attention on his new
ventures or on any issues that need to
be addressed across his spectrum of
establishments.
Success is 99 per cent perspiration
and 1 per cent inspiration, says
AD, whose biggest challenge has
been navigating the existing bureaucratic structure that
restaurateurs face in India. He states that restaurateurs
are not the best company to dine with, as they tend to be
overly critical; however, he is appreciative when he eats out,
as he knows firsthand how difficult it is to run a successful
restaurant. AD has also learned that people are not looking
for the latest trend and fad when it comes to food; they may
try the newest place to see what the fuss is about but will
eventually go back only to places that have delicious food.
expanded to include Falafels, Caf Mangii, Mad
Over Donuts, Masala Library and The United
Sports Bar and Grill and has an association
with Smoke House Deli and Social. Gauravs
responsibilities include location scouting,
conceptualising and business development. He
finds that keeping his team motivated is crucial,
as his employees are his brand ambassadors.
Always be on the move and never be
complacent, says Gaurav, while explaining that
one of the biggest challenges of his industry
is pre-empting the customers ever-changing tastes. He
loves eating out and is able to enjoy the vibe at a good
restaurant without being comparative. Despite beliefs to
the contrary, Gaurav explains that the restaurant business
is not glamorous, nor are all restaurateurs good chefs,
and, most important, Mad Over Donuts donuts are
not fattening!
I am the first girl in

my family to go to an
engineering college. After
completing a degree in
Computer Engineering, I
will pursue my Masters
from a U.S. University.
The Vinod & Saryu Doshi
Foundation gave me a
chance to dream big.
Within 5 years, the Vinod

Doshi Theatre festival
has come to be recognised as
the litmus test for
first-grade theatre.
CHITRA WATWANI,
VINOD DOSHI-COEP MERIT SCHOLAR
DR. GIRISH KARNAD, PLAYWRIGHT
One day, I will

be a professional
basketball
player.
The Vinod Doshi Theatre

Festival has revived the
experimental theatre
movement in Maharashtra;
it is of great value to young
playwrights, directors and
other rangkarmis.
DR. MOHAN AGASHE, ACTOR
MOHAMMED SHAN,
5-YEAR-OLD PARTICIPANT
AT A CHIP SUMMER CAMP
SUPPORTED BY THE
VINOD & SARYU DOSHI
FOUNDATION
The Vinod & Saryu Doshi Foundation is a non - profit, charity trust
that promotes and supports Art, Culture, Education and Community
www.vsdf.org
VinodSaryuDoshiFoundation
Cover story
Gauri Devidayal (ISC 1999, Savage)
The Table
hen Gauri Devidayal and her husband first toyed with the idea of opening a restaurant
in 2008, Gauri had little experience in the field except for eating, she says with a
laugh. In fact, she had a Law degree from the University of London and had worked for
PricewaterhouseCoopers for five years. The restaurant was originally her husbands idea. After
spending 15 years in San Francisco, he was sure of one thing bringing a bite of that city and
its culinary experience back home to Mumbai.
With her background in law and finance, Gauri oversees most of the back office work of
accounting and administration. However, what she enjoys most is interacting with the guests; in
fact, her greatest learning has been to be open to their views.
For those who glamorise the world of dining, heres a sombre thought Gauri finds it hard
to relax and enjoy a meal anywhere now; she finds herself overly critical. And this extends to The
Table as well. It is not all just glamour and fun. Its the hardest Ive ever worked in my life.
Javed Murad (ISC 1999, Wilson) and
Kunjan Chikhlikar (ISC 1999, Palmer)
Managing Partners, The White Owl
aved Murad
(right) and Kunjan
Chikhlikars friendship
and easy rapport dates
back to their Cathedral
days. They both lived
in the United States
while completing their
undergraduate and MBA degrees and eventually found
themselves back in Mumbai. Having travelled and lived
abroad, they developed a good sense of what the customer is
looking for in a restaurant and were attracted to the idea of
craft beer. Their venture, The White Owl, is a microbrewery
where they manufacture their own beer and serve it
alongside a multitude of delicious food items.
While Javed and Kunjan were both hands-on during
conceptualisation, set-up and the initial operations, they
now have a team that has learned their objectives, leaving
them to focus on developing their brand and beer. Their
greatest challenges have been the bureaucracy that exists
in the restaurant business in India along with the many
levels of permissions and players involved. They have also
learned how to understand customers and their needs and
source the right talent to make their business a success.
Kunjan says he is easy to please when dining at
other establishments but finds poor service upsetting,
while Javed finds himself observing how others deal
with commonly faced problems. While the restaurant
business is an interesting place to be, they say it is neither
glamorous nor easy. Bureaucracy in India is a challenge,
especially for the restaurant business. Particularly after
living abroad, it is not easy to navigate through, explains
Javed. It is very hands-on and a great deal of time and
commitment is required to succeed.
Neha Arya Sethi (ISC 2003, Barham)

Founder and CEO, Sweetish House Mafia
fter obtaining an undergraduate degree in Finance

from the Wharton School of Business and working
as an investment banker, Neha Arya Sethi was sure of
one thing: she did not want to work in finance. She was
exploring entrepreneurial opportunities and baking as a
hobby when her friends urged her to share her delicious
cookies. She felt it too risky to start a bakeshop but sent
out some cookies in her Nano, with the encouragement
of a friend who promised to use social media to get 20
strangers to buy Nehas cookies.
Neha received such a positive response that she found
herself spending more than eight hours in the kitchen
thrice a week. She would send out only one type of
cookie and use social media to share the Nanos location.
Unconventionally, she
chose not to reveal
who she was, nor did
she take orders, which
helped her succeed on
her own terms. She
now has two stores in
Mumbai and a kiosk at
Inox, Nariman Point.
Nehas Sweetish House Mafia stores are a reflection
of her vision, which focuses on being comforting and
wholesome, but not necessarily pretty. She serves seven
standard cookies and one rotational one, as she is a
proponent of the belief that people are more satisfied with
their choices when they have fewer options. While Neha
has no formal culinary training, she remains in charge of
the raw materials, R&D and social media. Her greatest
challenge? Overcoming the expectation that I should be
in a corporate job instead of making a career out of baking,
which was once a hobby.
Cover story
Nikhil Chib (ISC 1990, Palmer)
Busaba and BusaGo
like working with my hands; I could probably have even been a bricklayer
in a construction company or a masseur on a California beach! says
Nikhil Chib. At an early age, travelling with his mother on her work trips
exposed him to cuisines from around the world; it was no surprise that in
college he was flipping burgers and selling crpes from his dorm room!
It was street food that totally captivated Nikhil. It epitomises the taste
buds of the people. Good food can be had anywhere, be it in a home in Kerala,
off a houseboat on the Mekong Delta, a soi in Bangkok or a Michelin restaurant
in Paris. Thus was born BusaGo (with three branches currently) a quick,
healthy, inexpensive way to enjoy the authentic flavours of Asia.
What is not his responsibility at the restaurant? We realise quickly that he
believes in being a part of every nitty-gritty detail in that khowsuey! And has
it been a learning experience, a challenging one? Of course, nothing is easy, and ego has no place in
this business. Nikhil has waited hours for licences from the BMC, dished out food and taken orders
when his staff hasnt turned up. Its a 365-day business.
Ranbir Batra (ISC 2003, Wilson)
New Yorkers, Mumbai; Frisco, Pune
eing a fourth-generation restaurateur, I guess it was in my genes, says

Ranbir Batra, who grew up in his familys establishments. After pursuing
a Bachelors degree in Culinary Sciences at Kendall College, Ranbir worked
for many prestigious chefs and eateries in Chicago but finally came home and
decided to take the existing family restaurant, New Yorkers, Mumbai, to new
levels and open a couple of his own. The task is two-fold with New Yorkers,
Mumbai, its about replication and consistency and with Frisco, Pune, hes
tried a new twist with comfort food.
With his global experience, Ranbir muses that India has people with diverse
taste buds and his challenge has been to appeal to all of them. When we ask
him about myths in the industry, he throws us a curve ball All low-fat food
is not healthy and quit fooling yourself that margarine is a healthy option to
butter; it is not!
Tarini Mohindar (ISC 1993, Wilson)
Caf Zoe
ow did this lovely lady happen upon the restaurant business? Pure
chance! laughs Tarini Mohindar. When she and her partner, Jeremie
Horowitz, stumbled upon the space in Lower Parel thats now Caf Zoe, they
knew it had to be converted into a caf where people can feel at home and
enjoy quality food at reasonable prices in a beautiful environment. Tarini
also envisioned a cultural hub and a place for community with a calendar of
interesting events.
Ten years of the advertising industry and a lot of common sense has
served Tarini well. Their endeavour has always been to uphold international
standards and Tarini and her partners make sure theyre involved with
everything at the restaurant from clearing tables to arranging flowers to
tasting wines and managing the accounts. Attention to detail is what she cites as her motto and
this proves to be the challenge as well, as her biggest grouse is that its difficult to find people who
dont have a chalta hai attitude to their work.
Dhiman Chatterjee
Cover story
ood is often nostalgic and Urvaksh Hoyvoy expresses

this sentiment as he cites the mission behind
Parsi-da-Dhaba to cook traditional Parsi and Irani
recipes the way he ate them as a child. He wanted others
to experience this unique blend of Persian, Indian,
Portuguese and French cuisines. His training came in the
form of recipes passed down through the generations.
His great-grandmother sold tiffins and his grandfather
was the founder of the famous Parsi Dairy Farm. In
fact, initially after returning from college in the U.S.A.,
Urvaksh worked with Parsi Dairy Farm. One of his first
business ventures was The Green Grocer. Long before
dotcoms delivered vegetables at doorsteps, we were doing it in 1995, he says.
The restaurant is located on National Highway 8 at Varwada, as Urvaksh
wanted to give travellers a space where they could rest, rejuvenate and revel
in comfort food before returning home. He ensures high standards are
maintained by making sure recipes are adhered to and his team is happy. After
all, what happens in the kitchen doesnt stay in the kitchen one can taste
happiness in food.
Yohaan Dattoobhai
(ISC 1998, Wilson)
Founder, Kaboom!
ohaan Dattoobhais innate interest lies in solving

big problems and, after living in London and New
York and enjoying the plentiful healthy food options
there, he was able to recognise that one of the biggest
daily conundrums for those who eat out in Mumbai is
deciding what to eat and eating well. Kaboom! was his
eventual answer to solving this social and commercial
problem while coming up with a business that has good
fundamentals, healthy food, affordable prices and is farm
to fork with quick service.
Yohaan credits his wife, Kunali, for the food and
menu, but has remained in charge of the management
and marketing. As someone who is generally a picky
customer, he focuses on ensuring that the customer experience is truly great.
Kaboom! sources from artisans and local producers who have great products,
but Yohaan chose not to market this fact when it opened. The food quality has
spoken for itself and they often get inquiries about where they source their
delicious and fresh raw materials. The customers are a lot more astute than we
give them credit for and are ready for a really good product in the health food
space, he explains.
Having worked in media and marketing in the past, Yohaans experience
with the creative process was one he did not imagine having to use in the
restaurant business. However, he has learned that cooking is as much of a
creative process as any form of art. Yohaan and Kunali are also the creators of
the ice cream brand Sucres des Terres.
Zahir Goghavala a.k.a. Nico

(ICSE 1995, Palmer)
Formerly Nico Bombay; new venture:
Farmer and Sons
ico has always loved his fine

cuisine and spirits, but beyond
that, what he loves about running a
restaurant is the camaraderie, warmth
and laughter that resonates within
four walls. I have witnessed marriage
proposals, beautiful 50-year wedding
anniversaries, school reunions to
be able to be a part of these is pretty
special. Nico
elaborates on his
vision to create
a beautiful space in
which like-minded
people can share
plates and a glass
of wine in a relaxed
environment at
a price point that
doesnt hurt the
pocket.
Nico had many
out-of-the-box career aspirations,
from horse training to filmmaking,
but the restaurant business drew him
in. He has known no other life from
the age of 17, when he began with
washing dishes in a restaurant in
London. Since then, I have managed,
promoted, bartended, cleaned and
cooked in every restaurant I have
been a part of.
There are many challenges in
this business and Nico has learned
to take them with a pinch of salt.
Just like in life, when things are
looking up, everyone loves you.
Have a bad season and they are all
gone. The difficulty in this business
is the perception. We are currently
working on a perception reset. This
has made him sympathetic to other
establishments when hes had to wait
for over an hour for a meal.
~ Anushka Shivdasani Rovshen

(ISC 1997) and
Tanya Khubchandani Vatsa
(ICSE 2002)
Dhiman Chatterjee
Urvaksh Hoyvoy
(Left in Std. 8. 1984, Wilson)
Parsi-da-Dhaba
Cover story
te
n
o
t
heir
d
l
r
o
p
w
l
Where
our
e
h restaurateurs dine a
Aditya Parikh: Alhambra, London; Del Friscos,

New York; Chipotle, worldwide
Gaurav Goenka: Dishoom, London
Gauri Devidayal: Gary Danko, San Francisco
Javed Murad: All the sushi places in New York City
Kunjan Chikhlikar: Yauatcha, London and India; Chipotle, worldwide
Neha Arya Sethi: Any Italian place (particularly in Italy)
Nikhil Chib: Le Relais de Venise, a small French bistro
Ranbir Batra: Alinea, Chicago
Tarini Mohindar: No favourites but loved all she ate in San Sebastin,
Spain, with the highest number of Michelin stars per square metre
Urvaksh Hoyvoy: Caf Zoe, Thai Pavilion, pav bhaji
at Sukh Sagar, all in Mumbai
Yohaan Dattoobhai: Waffles & Dinges,
New York and Pizza Moto, New York
Zahir Goghavala: La Notizia,
Naples and Schwartzs, Montreal
Spotlight
Taking the road less travelled
A Commerce stream topper in Maharashtra, Zoravar Gill (ISC 2010) now works
in the office of the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
coordination among multiple
government agencies, e.g. Mumbai
Next, an initiative to turn Mumbai
into an international financial,
commercial and entertainment hub.
Why did you choose a path

not commonly associated with
Cathedralites?
St. Stephens College, Delhi, had been
a dream for a while. Its reputation,
academic rigour and alumni
appealed, so I never considered
other options. The major challenge
was clearing their cut-off. While
many in my family have careers
in the services, I truly developed
a passion for government and the
desire to contribute during my
Stephens years. I spent time with
many Stephanian senior bureaucrats
and ministers and got a different
perspective on important national
issues. Politics is passionately
debated on campus, with a number
of students taking the Civil Services
entrance exam after graduating. So
its hard not to get sucked in.
From A.T. Kearney to the less
glamorous world of regional
government was it planned or
serendipity?
Despite having the desire to work
with government, I wasnt clear how,
as there is no structured path besides
the Civil Services. Meanwhile, I
was recruited by A.T. Kearney on

campus. I thoroughly enjoyed working
as a consultant the work was
stimulating and the glamour aspect
is exciting, especially when youre
fresh out of college. When our present
Honourable CM was sworn in, his
team got a lot of coverage. Some in
key positions were 30-something
professionals who had worked with
him in the past. The prospect of
working for a young, dynamic Chief
Minister was appealing. I reached
out to his Officer on Special Duty
(OSD), who also had a consulting
background. After a round of
interviews, I received an offer.
What exactly is your role?
As part of the CMO, I report to
the OSD for Technology and
Infrastructure. We work on creating
institutions that didnt exist in
earlier administrations but can add
significant value. Two such projects
are the CMs War Room, which is a
unique team within the CMO enabling
project delivery, and Aaple Sarkar,
the States online grievance redressal
infrastructure. We also play the role
of facilitators on projects requiring
Share some surprises or lessons

youve learnt.
One of the privileges of this role is
the opportunity to see things through
a different lens. The perception that
bureaucrats are laid-back couldnt
be further from the truth. They are
extremely hardworking and dedicated
to the States cause. I see the punishing
schedule that our CM has on a daily
basis, yet he is always full of energy.
I can appreciate the challenges
in execution. Our War Room team
tracks the weekly progress of a host
of key projects and ensures speedy
decision-making. I now understand
how each project has thousands of
stakeholders involving complex and
time-consuming legalities. Also,
with overly active anti-corruption
watchdogs such as the CVC and ACB,
senior bureaucrats take precautions to
protect themselves from any sort of
subsequent witch-hunt, which is only
fair but sometimes extends deadlines.
On the flip side, the government could
be more tech-savvy. Most officers
dont check their email and the system
of file signing wherein a physical
file gets circulated across offices too
is archaic and inefficient. Digitisation
is an area were trying to address,
although convention and the size of
the system make it a tough challenge.
Im enjoying my role and intend to
stay here until I do my MBA. I hope
to continue making a difference after
that too.

(ISC 1983)
Spotlight
Working together
for wellness
A Cathedral couple turns their quest for good health

into a successful business.
yla Mehta (ne Patel) and

Jamsheed Mehta are partners
at home and beyond. The
husband-wife duo, both exCathedralites, are founders of a
first-of-its-kind wellness spa in
Mumbai called Salt Escape, which
uses salt therapy to offer relief from
several skin and respiratory ailments,
besides boosting overall health and
immunity.
The couple met in Cathedral,
graduating in 1995. Although they
knew each other in school, it was
only during their college years
that they grew close. Jamsheed
headed to the U.S.A. to pursue a
degree in Engineering while Lyla
stayed in Mumbai to complete a
B.Com from Sydenham College.
After Jamsheed returned to India,
like Lyla, he started working in his
family business. They married in
2006 and have two children, both
Cathedralites.
School holds a special place in

their hearts. It conjures up many
memories lifelong friendships, the
energy and passion of inter-House
events, the fun they had during
extracurricular activities. We are
lucky to have met many of our school
friends again through our children,
says Lyla. Being back at Cathedral
with the kids is wonderful. Im sure
once the inter-House activities start,
it will be fun, as Jamsheed was in
Barham and I was in Savage. The
friends you make at Cathedral are
friends for life. Jamsheed is quick to
agree. We went to Junior School for
a talk held for parents and I hadnt
been there in about 30 years! I felt
quite nostalgic. It was lovely to see
the monkey bars and my mind raced
to when we used to climb those bars
and ropes and play in the gym area.
Moving away from their family
businesses to start a salt spa wasnt
an easy decision. The motivation
was personal and came from within.

The inability to find a drug-free cure
to Jamsheeds chronic respiratory
condition, rhinitis, led them to seek a
different therapy that was completely
natural, non-invasive and drug-free.
They also wanted to reach out to
parents desperately seeking relief for
their childrens respiratory ailments.
The Mehtas spent a considerable
amount of time on research. After
seeing all the success stories and
experiencing salt therapy sessions
firsthand, they chose a company
based in the UK. We had a few
hiccups along the way and some
delays, but we made it! says
Jamsheed. He adds that he would
not have been able to bring the
project to life without Lyla. Its
a passion project with a business
prospect. Its about making people
feel better.
The work at the spa takes up most
of their day, but both still manage
to contribute to their other callings.
Jamsheed helps run his 100-yearold family business and fulfils his
role as a father. Lyla spends her
time overseeing the spa activities
and nurturing her children and also
supports two NGOs in her capacity
as a board member.
Despite their hectic schedules,
they try to integrate their fitness
and wellness beliefs into their
routine. Lyla loves yoga, Pilates
and swimming. She says, In a city
like Mumbai, we all want a place
to go to put our minds at ease. I
believe health is wealth. Jamsheed
says, Im not a fitness freak, but I
think that if everything is done in
moderation, one should be alright. I
love this quote: Live in joy and sleep
in peace. It implies that one should
be happy at all times. Im trying hard
to make myself as positive a person
as I can be because Ive seen how
a good attitude can make so much
difference in ones life.
~ Priyanka Zutshi
(ISC 1998)
Nostalgia
The reluctant pugilist
Michael Anderson (ISC 1966) looks back on good times, odd instructions and
interesting educators.
was at Cathedral for four or five

years until I left in 1966, my
ISC year, and I still have many
clear memories from that time. I
was never very good at sports and,
in particular, remember how our
PT master, Mr. Morecroft, tried his
hardest to change that but failed
completely, I am afraid to say.
He insisted I box, which I
definitely did not want to do, and
put me in the ring with a pugnacious
classmate half my size. I held him at
bay with my longer reach (I was over
six feet tall at age 14) and carried on
arguing with the master.
My opponent got very frustrated
with this and took a run at me and I
inadvertently gave him a black eye.
So, for weeks afterwards, all I heard
was: Arre, pick on someone your own
size, yaar! He overcame the black eye,
became a consultant rheumatologist
in London, and we are now friends.
In my last year, I played in a
band with three of my classmates
at several school socials, murdering
the pop songs of the day. For me, it
was the start of a lifetime of playing
music (guitar and bass), which I still
do today.
Looking back, I believe the school
gave me as good an education as
I would have received anywhere
and any shortcomings were mostly
mine with the possible exception
of our Art teacher, whose only
instruction that has stayed with me
was to outline everything in black!
Some of them were real
characters. Our Geography teacher
was from South America and very
proud of his physique; so, if the
lesson was particularly boring, we
learned to divert him by asking him
to show us his muscles, which he
would do at the drop of a hat. I had
the unfortunate habit of popping out

of school in the afternoon for a coffee
or Coke and on one of these occasions
bumped into our French teacher, who
was from Mauritius and had a good
sense of humour. On this occasion,
he frowned at me before speaking.
You know, I am obliged to report any
student I see outside during school
hours, he said, and paused while I
quaked, thinking of the consequences.
You are very lucky that I didnt
see you, he continued, smiled, and
walked off. I will always remember
him fondly for that.
Then all at once it was time to
leave to go to University. I ended up
in London, where I have lived ever
since, and managed to get a B.A.
(Hons.) in Medieval History there.
After that, I drifted into accountancy
and eventually went freelance in 1986

until I retired in 2012.
My lovely parents and growing up
in Mumbai are two major influences
that formed the adult I became,
but I feel it is only fair to add my
time at Cathedral to that list. I have
been writing on and off for many
years and have two books of short
stories on Amazon Gardening
by Moonlight and Nighthawks. I
had always wanted to write about
Mumbai and finally last year the
ideas I had floating around in my
head came together and I wrote a
novel titled Heavens Above, about
the people in an apartment building
in Mumbai. I am proud that Indian
publishing house Jaico has taken it
up and it is out now. It seems like
coming full circle, somehow.
Nostalgia
A love of books...
... from Founder T.A. Savage and The Cathedral School

to his descendants in New Zealand.
homas Arthur Savage was

known for his love of literature
and books, a passion passed
down within his family and still alive
and well among his descendants on
the other side of the world. Very few
of his actual books remain with the
family now, but there is one example
that has survived the years and the
transition across continents. Keats
Poetical Works, from Thomas Arthur's
library in the Cathedral School,
Bombay, is bound in red leather with
gold lettering and a marbled inside
cover. It is now in the collection of a
great granddaughter in New Zealand
and still carries Thomas Arthur's
unique Ex Libris illustrated plate.
or memories within the school

community that could explain some
of the enigmatic images in the scene?
Also still in the family are his typed
and hand-annotated plays, perhaps
performed by staff or students.
Thomas Arthur was 64 years old
(born in Nashik in 1853) and still
the headmaster of the School when
he died in 1918. He had lost two of
his sons and one son-in-law prior
to and during the World War I years
and had seen many of his younger
schoolmasters leave to join the
fighting. At the time of his death,
Thomas Arthurs two surviving sons
were well established in their own
careers in the Indian Army, but,
Perhaps its black and white plate

was printed to his own design. Recte
is written in large letters and means
to be right or done correctly and
is accompanied by a large downward
facing arrow even at such a
distance this word seems to carry
much of the character and industry
of the venerable headmaster.
Perhaps it was a personal motto?
Maybe there are other books still
in existence within the school that
carry this same distinctive plate
within a year of his passing, his wife,

their widowed daughter and her only
child decided to leave India and make
their home in England.
Thomas Arthur's oldest grandchild
remembered this event in her 2003
memoir where she described a time of
political and social unrest, a sudden
decision to leave the country and a
hurried taxi trip out to make a final
visit to Thomas Arthurs grave five
miles outside Bombay (believed to be
Sewri Cemetery, but the family hasnt
yet visited it to locate the grave).

She also stated that her grandfather
had an extensive library with a fine
collection of books and that the
majority had to be sold at the time of
their departure from India.
Thomas Arthurs beloved collection
did not survive this move out of
their apartments in the School. His
middle son, Philip, was not present
during this rushed departure as he
was stationed in Northern India with
the Indian Medical Service, but it was
he who somehow came to own this
little book.
Philip eventually left India upon
retirement in 1945 and immigrated to
New Zealand with his wife and eight
children. Perhaps he had borrowed
the little book of poignant poems
from his father on one of his visits
home to the School and kept it with
him during the intervening decades
before taking it on the familys
move to a new country, making the
well-worn book of poems a personal
link across time, place and down
the generations.
~ Deirdre Savage,
Taupo, New Zealand
Great granddaughter of Thomas Arthur Savage.
India's Premier Indoor Play Center

& Birthday Party Venue for Kids
Mumbai Bengaluru Surat Pune
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Out of the box
Doggy dabbawalla
Every morning is like a MasterChef Challenge. I have to get the meals ready
before the Gandhi-topied dabbawalla arrives punctually at 9.30.
~ Jamshyd Cooper (ICSE 2003)
amshyd Cooper, a freelance

veterinarian, supplies 12 doggy
parents with food for their
pets every day. On the menu are
customised meals made with chicken
breast, rice, barley and vegetables.
No tomato, grapes, onion or avocado!
Jamshyd only does nonvegetarian meals and hasnt yet
ventured into diets for obese dogs
or those with allergies. If a dog is
ill and needs a special meal, he will
happily serve up some curd-rice.
If they have skin problems, the
prescription says no barley and
lots of egg. Interestingly, many
strict vegetarians order his nonvegetarian meals for their dogs
its acceptable as long as it comes
from someone elses kitchen. You
can order just lunch or lunch and
dinner from Jamshyd. All packed
neatly and dropped to your door by
our marvellous dabbawallas.
I was always interested in food
and, when I saw my mother cooking
for our two dogs, I decided to
lessen her load and do it myself,
he says. Soon, I thought I could do
it for other dog parents. How can
readymade dog food be healthy for
your pets in the long term? This is
a Western concept thrust on us by
MNCs. This dry food has a shelf life
of a year and is made from meat
by-products and animal waste (hoof
and hair from poultry farms) after
a process called rendering. I know
this because I went to these poultry
farms while I was studying. Does this
become biologically-viable protein?
Does it get absorbed? No. If we eat
fresh food, why shouldnt our pets?
It (dry food) is fine occasionally or
when travelling, but not every day.
In his practice, Jamshyd has seen
that an increasing number of dogs

fed commercially-made dog food have
urinary calculi at a very young age.
Jamshyd always knew he wanted
to be a vet, but his school marks
in Science and Maths didnt make
the grade. At Jai Hind College, he
struggled with these subjects again,
but this didnt deter him. After
doing the Maharashtra CET, he got
into veterinary college in Jaipur
before getting a transfer to Mumbai.
Its only when I left Mumbai that
I realised what the real India was
about, he says. This city doesnt
represent our country. The exposure
was a game changer. Although Jaipur
is the capital of Rajasthan, it is just
not a city like Mumbai.
Jamshyd is baffled by the emphasis
on academics. There is nothing that
says that if you are a bad student, you
cant make it! he exclaims. So many
students with poor grades have gone
on to professional courses in great
colleges. We tend to focus on making

the grade. Why does everyone
have to be a topper? Why cant
someone pass with 50 per cent and
be accepted? After a couple of years,
Jamshyd hopes to go to America to
obtain internationally recognised
clinical skills and return to India to
raise the bar.
What is his USP? No gimmickry,
simple honesty. Its food as dog food
should be and the dogs parents know
exactly what their dog is eating.
Every meal needs a sweet ending,
so what are his doggy desserts? Sadly,
none. That will be on the menu after
Jamshyd starts his gourmet kitchen
for his furry friends.
Jamshyd can be contacted at jammykc@
hotmail.com. The cost of his Integrity
brand of doggy meals is R470 per kilo.
~ Shyla Boga Patel
(ISC 1969)

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First Citizen
Guiding light
Dancer, diver and documentary filmmaker

Trishya Screwvala (ICSE 2002) provides opportunities
for mentoring through The Lighthouse Project.
verybody needs a mentor,

says Trishya Screwvala.
Ive had different ones at
different stages of my life. Growing
up, the Royal Academy of Dancetrained ballet dancer was influenced
by the formidable ballerina Tushna
Dallas, who taught me a lot, not just
in terms of ballet, and her parents,
ex-Cathedralites Manjula Nanavati
(ISC 1973) and Ronnie Screwvala
(ISC 1972).
It is this need for a guiding force
in a childs life that led Trishya to
set up The Lighthouse Project (TLP),
which brings volunteers together
to provide one-on-one mentoring
to urban youth in under-resourced
communities.
TLP started in 2013 with 30
volunteers mentoring 30 children.
In its second year, there were 100
volunteers and 100 children. Now,
TLP has 220 volunteers (many of
them ex-Cathedralites) and 220 kids.
Weve had some great mentors,
states Trishya proudly. Many have
continued with the same child, which
is wonderful, as it builds a bond.
The project urges: Change one life

and it will change yours. Its an equal
relationship, says Trishya. Mentors
say theyve learnt more from the
kids than theyve given them. The
statistics are encouraging 60
per cent of TLPs children are more
motivated to complete Std. 10 as a
result of having a mentor; 80 per
cent have demonstrated improved
self-esteem; 73 per cent have learnt to
better manage their emotions.
Trishya admits she hadnt done
much volunteering before this
(I did a little in school, through
Pavement Club) and was looking
for volunteering opportunities.
The graduate of The University
of Southern Californias School
of Cinematic Arts had two
documentaries under her belt and
wanted the next to be about a social
issue. Film as a medium has the
potential to tackle social issues.
More than to bring about awareness,
I wanted to provide a direct course
of action. People will watch a film,
share it, like it, but I wanted to give
them the next step how they can
help. There are so many people who

have skills to share but dont know
how to do so. The Lighthouse Project
is a flexible, accessible platform
for volunteering.
TLP has three NGO partners,
Salaam Baalak Trust, Apne Aap
Womens Collective and Akanksha
Foundation, who take care of the
education of the children The
Lighthouse Project mentors. The kids
are extremely bright, but need some
hand-holding, explains Trishya.
We have role models all
around us, but most of these
children are first-generation
learners; theyve grown up in
a community where kids skip
school or drop out in order to
work. Personal attention and the
ability to be guided is what they lack.
That is where TLP comes
in. Volunteers (mostly young
professionals) are required to commit
a mere four hours a month for eight
months. The kids mentored are from
Std. 7 (when the drop-out rate starts
going up, says Trishya) to Std. 12.
If you cant commit to such a long
period, theres even a Mentor for a
day option.
The urge to help has also led
Trishya to volunteer at New
Acropolis, an organisation at which
she is pursuing a philosophy course
and undergoing teacher training.
The swimming enthusiast (perhaps
its in her genes her mother was
Cathedral Swimming Captain) also
goes diving as often as she can. My
first dive was in the Galapagos, she
says. It was a magical experience and
I was hooked.
But her heart lies in TLP. If each of
us can empower one child, it means
(well have) millions of empowered
children, says Trishya. Put like
that, how can one not want to make
a difference.
For more details and to volunteer,
visit www.lighthouseproject.in.
~ Anaita Vazifdar-Davar
(ICSE 1996)
Events
4
1
0
2
y
a
D
s
r
Founde
he morning began with our traditional serene church

service. An angelic looking choir filled the St. Thomas
Cathedral with their beautiful voices while the alumni
got teary-eyed with nostalgia. Then, we all trooped into
the Junior School, where coffee, snacks and even dancing
awaited us.
The cricket match was closely contested and went down to the
wire till the last over. Two balls to go and one run needed and
the School team was able to cross the line. The Old Boys Team
had a good opening partnership of 90 runs between Dinesh
Advani and Rushab Vora, who went on to make a splendid half
century. Sahil Vora also made a brisk 23 runs. Eventually, they
put up a competitive total of 156 runs and were all out in 23
overs. It was an enjoyable morning and a game played in good
spirit. A big thank you to Sanjay Shah for organising it all.
For those who didnt swing a bat, there was golf the following
day. Twenty-four golfers teed off under idyllic conditions at the
Willingdon Club on Saturday, November 15, 2014. It was an
eagerly awaited annual Founders Week tradition with winners
all, guessing from the post-match camaraderie by the poolside.
Barham House took the podium. Mukeeta Jhaveri gave away
the prizes. Thank you, Team Golf Akshay Kilachand, Meher
Amersey, Pushpa Bhatia and Shivas Nath for putting
together a wonderful day.
Events
Entrepreneurship is a journey
and not an outing
Entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala (ISC 1972) regaled a packed audience of

alumni at the launch of his book, sharing insights about scripting his success
story and dealing with his surname at Cathedral.
isted in Esquires 75 Most

Influential People of the
21st Century and Fortunes
25 Most Powerful Asians, Ronnie
had earlier been Chief Guest at the
Prefect Investiture, where he sang
the School Hymn and School Song
with a lump in his throat, proud
of the fact that I had to look down
(at the words) only 4-5 times. The
let it rip, let it thunder still continues
and does not age. Now here he
is, at a packed Olive, Mahalaxmi,
Mumbai, with a completely different
audience, but just as nostalgic. His
book, Dream With Your Eyes Open,
details the myriad lessons learnt from
more than two decades of building
businesses and inspiring Indias
new entrepreneurs to step up to the
challenge. Excerpts from the evening:
On writing
I dont see myself being an author;
this is just a book I wrote on impulse,
but then I followed it up with a lot
of discipline to finish it in about
nine months, with the help of a cowriter. There were two triggers or
anchor points Entrepreneurship
is not evangelised enough and fear

of failure is rampant because of an
overall lack of confidence in our
environment.
Ronnies mantra that
disruptions are important was
exemplified by encouraging questions
after each excerpt he read, because,
as he learned through his theatre and
media experience, no audience has a
40-minute attention span! Coughs,
too, are an indicator to wind up, he
shared. Great communication is key,

even a currency, for entrepreneurs.
From the opening chapter, Made
in India (titled long before PM
Modi was elected!), he shared:
Entrepreneurship is a journey and
not an outing. You cannot make a
deal with yourself and say I am going
to give it two years. To me, it is a oneway ticket with no option of turning
back; a commitment for the absolute
long term, if not for life. Failure
fascinates and intrigues me. I have
never understood why people are so
afraid to fail.
Ronnie recalled his first tryst with
being an entrepreneur, at the age
of 10. Living next to Novelty Cinema
on Grant Road, he literally had a
balcony seat to watch the red-carpet
drama of premieres unfold, with
stars including the famous Jeetendra
in white shoes, white socks, white
sherwani, white cap, arrive in their
red Chevrolets and walk onto the
red carpet. My balcony was the best
vantage point and I sold 15 tickets
for a buck each every weekend!
Ronnie also wanted to sell snacks,
but his mother put her foot down.
Screwball Ronnie
When I moved to Cathedral from
Dunnes Institute, I knew I couldnt
go through the ragging all over again
with Screwie, ScrewballI broke
the ice with corny jokes about my last
name. It worked. The girls thought it
was funny and cute (I think!) and it
took the sting out of it for the boys by
joking at my own expense.
The end of the world
Ronnie was candid about being a
good student in school but then
failing in college and how that was a
turning point for him. My ego and
self-confidence had taken a whacking,
but I was determined to get past the
failure and learn from it. I wanted to
do something on my own and, from
that point on, I learnt never to take
anything for granted.
out. In his case, it was launching

cable TV in 1979/80. We knocked
on 2,000 doors between 9:00 and
10:30 p.m. and we were all electricians,
wiremen, cablewallas; we had to go
in and demonstrate. Then, by tying
up with hotels and now-defunct TV
manufacturers Bush and NELCO, they
managed to scale up from 10,000 in
the first year to 100,000.
Another inflection point came
when Ronnie was approached by
global soap king P&G to provide a
Hindi soap airing 216 episodes in
three months with 20 non-existent
directors and a disciplined cast of
characters to work from 7 to 7 daily,
mugging bound scripts six days a
week. Enter Mandira Bedi as Shanti,
albeit an inhibited one. (At this stage,
Mandira in the audience pipes up,
Shes a Cathedralite. She doesnt
know Hindi.) So, for the next four
days, she was thrown into the deep
end by letting her loose on the street
and filming her reactions and then
playing them back for her. A year
later, another inflection point in
Cannes resulted in taking the Indian
soap to 40 countries. A moment of
scale. By 1996, a sea of humanity
awaited Shanti in Colombo as she
alit from an aeroplane.
Plan B
In Business School, it is always
good, but when you hit the troughs,
I believe you dont want a Plan B. Its
a distraction you dont want or an exit
door you are looking at too early. You

have to go forward.
Failure plan for it
Ronnie shared an interesting anecdote
from Parliamentary Quiz where
the question Who is the showboy of the
Indian National Congress? resulted in
an uproar in Parliament, when, in the
absence of rewind or replay, it became
Who is the playboy...? In the aftermath,
the financial loss from cancelling
the show almost bankrupted us.
But taking the whole company into
confidence in a minuscule boardroom
and communicating with them
honestly helped. Encouraging laughter
in the room and seeking voluntary
salary deferrals saved the company.
That was the day the culture of the
company was formed for the next 20
years. At that stage, 35 people took
full ownership of the company. A
gratifying moment.
The consummate dealmaker
(Disney, Murdoch, Mallya, Warburg
Pincus) has an interesting view on
negotiation. I guarantee you can get
a 20 per cent better valuation on the
buy side than on the sell side on your
own at the risk of being wrong or being
booed at. This was an early lesson
I learned.
Staying the course was the reason
he came to be sitting among us. In his
words, he is the cat with a veritable
20, not 9, lives.
(ISC 1983)
Tipping the scale

I find scale a huge challenge in
India. Often, the inability to shatter
the glass ceiling of scale results in
diversification, which could mean
a loss of focus. Ronnie says that
inflection points must be sought
Events
History
remastered
Snapshots from a
scintillating evening
with two bestselling
ex-Cathedralite novelists.
uly 8, 2015: In the chic Caf

Zoe, ex-Cathedralites eagerly
await a meet and greet with two
of Indias frontrunners in the fiction
writing space Amish Tripathi (The
Immortals of Meluha, Scion of Ikshvaku)
and Ashwin Sanghi (Chanakyas
Chant, The Krishna Key).
In a masterful display of how
effective hosting can contribute to
an enterprising venture, Ashwin (AS)
charted out an engaging discussion
with bestselling author Amish (AT).
A carefully prepared repertoire of
probing questions, refreshingly open
dialogue and a rapt audience made for
a great evening. Excerpts:
AT: I graduated in Mathematics,
the primary reason being that
there were no practicals in that, so
I had more time for extracurricular
activities. After the ICSE exam, my
twin brother Ashish and I took our
copies of Julius Caesar to the kitchen
and set fire to them. It was cathartic.
I did get marks in English, but I cant
say I liked the subject.
AS: Cathedral, IIM, a boring
banking job (for 14 years)... one fine
day, you decide you want to write. I
have a similar story, because I was a
baniya businessman. What made you
realise you didnt want to be in the rat
race anymore?
AT: Once a rat, always a rat. It
doesnt always have to be an eitheror. One can do both. When I started
writing, I didnt really wonder where
this would go; I didnt even wonder
whether it would be published. It was
just something I loved.
AS: Where was the germ of the idea?
AT: It began with a conversation

with my family. We discovered
something interesting on TV. We
all know that for Indians, Gods are
called Devas and demons are Asuras,
but for the Zoroastrian Persians,
the pantheon is the opposite. The
demons are called Devas and Indra,
the King of the Gods among the
Indians, is actually one of the chief
demons in Zoroastrian Persia. This
triggered a discussion if ancient
Indians and ancient Persians had
met, would we be calling each other
evil? No, because both cultures in
ancient times were great and liberal
and interacted with each other,
learnt from each other. But they
were just different. Could it be that
there were just different ways of
life and they were mature enough
not to look at each other as evil

even though their pantheons were
different? And if neither was evil,
then what is evil? Thats where the
discussion began; thats how the
Shiva trilogy began.
That was the first step it got
converted into an adventure. That was
quite a challenge because in school
I had never done anything creative
at all. Id never written fiction. I was
a lead singer in my band at IIM, but
even there, I only sang what someone
else created.
AS: That explains you drumming
away at book launches these days.
AT: Yes, its good fun! Anyway, there
are these self-help books that claim
they can make a writer out of you, so
I read them. I was told I should make
character sketches, so I did that; I was
told I should make a chapter-wise
summary, so I made that too. I was told
without planning nothing else could
happen, so I used Microsoft Excel. I was
told to make a date-wise schedule
how many hours I would write.
AS: Was it colour-coded?
AT: It was colour-coded! The daily
word target had a red flag if I didnt
make it. It was a super flop. When I
wrote the story, except for Lord Shiva,
nobody seemed to be following their
character sketch. From the guys who
were good, there were some who
started showing disturbing signs of
grey. There were guys who were bad
who started being quite noble. What
helped was advice from my wife. She
said: Dont write with the arrogance
of a creator; write with the humility
of a witness.
AS: You were an atheist and then

you became a Shiv-bhakt. Explain that
transition.
AT: My grandfather was a pundit
and my family is deeply religious. I
turned into an atheist in the early
90s. Our city went through a phase
of insanity at that time. Most of
our college gang in Xaviers thought
religion was the cause of all the
violence. My dad did try to talk to me,
but you know how teenagers are
they dont listen to their parents. My
dad used to say there always comes a
time in a mans life when he grows up
and realises maybe his dad wasnt such
an idiot after all. Writing the book
kind of brought me slowly back you
can say it was a return to faith. I am
naturally a rebellious person. Lord
Shiva is my natural God because he
is the God of the rebels, he is a rulebreaker, he treats his wife with love
and respect, he dances brilliantly and
he plays music. One of my younger
readers described him as the dude of
the Gods. I had to be brought back to
faith and he was the best God to do it.
AS: Religion is about answers
that can never be questioned and
philosophy is about questions that
can never be answered. Are you more
of a philosopher or religious believer?
AT: There doesnt have to be a
contradiction between the two. In
the ancient Vedas, philosophy wasnt
a subject that was reduced to the
Humanities stream. Philosophy was
the first subject that everyone studied.
The art of living ones life. The love of
wisdom. There is no Sanskrit word
for the English word blasphemy
because the concept doesnt exist.
Faith comes in when you ask
questions beyond your understanding
and you are troubled by it. Faith
gives you peace. Your objective is to
keep questioning and pushing the
boundaries of your knowledge and
reducing the boundaries of your faith
and your ultimate destination would
be that your knowledge expands to
such a degree that you become God;
thats moksh.
AS: There is a quip by Samuel

Johnson that your manuscript is
good and original, but the part that is
good isnt original and the part that
is original isnt good. Tell us about
rejection.
AT: I stopped counting after 20. I
have been told the Indian publishing
industry is fractious. If you put 10
publishers in a room, you will get
11 opinions. But in the case of my
manuscript, there was unanimity
every publisher it was sent to hated it.
One guy gave me detailed feedback:
Your book is on a religious topic; the
main market today is the youth and
the main point is that the youth is not
interested, so they are not going to
buy your book. You have a different
take on religion, which means that the
older religious people may also not like
your books; you may eliminate that
segment as well. There was a third
segment the literati, the guys who
love British Raj-era English. But I write
in modern Indian English. So he told
me: You alienated that segment as
well. Who are you trying to sell to? I
told him I didnt do market research
before writing the book, I just wrote
it! In some ways, I am the better for
it. For me, the story was essentially a
philosophy I wanted to convey. I think
there was a positive impact in terms

of the marketing side, because I finally
self-published the book. And the fact
that no mainstream publisher was
backing it ended up being a blessing
in disguise. I didnt have any publisher
telling me, We cant do this because
the industry has never tried something
like this before. We did a lot of
innovative things, which have never
been tried before in the publishing
industry and which worked well for us.
For example, the trailer.
AS: This great marketing eventually
resulted in the fastest selling series
in Indian publishing and if I look at
that number, its 2.5 million plus
and growing. When you got down
to writing the Ram Chandra series,
were you scared? Sometimes, success
creates its own fear.
AT: When I am writing, I dont
really think about what anyone else
thinks. I write for myself, what feels
right to me. Im on very good terms
with my former boss and I told him if
the book goes south, Ill come back to
him. But yes, when the book is over
and the marketing phase starts, then I
get nervous.
~ Compiled by Sundeep Goswami
(ISC 2011)
Amish Tripathi (Class of 1990) is most recently the author of Scion of

Ikshvaku, the first in his Ram Chandra series. The Immortals of Meluha,
the first book of the Shiva trilogy, is a No. 1 national bestseller.
Ashwin Sanghi (Class of 1985) wrote his first book, The Rozabal Line,
under the pseudonym Shawn Haigins, an anagram of his full name. In
2014, he collaborated with James Patterson to write Private India.
Special Project
Before selfies
COBA Rugger Rats have a
ball, 1938
Cathedral
parties at
Town Hall
Time before Titan, before

iWatch, before digital time
Digital ArchiveS
PAST PERFECT
The School and The Alumni

Association are pleased to launch
Phase 1 of the Cathedral Digital
Archive Project. We hope it will be
a valuable resource to document
the history and culture of what is
uniquely Cathedral. Few institutions
Field trip
to the Taj
Principals
Jacob and
Newton watch
while Coach
Nepali tugs
Rajit Kapur strikes an early pose
School
Soccer, 1974
Wally Abraham star of

Cross Country
Mrs. Dev
and Middle
School
Teachers
(1980s)
When cabarets
were kosher
Remember AIR,
Vividh Bharati and
Radio Ceylon?
Real boys boxed
Principal
Gunnery shoots
from the hip
can boast of a 155-year legacy and be uniquely positioned to face the

challenges of an exciting and uncertain future head-on. Under the stewardship
of Malti Thiagarajan, the Head Librarian, Nadish Naoroji (ISC 1969) and
Gautam Shewakramani (ISC 2001) as well as the guidance of Principal Isaacs,
the archive has been supported by generous alumni from all over the world. We
hope more of you will actively engage with and contribute to further enriching
the archive.
Please send all original material to:

Mrs. Malti Thiagarajan, Librarian, Cathedral & John
Connon Middle School, 4, Maharshi Dadhichi Marg,
Mumbai 400 001. INDIA. Tel.: +91-22-2207-1015
hdlibrarian@cathedral-school.com
Please provide your name and a return address. Your
material will be returned to you within a month.
Cock House (early 2000s)
Principal Jacob and Junior School Teachers (1973)
Moms pass the hat at Brabourne Stadium
Lady Temple in
her studio
Teacher Updates
From the staff room

From left to right:
Sandhya Gangrade
Jayanti Prakash
Komalam S. Kumar
Caroline Patruni
Rekha Khanduri
Sandhya Gangrade
Kabhi bhi koi mushkil aaye
toh haar na maankar uska
datkar mukabla karna hi
zindagi hai is a quote that
Mrs. Gangrade lives by and
inculcated in her students.
She taught Hindi for 12
years at the Senior School.
After losing her husband
at a very young age, she
single-handedly brought
up her three children,
now highly successful
adults. She retired in April
2015 and spends her days
helping the children in
her neighbourhood with
their studies. She also
volunteers at various
NGOs. She is enjoying
taking it easy after leading
a hectic life. Retirement
has given Mrs. Gangrade
an opportunity to get
back to her hobbies such
as Indian classical singing
and she is looking forward
to new adventures.
Jayanti Prakash
Mrs. Prakash retired
last year after teaching
Chemistry for 22 years at
the Senior School. The one
thing she misses most is
interacting with children.
After retiring, Mrs. Prakash
shifted to Talegaon due
to her husbands job. She
taught at a local school but

found it very tiring. She
is glad to have time away
from the hustle and bustle
of Mumbai. Mrs. Prakash
realised that, after making
others a priority all these
years, she needs to look
after herself. She takes great
delight in going for a long
walk in the morning. In a
bid to be healthier, she is
also focusing on meditation
and yoga. Other hobbies
she has got back to are
reading and trying out new
recipes. Her move back to
Mumbai is imminent, but
till then she is happy being
away from the city.
Komalam S. Kumar
How can anyone who has
visited the Senior School
not know Mrs. Kumar?
She was a pillar of strength
and the go-to person
in the Headmistresss
office. She retired in
April 2015 after serving
the school for 37 years,
where she was fastidious
about punctuality and
attendance. She is still
getting used to being
at home and misses the
commotion of school,
which was like a second
home to her. Nonetheless,
she is happy as she
settles into a new routine

of spending her days
immersed in household
duties and taking care of
her vivacious six-year-old
granddaughter. She is glad
she does not have to worry
about exam papers and
attendance registers!
Caroline Patruni
Mrs. Caroline Patruni is 84
now, but let that not fool
you she is as sprightly
and chirpy as ever. After
retiring in 1991, she taught
part time at ASB (American
School of Bombay) till
2003 to keep herself
occupied. Her husband
passed away in 2004.
She moved to Chennai in
2006 when her daughter
got married there.
Mrs. Patruni was diagnosed
with cancer (twice), but
she did not let that cow her
down. This July, she had
another spell of bad health,
but her calm, energetic and
happy demeanour does not
reveal the rigours she has
faced. Through all her trials
and tribulations, her faith
in God has kept her going.
She enjoys helping people,
going to church, engaging
in church activities and
spending time with
her family.
Rekha Khanduri
Every student who has
passed through the
hallowed gates of Senior
School from 1997/1998 to
2011 has been sent at least
once to Mrs. Khanduris
office the naughty ones,
for a misdemeanour. She
always had a gaggle of
students in her office. She
never raised her voice,
yet was always heard
and obeyed. A memory
comes to mind, of my class
being chastised publicly
on the PA system for
running all over school
during class hours. We
never created mayhem
again! Mrs. Khanduri
joined as an English and
History teacher in 1989.
In 1997/1998, she became
Headmistress of the Senior
School. After retirement,
she enjoys travelling,
meeting new people
and spending time with
her grandchildren. She
volunteers at a BMC school
at Lower Parel and teaches
thrice a week at the
Scholar School. She also
helps various educational
institutions in an advisory
capacity.
~ Anang Agarwalla
(ISC 2005)
Reunions
th
F i ftie
Reuni
on
Back Row- L to R: Ajoy and Uttara Bhandare, J.P. Singh, Nandita Mulla, Rajiv Ved, Rustom Dadabhoy
Manek Bharucha, Shishir Bajaj.
Front Row- L to R: Mirra Savara, Homi Mulla, Vijay Aggarwal
Class of 1964
The celebrations were spread over the
week beginning November 11, 2014.
They started with a bang with Nirmal
Bhogilal and his wife Sheela hosting a
nights stay at Aamby Valley a lovely
dinner with drinks and music, followed
by lots of singing and dancing.
On November 13, Fali Cambata
and Deepak Deshpande hosted a SoBo
dinner. We are grateful to Mrs. Isaacs
for spending the evening with us,
joining us in singing the School Song
and having the patience to sit for a
group photograph. Mr. J.C. Mehta also
joined us for the evening. We had an
unexpected guest the rains, but they
stopped soon and did not dampen our
spirits or the evening.
The Founders Day Church Service
on the morning of November 14 was
where Farida Kajiji, Head Girl of our
class, read the lesson. Afterwards, some
of us went to the Junior School for
tea and refreshments and then to the
Senior School.
The last event was hosted by Farida
at her scenic villa at Alibaug. She, along
with Lubaina and others, served copious
quantities of delicious food as well as
refreshments and drinks. Despite eating
so much, come tea time, we demolished
two large cakes that Manek had carefully
carried from Mumbai on the ferry.
And so ended our week. We took
back happy memories and have many
photographs by which to remember it.
~ Rajiv Ved
Front L to R: Roshun Birdy, Roma Malkani, Lubaina Tyebjee, Tamim Tyebjee, Elsa and Fali Cambata, Isi,
Shishir Bajaj, Rustom and Meher Dadabhoy, Claire Sopher
Back L to R: Ramesh and Shahzadi (Advani) Kundanmal, Gitanjali Khanna, Rohinton Khambatta,
Vijay Aggarwal, Mirra Savara, Farida Hoosenally, Rajiv Ved, Aiveen and Manek Bharucha, Durriya Tyebjee
Fali and Deepaks Dinner for CAT64ers on November 13, 2014 in Mumbai
Sitting L to R- Sorab Pochkhanawala, Deena Madon Thacker, Roma (Chandiramani) Malkani, Brinda
Somaya, Mrs. Meera Isaacs, Farida Kajiji Hoosenally, Lubaina Tyebjee, Roshan (Meher Homji) Bulsara,
Claire Sopher, Dr. Nadir Bharucha
Standing L to R- Rohinton Khambatta, Fali Cambata, Rupendra Singh, Shishir Bajaj, Ajoy Bhandare, Rustom
Dadabhoy, Vijay Aggarwal, Tamim Tyebjee, Deepak Deshpande, Burjor Cooper, Mr. J. C. Mehta, Shyam Ghia,
Hemant Sathe, Manohar Jesudian, Dr. Manek Bharucha, Jayant Pal Singh, Rajiv Ved, Mirra Savara
Reunions
Class of 1987/89
When it comes to school reunions, you
might cringe at the thought of facing
all those people you thought youd
never see again: your nemeses, your
frenemies, your teenage crushes. Or you
could totally opt out. Its incredible how
families, careers and life in foreign lands
become such handy excuses.
Our classmates fell into both camps.
When Maleeka Lala reached out to
a core group to form The Planning
Committee for our 25th reunion, she
was greeted with a lukewarm response,
to say the least. But Maleeka has never
been one to take no for an answer.
So, despite the initial whining from
her lacklustre buddies, she whipped
Fif
Twenty
nion
th Reu
us into submission in a manner that

exemplified true leadership. And we
remain forever gratefulplanning the
event and recruiting our classmates to
attend proved to be a critical bonding
experience in itself.
To provide a snapshot of one of
the most memorable evenings of our
middle-aged years (much as we might
try to deny it, thats where we are!) is
particularly challenging as I am naturally

inclined to delve into the antics played
out by various personalities that
evening. Suffice it to say we had more
than 100 classmates travel from near
and far to attend the spectacular party at
the Palladium Hotel, Mumbai.
The evening was topped off with a
presentation of silly awards as well as
some raunchy ones such as Hottest
Guy and Girl 25 Years Later. The 80s
music on the dance floor was insane!
A throwback to the parties of our
pubescent best...and school trips like
Saswad and Uttarkashi.
~ Reenita Malhotra Hora
A Special Message
ur teachers are responsible for shaping our character and laying the foundations for the
people we evolve into.
Class of 1994 (ISC) and Class of 1992 (ICSE) celebrated their 20-year reunion in December
2014 where they organised a small gift to express their utmost gratitude and respect for our fabulous
teachers: A humble contribution to The Retired Teachers & Staff Medical Benefit Scheme of the
Alumni Association. We hope that this small gesture will motivate our other fellow alumni to do the
same over the years.
The teachers and our friends are the memories we carry fondly,
... as the years roll on and where we are dreaming what soon we shall be.
~ From the class of 1992/1994
Reunions
nion
th Reu
e
i
t
n
e
Tw
Class of 1992/94
The Class of 1992/94 celebrated their
20th year reunion on December 19,
2014 at the 212 Bar & Grill Restaurant,
Mumbai. It was a task that six of us
bravely undertook. The Planning
Committee comprised Amit Advani,
Amrita Kilachand, Shalini Amersey,
Harshad Daswani, Pragni Kapadia and

Kirti Vij Makhijani.
To trace 152 batchmates was not easy,
but by the end of it, we were thrilled
with the response especially to have
people planning their holidays around
this event! Batchmates flew down from
New York, Washington, D. C., Europe
and all over India. The chaotic fun that
was a prelude to the event included
last-minute passes being distributed, the
dcor (themed around our School colours)
being planned, setting up a photo booth
and making sure our beautifully designed
souvenirs reached the venue.
Harshad kicked off the event with
a wonderful welcome speech: I made
friends for a lifetime at Cathedral
most of us second- and third-generation
legacies. So tonight really is about reliving

all those wonderful memories from
20 years ago and acknowledging that
Cathedral is a part of our history and will
continue to mean a lot to us all. I would
like to ask everyone to raise their glasses
to an old friend, Akshay Dixit, who is not
with us anymore. He is missed tonight.
The evening continued with a slideshow of old photographs and dancing. We
even celebrated the wedding anniversary
of a couple who dated since Std. 9!
Richard Bach said: Dont be dismayed
at goodbyes. A farewell is necessary
before you can meet again. And meeting
again, after moments or lifetimes, is
certain for those who are friends.
~Kirti Vij Makhijani
Forbes ranked S P Jain
#10
in the world
American Classmate
Spanish Roommate
Best International MBAs:

1-year programs (2015-2016)
Finnish exchange student
Australian degree
singaporean internship
GERMAN Professor
The World
is your classroom
S P JAINS BBA CLASS OF 2015 is made up of students from OVER 29 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES including Australia,
Bolivia, Brazil, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Jamaica,
Japan, Korea, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Panama, Philippines, Russia, Spain, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia,
UK, USA, Vietnam and Yemen.
BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BACHELOR OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

BACHELOR OF ECONOMICS
+91 22 6511 6503 |
www.spjain.org | ugadmissions@spjain.org
S P Jain School of Global Management Pty. Ltd. CRICOS Institution Code: 03335G | Name of PEI (Private Education Institution): S P Jain School
of Global Management. CPE (Council for Private Education) Registration Number of PEI: 200516544Z | Period of Registration: 09 May 2011 to
08 May 2017
Class Notes
Where are
they now?
1948
Bob Jones (Barham) resides in Sydney,
Australia, with his wife and sons family.
In the early years, he regularly met a few
of his classmates who also lived in Sydney,
Archie Lemonjon and Sid Hurst, to name a
few. Sadly, most of them have now passed
away. He has fond memories of his years at
Cathedral, where he had great teachers led by L.M.S. Bruce as
Principal. He also remembers playing for the C.O.B.A Cricket
Team in the Kanga League, together with Bobby Choonawalla,
Sarosh Nagarwalla, Pesi Tata, Mehli Lalkaka, Yuku Hamied and
Suhas Phadke.
Diana Armstrong ne Jardine (Wilson) emigrated to
Australia in 1948. She has been married to Graeme Armstrong
for 60 years; they have four children, 10 grandchildren and
one great-grandchild. She has lived in five countries, thanks
to Graeme's work, but now lives on the Sunshine Coast in
Queensland, Australia. She would love to hear from her
classmates.
on
Reuni
Tenth
1949
Class of 2003/05
It started with a simple Facebook group, a largely democratic
date-and-venue poll and enthusiasm (as also financial support)
from the entire batch. My co-captain (sorry for the pun), Neelie
Chikhlikar, handled most of the minute details such as online
payments and organisation of the venue.
On Sunday, May 24, 2015 about 60 ex-Cathedralites from the
Class of 2003/05 gathered to celebrate our 10 year reunion at The
White Owl in Lower Parel.
The menu featured inventive Cathedral-themed cocktails such
as The John Connon, a blue rum-based drink with a pineapple,
mint and cherry garnish to signify all four Houses. A DJ spinning
classic 90s tunes, beer pong tables and some blackboard art
rounded up the ambience for that back-to-school feeling.
There were lots of good teacher imitations, reliving of
classic batch stories and, of course, toasts to celebrate peoples
impending nuptials and work developments. It was lovely to
catch up with old friends and make some new ones. But we
missed the ones who couldnt make it.
~ Anika Gupta
Naval J. Patel (Wilson) obtained a degree in Chemical

Engineering from Loughborough College and then worked
for 32 years with I.C.I. India, where he was Corporate Safety
Manager. Thereafter, he worked as Chief Chemical Engineer of
Tata Consulting Engineers. He played club cricket till 1990, but
now leads a sedentary life in Bengaluru with his wife, Armaity
(class of 1954).
Yezad Kapadia (Palmer) lives in Delhi, where he meets his
classmates Jamshed Desai and Raj Bhandari for lunch, together
with Deepak Deshpande and Ravi Jaitly. He also tries to meet
his classmates Vijay Ram, Chandrasen Merchant and Bunny
Khattau whenever he is in Mumbai. He recalls his years in school
with great nostalgia and remembers his teachers, C.J. Olliver,
Stan Pharaoh, Timmins, Thomson, C.B. Nix James, Glynn
Howell and Eddie Mahar, with great fondness. Although he left
school well over 60 years ago, it still rips and thunders whenever
he thinks of the Alma Mater!
1950
Dawn Stuart Brown (Palmer) travelled and lived in
several countries before finally settling in the U.S.A. He retired
Class Notes
after working for years in the field of
conservation. He even had a coffee farm
in Costa Rica. He has revelled in doing
what he wanted, when he wanted to, or
just not doing it at all! A professional
volunteer, he keeps busy and enjoys his
four children and seven grandchildren.
He has fond memories of his years at
Cathedral (some of them as a boarder).
1954
Dave Haskell (Barham) left to
complete his schooling in the U.K. in
Std. 9. He studied agriculture and was
a tobacco farmer in what was then
Rhodesia. He moved to Israel in 1976
and continued to work in agriculture
as a kibbutz member. He has been the
kibbutz security officer for many years
and has retired from other work. His
major pastime is golf. Married with
three children and four grandchildren,
he recently wrote a book about a trip he
made across the Sahara from the U.K. to
Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) in 1962.
1956
Deena B. Motiwalla ne Mulla
married Bomi D. Motiwalla in 1970
and moved to Dubai thereafter. They
have two children. Deena is actively
involved in gardening and formed The
Dubai Gardening Group in 2000. She
also does a lot of social service and was
the Co-Chairperson of Children's Hope
Foundation from 2000 to 2011, when it
closed its office in Dubai.
1957
Tom Frank Peters (Palmer) left
Cathedral a few months before his class
graduated and went to school in Zurich.
He subsequently studied Architecture
at the ETH Zurich and then worked for
several years in Copenhagen and Zurich
before becoming a Teaching Assistant
(at the ETH) and writing a Ph.D. He then
taught Architectural Construction, and
researched and taught Construction
History at UC Berkeley, Cornell, and
Lehigh in the U.S.A. He became Chairman
and Chair Professor of Architecture for
two years (1998-2000) at the Chinese
University of Hong Kong and retired in
2008 to the southern Swiss Alps, where

he continues to research and write.
1958
Dr. Kamal Gupta (Barham) is
currently the Chairman of Lala Lajpatrai
Group of Educational Institutes in
Mumbai, which offers Undergraduate
degrees in Commerce and Post-graduate
M.B.A. degree courses.
1959
Armeane M. Choksi (Wilson) is
currently Chairman and Managing
Partner of Option 3 Ventures LLC, a cyber
security investment firm and business
accelerator.
Jacob Matthan (Savage) obtained a
B.Sc. from St. Stephen's College, Delhi. He
is also a graduate of the Plastic Institute,
National College of Rubber Technology,
Northern Polytechnic, London, an
Associate of the Plastics Institute,
London, a Fellow of the Plastics and
Rubber Institute, London, and a Fellow
of the Institute of Materials, London.
He is author and editor of several books
and articles.
1960
Rustom Vazifdar (Barham) joined
National College for a while, but never
attended lectures as he had made up
his mind to sail on the high seas and
become a Captain. He applied for
admission on the training ship Dufferin
and was fortunate to be selected from
over 4,000 applicants. He went on to
sail in the Indian shipping company
Scindia and loved his career. While still
at sea, he got married. Soon, the call of
the she was louder than the call of the
sea. He retired prematurely and regrets
it. He then worked in a series of jobs
that he hated and suffered a massive
heart attack. He terms this as the best
thing that happened to him! Today, he
is a grandfather of five and is happy
and content.
1962
Edward Pettersson (Savage)
trained to become a Volvo mechanic in
Stockholm, Sweden. He later moved to

Los Angeles, California, where he worked
at a Volvo dealership, finally advancing to
Volvo Master Technician.
Kiran Motwane (Savage) is
involved in the family business of audio,
electronics and P.A. systems.
Lynne Daniel (Savage) became a
teacher at Cathedral in 1972 after a spell
of volunteering in W. Cameroon. She
married Behman Homji (Barham) in
1973 and has since spent time in Dubai,
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Oman. Retired
from teaching in 2007, she is now living
the good life in the U.K.
Aby Benjamin (Wilson) was a Marine
Engineer on Australian vessels. He
now lives in Israel, where he was a shift
engineer of a power plant. He has been a
man of leisure since 2010.
Priscilla Bebbington (Wilson)
trained as a teacher in the U.K. and
taught in London, Australia, New Zealand
and Tonga before settling permanently
in North Queensland, where she lives in
frantically active retirement.
Sunil S. Mehta (Savage) is an
artist, traveller and travel writer, who
also loves photography and gardening.
His articles have appeared in various
leading Indian travel magazines and
can be viewed on http://multitaskerme.
blogspot.in/. His art mostly Western
landscapes and abstracts is on
www.art4allindia.com. He has had
exhibitions in different cities and a
career in marketing and advertising
from 1969 to 2002 with companies
such as I.C.I. Fibres Ltd. (U.K.),
Hutchison Max Telecom / Orange and
National Centre for the Performing
Arts in Mumbai. In 2002, he founded
Businessasusual, his own marketing and
advertising consultancy.
1963
Sunita Khosla ne Sahni (Barham)
worked as an advertising professional
for 45 years. She was Creative Director
with Ogilvy & Mather, Delhi, till
1983, when she left to set up her own
creative boutique, Resonance. Dreamer,
storyteller, champion of lost donkeys, she
is married to Ranvir, a naval officer. They
have two boys and two grandchildren.
Class Notes
Mithoo Malani (Wilson) travelled
from Bombay to Berkeley, California, to
Boston, Massachusetts. She now lives in
South Florida. She keeps in touch with
her Cathedral classmates and teachers
(Mr. William Shiri, Mr. Richard Smith)
and other Cathedralites worldwide. There
are a few of them in Miami, Florida, who
get together to enjoy bhel puri, pani puri
and masala dosas with margaritas.
Jatin Sharda (Savage) moved to the
U.S.A. and has built seven subways. He
misses the old 106 Outram Road.
1964
Patrick Hayes pursued a career as
an automotive and truck mechanic and
automotive educator, with forays into
politics and rural economic development.
He obtained a B.A. in Politics and an M.A.
in Vocational Education. Now retired
in an (American) Indian reservation in
N.E. Washington, he lives in an Airstream
trailer and is building his own home.
1965
Diana Billimoria Mehta (Palmer)
married Firdaus in 1980. They have
one daughter. After heading the travel
department of Colgate-Palmolive for
several years, Diana is enjoying retired
life, travelling and spending several
months each year in Singapore with her
daughter and two grandsons.
Cyrus Balaporia (Barham) joined the
Merchant Navy as a navigator, following
which he studied in the U.K. to get
his licences and become a Captain. He
worked as Navigator and Relief Master
on the supply ship for the Transglobe
Expedition (1979-1982), which was the
first expedition to sail around the world
via both Poles. He then worked for a
short time on passenger sailing ships
before drifting to New Zealand, where he
got married and worked on the N.Z. coast
until his retirement in 2013.
Goutam Rakshit (Wilson) wanted
to emulate Bertie Wooster and, having
failed for a variety of reasons, worked
as Senior Manager with Cadbury for
a decade, did a stint with a global
advertising agency, McCann, as
Account Director, and then went on
to co-found Ad Avenues, a Mumbaibased communications and strategy

consulting firm, which he continues to
run today. Having given up on Bertie,
he soon hopes to emulate Bertie's uncle,
Lord Emsworth. His two sons and
grandchildren are also Cathedralites.
1966
Lance Williams (Barham) attended
Cathedral from 1961 to 1963. His
brother, Mark Williams (died 1967),
was ahead of him by a year. He is still
in touch with classmates Santaram
'Santi' Rao and Xerxes Colah, who are
Orthopaedic Surgeons in the U.S.A. Lance
is married and has four children and two
granddaughters.
1969
Ashok Raiji (Savage) is a Mechanical
Engineer and a Principal at Arup, a global
design/consulting firm. He has been
engaged in award-winning buildings
projects all over the world. Ashok is
married and resides in the New York City
area. He is a passionate golfer and plays
to a 5 handicap.
Vinod Kothapa, M.D. (Savage) is an
Anesthesiologist, Pediatric, Neonatal and
Adult, at Long Beach Memorial, Long
Beach, California.
1970
Dhiru A. Thadani (Savage) is an
architect and urban designer living in
Washington, D.C. He has been principal
designer of several new towns, cities and
universities in Asia, Europe and North
and Central America, as well as the author
of two publications.
Homi Kapadia (Barham) lives with
his wife, Shireen, near Philadelphia,
U.S.A. He is a partner with Deloitte,
where he has served in many leadership
roles, and is currently the Global Client
Portfolio Leader. They have two grown
children and two adorable Golden
Retrievers.
Anwar Wadud Khan (Savage) is an
investor in securities and property.
Rajendra Grewal (Wilson) is
happily married to Anjana and is a
prolifically-published writer, advertising
ace, marketing maven, martial artist,

practitioner of Tai Chi Chuan, passionate
producer of paper planes and father of
Govind Grewal (class of 2000). He is a
Chemical Engineer from U.D.C.T./I.C.T.,
an M.B.A. from J. Bajaj and a Ph.D.
from Bajaj.
1971
Kumkum Khadalia (Barham) is a
plastic surgeon.
Shaila Khubchandani ne
Gokhale (Palmer) is a Surgical
Pathologist, with special interest
in Renal and G.I. Pathology, at four
leading hospitals in Mumbai. She
also has a private practice and is the
author of a book on Renal Pathology.
She is married to Raju and they have
a daughter, Namrata Singhal ne
Khubchandani (class of 1999/2001),
and a son, Rohan Khubchandani
(class of 2002).
1972
Gouri Nagjee (Savage) retired to
pursue non-productive pursuits such as
travel and socialising.
1973
Ranjit Shah (Barham) is Co-Founder/
Managing Partner of Gaja Capital (Private
Equity) in Mumbai. After Cathedral,
he did Electrical Engineering at I.I.T.
(Mumbai) and an M.B.A. from Ross
Michigan, Ann Arbor. He has worked
in consulting, investment banking
and in C.F.O. /C.E.O. roles prior to
being a private equity entrepreneur
since 2005.
1974
Kumail Tyebjee (Savage) lives in
suburban Washington, D.C. with his wife,
Naseem. Kumail has been slogging for
far too long for consultancies, startups
and I.T. firms, and would much rather
be traipsing around the worlds beaches,
sipping fruity drinks and getting foot
massages.
Neesha Jhaveri (Savage) is semiretired, does yoga and meditation and
is looking for another artistic outlet
THE CATHEDRAL & JOHN

CONNON SCHOOL
FRIENDSHIP
IS A
SHELTERING
TREE.
Wishing each and every

one of the Class of '65
a fantastic Reunion in
November 2015 in Mumbai
- With Compliments From
a pair of well-wishers.
Boys School Staff 1965

Std 11 A Boys
Std 11 Girls
Std 11 B Boys
Girls School Staff 1965
FOOT PRINTS
ON OUR HEARTS
And we are never,
ever the same.
GOOD FRIENDS
QUILTS
Class Notes
to poke her itchy fingers into! Ideas,
anyone?
Suresh Verghese (Savage) obtained
a B.E. and an M.B.A. from University of
Madras and an M.Sc. from L.S.E. (198586). Having worked in the Caribbean and
North America until 2003, he now lives in
Trivandrum and occasionally in Mumbai.
He works as a business development
consultant for I.T. companies and was I.T.
coordinator for the 2015 National Games
in Kerala.
Dr. Naishadh Patil (Barham) is an
E.N.T. Consultant and Senior Lecturer
in Ireland, Secretary to the Irish
Otolaryngology Society and a Governing
Council member of the Irish Medical
Organisation. He would love to open an
Irish alumni chapter.
Perseus P. Banaji (Barham) graduated
from Elphinstone College (B.A.) and then
Government Law College, Mumbai. He
worked with a solicitor's firm in Mumbai,
thereafter shifting to Ahmedabad, where
he started, and is continuing with, his
independent practice.
Martina Esberger-Chowdhury
(Savage) lives near Vienna, where
she runs her own consultancy for life
sciences and marketing, after spending
many years in leadership roles in
the global pharmaceutical industry
in India and Europe. Her areas of
specialisation include the India-Europe
axis, pharmaceutical market entry and
patient affairs. Apart from work, she is
a Rotary Past President and plays golf,
meditates and manages a home. She
is married to Alfred and they have a
19-year-old son.
Indrani Sigamany (Barham) is a
Consultant in International Development
in Oxford. She is presently doing Doctoral
Research at the Centre for Applied
Human Rights, University of York Law
School. She has a son and a daughter.
Aditya Bhattacharjea (Wilson)
studied Economics at St. Stephens
College, Jawaharlal Nehru University,
University of Cambridge, and Boston
University. He taught at St. Stephens
College from 1980 to 1996 and thereafter
at the Delhi School of Economics, where
he is currently Professor and Head of the
Department of Economics. He is married
with one daughter.
1975
Vaidehi Mukhi (Savage) did Textile
Designing from Sophia Polytechnic
after school and studied Fine Arts at the
Fashion Institute of Technology, New
York. She changed course dramatically
to join the family business in chemicals
and, five years later, dramatically
again. She is currently a fitness trainer
in Mumbai.
Uday Mehra (Barham) spent some
time in Greece with a large shipping line,
before moving to Dubai, U.A.E., where
he is involved in worldwide luxury yacht
sales to royal families, rich businessmen
and high net-worth individuals.
Jan Willem van der Lee moved
from India to France to the Netherlands,
completed his studies and now works for
Shell International. He currently lives
in Brunei after having lived in the U.K.,
U.S.A., Colombia, Nigeria, Oman and the
Netherlands.
Navin Ramani, formerly
Ramchandani, (Savage) served on the
Board of Directors of The Miami Design
Preservation League, chaired Miami
Beach's Art Deco Weekend Festival in
2005-2006 and subsequently authored an
award-winning coffee table book, Bombay
Art Deco Architecture.
Mehul Mehta (Savage) trained as an
ophthalmologist in Mumbai and Boston
and, after a stint with McKinsey, went
back to his clinical roots. He currently
oversees international healthcare and
education programmes for Partners
Healthcare, an academic system
consisting of the teaching hospitals of
Harvard Medical School. His work has
involved many of the large hospital and
education systems in India. With his
wife Anjali, their three kids and two large
dogs, the family revels in sports, food and
extreme exercise.
1976
Dr. Mohini Gupta (Palmer) has a
Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics and has been
an active researcher at the forefront
of developments in the field. She
continues to serve as a consultant at
the national level and as an advisor to
a technical arm of the International
Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna. She

is Founding Director of the Manipal
Centre for Natural Sciences at
Manipal University.
Nandita Reisinger-Chowdhury
(Savage) lives in Vienna, Austria. She
has just left the banking world and is
starting a new venture combining art and
finance. She is also active in local politics
in Vienna.
1977
Gargi Prabhu ne Malhotra
(Barham) went to Sydenham College,
where she met her husband, Banesh
Prabhu. She lives in London.
David Hardy (Wilson) went to the
American College in Athens, Greece,
obtained a B.Sc. in Marketing and opened
an advertising production company. He
then lived in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and
worked in advertising and marketing for
13 years, before moving in 2001 to the
U.S.A., where he obtained an M.B.A. in
Marketing and International Business.
Having had enough of the corporate
world, in 2010, David went back to
school and got a degree in Horticulture
and Landscape Design. He now works
as a Historic Landscape Specialist in
Miami, Florida, where he lives with
his partner of 20 years and their
Labradoodle, Coco.
Sanjiv Singh (Wilson) obtained
a B.S. in Computer Science at the
University of Denver, an M.S. in Electrical
Engineering at Lehigh University and
a Ph.D. in Robotics at Carnegie Mellon
University. He has been on the faculty
of the Robotics Institute since 1995. He
is the founding editor of the Journal of
Field Robotics and the co-founder of three
startups. He is currently C.E.O. of Near
Earth Autonomy, a startup that develops
autonomous aircraft.
Ajit Dayal (Palmer) was an avid
bunker while in school, but is now the
founder of many pioneering companies
in the Indian financial services industry,
where ethics and customer focus is the
key: Equitymaster, PersonalFN, Quantum
Mutual Fund to name a few. He has
ventured into the social giving space by
launching HelpYourNGO (which evaluates
NGOs) and has introduced busking in
Class Notes
Bombay and Goa with the launch of a nonprofit organisation, National Streets for
Performing Arts (NSPA.in).
1978
Amit Bhargava (Barham) has lived
all over the U.S.A. and is currently based
in the Mid-West, where he has been
leading M&A and Strategy functions
for large manufacturing companies.
He was previously in venture capital
and at McKinsey. Married to a fellowCathedralite, he has two college/
high-school-going children. His midlife
accomplishment was climbing Mt. Rainier
last year and he has unrealistic hopes
of becoming a full-time ski bum in the
near future.
Shaill Jhaveri (Savage) lives and
works in New York City where he creates
jewellery, which he defines as crosscultural contemporary. He has been
Head of Design for several leading U.S.
corporations. Among his honours are
two DeBeers Diamond Today Awards, an
Inter-Gold Award from the World Gold
Council, two awards from the Gem and
Jewellery Export Promotion Council
of India and a Design Scholarship from
Tiffany and Company at Parsons School
of Design.
Ravi Sheth (Barham) is Managing
Director of Greatship (India) Limited,
which is involved in oilfield services.
1979
Robert Tyabji (Wilson) went into
bulk transport of solvents and oils in
Maharashtra and Gujarat, manufactured
switchgear and animated advertising
signage (in association with Western
Outdoor Advertising Pvt. Ltd.), and
pioneered video recording and CCTV
technology in India, setting up a state-ofthe-art recording studio in Bombay and
public viewing CCTV systems in seven
race courses. Thereafter, he worked with
Cinema Workshop in New Delhi and
participated in producing documentary
films for various American universities.
He then joined the UNICEF regional
office in Delhi as a communication
specialist working for UNICEF in Bhutan,
Somalia, Yemen, Tanzania and Nepal
over the next 30 years, finally retiring
in 2003 in Malaysia, where he lives with

his wife.
Sheetal Mehta (Savage) is Chief CSR, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and
heads the K. C. Mahindra Education Trust
as well as the Mahindra Foundation.
Tor Madsen (Palmer) moved back
to Norway in 1979. After receiving his
degree in business administration in
1989, he pursued a career within the
energy sector. He currently resides in
Oslo with his wife, Anita, and frequently
visits India to meet friends from
Cathedral School.
1980
Meera Gandhi (Barham) was
President of J.M.C. (Delhi University,
1985), obtained an M.B.A. from Boston
University in 1989 and did the Exec-Ed
programme from Harvard Business
School on Governing for Non-Profit
Organisations. She is currently C.E.O. and
Founder of The Giving Back Foundation,
headquartered in N.Y.C. She has three
children. The family lives in N.Y.C. and
spends weekends in their Hudson Valley
riverfront estate.
Jatin Sheth (Savage) quit Microsoft
a couple of years ago and has become a
Consultant, Coach, NLP practitioner and
trainer. He is finally doing what he was
born to do.
Reena Mehrotra ne Kewalramani
(Barham) completed her C.A. and worked
with Wockhardt Ltd. and Alpic Finance
Ltd. Currently working in education and
healthcare at family-run trusts, she has
two boys.
Biljana D. Obradovi (Wilson) is
a transnational poet, translator, critic
and Professor of English at Xavier
University of Louisiana, in New Orleans,
U.S.A. She was awarded the Norman C.
Francis Research Award in Excellence
in Research in 2015 at Xaviers, where
she teaches Creative Writing and Poetry,
and has published three collections of
poems. She has also translated a book
by Bratislav Milanovi into English
and published five books of poetry
translations into Serbian. She is working
on an anthology of contemporary Serbian
poetry. Biljana is originally from Serbia
(ex-Yugoslavia), but has lived in Greece,
U.S.A. and India (she was at Cathedral
from 1976 to 1980). She has never

returned to India after 1980, but would
love to.
Sangeeta Machado ne Batheja
(Palmer) obtained an L.L.M. from
Government Law College, Mumbai, and
a Solicitor's Certification from Mumbai
and London. She practises as a Solicitor
and Advocate and is Legal Consultant to
Reliance Industries Limited.
1981
Philip Raine (Savage) was the blonde
Canadian who left Cathedral during Std. 7.
He is an R.N. in Corpus Christi, Texas, and
would love to hear from his classmates on
1-361-774-0670.
Mudit Jain (Savage) obtained an
M.B.A. from Wharton School and has
since been working in his family business,
DCW Ltd., where he is Managing Director,
looking after the caustic/chlorine
division. He enjoys walking, theatre,
reading non-fiction books, watching films
based on reality and attending talks and
programmes on history and culture. He is
married to Malti.
Aditya Das (Palmer) is Founder
and Principal at Pharmaceutical
Consulting LLC (since 2012), covering
Combination Product therapeutic
strategies for Infectious, Genetic,
Allergic and Metabolic Diseases using
Pulmonary Drug Delivery for Global
Clients. He obtained a Ph.D. in 1993
in Chemical Engineering from a
joint programme (NIOSH and WVU)
and an M.B.A. in Strategy from U.C.
Irvine (2003). He has been a student
of Hindustani classical vocal music
since 1994. His most recent project is
a book on Lord Minto's Foreign Policy
(1807-1813).
Udai Mattan (Savage) looks back
fondly at his time at Cathedral and
calls them the best years of his life! He
enjoyed being Savage House Captain
and winning Cock House in 1981. As a
media professional, he is involved with
broadcasting and corporate coaching
in communication skills. He is based in
Bangalore.
Anita Goddard ne Maitra (Barham)
qualified as a Veterinary Surgeon in 1989
and practises in Kent, U.K. Married to
Robert, she has a son.
Class Notes
Sandeep Vishnu (Palmer) is a partner
in a financial services consulting firm,
Capco, and lives in San Francisco with his
wife and two teenage sons. He has had a
diverse career in management consulting,
with a slight diversion when he worked
with National Geographic to make a
documentary on The Great Indian
Railway.
Cheraz Bharucha (Wilson) studied
Civil Engineering in Bangalore, then
took a round-the-careers trip developing
property, starting a Chinese restaurant
and, finally, manufacturing furniture
for the past 15 years. He has had an
interesting life so far. Happily married
with two kids, he is waiting for the next
happy twist in life!
1982
Kiran Chainani (Palmer) left school
in Std. 9 and completed high school
in the U.S.A. She graduated from Pace
University, NY, and worked at Cadbury
Schweppes as a Financial Analyst in
Connecticut. Married to her neighbour
from Little Gibbs Road, Sanjay Jindal,
they moved back to India nine years ago.
They have three children.
Roxanne Panthakee (Palmer) is
currently a swimming teacher/coach with
Greenwich Leisure Limited in London.
Neville Javeri (Savage) is married to
Seema and they have two children. They
live in Washington, D.C., where Neville is
an Equity Fund Manager for Wells.
1983
Jasjiv Sahney (Palmer) lives and
works in Bangalore, where he runs
manufacturing businesses around
automotive and power-gen products.
His wife, Deepa, trains and rides their
eventing and show-jumping horses.
Shernaz Kharegat (Palmer) has been
working in a law firm in the U.A.E. for the
past 20 years as a Trademark Manager.
Sunay Pradhan, MD (Barham) is
a Psychiatrist at Masina Hospital and
Saifee Hospital, where he specialises in
Sexual Disorders and De-Addiction. He is
married to Sandhya and they have a son.
Swati Saha (Palmer) traipsed
around the world with Citigroup for
13 years. She then decided not to be a
super-mom and pursued her passion

for food with a degree in Culinary
Arts, which has translated to a food
blog. She has been in New York since
2005, helping people navigate the real
estate maze.
Deepa Chandrasekhar ne
Rajaram (Savage) graduated with a B.A.
in Economics and an M.B.A. in Finance
from the University of Alberta, Canada.
She pursued banking as a career and has
worked extensively in the Middle East.
She is currently the Senior Vice President,
Chief Compliance Officer of United Gulf
Bank, based in Manama, Bahrain. She has
two sons.
Kaiomarz Dotivala (Palmer)
specialises in creating and managing
geo-diverse software development
teams (CAD/CAE/CFD Software). He is
currently Director of Q.A. at Exa Corp.,
located in Greater Boston.
1984
Sajjid Mitha
(Barham)
is Founder,
President
and C.E.O. of
Polymerupdate,
India's first
Laveena Mitha ne Advani
(class of 1989) and Sajjid
and Asia's
fastest growing petrochemical market
intelligence web-based platform.
In July, his company launched
its second commodity vertical,
www.metalsupdate.com, which
provides market intelligence for base,
scrap, minor and precious metals.
Sajjid loves travelling with his wife,
Laveena, and is an avid photographer
and writer. He is also a travel blogger
(www.boyahead.com).
Uday Natu (Wilson) is C.E.O. of
Marinor, an Indo-Norwegian joint venture
company. Having been a soldier, scientist
and diplomat, he is now a corporate
honcho. He served on warships while in
the Indian Navy, worked with the D.R.D.O.,
and tried to learn some Hebrew while with
the Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Ajay Mathur (Wilson) is Deputy C.E.O.
for ANZ Banking Group, Indonesia, and is
based in Jakarta. He has shuttled between
Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore and Jakarta and
across multiple banks. Vandana and he

have two sons.
Raena Kashyap
Reddy (Palmer)
was Branch Head at
Corporate Voice Weber
Shandwick, Chennai.
She resigned last year
and is currently taking
a break.
Zamin Mitha (Savage) works for
software startup Nutanix. He, his
wife and two daughters live in the
San Francisco Bay Area.
1985
Sunil Dalal (Savage) is Founder
and Managing Director of UniDEL,
a technology venture group that has
successfully incubated and scaled
technology businesses across the
industrial, financial and education space.
He is married to Mamta and they have
two children.
Anjali Kilachand ne Sukhdevsinhji
(Barham) studied at St. Xaviers College,
Mumbai, and N.M.I.M.S., Mumbai. She
works at Deutsche Bank, Mumbai, as
Vice President in Wealth Management.
Her daughter, Vedika, is in Std. 12 at
Cathedral, so she still gets to visit school
often. She is happy to report that the
spirit stays the same although much has
changed.
Ashok Rao (AVR) (Palmer) is based
in Toronto, Canada, where he works for
the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
(C.I.B.C.).
1986
Ajit Mahadevan (Wilson) recently
became Country Director, India, for
Acumen, an impact-investing fund that
invests in companies and leaders that
are changing the way the world tackles
poverty.
Regan A. R. Gurung (Wilson) never
thought he would be a Professor of
Psychology, having never taken the subject
in school. He loves being an academic and
is starting his 17th year at the University
of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where he is
enjoying teaching and researching.
Harish Ramanan (Palmer) is
currently Head, Strategy & Business
Class Notes
Finance, at Dr. Agarwal's Group of Eye
Hospitals. He was earlier Director at
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and also
worked with Arthur Andersen. He resides
in Chennai.
Viraf Kapradewala (Barham) is
a Chartered Accountant practising in
Mumbai.
Gaurang Dabholkar (Barham)
is Associate Vice President, Sales, at
Kirloskar Chillers. After obtaining a
degree in Mechanical Engineering from
W.I.T. Solapur, he has been with the
Kirloskar Group since 1992. He lives
in Pune with his wife, Sonali, and their
two daughters.
1987
Dinshaw Mistry (Palmer) is Professor
of Political Science at the University of
Cincinnati and the author of two major
books on the technology and politics of
nuclear proliferation.
Ayesha Mody ne Mistry (Palmer)
lives in Mumbai with her husband,
Neville, and three daughters, all of whom
are in Cathedral.
1988
Anita Shroff ne Francorsi
(Savage) graduated in Arts and Hotel
Administration and Food Technology.
She went on to work with Telecom Italia
SpA. as an Administrative Consultant for
10 years. She then studied further and
is currently a professional Numerologist
and U.S.-certified NLP Life Coach.
She is married to a lawyer, Anosh,
and they have two daughters and live
in Mumbai.
Dinanath Gokhale (Wilson)
is married to Archana (his M.B.A.
classmate) and they have one son. After
spending a few years in South Africa and
the Middle East, they are back in India,
living in Pune. Dinanath has been in
the I.T. /software industry for the past
22 years.
Yuki Taida-Hoggard (Wilson) is an
Associate at P.D.P. London Architects
in Hong Kong Studio since 2010, after
having practised in the U.K. for more
than 15 years.
Prachi Patel (Wilson) is busy working
hard instead of hardly working! Happily
single, she keeps herself engrossed with

her creative writing pursuits.
1989
Kaushal Parikh (Wilson) worked
with HSBC for eight years, obtained an
M.B.A. and then quit the corporate world
to paint with light. He is now a travel/
documentary/street photographer based
in Mumbai.
Rushil Shah (Wilson) studied
Engineering and has moved to Pune,
where he runs his own company. He is
married to Shahreen and they have two
children. Rushil has started swimming
competitively once again on the Masters
circuit and trains regularly with his
children. Scuba diving forms the centre of
all his family vacations.
Ranjit George Lazar (Savage)
obtained a Bachelors in Engineering
(Electronics - I.T. software) from the
University of Bombay (Mumbai). He
worked as a consultant at Johnson &
Johnson (India), before migrating to the
U.S.A. to continue on the same track.
After re-prioritising his goals, he went
on to complete a Masters in Information
Science at Pennsylvania State University,
following which he took a break to do
some sailing/navigating around Northern
Europe. He is presently enjoying family
life with his wife and son in the U.K. while
working as a Senior Analyst Consultant for
an E.U.-based high-end consulting firm.
Atul Pahwa (Palmer) is a Strategy
and Innovation Consultant who has
recently set up The Geneva Institute,
a research and training centre for
European neurosurgeons. He focuses
on business model innovation, helping
companies (from startups to Fortune 500
organisations) rethink their businesses
and thereby create new markets. He has
been based in Switzerland since 2002.
Shalini Kamal Sharma (Palmer)
lives in Singapore, where she is Group
Managing Director, Formula One
Furniche Pte. Ltd.
Ram Goyel (Palmer) is based in
Mumbai, where he is self-employed in the
financial markets and pursues his hobbies
of travel and tennis. This, of course, is
whenever he gets time off from helping
his son with Std. 4 homework!
1990
Yasna Uberoi (Savage) works for the
Department of Field Support, United
Nations, in New York. She is married to
Jesper Juul Jensen from Denmark and
they live in Brooklyn.
Prithpal Singh (Palmer) is a career
investment banker/banker, currently
heading Corporate Advisory at Sberbank,
Delhi.
Saloni Ghuwalewala (Savage) has
finally moved back to Mumbai after
shuttling between Canada and India and
leading a nomadic existence for five years.
She continues her work in the field of art
conservation, preserving works on paper.
Anup Sharma (Palmer) went to
University of Rochester and then moved
to Silicon Valley, where he currently leads
Technology Development for cameras
at Apple. In his free time, he pilots his
family in his aircraft around California
and Western U.S.A.
Aditya Daftary (Palmer) is a
Bone and Joint Radiologist and runs
InnoVision Imaging, while working with
SportsMed Mumbai, a sports medicine
centre in Mumbai (duh!). He spends more
time cycling than doing anything useful.
1991
Ashish Pherwani (Barham)
leads Ernst & Young's media and
entertainment advisory practice in India.
He lives in Mumbai with his wife, Sarika.
Captain (IN) Kartik Srimal (Wilson)
left school in 1988 after Std. 8. He joined
the Indian Naval Academy after school
and got commissioned into the Indian
Navy in 1996. He is presently posted at
Visakhapatnam.
Madhura Samarth (Wilson) is
Founder & C.E.O. of Ripple Digital Pvt. Ltd.
Before this, Madhura founded and ran
Sharp Shooter Films (a T.V. commercial
production company), a JV with the
W.P.P. group. An investment banker by
training, she worked on Wall Street in New
York prior to moving back to India. She
has obtained a B.A. in Economics from
Lawrence University in Wisconsin, U.S.A.
She is also an angel investor in several
startups and a member of Mumbai Angels
and Entrepreneurs Organisation.
Class Notes
Dr. Farokh Vakil (Barham) has
obtained M.D. and D.N.B. degrees
in Internal Medicine and is attached
to Bombay Hospital as a Consultant
Intensivist and Physician. His
hobbies are following football (he
is a die-hard Liverpool F.C. fan) and
foreign travel.
Jamshed Variava (Barham)
graduated from Jai Hind College with
a degree in Economics and Accounting
and then joined the family travel
agency and business centre. In 2003,
he founded the family-run private
investment holding company, which
he currently heads. A self-confessed
travel bug, he is most happy in a plane.
He is based in Mumbai, but spends
time chilling in London and partying in
New York.
Paritosh Khanna (Savage) is
a Physician, Radiologist-Pediatric
Neuroradiologist, in sunny San Diego,
California. He is a partner at San Diego
Imaging Medical Group and Associate
Professor at University of California,
San Diego.
1992
Yohann Sulaiman (Barham) is C.E.O.
of a software consultancy in Vancouver,
Canada. After obtaining a Bachelors in
Engineering from the U.K., he obtained
a Masters in the U.S.A., followed by a
Doctorate in Law. He worked as a lawyer
in N.Y.C. and migrated to Canada, where
he lives with his wife.
Varun Sahni (Palmer) has spent his
time since school as an entrepreneur
and fund manager, building businesses
in Africa and Asia for low-income
consumers across multiple asset classes
and industries. He co-founded Impact
Investment Partners and is based in
London. He is a T.E.D. Fellow, Chevening
Scholar and Asia Society Global
Young Leader.
Anjali Isaacs (Wilson) dabbled
in animation and more than dabbled
in fashion design, only to realise that
teaching was her true calling, thus
making her the third generation of
educators in the family. She lives in
Hong Kong with her husband and two
young children.
1993
Harshvadan Amersey (Barham)
obtained an undergraduate degree
from the U.K. in 1998 and moved back
to India to join the family business of
machine-building, real estate and windgenerator manufacturing. Married with
two kids, one of whom is in Cathedral,
he enjoys playing the annual alumni golf
tournament and cricket match. He is
involved in politics and social work.
Anjalee Degardin ne Pawar
(Barham) obtained an M.Sc. in Speech
and Language Pathology from University
College, London, and runs her own
private speech therapy practice. She
spent many years as a specialist Speech
Pathologist within the N.H.S., treating
patients with communication disorders,
including verbal dyspraxia. She and her
Belgian husband, Sebastien, live in NorthWest London, with their baby boy.
Lulu Raghavan (Savage) obtained
a B.A. in Economics from Davidson
College (U.S.A.) and then joined Ogilvy
Consulting in Mumbai. She then obtained
an M.B.A. from S.P. Jain Institute of
Management, Mumbai. After marrying
Harsha Raghavan (Class of 1990),
she moved to San Francisco and started
working for Landor, a global brand
and design consultancy. She has since
followed Harsha to New York, London
and Mumbai, all this while at Landor. She
is currently Managing Director of Landor
in India and the proud mum of two.
Prashant Lamba (Savage) obtained
a B.Com. from Symbiosis College of Arts
& Commerce in 1996 and then set up
his own internet business. He has been
involved with Phonologies (India), a tech
company, since 2001, and lives in Pune
with his wife, Amrita, and their two-yearold son.
Anirudh Baheti (Savage) obtained
an I.B. from U.W.C., Singapore,
followed by a B.B.A. in Finance from
the University of Texas at Austin. He
subsequently founded a company in
medical transcription for the U.S. hospital
market. After exiting this venture, he has
started a company in online education
for the U.S. school segment. He lives
in Mumbai with his wife, Shruti, and
two daughters.
1994
Gaurav Talwar (Barham) is currently
Managing Director of Brilliant Polymers
Pvt. Ltd. He lives in Mumbai with his
wife, Priyanka, and two children, who
attend Cathedral and continue the family
tradition.
Shalini Amersey (Barham) went
to the U.S.A. for B.A. (Arts) and B.Sc.
(Business) degrees at Iowa State
University. She then opened her own
business in New York City and obtained
an M.B.A. from Pace University. Shalini
and her family moved back to Mumbai
after more than 14 years when a business
opportunity arose. Her son is a thirdgeneration Cathedralite and she also has
a newborn.
Amit Advani (Palmer) obtained a
degree in Chemical Engineering from
the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
and the Owner-President Management
Program from the Harvard Business
School. An entrepreneur, he set up
Swagelok in Mumbai in 1999 and is its
Chairman and Managing Director. He is
also instrumental in mentoring a new
healthcare business that has brought
the popular hand hygiene brand Purell
to India. He is married to Pooja and they
have two children.
Kaushal Kapadia (Palmer) has always
had a fascination for financial markets
and has been actively managing the
family portfolio of investments for the
last 18 years. A few years ago, he started a
venture for organic farming, specialising
in mango cultivation, on the outskirts
of Mumbai.
Taronish Khajotia (Palmer)
started an oil-field services company
after spending many years in shipping
operations, chasing pirates (harrharr!)
and tanker owners. He lives in Mumbai
with his wife, Reena, and daughter,
waiting for the price of oil to rise.
1995
Saurabh Mohatta (Savage) graduated
from U.W.M.-Milwaukee with a degree
in Mechanical Engineering and briefly
worked at G.E. Medical Systems,
Wisconsin. In 2007, he joined his
family business, Aloke Alloys, which
Let an experienced
fellow Cathedralite (83)

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ssaha@halstead.com
halstead.com Halstead Property, LLC
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Class Notes
manufactures stainless steel and high
nickel/cobalt castings, where he is
presently in charge of Operations and
R&D related to development of alloys.
Zina Mody (Palmer) obtained a B.Sc.
in Economics at Queen Mary & Westfield,
London, and then worked with HSBC,
Mumbai. She quit five years into the job.
Today, she owns a floral design studio,
The Bloom Room, in Colaba, Mumbai. It
works her harder than any bank ever did,
but she loves every minute of it!
Al Amin Kably (Savage) graduated
from the University of Toronto with
a Masters in Urban Design and has
worked from Canada as an urban
planner on large-scale projects in North
America, the Middle East, Central, as
well as South Asia and Africa. Currently
based in Jordan, he has worked on
award-winning master plans for cities
and regions and has recently completed
assignments for the E.U. in Egypt, the
U.N.D.P. in Lebanon and the World Bank
in Saudi Arabia.
Maneka Thadani (Palmer) has been
in the marketing and communications
profession for more than a decade. She
has been working with Gucci, one of
the worlds leading luxury brands, for
more than five years. She lives with her
husband, Nitin, in Mumbai.
1996
Rohini Behl (Savage) would rather
spend her days sailing, but pursued
her other love winning hearts with
brands and got into marketing. Now
Director, Global Marketing, at Unilever,
she is based in the U.K, where she leads
capability building for new product
development, working closely with brand,
market research and design to elevate the
quality of innovation at Unilever.
Tushar Kilachand (Barham)
graduated from the University of
Michigan Business School and moved
to New York, where he spent five years
in investment banking at Credit Suisse
First Boston and Sandler ONeill &
Partners. He left New York in 2005
and obtained an M.B.A. from INSEAD
in France. After having spent almost a
decade away, he moved back to Mumbai
in 2006 and joined the family business,
manufacturing auto components and

processing/trading steel. He is married to
Mansi Mehta (ISC 1996) and they have
an extremely naughty son, who is also a
proud Cathedralite!
Gautam Mago (Palmer) is Partner at
a venture capital firm, Sequoia Capital,
based in Bangalore. He spent some time
in management consulting and makes
a living investing in young technology
companies.
Fali R. Singara (Palmer) has spent
two decades in the radio business as a
radio jockey, producer and writer. He has
also produced and directed a well-received
documentary on Mother Teresa. Over the
course of his short life, he has been blessed
by the Pope at the Vatican and interviewed
Madonna, U2 and Bruce Springsteen. He
has also been mistaken for an Italian TV
star while holidaying in Europe!
Mekaal Godhwani (Savage) is
Director at Sovereign Leather Innovators
Pvt. Ltd., which manufactures leather
accessories for many well-known brands.
He loves to travel with his GoPro camera
and is into extreme sports such as
kitesurfing, white-water kayaking, rock
climbing, free diving, scuba diving and
snowboarding.
Sidharth Mohatta (Savage) joined
his family business with diversified
interests in steel, cement, real estate and
finance while pursuing a B.Com. from
H.R. College. His 18-month-old daughter
and pet Bulldog make certain that he is
active through the day.
1996/98
Aditya Munshi (Palmer) is currently
Front Office Manager at COMO The
Treasury in Perth, Australia. Having lived
and worked in Europe, Asia and North
and South America (wife Nataly is from
Peru), Aditya is a luxury hospitality and
tourism specialist who loves adventure
and travel.
Ali Nabee (Palmer) has launched a
home fragrance brand, Aromafume, in
India and spends a lot of time curating
an extensive tea collection. He lives in
Mumbai with his wife, Zahabiya, and
baby girl.
Kiran Desai (Wilson) is the founding
partner of KAD Legal, an IP, Media and
Sports Law practice. He recently set

up a sport+art platform called TenArt.
His wife, Ami, and their daughter live
in Mumbai.
Manav Patnaik (Wilson) is a Senior
Equity Research Analyst at Barclays in
New York City, where he lives with his
wife and three children.
Nandini Piramal (Savage) runs
Human Resources and an over-thecounter drugs business for Piramal
Enterprises. She obtained her B.A. in
P.P.E. from Oxford University and her
M.B.A. from Stanford University. She is
married with two children and lives in
Mumbai.
Pooja Mishra Prahlad (Wilson)
moved to Jai Hind College, V.J.T.I. and
then finally to I.I.M. (Ahmedabad) for
an M.B.A. Pooja has been with Goldman
Sachs in London since 2005 where
she looks after the Design of Financial
Products for HNW clients. She is married
to Aditya and they have one child.
Essaji Vahanvati (Wilson) graduated
from Government Law College, Mumbai,
with an L.L.B degree. He spent 12 years
at AZB & Partners, one of the leading law
firms in India, and specialised in mergers
and acquisitions. He resides in Mumbai
with his wife, Moneesha, and their son.
Farah Palia (Wilson) graduated from
the London College of Fashion and then
joined HELLO! India as Fashion Features
and Beauty Editor.
Hemraj Juwarker (Wilson) is
a Scientist-Entrepreneur at Duke
University Medical Center. He is
discovering a drug and starting a biotech
company. Hemraj lives in Durham, North
Carolina, with his wife, Sasha.
Shirin Neterwala (Savage) runs a
small graphic design company in Mumbai
and is married to Aditya Malkani
(Wilson).
Savitar Jagtiani (Wilson) is Business
Head of e-Commerce for the Landmark
Group and lives in Dubai with his wife,
Aarti, and their son.
Rohan Rai (Barham) is a Private
Equity investor in New York.
Mohak Mehta (Savage) graduated
from Krannert, Purdue, Indiana. He
worked with his uncle Pinakin Patel in
the family business, where he has been
instrumental in designing premium
Class Notes
addresses and successfully expanding the
practice. He and Niyati Tanna Mehta
are happily moving on to their new role
as Cathedral parents since their daughter
started attending the Pre-Primary Section
earlier this year.
Niyati Tanna Mehta (Barham)
graduated from the Wharton School,
University of Pennsylvania. Since then,
she has worked in the investment
banking and private equity space
as well as in a pharmaceuticals and
chemicals business. Niyati recently
founded her own venture advisory
firm, advising early stage companies on
strategy, business planning, fundraising
and compliance.
Kaamna Bhojwani (Wilson) is the
founder of Momaboard, a bespoke tripplanning service for families. She lives
in London with her husband and two
children. When she isnt globetrotting
for work and pleasure, Kaamna teaches
(group and private) Latin and Bollywood
dance classes.
Priyanka Zutshi (Wilson) is a
Development Sector professional who
has experience across both the nonprofit and corporate social responsibility
sectors such as ICICI Foundation, Sesame
Workshop India, BBC World Service Trust
and Azim Premji Foundation. Priyanka
is married to Vivek Laha, a banker, and
currently keeps herself busy playing fulltime mom to her two-year-old daughter.
Anaita Vazifdar-Davar (Savage)
completed her C.A. as quickly as she
could in order to move to her true love
writing. After a course in journalism, she
began working at Spenta Multimedia,
a Mumbai publishing house, where she
has been for the past nine years. She and
her husband, Maneck, have two children
and a third on the way. Although she
loves spending time with her kids and
attending classical music concerts, Anaita
is happiest with her nose in a book.
- Compiled by Essaji Vahanvati
1997
Itisha Peerbhoy (Wilson) is a
published author, theatre personality
and branding and communications
consultant. Her biggest achievement is
the raising of a profane five-year-old who

believes he is Jesus.
Dhruv Chopra (Palmer House Vice
Captain) obtained a B.A. (Econ) from Jai
Hind College and has since worked as a
video games programmer, run his own
I.T. company and survived working at
one of the world's largest banks. Based
in Mumbai, he is currently the Chief
Marketing Officer at CarWale, India's #1
automotive portal.
Anusha Prasad Verma (Savage)
obtained a B.Com. from Sydenham
College, Mumbai, and an M.B.A. from
Narsee Monjee College. She joined the
banking industry and worked in L.A. for
five years. Her husband, Gulshan, and
she have three children and they live in
Singapore, where she works full-time.
Namrata Daswani, a.k.a Simran
Khiantani (Wilson) married in 2006
and moved to New York, where she now
lives with her husband, Arjan, their son
and twin daughters. Namrata continues
to be passionate about her graphic design
career and has been busy developing her
brand, KAKHI Designs, and her love for
cooking by maintaining a cooking blog
(www.simrancooks.blogspot.com).
1998
Gaurrav Kanal is presently exploring
holisticity .
Monesh Punjabi (Savage) is a
Senior Product Manager at a technology
startup in New York. Although he still
enjoys coding, he moved from software
development to product management
(which he enjoys even more!) in 2010,
after obtaining a Masters in Information
Systems from Carnegie Mellon.
Nicholas Alphonso (Savage) is a
Chartered Telecommunications Engineer,
working in Australia for mining company
BHP Billiton.
1999
Divya Saraf ne Bajaj (Barham)
is a pre-primary teacher who was last
employed with SIS Prep, Mumbai.
Married to Akshay, she is in the process
of setting up a toy library. She is a
certified scuba diver and also holds an
M.A. in Design from Birmingham City
University, U.K.
Jaimishi Shijiani (Wilson) runs a

public relations firm, after obtaining a
B.A. in Psychology and Sociology from
St. Xaviers College, an M.A. in Sociology
from Mumbai University and a Diploma
in Psychological Counselling.
Deepika Asthana (Palmer) worked
with ICICI Securities and D.E. Shaw
for several years before deciding to
quit corporate slavery to start her own
proprietary fund, still in its nascent
stage. She has had a short story
published by HarperCollins and is a
freelance travel writer. She was blessed
with twin girls last year.
2000
Deepali Gupta (Savage) obtained
a post-graduate degree in Journalism,
following which she pursued businesses
across the technology, pharma and
telecom sectors. Now an assistant editor
with The Economic Times, she is the
mother of two boys.
Sitanshu Shah (Wilson) is Case
Team Leader at Bain & Company in
their Mumbai office. He obtained an
M.B.A. from INSEAD a few years ago and
recently got married to Lekha.
Devanshi Ruparelia (Wilson) lives
in London with her family, working
as Vice-President in Investment
Management.
Akshay Jalan (Wilson) obtained an
undergraduate degree at the University
of Pennsylvania's Management and
Technology Program, Class of 2004.
He then moved to Wall Street in
the investment banking and hedge
fund industries before returning to
India to become an entrepreneur.
Based in Mumbai, he is a Director
at Link Telecom and Jalan Brothers,
running distribution and logistics
businesses covering half of India. He
has ambitions to go pan-national and is
also dabbling with the retail industry.
He is thinking of ways to spend more
time with his two baby girls before they
grow up.
Manav Dange (Barham) lives in
Chicago with his wife, Anya, and works
at Deloitte Consulting as a Senior
Manager in their Strategy and Mergers
& Acquisitions practice.
Welding Products, Services & Training
Reclamation, Fusion, Surfacing & Spraying Solutions
Digital and Power Electronics
Personal Care Products
Flares & Project Engineering

New and Renewable Energy
Ador House, 6 K Dubash Marg, Fort, Mumbai - 400 001. INDIA | Tel. +91 22 66239300 | Fax +91 22 25966562
www.adorgroup.com
Class Notes
2001
Lakshmi Vaswani (Palmer) is a
pathologist at Bhatia Hospital, Mumbai.
She completed her M.B.B.S. in 2008,
followed by a post-graduate specialisation
in Pathology and Bacteriology. She is
married to Ashish Hingorani and they
have one son, who keeps his parents on
their toes.
Aditya Vazirani (Barham) runs
his family business in Hong Kong and
Shanghai and can't believe he is getting
married to a lovely girl. She must be
bonkers!
Radhika Shah ne Tanna
(Barham) graduated with a Bachelors in
Management from Babson College, U.S.A.,
and has since pursued a career in banking
in New York and Mumbai. She is married
to Jai and has been on a sabbatical from
work since she had her daughter.
Karan Maheshwari (Savage)
graduated from Duke University in
2005 and then worked at McKinsey as
a consultant for six years doing public
sector consulting with governments
in India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar
and Bhutan. He is currently Managing
Director of M.I.P.L., a financial services
company, and enjoys investing in and
building startups in the technology space.
He is excited about doing something
game-changing soon.
Anuja Katrak ne Kapadia (Barham)
is a licensed and practising speech and
language therapist. She graduated
from York University, Toronto, and
obtained a Master's from Northwestern
University, Chicago, and U.C.L., London.
She practises from her clinic, SPARC, in
Mumbai and also works with the city's
leading doctors, hospitals and dedicated
institutions for children and adults with
speech, language, communication and
swallowing disorders. She was recently
invited to School to address staff and
parents on this subject.
Mridul Damani Lakhotia (Palmer)
obtained a B.F.A. from Academy of Art
University, San Francisco, and now owns
Graphik Bar, a freelance graphic design
company, which deals in corporate
stationery design, personalised and
customised gift tags, envelopes and
gifting solutions.
2002
Neha Batura (Palmer) is a Research
Associate in Development and Health
Economics, working at the Institute
for Global Health at University College,
London. She lives a bi-continental life,
spending half the year working in London
and the other half working in Mumbai,
where she lives with her husband.
Shirali Merchant (Wilson) recently
published her first children's book, The
Adventures of Zulu and the Gang: The Bully
Dilemma, about a group of dogs and their
antics. www.shiralimerchant.com
Shiv Chaudhary (Wilson) started his
career with Morgan Stanley's investment
banking business on Wall Street. He is
currently a Vice President with Norwest
Venture Partners in Mumbai.
2003
Yashodhan Nevatia (Palmer) spent
five years in Germany, learning a lot
about beer and not a lot of German, then
worked in Belgium, where he somewhat
successfully managed to send things to
space. Now, while pursuing an M.B.A.
in Barcelona, he is trying to help Google
show better advertisements.
2005
Parth Shah (Palmer) obtained a
B.E. in Chemical Engineering from the
University of Bombay and, deciding to
practise what was preached to him, joined
ThyssenKrupp as a Process Engineer
in Mumbai. After working for a while,
he went on to do an M.Sc. in Chemical
Engineering at Imperial College, London.
Arpit Mittal (Savage) is a systems
analyst at Intuitive Surgical Inc., building
robots for medical surgery.
2003/05
Smitha Menon (Wilson) is currently
the Digital Assistant Editor at Cond
Nast Traveller India. After working across
business news and television feature
programming at Bloomberg TV and
NDTV Good Times, respectively, she
moved to the digital space, where she
was Editor of the Mumbai edition of the
lifestyle and culture website Brown Paper
Bag. Smitha is based in Mumbai and her

interests include travel, film and food.
Sanjana Chowhan (Wilson) has
been working as a multimedia journalist
for the past five years, predominantly in
television, and is now exploring the digital
space. Additionally, she works on business
development for Schbang, a digital media
solutions company. She has an M.Sc. in
Broadcast Journalism from Columbia
Journalism School and a Post-Graduate
Diploma in Broadcast Journalism from
the Asian College of Journalism.
Sanjana Bubber (Palmer) completed
a three-year Diploma course in Apparel
Manufacture and Design from S.N.D.T.
Womens University along with a B.A.
in Sociology. She went on to train under
menswear designer Arjun Khanna for
two years. Soon after, Sanjana launched
her Indian couture label, Bubber by
Aanchal & Sanjana, along with her twin
sister, Aanchal. She recently co-founded
Paintstorm, an art-social concept.
Nirbhay Mehta (Palmer) obtained
a Bachelors degree from the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
He then returned to India to join his
familys wire and cable manufacturing
business, where he eventually went on
to manage one of the divisions of the
company. Simultaneously, he married
his long-time girlfriend, Aanchal
(ne Bubber) in 2012. He is currently
pursuing an M.B.A. at Columbia Business
School and plans to return to Mumbai
in 2016.
Aanchal Bubber Mehta (Palmer)
became a fashion designer with a Diploma
from S.N.D.T. Womens University along
with an M.A. in Sociology from Mumbai
University. After working for a renowned
menswear designer, she and her twin
sister, Sanjana, launched a couture
label, Bubber by Aanchal & Sanjana,
and recently launched a new art-social
concept. She is happily married to
batchmate Nirbhay.
Varun Udeshi (Wilson) is pursuing an
M.B.A. at The Wharton School, University
of Pennsylvania. Prior to that, he worked
in his familys business, Jayant AgroOrganics Ltd., for four years.
Radha Kapadia Chandrachud
(Barham) graduated from Jai Hind
College, worked at Merrill Lynch for
Class Notes
a couple of years, and then found her
heart in teaching. Shes worked at
both Cathedral and NSS Hillspring
International School as a Middle School
English teacher. Her husband, Abhinav
Chandrachud (Barham), is an author and
an Advocate at the Bombay High Court.
Swati Hingorani (Savage) works
at the Wildlife Conservation Trust, a
Mumbai-based NGO focused on wildlife
protection and community development.
A Fulbright-Nehru Fellow, she completed
her post-graduate studies in Environment
at Columbia University. Prior to that,
she worked as Assistant Editor of
Sanctuary Asia. She helped establish a
renewable energy education base in the
Pench Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh,
and co-founded the 2041 Antarctic
Youth Ambassador Programme. She
represented India as a youth delegate
at the 2009 climate negotiations and
organised the first South Asian Youth
Summit on Climate Change and an
Indian Youth Summit on Climate
Change in 2009.
Shivang Kagzi worked as a consultant
at Ernst & Young and as an Investment
Banker at Avista Advisory (Houlihan
Lokey) and then co-founded a start-up,
Sharda Lab, which synthesises working
standards and pharmaceutical impurities.
He obtained an M.Sc. (Finance) from
Cass Business School, London, after a
Bachelors in Management Studies from
H.R. College, Mumbai.
Delna Palia has completed her B.Com.,
L.L.B. and a course in Culinary Arts
(Bakery and Confectionery). She worked
at the Vivanta by Taj, Mumbai, and at
Le Mridien Hotel, Pune. She thereafter
opened her own bakery in the Sherwood
Resort, Mahabaleshwar, and in 2005, a
caf called Adurjee. She then moved back
to Mumbai and started The Teapot Caf
at Fort in 2009. She has also worked as
a lawyer at Hariani and Co. and at the
corporate office of Amarchand Mangaldas.
Balancing her passion (her caf) and her
hunger for law, she is enjoying the journey
(so far!) of pursuing two absolutely
diverse careers at the same time.
Esha Kalani ne Dugar (Wilson)
graduated from Jai Hind College with
a degree in Management Studies.
After completing the Teach for India
fellowship in 2014, Esha moved to

London, where she works at a primary
school in inclusion, supporting a group of
special-needs students. She is married to
Gautam Kalani.
Xerxes Unvala (Savage) attended
Denison University in
Ohio, U.S.A., where
he majored in Music
History. Following
that, he moved to
Washington, D.C.
where he worked
at the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts, in the offices of the
National Symphony Orchestra, and
then in the Office of International
Programming, producing major
international arts festivals. He moved
back to Mumbai in 2013 and has since
been working at the National Centre for
the Performing Arts, Mumbai, where
he manages the Symphony Orchestra
of India.
Karan Shah started a social
enterprise, Grow-Trees, which allows
users to plant trees with a few clicks.
He then did his M.B.A. at Harvard
Business School from 2013 to 2015 and
is currently in London working with a big
technology company.
Dhanisha Sagar graduated with a
degree in Management and then worked
in Hospitality Marketing, where she
helped launch prominent restaurants
and cafs in Mumbai. Coming from a
jewellers family and having an avid
interest in gemology, she decided to
switch fields and pursued a Diploma in
Jewellery Design. She is currently Head
Designer for a soon-to-be-launched
jewellery brand. She also designs for TBZ.
Anuja Prasad attended H.R. College
followed by Jai Hind College for a
Bachelors in Banking and Insurance.
After working for PwC, she went to
London for a Masters in Banking and
International Finance. She then returned
to India and worked with Motilal Oswal,
Barclays and Standard Chartered. At
present, she works with her father at
Dolphin Consultants.
Gautam Kalani (Barham) graduated
from Amherst College and went on to
pursue a Masters and Ph.D. in Economics
from Oxford University. He works in
Fixed Income Research at Deutsche Bank,

London. He is married to Esha Dugar.
Shaara Goel (Palmer) graduated with
a degree in Management and works in
the luxury retail field in India. She was
responsible for marketing, buying and
operations at a premium denim start-up.
She is currently the Marketing and PR
Manager at luxury concept store Le Mill,
Mumbai. She illustrates and designs in
her spare time.
Veda Dhanak (Wilson) graduated
from the University of Michigan,
Ann Arbor, in 2009 with a B.A. in
Communication Studies. She worked
as Research Analyst at Egon Zehnder
International, a Management Consulting
firm in Mumbai, for four years. She
then went to the Gemological Institute
of America in New York to study
Jewellery Design and Diamond Grading.
Currently, Veda is involved in the design
and retail of fine jewellery at Sameeraj
Jewellers, Mumbai.
Shoten Deshmukh (Barham) moved
to the U.K. in 2008 to do a Masters and,
after a number of small roles through
the recession, got picked up to become a
Management Consultant, specialising in
Digital Strategy with PwC, London. Now
with British Telecommunications, in a
significantly more senior and challenging
role in the same field, he is also C.T.O.
for a new application launching this year,
Kwala.me. He loves London and, when
not exploring its various markets, he tries
to see as much of Europe as he can.
Arindam Mohanty (Wilson)
graduated in Economics and went on to
do a postgraduate degree in Media and
Communication. He worked as a travel
writer and photographer for a year,
before becoming an ethnographer and
qualitative consumer researcher, currently
in the capacity of Research Manager at
The Third Eye. He has also dabbled with
documentary film making, theatre and
music as happy distractions he was
the drummer of a band in college and
is now about to start playing again with
some friends; he looks forward to regular
gigs over the weekends!
Feriel Jackson ne Palia (Wilson)
read Law at Warwick University and
recently qualified in India as well. Married
last year, she now lives with her husband,
Class Notes
Philip, in Mumbai, where she is Director
of Operations at her familys healthcare
business.
Pranav Vissanji (Savage) went to Jai
Hind College for a B.M.S., after which
he got a placement at Godrej Properties.
Alongside his job, he pursued an M.Com.
as well as a General Management Program
at I.I.M. (Indore). After six years at Godrej
Properties, he joined Radius Developers
as a Senior Brand Manager and Head
Digital where he handles the companys
luxury portfolio and online presence.
Amrita Diwanji (Barham) graduated
from the University of York in 2008
and obtained a Masters at the London
School of Economics and Political
Science (L.S.E.) in 2009. In 2010, Amrita
joined a boutique strategy consulting
firm and shuttled between London and
Paris for a few years. She then moved
back to Mumbai and joined Accentures
management consulting arm in 2013.
After a year, Amrita quit corporate
life altogether in order to follow her
passion photography. She now works
as a freelance photographer and has shot
for clients based in London, New York and
Mumbai. Although she takes on all sorts
of interesting assignments, her forte lies
in travel, food and product photography.
Divya Sinha attended Jai Hind
College, Mumbai, and then obtained
a Bachelors in Dental Surgery (B.D.S.)
from Sri Ramachandra Medical College
and Research Institute, Chennai. After
obtaining a Masters in Dental Surgery
(M.D.S.), specialising in Conservative
Dentistry and Endodontics from Sri
Ramachandra Medical College and
Research Institute, Chennai, she is
currently practising in Mumbai.
Rahul Shah (Savage) graduated from
M.U.H.S. with a Bachelors in Dental
Surgery in 2010 and went on to practise
as an Associate at two renowned dental
offices in Mumbai. Furthering his career,
he was accepted into the Doctor of Dental
Surgery Program at Western University,
Canada and completed his degree with
distinction in 2015. He headed a free
surgery camp as Chief Dental Surgeon
in Tanzania, Africa, for three months.
Thereafter, he was accepted into the
Center for Maxillofacial Trauma at Mount
Sinai Hospital, Toronto, and presently
works there as a Resident. He lives in

Toronto, but prefers to call Mumbai home.
Smira Rao (Palmer) graduated in
Commerce from H.R. College and has
since worked in various functions in the
banking and financial services space. She
obtained an M.B.A. with a specialisation
in Finance and Strategy from the Indian
School of Business and currently works as
Senior Associate at a financial consulting
firm dealing with PE and Investment
Banking clients.
Kanika Sabharwal (Savage) obtained
a Bachelors in Homoeopathic Medicine
and Surgery in 2012. She ranked first
in Maharashtra in the C.E.T. and went
on to do an M.D. (Doctor of Medicine)
in Paediatric Homoeopathy. Kanika
has had two articles published in the
National Journal of Homoeopathy, India.
She has been practising at various clinics
and hospitals across Mumbai, including
Saifee Hospital, and is set to launch her
independent practice at her clinic in
Breach Candy, Mumbai.
Tanika Thacker (Palmer) graduated
with a Masters in English Literature
from Mumbai University and an M.F.A. in
Creative Writing from California College
of the Arts. She currently works as a
Production Coordinator for the Digital
Health Summit in San Francisco, as well
as an Associate for Sand Hill Angels, an
angel investment firm. Tanika recently
married and resides with her husband,
Frank, in San Francisco.
Anika Gupta (Barham) After
obtaining a degree in Fashion Design
from Parsons, NYC, Anika worked
with a luxury childrens wear brand in
Manhattan. She returned to Mumbai
a year later to work on her own label,
Scribbles by Anika, which designs for kids
and women. She currently works with
developing portfolios for prospective
art and design students and is a visiting
professor at I.S.D.I. Parsons, Mumbai. She
is also working on her latest collection
and freelances in graphic design.
Anang Agarwalla
(Barham) graduated
with a double major
in Psychology and
Political Science from
Jai Hind College
(Mumbai University)
in 2008 and worked at Hobby Ideas,

Pidilite, for a year and a half during
that time. She then obtained an M.B.A.
(Entrepreneurship) from Narsee Monjee
(Mumbai) in 2010. She has also trained
with LOral and Jean-Claude Biguine
and is a qualified hairstylist as well as a
qualified baker. After working with a few
companies, including an e-commerce
startup, she is now happily working in her
family business.
Ritika Gujral (Savage) graduated
from H.R. College, Mumbai, and did
a short summer programme at L.S.E.,
London, followed by work experience
at Austin Reed (London), which gave
her immense retail exposure. She then
obtained an M.B.A. at the Asian Institute
of Management, Philippines. Despite
getting many corporate job offers on
her return to India, she decided to be an
entrepreneur and launched her company,
Purple Leaf, which initially focused on
hotel interiors. She then founded a brand,
Nahri, which is into high-end western
wear and scarves for women.
Namrata Ganguly (Wilson)
graduated in English Literature from
Sophia College and worked in Human
Resources at Infosys for three years,
after which she quit the corporate world
and moved to Arts Administration. She
interned at Kyoorius and is currently
working at Kulture Shop as the Artists
and Content Manager.
Sarah Sham (Savage) continued
her education at Duke University in
the U.S.A. and obtained a Bachelors in
Art History. She then did a year-long
stint as a financial news anchor at
Bloomberg in Mumbai. She joined her
four-generation-old family business that
deals with art, antiques and customised
collectibles called Essajees. She also
obtained an Interior Design degree and
now heads her own firm called Essajees
Atelier, working on both commercial and
residential projects.
Shaan Khanna (Wilson) graduated
with a B.M.M. (specialising in
Advertising) from Jai Hind College, after
which she started a blog called Spicy
Sangria, which is now in its fifth year.
She also runs a marketing and brand
promotion agency for brands launching
in the Indian market. She also hosts
Class Notes
and co-ordinates exhibitions under the
brand name of Spicy Sangria. She studied
further at The Indian School of Business
and completed the Women Entrepreneurs
course by Goldman Sachs in 2012.
- Compiled by Anang Agarwalla,
Anika Gupta and Shaan Khanna
2006
Abhishek Damani (Barham) obtained
an undergraduate degree at the Wharton
School and then worked in investment
banking in Singapore. He is currently
an Emerging Markets Investment
Professional at Quilvest Private Equity,
based in Hong Kong.
Anish Gupta (Barham) graduated
from the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign in 2012 and is currently in his
final year at K.C. Law College, Mumbai,
while managing the legal part of his
father's real estate business. After eating
a lot of vada pavs from the R.T.I. canteen
in school, he plans to burn them off by
running the full marathon in Mumbai in
January.
Sharana Jhangiani (Wilson)
graduated in Mass Media and Journalism
and worked at Star India and KWAN
Entertainment & Marketing Solutions.
She then became the founding member
and content head of an e-commerce
venture for two years and last year
she founded her own communications
agency, Tattle Tale Marketing &
Consulting. She also teaches a writing
class at Jai Hind Colleges B.M.M.
programme for a semester every year.
2007
Saachi Sood (Barham) obtained a B.A.
in Economics and Religion from Denison
University (Ohio) and an M.A. in Ancient
Indian Culture, History and Archaeology
from St. Xavier's College (Mumbai). She is
starting a Ph.D. at the School of Oriental
and African Studies (London) in Pahari
miniature painting. Apart from studying
and work, she has spent the last few years
trawling museums across India.
Varun Goenka (Wilson) is working
on the development of Match Poker as a
mind sport and game of skill in his role as
Chief Communications Officer with the
International Federation of Poker. His

aim is to see Match Poker as a recognised
mind sport on the global sporting stage.
Viveka Ranjitsinh (Barham) is an
M.B.A. student at Tuck School of Business,
a last-ditch attempt to postpone real life
while still hedging her bets for when the
inevitable moment arrives!
Amartya Sinha (Wilson) is currently
attending London Business School.
Prachi Parikh (Palmer) founded a
professional home-cleaning company,
White Glove, which provides home care
services across Mumbai.
Aakash Kejriwal (Barham) co-founded
an application and web development
company, Tailored Tech Solutions, and is
based out of Mumbai/Pune.
Tanvi Ajmera (Barham) is a Public
Health Advisor to the United States
Department of Health and Human
Services, a substance abuse and mental
health services administration in
Washington, D.C., U.S.A. She is pursuing
this passion working specifically with
children, adolescents and their families.
She obtained a B.Sc. in Psychology from
the University of Warwick, U.K., followed
by an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from
S.N.D.T. Women's University, Mumbai.
Tripti Sahni (Wilson) graduated
from Sir J.J. College of Architecture. Her
'Origami Lamp' won an EDIDA Award.
After working at R.S.A. and Sanjay Puri
Architects, she is now a senior architect
at Studio Hinge, with work that has
been published in several magazines. Cofounder of The Fashion Co., she spends
her free time running the website and
attending earthen building workshops in
Dharamsala, India.
Rishika Harish (Wilson) graduated
from N.Y.U. in 2011 and subsequently
obtained a Law degree from Government
Law College, Mumbai. She is currently
practising as a counsel in the Bombay
High Court.
2008
Rohan Gupta (Savage) is Director of
Design, Product Manager at Healthify
Me, India's leading health and fitness
technology startup, in Bangalore.
Vidyut Singhania (Barham) obtained
a B.Tech. and a Diploma in Business
Management from Symbiosis, Pune. He is
a data scientist with a media-intelligence

M.N.C. in Singapore, while also pursuing
a Masters in Enterprise Business
Analytics from N.U.S., Singapore.
2009
Aliya Munsiff (Savage) graduated
from the University of St. Andrews, U.K.,
with a double major in International
Relations and History of Art. She is
pursuing an L.L.B. from Government Law
College, Mumbai, which she describes as
quite an experience.
Aayushi Kothari (Wilson) passed
out of Jai Hind College in 2012 after
pursuing a degree in Management
Studies. She worked for two years in a
theatre production house after which
she joined her family business in the
plastics industry. She is currently based
in Mumbai.
Meera Parikh (Barham) graduated
in 2013 in Visual Communication from
Srishti Institute of Art, Design and
Technology, Bangalore. Back in Mumbai,
she is a graphic designer working at
Thought Over Design on UI/UX and
branding-identity projects.
Sanjana Chopra (Wilson) graduated
from University of Exeter in 2014 with a
B.A. in Management with Marketing. She
is pursuing a post-graduate Diploma in
Digital Marketing from C.I.M., U.K., and
freelances in digital marketing for smallto medium-sized businesses.
Shivam Gupta (Palmer) founded
and runs one of the largest frozen food
companies in the country. It all started
with his love for food in the canteens of
Middle School! He is also an avid diver
and spends a lot of time in and around
the water.
Rian Mehta (Palmer) is an Aviation
Human Factors Specialist Researcher
with the College of Aeronautics, Florida
Institute of Technology. He has worked
on cockpit design research for the 2040
future airline cockpit with the Jeppesen
and Boeing companies. He is in the
process of completing his doctorate at
Florida Institute of Technology and also
serves as a teacher of undergraduate
aviation courses.
Siddhant Adlakha (Barham) is a
film critic and entertainment journalist,
writing for Birth.Movies.Death.
Class Notes
magazine and its affiliated website.
He is currently touring film festivals
and comic conventions around the
United States.
2010
Shefali Agarwal (Savage) is a graphic
designer, studying at Srishti Institute of
Art, Design and Technology.
Ankrish Anand (Palmer) is pursuing a
Masters at London Business School.
Amay Jhaveri (Savage) is part of the
founding team of Entytle, a Silicon Valley
startup that helps B2B manufacturers
grow revenue from their existing
customers. He drives the development
of the product and is always looking
for ways to add more value to Entytle's
customers.
Leah Khambata (Palmer) graduated
from Wesleyan University, U.S.A., in 2014
with a double major in Film Studies and
Psychology. Upon moving to New York,
she worked as an assistant editor on the
set of the independent Hollywood feature
film Outliving Emily, as an Art P.A. on the
film Meadowland and spent the rest of
2014 working at Laura Rosenthal Casting
& Process Media. She is currently an
Associate in Planning at the global media
agency MEC in New York while staying
active in the film community in order
to work towards her goal of being a film
director/producer.
Ruchi Shah (Palmer) is pursuing
an M.A. in Dance/Movement Therapy
(D.M.T.) and Counseling in Chicago while
simultaneously working on her Master's
thesis. She aspires to gain a wealth of
knowledge and experience in this field
over the next couple of years in the U.S.A.
before moving back to India to kickstart
her dream of establishing D.M.T. in
Mumbai and across India.
Niharika Anand (Palmer) completed
a Masters in International Marketing
from Kings College, London. She then
worked at Sotheby's, the art auction
house. She is looking forward to
developing the art industry in India.
Umang Sanghai (Barham) graduated
in 2014 from the University of Chicago,
where he studied Economics. He works
in the Healthcare Coverage Group at UBS
Investment Bank, New York.
Anshu Shah (Savage) graduated from

Claremont McKenna College, California,
with a B.A. in Economics and Psychology.
She recently started working with a
luxury e-commerce startup, Luxepolis,
based out of Mumbai.
Sunaina Basu (Palmer) graduated
with a Bachelor's in Psychology,
Economics, Media and Mass
Communications from Tufts University,
U.S.A., in 2014. After spending a year
working with a digital marketing
company in Boston, focusing as a Search
Marketing and Social Advertising
Specialist, she is back in Mumbai with
the same company, although she hopes
to return to the U.S.A., Sunaina is also
passionate about food blogging and hopes
to positively impact the state of India's
education system.
2011
Geetanjali Basarkod (Wilson)
obtained a B.Sc. in Psychology from the
University of Warwick, U.K., last year. She
stayed back as a Visiting Fellow to further
a research project she had started during
her final year at university. At the end of
her time in England, she was offered a
fully-funded (with scholarship) Ph.D. at
the Institute for Positive Psychology and
Education in Sydney, Australia, where
she will be based for the next three years,
conducting research on body image and
wellbeing and publishing articles in
psychology research journals.
Shawn Wadia (Wilson) graduated
from Duke University, U.S.A., with a
Bachelors in Neuroscience. He is currently
working as a Pre-Doctoral Researcher at
the Princeton Neuroscience Institute.
Vanshika Chawla (Wilson) is pursuing

an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering at The
University of Texas, Dallas.
Abhinay Bhasin (Palmer) obtained
a B.A. in Economics from St. Xavier's
College, Mumbai, and then interned
with Google, India. He is completing an
M.Sc. in Economics at the University of
Warwick, U.K.
Vedica R. Podar (Savage) began her
entrepreneurial journey by founding
Young Scholars Inc. in the education
domain and, more recently, Podar
Eduspace. Having graduated with a
Bachelors from Richmond University,
London, she is now working towards
growing her businesses and as a career
mentor to students.
2012
Sharan Aggarwal (Palmer) is
a student at The London School of
Economics and Political Science, pursuing
an M.Sc. in Finance and Private Equity,
after finishing a B.Sc. in Banking and
International Finance at Cass Business
School, London. He is a member of the
Beta Gamma Sigma honour society for
the 'Best in Business'.
2013
Karan Bir Mohindra (Barham)
is a final year student of Statistics
and Economics at St. Xavier's College,
Mumbai.
2015
Ritika Maheshwari (Palmer) is
studying B.A.F. at H.R. College.
Our grateful thanks to

Nakul Arya
Tarun J. Jagwani
Radhika Tanna Shah
Surin Kapadia
Chaitanya and Mayana Rajani
Dhruv Chopra & Tanvi Chopra
Anuj Didwania
Kekoo S. Nicholson
Rashid Sam Contractor
Manu Parpia
for their generous donation towards The X-Cathedralite Magazine
Our grateful thanks also to
The Shri Kudilal Govindram Seksaria Foundation
and
Anna Thomas Chacko
for their generous donation towards
The Retired Teachers & Staff Medical Benefit Scheme

X Cathedralite 2015

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The

The Cathedral & John Connon Alumni Magazine

Presidents Report 2015

Udita Jhunjhunwala (ICSE 1984)

Shyla Boga Patel (ISC 1969)

Rohita Chaganlal Doshi (ISC 1975)

Editorial Support, Design and Printing

Spenta Multimedia Pvt. Ltd.

On the cover (in alphabetical order): Aditya Parikh, Gaurav Goenka,

Do write in with your feedback and ideas to magazine@catalumni.com

Presidents Report 2015

s I sit down to mull over my fifth report as

Ronnie Screwvala (1972) with Dream with Your

Members of the Executive Committee 2015-16

2 The X-Cathedralite 2015

After 13 energetic frenetic sell-out years, the annual Manori

Anushka Shivdasani Rovshen

(ICSE 77, Palmer)

(ISC 75, Palmer)

Shyla Boga Patel

Rohita Chaganlal Doshi

(ISC 94, Palmer)

The Executive Committee looks forward to

2015 The X-Cathedralite 3

Annual Speech Day

hri Devendra Fadnavis,

in good stead. She also conjures up a

overseas, the majority to the

a number of inter-school events

Being phenomenal isnt a part-time

Our girl athletes gave a new

effort on a weekly basis throughout

has a splendid exhibition of the Art

8 The X-Cathedralite 2015

Mrs. D. Bhattacharya, Mrs. S. Ganguly,

support. The Manori Summer

From L to R: Aditya Parikh,

10 The X-Cathedralite 2015

brought them into this line and this

Rohan Talwar (Ellipsis) are just a few

x-Cathedralites can be found

AD Singh (ISC 1976, Wilson)

rustrated with the lack of healthy,

hile pursuing a Business degree at the

ew would be aware that restaurant pioneer AD

I am the first girl in

Within 5 years, the Vinod

DR. GIRISH KARNAD, PLAYWRIGHT

One day, I will

The Vinod Doshi Theatre

Neha Arya Sethi (ISC 2003, Barham)

fter obtaining an undergraduate degree in Finance

14 The X-Cathedralite 2015

eing a fourth-generation restaurateur, I guess it was in my genes, says

2015 The X-Cathedralite 15

ood is often nostalgic and Urvaksh Hoyvoy expresses

ohaan Dattoobhais innate interest lies in solving

16 The X-Cathedralite 2015

Zahir Goghavala a.k.a. Nico

ico has always loved his fine

~ Anushka Shivdasani Rovshen

Aditya Parikh: Alhambra, London; Del Friscos,

2015 The X-Cathedralite 17

'( ) "