2020 to 2022 was a terrible period for all of us as the COVID pandemic spread through the entire world.
Self-imposed / for some, forced isolation, compulsory mask wearing, repeated hand washing & social distancing etc took its toll on our lives. We were all itching to resume a normal life.
We had to abandon our annual GMC Bhopal UK alumni get together plans for that period and only in September 2022, a well-attended joint Bhopal and Indore meet took place in Leicester.
Some of us could not attend the Leicester meet for various reasons and were looking for an opportunity to meet.
Dr Sanjay Dhar, Mrs Vrinda Dhar, Dr Kamal Bir Singh Nandra & Mrs Dalbir Nandra (Bobby) took the initiative & organised a day out near famous Chatsworth House, near Bakewell village in Derbyshire which turned out to be a fantastic meet for Bhopalis.
Over last five centuries sixteen generations of Devonshire family have owned this property consisting of a garden spread over 105 acres of land, and 1000 acre park & it is home to “one of Europe’s most significant art collections.”
Each generation has contributed to its careful evolution and preservation, creating the house, garden, estate, wildlife and collections we enjoy today.
Our day started with meeting all of us at the village hall around 10 AM & started our walk. Even weather God smiled at our enthusiasm & we managed to finish our walk before the heavens opened as per the weather forecast & there was heavy rain & hail stones at the end of our walk. Thus, we enjoyed the whole spectrum of weather from cloudy to sunny to full downpour.
Evening attractions included tombola, delicious dinner & an in house musical session where Dr Anup Sengupta, Dr Jayanti Gopal, Dr Sanjeet & Mrs Shraboni Bhattacharya, Mrs Dalbir (Bobby), Dr Priya George, Mrs Praveena Chaurasia & Dr Anurag Golash demonstrated their singing talent & gave some remarkable performances.
Our star performer was Dr Kamal Bir Singh who made that evening very memorable with his ghazal singing. We all would like to thank him for taking time out from his very busy schedule to join us & to have entertained us.
The surprise performer of the evening was Dr Sanjay Dhar who sang ” Raat Kali ek khwab mein aayee”. It was like a promotional teaser & we would like to hear more from him.
Last but not the least there were four youngsters who joined us oldies for the walk & helped us with the house keeping. They are Mahi & Dhruv Rathore (Abhay & Deepa Rathore’s children), Sammy (Priya & Cherian George’s son) & Tanya (Tanoj Gopalan & Yamini Gopalan’s daughter). We all were very impressed with their enthusiasm & are very proud of them & would like to congratulate their parents for instilling that sense for community service in their children.
As they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words”, I will end this write up at the 999th word (count if you don’t believe me) by thanking the organisers for taking the initiative & giving us all a wonderful opportunity to meet & have a lovely outing & now let the pictures do all the talking.
Looking forward to our next get together.
Dr Sanjay Saxena (1971 Batch)
