I was born in Punjab, and attended Sanatan Dharam, City Primary and Racecourse Primary Schools in Nairobi before joining ESS. I took part in athletics, rounders, volleyball and football but did not enjoy PE. Most of us were scared of our PE teacher Mr. Shant! I edited the class magazine in Form 2 and got a prize in Hindi in Form 3.

After getting a B. Sc. (Hons) in Botany, Zoology and Chemistry from India, I came to London in 1967 and worked with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. I then joined the Royal Navy and worked in Pathology at the Royal Naval Hospital near Portsmouth. On returning to London in 1976 I worked in Applied Biology at South London College.

My 4 years at ESS were some of the best years of my life. Mr. Mendonca inspired and influenced me tremendously. I owe my passion for English to him alone. He had a unique teaching style and great sense of humour. I also remember many of my friends and would still love to hear from Asif Butt, Manohar Syal, Jeet Kalyan and Kulbhushan.

Married, with 2 children, I retired in 2008 and live in Hounslow with my wife Mantosh, Our son Rajiv and daughter Mona are both married, and we have 3 lovely grandchildren whom we absolutely adore. My hobbies include reading, writing, gardening, walking, DIY, cooking, photography, singing and computing.

I am looking forward to meeting everyone at the ESS’s Diamond Jubilee Reunion.

- As of May 2017