Veekays Newsletter 2006

G-31, Palam Vihar
Tele: 0124-4074077 Gurgaon – 122017
9873494521
25th December 2006


VEEKAYS NEWSLETTER – 2006

Dear Friends,

The year 2006 is coming to an end, and we will soon be entering 2007. With the advent of the Internet, letter writing is as good as dead – in fact, the first nail in its coffin was the telephone. Not only letters, even New Year cards have become passé, which in a way is a good thing, since it saves the lives of trees! Another advantage that the Internet has is that it is free, and long-winded people don’t have to spend extra money on postage stamps. So, one can blabber and waffle to his hearts content.

We are still staying in ABHIMAUR-VIKUM, in Palam Vihar, where we moved in May 2004. My daughter, Mauravi and her family stay with us on the ground floor, while my son Abhimanyu is on the first floor, with his wife Jasmine, and their two children, Bhuvanyu and Khushi, who are 4 and 2 ½ respectively. Mauravi’s two girls - Mriggya and Eshaana – are 4 and 2 years old respectively. Mauravi gave up her job with Lufthansa about six months ago, as she wanted to spend more time with her children. Bhuvanyu and Mriggya have started going to school, and are in the same class – Nursery – in DPS, Sushant Lok. Abhimanyu is still running his company, Trinity Education Services, but has recently moved from Saket to Kalkaji, a precautionary move necessitated by the sealing drive. We lost one member of the family when Sophia, our Golden Retriever passed way. She was almost 14 years old, and her time had come. But is was a shock to everyone, and many eyes in the house remained wet for some time. Misha, the Dalmatian, is also 11 years old, and has started showing signs of age. We hope she will be with us at least for a couple of years. Red, the Irish setter, is 9 years old, but still quite active.

The second volume of the History of the Corp of Signals, covering the period 1939 to 1947, on which I had been working for the last four years was released in February 2006 during the Signals Reunion at Jabalpur. My earlier book, entitled Leadership in the Indian Army: Biographies of Twelve Soldiers, which was published 2005, is doing well – it had to be re-printed. I am now working on a USI project – The Contribution of the Armed Forces to the Freedom Movement. I hope to finish it by August 2007. Another book – I will not reveal the title now – is with the publisher and should be out in 3-4 months. Kumud keeps herself busy with the house, the grand children and the garden, especially her beautiful Bonsais and potted plants. Both of us spend a lot of time doing ‘pranayama’ and yoga, courtesy Baba Ramdev’s programmes on TV. It has helped us – my BP and sugar levels have come down, and so has Kumud’s cholesterol.

A notable event was my trip to China in October. For company I had Sukesh Jain – we have been course-mates, room-mates and co-drivers in the Himalayan Rally. (Kumud declined, and opted to spend her share of the air ticket on shopping). We were able to see Beijing and Shanghai. Due to some problems with the flights, we could not go to Xian, but spent a day visiting Zhu Jia Jao, an old water town near Shanghai. The trip changed our outlook about China.

That about sums up the events of 2006. We wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Vinay and Kumud Singh