AFOVA Newletters of Year 2000

Page 13 of 22 drawn him to and which he must have imbibed from the Armed Forces. Let us endeavour so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry Mark Twain The last EXSOA Meeting! 4. The fourth meeting for the year was held on 23 Jul 00 at the Indira Nagar Youth Hostel. This time around too, the gathering was a bumper one, with over 120 heads making up the quorum. The committee was hard put arranging the additional chairs. As usual, the cool and unflappable Col Raju came to our rescue. The evening began with games of tombola, followed by the introduction of the new members who joined the fraternity. The new members introduced themselves and mentioned their current activities and interests. 5. A highlight of the evening was a delightful medley of tunes that were keyed out of a synthesiser by a very young and confident lad, Master Vignesh, who was mentored by Lt(RIN) K Rajagopalan. The performance, which included some old favourites was appreciated by one and all. Since Master Vignesh had to appear for his exams the next morning, he left the gathering immediately thereafter, without stopping even to partake of refreshments. The boy’s confidence and ability should take him far. 6. The bumper crowd caused not a few heart stopping moments for the organising committee, and not merely because of the shortage of chairs! The caterer. Rajendra Maharaj had been told to expect a gathering of 100-105. Eventually, dinner was served to 140, and a good dinner it probably was, because it took all of the reliable Maharaj’s ingenuity to stretch output by 50 %. Ice cream and jalebis topped a menu which comprised of Pooris, Mattar Paneer, Samosas, Vegetable Pulao, Raita, and Salad. Anyway, all’s well that ends well, and the organising committee can take a breather till the next meeting. Over the six years or so that the EXSOA was in existence, the EXSOA committees wish that most, if not all members phone in to intimate attendance/non attendance at meetings was never fulfilled. Let us pray that the new avatar of the AFVOA will not face the same problem. Rumour has it that the Secretary & Vice President do not even know what goes on in our meetings, so occupied are they with ensuring that the crowd of last minute gate crashers does not go hungry. If thou woulds’t preserve a sound body, use fasting and walking; if a healthful soul, fasting and praying; walking exercises the body, praying exercises the soul, fasting cleanses both. Francis Quarles Different Strokes 7. The oldest member of the golf club was a venerable figure in PG Wodehouse’s novels- he was a veritable font of wisdom, if a sometimes boring one! One of our oldest members is Lt(RIN) KA Rajagopalan, and he is no bore, not by a long shot! He has been part of almost every gathering of ours since our inception, and the life of our picnics. His has been a singularly blessed life, one which comes to the part of a soul of high merit. He joined the Royal Indian Air Force in the early years of WW II, and while undergoing flying training, crash landed a malfunctioning Tiger Moth with such precision that the aircraft was saved, but not without injury to the pilot. Recommended for transfer to the Royal Indian Navy after his convalescence. Lt Rajagopalan eventually opted for demobilisation in 1947, and joined the TN Police. He had a remarkable and eventful career in the police force, particularly after joining the CBI. One thread that has run through Lt Rajagopalan’s career has been his integrity and dedication, a fact vouched for by his peers in the police. Luckily. Lt Rajagopalan