(English version) for friends of
WWW.KABIR-BEDI.COM - OFFICIAL WEBSITE -The Source-
| Head
boy Kabir leads celebrations to honour his old schoolmaster |
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| EXCLUSIVE Head Boy Kabir on Sunday (June 5, 2005) led some 80 of his former schoolmates from Sherwood College in Nainital, India in a dinner celebration to honour their 95-year-old former principal, Father Robert Llewellyn. The old school friends (well, most of them...) got together for an Indian meal, lots of anecdotes, old memories and revelry at the Mela Restaurant in London after seeing Kabir perform in his West End musical, The Far Pavilions. Rev. Robert Llewellyn, an Anglican pastor who ran the prestigious boys' school from 1951 to 1966, sat next to Kabir, alert and with his eyes twinkling, visibly enjoying all the attention. "Father Llewellyn has been an extraordinary influence in all of our lives, and has made us in so many ways the people that we are today," Kabir said to loud applause, hip-hip-hurrays and a round of the school's battle-cry: "Sherwood, Sherwood, rah-rah-rah!!" "We come together as Sherwoodians today, a very special day, not just to see a play but to honour the man to whom we all owe such an extraordinary debt of gratitude," he said. "This is really not so much a time for speeches. It's more a time for togetherness, and a time where we celebrate each others' successes and each others' glory and each others' pain in whatever we have shared in the journey of life." Father Llewellyn was presented with a replica of the cane he had used to discipline many of the boys during their stay at Sherwood, although one pupil said the head teacher always tucked a Bible under his arm to make sure he would not hit out too hard. Old Sherwoodian Ian McGuinness recounted how he once got a caning for absconding to the village for a meal of bread and curry. "Of course the inevitable happened. I was brought to your office," and given a hiding in best tradition of British boarding schools. "As a replica in case the original has disappeared, I have brought a present for you," handing it to Father Llewellyn to raucous laughter. P.G. Patel, the organiser of the event, recalled how Father Llewellyn saved the college from closure by the Indian government when he took over in 1951. In the wake of Indian independence in 1947, his predecessor had persisted in flying the British flag rather than the Indian one. "You can imagine the furore that blew up," he said. PG's daughter Raki gave a bunch of flowers to the principal, who last saw her when she was a baby, as Kabir heard to his amusement. Kabir made a late entrance at the restaurant as he had to change out of his stage costume as Khoda Dad Khan Sahib, Master of the Horse at the Court of Gulkote. He took time to go round the restaurant, shaking hands and chatting with all those present, who included Elaine and Michael Ward, producers of the successful musical The Far Pavilions, and his fellow actor Dalip Tahil, who is well-known in Britain and who starred in many films together with Kabir. Dalip waved his venerable Sherwood school tie to a loud round of applause. Kabir later acted as Father Llewellyn's "microphone", repeating the principal's thank-you speech so that everyone could hear. "Thank you for the wonderful reception and all the kindness you have shown to me," he said, adding that seeing Kabir in a play was "a new experience to me." Kabir's classmates remembered him as one of the more well-behaved Sherwoodians, a Head Boy and a good cricket player. After the meal, nearly all the Old Sherwoodians continued their party at a night club in the West End, together with Kabir and the cast of The Far Pavilions. ...62 exclusive pictures of the event online at kabir-bedi.com ...other pictures of the event: Old Sherwoodians ...PICTURE link Boys not behaving badly ...PICTURE link Old boys of Sherwood ...And here you'll find a few remarks on student and Head Boy Kabir Bedi: EMINENT SHERWOODIANS - KABIR BEDI (incl. picture galleries / Kabir Bedi picture) |
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