The month of December has now become very special for all Stephanians (alumni of Saint Stephen’s College) in the Doon valley as they get the opportunity to meet each other and also meet Stepanians from Delhi who come in specially to be part of this annual event which was started in the year  2016.It is a great initiative as it keeps the bond among the alumni of this prestigious institution alive and strong.

Today’s reunion was hosted by Michael Dalvi at his retreat “Vishranti”. Being a Stephanian himself, Dalvi was extremely happy to welcome  the Stephanians of various batches and courses. The event began at around noon and concluded by 4 pm. There was great warmth and affection and an atmosphere of good cheer could be felt by all the old students of “college” as Stephanians always refer to their alma mater.

Stephanians from the batch of 1958 and 1959 were also present. Wing Commander SM Singh from the 1958 batch of English Honours, who lives in Dehradun, was present. M Ghai, who owned the Kwality Restaurant in Doon, and who passed out of Saint Stephen’s in 1959 also graced the occasion. Nominated MLA Gregory Mann, principal of Selaqui International School Rashid Sharfuddin, Ashish Joshi (who is working in Uttarakhand Government), Arvind Malhotra, Mohit Sinha, Pranav Karol and many other eminent persons were among the Stephanians present at the reunion.

The ambience of Vishranti on a winter morning in the valley surely added to the warmth and joy experienced by the alumni who talked at length about all their memories of college days. Teachers, food, hostels, lawns, basket ball, the cafeteria (which holds a special place in any Stephanian’s heart) were all discussed and one could feel that one was back in college! The host made sure that it was a jolly company and looked after each of the guests personally. A gracious gentleman, an amazing Stephanian is Mike Dalvi.

One gets such a lovely feeling when one sees the Stephanian flag flying in the Doon valley. Dalvi is now planning to put up a Stephanian wall in the famous “Holdy’s Bar” at Vishranti. There is a Doon School wall there already. Now, there will be a Stephen’s wall which would have on it items contributed by various ex-students-memorabilia that would be dear to all Stephanians.

New friendships were formed between those people who had not met each other before this. Spouses of the Stephanians added to the charm of the get-together. They always love to listen to anecdotes narrated at these reunions. Without the anecdotes, these reunions would be incomplete. A beautiful cake that had the college emblem and Stephanians in the Hills written on it was cut at the end of the event .Those who had come specially from Delhi, Gurugram and Noida merged with the Stephanians in the hills and all one could feel and see was the Stephanian spirit that keeps us all together.

Wing Commander SM Singh, while speaking to the gathering, said that his message to all Stephanians was that they should always help each other.

Dalvi thanked the guesets and said he looked forward to seeing them more often.The next get-together will be in December 2019. Exquisite paperweights with the college logo were given to all guests as they said goodbye and left the idyllic venue in the heart of the Sal forests of the Doon valley .

Years melt away, all distance seems meaningless, the fact that the people are all from different batches and courses does not matter. All that matters is the strong connection we all have to our alma mater and to our memories of it, to the values we learned there and the foundation of our life that was created by the institution. That is what unites us so beautifully. That is what brings everyone to the Doon valley in December. To rejoice that we were part of the great institution called Saint Stephen’s and will remain so all our lives. Ad Dei Gloriam! To the Glory of God!