Birthday parties are always a fun to celebrate and the AFUNPI (Association of Former United Nations Personnel in and of India) group is no exception.They are a gathering of retired United Nations officials, who meet every month and celebrate their birthdays together under the aegis of the blue flag. This energetic group of septugenarians and octogenarians are a fascinating bunch. They have travelled the world, helped shape global policies and lent a helping hand to emerging economies.They have survived wars and revolutions, witnessed dictators fall and democracies rise. Now back home, with a rich store of memories and experiences to draw upon, they cultivate new hobbies and interests and meet as often as they can in a spirit of fellowship and camaraderie.
‘‘Founded in 1975, the original purpose of our Association was to sort out issues related to retirement like taxation and pensions but we soon became good friends. With so much in common we became a social club. Most of our children live abroad and since we are alone with our spouses it makes sense to celebrate birthdays at the AFUNPI gatherings. It gives us a good reason to host a party,” says A D Monteiro, who served UNIDO for 21 years formulating a blue print for industrialisation in East Africa. He faced the infamous tyrant Idi Amin and even has a road named after him in the UN village there.
Swamy Rao Ajampur, a brilliant gold medalist was based in Vienna with UNIDO for 23 years and has visited over 120 countries. He and his wife Sharadamani now play golf, go for concerts, recitals and enjoy all the leisure activities that the City has to offer.
“I am busy with my book on birds, with an NGO called Outreach and teaching Immunology at Bangalore University,” says Seenappa, who replicated the Panchayati Raj system of governance in Tanzanian villages, having spent several years with UNICEF there.
Narasimhan, the secretary of AFUNPI served as a radiochemist at the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre and then worked on projects in 75 countries around the world. A dapper 85-year-old Sundaram speaks fluent German enriched with a vocabulary of swear words he picked up from truck drivers who often gave him lifts across the continent. “I went to the UK in 1947 on a scholarship, spent 15 years in the UN, have travelled to 97 countries and now move between Montreal and Bangalore,’’ he says.
A huge yellow cake is brought out and the strains of happy birthday chorus through the room as the AFUNPI members settle down to an afternoon of celebration — celebration of a life well-lived and a retirement well-earned.
Jackie Pinto
