The Old Martinians Association of New England (OMANE) celebrated the 213th death anniversary of its Founder, Major General Claude Martin, a Frenchman born in Lyon, France, by hosting a dinner meeting on September 13, 2013 at Masala Art in Needham, MA. Martin, who came to India as a young soldier, made India his home. He joined the British East India Company in Calcutta and spent his last years at his country estate Constantia, in Lucknow, which later became the La Martiniere College for boys at Lucknow.  
 
The La Martiniere boys and girls schools at Calcutta, Lucknow, and Lyon were established under the Last Will and Testament of Claude Martin with the large legacy he bequeathed for that purpose upon his death. The La Martiniere schools have a proud and lasting legacy. The Lucknow boys school is the only school in the world to have been granted battle honors for its role in the revolution of 1857.
    
The Calcutta girls school recently hosted U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton where she interacted with the student body which was broadcast across the world. In a recent independent survey, the Calcutta girls and boys schools were ranked second and third and the Lucknow boys and girls schools ninth and tenth respectively from among the top 725 schools in 21 states of India.
 
Priti Lathia, an alumna of the Calcutta girls school, an accomplished artist and art teacher, displayed some of her paintings at the Founders Day dinner celebration and spoke about her art as well as that of several renowned artists, including among others Van Gogh, Michael Angelo, Picasso, and Monet. A wider display of Priti and her art can be sampled at <http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/priti+lathia/all>. Her biography is available at various social media sites, including facebook and linkedin.

OMANE, whose membership has grown this past year to over 30 Old Martinians, also selected its Office bearers for 2013-2014:

Dr. Kaplesh Kumar – President              
Mr. Syed Ali Rizvi – Vice President
Mr. Narendra Mukherjee – Secretary           
Mr. Siddharth Jeevan – Treasurer; and
Dr. Ali Ashter - Member at Large.

Additional information may be obtained from Dr. Kumar at <KapKumar@aol.com> or Mr. Rizvi at <alirizvi@aol.com>.

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