Of friendship, love: Bonding over good old days in Delhi

It was an evening of friendship, love and nostalgia, when Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former Deputy Chairman of the erstwhile Planning Commission of India, hosted a get-together for his friends. Conversations flowed from Ahluwalia's St Stephen's days to his time at Oxford University, and his friends were busy reminiscing about the good old days at the event. From former PM Manmohan Singh to Sharmila Tagore, the party had many big names in attendance.Aman Nath and Ritu KumarGetting kooler: Sarwar Lateef, an economist, who was one of the speakers at the evening, has been friends with Ahluwalia for over six decades. Lateef spoke about Kooler Talk, a campus magazine started by Lateef, Ahluwalia and Mani Shankar Aiyar. Lateef said, "I first met Montek in St Stephen’s College where we were studying Economics. His fellow students found it puzzling that he kept topping every exam, but no one ever saw him studying. So, it didn't come as a surprise when he got the Rhodes scholarship for Oxford University."RS Jaura and ex-CJI Jagdish Singh KheharLove thy country: In his address, Manmohan Singh told the guests that he brought Ahluwalia back to India. He said, "I can make some claim of having introduced Montek to the government system way back in 1973. I don't know about his days at St Stephen's College, but I do know about his days at Oxford. From Oxford, he went on to the World Bank. I tried to persuade Montek to come to India and I made it absolutely clear that I wasn't promising him anything except love for his country. It has been a privilege to work with him."Sharmila Tagore and Gursharan KaurLady love: All the speakers of the evening raised a toast to the bond between Ahluwalia and his wife Isher Judge Ahluwalia, Chairperson, Board of Governors, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). Manmohan Singh said, "It is often said that behind every successful man there is a powerful woman. And in this particular case, everyone knows that Isher is that one woman."Kumari Selja and Isher Judge AhluwaliaAshwani Kumar and Mani Shankar AiyarSalman Khurshid and P ChidambaramNajeeb Jung and Dilip Cherian