Alfred Hicky

In 1972  Shri Nathji and Priya Nath met Alfred Hicky, an Australian who had an Indian wife and lived in Delhi. The man had designed the postage stamps of Afghanistan and was an expert at designing the covers of books.
 He designed the covers of the two book printed by Shri Nathji. -  First was “The first Rays of Dawn” which was English translation of Shri Nathji’s “Daivi Kirne”. It was a book in which Shri Nathji was present with the reader each and every day of the year. It was translated by Priya Nathji himself.  And second was  “Rigmarole” which was a comic Novel written by Priya Nanthji.. His wife also took up the work of proof reading for a while.
 He was a minister in his church and often quoted from Shri Nathji's:  “The First Rays of Dawn”, in his sermons in church. He was particularly fond of Shri Nathji's parable on Alexander the Great, in which Alexander had said at the last moment of His life:
 “When you take out my funeral procession, let my hands hang by the side of my body so that the world may see, that the hands of Alexander the Great, which sought to possess the whole world, are today going away empty!”
 If Hicky had thought he was an expert on cover designing, he was mistaken. Priya Nath discovered that the nose of the figure drawn on the cover was mis-shapen and he rushed to Hicky’s House at midnight to have it corrected before it could be printed the next morning.
 Shri Nathji would ever afterwards recall this incident to show the exactness that Priya Nath followed in any discipline that he took up. Shri Nathji would say:
 “A Harvard scholar is noted not only for his ability in his own subject, but also for his capability to handle any subject in the world like an expert! No matter which work Priya Nathji engages in, he always does it with exactness. Ye har kaam ki baareekiyon men jaate hain!”

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Reverend  Alfred Hickey was an Australian minister who served at the Cathedral Church of the Redemption in New Delhi, which is the headquarters of the Church of North India (CNI) Delhi Diocese. The Cathedral Church of the Redemption of New Delhi is also called the Viceroy Church.  One of the most beautiful churches in India, it can be found towards the east of the Parliament House and Rashtrapati Bhavan.  It came into existence when Rev T. R. Dixon was appointed as the chaplain to visit India and look into the requirements of the Britishers in India. It was built by Henry Medd (1892-1977) between 1927 and 1935, with considerable encouragement from the Viceroy, Lord Irwin

Reverend Hickey was known for his significant contributions to the local Christian community and his role in fostering Anglo-Indian relations through his ministry. He was married to an Indian woman named Mabel Hickey, who was actively involved in the church and community activities.