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September 2003
St. Joseph’s College,
Darjeeling, 734 104,
West Bengal
October 1st, 2003
Dear Alumni & Friends,
September has been a busy month in School and College. We were subjected
to two indefinite strike calls, one from the Government College
Students’ union and the other from a particular tea garden over their
puja bonus issue. So Fr. Kinley Tshering decided to be proactive and
called all the heads of every educational institution in town and
formed an association. A steering Committee was formed. Fr. Kinley wrote
a letter to all the parents that in one evening was in the homes of
more than 15,000 students and government and police
officials requesting their help to allow educational institutions to run
without any interference and that we might be placed on the list of
essential services. Overnight Fr.Kinley became famous and the strikes
had little effect on schools. Of course we are aware that this relief
may be temporary but at least a start has been made to establish
exemption from strike calls.
The annual K.N. Masters Memorial Shield Elocution Contest
was held at NP for the four schools traditionally involved, St.Paul’s,
Loreto, Mt. Hermon and ourselves. NP school stood first in the
Primary, Junior and extempore sections and St. Paul’s won in the
senior section. The St. Paul’s lad also won the money prize as the
Best Speaker. The Shield remains in our parlour for another year. In the
inter Jesuit schools Elocution Contest was held in Ranchi and we stood
second out of ten schools. So our school has continued its prowess in
the field of public speaking for so many years. Maybe that is the
offshoot of having lads that never stop talking.
We now have a New Zealand volunteer working in the school, Greg
Loveridge. When he joined the staff relay team in the school’s
swimming gala, the boys were in awe. He seemed to do our twenty metres
in about five strokes so naturally the staff won. Finally our swimming
team is making other schools sit up and take notice. Though we still
ranked fourth out of four schools, the smaller fellows broke two records
and there were at least five first prizes. Next year we can begin
swimming practice in March and not have to wait until the monsoon
breaks. That will help a lot.
On Sept. 19th morning we received the news of the tragic death of one of
our Jesuit Community members. Bro. Anil Tirkey had finished his
annual retreat at Khandala near Pune.The next morning early several of
the Brothers rushed to get the electric train back to Mumbai. It
stops at the station for one minute only. When Bro. Anil stepped on, his
haversack caught on something and as he turned to unhook it, the train
started and he lost his balance falling between the station platform and
the train. The next day his body was flown to Bagdogra and the funeral
held in Gayaganga. R.I.P.
The Darjeeling Alumni finally began their AIDS Awareness program in
a series of schools that have invited them. The first one was well
received and many asked good questions after the presentation was over.
They will complete the list of schools after the puja vacation.
The Annual Sports Day was on 29th. Though it rained most of the
afternoon, this did not dampen the spirit of the contestants at all. The
first Darjeeling D.I.G. of Police , Mr. Malviya was the
Chief Guest and our Jesuit Provincial, Frederik Baraik was Guest of
Honour. Eighteen of our alumni now studying in Ranchi drove up to
witness the Sports. Their presence added something special to the
proceedings. They were amazed at the improvements in the school during
the last two years. Our Primary classroom building is now ready
for Class 3, 4 and 5 when they return after the holidays. We will be
beginning the Dining Room and kitchen wing later this month
confident that a number of you will fulfill your pledges to allow us to
make a good start during the winter.
On 30th, Rector’s Day was celebrated in grand style, much of it taking
place in the Quadrangle. First there was the Eucharistic service for all
the students, staff and parents. This was followed by the Annual Prize
distribution for all the major awards of the year, the Fr.Depelchin Gold
Medal for the best all rounder at the Class Ten level. This was awarded
to Tanvir Rahman from Bangladesh. The Fr. Stanford Gold Medal for the
best all rounder at the Class Twelve level was awarded to Vishal Chettri,
a dayscholar. Special class and division awards were given out, plus a
number of scholarships. All the awards were given in the solemn way a
University conducts its Convocation with special robes being worn by
those on the stage, citations being read out for each one. The blue
blazer signifying excellence in a particular sporting activity was given
to ten students and one, K.C. Vivek, received a white coat for excelling
in three sports. Vivek was the sixth one to receive this distinction in
the 115 year old history of the school. In the evening with the
quadrangle being lit up colourfully, students, staff and alumni gathered
for dinner and the usual merriment that ends every Rector’s day. On
October lst morning all the students departed for home for the 12 day
puja vacation.
I, on behalf of all the Alumni, would like to congratulate Karma Topden,
NP 59, for being invited recently to Mongolia to receive that nation’s
second highest award for foreigners, the ‘Friendship Medal’. Karma
had been India’s Ambassador to Mongolia for three years and had
established strong ties between the two nations. Alumni visitors
announcing themselves for October are Monishi Sanyal from San Jose,
Calfornia and Mark Devereux from Vancouver. Both will be interacting
with the students of today. A group of local alumni along with other
citizens are planning a one week music fest and food fest
for the tourists and people of the town in the Chowrastha or main open
air mall at the top of our town in the effort to make Darjeeling known
as the best place to live in or visit.
Warm regards,
Fr.Van
|
August 2003
St. Joseph’s College,
Darjeeling, 734 104
West Bengal
Sept 1st, 2003
Dear Alumni & Friends,
The first thing I wish to say to all those among you who contribute from
an Indian account to our NORTH POINT VISION 2000 PLUS will now be able
to receive a Receipt towards income tax exemption for the amount given.
The amounts must be made out to the alumni account which is
“Darjeeling North Point School Alumni Association” in order to get
the exemption receipt. However you should always add the particular
purpose for which the contribution is given, such as Building Fund or
Scholarship Fund. We had tried for over two years to get this exemption
and finally it came through in late August. A whole list of alumni have
to be thanked for accomplishing this task with patience. This exemption
expires on March 31st, 2005.
August was an eventful month for me and the many alumni who attended
Reunions in Thailand and Myanmar (Burma). The one in Thailand lasted
almost seven days and it was a joint North Point-Loreto reunion. From
the word ‘go’ it was an amazing reunion. People who had not met for
30 or 40 years started chattering away as if the intervening years did
not exist. Friendships formed years ago were still strong and vibrant.
The preparations made over 18 months By Dan Windsor and his sister Joan
(she is a professional events-manager)were so excellent that simply
nothing went awry. The first main event was on August 3rd evening. It
was a welcome party; the venue was on a two hour river cruise with
dinner and a lot of fun on deck for the hundred odd participants. It
ended with a startling surprise a massive fireworks display over the
dock area that kept us spellbound for about 25 minutes all laid on by
the Thailand Tourist Authority in the person of Daeng, a college alumnus
of the sixties.
The next day, Monday, we left early by bus for Hua Hin. Though it was
almost a three hour ride, we soon realized that even the journeys we
would make, would be part of the reunion for the chatter and interaction
was constant. Fortunately there was a last minute change. Instead of
being scattered over several hotels in the resort area, we were all to
live in the same hotel which made it easy for everyone and the rate was
much cheaper also. Being together in one place added a great deal
for it enabled the conversation and exchange of ideas to be continuous.
At the break of dawn some would go swimming or play tennis or even go
golfing. Breakfast everyday was a long affair for there seemed to be
endless things to say to one another. In the evening we all gathered
together for dinner, after which there would be auctions, crazy whist,
dancing, singing. During the day there would be serious discussions on
our lives as alumni of North Point or alumnae of Loreto. There were
walks, shopping sprees, a trip out together for a seafood meal and a
picnic one day. Sometimes the ladies would hold meetings of their
own. It was firmly decided that one of these extended
reunions should be held every two years. The next reunion will be in
Chiang Mai in northern Thailand between July 15th and August 15th. 2005.
The exact dates will be given later. So all are informed to make a note
of this. Names are already coming in.
On our return, we were treated by a couple in Bangkok to a final dinner.
The husband was a Paulite and the wife, a Loreto graduate. They had
invited the Bangkok group pf Paulites, so it was a sort of fitting end
in that it was truly a Darjeeling Night in
Thailand.
One thing that struck me was the number of alumni/ae who are actively
engaged in being men and women for others, living out their lives in
great generosity with strong principles imbibed during the years of
schooling. School life, especially boarding schools, leaves an indelible
mark on us. Living together for so many months over several years is
akin to living in a joint family in which we learn to appreciate the
same things, develop similar attitudes and outlooks that continue to
support us in our lives. When we meet in reunions, especially the
extended kind we have just had, we experience again our common roots in
such a way that even if we studied in different decades the values and
the spirit are still very much the same. This brings permanence to our
relationships.
After that I was invited by Somendra Pradhan and his wife Priti to spend
some time in Ho Chi Minh City. This was a very good educational
experience for me and I have been able to use this already in the
classroom. So I am very grateful to them and their two children for
giving me this privilege. Somendra is the head of the ICI Paints
Corporation throughout Vietnam
From there I proceeded to Yangon to meet alumni who have been completely
cut off from NP for forty years. In this land of pagodas and beautiful
people our alumni stand out for the effort they are all making to bring
solace and hope to an afflicted section of the world. It was a real
blessing to me to be there. Nyunt Win NP’60 is easily the most famous
man in the country having acted in about 300 films and winning five
Burmese Academy Awards.
Back in school, our sportsmen had many victories. They won the Jack
Coffey Football Tournament winning against St. Augustine’s,
Kalimpong. In Badminton, North Point won the finals in each
division, singles and doubles. North Point School now has its own
cyber café attached to the Library.
This letter is long enough for now.
Warm regards,
Fr.Van
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June/July 2003
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July 29th, 2003
Dear Alumni,
I realize that no explanation is necessary for the
absence of a June Newsletter but everyone around here loves to talk about
his computer woes and I am no exception. The Singamari Exchange is a
constant topic of conversation for rarely do people get through to us by
phone nor do we contact others through e-mail. It is a constant battle
with frustration. By not giving in, I notice we grow in the virtue of
patience, so we somehow draw benefit from it all.
June and July have given us more than our quota of
rainstorms so our attempt to use the
new building before it was completed ended in failure. We had to
retreat to the main building. By September we may be able to begin our
primary classes there in a completed building, much the wiser. With the
extra time, we were able to adjust the classrooms to make them more
adequate to the new method of teaching we hope to begin.
Though this monsoon is rated as very good, it has
already resulted in many landslides, loss of houses
and worse still, a loss of many lives. The worst affected areas
were West Point which is now part of Darjeeling town, Tindharia and Mirik.
The good news is that for the first time ever, the citizens of Darjeeling
rallied to their support and after two days 11 truck loads of materials
and a large amount of money were ready to be distributed to those
who had suffered heavy losses. The citizens did not wait to see what the
government would do but enthusiastically set to work themselves.
Again this year the alumni sponsored inter school
quiz was a huge success. It was co sponsored generously by the Telegraph
Newspaper. Of the 22 schools that participated in the Class 10 and under
quiz, North Point won first place. In the Class 11 and 12 quiz Loreto
Convent won by a margin of
one and a half points more than North Point had. It was an exciting
finish.
In the preliminary elimination matches for the Fr.
Jack Coffey Football Tournament the North Point team won 6 to 1 against
St. Paul’s and 2 to 0 against Mount Hermon. The early morning practices
paid off very well. The great attraction of the season of course is always
the indoor swimming pool. This year we should have an excellent team
when the swimming galas come off in September.
In the College, another floor has been added to
Campion Hall that has put an end to all the leakage. Work has begun on a
new Fairview Tribal Girls Hostel that will have space for 80 students.
Admissions for first year are on now. The University considers St.
Joseph’s as being the leading college of the 30 odd colleges and so the
Principal and his selection
committee have been deluged with applications.
On August 1st, Noreen Dunne and myself are
off to the long awaited and
long prepared reunion in Bangkok where I hear almost 100 alumni/ae will
gather. It begins on 2nd evening and will end on the 8th.
Many activities have been planned in which funds will be raised for
various projects in North Point, Hayden Hall and Loreto Convent. Dan
Windsor and his team have been busy for the past two years planning the
whole show. After that I will be visiting Vietnam and then Burma where
there are many loyal North Pointers. The organizer of this has been Tony
Lao (San Tut)’64 from his home in Massachusetts, USA.
That must be something of a long distance
organizational record.
To finish off the Centennial Vision of material and
educational updating here in the school, we are launching a drive for the
final two crores. Plans are all ready for the new dining room for the
three divisions, for classrooms above them. We appeal to all our alumni
across the world to respond generously. Where there is a will there
certainly will be a way to bring this drive to a successful conclusion. In
the past four years North Point has taken on a completely new look and
outlook. Those who have visited have been amazed to see the progress
already made. The North Point spirit is obvious in the students and in the
staff and in the alumni that have opened their hearts. Now we must all
join together in this final effort.
With warm and grateful regards,
Fr.Van |
April 2003
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St.
Joseph's College
School Department
April 30, 2003
Dear
Alumni,
On
Sunday, the local Alumni Association held its 6th annual
general meeting (AGM). It was very well attended with over 40 present, 3
coming from Kolkata and three from Siliguri. Besides the elections, there
were some speeches and reports were read out. This was followed by a
luncheon in the Community Dining Room. Afterwards we were entertained by
this year’s Primary Department Concert, which was a feast for the eyes
with all the little ones confidently playing out their roles with great
ease. The Alumni were definitely happy to be here and really thrilled to
see the improvements made all over the institution. Mukesh Mirchandani,
the Secretary of the Kolkata chapter, mentioned he would have much to
proudly tell the others when he returned home about how his alma mater has
progressed in recent years. In a couple of national magazines recently,
Darjeeling was rate! d as being one of the four best places for school
education in the whole country with schools that were second to none. Now
we certainly have much to live up to.
Monday
was granted as a holiday because of the victories in the Volleyball
Carnival and in the Darjeeling Hill Council Basketball tournament. Our new
subprefect in the UD, Mr. Uday Verma, is largely responsible for this
because he has been able to work up the proper kind of team spirit
required. With special practices at 4:30 in the morning, he was able to
develop a quality of player that simply could not be defeated. Also in
cricket the first Edinburgh Shield game against Mt. Hermon resulted in an
easy win for North Point. The boys are eagerly awaiting the match against
St. Paul’s. Today I was watching the Primary lads doing basket practice
on their new and very own court, a gift of the Sikkim Chapter. Developing
expertise at this early age will surely produce great teams in the future.
Another thing that has generated a lot of division spirit this year has
been the traditional cuptie cricket matches. They are also practicing for
these games everyday at the stroke of dawn.
In
the college department, the last touches are being given to the new
building that houses some classrooms, a modern canteen and a boys’
common room along with Darjeeling’s first ATM that can be approached
from the Hill Cart Road. For the latter we can be grateful to ICICI Bank,
the successor to Grindlays. It was long in the building but the end
product looks marvelous. This will be inaugurated very soon. The new
storey on top of Campion Hall has also been completed. A German group are
arranging for a large part of the funding required for the Tribal Girls’
Hostel. This will also soon be on the way. This year the University will
be granting us an Honours Course in Computer Science and in Computer
Applications. The result of the National College Accreditation
self-evaluation has been completed and forms a very attractive handbook.
Now we await the national evaluators’ arrival. Once this is completed,
we will be able to begin postgraduate courses that may lead us hopefully
to the status of an autonomous college and later to a Deemed University.
The future seems to be very promising.
The
school alumni are about to begin a very big project assisted by the Health
Department in regard to Aids Awareness among the younger generation. I am
listing the schools that have been approached just to let you know how the
English medium, especially ICSE, schools have multiplied in recent years
in Darjeeling Hill District. This is by no means the total number
LIST OF
SCHOOLS TO WHICH LETTER REF. AIDS AWARENESS
CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN SENT
DARJEELING:
- St.Joseph’s
College, School Dept., P.O. North Point, Darjeeling-734104.
- Mt.
Hermon School, P.O. North Point, Darjeeling-734104.
- Vidya
Vikash Academy, Hermintage, Darjeeling-734101.
- B.S.M.I
School, Ging, P.O. Lebong, Darjeeling.
- Loreto
Convent, Darjeeling-734101.
- Green
Lawns School, 1, A.J.C. Bose Road, Jalapahar, Darjeeling.
- St.
Paul’s School, Jalapahar, Darjeeling.
- Notre
Dame Academy, West Point, Dali, Darjeeling.
- Gyanodaya
Niketan School, below Ava Art Gallery, Rose Bank, Darjeeling.
- West
Point School, West Point, Dali, Darjeeling.
- Ruhiyyah
School, Jorebunglow, P.O. Ghoom, Darjeeling.
KALIMPONG:
- St.
Augustine’s School, P.O. Kalimpong, Dist. Darjeeling.
- St.
Joseph’s Convent, P.O. Kalimpong, Dist. Darjeeling.
- Rockvale
Academy, P.O. Kalimpong, Dist. Darjeeling.
- Dr.
Graham’s Homes, Tirpai, P.O. Kalimpong, Dist. Darjeeling.
- Saptashree
School, Relli Road, P.O. Kalimpong, Dist. Darjeeling.
KURSEONG:
- Goethals
Memorial School, P.O. Kurseong, Dist. Darjeeling.
- St.
Helen’s School, P.O. Kurseong, Dist. Darjeeling.
- Downhill
Girls’ School, Dowhill, P.O. Kurseong, Dist. Darjeeling.
- Victoria
Boys’ School, P.O. Kurseong, Dist. Darjeeling.
- Daisies
School, 9A, J.N. Pradhan Road, P.O. Kurseong, Dist. Darjeeling.
- Himali
Boarding School, P.O. Kurseong, Dist. Darjeeling.
- Sacred
Heart School, Pankhabari Road, P.O. Kurseong, Dist. Darjeeling.
- Bellevue
Boarding School, 128, A.K. Mukherjee Road, P.O. Kurseong, Dist.
Darjeeling.
- Bethany
School (Kurseong), Pankhabari Road, P.O. Kurseong, Dist. Darjeeling.
- St.
Anthony’s School, Giddhapahar, P.O. Kurseong, Dist. Darjeeling.
- Glenhill
School, P.O. Kurseong, Dist. Darjeeling.
- St.
Augustine’s School (Kurseong), P.O. Kurseong, Dist. Darjeeling.
MIRIK:
- Lewis
English School, Mirik, P.O. Mirik, Darjeeling.
- Orange
Lake School, Mirik, P.O. Mirik, Darjeeling
- Pinehall
Academy, P.O. Soureni, Darjeeling.
TOTAL
SCHOOLS = 31
T.N
Shakabpa, the well known poet among the spagies, has requested me to
include a few lines of his soon to be published book of poems:
QUOTE
"Tsoltim N. Shakabpa (NP-School: 1953 - 1960), who is known to family
and friends as "T.N.", has written a magnificent and poignant
book of poems about his unique life's experiences entitled, REFLECTIONS OF
A TIBETAN, to be published sometime this year by the prestigious United
States Company, Publish America. To pre-order a copy or copies of
"T.N.'s" insightful book, call Publish America in the
United States at telephone # (240) 529-1031 or send e-mail to:-shakabpa@earthlink.
net
Attention:
Christina.
If you read Catalan or Spanish, you can order "T.N.'s" book,
RECORDS
D'UN TIBETA, from the Spanish publishing firm, Pages Editor, at e-mail
address ed.pages.editors@cambrescat.es Attention:
Mr. Ramon Badia, Editor.
In
April 2002, "T.N." received the EDITOR'S CHOICE AWARD for
Outstanding
Achievement in
Poetry from the International Library of Poetry.
For your further
information, "T.N." is the son of the late, well known
Tibetan
historian, statesman and freedom fighter, Tsepon Wangchuk Deden
Shakabpa.
If you wish to get
in touch with "T.N.", you can e-mail him at shakabpa@earthlink.net
We
are about to enter the beautiful month of May, especially beautiful in
Darjeeling. The flower show has just taken place, the town is filled with
tourists, the holiday mood in town is taking over but the students carry
on with first term examinations in the offing.
Warm
regards,
Fr.Van
PS:
- I request you once again to register yourself in the website
www.npalumni.org |
March 2003 Newsletter
|
St.
Joseph's College
School Department
April 1, 2003
Dear Alumni,
Today the ICSE and ISC Examinations officially end.
The examinations are spread out over a month so our Lievens Gymnasium has
been out of bounds for the middle school students. They will be happy to
get back to their basketball, badminton and table tennis. There were 65
students sitting for each examination. It was probably one of the coldest
months of March we have ever experienced (it is still very chilly) so the
boys had to contend with that throughout the examinations.
The new Class XI come in today for their orientation. For those who
board they still have to wait for their living area on the top floor of
the new construction. We hope it won’t take more than a couple of months
to complete that particular floor so that they can move in. We have on the
school rolls, 280 Boarders and 650 Day scholars for 2003. The cosmopolitan
character that many of you requested is starting to develop again with
some from Thailand and from the USA. And one from Benin in Africa.
There are three Reunions that are scheduled in the
coming months: one in northern California under the aegis of Phil Laden La
on June 7th; one in London on June 28th being
arranged by Phillip Khan-Panni; the international one in Bangkok and Hua
Hin, Thailand beginning on August the 3rd; organized over three
years by the versatile Dan Windsor. (Something for everyone seems to be
his motto). Some excerpts on menus and activities can be found in the
website www.npalumni.org/events.htm
and I will give something on the London reunion in this letter. The
Bangkok Reunion is for School, College and Loreto.
The College Department organized a silent
Peace March to town ending at the Mall where relevant speeches were
delivered. Students of various educational institutions joined in the
march to signify, through the banners and posters they had made, their
distaste for military action in Iraq. This was on March 15th.
The College Alumni are planning a big ceremony on May
28th for the opening of the new canteen and other facilities
(including an ATM of the ICICI Bank). This has taken more than a year to
build but it is a very much needed and fine looking addition at the far
end of the front of the college. The College alumni will have their
official office in it also. They are also adding a floor to Campion Hall.
For the Girls’ Hostel, they
cannot proceed till they acquire more funds.
For the new school building the plans have just
been received
for the interior work on each floor. There will be nine classrooms
for the primary, with a music room, library, play room and
computer room, also two suites for alumni visitors, one floor for
the Class 11 and 12 dormitory and the first floor for rooms for single lay
staff. Up till this point in the construction, the cost has been Rs.
24,53,820.00 I must express
my gratitude once more for all that various alumni have generously donated
to make this possible. We hope to finish the interior, windows, walls,
furniture, electrical fittings, etc. within 45 lakhs, of which we only
have 5 lakhs with us at present. We hope and pray that alumni who have not
been able so far to contribute anything will make every effort to do so.
I would like to inform everyone that one of our
alumni, Prithvi Raj Mohanty died in Kolkata on March 8th. News
connected with this can be found on the website www.npalumni.org.
May his soul rest in peace.
Warm regards,
Fr.Van |
February 2003 Newsletter
|
St.
Joseph's College
School Department
March 1, 2003
Dear Alumni,
Yesterday the Boarders returned. But this year
there was a welcome with a difference. A group of concerned citizens
had decided that the town also should welcome the students. Across the
streets banners had been put up, school entrances were festooned. A
unique three day initiative of the Queen of the Hills residents
started yesterday amid a lot of fanfare and gaiety. The Daily
Telegraph wrote, ”The programme, which aims at reviving Darjeeling
– a major tourist destination-through hill folks’ efforts got off
to a flying start. The town wore a festive look as residents played
hosts, while welcoming the students of various local boarding schools.
Music, dance and cultural programmes were held
throughout the day, much to the delight of the boarders and their
guardians. Colourful buntings fluttered all along the NH55, reading
‘Darjeeling celebrates the return of her students to their homes in
the Hills’. Sweets were distributed, the students and parents were
garlanded. Cards were also distributed
to guardians, thanking them for choosing Darjeeling for their
childrens’ formative education. Surprised parents were touched by
the local residents’ gesture. In the evening, parts of the town were
lit up with coloured lights, thanks to the civic body, which provided
free electricity for the occasion. Bands were playing at selected
places to entertain everyone.”
Later in the year there will be other programmes
that will create a new spirit in the town as the citizens wish to
restore Darjeeling’s rich traditions. The schools’ authorities
were especially pleased to see the interest of the town in the
educational institutions for which Darjeeling has been traditionally
famous throughout the East and elsewhere.
Fr. Kinley Tshering,S.J. has been appointed as
School Prefect. Since he was a student here himself for ten years, he
brings with him a great love for the traditions of the school and for
everything that North Point means for all of its alumni. The year
ahead will obviously be great
for the present generation of students. Other new faces in North Point
are the primary matron, Miss Ellen Chettri, the school nurse, Sister
Benita Subba, Mr. Uday Verma, the UD Subprefect, Bro. John Banerjee,
the LD Subprefect(from April).
We have taken on an assistant to run the Alumni
Office here and I hope
that this will give Mr. A.C. Rai and myself some much needed relief.
The salary for this post has been generously given by Monishi Sanyal
’63. His name is Suman Tamang. I am also grateful for all the
contributors lately. Now that the structure of the new building is
standing except for the roof, we will begin giving attention to what
we will call the Centennial Building, the new dining room for all the
boys, the kitchen, and the classrooms above it. We will let you know
what help we need when the blueprints and the estimates are complete
and I hope you will all be stirred with the same generosity you have
already shown for the renewal of North Point. This year we will be
celebrating the centenary of a very important landmark here at NP,
that is, the UD Pavilion. There will be a write up on it in the new
school annual that will be distributed ! this coming week. The write
up is taken from the School Annual for 1902.
Preparations are in high gear for what people are
calling the ‘massive’ NP and Loreto reunion in Hua Hin, Thailand,
in early August. We have much to be grateful for to the organizers,
Daniel Windsor and his Loreto counterpart. Full information on this
can be had by opening the <www.npalumni.org> website. After this
reunion, I have been invited to Vietnam by Somendra P. Pradhan who is
the Finance Manager of ICI Paints there and then perhaps to Australia
and Burma if enough alumni can be traced to make it feasible. Tony
Lao(San Tut) is trying to track down the Burmese by using the
Internet.
When the assistant comes tomorrow he will be able
to add one or more
pictures to this newsletter, I hope, just as an experiment. (Sorry for
the delay in this sending this letter. We tried for a week to scan
two pictures and though we succeeded in doing this easily enough,
clicking on the SEND never produced any result. I still have much to
learn).
Warm regards,
Fr.Van |
January 2003 Newsletter
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St.
Joseph`s College
School Department
February 1, 2003
Dear
Alumni,
I want to thank all those who wrote in after the last
newsletter. It helps me when I know at least some are reading it. A number
bounce back since people change addresses without sending information. If
those who read this know of any new addresses of alumni, it would be
helpful to have them.
The new building is coming along well. It is up to
the sixth and final storey now. But this is not a real six storey building
as it is creeping up a spur with a part of each storey cut off. I don’t
know whether you can picture that. To get a good snapshot
of it, one would have to take it from the tourist cable car that
passes quite close to it. If you were able to see it, I am sure you would
be proud of the sacrifices you have made to render this possible.
The big event of the month of course was the VIth
WORLD COUNCIL OF JESUIT ALUMNI CONGRESS held in St. Xavier’s college,
Kolkata from January 21st to 24th. Fourteen Alumni
of our College and School attended. There were about 110 from foreign
countries but some others registered late. In all there were between 650
and 700 delegates., so the large and beautiful auditorium was filled to
capacity. The alumni of St. Xavier’s College and School and St.
Lawrence’s School, Kolkata, have to be highly commended for the superb
job they did in organizing such a large Congress, arranging accommodation,
catering meals with so many different diets, seeing to travel
arrangements, security arrangements and a host of other details. Everyone
was looked after and everyone was very pleased.
The President of India, His Excellency A.P.J.Abdul
Kalam enjoyed being there and obviously appreciated the welcome
entertainment, especially the singing by a College student of
Rabindranth Tagore’s “Where the mind is without fear”, which
had been adopted as one of the mottos of the Congress. In his speech, he
reminisced about his days at St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchirapalli and
the Jesuits’ care of and interest in the welfare of their students. Then
he spoke of the value centred education that Jesuit schools are famous for
so that students are not merely taught subjects but imbibe attitudes and
principles of action that make them excellent citizens.
On the second day, the Superior General of the
Jesuits from Rome, Fr. Peter Hans Kolvenbach, gave us a stirring speech in
which he outlined the purpose behind alumni associations. Here are just a
few extracts ”What brings you together is surely not just a romantic
sentiment, not merely the nostalgic memory of the past when you were
educated in a Jesuit institution; but rather the conviction that your
shared PAST has a common FUTURE, that your HISTORY of being former
students of a Jesuit school or university is also a PROPHECY, that
thePRIVILEGE of the good education you received holds out at the same time
a CHALLENGE to reach out to the less privileged.”
“Today our prime educational objective must be to
form men and women-for-others and with-others…people who cannot conceive
of love of God which does not include love for the least of their
neighbours; men and women completely convinced that love of God which does
not issue in justice for others is a farce. This kind of education goes
directly counter to the prevailing educational trend practically
everywhere in the world.
“The Jesuit institutions in which you studied were
often laboratories where students coming from different social, economic,
cultural and religious backgrounds tried successfully to live and work in
harmony, tolerance and friendship. Even now, among your association
members and friends
you can count persons of communities different from your own. This
experience should now urge you to take up projects that would build
bridges among the various communities, to promote inter-religious and
inter-cultural dialogue, to work for communal harmony and peace. In our
world where warring ideologies, ethnic conflicts, religious fundamentalism
and intolerance have been causing so much suffering and oppression, I see
a special role for alumni/ae.”
If anyone wishes to have the whole text, I will
gladly send it to you. If we are serious about what the meaning of being
an alumnus is we will find in this document plenty to reflect over and to
act upon. It abounds with examples of what alumni/ae are doing in various
parts of the world that will surely inspire us to follow suit.
Sujay Lama from Illinois University and Mark Devereux
from Vancouver have promised to come for short periods this year to
interact with our present students in their own special fields. Mr. Russi
Modi formerly the Chairman of Tata Steel, whom I met two days ago, has
promised to address our students during the year. My hope is that
many of you will be able some time to do the same and this, both in school
and college. Our students have to be exposed to a wide variety of
worthwhile ideas and professions and this can best be done by you.
Warm regards,
Fr.Van |
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