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October 2006
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St, Joseph's School,
Darjeeling 734 104,
West Bengal
November 19th,
Joan (Windsor) Sarasin, from Bangkok has been with us for a few days to help
us make final decisions on the events programs for the International
NP-Loreto Reunion that will take place at the end of March 2007 here in
Darjeeling. All those who intend coming from other parts of the world,
except the Darjeeling District, have to route their registration
through her, even the ones who count on staying with friends and relatives.
Once again I want to remind you that her e-mail address is (conven@asiaaccess.net.th)
Conven stands for Convention as she hosts various world conventions in
Bangkok itself a few times a year,so she is a very accomplished 'events
manager'. Once she returns to Bangkok next
week, she will inform all those who have registered with her already
everything that has been decided on for March, 2007. She will also settle
the details of the mini reunion in Kolkata for those who will be arriving
there a day or two early.
November so far had been a very beautifully sunny month with the mountain
peaks shimmering before our eyes every day. However that has brought very
cool evenings with the inevitable lowering of the snowline.
From today winter has set in leaving us in no doubt that it will be a very
cold winter.
This morning we blessed the cornerstone for the labs and for the auditorium
to seat over 1500. Shasheesh Prasad, the architect, completed designing this
before he died. Ms Gyatri Kharel is the structural engineer. With the effort
of these two we will certainly have something beautiful to behold.
Unfortunately it won't be completed before the reunion takes place, but
visitors will clearly see what a feat it is to build something like this on
a Himalayan hillside.
The registration for hotels must be completed soon. Many have written to me
that they will be coming but I have not seen their names on the registration
list. So those intending to come must take a little time out and finalize
their plans with some urgency. Apparently, too, we can accommodate only 600.
In the newspaper today there is a plan some organization has to
develop a new Darjeeling nearby the present town of Darjeeling, that will
have luxury hotels, etc. Though 'old' Darjeeling has a multiplicity of
hotels, only a few can be classed as luxury and these are the ones where
most of our bookings have been made.
I want to thank those who have responded to my personal plea for funds for
the bamboo school at Mungpoo Cinchona Plantation. In another month the
training of laborers in the treatment of bamboo will begin. After that the
construction of classrooms will begin. Since this construction will not take
too long, we should have whatever is necessary for Classes 5, 6 and 7
by the beginning of March. At least that is my hope and prayer. We will soon
be updating our Mungpoo website,
www.npmungpoo.org.
With fervent prayers for a more peaceful world as Christmas approaches,
Fr. Van |
September 2006
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St. Joseph’s College & School
Darjeeling 734 104
West Bengal
October 5, 2006 Dear Alumni & Friends,
First of all I
want to tell you how sorry I am that I have not been able to correspond with
all of you over the past six months. There was plenty of news to pass on but
the computers all over the Singamari suburb of Darjeeling town simply
stopped functioning when we were given the privilege of Broad Band. I did
write occasionally to individuals from a cyber café in town when I found a
free computer there. However I could not send out my monthly message. Now I
am told everything has been properly set up, but today it repeatedly states
that the ”server cannot be found”. I am writing this off line in the hope
that later I may be able to send a message off. The
monsoon came to a tragic end this year with four days of incessant heavy
rain causing many landslides, collapsing of a large number of houses and
unfortunately, costing the lives of quite a number of people. It brought
back memories of 1950, 1968 and 1998 when it was felt each time that this
area of the Himalayas would have to be abandoned. Yet the population has
kept on growing until it has become, they say, the most populated hill town
in the whole world. How to explain this? The day after the rain ceased, the
sun appeared in all its brilliance, the snow peaks were the attraction of
all eyes and practically everyone forgot the misery they had been through.
One has to admit there is no more beautiful mountain scene in the world.
Last year at this time, St. Joseph ’s School presented
an award called “Loyal Son of North Point” for the first time. It was given
to a 38 year old alumnus, Shasheesh Prasad, an outstanding and extremely
creative architect, for all that he has done for the school through his
profession. He created for St. Joseph’s a plan he called ‘North Point Vision
2000 + ‘ and for the past six years he has devoted himself free of cost to
renewing this now 119 year old school. It is not yet quite complete, but all
the plans have been worked out for what remains to be done: a 1500 seat
auditorium and staff quarters. For the past three months, he was treated for
cancer, a tumor on the brain. Last Friday, Sept. 29th, God called
him to Himself. Naturally we were all devastated by this loss. It was one of
the largest funeral processions ever witnessed here as it wended its way
through the town for he had devoted himself not only to the school but
generously also to so many other places near and far. Early this year he
completed a whole university town in the north-east State of Misoram .
R.I.P.
For the local alumni association he had most of the
plans ready for the bamboo school to be erected on the Mungpoo Cinchona
plantation. As moderator, I was to see to the funding of this to the tune of
Rs. 3.6 crore over a 12 year period of construction but I was to do this
largely through contacts he could provide. Since the project is very
innovative with local and sustainable material (the bamboo has to be
treated) he was sure the funding would not be that difficult. Unfortunately
that advantage is no longer ours. If any of you are interested in helping
out, you will find information on website (www.npmungpoo.org) More
information will gradually be added to the website. It is basically a
booklet on the project that Shasheesh had prepared before he entered the
hospital in July. We are to begin on November 17th with a
training session in how to treat the bamboo conducted by experts from Assam
, so that the workers on the plantation who will be the construction team
may acquire this new skill.
This will be the first English medium school in the
huge plantation. It has already been in operation for this past year for
classes 5 and 6 but in rooms rented in another school. We must be on our own
property allotted by the government by next March. The children have made
phenomenal progress in this short time and this has given us great hope for
the future success of the school.
Just a reminder concerning the international reunion of
St. Joseph ’s and Loreto former students to be held from March 26th
to 31st, 2007 in Darjeeling . Those intending to come should
contact immediately Joan Windsor in Bangkok for details of registration and
hotel bookings. She is the genius behind this as she is a very experienced
events manager for conventions. To contact her use the following address
conven@asiaaccess.net.th.
Waiting to hear from you,
Fr.Van |
June 2006
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St. Joseph’s College & School
Darjeeling 734 104
West Bengal
July 9th, 2006
Dear Alumni & Friends,
This past week I journeyed to Thimphu in Bhutan to renew contacts with
alumni and make them aware of the 2007 International Reunion to be held here
in Darjeeling from March 26th to 31st. Besides meeting individual
alumni, I was pleasantly surprised to see such a number at the general
meeting we had in the spacious BCCI hall in the centre of town. The
majority were graduates of the College both old and very recent. The
three Cabinet Ministers, Lyonpo Kandhu Wangchuk, Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba and
Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering were very much present. These three went right through
the School and Yeshey graduated also from the College. It was a most
pleasant evening mixing with all of them. The evening was hosted by Lyonpo
Yeshey who is the Minister of Trade and Industry, and the whole trip
was organized by Dasho Karma Dorji, the Secretary of the Trade and Industry
Ministry. I would like to thank both of them sincerely for all they did to
make the reunion so meaningful.
I had the pleasure also of spending some time with Lyonpo Dawa Tsering who
retired from the Foreign Ministry in 1998. His name is in the Guiness Book
of records for being the longest serving Foreign Minister (29 years) of any
country in the world. He is recovering well from a serious illness and quite
active again. I tried to visit Lendup Dorji who
finished in North Point in 1953, but he is undergoing rather severe chemo
therapy. Your prayers are requested for the success of the treatment. For a
few years now he has been valiantly battling with cancer and has been an
inspiration to many.
My sincere thanks go to Dasho Karma Dorji for the privilege of touring
through the Tala Hydro Electric Project for a good part of one day. This
project that has taken almost six years is nearing completion and the first
turbine will be commissioned on July 21st. The full six turbines will be
operating by the end of October. This is Bhutan’s second
totally underground hydro electric project, very environment friendly. The
production of power will be in the realm of 1000 to 1200 megawatts which
will be of tremendous value both to Bhutan and India as far away as Delhi
and Uttar Pradesh.
The tunnels go on for well over the 23 Kms. the original plan envisaged. It
was a delight to see the water pouring back into the mountain stream with
its waves glistening in the sunlight after traveling so far underground. I
was in awe looking down these multi storeyed tunnels containing the latest
in modern equipment and gadgetry purchased from numberless countries. Hats
off to the Engineers who have obviously worked so hard planning the minutest
details of this gigantic operation. Three more, even larger, projects are
also on the planning table. The next will begin next year in Wangdi, not far
from Punakha.
Warm regards
Fr. Van |
May 2006
St. Joseph’s College,
North Point,
Darjeeling
734104
West Bengal
April
30th, 2006
Something I have always forgotten to mention is my gratitude and the
gratitude of many for donations that a few of you have sent for the
plastic surgery of young people afflicted with a hair-lip or a cleft
palate. For the last 45 cases that have been successfully treated, we
have had the big advantage of free surgery given by a Rotarian doctor
living in Guwahati, Assam.We are extremely grateful to him and his
sponsors for this wonderful. service. The only expense we have to make
is the bus and train journey from here to Guwahati and back, plus food
and accommodation. But what I want to share with you is the moment of
their return here to Hayden hall, our Social and Developmental Centre in
town Their parents simply cannot stop smiling as they lovingly embrace
their daughters and sons that now look so wonderful and can enter into
school or society as normal girls and boys. They are simply thrilled to
death by the transformation. The next lot of 7 or 8 should be preparing
to leave soon. To those of you who generously help us in this work, I
can only say thank you but I often wish you could enjoy the sight and
have the same consolation we have.
In
my last letter appealing for help for our bamboo school in the Mungpoo
Cinchona Plantation, a branch school of North Point, I made a huge
blunder. I mentioned that the yearly requirement for 12 years would be
Rs. 40,000/- whereas it will be closer to Rs.30 lakhs for each year.
Though it will be still much cheaper than a cement construction, it
isn’t as cheap as a very drowsy mind at midnight(when I wrote)conjured
up. A lakh of rupees is approximately US dollars 2250/- The bamboo has
to be treated so that it will be permanently durable, the land has to be
levelled, workers have to be trained and wages have to be paid, plus
many other things. Soon we will have the whole plan of a link to our Los Angeles website
www.npalumni.org and you will be able
to view the whole plan yourselves.
Although we will soon begin the leveling of the land, the school, Class
5 & 6, has been functioning for two months in rooms given to us by a
local Primary School. We have four teachers and a coordinator. Everyone
is quite busily engaged.and I am happy to say that so far, even in
difficult circumstances everything is going well. The girls and boys are
getting in to the way of things and the teachers, too, feel they are
propgressing.
We
are still working things out for the international alumni reunion for
March 26th to 31st next year. Even though we
cannot produce the same kind of wonders that took place in Thailand, just being back with
the family in the family home should produce wonders of its own. The
transport with in the area is all arranged at one reasonable price
combining everyone of the journeys from the airport and back with all
the movements in between, the commitments from the hotels are nearly
ready. So those who wish to make hotel arrangements should contact Joan
(Windsor)Sarasin. Many have
done so already and we apologize for the delay in getting this organized
here. Her e-mail is < conven@asiaaccess.net.th>
Please mention the price range you are willing to pay and the type of
room you wish though we can not promise what is not available here.
Those who ask early will be served first. For hardy North Point
individuals we may be able to give group accommodation in the school!!!
The
President of the University of Manitoba, Canada, Ms Emoke Szathmary,
along with her husband, George, and a Vice President for Research,
Digvir Jayas did us the honor of visiting Darjeeling in February. Though it was
only for one full day, they managed to see many things, hold discussions
with the College Fathers, attend a cultural program put on by students
of the winter school, visit the grave of a well known Hungarian
philologist who died here in 1841. The President was born in Hungary, hence the connection.
There was a visit to Hayden Hall and a tea garden. I am sure one day
they will be back. We were very grateful for the visit, brief though it
had to be this time.
The
architect, Shasheesh Prasad, has been here in the school all day today
laying out the plans for the final construction of NP Vision 2000+, a
beautiful auditorium. This we hope will be ready for the great reunion
next year. We hope, among all the other requests I have made, many of
you will support this final school project.
Warm
regards for a great Springtime in the Northern Hemisphere,
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March 2006
St. Joseph’s School
Darjeeling 734 104,
March 2006
Dear Alumni & Friends,
I have not been in touch with all of
you for some time. For me it has been a period of transition,
relinquishing the responsibilities of Rector and taking on other
responsibilities, much lighter indeed but still challenging. One of these
activities related to setting up the beginnings of a new school in a
cinchona plantation. Cinchona is the name of a special smallish tree whose
bark is harvested every few years. The bark yields medicinal oil that is
used in making quinine which has been an effective anti-malarial medicine.
It was first discovered in Columbia in South America by a Jesuit
missionary in the first part of the seventeenth century. From there it was
introduced into Indonesia and later into the Himalayan region of India.
There are four such plantations in Darjeeling District. Because it was
discovered by a Jesuit it was commonly known as Jesuit Bark.
For many years, a few men from the
Mungpoo plantation who had graduated from our Darjeeling College had been
asking us to set up a school for the benefit of the children of the
laborers of this plantation so that they could later earn their livelihood
in a different way of life. This became even more necessary in recent
years because quinine, an anti malarial drug, can be made synthetically
now and much more cheaply than from the bark, causing a slump in the
economy of the planta! tion for many thousands of people. Part of the
syllabus in the school would have to relate to work education,
experimenting in various ways to diversify the agriculture.
The cinchona plantation is
government owned and government property cannot be purchased. However, the
District Magistrate of Darjeeling who represents the State informed me
that he could grant an NOC to construct a school to benefit the families
of the laborers and once we built, it would be permanently given over to
educational purposes for us. So we accepted his proposal. We chose land
without any habitation on it and where the cinchona trees are poor
quality. They grow in a healthy way only between two and four thousand
feet above sea level. To date because! of some procedural delays we have
not occupied the land but we have started Class 5 and 6 in rooms rented
from a local Primary school and will start developing the land this coming
week.
The school will be built of
specially treated bamboo, quite an innovative idea for this part of the
world. It will be built in three phases. The first phase in three years,
the next phase in four years, the last phase, mainly to do with community
activities, in five years. Each phase will cost approximately Rs. 40,000/-
per year. The whole school will be very community centred so that familes,
too will benefit from its facilities. In a very real sense, from the
local, sustainable material to be used in the construction to the full
purpose of! the school, it will be truly a unique educational institution.
It will be a branch school of North Point and also called St. Joseph’s
School. This is according to the desires of the plantation people. There
will be more on this project once it has its own website. By the way this
is a co-ed school and is run by the Darjeeling Chapter of the North Point
SAchool Alumni Asoociation
I wish to announce to all of you
that the next international Loreto-North Point reunion will take place in
Darjeeling itself in 2007 from March 26th to 31! st.
We expect several hundred will come for this as so many have expressed the
desire to see the places they grew up in Those who wish to have hotel
accommodation should write immediately to either Dan Windsor or Joan, his
sister. Dan’s e-mail address is
hihh@ddallwood.co.th
and Joan’s is
coven@asiaaccess.net.th
The first who write in will naturally have preference in hotel space.
The first item on the agenda the 26th eveni! ng will be a
welcome dinner in the Gymkhana Club sponsored by the North Point College
Dept. Alumni. The award placques for outstanding North Point Alumni will
be presented during the reunion.
Fr. Kinley Tshering was appointed
Rector of North Point School on Feb. 20th, 2006, during the
first assembly of the year in the quadrangle. It was a colorful ceremony
during which the new incoming Darjeeling Jesuit Provincial, Fr. Peter
Pappu, gave an inspiring talk..
The five huge rain harvesting
tanks are almost completed. They are located exactly in front of the new
Dining room and classroom wing .
All for now,
Fr.Van
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