GREAT GATHERING IN DARJEELING

3^rd International Reunion, 2007

It was a trip worth making.  After a lifetime away from Darjeeling, this was an occasion to make the return memorable.  We must start with congratulations and thanks to Joan, Maureen and Dan Windsor, who Put the whole thing together at long range from Bangkok, and managed to get it right.

Some 140 of us from abroad arrived in Darj., many stopping over in Calcutta first, where Ani Lahiri, Pradeep Singhania and the Calcutta Chapter very generously hosted a reception for us, at their own expense.  Our thanks to them.  Highlight of the evening was when the Loreto girls lined up and sang their school song.  We countered with the North Point Chorus, and points were even.

Travelling from Bagdogra to Darjeeling was a revelation.  Siliguri was a mini model of Darjeeling itself, with shack shops shoulder to shoulder (try saying that after three gins!).  It was dark on our arrival but a quick turnaround at the hotels meant we were only a little late for the Welcome Dinner in the Quadrangle.

The next day we were back early – delivered by land rovers that drove along the top road for much of the way, then down to the cart road which is now densely packed with shops and untidy habitation.  The day’s proceedings began with an Awards ceremony, which Fr Van described like this:

“All listened with rapt attention to Phillip Khan Panni of London reading out the citations for the well planned and beautiful awards that were prepared by the American Chapter for the distinguished service these North Pointers have rendered to the world through their profession, their research, or by the way they surmounted the difficulties that life presented to them. These ten awardees, we had to acknowledge, are just a few among the many who will receive awards at succeeding reunions.

“For sure, North Point feels proud of its many sons scattered throughout the planet. Phillip himself had to step aside while his own citation was read by Ollie Plesek of Sydney , Australia . The others were Nyunt Win of Myanmar, Sharon Jagpal of  Rutgers University of New Jersey, Ban-An Khaw of North Eastern University near Boston, Tsoltim Shakapba of Chino Hills, California, Trevor Archer of Sweden, Dinyar Devitre of New York, Monishi Sanyal of San Jose, California, Norman Noah of England, Michael Ferreira of Mumbai, India .

“Three citations were also read out in the College Department, Ms Chokila Iyer, Past Foreign Secretary, Mahendra Lama, Economist, and Kamal Meattle,  all resident in New Delhi , for their very distinguished careers.”

All of the next morning was filled with a panel discussion and presentations on career and motivational matters, mainly for the boys of NP and girls of Loreto, with a fair number of alumni and other adults present.  As Fr Van wrote, “perhaps the greatest thing was the impact it made on the present students”, and it made the reunion relevant to them.

Dinyar Devitre chaired the panel discussion, coaxing wisdom from the 8 alumni who revealed the lessons they had learned from their own careers.  The presentations that followed were by Dinyar Devitre, on the real values in the international corporate world, Phillip Khan-Panni, author and world class speaker, on Aptitude, Attitude and Altitude, Prasant Mahapatra on financial services and the Indian corporate world, and Dr. Srirup Chatterjee, a celebrated heart surgeon.

Later, the whole school assembled on the PD Flat for the inauguration of the new clock tower, which stands beside the old PD Refectory.  At 1:00 p.m. the clock chimed the tune of “Hurrah for our home in the mountains” and struck the hour!  The boys then sang the NP Chorus with a Nepali rhythm – “Toil-up from-the val-ley belo-OH!”

On Day 3 the boys put on The Phantom of the Opera, arguably the best school performance most of us had seen.  Fraser Hall has lost its old proscenium arch with the painted curtains and gold rope, to offer a wider stage.  The back room production team and the young musicians did a most professional job, and the singing was superb.

The school was buzzing with the energy of innovation and growth. Fr Kinley Tsering (Rector) and Fr Van are the driving forces.  They open the school in the winter, free of charge, to the underprivileged children of Darjeeling.  They are adding new facilities and raising the sights of the students, which is why our reunion there this year made such a difference.  And the same values are being carried down to Mungpoo, where the new bamboo-built St Joseph’s School is being developed, as fast as funds will permit.

Thanks go to the Windsors for organizing the reunion, to the Heads of the four institutions participating, to the local secretariat, Tashi Pencho and Sajid Ahmed, to the hotel owners, to Kamal K. Gurung for the transport required and to the local alumni for their careful planning.  Above all, thanks to those who made the effort to attend, and those whose financial contributions are making the development of North Point possible.