First Post

Welcome all alumni of St. Xavier's Durgapur to our very own blog. It is perhaps fitting that the first post will be about the recently held reunion in our beloved alma mater.

It was that time of the year again when old Xaverians flocked to Durgapur to re-live the glorious days they spent in their school. Like last year, this reunion was also held in a 2-phase event.  The evening of 8th January saw a gala party at Hotel Pritika. People across batches right from the swinging 70's to the very recent  passouts were all present under one roof. The meet was formally declared open by the new Headmaster Father M.S. Arockiasamy, S.J. A few teachers had also come - namely Sir Roy, Rajada and Sandip Sir. 

A local band played some cool foot-tapping numbers both in Hindi and Bengali. The music, a mix of old and new songs set the atmosphere for the party. However, the highlight of the evening was definitely when our own guys took the stage and belted out one hit number after another. People just could not resist dancing and soon the dance floor saw people from various age groups join in. Several alumni had been accompanied by their family members as well and they too joined in the fun. Some memorable scenes saw people from 76 batch dancing with people from 2000 batch, a lone ranger from an early batch setting the dance floor on fire. A special mention must be made  of one of  Mr.Subir Dubey (1982 batch) who played a soulful 'yeh dosti' from 'Sholay' brilliantly on his mouth organ. People who had attended the last year's meet must have also fondly remembered the scene when one of our core members had joined our former teacher Mrs. Reeta Pandey on the dance floor. Amidst all the song and dance, you could feel the nostalgia flowing, people wildly hugging their old friends, digicams and cellphone cameras working overtime, and what not.

The party continued till late into the night with everyone having a great time. There was also a sumptous buffet dinner with cocktails. This year the party saw a turnout of more than 130 alumni, quite an improvement over last year.

The morning of 9th saw everyone assembled in the school gymnasium. There were several ex-teachers as well as a few present teachers who had come. The formal function began with a speech from Sandip Sir about the recent happenings in school and alumni. The batch of 1995 had donated sports kits to the school this time. The 1980 batch members donated water purifiers for the school. We also had our ex Headmaster Father Devasy, S.J., who looked very pleased to be back again. We also had the National Secretary  of Jesuit Alumni Association of India, Mr.Naresh Gupta and  Mr.Santosh Agarwal fromSt. Xavier's College Alumni,  Kolkata, who spoke on how the Jesuit Alumni Association is run. Other points discussed was how St. Xavier's Durgapur alumni could move forward and how more alumni members could be brought into the loop. Our present Headmaster also gave an inspiring speech, citing how he wanted the hearts of alumni and not their wallets.

Ideas and suggestions  were also invited for the Golden Jubilee celebrations of our school. The celebrations will start from 1st January,2012 and will go on throughout the year. Two important steps that were discussed towards making the celebrations a success were:

1. Making the Alumni Association a formal Registered Body

2. Starting 'Chapter Meets' in various cities across the country

The highlight of the function saw several teachers being felicitated by Father  M.S.Arockiasamy. All teachers were cheered loudly as they walked up to receive their mementoes. Sandip Sir played the perfect emcee and these became truly memorable moments. There was the evergreen Sir Roy, the beaming Jhunu Miss, Bhowmik Miss with her poems, Dasgupta Miss in a new avatar, and many other teachers. One could hear the wildest cheers as Nandi Sir and Shanti Sir came in. Shutterbugs had a field day as everyone tried to capture these golden moments.

After the formal ceremony, it was time to catch up with old teachers and friends. Several alumni members were also spotted taking a walk along the school building recalling their childhood days. Some people could also be seen walking in the school playground, perhaps remembering their exploits in football or the sports day parade. The programme ended with a lunch for all . One great sight post-lunch was that of Father Fohshow trying out 'fuchkas' from a local vendor.

To sum up, it was a great meet and a wonderful weekend. People who were not able to make it indeed missed out on something memorable.

There was also the Annual General Meeting post-lunch. Details of the AGM and photographs of the 2 days will soon be uploaded. Keep watching this space!

P.S.: Kindly spread the word about the blog among all our alumni. Also, please mail to xavalum@gmail.com  if you are interested in sharing your memories and photographs from the alumni meet. Please remember to mention your batch in your mail. They will all be posted on the blog.  We look forward to hear from you all.