FIRST KOLKATA CHAPTER MEET

MINUTES OF THE KOLKATA CHAPTER MEET AT SXC KOLKATA STAFF ROOM 29.05.2011

The inaugural meet of the Kolkata Chapter of the Durgapur St.Xavier’s School Alumni Association was held at 3.30 p.m. at the Staff Room of St.Xavier’s College Kolkata with about 35 ex-students of the school attending. Dignitaries present included among others Rev.Fr. K.K.Devasy, Rev.Fr.M.S.Arockiasamy, Mr.Naresh Gupta, Mr.Snehasis Sur, Mr. Santosh Agarwal, Mr.Firdausul Hassan, Mr.G.P.Gupta, and Mr.Ravin Roy. There were ex-teachers Ms Snigdha Ghosh, Ms.Haimanty Duttagupta and Ms.Chobi Bose along with teacher Mr.Santimoy Biswas who graced the occasion.

The delegation from Durgapur included Mr.Sandip Guha Roy, Mr.Subir Dubey, Mr.Suranjan Kar, Dr.Arindam Mitra, Dr.Kalyan Chakraborty, Mr.Basudev Bhattacharjee, Mr.Suman Kumar and Mr.Pratap Sarkar.

The welcome address was delivered by Mr.Suranjan Kar. Mr.Sandip Guha Roy introduced the relevance and theme of the gathering and presented a brief history of the association thanking the help and support of the ex- headmaster and President Fr.Devasy towards giving the Alumni Association its present shape.

Fr.M.S.Arockiasamy then spoke on the need of the Kolkata Chapter and the efforts of the Alumni Association to get set on an even keel. He reiterated the need of a tie-up between the Alumni Association of Durgapur and the ones in Kolkata towards fulfilling objectives more meaningfully. Father brought out the great importance of the Alumni and the Chapters keeping in mind the oncoming Golden Jubilee Celebrations of St.Xavier’s School Durgapur starting in May 2012.

Fr.K.K.Devasy  warmly welcomed all present and also welcomed the idea of setting up a Kolkata Chapter of the Association.

The President of JAAI Mr.Naresh Gupta supported the need of opening chapters at different places for the benefit of all ex-students and to elicit a more meaningful contribution of ex-students towards their alma mater. He advised on points like systematic maintenance of accounts, timely submission of I.T.Returns, and a very meticulous paper work for the smooth running of the Association.

 Mr.Snehasis Sur, the Secretary of SXCCAA , was indebted to Rev.Fr.Felix Raj in absentia for his support in organizing the meet. He welcomed all fraternal alumni associations together to share multifarious advantages offered by the individual associations. He stressed on the need for a consolidated effort and sharing of ideas. He suggested regular meetings of the newly formed

Kolkata chapter members offering all possible help and suggestion towards space requirement and infrastructural development. Mr.Sur felt the need to organize philanthropic projects and orientation programmes, and to broaden the ambit of activities.

Ms.Haimanty Duttagupta and Ms.Chobi Bose, ex-teachers based in Kolkata present, spoke on their nostalgia and were happy with the formation of the Chapter which would give them an opportunity to keep in touch with the spirit of the School and feel the pulse of St.Xavier’s in Kolkata.

Mr.Sandip Guha Roy then asked the ex-students present to voice their opinion to clarify why they felt a Kolkata Chapter should be established. Different interesting ideas came up. All agreed that it would provide the old boys in Kolkata an urge to meet more often and systematically. They felt that it would provide a better opportunity to generate funds and to reach out to more people. A chapter would undoubtedly help in coordinating activities better keeping in mind the Golden Jubilee. The Chapter, some felt, would be missing link between the Mother body in Durgapur and the Old boys in Kolkata.

For the administration and efficient running of the Kolkata Chapter, a core body was formed. The members include:  Mr.Suman Bhowmik[1978 batch]—Convener, Mr.Subhojit Roychoudhury{1987 batch], Mr.Partha Basu[1988 batch], Mr.Kallol Mitra[1980 batch], Mr.Sourav Ghose[1982 batch],Mr.Arnab Guha[1980 batch], and Mr.Shaon Majumdar[2000 batch].

Mr.Suman Bhowmik was unanimously chosen as the Convener by all members of the Core committee. It was also decided that Mr.Suman Bhowmik ,the Convener, would coordinate all activities and would communicate with Durgapur based Mr.Suranjan Kar.

Mr.Subir Dubey played the tune of the School Anthem on the Harmonica much to the delight of all. He also played a number from the hindi Classic film Sholay ---“ye dosti hum nahi torenge…….” to honour the solidarity amongst the Alumni of different Jesuit institutions present.

The meeting ended with a vote of thanks by the Secretary of the Durgapur St.Xavier’s School Alumni Association Mr.Subir Dubey followed by complimentary snacks offered by the hosts SXCCAA.

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