Report of the Alumni Meet organized by Kolkata Chapter

 SXS DGP Alumni Kolkata Chapter hosted its maiden official meet GILLY WANDA I on the 15th of August 2012 at the Hotel De Sovarani at Salt Lake City in Kolkata. The name GILLY WANDA was coined in memory of our favourite childhood game of yesterdays, gilly-danda (danguli) – almost extinct now, but so nostalgic of the fun we had during our years in school. And, of course, in continual recognition of the two men – Fr.FY Gilson (Gillypa being one of his popular nicknames) & Fr.AJ Wautier, both priests from a very distant Belgium – who shaped us into men we are today and who spent selfless lifetimes doing just that. Their lives and contributions being the strongest foundations in history of St. Xavier’s School, Durgapur!! That the event happened right in middle of the school’s Golden Jubilee made it all the sweeter.

At the strike of noon hour on the day of the country’s independence, Xaverians across 27 batches (1975 to 2002) flocked to the reception & registration desk (so ably managed by Shaon Mazumder & Monsum Mukherjee) in the hotel lobby, thrilled at the prospect of being able to meet up with old friends and batchmates. With time having reduced the age differences between seniors and juniors to a large extent, everyone was just too eager to walk down the corridors of their alma mater in uniform white shirts and grey trousers. That most had brought their wives and kids along only added to the fun – to see their normally reserved husbands & dads behaving like kindergarten kids. 

And they came from near and far, across not just the length & breadth of the city, but all across from Durgapur as well. To re-live the good old days together!! Despite the heavy monsoon showers and few last minute cancellations there were 55 people in attendance. Amongst them, gracing the occasion with their presence, were two past teachers from the senior school Mrs.Jayanti Bhowmick (Geography) & Mrs Laxmi Dutta (Chemistry). And honoured guests included Mr.Naresh Gupta, President of JAAI, Mr.Firdaus Rehman Secretary, SXC Alumni and Mr Ramalingam, member  Governing Body, ALSOC. They came to share our joy with that wonderful feeling of brotherhood that exists between all Jesuit institutions of education. 

With Suman Bhowmik (Conveyor, Kolkata Chapter) taking on the role of MoC, the event kicked off with a formal report on all activities of the chapter and its achievements since inception by Kallol Mitra (Secretary). The assembled audience heartily cheered the core committee for all that it had managed to do, including breaking the glass ceiling with this meet. This was followed by our respected teachers addressing the ex students. Laxmi Dutta, who taught during the 1980s stated that although she taught in La Martinere for Girls for many years thereafter, her years with the boys in SXS DGP were her best and remain fresh in her mind.

The gathering was then addressed first by Mr.Gupta – who promised all support to the Kolkata Chapter from the Jesuit community as a whole – and then by Mr.Suranjan Kar (1980 batch) who has been an integral part of Alumni committee in Durgapur for long and was instrumental in the setting up of the Kolkata chapter. He spoke of the shared dream of weaving alumni scattered geographically throughout the country and the world by starting different chapters all over in much the same was as SXC Alumni has been.

By which time, the hunger pangs had become stronger and it was decided to take a break to indulge the taste buds. And there was much on offer – a 26 item long buffet spread, each of those finger licking delicious!! Quite expectedly the tasting seemed to be going on forever. Kids ran around at times a little confused by the options, the ladies weren’t sure how they would manage to retain space for the desserts and the men simply could not have enough of main courses. Even those that initially planned to do only a healthy soup & salad, gave up midway to the utter delight of all others!! And since good food loosens tongues, families who by now were getting to know each other had a rollicking time chatting. While the boys …… well they just became boys again!! 

If anyone had thought that the story would end on that high note, they were mistaken. Lunch merely gave way to wonderful entertainment. First, in line was some enthralling quizzing. The session was conducted by Souvik Basu (2000 batch) who kept the alumni and their families glued with his own, unique style and also managed to bring back the energy in people after a super heavy lunch. And then the stage, the hall and the audience were totally floored by Arnab Guha (1980 batch) & his troupe with musical extravaganza that mesmerized the audience with foot tapping english numbers, nostalgic hindi ones and sentimental old Bengali hits from the decades of the ‘80s & ‘90s, that had everyone clapping, singing and dancing.

When that left us quite out of breath, it was time for a round of formal introductions by all that attended the meet, managed in accompaniment of much laughter and leg pulling. Followed by formal thanksgiving by Suvojit Roychowdhury including special mention of the efforts of Sujit Guha & Parthasarathi Basu! Attendees in turn conveyed their heartfelt thanks to the organizing team for a wonderful outing with their families.

Finally, on behalf of the vast majority of alumni that have expressed similar wishes, the Durgapur chapter was requested to prepone the date of the Golden Jubilee reunion to 23^rd December, 2012 to enable the maximum numbers to participate and make that event a grand success. Suranjan Kar, on behalf of the Durgapur chapter, promised to ensure not only that but also that for the first time the reunion will be held within the school grounds itself. We are thankful to the Durgapur chapter for agreeing to both those long pending demands of the majority of alumni, specially from other parts of country and beyond.      

Like all good things in life, even this one had to end. But when people bid adieu that evening, it was not so much with sadness as the hope and joy of being able to share time and laughs with friends for life!!