A merry bonfire on a wintry evening, old memories to rewind to and new experiences to share, jokes and joy all around — that’s what defines the annual reunion dinner organised by the St. Joseph’s College Old Boys’ Association.
While the bonfire was the centre of attraction, the reunion — held recently on the St. Joseph’s College campus, BB Ganguly Street, partnered by The Telegraph — also included a felicitation ceremony and a celebration of 25 years of ICSE for the class of 1991. There was music too, with singer Sudipta Gain belting out a mix of tracks, from Yaaron to Bijuriya to Ek ajnabee haseena se.
Josephytes also paid tribute in memory of one of the school’s old boys, Hashim Abdul Halim, former Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, who passed away recently.
“It has been a wonderful experience. Our boys are disciplined, down to earth and they have a sense of belonging to the school,” smiled Jayati Banerjee, principal of St. Joseph’s College, seen here with Abbas Bengali, vice-president of the St. Joseph’s College Old Boys’ Association.
Spandan Banerjee of the 2009 batch had a double reason to attend the reunion. The young Josephyte is now himself a teacher at the school. “I can easily catch the pranks that the boys are up to, since I was a student here not too long ago!” laughed the English teacher.
“I remember how we used to bunk classes and hide in the backstage of the school auditorium. We foolishly thought we were smarter than the principal, but we were found out every time,” laughed Pranab Bedi of the 1997 batch.
A t2 thumbs up for the red hat and Ranveer Singh’s ’tache.
“Our school believes that it is very important to be a good human being first. And there is no ex-Josephyte, we are always a part of our school,” said Avijit M. Pal Chaudhuri, general secretary of the old boys’ association.
Paul D’Souza, one of the legendary teachers of the school, had left for Canada in 1991. He returned to relive his memories at the reunion, much to the delight of many of his former students.
Rashid has been selling his nimbu paani outside the school from the 1960s. Spotting him at the reunion, students of the 1992 and 1991 batches immediately gathered around him for a sip down memory lane.
It was an extra-special reunion for the batch of 1991, which celebrated 25 years of ICSE. We love how they emerged down the stairs, hands up in the air! #LikeABoss
CONFESSIONS
• Hum logon mein toh sabne cheating karke pass kiya hai, dais pe kaun jayega?! #ROFL
• We used to carry cold drinks like Sprite in our regular water bottles. #ClassroomSips
• We always used to take off our school belt, badge and tie if we were up to some mischief that might tarnish the school’s image. #GoodBadBoys
• Luchi-aloo dum was the first to disappear from our lunch boxes, that too long before the bell for lunch hour rang! #TiffinTales
• Chemistry lessons taught us that ink dissolves in acetone when it is rubbed on a new white board. Of course we tried it! Sorry sir, sorry ma’am! #SchoolPranks
What’s the best thing about being a Josephyte? Tell us at t2@abp.in
Text: Rit Chattapadhyay
Pictures: Sayantan Ghosh
