St. Xavier’s College celebrates Bangaliana on International Mother Language Day with Xavullash
TT Bureau
Published 20.03.15, 12:00 AM
St. Xavier’s College echoed with Bangaliana as they commemorated International Mother Language Day (Bhasha Divas) with Xavullash, a two-day fest presented by the college’s Bengali Literary Society and St. Xavier’s College Calcutta Alumni Association, in association with The Telegraph, on February 21 and 22. The five-year-old fest went with the theme Kolkatar Ekaal Shekaal this year.
“This year we started with Sanghati, a torch rally from Bangladesh to India, to celebrate International Mother Language Day. The rally started on February 17 from Dhaka University and reached the St. Xavier’s College campus on February 21. We also made a small installation to pay tribute to the martyrs who fought for Bangla bhasha,” said Mallika Adhikari, the assistant secretary of the Bengali Literary Society.
Based on the theme, the entrance of the college got a new look with a huge gate of marigold garlands that welcomed students from 10 colleges of Calcutta and from Dhaka University.
Ten eminent personalities received the Dashobhuja Bangalee Award for their contribution in their respective fields. The fest also had events like fashion show, band competition and group dance. The day ended on a musical note with Anupam Roy and his band belting out popular numbers.
Fans got a taste of Anupam Roy ‘unplugged’ when the sound went off during the concert. A rare treat, said his fans.
Anupam Roy danced along as he sang Ekhon onek raat from Hemlock Society. The crowd cheered on as he sang songs like Boba tunnel, Amake amar moto and Bawshonto eshe gechhe.
“I was surprised to be called up on stage by Anupamda to play for Boba tunnel, in which I had originally played the violin. It was really exciting to play in front of my friends and Xaverians,” said Rohan Roy, an
ex-student of St. Xavier’s.
Father Felix Raj, principal of St. Xavier’s College, gave away the Dashobhuja Bangalee Award to (L-R) Sidhartha Sankar “Sidhu” Ray of Cactus, actor-director Debesh Chattopadhyay, actress Paoli Dam, sportsman Joydeep Mukherjee, entrepreneur Ricky Chandra, dancer Alokananda Roy and actor Saswata Chatterjee.
A special torch rally called Sanghati, flagged off by the vice-chancellor of Dhaka University from the Martyr’s Column at Dhaka University, Bangladesh, on February 17 ended at the St. Xavier’s College campus on February 21 after traversing through Jehangir Nagar University and Rajendra College in Jessore, Bangladesh, and West Bengal State University, Barasat.
Father Felix Raj offers flowers at an installation made to commemorate International Mother Language Day.
St. Xavier’s College students walked the ramp on the theme Kolkatar Ekaal Shekaal. “It was my first runway experience and the audience was really amazing,” said Triparna Mukherjee, an MSc student of computer science.
SXCCAA SET SAIL FOR THEIR ANNUAL PICNIC
Xaverians and their families enjoy fun and games aboard the River Ganges Riveria Vessel on March 1 for the annual picnic of the St. Xavier’s College Calcutta Alumni Association.
Firdausal Hasan, the honorary secretary of SXCCAA (right), felicitates Father Felix Raj on the barge. Don’t miss their traditional headgear, worn because it was Holi time!
