On December 8, 1937, a handful of missionaries started a technical school in a small building in the factory shed of Parry’s Engineering Works in Liluah to train Anglo-Indian workers for jobs at the Liluah Railway Carriage and Wagon Workshop. Don Bosco High and Technical School started its journey then and developed into a leading educational institution in Howrah. It is the oldest institution run by the Salesian brotherhood of Don Bosco in Calcutta Province, comprising West Bengal, Sikkim, Nepal, Bangladesh and parts of Bihar. On December 8, 2012, the platinum jubilee year of the school came to an end and it was celebrated by one of the grandest events that the school has ever seen.

Day 1: inauguration

After months of meticulous planning, the celebrations kicked off with a formal inauguration in the afternoon of December 1 by the state minister for development and planning, Rachpal Singh, along with Bally MLA Sultan Singh. Representatives of different faiths said prayers or read scriptures to bless the occasion. After the welcome address, the dignitaries unveiled a statue of Don Bosco. The minister and MLA addressed the students and guests after which the school choir presented welcome songs.

Usha Uthup performed on Day 6

This was followed by colourful dances by the students. The top draw of the day was The Telegraph National Debate on ‘Our education system has failed the nation’. The panel for the motion comprised actor Arindam Sil, surgeon Krishnendu Mukherjee, consultant neuro-surgeon, Sandip Chatterjee and film director Ashoke Viswanathan as against Father George Thadathil, the principal of Salesian College in Sonada and Siliguri, Anup Kumar Sinha, associate professor at IIM Calcutta and MP Saugata Roy.

Day 2: St John Bosco Parish Day

The Archbishop of Calcutta, Rev Thomas D’Souza arrived early on December 2 at the school along with 19 other priests. Salesians, who had once worked in this parish and other parishioners attended Holy Eucharist. A huge gathering of members of the parish from Liluah, Bhattanagar and other neighbouring units also attended. Many children took their first Holy Communion on that day. Santhali dance and music regaled the audience in the afternoon. In the evening, the dais was taken over by Messengers, a rock group from Calcutta. Another group from Krishnanagar presented a dance drama. Salem, the first rock band in Ranchi, closed the evening.

Day 3: Social Reach-out Day

The Don Bosco Liluah family shared their happiness and celebrated with the less privileged members of society on Social Reach-out day. Day 3 was dedicated to giving the poor a good time. The invitees included chief guest, Sister Prema MC, superior general of the Missionaries of Charity and 600 underprivileged people. Students of Don Bosco Liluah performed a prayer dance after which the guests were treated to a piping hot meal in the afternoon. Sister Prema distributed blankets and gifts among the guests and Calcutta singer Goutam Kumar, performed some old Hindi numbers to entertain them. In the evening, students of the night school and adult education project organised an evening of dance and music. The chief guest at the evening programme was Haider Aziz Safwi, the state minister for Co-operation and Inland Waterways. The guest performer was pop singer, Francis Lepcha.

The opening prayer dance on Day 1. Pictures by Gopal Senapati

Day 4: Inter-Salesian School Meet

Sports, games, skit and folk dance competitions were lined-up on December 4 where 13 schools participated in the Inter-school meet. There were off-stage events, too, including painting, basketball and treasure hunt. The basketball competition was played on a new court in the school. In the evening, the inter-school quiz competition was held. Quizmaster Barry ’Brien grilled the eight finalists with questions on current affairs, general knowledge, IT and so on. Barry maintained the fun quotient and directed some questions to the audience too. After the brainstorming came some groovy music by DJs Prab and Saheb from UK and DJ Supreet.

Day 5: Interactive Session

The Inter-Salesian Meet concluded in the morning of December 5 with elocution, western dance, Bosco quiz and basketball competitions. In the evening were interesting interactive sessions with Resul Pookutty, who along with Richard Pryke and Ian Tapp won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for Slumdog Millionaire and Jimmy Tangree, better known as RJ Jimmy on Red FM. Both guests were welcomed with a colourful prayer dance and fusion dance by the little ones of the school. Both Resul and Jimmy spoke of their life and journey in the media world. But the performance by Bickram Ghosh and his band of musicians, Rhythmscapes, was a good warm up for the audience. The foot tapping beats left the audience asking for more even after the programme concluded after 10pm.

Day 6: Junior School Day

The evening of December 6 was dedicated to performances by the little ones of the junior school. Fusion dance, action songs for KG I and II based on saving the environment were some of the highlights of the evening. ‘A Journey to Freedom’, a musical based on the lives and philosophies of St John Bosco and Rabindranath Tagore was staged by students of Classes IV to XII. This was followed by ‘A Journey into the Birth and Growth of DBL’, a laser show on the school and its history. But that was not all, every one eagerly waited for pop and jazz queen, Usha Uthup, who belted out some of her popular numbers, Dum Maro Dum, Kolaveri Di and some Tamil numbers.

Bickram Ghosh performs on Day 5 of Don Bosco Liluah’s platinum jubilee celebration

Day 7: Senior and Technical School Day

Students of the senior school had some breathtaking music in store for the audience in the evening of December 7 where a 35-member orchestra performed with drums, violin, tabla, keyboard, guitars and sitar. This was followed by western music and dance by the senior and technical school students. A total of 280 students were part of the event. The ICSE, ISC, ITI and CVE (Certificate of Vocational Education) toppers of 2012 were awarded mementos and cash prizes on this day. A rolling trophy, Brother Maurice Memorial Rolling Trophy, introduced this year for ISC toppers, was also given out. More dance followed with guest performer Ravi Shukla taking stage in the evening. Shukla who won Voice of India 2008, performed with his troop of dancers. The Liluah resident and past pupil of Don Bosco Liluah not only belted out popular Bollywood numbers but also interacted with the students, teachers and staff of the school.

Day 8: Reunion and Grand Conclusion

Shillong Chamber Choir came on the final day

The final day on December 8 started with a solemn mass where the main guest was Dr Kiss-Rigó László, the bishop of Szeged-Csanad, Hungary. A reunion of Salesians, past pupils and teachers followed in the afternoon with lunch. A dance performance by members of the dance school, Sangvee, entertained guests. The formal closure of the platinum jubilee celebrations took place in the evening with chief guests Ambica Banerjee, Howrah MP and Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, the government chief whip attending. The principal of the school, Brother Jose Puthenpurackel, gave the vote of thanks. A students’ welfare fund was also announced at the closing ceremony and the renovated children’s park, named Infant Jesus Park, was inaugurated. Shillong Chamber Choir’s melodious singing was the closing performance of the evening. Fireworks synchronised with a laser show closed the platinum jubilee celebrations. “I have never seen such a huge event organised by the school. It was not just big, but well organised,” said Santosh Agarwal, a 1979 pass out of the school.

Dalia Mukherjee and Amrita Ghosh