 |
The 175-year celebrations of La Martiniere for Girls and Boys culminated with the release of a postage stamp and a first-day cover at the Round Chapel in the boy’s school last month.
The celebrations had begun in February 2010. The Rs 5 denomination stamp was also up for sale after its release. The 175-year celebrations — that began with a service at the St Paul’s Cathedral — saw both the boys’ and girls’ schools staging various events throughout the year, including debates, art melas and a language fest.
“Unless there is a significant contribution of an institution, a stamp cannot be released. So it is a big honour for La Martiniere,” said S.K. Chakrabarti, the chief postmaster-general of the West Bengal circle, who released the stamp in the presence of Jean Louis Rysto, the French consul-general. The students also organised an exhibition on the occasion, tracing the growth of the five institutions: La Martiniere for Boys and Girls, La Martiniere for Boys and Girl’s College in Lucknow and La Martiniere College (a technical institute) in Lyon, France. There were also charts on the history of the institutions and their illustrious alumni that include Nafisa Ali, Leander Paes and Prannoy Roy.
chit chat
BHS Idol
Students of Birla High School for Boys hosted their version of a talent hunt contest — BHS Idol — at Vidya Mandir recently.
 |
| Students of Delhi Public School, New Town, celebrate “fun week” with some craftwork |
The programme began with a PowerPoint presentation on Indian folk music. The stagewas then set for the 12 finalists to impress the judges with renditions of folk songs from various states. From popular numbers like Nimbooda Nimbooda to the very Sufi Allah Ke Bande, the contestants sang a variety of songs and enthralled the audience with their performance.
Abhishekh Kumar of Class V became this year’s BHS Idol, while Rohit Khatua and Suman Das were the first and second runners-up. Abhirup Ghosh and Aniket Sengupta received consolation prizes.
Jorasanko trip
Class V students of Birla High School for Girls were taken on an educational trip to Jorasanko Thakurbari recently. We had to take off our shoes before entering the house — named after Maharshi Debendranath Tagore — a practice I found very interesting. A climb up a long flight of steps took us to the beautiful inner chambers of the house. We were amazed to find how well-kept the house still is. Our tour started from the kitchen that the bard’s wife, Mrinalini Devi, used during her time. We could not believe that Mrinalini Devi was married off when she was only nine. The huge rooms of Thakurbari were a treat to see. They gave us a glimpse of the opulent lifestyle of the Tagore family.
