St. James’ students match steps with Govinda. (Arnab Mondal)

He is still afraid of waiting outside the principal’s office but at St. James’ School, Abir Chatterjee shared the stage with principal T.H. Ireland to inaugurate the school fest.

If Jaco Synthesis 2014, held in association with The Telegraph YOU and powered by TTIS, began on one starry note and ended on another. Govinda had the boys grooving to hit numbers from his films on a surprise visit to the school.

The four-day fest began with a cultural programme put up by the students of evening schools and NGOs across the city

Abir aka Byomkesh aka Feluda found the initiative “inspiring”.

Remembering his school days, the actor dimpled: “Even today I’m scared to wait outside the principal’s office… I still get goosebumps. I went to Laban Hrad Vidyapith for Boys and usually ranked among the top 10 students in class. My friends were a mix of toppers and backbenchers. I was also the monitor of my class all my school life.”

Rudrangshu Mukherjee of The Telegraph also dropped by to congratulate the teachers and students of the school as it turned 150. “There are few schools in the city older than 150 years. St James’ School has a long lineage and everyone associated must be proud and justifiably proud. Though I wasn’t a student here, I crossed St. James’ on my way to school every day. And every time I saw the clock on the church spire read beyond 8.30am I knew I was running late. I want all of you to have fun through this festival and be proud of your school at all times,” he said.

The competitions had something for every body. Off stage there was chess, rangoli and graffiti. Among the stage events, western dance and fashion show were the most popular.