AUXILIUM BANDEL: It was a happy reunion of the 10 units of the past pupils of Kolkata province as they gathered for the Annual Meet at Bandel on 27th November 2016, New Delhi inclusive, for the first time, breaking the record all these years. Deo gratias! The resource person for the day's program was Rev. Fr. T.C.Jose sdb.
At the start of this wonderful day, the gathering of the past pupils at the entrance of the gate, ready to proceed to the hall was a colorful panorama as they held up our founder Don Bosco's flag high, each unit with their respective banner to the echo and re echo of "Long live Don Bosco" being headed by the Federation President, Ms. Samita Biswas, along with the Federation banner.
Lighting of the lamp was a conspicuous moment by the chief guest Sr. Rose Ezarath, our provincial, Fr. Jose, Sr. Elizabeth Valliyil, Sr. Teresa A. and Ms. Samita Biswas. This was followed by the garlanding of the portrait of Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello by Sr. Elizabeth Joseph and Sr. Geraldine. Sr. Elizabeth then took us through a prayer moment with a theme song "Yes it's a miracle" followed by a welcome speech by Ms. Samita and a welcome dance by the Dum Dum unit. This was important, viz; a Report, presenting Past Pupils Association and the various activities, boosting all the units at their achievements.
Fr. Jose then took the stand and highlighted on the challenges of married life. He spoke of "total dedication", "taking one's goal in its entirety" "flexibility" getting other people involved in your life, enlist other people in the struggles of life, "meet often" , "relive your old experiences", "expand your involvement", become members of forums, eliciting that awareness where you could contribute, "get involved with the same issues of the neighborhood " and get into same groups involving in some activities. He said that's the Don Bosco way quoting examples from his life. An enriching moment was when the representatives of each unit shared their experiences as past pupils. We were glad to hear a message from Sr. Rose Ezarath, our provincial where she shared a few insights from the letter of our beloved Mother General, Mother Yvonne Reingoat to the Past Pupils at the GC XXIII.
The afternoon Session took a lighter stand when some of the units entertained us with skit, song and dance. A past pupil of Bandel rocked the stage with his melodious songs accompanied by his troupe of musicians, not forgetting the Lucky Draw that drew our eager attention. And luck did fall upon our 2 sister delegates, Aruna and Cecilia who bagged off 2 prizes at the draw. Through a brain storming by Mrs. Kamal for plans and decisions at the federation level took us to the close of this great day.
As the day came to a close Mrs. Kamal , Bandel's local President for the past pupils thanked all the participants for their presence that day , for making it a successful and joyous one with everyone's contribution, help and cooperation.
It was a special "Deo gratias" to Sr. Elizabeth Joseph who toiled hard behind everything to make this day a successful one. We looked forward to meeting again in the true Don Bosco way !