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It took us a long time to have Goethals Alumni Dinner.
One mischief maker by the name of Kishore Chatterjee tried to derail it by sending annoying e-mails. However, the strong reactions he drew from other members quietened him down.
The strong turnout also showed Kishore that nobody believed him.
It was the most pleasant gathering I have attended since 2007 pre centenary gathering. Of course it excludes the Centenary trip and the trip to Sikkim, both of which were memorable, thanks to Ranjan.
Yes, we missed Ranjan at yesterday's gathering. I know, it must have been something very important which must have kept him away otherwise he is not the one to miss such gatherings.
The occasion was graced by our President, Mr. K K Chirimar, looking all health and hearty. However, next Wednesday, he is undergoing an operation to remove two cists from his kidney. I gave him our good wishes on behalf of all our boys, all over the world, that he would come out well and hearty to guide the Alumni for many more years.
Mr. Charles Hanneman, the Speaker of Meghalaya Assembly, was by chance in town and could also given us company.His beautiful wife also there.
There were boys (rather old men for they were all in my age group) from North Point and Mt Hermnan also attended and made us happy.
A number of wives attended the event with their spouses and made the evening even more colourful. I have tried to capture them on my camera but I know the camera can never do justice their actual personalities.
There was an enjoyable magic show by a magician which kept us enthralled.Rudra Roychowdhury also showed us one magic trick of the disappearance of one Rs 1000/- and appearance in other people's pockets.Unfortunately those boys did not return the Rs 1000.00 notes which appeared in their pockets.Of course, the note did not appear in some of the pockets.
This time I have tried to take photographs with batch boys so that our boys from far and near can connect with them.
I hope you enjoy the feast of photographs below as much as I enjoyed taking them.
I have taken quite a few movies of the dance floor and the magic show but I don't know how I can post those.
Bye for now.
Radheshyam
I just saw A K Roy's mail to his batch mates informing of the events of last night.
Since I had missed some points, I thought I would just add AK's Mail, given belowDear JK, SP, KK, RS,
I was just not mentally prepared to attend the GMS Alumni get-together at the Banquet Hall of Allenby Inn yesterday, the 5th March 2011. It's a quiet but busy locality off Elgin Road and opposite Woodburn Park.
Attendance was good, though some noticeable absentees did not escape my attention. DK and SP could not make it owing to exigencies. The Meghalaya Speaker, Mr. Hansda, of the 1976 Batch graced the occasion as he happened to be in Kolkata on a personal medical visit.
Jitendra Agarwal, who is presently officiating as the Secretary vice Ranjan Guha Mazumdar who resigned in October 2010, took a lot of pains to ensure that the evening was enjoyable with music, songs, dance, lottery, magic show and drinks, on payment, and delicious boufet dinner on the lawn.
Some announcements were made. Elections were to be held in April this year and a visit to GMS Kurseong in April end coinciding with the formation day of Goethals on April 28th many many years ago. The celebrations shall be held on the last Saturday and Sunday every year to allow all to enjoy and be back by Monday for work. The Kolkata Chapter lacks transparency which apparently lead to airing grievances on the net. Other than the financial aspects, the modalities of the functioning of the Alumni needs to be circulated to all the ex-Goethalites, members and non-members throughout the world.
RS may post many photographs of the evening. He has captured photographs, Batchwise, which may give a thrill to many on seeing known faces mellowed with age.
I reached home at 11.30 PM after dropping Amitava Guha at his DA Block residence.
Bye for now.
AK.
You may be inspired by this message and perhaps inspire others to change.
Nationality: Portuguese
Born: 3-28-1907, Aljustrel , Portugal
Died: 2-13-2005 (aged 97)
Convent of Carmelitas
Coimbra , Portugal
LUCIA REVEALS THE THIRD SECRET OF FATIMA
Regardless of whatever Creed or Religion, it is better
to be prepared and be in good terms with GOD,...who
created us; for we never know when we will be leaving this world.....
LAST SECRET OF FATIMA
The Church has given permission to reveal to the people
the last part of the message. The Blessed Virgin appeared
to three children in Fatima ,Portugal , in 1917........ this
is a proven fact;one of these children was Lucia, (died 2-13-05).
She was a cloistered nun, and lived in a monastery in
Portugal .Lucia disclosed the message for the first time;
to Pope Pius Xll who, after reading , sealed it and stored
it away without making it public.
Later Pope John XXIII read it and, in the same manner
as his predecessor,he kept it out of the public eye because
he knew that once revealed;it would bring desperation and panic to mankind,
But now the time has come, and permission has been granted
from Pope John Paul II to reveal it to the children of
God;........ . ........ not to create panic, but to make
God's people aware of this important message and be prepared.
T he Virgin told Lucia:
'Go, my child, and tell the world what will come to pass
during the 1950's - 2000's. Men are not practicing the
Commandments that God has given us. Evil is governing the
world and is harvesting hate and resentment all over. Men
will fabricate mortal weapons that will destroy the world
in minutes!.... .. where half of the human race will be
destroyed. The war will begin against Rome , and there
will be conflicts amongst religious orders...... .....
God will allow all natural phenomena like smoke, hail,
cold,water, fire, floods, earthquakes, winds and inclement
weather to slowly batter the planet.
T hese happenings will come to pass before the year 2012.!!!!
"For those who don't/won't believe..... . . this is the time.....
Your beloved mother told you:-
.........those lacking charity towards others, in words
& deeds and those who do not love their neighbour like my
beloved Son has loved youall ....... cannot survive!
They will wish to have died.
God will punish severely those who do not believe
in him, those who despise him and those who did not
have time for him." 'I call upon all of you to come
to my son Jesus Christ.God will help the world, but
all of those who do not show fidelity and loyalty will be destroyed!'
Father Agustin, who lives in Fatima , said that Pope
Paul VI gave him permission to visit Sister Lucia,
a cloistered nun (she did not leave the monastery nor
was allowed to receive any visitors). Father Agustin said
that she received him greatly overwhelmed and told him:
'Father, Our Lady is very sad because nobody is interested
in her prophecy of 1917, though the righteous are walking
through a narrow path, the evil ones are walking through an
ample road that is leading them straight to their destruction!
Believe me, Father, the punishment will come very soon.
'Many souls will be lost and many nations will disappear from the earth.
But, in the middle of all these, if men reflect, pray
and practice sincerity, good deeds, kindness and respect,
the world can be saved....... . .. However, if men persist
with evil ways....greed, hatred,selfish acts, rivalry, and rif,
the world will be lost forever!. The time has come for all
to pass on the message of our Blessed Lady to
their families, friends, and to the entire world.
Continue praying, make penitence and sacrifices. We are
close to the last minute of the last day and the catastrophes
are near. Due to this, many that were far from the Church will
return to the open arms of the Church of Jesus Christ.
The joining of the churches will result in one Holy Catholic
andApostolic Church; ........ England , Russia , China , Jews,
Buddhists,Muslims, Hindus,Protestants, etc..... All will return
believing and worshipping God our Creator, in his beloved Son
and in Blessed Mother Virgin Mary.'
WHAT AWAITS US ???
Everywhere there will be 'Peace Talks', but punishment will come.
A MAN IN A VERY IMPORT ANT POSITION WILL BE ASSASSINATED
AND THIS WILL PROVOKE THE WAR.
A POWERFUL ARMY WILL DOMINATE ALL THROUGH EUROPE AND
THE NUCLEAR WAR WILL COMMENCE.
This war will destroy everything; darkness will fall over
us for 72 hours (3 days) and the one third of humanity that
survives this obscurity and sacrifice, will
commence to live a new era; they will be good people.
On a very cold night, 10 minutes before midnight, A GREAT
QUAKE will shake the earth for 8 hours. This will be the
third signal that God Is,who governs the earth.
The righteous and those who propagate the faith and the
message of the Lady of Fatima is :
'ONE SHOULD NOT FEAR, DO NOT BE AFRAID'.
WHA T TO DO??? : Bow your heads, kneel down and ask God
for forgiveness. Because, only what is good and is not
under the power of evil will survive the catastrophe.
In order for you to prepare and remain alive and safe,
I will give you the following signs:
ANGUISH..... ... AND IN A SHORT PERIOD THE EARTHQUAKE
WILL COMMENCE...THE EARTH WILL SHAKE.....
The shake will be so violent that will move the earth
23 degrees and then it will return it to its normal
position.Then, total and absolute darkness will cover
the entire planet....All the evil spirits will be mingling
around and free, doing harm to all those souls that did
not want to listen to this message and those who did
not want to repent.
To the faithful souls, remember to light the blessed
candles, prepare a sacred altar with a crucifix in order
to communicate with GOD and implore for His infinite mercy....
All will be dark; and IN THE SKY A GREAT MYSTIC CROSS
will appear to remind us the price that his beloved Son
had to pay for our redemption.. ...
In the house the only thing that can give light will
be the HOLY CANDLES... Once lit, nothing will put them
off until the three days of darkness are over. Also,
you should have holy water that should be
sprinkled abundantly on windows and doors. The Lord will
protect the property of the chosen ones....
Kneel down before the powerful cross of my beloved Son,
pray the Rosary and after each Hail Mary you must pray the following:
'Oh God forgive us our sins, preserve us from the fires of
hell, take all souls to heaven, especially those who are in
more need of thy mercy. Blessed Virgin Mary, protect us,
we love you, save us and save the world'.
Pray 5 Creeds and the Rosary which is the secret to my
immaculate Heart. All those who believe in my words go
and take the message to everyone,
DO NOT FEAR! FEAR NOTHING DURING THE LORD'S GREAT DAY.
Talk to all, now that there is time. Those who keep quiet
will be responsible for all those souls who will perish in
ignorance.All those who pray humbly the rosary will have the
protection of heaven.Those who are bound to die, I will help
them die in peace, and they will be holy when they enter
the other world.
I wish all my children to attend mass every first Friday
and every first Saturday of each month; to confess and
receive Holy Communion; and in doing so, save the world
from its T OT AL DESTRUCTION. ..!!
When the earth shakes no more, those who still do not believe
in our Lord will perish in a horrible way:-
The wind will bring gas and it will disperse it everywhere,
then the sun will rise.
In a Bangkok temple: IT IS FORBIDDEN TO ENTER A WOMAN, EVEN A FOREIGNER, IF DRESSED AS A MAN.
Cocktail lounge, Norway: LADIES ARE REQUESTED NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE BAR.
Doctors office, Rome: SPECIALIST IN WOMEN AND OTHER DISEASES.
Dry cleaners, Bangkok: DROP YOUR TROUSERS HERE FOR THE BEST RESULTS.
In a Nairobi restaurant: CUSTOMERS WHO FIND OUR WAITRESSES RUDE OUGHT TO SEE THE MANAGER.
On the main road to Mombassa, leaving Nairobi: TAKE NOTICE: WHEN THIS SIGN IS UNDER WATER, THIS ROAD IS IMPASSABLE.
On a poster at Kencom: ARE YOU AN ADULT THAT CANNOT READ? IF SO WE CAN HELP.
In a City restaurant: OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK AND WEEKENDS.
In a cemetery: PERSONS ARE PROHIBITED FROM PICKING FLOWERS FROM ANY BUT THEIR OWN GRAVES .
Tokyo hotel's rules and regulations: GUESTS A RE REQUESTED NOT TO SMOKE OR DO OTHER DISGUSTING BEHAVIOURS IN BED.
On the menu of a Swiss restaurant: OUR WINES LEAVE YOU NOTHING TO HOPE FOR.
In a Tokyo bar: SPECIAL COCKTAILS FOR THE LADIES WITH NUTS.
Hotel, Yugoslavia: THE FLATENING OF UNDERWEAR WITH PLEASURE IS THE JOB OF THE CHAMBERMAID..
Hotel, Japan: YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHAMBERMAID.
In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian Orthodox monastery: YOU ARE WELCOME TO VISIT THE CEMETERY WHERE FAMOUS RUSSIAN AND SOVIET COMPOSERS, ARTISTS AND WRITERS ARE BURIED DAILY EXCEPT THURSDAY.
A sign posted in Germany's Black Forest: IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN ON OUR BLACK FOREST CAMPING SITE THAT PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT SEX, FOR INSTANCE, MEN AND WOMEN, LIVE TOGETHER IN ONE TENT UNLESS THEY ARE MARRIED WITH EACH OTHER FOR THIS PURPOSE..
Hotel, Zurich: BECAUSE OF THE IMPROPRIETY OF ENTERTAINING GUESTS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX IN THE BEDROOM, IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE LOBBY BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE.
Advertisement for donkey rides, Thailand: WOULD YOU LIKE TO RIDE ON YOUR OWN ASS?
Airline ticket office, Copenhagen: WE TAKE YOUR BAGS AND SEND THEM IN ALL DIRECTIONS.
A laundry in Rome: LADIES, LEAVE YOUR CLOTHES HERE AND SPEND THE AFTERNOON HAVING A GOOD TIME.
Having studied from a missionary school, our culture and that of the communists are poles apart and I always kept a distance from the CPM. Although I do not support any political party, I do have my views and air them on our blog.
I support good, honest, corruption free government – no matter of which party.
However, man's feelings are very fragile and it takes very little to change ones views. It took just took the hearing of one cassette of “Madhur Kirtan” which chants “Hari Om” to make me a disciple of my Gurudev, Asharam Bapu.
I have been living in my present flat at Bangur Avenue since 2nd February, 1979, i.e last 33 years.
The building in which my flat lies is owned by 12 brothers and sisters, most of whom live in Cooch Behar. One of the brothers stays in Kolkata, in the building, collects all the rent and lives on it. He doesn’t do a speck of any other work. The building has seven flats. Six are tenanted and one is occupied by the owner.
He has got rid of the old tenants and I am the only old tenant left. The last two tenants he got rid of were old widowed ladies who had pension as their only source of income. He raised their rents exorbitantly and used to harass them so much that they left on their own.
He has now turned his attention to me.
When I started staying in the flat in 1979, I used to pay Rs 400/- per month.
As per verbal agreement with the present owner’s father, I used to increase the rent every three years by 10% and at present I was paying Rs 1300.00.
In May, 2010, the owner asked to revise the rent as three years had passed since the last revision.
Since I was paying Rs 1300/-, I agreed to increase the rent by Rs 130/- and pay Rs 1430/- as the new rent. However, the owner however, demanded Rs 2000/- as the new rent otherwise he would not accept any rent from me. Since this was the tactic he had adopted to get rid of the two widowed ladies earlier, I decided to put my foot down and not to give in to his unrealistic demand. I decided to go to the Rent Control and deposit the rent there.
When the owner realized that his intimidation had failed he went to the local councilor, Mr. Mriganka Bhattacharya who called me to the Trinamul party office.
I have known Mriganka for quite some time now as he was the councilor earlier also and I thought he was a good person. However, two visits to the party office have made me change my views.
There was another landlord/tenant dispute ahead of mine and I got to see how he handled it. He was very harsh on the old tenant who too had been living in his flat for 22 years. At one point he told the tenant “I am the Rajah (king) in Bangur Avenue and I shall do as I want” This one sentence showed how arrogant he had become since now he found that power would come to his party. How different from the person who had come with folded hands some ten years back, requesting for my vote?
When my turn came, I explained that I was a retired person getting a pension of around Rs 6000.00 per month. I am called part time by my employers on contract basis, thrice a week which they can terminate any time and that I cannot pay Rs 2000.00 as rent per month.
He answered “why are they keeping an old person like you, they should have thrown you out”
I told him that since the owner would not accept my enhanced rent of Rs 1430/-, I had to go to the rent control as otherwise I would become a defaulter and the owner would then evict me.
He said “You are legally right and now he cannot do anything as long as the case goes on. However, there is another point. If you walk on the road and somebody slaps you, and you go to the police, they won’t accept your complaint as you have no proof” He advised me to sit with the owner and settle the matter.
This was another indirect threat that this may happen to me, if I do not listen to him.
I have put all this down to inform everyone of the threat and to know who is responsible if it is carried out. 1. The owner of my building. 2. Mr. Mriganka Bhattacharya.
Having no choice, I had to go to the local CPM office, which gave me a patient hearing and advised me on how to handle the matter. Their behavior was so different from the persons who surrounded Mriganka and who intimidated any person who did not have Mriganka’s approval.
I changed my view on the spot.
I am now a supporter of the CPM although I know they may lose the present election in Bengal.
I know Mamata will win because the people are fed-up with the CPM's arrogance and they want a change. Something like cutting off your nose when you have a cold.
I know that it will be a miracle if Mamata can pull along for more than two years as there are too many contradictions in her.
She doesn’t believe anyone and likes to concentrate all powers in her own hands. That is the reason she is not standing for elections. If she stood from any constituency, she would be bogged down to that. Now she can roam around all the constituencies. If her party wins as it seems they will, she can be an extra constitutional authority like Sonia Gandhi. She will appoint a puppet like Manmohan Singh and pull all the strings from behind.
