125th Anniversary

A message from Radha Moktan - Prep School Mistress at Victoria Boys School Kurseong.

21st May 2004.

Congratulations to the VADHA members all over the World and THANK YOU for your love and support Radha.

Radhashree Moktan

Dear Grace,

Warm regards from the Hill-Top!

The three days celebrations organised by the newly formed (November 2003) North-Bengal Vadha ended last night.The present and the past all mingled with each other forgetting their ages and the years they passed out from these two heritage Institutions. The sight was exiting and full of emotions. I believe our past students tried and succeeded in bringing back their boyhood days on the Hilltop and were able to take away the memories (sweet n bitter) back home.

On 29th of May 04, The celebration started as soon as the ex- VS Murali Dhar Madhur (IRAS) 1973-1979 Batch, reached Kurseong Station at about 1pm. cycling - all the way from Kolkata to Kurseong.

He looked happy and fresh! Proud to call himself a Victorian ! As he peddled and entered the Kurseong Railway Station he received a warm welcome by the North Bengal Chapters, the HM Victoria School, Devmani Moktan (Physics Master) VS and myself and the Railway staff. He is the financial adviser to the Eastern Railway based at Fairly Place, Kolkata.

At 4 o’clock the special DHR steam engine chugged into Kurseong Railway Station bringing our beloved Ex-students from Nepal, Calcutta, Delhi Assam, Bihar, UP and UK.

The oldest among them was Col. Sarkar (Passed out in 1950).

There were others who passed out in 50s and 60s like B.P. Mitra (1963), Subir Ray (1949-67), Aloke Nandi, Pronab Roy, Shyam Humar Pradhan (1967-74), Lochan Yonzon (1960--67), Amarjit Dhir (1959-67), Amit Bose (1951-54 in DH & 55-62 in VS), Dipak Sengupta (1955-61). Rita Sen , Dipak Sengupta’s sister ex-Dowhillian was also there.

The Kurseong railway station echoed with the Victoria School song followed by Dow Hill school song.

The 1st day of the celebration started with the marathon. The different Schools of Kurseong participated, including St. Helen's, Goethals, DH and VS. The Boys marathon started from Goethals siding & the Girls from St. Marys’ Hill (near Holy Cross) at 10 a.m. and ended at the Montiviote ground where VS students and teachers were ready to receive them. Runners were to collect 3 cards from different points - 1st one was at the Tourist Lodge, 2nd, in front of the Bloomfield library (starting point of the Dow Hill road), and the 3rd at the Station. A DH girl was the first to enter the ground beating the 4 times local marathon champ. VS came second after St. Alphonsus School. The programme ended with the prize distribution, group photo-session and School songs.

In the evening Cultural programmes were organized by both Schools. This Function was inaugurated at VS by the District Magistrate, Darjeeling. We did not expect such a huge turn out of ex-Students. The VS Assembly hall was over-crowded. The Hilltop was vibrant with laughter and School songs.

Rita Sen was there to guide the present DH girls with their School song, as was Kanchan Gurung for the VS Boys!

We enjoyed the Cricket match between the Past and the Present students on 1st May. From the ex-student's side, 15 of them were fielding. Anil Gupta, President North Bengal Vadha, tried his best to check the run-rate by some excellent fielding. I was supporting the present students but the game was abandoned due to rain. (So whats new? John F.)

We all walked up to Dow Hill for the High Tea singing and laughing all the way. For the present DH girls and VS boys (free from Escorts) it was like a mini-social. I thought of the Socials of your days! I do not know how many times they all must have walked up to Dow Hill and back to VS!

The Cutural programmes presented by ex-students were also excellent. They played a few numbers of Elvis and other oldies from the 60s. Most of them started dancing inside the Hall. and even outsiders wanted to get in. We were forced to call the police to stop the public from entering the Hall! Rajen Sharma’s songs from his new album was also good and Manoj Rana’s “Don’t just fade away” touched our hearts.

The programme on the 2nd of May was “Do As you like” they really did whatever they liked! The ex-students visited the Dow Hill School.

They introduced themselves to the present students. Their speeches were wonderful. Grace, our hearts were filled with joy and many a times it was difficult to hold back our tears.

The Nepal chapter handed over the games item that they brought for the schools. The interesting part was that B.N. Bhattarai did not forget to carry his Nepal flag where ever he went!

There was a musical programme by local Rock-Bands in the evening at VS.

The 125 celebration ended with a bon-fire followed by dinner at 10 pm.

My special thanks go to the young Vadha members of the North Bengal Chapter for their untiring efforts to make this Celebration a grand success with the active participation and support of both the Kolkata and Nepal Chapters. In this connection I must mention the names of the members like Pronab Roy, Aloke Nandi (Kolkata), M.C. Rana, Anil Gupta, Bikash Pradhan, J. K. Rai, Diwakar Rai, and so many others.

Hope you have received your copy of the 125th Year Celebrations magazine.

Radha.

	Click on the pictures to see them in a larger scale.
		A Msg from Sam Parry.

		While not the 125th Reunion - this was taken at the Hilltop Schools Reunion held in London, earlier this year. Right to Left: Gareth Swan-Brown, Bob Avery, Anna Yates, Grace Perera and Coleen Meinen (Lee)

		Band of 50 relives train romance. Siliguri, 29 April 2004: Catching up on good ol' days, reliving memories and the romance, sharing experiences and future plans - so little time, so much to do. Fifty former Victoria and Dow Hill students today took the four-hour toy train from Siliguri Junction to Kurseong, just like they used to when in school. "After all," said Pronab Roy, a 1958 alumnus on board the chartered ride, "How can we forget that this train is witness to the blast we had during the rides to school and back six days of the week." This is the "first time" since he passed out of school that Roy is riding the toy train. The 125th Anniversary Celebrations of the sister institutions will begin from tomorrow, but for the motley Band of 50, It began with the shrill toot-toot as the heritage on wheels, bedecked with banners, festoons and balloons, pulled out of the station at 11 am. The three-day get-together at Kurseong is being organised by the Ex-Victorian and Dow Hillian Association, Canada, United States, England, Australia, Nepal and North Bengal Chapters. For 1962-pass-out Amit Bose, who has come with batchmate Deepak Sengupta all the way from London, the ride was meant to be more than just a mode of reviving memories. "The idea behind the ride is also to draw the world's attention to this train, the Queen of all attractions here," he said. "And what better place to unite with our friends than on the toy train just like in the school days," quipped Aman Seth, another Victorian from Meerut. The toy train, they all agreed, was still the same - young and romantic, but, some were quick to add, the Queen of the Hills and the region in general had paid a heavy price for development. As 1958-pass-out Arijit Sen, a Calcutta-based journalist, put it: "Another worry is the declining standards of the once-best schools in which we studied. We are raising money for the development of the schools. This get-together is not only about having fun, but also about giving back to the institutions that have made us what we are today." S.K. Chatterjee of Calcutta, who was the Assistant Headmaster at Victoria and a Games Teacher from 1955-95, was the only teacher in the student-brigade. "It feels good to walk down memory lane in the company of students after so many years," he said, making no effort to hide his excitement.

	A message from Radha Moktan - Prep School Mistress at Victoria Boys School Kurseong. 21st May 2004. Congratulations to the VADHA members all over the World and THANK YOU for your love and support Radha. Radhashree Moktan Dear Grace, Warm regards from the Hill-Top! The three days celebrations organised by the newly formed (November 2003) North-Bengal Vadha ended last night.The present and the past all mingled with each other forgetting their ages and the years they passed out from these two heritage Institutions. The sight was exiting and full of emotions. I believe our past students tried and succeeded in bringing back their boyhood days on the Hilltop and were able to take away the memories (sweet n bitter) back home. On 29th of May 04, The celebration started as soon as the ex- VS Murali Dhar Madhur (IRAS) 1973-1979 Batch, reached Kurseong Station at about 1pm. cycling - all the way from Kolkata to Kurseong. He looked happy and fresh! Proud to call himself a Victorian ! As he peddled and entered the Kurseong Railway Station he received a warm welcome by the North Bengal Chapters, the HM Victoria School, Devmani Moktan (Physics Master) VS and myself and the Railway staff. He is the financial adviser to the Eastern Railway based at Fairly Place, Kolkata. At 4 o’clock the special DHR steam engine chugged into Kurseong Railway Station bringing our beloved Ex-students from Nepal, Calcutta, Delhi Assam, Bihar, UP and UK. The oldest among them was Col. Sarkar (Passed out in 1950). There were others who passed out in 50s and 60s like B.P. Mitra (1963), Subir Ray (1949-67), Aloke Nandi, Pronab Roy, Shyam Humar Pradhan (1967-74), Lochan Yonzon (1960--67), Amarjit Dhir (1959-67), Amit Bose (1951-54 in DH & 55-62 in VS), Dipak Sengupta (1955-61). Rita Sen , Dipak Sengupta’s sister ex-Dowhillian was also there. The Kurseong railway station echoed with the Victoria School song followed by Dow Hill school song. The 1st day of the celebration started with the marathon. The different Schools of Kurseong participated, including St. Helen's, Goethals, DH and VS. The Boys marathon started from Goethals siding & the Girls from St. Marys’ Hill (near Holy Cross) at 10 a.m. and ended at the Montiviote ground where VS students and teachers were ready to receive them. Runners were to collect 3 cards from different points - 1st one was at the Tourist Lodge, 2nd, in front of the Bloomfield library (starting point of the Dow Hill road), and the 3rd at the Station. A DH girl was the first to enter the ground beating the 4 times local marathon champ. VS came second after St. Alphonsus School. The programme ended with the prize distribution, group photo-session and School songs. In the evening Cultural programmes were organized by both Schools. This Function was inaugurated at VS by the District Magistrate, Darjeeling. We did not expect such a huge turn out of ex-Students. The VS Assembly hall was over-crowded. The Hilltop was vibrant with laughter and School songs. Rita Sen was there to guide the present DH girls with their School song, as was Kanchan Gurung for the VS Boys! We enjoyed the Cricket match between the Past and the Present students on 1st May. From the ex-student's side, 15 of them were fielding. Anil Gupta, President North Bengal Vadha, tried his best to check the run-rate by some excellent fielding. I was supporting the present students but the game was abandoned due to rain. (So whats new? John F.) We all walked up to Dow Hill for the High Tea singing and laughing all the way. For the present DH girls and VS boys (free from Escorts) it was like a mini-social. I thought of the Socials of your days! I do not know how many times they all must have walked up to Dow Hill and back to VS! The Cutural programmes presented by ex-students were also excellent. They played a few numbers of Elvis and other oldies from the 60s. Most of them started dancing inside the Hall. and even outsiders wanted to get in. We were forced to call the police to stop the public from entering the Hall! Rajen Sharma’s songs from his new album was also good and Manoj Rana’s “Don’t just fade away” touched our hearts. The programme on the 2nd of May was “Do As you like” they really did whatever they liked! The ex-students visited the Dow Hill School. They introduced themselves to the present students. Their speeches were wonderful. Grace, our hearts were filled with joy and many a times it was difficult to hold back our tears. The Nepal chapter handed over the games item that they brought for the schools. The interesting part was that B.N. Bhattarai did not forget to carry his Nepal flag where ever he went! There was a musical programme by local Rock-Bands in the evening at VS. The 125 celebration ended with a bon-fire followed by dinner at 10 pm. My special thanks go to the young Vadha members of the North Bengal Chapter for their untiring efforts to make this Celebration a grand success with the active participation and support of both the Kolkata and Nepal Chapters. In this connection I must mention the names of the members like Pronab Roy, Aloke Nandi (Kolkata), M.C. Rana, Anil Gupta, Bikash Pradhan, J. K. Rai, Diwakar Rai, and so many others. Hope you have received your copy of the 125th Year Celebrations magazine. Radha.
	Amit Bose writes.... Dear Ex-Victorians / Ex Dow Hillians May I take some time of yours to try to Illustrate the 125 years celebration of our beloved school which was organized by the ex-students of Nepal/North Bengal with Sikkim and Kolkatta. 29th April 04 This was the first day to start the celebrations. We Were about 54 of us in Siliguri to mount the Toy Train for Kurseong. The toy Train came at about 10:am, and all of us with full zeal and enthuciacism decorated the “Toy” with our school flags and banners/festoons etc…yes integrating With each other and merry making. Now after a short time the train started looking like a newly wed bride. Now we Started our Journey to Kurseong at 11 a.m from Siliguri and all fifty four of us were singing singing our respective school song. There were three boggies and the first bogggie was filled with ex-students with their spouses and children, the second boggie with middle aged young/mid B.N. BHATTARAI HONY SECRETARY writes.... The North Bengal Chapter with Gantok students was convened by our Amit Bose who organised the meeting at the 4th Std (class 6) with 50 plus students and had got it started, elected the Presidents, Vice Presidents - 2, secy, Treasurer, Committee Members and advisors. they will meet again in May and organise their get together in Oct in time for the concluding part of the 125 years. We request all those world wide to kindly come and participate in this once in a life time programmee. this time it will be done officially by the schools. DOWHILL IS IN MUCH A BETTER STATE AND CONDITION PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR RECEIPT OF THIS MAIL AND PLEASE SEND YOUR COMMENTS TOO. IF ANY MISTAKES, REQUEST PLS CORRECT AND READ I REMAIN