The pandemic may have caused the World Anglo-Indian Day celebrations to be held virtually over the past two years, but this year it was celebrated on 2nd August without any such restrictions or limitations. The Heads of Association of Anglo-Indian Schools, West Bengal Chapter, decided that Calcutta Boys’ School would be the venue once more, after hosting it in the year 2019. Although it seemed like the weather would put a damper on the celebrations with a heavy downpour that afternoon, by the grace of the Almighty, the rains ceased with plenty of time in hand for all to arrive at the venue by 5 p.m. which was by then packed to capacity.

The evening’s proceedings began with a worship service in the Chapel Hall of Calcutta Boys’ School. We were indeed privileged and delighted to have in our presence Dr. Anilkumar John Servand, the Bishop of the Methodist Church in India, Lucknow Episcopal Area and also The Chairman of Calcutta Boys’ School. His message to the congregation was candid with a challenge to the community to not only look back at their accomplishments with pride, but also to move forward and progress with time. The worship service was made even more special with the melodious hymns sung by the choirs of both the host school and Julien Day School Elgin Road, Kolkata. In her message to all, the President of the Heads Of Association of Anglo-Indian Schools, West Bengal Chapter, Mrs. Jessica Gomes Surana upheld the students as ‘torch bearers’ of their respective institutions and pointed out that it would be them who would take education beyond the confines of their school boundaries.

The next part of the evening’s proceedings was the felicitation ceremony. It was a real pleasure to have so many former Principals of Anglo-Indian Schools present and it was an honour to be able to remember their contributions and felicitate them for the tremendous work put in by them over the decades in helping our schools to adapt with the changing times and grow to new heights in the field of education. Students from the community achieving outstanding results in ICSE 2022 and ISC 2022 were also felicitated, along with those securing the top positions in their respective schools. It was indeed remarkable to be able to have so many students of our schools securing such outstanding results in this year’s ICSE and ISC examinations.

The celebrations culminated with an hour of entertainment for teachers and Principals despite the time crunch, and what best way to begin with but Anglo’isms. A host of Anglo’isms was brought back to life and most in the audience were able to remember the old lingo. The Calcutta Boys’ School Teachers Band then took to the stage, playing some memorable classic hits of the 70’s and 80’s. Christopher Lobo then took over and belted out a few old time jive hits giving everyone a chance to ‘loosen their limbs’ and nobody failed to impress with their dance moves. Finally, it was time for all to make their way down to the staff room of the host school for a sumptuous fellowship dinner. It was definitely an evening worth remembering and here’s looking forward to 2023.