Friday, November 20, 2009

Dinner at the Blue Elephant, London. 8th November 2009

It was a wonderful evening. We were seated in a room surrounded with glass....very thoughtful of The Blue Elephant staff, especially as we felt free to talk and laugh without disturbing our neighbours!! That's exactly what we needed to "let our hair down" and go back to where we belong...Hail Loreto






The surroundings were gorgeous, as if we were in Thailand with waterfalls,riverlets, fish and even a boat.



















Joya and Qamar enjoying a joke. I think we laughed most of the evening!















Here we can see Naila, Verity, Jinnie and Rita












Rekha with our newest and youngest member so far, Larimon















Ameerah, Joya and Qamar








Naila, Verity and Jinnie












Larimon and aunt Nayontara. Two generations of Loretoites









Ritu and Ameerah









Some messages


It was a wonderful evening. Loved meeting the other loretoites who are in the Uk.keep up the good work Qamar.Looking forward to another meet at another venue!Joya


Hi,Once again...enjoyed being with you all. Any possibility of seeing Verity dance? That would be such fun!! Thanks Qamar ...great job.Ritu


Meeting all the 'seniors' was great and it never ceases to amaze me how all Loreto girls can identify with each other so easily.
Many thanks again
See you all soon
Nayantara

It was great to catch up with everyone again.Best,Rita

Friday, November 6, 2009

A beautiful message from Ameenah 2nd November 2009


Dear Loreto Girls,

It's great these reunions are happening in London.I still cannot get over our memorable trip to Shillong for the Centenary celebration of our dear school.As we are gradually closing our files of active participation in life from career,family,business, professional life it's great we can reunite with our school friends .As we are reaching an age where we can put up our feet and relax at home and enjoy grandchildren nothing could be better than uniting with Loreto Shillong girls we met in childhood in our grey uniformws and red cardigans.Qamar is doing an excellent job in London. I hope we remember our aim to meet in Delhi next year. It would be good to set a date and inform Iabella. After that we can set a date for London again for 2011 specially our group of 1955-63 Loreto Shillong.If we start working now we can meet definitely.Have a great dinner at the Blue Elephant. I have yet to see one!!! Ameenah Ahmed

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Alakananda Mookerjee














ABOUT AN ALBUM OF THOUGHTS
From ALAKANANDA MOOKERJEE:

A view from Shillong Peak


An Album Of Thoughts is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a collection of thoughts and photos (like in a traditional album.) It’s an assortment of scribbles on everything from an afternoon spent in the kitchen, stirring a pot of tangy Indian curry, to my thoughts on interplanetary travel. Isn't that an eclectic mix? I hoisted this blog as a struggling student in grad school, a few years ago, but never quite nourished it. Sometime in early 2009, I rescued it from oblivion. It’s here now. I don’t recall the exact date, but sometime after I’d fed (and somewhat fattened) the “Inside Pages” I invited Sharmila Mukherjee (my closest friend) to be a scribe, and help me with pumping more content here. For a day job, I work as a journalist. In the event that you're interested in leafing through my clips, please ask me for the keys to my journalism closet.





My article on Shillong (my birthplace) appeared as the cover story in the August 2009 issue of the Indian-American (print) magazine Khabar. It is reproduced below:
According to a recent UNESCO report, “Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger of Disappearing,” India tops the list of nations with the most number of dialects on the brink of extinction—as many as 196.Khasi is one of them.This is the language spoken by about one million people in the Northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya. It is also the name of one of the three dominant tribes that call this hill province their home, the other two being Jaintia and Garo.The UNESCO publication is an overview of the world’s cultural indicators. Its eye-opening maps, compelling charts, and sobering statistics, must come as a wake-up call to all linguistic groups, hitherto unaware of the rapid erosion of their native tongues.Mine, is not one of the languages on that list. Yet I can’t help feeling chagrined because of the fact that Khasi—is. The reason? I am almost Khasi, but not quite.Hypothetically, I could answer the question, “Where are you from?” in two ways, depending on which cultural norm I subscribed to. If I were to identify myself with my parentage (Bengali Brahmin, in my case) and the language I grew up speaking at home—as is the practice in India—I would have to say that I hail from West Bengal. Were I to lean the "Western" way, however, and forge an identity on the basis of my birthplace, I would have to declare that I am Khasi.So it’s not an inaccuracy to say that my roots are in Meghalaya.
The Abode Of The CloudsThe word Meghalaya translates literally as “The Abode of the Clouds” in Sanskrit. And this is not without a reason. Cherrapunjee (now Sohra), located roughly 35 miles from the state capital, Shillong, is reputed to be the world’s wettest place, receiving an annual rainfall of around 470 inches a year. The effects of this heavy precipitation are felt in its immediate vicinity. It doesn’t matter what season it is, the clouds are a near-permanent fixture of the state’s geography.Come (most) afternoons and you’d see a slow-moving convoy of pillow-like, whitish-grey clouds scudding across the horizon. Post-noon, as if prompted by a celestial clock, they would emerge out of hiding, play peek-a-boo for a varying length of time, until they settled down snugly over the hilltops, draping them in a blanket of dense, milky fog.In 1979, when neighboring Assam was rocked by the so-called "anti-foreigner’s agitation"—a student-led movement directed against its economically-dominant Bengali-speaking residents and illegal immigrants from Bangladesh—Meghalaya too, felt its repercussions. Between then, and the late 1980s, another, and a far darker "cloud" also hovered on the sky—that of political turmoil and social unrest.But the Meghalaya I know, and remember is one that wasn’t polluted by the black carbon trail from cars, trucks, buses, wasn’t marred by insurgency and wasn’t hit by global climate change. In my memories, the time spent there are the most carefree of days, filled with sunshine and warmth.
The Land
In terms of its administrative structure and its political fabric—barring minor variations—Meghalaya is similar to the rest of the country. But culturally speaking, it stands in a league of its own. Its people have a distinct "Englishness" about them, a trait that permeates nearly every aspect of its society—from the architecture of its buildings to its school system to its peoples’ love affair with Western music. The climate, the flora and the topography of the land also blend in harmoniously to reinforce its reputation as a "Westernized" outpost on the outer fringes of India. Summers are pleasant. Winters are cold to chilly.With 42 percent of the state covered by forests, it is hardly surprising that most parts of Meghalaya are woodsy. Gurgling streams, dancing waterfalls and grassy downs dot the terrain. Vibrant flowers (including 325 species of orchids) abound, and the air is always saturated with the captivating scent of pine. Little wonder that it was christened “The Scotland of the East” by the British colonizers.Perched on a plateau nearly 1,500 meters high, Shillong (population: 260,000) is surrounded by several low hills, three of which are revered by the Khasi—Lum Sohpetbneng, Lum Diengiei and Lum Shillong. The city itself is named after the tribal deity, Shyllong.
The TownBack when I was growing up there, no building in Shillong had more than five floors. There weren’t any neon-lit signs that spelled the names of big businesses and global brands. The state had its share (albeit small) of industry and commerce. But life, on the whole, wasn’t commercialized. Goods were highly affordable. One didn’t have to sweat over making money. Day-to-day living was struggle-free and hence, enjoyable.Shillong’s downtown, curiously named Police Bazaar was where the action was. Congested, compared with the rest of the town, it was the local version of New York City’s Times Square and Fifth Avenue rolled into one, in the sense that it was the port of entry for tourists who arrived in buses as well the prime shopping hub for everything from groceries to clothing. This is also where Shillong’s handful of "cinema halls" and restaurants were clustered.Packed into Mawprem’s (a locality in Shillong) chaotic jumble of shops was the nondescript store, “Mahari & Sons,” one of the oldest bakeries in the area, reputed to have supplied breads to the British army in the 1930s. A destination for epicureans, its look and location, I always felt, was incongruous with its gourmet image.
One of its specialties, the "chicken patty"—a fluffy, pastry dough stuffed with a filling of finely mined and delicately seasoned chicken—was a special treat I got from my parents, every so often, for nothing in particular. At a time in India, when meat enjoyed the status of caviar among large sections of the population, “Mahari & Sons” sold well-cured sausages and salami, whose taste, still lingers in my taste buds. Today, it has expanded into a supermarket.
Going To School
The roads were skinny. Luckily, they didn’t have to bear the burden of heavy traffic. Flanked on either side by an archway of foliage that created the impression of a Gothic vaulted-ceiling, they would leisurely wind up the contours of verdant mountains. Quaint little houses, with smoke curling up their chimneys, would peek out through gaps in the shrubbery lined-fences.At the end of a steep road, there stood a lovely, elongated, two-storied building. A metallic gate that opened into a sun-lit, concrete courtyard, of sorts, ushered one into a serene, I-shaped corridor. At its far end, was a wooden, three-legged table, covered with white linen, where sat an old-fashioned school bell, always at the ready, ever prepared to be hefted from its station by a redoubtable Irish nun and tolled sonorously. Girls in perfectly-starched white shirts and grey pinafores (or skirts) and blazers would then, shuffle in their seats, awaiting the start of the next class or file out of their classrooms—as noiselessly as possible—and proceed to their next activity—physical exercise, singing, dancing or art lessons.This was the milieu in Loreto Convent, Shillong—Meghalaya’s finest academic institution for young women. Opened in 1909, the school celebrated its centenary celebrations, earlier in May. Along with an emphasis on academic excellence, it also focused considerable attention on the social grooming of its students, much like a European “finishing school.” We, the Loreto girls, even as five-year-olds, knew it was bad manners to eat with our mouths open. We said "thank you" to anyone who offered us help or a gift. We tried to be, almost always, on time. We also bowed and curtseyed like the von Trapp family children in "The Sound of Music."Shillong has enjoyed a formidable reputation for its K-12 set-up. Its convents—both for girls and for boys—were regarded as some of the best in the nation, for their strict discipline and the exemplary set of values they inculcated.
At Home
I led a cloistered life. When I wasn’t at school, I was "home, sweet home." The physical house in which I lived was just as delightful. It was as pretty as a picture-postcard. The structure of most independent bungalows in Meghalaya was nearly identical. They were invariably all wooden, with sloping tiled roofs, a patch of well-manicured lawn, a chimney and a driveway. The government-provided residences, reserved for the states’ politicians, judges and administrators—members of the elite Indian Administrative Service (IAS)—were the grandest in town, though most others were not unattractive.“Ekanth Cottage,” the mansion in which I grew up was a spacious five-roomed mansion that sat atop a little hillock, overlooking the Shillong racecourse—called the Polo Grounds—and the local golf course. Spread out across a vast, pinecone-sprinkled compound, it was framed on one side by a semi-circle of tall, coniferous trees. The other, offered an uninterrupted vista of the valley below, which rose to meet the lush, rolling hills on the opposite horizon.Those of modest means did not reside in commodious, colonial-style manors. If their homes fell short on floor-space and grandeur, they certainly made up for that through ample rustic charm. Apparently simple articles such as a flower vase, a set of red and white checkered curtain, a wooden cross hanging above the mantelpiece or a faded area-rug, imparted coziness and conveyed a wonderful sense of gracious hospitality. A distinctive feature of the tribal households, and especially those of the Khasis, was its squeaky-cleanliness, which often manifested in the degree of luster of their shining hardwood floors.
The PeopleThe people of Meghalaya are gentle, courteous and soft-spoken. They are a hardworking lot, without being brazenly ambitious. Which is why, it was rare to see a Khasi, a Garo, or a Jaintia pursue a career in engineering, medicine, academia, law, or the civil services. The higher echelons of the bureaucracy were comprised of men (there were very few women then) who were born in the rest of India. These officials served in Meghalaya neither because they harbored hegemonic aspirations nor had they any interest in subjugating the locals. They were selected to do what they did, by an impersonal entity called the “Civil Services Examination.”Unlike in most parts of India, where the male child gets preferential treatment, Meghalaya’s tribal society is matrilineal, a system that grants special status to girls. The youngest daughter of the family inherits all family property and is entrusted with caring for the elders and unmarried siblings.The people of Meghalaya are very musically-inclined, to a particular kind that is— to rock, funk, and blues. According to Shillong residents, nearly one out of every four people there either sings or plays a musical instrument. One of the reasons a road trip through Meghalaya won’t feel like you’re in India is that you won’t hear Bollywood music blaring from loudspeakers. You would hear a snatch of a hymn, wafting out of an open church door or a deep male voice (with shades of Elvis Presley), singing “Love Me Tender” to the strumming of a guitar on a balcony. Unsurprisingly, Shillong has earned a new moniker today—“Rock Music Capital of India.”In a New York Times article on Shillong, Somini Sengupta writes:
Many theories are offered for Shillong’s fascination with rock and the blues. Some argue that the area’s indigenous Khasi traditions are deeply rooted in song and rhyme. Some credit the 19th-century Christian missionaries who came from Britain and the United States, introduced the English language, hymns and gospel music and in turn made the heart ripe for rock. Some say the northeast, remote and in many pockets, gripped by anti-Indian separatist movements, has not been as saturated by Hindi film music as the rest of India. Others speak of that ephemeral quality of rock ’n’ roll, able to seep into young, restless bones anywhere.Each time I think of Shillong, a face floats before my eyes: Irene was a white-haired lady who sat in the foyer of Loreto Convent, a sweet person in a sweet place. It’s time to go back to visit.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

recent messages from you.


Dear Qamar,
Thank you so much for your lovely pictures, write-up, etc, on your Blog. You really seem to have captured every moment of not just the Loreto Centenary, the ex-students but everything that is Shillong!I am very happy to know that you and your sisters, friends, et all, had a wonderful time at Shillong & the Heritage and are still doing so.Good luck with all future L.C Reunion's, dinners & parties! I hope I can visit you one day and re-live those days again.
Lots of love to all of you- Qamar, Ameenah, Ameerah,Taheerah & Naila. I learnt a lot by interacting with you and never felt that there is a 20 year 'school- leaving' gap between us(please do excuse me...!)! Just goes to show that LORETO Students are the same everywhere- loving and caring, often daring, ethical and ever-green!
Cheers!
Pragya Deb Burman,(Loreto Convent Shillong-Yr 1987)

Friday, July 17, 2009

DINNER AT CHOR BAZAR,LONDON. 12th July 2009

Read our messages and you will get an idea of how well our little dinner gathering went. We want more of these affairs and we want a much bigger gathering.
We next meet in November. The date and venue will be set soon. Come and join us!!





We met at Chor Bizarre in Mayfair , London, on the 12th at 6.00pm. The venue was organized by Rita Payne , who knows the restaurant owner and managed to negotiate 50% off food and drinks. There were 9 of us: Joya Das , Rita Payne, Naila Kabeer, Qamar Nizam , Rita Roy, Pritha Ray, Rekha Mirchandani, Rukhsana Ground and me. The bonding, the comfortable rapport, the food..it was an excellent experience. We sang the Loreto anthem, much to the amusement of the clientele. We parted resolving to meet again in November. Following our November meeting , we hope to organise a visit to Mother Nives/ Sister Anne who taught and inspired many of us
I hope we can form a forum to meet, enjoy and support all alumnae .

Best wishes and love to all
Ritu Kataky.

Here we have from left to right, Rukhsana, Ritu and Rita




Congratulations to Verity on becoming a GRANNY!! We missed you at the dinner. Hopfully you will join us at the next one around November. Look out for the blog updating soon. Rekha it was so good meeting you and 3 other new friends. The food was great as was the company. Thanks to Naila's fantastic memory we are still able to keep on singing...among other things. Safe journey to Rita Roy who has gone back to Kolkata with some special memories.
Qamar Nizam



It was great to meet up again. Your memories of the old days were impressive, put me to shame. Many thanks, especially to Ritu and Qamar for organising the get-together.
All the best, Rita Payne.






Dear Loreto Girls,

I can't tell you how good it was to meet you all! It didn't seem that we didn't know each other or hadn't met in years, did it? I think that's the secret of being a Loretoite and that too from Shillong!

Pritha, thanks for the photos. Quite good actually!

Qamar, saw the blog and I can tell you I was feeling jealous of you having the time of your lives!

Naila, thanks for the missing lyrics.

Joya, Rekha and Rukhsana... it was great meeting you.

And Rita and Ritu, thanks for the fantastic organising and MOST of all for doing this when I was there.

I'll always remember the evening with nostalgia and look forward to further such meets...wherever!!

Whenever you visit Kolkata it would be lovely to meet you, so do let me know when you're visiting.

Wishing your next meet and the one to Dublin/Durham/Lewes a huge success!

Love Rita
Rita Roy



Hello All, It was a wonderful evening, and we should get together at least once or twice a year to keep in touch ,to catch up and most of all to touch base! To use an american expression. Looking forward to meeting up again!
Joya Das


Here is Joya (top left) with her arm on Pritha's shoulder.Naila and Rekha in front, while Rita Payne sits a little away...only for the moment!!



Dear Ladies
That was a lovely evening and dinner. It was amazing how I could immediately connect with everyone there .I did not know that just having the same Loreto experience would make me feel so much at home with a bunch of women I had never met before . All that buzz culminating with our singing of the Loreto Anthem ,it could not have been better.
All I can say is thank you and hope to see you all again.
Viva Loreto!!
Rekha


New friends, Rekha and Qamar....Viva friendship! Viva Loreto!!



















Tuesday, June 9, 2009

a letter from ameenah




Dearest Krishna, Mitu, Ameerah, Taheerah, Naila,Chaman and Kaniz, The reunion was great we are lucky those who made it.It was a bit disappointing that many in Shillong did not join especially our age groups and those in Hyderabad and Delhidespite knowing that it was happening.Well that's the reason we are going to meet the 50's and 60's group in 2010 in Delhi and later London is the next station.Iabella's brain is already working on it.She will get together with the Delhi girls who came to Shillong and work on it. Cheers Iabella and let's all give her a helping hand from a distance.Ruth form Delhi, Fahmida from Dhaka, Priti Devi, from Gujraat, and Zeba Rashid Coudhury form Bangladesh who was there in 1939 made it Thanks for your mails Krishna, Mitu, Ameerah, Chaman, Iabella. Shillong was great the jacaranda was in full bloom and it seemed it grew in Shillong for our centenary. Amazingly we did not notice the beautiful purple bloom while in school. But believe me there were two trees near the summer house and Ameerah, Naila and Qamar used to play Red Indians and Cowboys and tie up prisoners to the tree.Were we too short in height to look at the bloom or were we not interested. Mitu and Krishna were at Gauhati airport and after 48 yrs we met and continued as if we parted yesterday only. We continued from where we left off. They both look so dignified and poised. Mitu is very strong living in Gauhati...She recently lost her mother, and her husband passed away 10years earlier. Her kids and grandchildren are in Canada. Where she goes often. Well many of our friends are having grandchildren...but when we were together did we feel like grandmother's?NO!!! It would have been great if out grand kids saw us dancing at the Shillong Club where it was reported that the grey haired ones were making the most of the dance and rowdyism. Taheerah and Qamar made it by Tamabil and attended all functions. The Mass and Openeing Ceremony. Ameerah, Naila and myself made it via Kolkata andGauhati. Krishna's husband Bhashker Barua and Krishna were our Guardian angels and accompanied us everywhere. It was relaxing and tension free having such angelic guides. They stayed in Assam House and we in Tripura Heritage Castle... a great place. My room had the bed and writing table used by Rabindranath Tagore on his visits. Preeti and her vivacious niece were in the Castle. The niece Pragya was the highlight of our stay she was so entertaining and chatted a lot with us. We had a party there on 21st for our batches to which Shanta Bose and her husband and Nurjehaan came. We went for tea mornings and brunches too to Amy Rahman's house, Iabella's family home where her sister Sella stays and gave a huge hand for the Alumnae work.We visited Valerie Godetti who has a house on top of the hill away from the city. All houses are cosy, small neat, clean tea kettles shining as if bought from the market yesterday to boil water. They wash it with Kala sabon. Iabella's kettle was from her mother's time.The gardens in every house was so pictueresque and everyone takes such care of the vegetables and flowers there. We feasted our eyes on them.Amy served us salad and vegetables from her garden. We went to Police Bazaar, Ward's Lake, Elephant Falls and Shillong Peak. All the functions were great at the school and our nuns may there soul rest in peace I hope did not turn in their graves to see the sexy dance movements and backless dresses. All big functions were held in the Campus which was covered with Shamiana. We went down to the campus from the Grotto way and down the steps.The opening ceremony, Fourteen dances of Loreto schools in India, The dinner etc was there. Alumnae had brunch in the Hall . At one point we were taken to the class room. We sat there and reminicised our scool days. Sitting in those chairs and looking out at the clear blue sky which I did often.I think we were all moved by the experience. Well the organizers were great and have successfully celebrated the centenary. That's all for today. Cheer up those who did not make it look forward to Delhi meet and the London meet. Love, Ameenah Ahmed

Taheerah and Qamar's arrival

On Sunday 17th May 2009, We arrived at Tripura Castle and a cup of Assam tea......








































Having passed...




Along the plain,















beside a river











and a church
























through thick fog






over bridges



















along deep valleys....



Then we were joined by friends for breakfast.....






taheerah,Ameenah,Qamar, Naila, Ameerah














Ameenah slept on a bed used by Robindranath Tegore










and here is his desk too











Then off to lunch at Centre Point




Krishna, Ameenah and Amy














Taheerah, Ameerah and Qamar



















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































some nostalgic moments





A view of Shillong









A view outside the Hall











Taheerah, Ameerah and Krishna











Who remembers the jacaranda trees?








Once more for old time's sake



























no more tears coming up this drive!









































A new summer house in place of the old one


























I can run down the corridors today!!