Excerpts from the Newsletter Vol 2 Year 1997-98

Smt. Minakshi Banerjee, after almost four decades of service to the school has retired to a quieter but by no means  inactive life. There are few in SLOBA who have not studied under her or have not come across her at sometime, either as a parent or an alumnus. And each time she charmed with her gentle disposition and winning smile. The annual school concert was incomplete without a sterling performance by the children under her guidance. The school and the Diamond Jubilee Committee have given her a farewell befitting her stature and needless to say, her presence forever will kindle gentleness in all that we do or say. The school and the students, present and past will miss her. 

  More devastating is the news of the passing away of Arup Kumar Banerjee, tutor par excellence a few days ago. He was suffering from cancer. Since the early seventies he was but a familiar face walking down the corridors of the secondary building deeply absorbed in thought, broken at times by the mischief of a student. He was a person of a very mild disposition and loved to believe in the basic goodness of man. Life, alas, did not always reciprocate this trust. His knowledge and understanding of Mathematics were phenomenal, he could well explain the Pythagorus theorem without even a diagram, but  as a person he was perhaps handicapped by his gentle nature. Those who have studied under him will regret their inability to extract from him his best offerings of knowledge for all times to come. 

  SLOBA Editorial at the passing away of Mother Teresa

It was an evening a decade ago. The great lady graced us with her presence on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of our alma mater. She blessed and encouraged us. She called upon the students to be good human beings, truthful in spirit, dedicated towards the positive goals of life and compassionate towards humanity. The great soul has now passed away. The city has wept the loss of its mother, the nation has mourned the bereavement, the world has shared the grief. There was a spontaneous upsurge of emotion and perhaps the entire world had gathered to sing the last farewell to this great human being - Mother Teresa. 

 We in the alumni express our deep sorrow at this loss. In our own way, through the SLOBA free clinic, we are trying to reach out to the rather unfortunate and marginal sections of the society. It is time for us now to rededicate ourselves with greater determination to make this service more effective and meaningful. It will be thus that we would be able to offer our homage to Mother in the most befitting manner. 

We believe the mission of Mother will continue in the same spirit. Great deeds are followed by even greater ones, and such have been the instances in the history of mankind. The greatness of Mother’s mission lay in the way it touched the heart for it is in the matters of  the heart that the present times are relentlessly uncharitable. The true success of Mother’s legacy will be in even greater achievements by the order she led so ably and in the ultimate disbanding of it when there is no need for it to provide succour as the untold misery of human existence has been effectively classified as a matter of the distant past. Lead kindly light, Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity, we shall follow you in what ever little way we can.