Memoirs...

There are some moments in your school life which you would like to greatly over dramatize, add special effects to, maybe some ancient overused inspirational music as well. These are the moments that you think about a hundred times over, every time adding some new detail or the other till you see that you’re not emphasizing on what actually happened. And now as what usually happens in short inspirational, feel good school stories I shall describe an event which truly shook the base of my existence.

Anyone who has ever played cricket for his school knows that it is not any fun unless you are one of the important people. Unless you are one of the top five bowlers who is expected to bowl his full quota or one of the exceptional batsman who is expected to bat through the innings and change the game for your team.

Fortunately after years of trying I was finally one of the important people for the St. Xavier’s school cricket team. ‘A’ grade bowler I was!! …feels good to say that. The captain used to turn to me when he needed a wicket, yes me. That was very enjoyable. Before I head to the story there is one very important thing to note about the relationship shared between St. Xavier’s and the annual intra district Cricket tournament organized by the C. A. B. . St. Xavier’s school before 2008 had reached the semi-finals of this tournament once and that was way back in the 1960’s. So it was a near miracle that our school made it to the quarter finals this year. It was as if the information had been transferred through the Interpol, teachers started talking, and students started asking me to get them out of school in the name of school support. It was as if I was a V. I. P. or something.

So now we fast forward to the day. Sunny, humid near impossible for the unfit but we were sure that we would survive 35 out of the allotted 45 overs to be bowled, so after a decent batting performance, scoring 225, we needed to bowl nearly twice as well. The sun was quite unforgiving, especially on my hands, which was a shade darker than the rest of me.

Let’s fast forward again. 8 overs 62/0 Nagtala, the captain of the St. Xavier’s school cricket team turns to me and throws the ball. It’s not too difficult to identify our captain; he’s the only one wearing a Xavier’s cap on the field, for most of the match we looked like an amalgamation of the Nike, Adidas and CCFC XI.

Back to the match, “I had to take a wicket” me the hero. And so I did. The over after that, another and then another in three successive overs. This to put Xavier’s on the track to CAB semi-finals and school history. Yes the ‘X-uberance’ of ‘X’-aviers was in’X’plicable, the X-citement indescribable. This was one X-tremely, X-ceptional moment in my not so X-traordinary life.

Shaket Banerjee

There for you

In this world of guns and knives of broken hearts and shortened lives

Where the poor gape helplessly,

The rich waste recklessly

All that was equal stands divided

Each by the other scorned and chided

In every heart there seems a thorn

That reaches deeper every morn

But wait,

Though it seems the earth doth shake

To see the creation doth itself unmake

There shines a light that kills the gloom

That saves us from the impending boom

Within this light faces doth show

Each of a child with greatest glow

Who likes candles shall themselves consume

To light the path of others and then resume

And so

We the children of this earth

who have lived as infants

Full of mirth

Now take the reins of the wayward horse

And lead it along a worthy course

To be meant for others and give back

The love that men lose

Or otherwise lack

Through thick and thin we will stand by you

Near or far, we are there for you.

Rajit Dasgupta

There for you…

You may be thinking that ‘X-uberance 08’is just another school fest in your calendar. But, it isn’t…It is the culmination of efforts of the diligent boys of St. Xavier’s Collegiate School and has been pioneered by Rev. Fr. Headmaster and Rev. Fr. Prefect.

The fest strives to show the commitment of youth to society today, because it is only the youth that can alleviate it from is numerous problems.

The fest lays emphasis on helping the unfortunate sections of society. The core feeling is that the discrepancies within it can be sorted out only by our impromptu action. A significant sum has been donated to the under-privileged. Community service is also an integral part of the fest. Representatives of various schools have collaborated to lend a helping hand at Premdan-an institution for the old and mentally challenged, prior to the fest.

A diverse array of 15 events in the fest will no doubt, provide a strong platform for today’s youth to express itself. With a total of twelve schools participating, and one from as far as Burdwan, it’s certain that each will impede the other’s path to the victory stand. Not only will the schools battle it out for glory, but they will also realize the bonds of friendship and unify for a greater cause. Moreover the events have been planned so as to include various clubs the school has. For example, the computer presentation has been visualized by the Nature Club and focuses on the importance of nature and its preservation.

In addition, the fest promises to provide required interaction between school students. This shall encourage the exchange of worthy ideas to transform tomorrow’s society into a more friendly and cooperative one. It endeavors to provide the youth of today a good time and foster a sense of awareness to the problems plaguing our society.

It remains our sincerest hope that the fest will measure up to everyone’s elevated expectations and as for the Xaverians, our message reaches out to society, chanting-“There for you…”

Nihil Ultra, Nothing Beyond!

Ali Amerjee

XII B

Just As You Feel...

Place to which I‘ve been going willingly or with sinking feeling in my stomach , from the age of six ; a place which has transformed me from that child to a young adult ; where I have learnt reading writing and arithmetic ; where I have made my closest friends. A place which gives me an identity and a sense of belonging that I doubt I will ever find anywhere else...I could possibly go on listing points till Kingdom come, but I do not think that I, or any of the other 2144 students in the school will ever be able to express how much the school has done for them..

I do not remember the first day in school at all. Unfortunately, as you might have guessed, this means I have had to make up all sort of stories for the umpteen essays I have had to write about it over the years. I do however remember my second day at school. I had firmly made up my mind, and decided that I was never going to that wretched institution again; my poor parents had to literally drag me there, kicking and screaming. By the end of the week I was completely enchanted by the aura of the school; something that has a firm hold on me even today…

Any School can make its students literate----What makes Xavier’s Any Different?

At Xavier’s we do not have a swimming pool or central air conditioning. We have two fields and a basketball court to play in. We do not have fancy uniforms with crests, nor do we generally need to wear our ties. We have a plain white shirt and white trousers; as for our ties, we only wear them on formal occasions. At our school heisenbergs’suncertainty principle and the enzymatic isomerisation of 3- phosphoglycerate (or that art is culture, not a scavenging bird). We learn how to think and how to become our own people. Apart from that we are blessed with an extremely dedicated teaching and non teaching staff---something which not too many schools today can boast of.

Something else that our school has every right to be immensely proud of is the fact that not everybody in it is not from an affluent upper middle class family. There are students who need to struggle a lot to continue with their academics, but the school gives them a chance which they might not have been able to find elsewhere. We also have the Titli programme, where young children from under -privileged families are given elementary education. We might be a Jesuit –run institution, but most of the students are not catholic. This celebration of diversity sets St.Xavier’s Apart.

As a student of class 11 I am really excited about the school fest- I have never been to fests before, courtesy humdrum things such as Unit tests, so I am hoping for fun. Chaos, challenges and a general looking forward to meeting my friends from other schools. Today I can happily say that I have been metamorphosed from the child who had to be dragged to school by his parents; more often than not, I actually look forward to going! I think that our school motto sums it up best: NIHIL ULTRA- Nothing Beyond...

Ananda Menon

X=Plaination....

It’s a union of culture, an amalgamation of talents, alacrity, joy and of course excellence. It’s the perfect homogeneity between the two aspects of school life. Academics and more interesting extra-curricular extravaganza. The very meaning of the word “Exuberance” refers to that spirit that is in all of us; a feeling of immense enthusiasm, giving birth to something unique, a novelty as such.

It’s a platform that is being set upon, for boys and girls to relive their own existence and enhance their own skills.

I would not say that my expectations are something out of this world, but rather a belief that like everything else, X-UBERANCE would be the ‘Nihil Ultra’ of all fests.

An epitome of innovativeness- a place where idiosyncrasies of every individual merges together to give rise to a very simplistic trail of creativity.

It’s harmony that we seek X-UBERANCE to deliver, to portray a truer picture of the glories of school life.

The expectations are high, and we can already hear the trumpets blowing out to mark the beginning of the auspicious ceremony. The moment in which the whole of Xavier’s shall declare a war, a challenge, to signify that after all it’s just the spirit Nihil Ultra, that we would follow.

The chants have begun; it’s just the last moments, before altar is set to burn-

‘X-UBERANCE’ IS COMING TO ROCK YOU ALL....

ABHISHEK PAL, 12B

Every time I cross the threshold of 30 Park Street, past the old iron gates, I instantly feel at ease. The distinct clicking of school shoes on concrete along with a paradigm of voices creates a sense of liveliness that is amplified by the golden-yellow walls. As I pass the prefect’s office I usually see a boy standing apologetically by the door, worried and apprehensive. What they don’t realize is that the Jesuit fathers that run the institution do so because they have decided to dedicate their lives to education. For that reason, when I think about leaving this institution I know that it just won’t be the same. Therefore

Every morning when I sit on those wooden benches, the surface carved with the names and sentiments of generations of students. The same benches once occupied by Sourav Ganguly, Rabindranath Tagore and Shashi Tharoor, and many others of the societal illuminate are now scattered with our exercise books, the number of which usually increases as periods go by till we reach the lunch break, only to be shoved back in our bags on hearing the bell. The bell is accompanied by a frenzied rush to Punditjis canteen to wrestle for samosas and the spring rolls which had been emanating their trademark aromas.

The martial arts of Punditjis canteen have convinced me that schooling is not just education, especially when it comes to friendship. The bonds between friends in school will probably remain unparalleled. I think the tension before the chemistry exam, the laughter of the countless inside jokes of a friend circle and the other little moments that make our school life so memorable. One such moment was after a horrid exam after which we headed to our physics practical class. I was sitting in a little nook outside the physics lab with one of my friends waiting for the teacher to come. We didn’t talk, we just sat there. The lush green field in front of us, juxtaposed with white chalk grids for sports day. It invoked the same loyalty and love for one’s school that makes a thousand Xaverians fervently cheer for their house in the blazing sun of that day.

It is the same sun that makes its way from the windows facings the smaller field to the corridors illuminating the statue of St. Francis Xavier that has looked over the school grounds for one and a half century. Three stories underneath it the brass bell chimes, on time at 3 o’clock. I guess we are listening to it for the last time, but before we leave- put on your badges, get your tie absolutely perfect and put on your uniform, X-uberance is here. For our school lives there may be nothing beyond Xaviers, but it will always be there for you.

Kaustav Das

A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

Naturalists relay the story of the lemmings as they march inexorably to their doom in the full flush of their vitality.
Moralists relate the apocryphal tale of the youth of today blissfully going the primrose way to the eternal bonfire.
We, in Kolkata, beg to differ with such moralists. The youth of the 21st Century is a young person totally aware of his/her place in the city. The youth of today will not look at the grim reality of everyday pain through rose-tinted glasses. Our young boys and girls are conscious of their abilities, aware of their shortcomings and prepared to make a difference in society.
Yes, this seems a highly materialistic, techno-savvy, fashion conscious, precocious young world. But this is the same youth that brought the high and mighty tumbling down by holding candle-light vigils. This is also the young world of Kolkata that cheered with cheerleaders at the I. P. L. matches and danced the nights away at the discos and clubs.
What is the message for this youth? What is the lesson that they teach us?
That there is a time for play and a time for responsibility; that there is a time for action and a time for patience; that there is a time for family and a time for friends, that there is a time for the present and an expectation for tomorrow; that you may enjoy and yet not forget those who can’t.
That it takes true wisdom to know the difference between such times and that this wisdom is freshly learnt daily. In the light of this wisdom, X-uberance ’08 dedicates this inter-school fest to those less fortunate, to those who have not, that in our moments of enjoyment we spare time and money for those who have neither.
This lesson we teach one another for a better tomorrow.
-Mr. Andrew Singh